First SCARY UPD on Guni

8/14/05

I've been writing updates about my geared uni



but this afternoon, I had my first scary UPD. In fact, this was the first one where I have actually NOT landed on my feet. Luckily I was able to walk away from it, tho.

I was pedaling up a hill that was about to flatten out, so I was trying to switch up to the high gear. I clicked the button with my ankle as usual, but I may not have hit it completely. I felt it change gears, but then I felt (and heard) a clacking, like the sound that baseball cards made years ago when kids put them in the spokes of their bikes. This was probably the pins hitting the shifting mechanism and not quite engaging. Next I felt the gears complete slip as tho I had tried to shift gears again, and while the uni was in its brief glide mode, I slipped backwards, landing completely flat on my back. Luckily I was carrying a small package in one hand and holding my extension in the other, so both my elbows stayed away from the ground; my hands were at my hips when I hit the pavement. My back was very straight, and that's why (for the first time ever) my helmet hit the ground too (albeit very softly -- not enough to dent it or leave an obvious scratch). I was able to get up and continue my ride without further problems.

Florian just mentioned that his guni's pins disengaged, causing him to have a UPD while pedaling hard up an alp. In my case (and possibly in his, too), the UPD was probably caused by the pins not fully catching into their locked position.

I think that until Florian knows more about the matter -- or until I've had more practice shifting well -- I'll strongly consider hopping off in order to shift. After all, I rarely shift anyway (maybe 1-3 times per ride), and I'd rather ride safely than save a few seconds but risk a worse fall. I think I got really lucky this time.

It's a great unicycle -- that's for sure. I loved riding over 18 mph without even pushing myself as I rode home later, and when I shifted back to low gear, it felt nice to ride a 29" uni once again -- still pretty fast, but much easier to manouver. I still strongly recommend the uni, but I think riders need to be careful, and I'd avoid lots of hops and drops until we've had more info from other riders.