My Racing Unicycle

This afternoon I bought a racing unicycle. I was the beneficiary of someone else's decision that racing isn't for everyone. He bought this uni recently and only took it for a few rides before he realized that he should have spent his money on something more practical. So is a racing uni practical for me? Well, I do race every summer (since 2001) at the annual uni conventions, so... uh... sorta. And I had been talking recently with a few club members about what to look for in a racing unicycle. I had also brought this up with master unicycle builder Tommi Miller of Indiana. We didn't get too far in our talks, but he did instruct me about some key points.

This unicycle has a Qu-Ax brand frame and some light cranks and plastic pedals. The unicycle weighs about 8 lbs (17 kg), which is really light for a uni. It has a super-thin rim, and the tire, which is equally thin, gets inflated to an extremely high 110 psi, which means that it's like a band of solid rubber. The spokes were quite loose, so my new uni is sleeping tonight in the bike shop near school. I'll pick it up tomorrow afternoon, but I can't give it a real test drive until the NYUC meets again. Grant's Tomb has a really long, smooth section that's ideal for racing (that is, once the twigs have been swept to one side).