Ok, so I caught the giraffe bug on the weekend. We picked up an older, yet still in great shape, Norco giraffe. It is 5' and has a 20 inch rim. The frame opening looks huge to me though and I was wondering if I could get a 24" rim for the giraffe. Does anyone ride a 24" giraffe and if so, is it better than 20" for speed and distance. The cranks on the giraffe are pretty small as wel, should I upgrade those too? Thanks, Ben
you could always just replace the sprockets (chainwheels?) on the cranks/hub to make it geared up better
-- giraffe
evil-nick wrote: > Trials biker after seeing me jump off a concrete barrier: "How do you> keep from squashing your nuts!?"> Me: "I use those for cushioning!"
I have a 4.5 foot giraffe that has a 24" wheel, geared up to be like a 26". It's a lot faster than a 20" geared at 1:1. The only problem is when I fall off I don't usually manage to stay on my feet. Something about the combination of speed and height. It's pretty easy to get banged up. Elbow pads and knee pads are helpful.
Beener wrote: > Does anyone ride a 24" giraffe and if so, is it better than 20" for> speed and distance. The cranks on the giraffe are pretty small as wel,> should I upgrade those too? Thanks, Ben
The old Schwinn Giraffes could also fit a 24" wheel. The logical question is "why?" Giraffes aren't for going fast. Not that you can't use one for transportation, but there are better unicycles for that. You may find that after a while you don't feel the need to use the giraffe to get places. A 29er is much more effective and fits in the back of the car.
If you upgrade the wheel remember it's rim, spokes, tire, and wheelbuilding labor. I wouldn't bother with the cranks unless you find yourself having problems in the future.
So why do most giraffes have 20" wheels, even 12 footers? I think because the object is height, and a smaller wheel makes the thing look taller. Plus, if you're going over head-height, speed is just something you probably don't want...
"The worst thing you can do on a unicycle when you land is stop dead." -- Kris Holm, world's expert on high-consequence unicycling ------------------------------------------------------------------------ johnfoss's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/832 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/49687
