im - 9/22/2005 03:01:00 PM

We have a little something special cooking in the Surly kitchen these days. Check out our Large Marge/Endomorph/Magura-compatible unicycle...the Conundrum. It's offered in 2 sizes: 24" and 26"...this denotes the wheel size, not the length of the frame. I won't go into a ton of tech detail, because you can go to the Downloads section of our site and get that info from our fresh 2006 catalog file. I will point out the bearing clamps. These will be investment cast. Sexy, don't ya think? The samples pictured were built up for the Interbike industry show, coming up next week. Industry folks, who are in Las Vegas for this blessed event, should stop by our booth (4414) and check ‘em out. Production units, sold as frames…not complete unis (at least, not yet), should be available late winter/early spring. We're planning on putting together a build package, so bike dealers can call our distributor, QBP, and have one shipped to them complete with our build spec. or their own spec. utilizing parts sold through QBP. This program is available as an option with all of our bike frames, so it seems logical to offer it with the Conundrum, as well. Here's my little unicycle pep talk for skeptics, self-doubters, and pessimists: Yes, you can learn to ride. Most people learn to ride a uni in 10-20 hours of practice. It depends on your individual balance, age, fitness, etc. It's not something that you'll learn in a day…though I've seen trials riders and BMXicans ride in a matter of minutes, not hours. They are anomalous freaks, though. They have honed their balance on bikes enough to gravitate to a uni with little difficulty. I learned at age 33. It probably took me 15 hours of practice. I cant' ride a wheelie on a bike to save my life, and I don't consider myself an exeptionally gifted technical rider. I just practiced next to a long row of pallet racking until the balance switch was turned on in my brain. It equates to the first time I rode a bike without training wheels. Same feeling. I've heard of kids riding at age 4 and adults learning well into their senior years. If you put in the time, you can learn to ride. Once you learn, you won't forget…just like riding a bike. I started to ride unicycles because I wanted to challenge myself physically in a relatively low-impact way. I can't roll big drops, ride down stairs, or bunny hop very high. Some of that will happen eventually, if I keep rollin' the solo regularly. But, I can put on miles, and I can negotiate a lot of on-road and off-road trail that seemed unridable a year ago. When I'm cruising on the flats, without a whole lot of headwind, I can average 7-8mph for 3-4 hours. It's faster than walking, so it's a viable means of short distance transportation. And, my bike handling skills have improved, because my balance has improved. There are many reasons to ride a uni, lots of styles of riding, and many types of wheels and frames to choose from. The Conundrum is the base for a unicycle that will roll over most loose and/or slippery terrain better than anything else commercially available on the market right now...if you use an appropriately-plump tire and wide rim. This is our one-wheeled equivalent to Pugsley. More fat, round slicks are hitting the marketplace now that cruisers and choppers have become the big thing, so tire selection is vast and varied. We offer the 26 x 3.7" Endomorph at this time. This minimal-tread chevron-patterned tire rolls well on all surfaces. Both unicycle frame sizes were designed around the Endomorph tire casing profile on a Large Marge rim. A big 24" Surly tire will be offered in the future. 24" x 3.0" DH-style tires will work in the mean time. Regardless of the terrain, big cushy tires provide suspension and control. I no longer us a seat pad or air cushion on my saddle, because my suspension moved from the saddle to the tire. For more info, check out the new catalog for specifics on the Conundrum, Large Marge rims, Endomorph tires, and updates on the other stuff we offer. More pics and changes will be added to the website in the upcoming weeks. Colin, our media slut and web guy, will be joining us in Vegas, so most of the changes and updates will happen when he returns to the land of 10,000 lakes. -----