Re: Height of a giraffe

It is the height of the saddle. It is only a rough figure, not exact.

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Thanks for that Nick 🙂

It was just something I started thinking about and then I just had to
find out...

Rob

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It -is- the height of the saddle, but obviously most people adjust it
after they get it. So a 5 foot giraffe is probably anywhere from 4'6" to
5'6". About.

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nickjb said:

*It is the height of the saddle. It is only a rough figure, not
exact. *

There needs to be a more consistent standardized system for tall
unicycle sizing, so that we can describe the thing for what it is,
without having it depend on who is riding it at the moment. We shouldn't
have a kid riding a five-footer one moment, and an adult riding a six-
or seven-footer the next, when it's the same unicycle. Imagine if we did
the same thing for standard unicycles, and used only the saddle heights
to identify them. Completely unworkable.

I suggest using a two-number size designation for the frame, based on
the tire size (just like a standard uni) and the length of the chain
(distance between the hub and the bracket, whatever the tech term for
that is). Thus we could have a 20-12" unicycle, meaning a 20" wheel with
a 12" chain, or a 24-60", or the 36-24" that I keep pressuring Max's dad
to build. I use a hyphen to allow for full indication of the tire size
with a slash if desired, such as a 700/52-18" for a modestly tall uni
with a 29" Nanoraptor tire. The chain-length number could be in inches
or feet or mm (e.g. 700/52-458mm); the point is that it would let
everyone in the world know exactly what we were talking about without us
all having to know everyone's inseam measurements.

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weeble - There can be only one... wheel

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Another Joe in MN
Level 2 and holding
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That's an interesting idea on giraffe heights. Here's how it reflects on
today's giraffe-riding world:

- Non-riders never care exactly how high a giraffe is, they always
exaggerate the height anyway. Basically a non-rider measures a giraffe
uni from the top of the rider's head, then adding 20-50% on top of
that.

- Giraffe owners (and especially sellers) want their giraffes to be as
tall as possible. Therefore they are not likely to embrace sizes that
are less than the maximum dimension of the cycle.

- The Schwinn U-72, their old Giraffe, was exactly 6' tall with the
saddle set to the max. height line. That's the obvious way a
manufacturer is going to list giraffe height.

For those of us who need something more accurate (I never really have),
Weeble's measurement method makes a lot of sense. For the most part, you
don't need wheel size so I'd just go for a measurement of wheel axle to
bottom bracket. Then you can add wheel size if it's not a 20", which the
vast majority of giraffes are. But those few inches aren't real
important compared to the rider's seat height.

This measurement scheme would render my Schwinn giraffe down to
something like 26" or so. Ouch.

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'USA Rulebook' (http://www.unicycling.org/usa/competition/)
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Of course, if you shorten the cranks, you have to raise the seat to
compensate.

So the height of a giraffe would be defined by the wheel diameter
(although radius is the actual dimension which is factored into the
height), and the distance between the axle and the spindle, with a
factor for the crank length.

As wheels are always in inches, and cranks are always in mm, it makes
perfect sense for the axle-spindle dimension to be measured in cubits.

So a typical giraffe might be a 20 inch, 1.5 cubit, 150mm, defined as a
20/1.5/150. For those who need to insert tyre details then it might be
a 20x1.95/1.5/150, and if pressure is important, it could be a
20x1.95(40psi)/1.5/150.

Now, if you're wearing a very tall top hat, say in a parade, that could
have aerodynamic implications so perhaps there should be a section for
that?

On the other hand, you could just use a nominal size giving an
approximate idea of the height of the saddle when the unicycle is on
maximum setting, and express it in feet.

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Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling

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P.S. Rob: whereabouts on dartmoor. My girlfriend lives 10 miles out of
Okey, so I'm down near Dartmoor fairly often, and occasionally take the
MUni on the moor.

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Maybe they should be categorized on how high they -can- be.
For example: Instead of buying a five foot giraffe, or a six foot
giraffe, you can buy a 5 to 6 foot giraffe.

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My, what a lovely navel; I could look at it all day.🙄

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My Torker 5' will actually go to 5'11" when I raise the seat to the max.
I am well over 6' tall and could use the seat a little higher but it is
not worth the extra money for me. I just tell people that it is a 6'
unicycle because that is pretty much what it is.
The thing about people thinking it is taller than it is is true though.
I've had people estimate the height at 10'. Surprising for me.

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Overestimating giraffe's height seems especially true for street
performers who use them. Somehow an extra foot gets added to these
unicycles - I noticed that what I'd call a 5' giraffe is a 6' giraffe in
street performer parlance and similarly a 6 footer is a 7 footer.
Amazing how they grow like that!

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weeble said:

We shouldn't
have a kid riding a five-footer one moment, and an adult riding a six-
or seven-footer the next, when it's the same unicycle.

I disagree. The giraffe IS actually higher when the adult rides it.
(Although not by as much as one or two feet.)

Otherwise I agree with nickjb, the 'feet' height of giraffes is just a
rough indication.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
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I like the idea of not having to balance when out on a ride - joe

Looks like I've started quite a discussion with my seemingly inocent
query :eek:

Mikefule said:

*P.S. Rob: whereabouts on dartmoor. My girlfriend lives 10 miles out
of Okey, so I'm down near Dartmoor fairly often, and occasionally take
the MUni on the moor. *

Princetown, up by the prison 🙂

Rob

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i have a three foot seat post on my 5ft raffie
i'm not calling it an 8ftr for nobody

i always asumed that the height was an indication from the floor to the
seatpost bracket
as that is the 'unchangable' (unless u change the wheel)part of the
raffie, it makes sense to me

love the idea of measuring it in cubits, mike

😉

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Namaste!
Dave
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