Stephanie Dietze and Lutz Eichholz unicycling down a 3011m high mountain in the Dolomites. Every meter off the descent challenged the athletes to their limits and mistakes where often not allowed. Thanks to adidas outdoor and planet-talk for helping to make this project possible.
I always thought that there was some dignity of people on pinkbike but posting a video of - ewww, so gay - unicyclers makes me never want to go on this website ever again
Username is Ibikeeveryday Supposedly owns Carbon Wilson with Fox 40's and RC4 Full Saint Build and Chromag components *no photos/videos of riding or bikes. Calls Uni-cycles and hard tails gay.
LOL Pecik91... less than 11% of Germans during WW2 were Nazi's. And the majority joined / supported it due to fear.
Might want to open a history book... O wait... everything in this world is taught "evil germans". LMAO. Silly uneducated sheep. The majority of Germans during WW2 hated Hitler and hated everything about the Nazi party. Just because someone was German in WW2 didn't mean they were a Nazi, and just because someone then, and even today is a "Nationalist" doesn't mean they are Nazi's either. But then again, I guess being 21 and in Poland you really know your stuff. Poland had so much hated for the Nazi's after rolling over them, that even in modern day they are brainwashed into saying "bad BAD germans". Lmao.
The Nazi's bombed the living frack out of my family in Britain, but I don't go around saying it's the germans... they were all evil in those days. LMAO.
To clear it up for my German friends.. ww2 germans = the Wehrmacht (army) / luftwaffe (airforce) etc etc very few were actually nazis, and few nazis actually fought. Those guys were SS. The more you know
For the sake of all those who died/were killed/murdered during WWII, let's drop this subject and focus here on bikes and riding. Please. It just causes more hatred. Let's 'LOL' and 'LMAO' about something else
I do apologise if I did offend anyone. I feel it spun out of control shortly after my comment I am guilty as charged. I am truly sorry.
Now to the Polish taking any offence: Urodzilem sie w Polsce i bylem w Oswiecimiu kilkanascie razy. Nie jest to smieszne miejsce ale pelne zadumy i sam nierzadko sie tam poplakalem. Moj komentarz byl zartem- nie trzeba lubic zartow innych ludzi. Jesli cie urazilem moim zartem- przepraszam.
Now back to the main subject... Research before spreading? That is the end of it from me- thank you very much and goodnight!
@ tworldsmine - Ho zaczal glupim komentarzem, widac, ze Twoj to zart. No offence taken, mate. Let's chillax and focus on bikes With one of two wheels:]
for the people getting worried about my balls. its nice to hear that my private parts gain that much attention. i am also a mountainbiker and so fare i didnt see a difference in comfort on bike seats compared to unicycle seats (probably because i unicycle mostly on terrain where i cant sit on my saddle).
Hella props bro I too muni so I know how hard this is. Although I have never done anything this epic I still do it and a few of us rip the freeride trails around here.
You mean Hydraulic rim brake C2arfreeriders.
It's called Magura Rim brakes. They have been popular in Trials for decades, and were popular in elite bmx in early late 90's IE the 96-97 realm.
They hold up even to this day... which is why most 20in trials riders use them. No rotors to bend, only a rim. Rotors bend easier than rims, so they are an awsome option.
On my local trail there's a super steep part. I'm talking about it's impossible to go up this 50 yard almost vertical ascent without stopping for atleast a minute or two. We finally get to the top...and as me and my father are literally dying a unicyclist starts to fly by us and waves us hello. That look on our faces was priceless as we see this guy effortless climb a vertical section, and he kept going on.
Later, reach the top, as we get there, we see the unicyclist again. Now, he's hauling ass down a super steep part that normally a regular bike would have to slam the brakes on...we're are just blown out of our minds.
Now, we figured a normal bike should be able to descend much faster than a unicycle. Wrong. When we finally got back down to the base we packed up and started driving. We were a mile down the road back to home, when we see the unicyclist again. Seriously, at this point I was just like "Wtf."
This guy, beat us at climbing, hauled ass down even faster, and was already a mile ahead of us as we got home. Ever since then, I have the most respect for unicyclists....
Glad to see all the good comments on this thread and respect for these guys' skill and fitness. All forms of riding are cool and only make you a better, and more rounded cyclist.
I was a dedicated mountain unicyclist for three years while living in Phoenix. I have not reached that level of fitness again since switching to DH / freeride and more recently road (oh the horor!). I think the big differece is never being able to coast or rest ever while on the uni!
Congrats Lutz and Stephanie - super cool trip & vid. 29ers, 26″ wheels, 650B, 24″ wheels, singlespeeds, geared bikes, 1×9, 2×9, 3×10, unicycles....one wheel is just an option in a long list of choices in cycling - of which almost all are outside the mainstream - and our reasons for riding are not always that different....In a way, our reaction to seeing a single wheel on a trail or video is a kind of reminder as to whether we remember this.
Cool to see you respond to this topic, Kris! I love both riding bikes as well as riding my (KH24) muni. Actually, the thing that pulled me towards riding the muni is that it is so accessible. It requires little maintenance, it is relatively cheap and it is easier to challenge yourself on pretty much anything around you. You can easily get that great feeling of performing on the limit of your abilities. The feeling of "wow, that almost went wrong". And when you crash, most of the time you won't even get injured and you won't damage your muni. Well, this might not be true for the extreme end like what's shown in the video. But that goes for most extreme ends of any sport. So well, in that respect it is really accessible. You can easily fit it in any car, go anywhere. And you're allowed on all the cool hiking trails that are prohibited for cyclists.
Sure, no one just climbs on a unicycle for the first time and rides away unassisted (except for that guy from Buthan in the Thunder Dragon video). Same goes for riding a bicycle or even for walking. But this never kept anyone from learning to ride a bike or learning how to walk, right? Still, you'll learn quickly. A week or two, half an hour practice a day and you're riding unassisted. Then maybe a few more years of practice, a lot of talent, determination and a some more and you'll be on the level shown in this video. Fall short of this goal and you'll still be having a bloody good time.
Kris, thanks for helping to bring this sport and gear to the level it is today. And thanks for your enthusiasm, you're an inspiration.
It is "f n hard" work. Mind-blowingly "f n hard." It's actually closer to trials riding than DH biking. Same sort of minset needed to enjoy, but very rewarding for those who stick with it.
Bonus: it's a much cheaper hobby than DH biking since there's nothing to break.
Unicyclists are a strange breed!! But these guys took it to the next level and nailed it! They almost made it look cool!! I bet it was heaps of fun though!
Nice =). Videos like this one are great exposure for our sport, but it's worth noting that they show a very small fraction of it. Imagine what you'd think of mountain biking if you'd only seen New World Disorder - if you've only seen videos you've never seen mountain unicycling, for the most part. Mountain unicycling might be small but the cross-section of riders is nearly as diverse as mountain biking - DH, XC, experts, beginners, kids, older riders.... To those who think it's difficult - I've never heard a mountain biker tell me they rode because it's easy...that's sort of the point. Small plug - if you want more info on the full spectrum of the sport, a book: tinyurl.com/8dsxn3a
Unicyclists don't face plant very often, in about 3 years of my mountain unicycling I once face planted riding uphill. I was just very tired and lost concentration for a second and fell onto my chin haha.
Yeah, I guess it's probably quite easy to get your feet out infront of you upper body. Either way, I think I'll stick with two wheels...ignoring the fact that I can't go 10cms on a uni.
There's flow, but it's tough to compare. Does trail running have flow? What about rock climbing? Whitewater kayaking? Better to define flow in terms of total focus, and with that mountain unicycling has flow in spades. In terms of difficulty, muni can be tough, or easy, or anything in between - no different than bikes. The kudos about difficulty are appreciated but its a stereotype that can also push riders away from a sport far more accessible than many mountain bikers think. It's not a theoretical argument: across all divisions the most recent World Unicycling Championships in Italy had about 2000 registered riders. Riding a bike is tough too - the only difference between muni and mountain biking is that most mountain bikers don't start riding from the perspective of not being able to even ride down the street.
Riding a unicycle on flat ground kind of defies logic to me--seeing someone take terrain like this on one is really humbling. Humans doing things that don’t even seem possible. I have nothing but oodles of respect for these riders.
I'm not sure about unicycling. Obviously it's hard and takes mad skill, but so does walking on your hands. It looks awkward, gangly, inelegant and absolutely no flow. Just doesn't look like fun.
Ive seen people riding unicycles in Upper Bidwell Park in Chico Ca. They were riding very steep technical terrain, I was blown away. Not something I would want to do, but mad respect to people who have the guts to push their limits like this in an esoteric sport.
Plus you get to hold your package the whole time.....bonus!
fuck me just when I thought I had seen it all... still a bit gobsmacked ....still think I'd stick to two wheels but def some skillz there... kudos to them
@maxram7: that's pretty normal. Normally you have to stick with for around 10 hours to ride more than a few feet. Just 8 more hours to go and you'll have it ;-)
Awesome video! I ride a geared 36er on the road and a KH29 on the local mountainbike trails. I've been unicycling three days a week for years and these two still amaze me. Very talented riders indeed!
It is easy to bash a unicyclist...But if you watch a Kris Holm vid you cannot bash him he is sick... I think unicycles have a place in street/trials type riding but big mountain....not so much... at least they do it because it is their passion and not popular unlike every little jean wearing dirt jumper that thinks they rule..
Thats nothing a coker is a 32" uni and there is a local guy here who rides his daily to from work gets around 6000 miles on it yearly. thats respect. He did the STP (Seattle to Portland) in 1 day.
That is just plain awesome! Seriously. That takes crazy brass balls to do that. Was really cool seeing how well they were ripping those trails. My favorite part is at the end where they're giving a high five and have to regain their balance. Kudos to them! That ain't easy.
Awesome vid. I remember seeing some unicyclists in Les Deux Alpes in summer 2011 riding some sick lines (most of which I'd already done on my DH bike). Huge respect! First unicycle I've seen with a disc brake instead of the "normal" hydraulic magura rim brake. And 24x3.0 Duro tyres just like I run on the rear of my DH bike!
Hey man, looks amazing! Nice that you also show the climbing bit. Not too many people are aware how difficult climbing on a unicycle actually is. Whereas on a bicycle you can just hammer on sections like these, on a unicycle if you for some reason get stuck because of a hole or a loose section where your wheel slipped, you often just fall forwards. Not to mention of course that you have to do with that single fixed gear (so you can't just backpedal if you've lost momentum and your pedals are in a dead spot).
Many of these sections are (nearly) impossible for mountainbikes. Bikes are too long and the handlebars are too wide to ride that close to a wall.
I don't care how skillful it is, unicycling will never be cool.
It's a bit like micro-scooters- Sure they seem impressive, and you may be able to backflip tailwhip a billion times, but at the end of the day they're still gay.
Scooters in skateparks are lame. Why? Because it takes ZERO talent to ride a scooter. Unicycles take more talent than you'll ever have. Even if you don't find it entertaining to watch, at least pay some respect.
Zero talent to do a backflip or some flair on a QP with a scooter, i'm not sure you know what you speak about. Even if, in my opinion, scooter is not fun to watch or to practice, i don't say it needs ZERO talent. You're the one who speak about respect and you're the one who say scooter riders got zero talent. And i don't care if i can't do that on an unicycle...
Totally agree with you speedfreek. Unicycles, scooters, and rollerblades are all in the same lame bucket. Not only do you look like an idiot if you're over 10 years old doing either, it also shames your parents and loses any respect society has given you beforehand.
I stand by my words, riding a scooter take zero talent. Think about it. Riding a bicycle take a little talent, because you need to learn a bit of balance just to get on the thing and ride around the parking lot. Riding a skateboard, again, takes a bit of talent, because there's quite a bit of balance involved. Certainly, your average Joe could not ride skateboard. But anyone, ANYONE, can get on a scooter and go, no problem, no balance, skill, or talent required. Backflips requiring talent? Not really. More so, they require a comittment to overcome fear. Although they look spectular (because they look death-defying) backflips actually aren't that difficult. Ever do a backflip on a trampoline? Okay, granted, a backflip on a scooter in a skatepark would be slight more difficult than doing a backflip on a trampoline, but the talent required is nothing in comparisson to accomplishing similar tricks on a bike or skateboard, because scooters are so naturally easy to ride.
And in regards to respect, I pay respect where respect is earned and deserved. With unicycling, although the sport does not appeal to me in the slightest, I respect that it must to incredibly difficult to master, particularly so in a downhill environment, and I therefore respect anyone who was able to master the sport. But scooters? Come on! They're a toy for kids either too scared or talentless to ride a skateboard, or whose parents can't afford to buy them a bike. All the time I'm watching kids in the skatepark, on there lame little scooters, thinking, "Now there goes a real badass". End of story.
You really can't say how hard an activity is without actually being in the shoes. Of course simply using the scooter as transportation takes zero talent yeah but using the scooter as a means of skill development is where practice and effort are involved. Would you say it takes zero talent to do road biking and xc biking because everyone can 'ride a bike'? Every sport requires dedication and talent 'If you want to be at the top in that sport'.
And so what, the unicycle deserves respect just because its hard? Deep throating a cock takes talent, taking a cock in the ass takes talent too
Every sport will require dedication and talent to be at the top level However whether a sport is cool or 'gay' simply depend on its image
Wow BikeTrials, great job making your point with the type of unrelated and vulgar argument that will get your account locked down. Always nice to see mature and intelligent debate from today's youth.
While I will consent that some degree of respect is earned by anyone who puts in the effort to become the best in their sport, the degree of respect earned will necessarily vary with the degree of difficulty of the sport, and the degree of competitiveness in the sport.
So, following your analogies, road racers earn respect not because riding a bike is difficult on its own, but because competiting in the Tour du France is extemely difficult (ie. distances, elevation gains, etc.), and also because the caliber of the competitors is all extremely high.
But I think it's just silly to attempt to compare the effort needed to learn to ride a scooter with that needed to ride a unicycle. There is no comparison. That's why there are so many kids at the skatepark on scooters, but no kids riding around on unicycles. It's not because one is "cool" and the other "lame" (which are just arbitrary, relativistic terms used to describe somethings popularity with the herd-mentality crowd), it's because one is extremely easy to get into, and the other extremely difficult.
I wouldn't have picked the same examples but BikeTrials is right. I agree with you that scooter is a toy but the fact is unicycle is also a toy. To finish the story, I just want to say that a lot of absurd stuff need talent, it's not because something is difficult that it's entertaining or spectacular or even fun to practice...
Bikes are toys too...Its ridiculous that people think this is "gay." Because it isn't what you do? Well I'm guessing not many of you get laid so I suppose that is gay too.
Whether an activity is cool or gay simply depend on its image. Unicycles are gay not because I don't do it, but because you constantly hit your balls then you have to grab the handle right in front of your balls to use brake, all while sitting at 90 degrees with fixed drive train so no flow
cool sports involve speed and big air. (I don't decide on this, general public does)
I do bike trials and I will admit that certain parts CAN be gay such as skin suits people wear during comps and excessive hopping. So I try to make trials aesthetically pleasing to public by reducing hops and adding more flow.
It's all about image in the sport and unicycles are simply gay. End of story
There is a reason Red bull sponsors downhill and trials riding but not this unicycle shit.
Holy homophobic! You need to put your hand near your balls so thats gay? Lol what the hell are you talking about. I hit my seat with my buts sometimes Downhill Racing so Downhill racing is gay? You are missing the meaning of gay I think.
And you say society decides it's gay...wut.
And this has more speed and flow then trials riding...
Haha wow... I thought my pops was a nerd for busting out the unicycle for my bday parties as a kid... Even with the euro techno music and the cool, edgy filming I couldn't help but laugh at these two!
Both Lutz and Stephanie are sponsored by Kris Holm where the sponsored riders are also co-sponsored by 5 ten, so my guess is that they prefer the shoes they are riding and hiking in
I'm by no means anywhere near the level of these people. But the funny thing is that people have the idea that it is a lot about balance. In a way it is obviously, but most of it is subconscious. You also balance a lot if you stand upright, also if you ride a bike. But it doesn't feel like you're balancing, right? Same goes for riding a unicycle. Sure, if you're riding a skinny or try to go really slow (or stand still) you've got the feeling that you need balance, as you would on a bicycle. But if you're just riding, you just aim and go.
At least that's my preception of it. Maybe that's also why I'm fast but crash a lot though...
You mean not free healthcare? 40-60% of their earnings go to taxes to pay for things like healthcare. That said, it may be less stressful knowing that you have prepaid!
When you mountain unicycle you don't sit down all the time, you stand up when you are doing drops and riding over rough terrain- Lutz is standing off the seat in a lot of the shots in this, you don't hurt your balls like most non unicyclist think you would...
I started riding MUni in 2008 (or actually, got my MUni and learned to ride it in the street first). My first daughter was born halfway 2010, the second early 2012.
Cparks, you've got such a funny statement, it just ended up in the wrong place. Try posting it in a topic where you see someone smoke a sigaret, where you see dirtjumpers in tight jeans, where you see a road cyclist ride with a high narrow saddle ride for several hours, several days in a row. Tell it to everyone who switches on the heated seats in a deluxe car. These are all things known to possibly cause malfunction down there. This is definitely not the case with mountain unicycling. You can duck on unicycle when you land. Unlike a bicycle with the seat up high, the unicycle simply tilts back. Also, you're pretty upright when you're riding unlike a mountainbike where you've already got your upper body bent forwards. So on a unicycle you can really lower your center of mass a lot if you're absorbing a hit. Finally, there is no upper tube or stem on a unicycle to crash into. If you crash, most of the cases you're completely free from your unicycle, you won't come entangled like you could on a bicycle.
Look at it like this. What if not the bicycle was the norm, but the unicycle was. What if someone shows up with a XC bike with these narrow tyres (a MUni typically comes with a 3" tyre), a narrow hard saddle and a construction that doesn't really tilt or give much upon impact. People would be making comments like yours. Of course we know it is fine as it is. You can have loads of fun on a mountainbike, even more so if you just lower the saddle. And it is not what keeps people from getting kids when they want to. And if mountainbiking doesn't, then mountain unicycling for sure doesn't either.
On a uni, the frame isn't supported by two points of contact (2 wheels). That means that sitting down too hard simply hinges the frame back or forward as far as you need it to. And the saddle is more padded than a bike saddle to start with. Best way to describe it: imagine if a roadie called out the mountain bikers for bruised balls off bumps and drops. It would be instantly obvious that they misunderstood the basic mechanics of riding a mountain bike. Same goes for a uni.
I feel all you people giving mad props for this video are being hypocrites. I can almost guarantee if you saw a dude on a unicycle riding your trail you would all think or comment on it with something similar to "lol, wtf is he doing?"
No Maveri, you're a moron. I have seen some one unicycling on my trails and though "cool, I wish I could do that." Maybe you're just jealous you know you will never have the skill to do that.
i'm completely fine with never having sweet unicycle skills. I'll leave that for all the clowns and people that think it's cool. At the end of the day, it's really not cool.
sick vid tho... guess Adolf did not know...
Supposedly owns Carbon Wilson with Fox 40's and RC4 Full Saint Build and Chromag components
*no photos/videos of riding or bikes.
Calls Uni-cycles and hard tails gay.
Yeah, you scream "beginner mountain biker."
Might want to open a history book... O wait... everything in this world is taught "evil germans". LMAO. Silly uneducated sheep. The majority of Germans during WW2 hated Hitler and hated everything about the Nazi party. Just because someone was German in WW2 didn't mean they were a Nazi, and just because someone then, and even today is a "Nationalist" doesn't mean they are Nazi's either. But then again, I guess being 21 and in Poland you really know your stuff. Poland had so much hated for the Nazi's after rolling over them, that even in modern day they are brainwashed into saying "bad BAD germans". Lmao.
The Nazi's bombed the living frack out of my family in Britain, but I don't go around saying it's the germans... they were all evil in those days. LMAO.
ww2 germans = the Wehrmacht (army) / luftwaffe (airforce) etc etc
very few were actually nazis, and few nazis actually fought. Those guys were SS.
The more you know
Now to the Polish taking any offence: Urodzilem sie w Polsce i bylem w Oswiecimiu kilkanascie razy. Nie jest to smieszne miejsce ale pelne zadumy i sam nierzadko sie tam poplakalem. Moj komentarz byl zartem- nie trzeba lubic zartow innych ludzi. Jesli cie urazilem moim zartem- przepraszam.
Now back to the main subject... Research before spreading? That is the end of it from me- thank you very much and goodnight!
for the people getting worried about my balls. its nice to hear that my private parts gain that much attention.
i am also a mountainbiker and so fare i didnt see a difference in comfort on bike seats compared to unicycle seats (probably because i unicycle mostly on terrain where i cant sit on my saddle).
Later, reach the top, as we get there, we see the unicyclist again. Now, he's hauling ass down a super steep part that normally a regular bike would have to slam the brakes on...we're are just blown out of our minds.
Now, we figured a normal bike should be able to descend much faster than a unicycle. Wrong. When we finally got back down to the base we packed up and started driving. We were a mile down the road back to home, when we see the unicyclist again. Seriously, at this point I was just like "Wtf."
This guy, beat us at climbing, hauled ass down even faster, and was already a mile ahead of us as we got home. Ever since then, I have the most respect for unicyclists....
I was a dedicated mountain unicyclist for three years while living in Phoenix. I have not reached that level of fitness again since switching to DH / freeride and more recently road (oh the horor!). I think the big differece is never being able to coast or rest ever while on the uni!
29ers, 26″ wheels, 650B, 24″ wheels, singlespeeds, geared bikes, 1×9, 2×9, 3×10, unicycles....one wheel is just an option in a long list of choices in cycling - of which almost all are outside the mainstream - and our reasons for riding are not always that different....In a way, our reaction to seeing a single wheel on a trail or video is a kind of reminder as to whether we remember this.
Sure, no one just climbs on a unicycle for the first time and rides away unassisted (except for that guy from Buthan in the Thunder Dragon video). Same goes for riding a bicycle or even for walking. But this never kept anyone from learning to ride a bike or learning how to walk, right? Still, you'll learn quickly. A week or two, half an hour practice a day and you're riding unassisted. Then maybe a few more years of practice, a lot of talent, determination and a some more and you'll be on the level shown in this video. Fall short of this goal and you'll still be having a bloody good time.
Kris, thanks for helping to bring this sport and gear to the level it is today. And thanks for your enthusiasm, you're an inspiration.
Bonus: it's a much cheaper hobby than DH biking since there's nothing to break.
I watched some kids unicycle down one of the DH courses we were racing on. It was quite amazing they killed it!
The kudos about difficulty are appreciated but its a stereotype that can also push riders away from a sport far more accessible than many mountain bikers think. It's not a theoretical argument: across all divisions the most recent World Unicycling Championships in Italy had about 2000 registered riders. Riding a bike is tough too - the only difference between muni and mountain biking is that most mountain bikers don't start riding from the perspective of not being able to even ride down the street.
congrats Lutz and Steffi for their adventure and the video, it's very cool!
Many of these sections are (nearly) impossible for mountainbikes. Bikes are too long and the handlebars are too wide to ride that close to a wall.
No?
A male prostitute who has been riding cocks for 10+ years will be very talented at riding dicks, but he is still gay.
A unicyclist who has been riding unicycles for 10+ years will be very talented at riding unicycles, but he is still gay.
..sorry i had to. still a cool sport.
I stand by my words, riding a scooter take zero talent. Think about it. Riding a bicycle take a little talent, because you need to learn a bit of balance just to get on the thing and ride around the parking lot. Riding a skateboard, again, takes a bit of talent, because there's quite a bit of balance involved. Certainly, your average Joe could not ride skateboard. But anyone, ANYONE, can get on a scooter and go, no problem, no balance, skill, or talent required. Backflips requiring talent? Not really. More so, they require a comittment to overcome fear. Although they look spectular (because they look death-defying) backflips actually aren't that difficult. Ever do a backflip on a trampoline? Okay, granted, a backflip on a scooter in a skatepark would be slight more difficult than doing a backflip on a trampoline, but the talent required is nothing in comparisson to accomplishing similar tricks on a bike or skateboard, because scooters are so naturally easy to ride.
And in regards to respect, I pay respect where respect is earned and deserved. With unicycling, although the sport does not appeal to me in the slightest, I respect that it must to incredibly difficult to master, particularly so in a downhill environment, and I therefore respect anyone who was able to master the sport. But scooters? Come on! They're a toy for kids either too scared or talentless to ride a skateboard, or whose parents can't afford to buy them a bike. All the time I'm watching kids in the skatepark, on there lame little scooters, thinking, "Now there goes a real badass". End of story.
Of course simply using the scooter as transportation takes zero talent yeah but using the scooter as a means of skill development is where practice and effort are involved.
Would you say it takes zero talent to do road biking and xc biking because everyone can 'ride a bike'?
Every sport requires dedication and talent 'If you want to be at the top in that sport'.
And so what, the unicycle deserves respect just because its hard?
Deep throating a cock takes talent, taking a cock in the ass takes talent too
Every sport will require dedication and talent to be at the top level
However whether a sport is cool or 'gay' simply depend on its image
While I will consent that some degree of respect is earned by anyone who puts in the effort to become the best in their sport, the degree of respect earned will necessarily vary with the degree of difficulty of the sport, and the degree of competitiveness in the sport.
So, following your analogies, road racers earn respect not because riding a bike is difficult on its own, but because competiting in the Tour du France is extemely difficult (ie. distances, elevation gains, etc.), and also because the caliber of the competitors is all extremely high.
But I think it's just silly to attempt to compare the effort needed to learn to ride a scooter with that needed to ride a unicycle. There is no comparison. That's why there are so many kids at the skatepark on scooters, but no kids riding around on unicycles. It's not because one is "cool" and the other "lame" (which are just arbitrary, relativistic terms used to describe somethings popularity with the herd-mentality crowd), it's because one is extremely easy to get into, and the other extremely difficult.
Whether an activity is cool or gay simply depend on its image.
Unicycles are gay not because I don't do it, but because you constantly hit your balls then you have to grab the handle right in front of your balls to use brake, all while sitting at 90 degrees with fixed drive train so no flow
cool sports involve speed and big air. (I don't decide on this, general public does)
I do bike trials and I will admit that certain parts CAN be gay such as skin suits people wear during comps and excessive hopping. So I try to make trials aesthetically pleasing to public by reducing hops and adding more flow.
It's all about image in the sport and unicycles are simply gay. End of story
There is a reason Red bull sponsors downhill and trials riding but not this unicycle shit.
Let me know if you do not understand this
And you say society decides it's gay...wut.
And this has more speed and flow then trials riding...
At least that's my preception of it. Maybe that's also why I'm fast but crash a lot though...
Cparks, you've got such a funny statement, it just ended up in the wrong place. Try posting it in a topic where you see someone smoke a sigaret, where you see dirtjumpers in tight jeans, where you see a road cyclist ride with a high narrow saddle ride for several hours, several days in a row. Tell it to everyone who switches on the heated seats in a deluxe car. These are all things known to possibly cause malfunction down there. This is definitely not the case with mountain unicycling. You can duck on unicycle when you land. Unlike a bicycle with the seat up high, the unicycle simply tilts back. Also, you're pretty upright when you're riding unlike a mountainbike where you've already got your upper body bent forwards. So on a unicycle you can really lower your center of mass a lot if you're absorbing a hit. Finally, there is no upper tube or stem on a unicycle to crash into. If you crash, most of the cases you're completely free from your unicycle, you won't come entangled like you could on a bicycle.
Look at it like this. What if not the bicycle was the norm, but the unicycle was. What if someone shows up with a XC bike with these narrow tyres (a MUni typically comes with a 3" tyre), a narrow hard saddle and a construction that doesn't really tilt or give much upon impact. People would be making comments like yours. Of course we know it is fine as it is. You can have loads of fun on a mountainbike, even more so if you just lower the saddle. And it is not what keeps people from getting kids when they want to. And if mountainbiking doesn't, then mountain unicycling for sure doesn't either.