AmaOneTya

So a mate of mine who is an avid runner speculated that running between 2 points would be quicker and more efficient than unicycling. I argued that anything larger than a 24 would be the better bet but I'm not 100% sure. So, what wheel size over a given distance would be more efficient than running? Lets assume that the route is flat and that there are no stairs to climb or anything which would favour running. If we take the Argus as a yardstick and use the time of the unicyclist which achieved the average across te field, what time would a marathon runner typically do over a similar distance?

I'm curious

I would say Unicycling is much less effort.
If I have to pin it on a wheel size as an equivalent, I'd say a 20''.
This is provided that you can ride well and economically. When I started out, doing 1km would kill be, but with time, riding becomes much less of an effort.

On straights or slight downhills, uni is not really any effort, and you don't have to carry your weight like when running.
On steep uphills, sand or technical terrain, running is less effort.
I've ran over 100 races of 10km - 56km, and did about 15 cycling events (uni and MT. I'm slow at both though - just going for the finish in time.

I met some guys doing some training for the Comrades last year while I was out on a ride. On my 29er, without overly pushing myself, I was able to keep up quite easily. Not sure I have the endurance to keep up for 100km though, and we parted after a few km.

So, anyone who can do the distance on a 36er would likely be faster than at least those guys.

mtb wrote:
I met some guys doing some training for the Comrades last year while I was out on a ride. On my 29er, without overly pushing myself, I was able to keep up quite easily. Not sure I have the endurance to keep up for 100km though, and we parted after a few km.

So, anyone who can do the distance on a 36er would likely be faster than at least those guys.

Well, if the runners can at least be matched then I choose the uni. No joint impact and much more fun.