Paul> Hi there, folks,
Paul> So I've had my Pashley uni for over a year now.
You poor individual. At least its lasting better than usual tho'.
Paul> Here's the question: what do I look for in a giraffe? What's a
Paul> reasonable price for a well-made 6'? I was looking at the More
Paul> Balls Than Most catalogue, and they've got a 6' DM ("very high
Paul> quality giraffe") for 295lbs. Is this about right?
I bought a 6' sem three weeks ago at 250 squid. Its single chain vs. the
double of the DM, but the frame seems more rigily built and there is no
noticable flex in it. That was from the Mushy Pea stand at the Brum
convention, and was cheaper than you might otherwise get I think. I dont know
what the Sem stand was selling the same for. If you want a cheap sem, you
might consider waiting till the European juggling convention (September in
Leeds?) where Sem are likly to have a stand selling at good prices. (I got my
normal sem trainer at the Coventry convention for 95. I think that was a good
price a year ago.) I'd be surprised if MBTM were the cheapest around, and the
other outlets are more likly to give discounts for being a really nice person
(you are arnt you?). Besides, the small outlets rip people off less so need
the trade more. (Yes, I'm biased.)
You could go for the 5-8' convertible at ~45 brown beer tokens.
Paul> MBTM also rekon that they're easier than standard unis, but how do
Paul> you get on them?
Every thing feels slower and less hard work. They are more stable, but you
have to get used to them so you stop over compensating (IMHO).
Paul> I always thought you had to climb, but when the
Paul> "Junior Freestyle Mount" was described here a week ago, we were
Paul> told to "hold it out front, like a giraffe". Is this the start
Paul> of the "official" giraffe mount?
I know of two mounts....
Hold the Uni upright infront of you by the fromt of the saddle, with your
favoured pedal down. (That said, I prefer rocking left foot down, but mount a
Giraffe right foot down....!). Then one foot on the wheel, one on the bottom
pedal, and on up. If you have a short giraffe or long legs, you can miss out
the wheel and just go straight to the bottom pedal. It needs to be a nice
fluid movement, pretty fast. The main thing seems to be believing its not
going to land you in intensive care, and not to have the saddle too high.
By the way, Ive only managed this a handful of times so far but its early
days yet. I may be way out of line on the suggestions. Typical engineer...
talking about that which I know not.
The more adventurous (stupid?) mount involves holding the uni out in front of
you, saddle near groin, while you run along at an appropriate point jam your
foot onto a pedal near bottom dead center. This should lock the wheel (dosnt
work on slippery surfaces) which turns the mount into a form of pole
vaulting, taking your weight on the saddle. I dont really like to think about
this too much, but it does feel as if it should work OK, and it looks quite
impressive. Sem junior claims its easier, but he would.
Rik ... richard@prl.philips.co.uk All comments are given in good faith and
suggestions are believed to be possible unless otherwise marked. However, I'm
not stupid enough to try everything I hear about, so I hope you arnt either.