Increasing the Maximum Wheel Size
Comments about this discussion:
Started
Hallo together,
Since the first online available IUF rulebook from 1998, the maximum wheel size for track races has been set at 24 inches. More than 25 years have passed since then, and significant advancements in both technology and athletic performance have occurred. Therefore, I would like to discuss with you whether it might be time to update this limitation by increasing the maximum wheel size from the current 24 inches to 26 or even 29 inches.
Advantages of increasing the wheel size:
1. Technical advancement: Larger wheels have become more technically refined, offering new opportunities in terms of speed and ride comfort.
2. Increased attractiveness of competitions: Higher speeds could lead to more exciting races and potentially attract larger audiences.
3. Contemporary alignment: Other unicycling disciplines (such as cross-country or long-distance races) already utilize larger wheel sizes, making such a change a consistent and logical development for track events.
Disadvantages of increasing the wheel size:
1. Cost for athletes: An increase in the maximum wheel size could require many athletes to purchase new unicycles to remain competitive, posing a particular challenge for younger or financially constrained riders.
2. Reduced comparability: Historical results and records may become less comparable following this change.
I do not see an increased risk of injury with this change, as competitions with 29-inch wheels are already common in other disciplines, where these larger wheel sizes are fully utilized.
I'm very interested in your opinions:
- Should the maximum wheel size be increased, and if so, which size (26 or 29 inches) do you find more appropriate?
- What experiences have you already had with larger wheel sizes?
- Do you see additional advantages or disadvantages that we have not yet considered?
I look forward to hearing your views and engaging in a lively discussion on this exciting topic!
Comment
This discussion was already held a few years ago in the Rulebook Committee and the result was that an increase in the permitted wheel size for track races did not really make sense (https://iuf-rulebook-2016.committees.unicycling-software.com/discussions/26).
I still have this opinion now, almost 10 years after the last big discussion.
We should also ask ourselves the question: Are we solving any problems by changing the maximum wheel diameter? The argument for bigger wheels has been (and still is here) mainly that riders can go faster, but I don't see that as a solution to a problem.
My comments to the mentioned advantages of increasing the wheel size:
1. Technical advancement: I don't see that there is a problem with riding comfort in the short track races (compared to other disciplines), which we would have to solve through technical development. This may be an advantage for races over longer distances, but I don't see any advantage here in track racing. The unicycles we currently use work well for track races.
2. Increased attractiveness of competitions: I go to so many different unicycling events every year and there are practically always only those spectators who have a connection to the participants or at least the sport anyway - bigger bikes won't change that. So I'm pretty sure that the audience size won't change if we change the wheel sizes.
3. Contemporary alignment: Other areas have no standardization in some cases (e.g. Muni), so there will never be any real standardization anyway. I would also see complete standardization as a disadvantage, because not everyone prefers the same thing. The different disciplines currently offer different options. Someone who prefers to ride with a very high cadence will prefer track racing or the 10km road race on a 24 class unicycle, someone who is more comfortable with a low cadence but more power will prefer an unlimited road race. So everyone currently has the opportunity to find something that suits their preferences.
All in all, for me the only argument in favor of increasing the wheel size is “you can ride faster on them” - but is this really strong enough to overcome the disadvantages? And do we solving any problems with increasing the wheel size?
In addition to the arguments already mentioned, I see a whole range of other arguments against increasing the wheel size:
- A larger unicycle doesn't make sense in all track disciplines - wheel walk and the IUF slalom won't make sense on a 29” unicycle, so athletes will need additional unicycles because not everything can be done on one unicycle.
- It makes transporting the unicycles much more difficult. Traveling to competitions is much easier if the unicycles are smaller, the bigger the unicycles get the more difficult the logistics of traveling become. If even more unicycles have to be taken along because different unicycles are needed for different track competitions, then the problem becomes even greater.
- When switching from U11 (20 wheel class) to U13, not all riders may be able to fit on a 29 class unicycle. This will put those who cannot ride a 29 class unicycle at a significant disadvantage in the U13 and we may lose further participants in track racing, a field that is currently not particularly large anyway.
- Not all riders will want to buy new unicycles - for the vast majority of track racers, a 24 class unicycle will be the biggest unicycle they currently have: So they would have to buy new unicycles if they want to continue competing meaningfully. We would lose all those who do not want to buy new unicycles as participants in the track races. Given that the number of participants is not too high anyway, this could mean that some competitions would not be able to take place any more.
> I do not see an increased risk of injury with this change, as competitions with 29-inch wheels are already common in other disciplines, where these larger wheel sizes are fully utilized.
Comment
First of all, thank you to Jan for the detailed summary, which also reflects the results of the discussion held almost 10 years ago.
My intention with this new discussion is not to push for an immediate change but rather to get an updated sense of the current sentiment within the community.
The previous discussion is now almost a decade old, and a lot has changed in bicycle technology and equipment since then. In the broader cycling world, 28" or 27.5" wheels have become standard – 24" wheels are hardly seen anymore. From my perspective, the current limit of 24" no longer feels up to date.
I also know several unicyclists who stopped participating in racing because riding on a 24" wheel was no longer enjoyable for them compared to other wheel sizes.
For external spectators, races sometimes appear less dynamic – especially when runners are faster than unicyclists. This can make the competitions seem less exciting for viewers who are not deeply connected to the sport.
Of course, I fully understand the arguments for maintaining the 24" limit:
There are strong points concerning youth development, equipment costs, discipline diversity, and travel logistics that call for caution when considering any changes.
Therefore, my suggestion would be:
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To organize test races where it is explicitly announced that unlimited wheels (i.e., any size) can be used.
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To ensure that this information is clearly communicated so that even athletes who may not currently be actively following race announcements are made aware.
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Based on these experiences and feedback, we could later decide together whether and how a rule change might make sense.
I am not advocating for a quick decision, but rather for an open evaluation of where we currently stand and whether there may now be new needs.
I look forward to hearing more opinions on this!
Comment
> To organize test races where it is explicitly announced that unlimited wheels (i.e., any size) can be used.
In the past, there have been various events, including different Unicons, where track races were offered in the unlimited category - however, they were never really embraced by the participants. Just last weekend, for example, there was a event in Germany where all races (including the 50m one foot and 30m wheel walk!) were also advertised as unlimited races - only one man and one woman registered for unlimited, and that was only for the 400m and 800m. In the end, both decided to ride standard instead of going alone in unlimited.
Overall, I simply do not see a desire among the overwhelming majority of riders to use a larger wheel. As I said, most track riders do not even own anything larger. Considering that larger wheels are not suitable for all disciplines, I also don't see a practical advantage for athletes to bring more different unicycles to a track event for riding individual disciplines on even more specialized unicycles.
Comment
Dear all,
Thank you very much for this detailed discussion — I fully support all the points raised by Jan Vocke (I couldn’t have summarized it any better).
I would just like to add one thing from a rider’s point of view:
Currently, the maximum speed for a 100m unicycle race lies between 28–30 km/h (17.4–18.6 mph). Most people cannot reach this speed when sprinting "on foot". Increasing race speeds — for example, by using larger wheels or shorter cranks — would significantly raise the risk of serious injuries. In the event of a dismount, riders would often be unable to "run out" their momentum and would instead fall hard to the ground.
We must also consider that riders are typically separated only by narrow lanes. A crash could easily occur if one rider's unicycle falls into another lane, causing chain reactions. The following rider would likely not be able to dismount and run at the same speed, leading to further crashes.
Especially in a sport like ours, where many participants are not "professional" athletes and are not capable of running faster than 30 km/h, I strongly disagree with the idea of making track races faster — particularly since all riders start and compete closely side by side (as compared to muni / road races).
I hope this addition helps illustrate that our races are already impressively fast as they are. :)
Cheers,
Lisa Hanny
Comment
I completely agree with Jan and Lisa.
Furthermore I can say, that a couple of years ago (for example at the European Championships in Mondovi 2025, at the World Championships in Langenthal 2006, 2008 in Denmark or in Brixen 2012) there were also held track disciplines (100m, 1500m) unlimited. The interess of the competitors was always very small and I think that this is also a reason why it wasn't established.
Comment
Hello fellow (and/or former) really fast riders! Yes there is some history of attempts at larger wheel sizes for Track, and so far, all have fizzled. The earliest one I'm aware of was tried at Unicon 12 (Tokyo) in 2004, where we introduced a 700c category. The idea was to "evolve" Track racing with the evolution of wheel sizes people were using outside of unicycle competition. 700c, being based on a rim size, was not a specific wheel size limit. The one race that was shoehorned into the tight schedule was for 1500m, and was held after dark (busy day!) and if I remember correctly there was only one heat, I think all male. I could probably dig up the details if needed. That race was considered interesting, and at least one 700c race was held at Unicon 13 (Langenthal, Switzerland) but it was still seen as a novelty.
Before that wheel size was tried, most of our Unicon activities were limited to 20" and 24", for Track racing, and until Coker brought us 36" unicycles and George Peck turned us on to Muni, people were still on 20 and 24 for nearly everything else except Freestyle, where any unicycle can be used. Before the "unicycle market" became a thing, with companies like Unicycle.com and others, unicycling was more basic. 20 and 24 were the wheel sizes for vast majority of unicyclists on Earth, and competition events were designed accordingly. Track is an event that is presented at most unicycle competition events that's the most open to everyone, since those wheel sizes are (were) the common denominator for almost anyone. And they're easier to travel with.
Another major upside to 24" racing is that the top speed people can pedal with 125mm cranks is generally "slow" enough that riders are able to run out of a dismount in sprint races. I believe Track racing still consumes the majority of available awards at most large unicycle competitions, and keeping it open to off-the-shelf unicycles makes it accessible to newcomers. While crashes happen, keeping the speed relatively low reduces the overall quantity of injuries. People seem to like having those "entry level" events not putting the riders in situations that can result in greater injuries if they're just a little faster.
I think this is why there hasn't been a larger interest on faster racing on the Track. Also I learned, way back in early Unicon days, that riding Big Wheels on an athletics track is a completely new skill. Managing a 40" Unicycle Factory Big Wheel around the curves, and especially transitioning to going straight at the end of the curves, takes a ton of practice and would lead to very nasty crashes if we did it on larger wheels, which is why 700c was tried when it was; having people bring larger wheels to a track and race on it with no prior experience could result in a lot of bad crashes, with injuries, especially around where the straights meet the curves. That is my theory, and my argument for being very careful with larger wheel sizes on the Track.
Comment
Thank you John for the historical perspective and a non-European view. So far the feedback has all been from German-speaking countries and I think it's always good to get as broad a spectrum of feedback as possible - so I would also ask the other members of the committee to briefly share their views on the topic here.