Unicycle Redemption in Palos - Gravity Cavity, Ho Chi Minh & a Blown Tire | Willow Springs, IL

This weekend I went to Boston, MA to see some friends and decided to take my unicycle with me. The Greater Boston area has a lot of trails that I used to ride mountain biking but I really wanted to take my unicycle there.
Instead, I got a tube puncture within 15 minutes of being out there and could not patch it. Some friendly bikers lent me a patch kit but there were TWO holes in the tube, not just one.
I'm still salty I left my spare tube at home.
Anyway, I ended up carving out some time on my way back to at least do a local trail system while I'm still in Chicago. Palos is the largest and probably best trail system in the Greater Chicago area.
I realized last year I really got my butt handed to me by a couple different features here, namely ones on Gravity Cavity and One Day. Since both were in a small loop from the parking lot, I thought I'd take my unicycle out to at least get a small win for the weekend.
But a blown tire required me to go back to the car and deal with the issue since I wasn't going to hand pump the tire back on. My tube troubles continue.
I ended up also finishing with Ho Chi Minh and providing some tips to get uphill on a mountain unicycle. So this video has everything - success, failure, and complete fatigue. Enjoy!
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First time at Gravity Cavity - • Taking a Unicycle on a...
First time at One day - • Mountain Unicycling - ...
Grand Rapids Bike Park - • Jumping Gaps on a Unic...
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Instagram - / thehobodan
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[@ryanprasad2090]

Dan, you are cray cray. I think all that strength work pays off when you take the falls and don't get injured.

[@HoboDan]

Thanks, Ryan! I'll take cray cray definitely as a compliment haha. I mean, I have a lot of small nagging issues that I'm just waiting to subside but they're all taking their sweet time. To your point, probably could be worse though.

[@derekmcdaniel6029]

as a novice rider(5-6 months) who just learned free mounting, your videos are an inspiration. Thanks for sharing!

[@HoboDan]

I’m so glad! And free mounting is no joke. Keep at it big man 🔥🔥

[@chadkopelowitz5642]

When that inner tube busted out it looked like your unicycle had a hernia lol

[@HoboDan]

You’re right! It was a herniated tube. 🤣

[@jan3195]

Great video, Dan! Another in a long line of them.

[@HoboDan]

Much appreciated! Thank you!

[@szymjak]

I had same tire problem on mine 19" street set-up as far as could check it's because tires edge eroded (due to heat and jumping) so it's just a bit bigger than it should. In mine case this failure happened couple of times I just repleaced the tire. Probably landing a jump with your wheel perpendicular to riding direction started this issue.
I spoked about tires with couple of riders and generally fat tires are not preferred for jumping because when your tire is wider then the rim it feel stiff on flat ground but it's soft on uneven surface, common problem is to adjust tire pressure so it would be a bit bouncy and able to land a jump on smth like root or stone. I would recommend smth beetween 3.0"-2.6" tire for your riding style. Generally it's good to try riding on couple different tires get the idea. I started with WTB (smth) 3.0" with round profile, i didn't liked that, now i'm riding on 3.0 maxiss high roller but as i get better with drops i'm considering 2.8-2.6

[@HoboDan]

Thanks for the insight! I’ve definitely landed sideways before so yeah, I wonder if the integrity of my tire beads have been compromised. I’ll do some research

[@GuineaPigCageCompany]

Glad to see the knee and elbow pads, Dan..... No gloves?

[@HoboDan]

Haha! I do have wrist guards. And I honestly should have worn them. Next time. 🙏

[@djwhiteflour]

Weird man, I wonder if it has something to do with the tire size or bead. Looks like a typical Nimbus and tire for said Nimbus though. I have been less than impressed with their build quality or engineering myself, so much so that I went and bought a mad4one just to be able to ride when it breaks or the other way around.

[@HoboDan]

Has a blow out happened in mad4one? On unicycle.com in the USA I’m only seeing Nimbus and Kris Holm munis available… but now that you mention it, I’m wondering if it truly is the brand. Where did you get mad4one?

[@djwhiteflour]

Straight from Italy, shipping was kinda expensive, but I thought the price was reasonable. I really was hooked on the flik-flok hub design, but didn’t quite realize that it will take a lot of work to learn to use it properly. I am very much a beginner.

[@djwhiteflour]

Not sure about their quality, just a fair bit of buyers remorse after all the problems with my Nimbus Hatchet thus far.

[@HoboDan]

@@djwhiteflour That’s totally fair. Appreciate the insight. I’m sorry about the Hachett. We all live and learn, I suppose. I’m wondering the quality of Kris Holm unicycles - I’ve only heard fantastic things.

[@djwhiteflour]

Same, I was considering it, maybe someday I will get one with a custom freewheel hub. If it turns out to be something I love like it seems to be.