After my unlimited 24-hour unicycle world record was broken last year, I was looking for a new challenge.
The evolution of unicycling records has a lot to do with technological advances, particularly increases in gear ratios. The first documented 24-hour record was 279 km, set by Stefan Gauler in 1991 on a 26″ unicycle with 130mm cranks. I consider this one of the most impressive endurance feats ever achieved on a unicycle.
Standard Class vs Unlimited Class
Subsequent records were set on ungeared 36″ unicycles, including my own records in February 2005 and January 2025. Then, in August 2025, Timo Hirschman broke my record on a geared 36″, riding an incredible 526 km.
I wanted a record that could be meaningfully compared over time, which is where the standard class comes in. In unicycle racing, the standard class sets a maximum wheel size, with no gears allowed. That means riders are competing on broadly similar equipment. On the other hand, unlimited class allows you to use any wheel size, crank length and gearing.
Although we don’t have a 36″ standard category, this was the reason I chose an ungeared 36″ rather than a geared one for my 24-hour attempt last year. I wanted to be able to compare it with Sam Wakeling’s 2007 record and my own 2005 record, both set on ungeared 36″ unicycles.
The standard class for long-distance unicycle road racing is the 29″ unicycle. Crank length can vary, but the wheel size is limited to 29″. The IUF has recently agreed to certify 29″ standard-class records, so this became my new challenge: to establish a benchmark for the 29″ standard 24-hour record.
Of course, it isn’t a record just because it’s a new category. I still had to beat Stefan Gauler’s 1991 distance of 279 km. His 26″ unicycle falls within the 29″ wheel-size limit, so in a sense the record takes us all the way back to 1991. At least I had the luxury of a slightly larger wheel.
But I didn’t just want to beat it, I wanted to push the record over 400km.
My target was 455 km, the unlimited record I had set the previous year on an ungeared 36″. I thought this was realistic despite the smaller wheel because the 400 m athletic track at Unicon would be much faster than the track I had used at Newlands Intermediate. The Newlands track had an incline and a couple of sharp turns that scrubbed off speed every lap.
The 29″ standard unicycle is also what I ride most days, what I tour on, and what I’ve raced at Unicon for the past 12 years. I felt much more at home on it.
And there was another advantage: at Unicon, the timing system and athletic track were already in place, along with plenty of support and volunteers to keep us going. The only real unknowns were the track conditions, lighting and weather on the day.
My record partner
I spoke to Lisanne Boer, from the Netherlands, who had set the women’s 24-hour record in June 2025 with a 416 km ride on an ungeared 36″. Her record only stood for two months, before it was broken in Aug 2025 by Lena Freimouth of Germany with a 424 km ride on a geared 29″.
We were both keen to set new world records, so we started talking to the Unicon organisers. They were happy for us to make the attempts at the end of the convention.
The great thing about Unicon is having so many people around who are willing to help.
My wife Anna, and our three kids — Gryffin (7), Anthea (5) and Rupert (2) — were there to support me again. Josef Hager, who had ridden with us on the Cambodia Unicycle Tour, lives nearby and supplied us with a tent and chiller bins. The Unicon organisers provided lights for the night, while their timing manager, Markus from TimeDotNet, handled the chip timing. We also had plenty of volunteers to feed us, hose us down, and help us mount the unicycle when we could barely stand. Thank you all so much!
The equipment
Austria was in the middle of a heatwave, and I was as anxious about the heat as I had been about the wind during my previous 24 record attempts.
Fortunately, the forecast was for a maximum of 29°C, down from the high 30s the day before. Still warmer than ideal, but manageable.
I brought two 29″ unicycles with me. IUF rules allow you to swap to another unicycle if your first one is damaged and becomes unrideable. Even on a smooth track, there is always the risk of a puncture or a crash damaging the equipment.
I decided to race my older race wheel rather than the one I’d been using for racing recently. It had a Schwalbe One tyre, which has very low rolling resistance, and was a larger tyre than the Terra Hardpack I had used for the Unicon Marathon.
Here’s the setup:
Frame: Triton Sponge frame, 2008
Handle/saddle: Mad4One long-handle saddle with Ursli bar extension and aero-bar modifications — the same setup used for my unlimited 36″ 24-hour record attempts in 2024 and 2025
Seatpost: Thompson seatpost with angle adjustment
Hub: Nimbus Eclipse, 92 mm
Rim: HPlusSon Archetype 700c
Inner tube: TPU
Tyre: Schwalbe One Evo Snakeskin, 29 × 2.35″
Pedals: AEST titanium
Cranks: Nimbus Venture, 75 mm
Lisanne would use the outer two lanes of the six-lane track, while I would use the inner two. We put up barriers and tape to block off the middle lanes, as required by the IUF. That prevented us from drafting off each other.
24 Hour Countdown!
I had been really nervous before my previous 24-hour attempts. This time was different. It felt more like I was getting ready for a long day ride than attempting a world record.
Perhaps having someone else riding alongside me took the pressure off. I looked at Lisanne, all confident and determined as we lined up at the start…yeah, this is a good boost for me!
Ready, set, go! We started at just after 10am on the 6th August 2026, and would keep going until just after 10am on the 7th August!
I mounted and started lapping consistently at more than 23 km/h, with very little effort.
I can sustain this!
Except… I quickly realised the setup wasn’t quite right.
The unicycle felt twitchy, and I was constantly falling off the back. Although I was using the same handlebar setup as my previous 24-hour record, I’d opted for an adjustable seatpost this time and had angled the seat higher.
It felt good for the first few laps.
Then it didn’t.
I was maintaining a good speed, but it took a lot of effort to control the unicycle. The peroneal tendons in my right foot started aching from constantly trying to maintain my balance.
Then it started getting hotter and hotter.
We managed to get a hose extension, and the support volunteers blasted me with water every few laps to keep me cool. I kept drinking plenty of fluids- Powerade and chocolate milk every hour.
Despite this, things were getting really uncomfortable. I couldn’t relax. Instead of spinning effortlessly, I was fighting the unicycle for several hours.
I found out later that I looked so stiff and terrible that the supporters didn’t think I’d last 24 hours.
First stop, 100km world record
I held on until the 100 km mark before dismounting. I had set the standard-class 100 km record in 4:26:03, an average speed of 22.38 km/h, so that’s the first thing ticked off. However, a dedicated attempt should get that closer to four hours.
I tilted the seat down.
I did a few more laps.
Then I tilted it down again.
Much better!
My foot was still aching, but at least it wasn’t getting worse.
Lisanne was going strong and started lapping me on her geared 32″. I didn’t see her stop once, although apparently she’d taken on a little too much Powerade and vomited.
Okay, the heat is getting to us.
100 mile record
The poor setup had cost me, so I decided to take my time recovering rather than push hard on the 100-mile record.
I crossed 403 laps — 161.2 km, or 100.17 miles — in 8:06:38.
Not terrible, but I’ll have to do that one again another time!
The temperature started to drop as darkness fell. Yay!
Until the wind suddenly picked up.
Then we saw flashes of lightning in the distance.
Uh oh,,,,
Both Lisanne and I were blown off our unicycles before the rain arrived. At that point I decided it wasn’t safe to continue, so I took a long break to eat, rest and reassess.
My preparation for the attempt hadn’t been great. I’d been feeling unusually sleepy, and it wasn’t even past my bedtime! I hadn’t slept well in Austria during the preceding nights because of the heat.
So I took a short nap.
When I woke up, Lisanne was back on the unicycle, riding through the rain.
The wind had stopped, so there were no excuses to lie around any longer.
This is embarrassing.
I got back on and started pushing through the night.
It was wet, dark and actually a little cold now. I was trying hard not to get struck by lightning, but Lisanne insisted it was ‘quite’ far away.
Okay…she’s taller than me. It will probably hit her first
Into the night…
The organisers had arranged spotlights for the sections of the track that weren’t covered by the main stadium lighting. There were a couple of dark spots, but the track was so smooth and predictable that I decided not to use my own unicycle lights.
My lap times were dropping, mostly because I was sleepy rather than physically fatigued. I took a few more breaks and had several 10-minute power naps through the night.
I passed the 300 km mark just before 18 hours, comfortably exceeding Stefan Gauler’s 1991 record.
That meant I had six hours to push the distance as high as I could.
My legs were feeling pretty good as daylight broke, so I started pushing harder, hoping to reach 400 km.
I was surprised to find that I could still maintain 20–22 km/h, but I had to stop for a couple more power naps before dawn.
This was very different from my unlimited 24hr record attempt, when my speed had fallen to around 15–16 km/h by this stage, but I had no trouble with sleepiness.
The lightweight 29″ unicycle and smooth track made a huge difference. It felt like the unicycle was pedalling itself, compared to the heavier 36″ and sloping track I used last year.
Final push!
My kids were up and cheering me on. Gryffin and Anthea were scootering on the side of the track as I went past.
Anna had brought my morning coffee, which I sculled down before getting straight back on the unicycle.
It was going to be close.
The supporters were cheering us as I picked up the pace. I started lapping Lisanne, although it is worth remembering that she was riding the outer lanes, where each lap was 430 m rather than my 400 m.
I felt good.
Lisanne had broken the women’s record just as daylight broke, but then had to swap from her 32″ geared unicycle to a 36″ ungeared unicycle because of a slow tyre leak.
Unfortunately, I’d taken a few too many naps during the night.
I knocked off the final few laps and completed 991 laps before the 24 hours was up — a total of 396.4 km, about nine laps short of 400 km.
Lisanne Boer had smashed the women’s unlimited 24hr record, pushing it to 464.117km! An incredible ride- she was consistently strong throughout the 24hrs- and motivated me to keep going when I started slacking off!
The IUF calculates the final distance based on the time of the first lap completed after the 24-hour period, so my official distance is 396.517 km.
Not quite the 455 km I’d been aiming for. More annoyingly, just shy of the 400km mark!
Not a bad effort though, and surpasses the 378.7km I did back in 2005, in my 20s, on a 36″ unicycle!
My Strava data shows my total riding time was 21hrs 37min. There’s probably at least an hour and a half of unnecessary napping in there. With better preparation I think the 29″ standard-class 24-hour record could be pushed to the mid-to-high 400s.
Perhaps I’ll have another go at the next Unicon!
Here are the stats and updates during the record attempt:
