help for someone new

[rebeljohn747]

i know there's a million of these out there, i've seen some of the other posts so i'll try to be as specific as i can right off the bat.

first off the unicycle i'm looking at is a Sun 24" Flat Top Street Unicycle. i've never ridden before. i'm planning on just riding around with it i highly doubt i'll ever get around to doing trials. i figured the 24" would be small enough to give me some control while also being large enough to not be a pain to get around on.

what do you say? i'm very open to suggestions.

[LoneReaction]

It is a good choice. I'm only about 162cm/5'3", and learned on a 24" as well. It's much better than the 20" for riding distance.

[4umfreak]

What's your height and weight? It might matter if you're a big dude/dudette.

The Sun isn't known for being the strongest unicycle but it should be fine if you're a light rider and only want to ride around the neighbourhood.

[Dartmech]

I learned on a 26" torker. Cheap and held up for the abuse your first will take. Also the bigger wheel likes to keep rolling once you get it going. I learned pretty quickly, about 2 weeks for a trip down the parking lot.

[aracer]

I agree with others that it's a good choice for your intended use. However...

Originally Posted by rebeljohn747

i'm planning on just riding around with it i highly doubt i'll ever get around to doing trials.

I thought when I started that I'd just do a bit of riding around (to be honest I don't think I'd even heard of uni trials). However this sport is VERY addictive. First I bought myself a muni, then a s/h road 29er to go faster, now I have a street/trials uni on order to replace my beginners 20" (which is broken, but I've got full value from the £35 it cost me, and I'm glad I didn't spend more on something I'd have wanted to replace anyway). I'll never be brilliant at any of them, but I've found it is quite fun hopping up and down things - that's despite not really being into that kind of stuff on a bike. Surely most people do at least a little hopping and then wonder what else to do, it's not just me?

To be fair, what you're looking at is still a decent beginners uni, just warning you!

[Ereksonj]

That uni sounds fine, but you should seriously think about upgrading the saddle to any Kris Holm saddle, or a Nimbus Gel. Even a Club Saddle would probably be a step up from the brick that comes attached to that Sun uni.

[Nurse Ben]

first off the unicycle i'm looking at is a Sun 24" Flat Top Street Unicycle. i've never ridden before. i'm planning on just riding around with it i highly doubt i'll ever get around to doing trials. i figured the 24" would be small enough to give me some control while also being large enough to not be a pain to get around on.

what do you say? i'm very open to suggestions.

If you don't already ride, then you're getting ahead of the game. The majority, 99% of people who try to learn unicycling, DO NOT learn to ride.

I'm not trying to put you down, but facts is facts, unicycling has a very low adoption rate, unlike any sport I have done.

My suggestion is this: Buy a used uni from Craigs List or better yet, borrow a unicycle from a local rider. If you learn and want to proceed, then do it once you can ride.

[davidp]

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

If you don't already ride, then you're getting ahead of the game. The majority, 99% of people who try to learn unicycling, DO NOT learn to ride.

That may be true of the general public who make some attempt to learn, but I really doubt it is the case for those who register on this forum. That in itself shows a higher level of commitment to learning to ride a unicycle than most who start.

Still, I'd second the suggestion to start with a cheap uni for learning. Not because you won't go through with learning but because as soon as you learn to ride decently, chances are you're going to want to do something your learner wasn't made to do. I learned on a Club 24" with the goal of just riding around and it got me started riding on pavement. But soon I was riding on grass and dirt. Three months after I bought the Club I was ready for a muni.

[Nurse Ben]

I'd be curious to see some stats on those who purchase a uni and learn to ride, it can't be very high based on the number of used unis on Craigs list and such.

I have "taught" more than a hundred people to ride and loaned out a trainer uni a dozen times, but so far I have only had one person develop decent skills and he has since stopped riding, another learned decent skills riding with me and my son, she has since stopped riding. Even my son has stopped riding.

Of all the skilled riders I have met in the East Tennessee region, to include four adults and four teens who were already riding at the time we met, I have not seen or heard from any of them in some time.

There is one local kid (knoxuni) who is around, but in two years we have only ridden three times; he only lives ten minutes from me

I try to stay positive when encouraging folks to ride, but let's face it, unicycling is crazy hard and most folks are not crazy enough to put in the blood, sweat, and tears necessary to become proficient.

My trainer just came back from yet another unsuccessful bid, then it went right back out for a two week stint, no feedback yet from that potential rider, but no news usually means no good news

My next step in teaching unicycling is to build a trainer that attaches to a unicycle like training wheels to a bike; this is one of my summer wleding projects

To the OP, good luck, work hard, it's worth it, but you need to have a very good attention span...and a huge amount of commitment.

[madams]

A year ago I bought my first uni....20 in on craigslist. Very cheap. when I purchased it I thought I would never want to upgrade to anything bigger. With in 3 months I bought a 29 in (a lot more money) but I had become addicted. 6 months after that I bought a 36 in and cruise all over the place. I never ride my 20 in anymore and ride my 29 in very little. I am glad I proceeded in this manner because the initial investment was only $50. When I first started did I know I would get addicted...no. Maybe you are.

Mike A.

[MadFurai]

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

I'd be curious to see some stats on those who purchase a uni and learn to ride, it can't be very high based on the number of used unis on Craigs list and such.
.......

Yeah, ironic. Much of what attracts people to the sport initially is that it's something different, unique and challenging. However, those same facts "scare" many people away from the sport either before they start or within the first week. This makes it really difficult to "share" the enjoyment we get by Unicycling with others. Even though I am generally not a social person, the fact that I have yet to meet another Unicyclist (in person) since I started riding 15 months ago is somewhat depressing. I still plan to keep riding until my body gives out, though! I'm also holding out hope that my 6 year old son will eventually be drawn to it.

[Young at heart]

It is kind of a solitary sport, in that it takes a large committment to get it. It is not something most people just pick up and ride away. I have picked up most sports easily, but this has been tough. I have to admit to loving it though. I'm just lucky to have been able to convince my husband to do it too, although I wish there were others in my area we could practice with. We started with a $30 craig's list uni and then upgraded soon after to 24" munis and then got a 29. You just have to be patient and look to the board for encouragement!

[Steeley]

I bought a basic 24" to learn on and taught myself to ride. This year I upgraded to a 36" Nimbus and have just bought my daughter a 20" as she wants to learn to ride as well. I was a slow learner but was not going to stop until I could ride. You get a real satisfaction for the effort you put in. I think it is a good idea to start with a good quality basic uni until you work out what you really want to do (oh and buy the safety gear up front not after you need it!)

[Alucard]

Hi rebeljohn747

Welcome to the forum

I started on a cheapie 20" uni, but I promised myself as soon as I could ride away unaided I could upgrade. So, six months later I treated myself to a 19" trials. Some people learn in a week, some take a little longer.
Like the guys on here say, it takes patience and you will get addicted.
Oh, and don't forget safety gear, at least a helmet

Let us know how you're doing,
Good Luck.

Alucard

[Feisty]

Having decided life was a bit boring and I always wanted to do some MUni I decided to learn to ride. I jumped in buying a Kris Holm 24" and fitted an Magura brake for good measure

I luckily took to it and was ridding in hours and now 4 months latter go on regular 12 mile MUni rides on pretty full on terrain and have just order my third Uni so now have a KH24, KH26 with a disc brake and soon to be delivered KH20 Long Neck Trials to learn tricks on to improve my MUni riding.

At the end of the day Unicycles are relatively cheap (depending on your income) due to the limited parts so buy what makes you happy but perhaps buying one of the cheaper beginner ones and setting your self a reward goal of riding X distance and you will splurge on a fancy Uni?

The other consideration is what you want to use the Uni for I change from a 24" to a 26" in months as it was better for my riding, you may not want to do MUni and just trials or flatland so getting a cheap small wheeled Uni first to learn on and see what element of riding you want to specialise in (be warned most people buy lots of Unis so the they can do everything )

The other consideration is a 20" flatland Uni will be the easiest to learn on, mounting is easy and general riding is easy, this will help you to learn to ride faster so give you more encouragement to keep at it. That said I didn't find the 24" too difficult but at that point I had not ridden a smaller wheel so knew no better.

Good luck with your riding what ever you choose and read all the guides and progress diaries on this forum for tips and inspiration.