20" Or 24" For Trials???

I am really interested in getting into trials riding, but am kind of confused on what equipment to get. I know that the standard trials unis have 20" monty wheel sets on them, but I know that Kris Holm, and others ride trials on 24" wheels. What are the advantages/disadvantages of a 24" wheel? The only advantage I can think of for the 24" is that it can be used for muni as well as trials. What is the best to get if I am not interested in muni, just trials?
-Dave Kaplan

— UniDak <forum.member@unicyclist.com> wrote:
> I am really interested in getting into trials riding, but am kind of
> confused on what equipment to get. I know that the standard trials unis
> have 20" monty wheel sets on them, but I know that Kris Holm, and others
> ride trials on 24" wheels. What are the advantages/disadvantages of a
> 24" wheel? The only advantage I can think of for the 24" is that it can
> be used for muni as well as trials. What is the best to get if I am not
> interested in muni, just trials? -Dave Kaplan

There are advantages and disadvantages to both 20" and 24" setups. Here
are some pros and cons:

20" pros: best for freestyle tricks, lighter and more manoueverable than
24" cons: is much slower for getting from A to B, is less stable for some
moves such as gapping perpendicular to narrow railings, is not appropriate
for MUni except for small people (kids). Unless you purchase the
(expensive)Profile setup, you basically can’t get decent quality short
cranks. The shortest Profiles are 145 (maybe 140’s); really it would be
good to have 135’s but these aren’t available.

24" pros: best for Muni, more stable for some trials moves such as gapping
perpendicular to narrow railings, better for rolling rough terrain such as
down stairs, better for large drops, better for transportation, way more
variety of cranks and frame styles available. cons: heavier and less
manouverable, not very good for most freestyle tricks.

There is about a 2 lb weight difference between my 20" and 24" unicycles
(both have 20&24" Kris Holm signature frames and Profile axles). My 24" is
14.5 lbs (with lightweight 3" slick tire) and my Monty with a profile hub
weighs 12.5 lbs. The weight difference feels very noticable at first but
isn’t a huge deal when you get use to either style.

Both the 20" and 24" Kris Holm frames (with profile axles) will be
available at Unicycle.com by the end of October.

In summary: If you want to buy only one uni and use it for both trials and
Muni then get the 24". Also buy two tires: a Gazz 24x3" for MUni and a
Dyno 24x3" slick for trials. If you are sure you are only interested in
street freestyle and pure trials, and don’t care that it’s slow to get
around on, then the 20" is probably the best choice.

Cheers,

Kris Holm.


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as a person who wishes he had more experience with both trials and muni, I
would say it sounds like you want a monty setup. Basically, it’s lighter
than a 24", and takes less distance to get the pedals into the proper
position for hopping.

Really, a larger wheel has advantage when you’re doing anything which
really involves rolling. Trails (compared to say, muni) involves very
little rolling.

Being that I live in an area with no hills, and little terrain worth
mountain unicycling on, I am considering getting a monty myself. Now, if
it is reasonable for me to do the same tricks I already do on my 20"
freestyle, I’ll consider it a worthwhile investment.

Jeff Lutkus

> I am really interested in getting into trials riding, but am kind of
> confused on what equipment to get. I know that the standard trials unis
> have 20" monty wheel sets on them, but I know that Kris Holm, and others
> ride trials on 24" wheels. What are the advantages/disadvantages of a
> 24" wheel? The only advantage I can think of for the 24" is that it can
> be used for muni as well as trials. What is the best to get if I am not
> interested in muni, just trials? -Dave Kaplan
>
>
>
>
> –
> UniDak Posted via the Unicyclist Community -
> http://unicyclist.com/forums

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