Okay, first let me start with “Yes, I tried the search feature”
Okay, that said… here is the whole picture.
We bought my 11 year old son a Torkstar LX 20" for Christmas
because he had said he wanted to own / learn to ride a unicycle a
few times in the last couple of years.
He’s still haning on to the neighbor’s fence, but has only tried twice so far.
It looks like fun, and I’m thinking of getting myself one.
I]m thinking a 24" would be good to learn on, and if I later wished
I had bought a 20" I can see no reason why I couldn’t just put a
20" wheel in the 24" frame. Is this correct?
I imagine I would just stay with a 24" anyways, but have read that
the 20" is better for some things.
A 20" wheel will fit on a 24" frame. A few months ago I had to send my kh 20 frame back to UDC. I put the 20" wheel on my Nimbus X24 and it was perfectly fine. The 24" frame isn’t THAT much bigger than the 20. You just need to make sure your bearing sizes are the same, and I guess the hub width would need to be the same too, but I think it’s all pretty standard now.
In very general terms the answer is yes you can do it. Like many things the devil is in the details. There are at least a couple of different sizes of bearings, and some unis have different bearing holders. As long as the hub, and frame have the same fit, it will work.
There are posts by people who have put CX wheels on LX frames, and so they are compatible.
As for the bearings, there are two commonly used sizes on unicycles, and at least one other that I know of. The problem with swapping wheels out is that you need to be sure that the frame and the wheel are matched.
As far as I know the Torker DX is the only Torker with a different size bearing/frame, and so also the only one incompatible with the rest.
Unless you get specialized in your style I don’t know that there is much you will want to do with a 20" that you can’t do with a 24". The LX is a much better uni in just about every way that you can measure it from the CX. For the marginal difference in price you get a lot more. Still though, you won’t want to do aggressive styles with either. If you are planning on Freestyle I suspect that the LX would be a good choice. For MUni, or Trials you will want something stronger.
may i cut in and add that the torker CX has the worst seat possible?
i don’t suggest it at all because the price of a new seat will cancel your savings… and honestly a 24" is a better size for a lot of riders; unless you decide to get into freestyle or trials.
also, you CAN NOT put that much fatter (phatter, you choose) of a 20" tire in a 24" frame unless it is made for a wider tire.
most cheap unicycles are great for learning to ride, which is the use that you have for a CX or an LX in most cases. I am fairly confident in saying that if you do something to break a cheaper unicycle, you would most likely break the CX or LX as well. (p.s. the LX seat is great for a learner cycle)