I’m going to buy a unicycle, and I have some questions.
I don’t know what wheel size to get. Over the last couple of months I’ve been learning on a 20" schwinn and have found that 20" is a pain to try to ride any kind of distance with. However, I am lead to understand that larger wheels decrease agility. How much does a larger 24" wheel affect things?
I still don’t know what kind of riding I’ll be doing most. So far I’ve been riding about learning relatively simple beginner things (hopping up stairs, backwards, rolling 180 to backwards riding, the thinnest skinnies I can manage) in an urban environment, but I could imagine getting into muni. Is it naive to want a uni that works fine for street freestyle, muni, and trials-y things? Do you guys have any suggestions?
You may consider getting two unicycles.
However, if you are like me and want “one solution” it’s likely you’ll choose the 24" for durability, freestyle, distance, off-road ability, trials, and versatility.
The downside about the 24" in your area is that it has fallen out of favor. More people are riding Cokers and 20" trials on a regular basis.
my problem two weeks ago!
It seems most people out there go for the 20’’. I had both a 20’’ and a 24’’ layin around when I learned how to ride, and I just plain thought the 24’’ was more fun with the bigger tire, and personally I think it looks better :- )
Two weeks ago, my 24’’ broke down as I started trying to do bigger drops and muni, so I had to buy a new one. It didn’t take me long to decide on an KH 05 (24’’). I wanted it mainly for the muni abilities, but I still use it on street for tricks. They may be a little harder to do on the 24’’, but personally I think they look better, harder, and I like being able to travel distances and not have to switch back and forth between uni’s.
20’’ would simply be too slow on the trail for me.
My suggestion: Be a rebel, get the 24’’, and use it for both!
I stopped riding urban on my 24" completely.
I had durability issues. I figured out that my uni would usually break on urban. Last time I went out and did a 36" drop to flat, the spindle of the pedal broke and went THROUGH the end of the pedal. I’m pretty sure that most of the stuff I’ve destroyed (including wearing down tires) was due to urban riding or trials.
Contrarily, when I ride offroad, it’s more interesting, my uni doesn’t break, I can take the dog, I don’t get harassed by police, and I get much more of a workout.
A little off the subject, but how exactly do the police harass you?
Ohh its not too tough to get harassed by police :- )
I was riding around the KSU campus with a few people I taught and we had a campus cop come over to us and stop us… having us wait for a minute. She radio’d in “I know we have a policy against skateboards and … in this area, what about unicycles?”
(pause… then a response…)
“I dunno”
(another pause)
“well, I dont think you guys are causing too much trouble, So i’m gonna go ahead and let you ride around here”
ha·rass
- To irritate or torment persistently.
- To wear out; exhaust.
- To impede and exhaust (an enemy) by repeated attacks or raids.
I have written urban less than a dozen times. I have been stopped by police 4 times. 2 of the times, I was with other riders and NOT riding myself. Another time, I was riding on a rail of a railroad (some distance away from the street). Another time, I was riding backwards along side the road, saw the police car coming, got off, tossed the unicycle in the gutter, and sat down (so that they would just drive by). The cop stopped and asked if I was OK - she guessed that I had injured myself because I looked frustrated! I was frustrated - with having to deal with cops at all.
I don’t do rail grinds, damaging things or endanger people. I’d like to simply be left alone altogether by police.
I DON’T want to have a chat with them (they always seem to force a “good-natured” talk, when I just want them to go away).
Fortunately, when I ride UMX I never get stopped.
That’s because there are no donut shops in the woods. 
(The steriotype is appropriate. The local police are EXTREMELY overweight for some reason)
Re: 20" vs 24" ?
On Tue, 3 May 2005 23:49:06 -0500, “Nioate” wrote:
>How much does a larger 24" wheel affect things?
Significantly. Some aspects of the difference are lessened if you use
longish cranks on your 24", e.g. 150 mm.
>Is it naive to want a uni that works fine for street
>freestyle, muni, -and- trials-y things?
Naive is not exactly the word. It would be possible to come up with a
single compromise unicycle for all those styles. (I am assuming that
by “street freestyle” you mean “street” as well as “freestyle”.)
Probably something like a 24" with 140 m cranks, a 2 to 2.5" lightly
knobby tyre, and plastic but grippy pedals. But it would be exactly
that - a compromise, and hence not ideally suited for any one of those
styles.
>Do you guys have any suggestions?
The average number of unicycles for the people who post here is about
four. Can you feel it coming? Pick your favourite style for now and
buy a specialised unicycle accordingly. Then take it from there.
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
“When it comes to the family jewels, you won’t be having fun until they’re having fun. - Jake D”
Re: 20" vs 24" ?
On Wed, 04 May 2005 06:47:05 GMT, Klaas Bil wrote:
>a 24" with 140 m cranks
To prevent you from having those custom built, let me correct that. I
meant 140 mm cranks.
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
“When it comes to the family jewels, you won’t be having fun until they’re having fun. - Jake D”