The 2004 Torker Unistar Uni’s are hitting the shelves at a LBS near you! As far as I can tell:
CX (Classic): This is the same original chrome uni with the kiddie seat.
LX (Luxury): Appears to have the same wheelset and seat as the 2003 Stealth Torker with the 48 spoke single wall rim, square taper hub, and miyata style seat. NEW AND IMPROVED ARE: it now comes with a beefy flat crowned frame, new beefy main cap bearing holders with recessed hex-head nut and bolt, and zero degree offset (straight) 5”/125mm cranks.
DX (Dirt): New line for this year. Velo seat that looks identical to a KH seat, a double bolted seat post clamp, chromoly frame with a flat crown, new beefy main cap bearing holders with recessed hex-head nut and bolt, a 48 spoked wheel with double wall rim (HJC Alloy, approx. 30mm wide OUTSIDE measurement) , tubular chromoly cranks, sealed bearings, heat-treated 10-splined spindle. Kenda K-Rad Tire.
DX 20: Cranks are 5”/125mm, tire is 20x2.125.
DX 24: Cranks are 6”/150mm, tire is 24x2.3. The frame can definitely handle a wider tire but I don’t know if there is enough clearance to the crown for a 24x3 Gazz.
Torker has been making BMX bikes for quite a while. They already had their T-Drive splined cranks system so this is probably a strong hub. Of course it hasn’t been field and drop tested yet, I do wonder how big a drop the rim and spokes can handle. First impression is it looks like a great package for the price point.
OH, I want one sooooooo bad ( the DX/dirt 20"). How much are they? I own a 2003 20" torker unistar( or stealth). It’s good but I want a trials unicycle with a flat corwn since I’m doing One-footed things. The 2003 is good. I haven’t tried hoping with it that much but the rim seems good.
i just saw this hot little number at my shop,and what a sweet little machine it is!
if i was into trials riding,i would be buying one just to use the splined hub and cranks…i hated how my Profile 145’s smacked the ground all the time and those little Torker splined 125’s are the perfect remedy…these are what evilewan and i were after awile ago…now its here…an accuall Trials uni that can be used for some freestyle stuff with out pedal strikes all the time.
on the down side,i dont think the frame is tall enough to retrofit with the taller Monty/Luna tyre…just my eyeball judgement…it could still be possible but very close indeed.
the beefer bearing caps are so cool and lead me to belive that Torker is out there following this “unicycle” trend of ours and reading our forum
the STealth Torkers of last year were cool and the ones now are even better.hats off to those at Torker for inserting a heathy competition into a somewhat monopolised (by the internet) hobbie.it is so good to see this kind of stuff in a local shop and not have to deal with shipping mishaps…over and over again…
also,the Velo seat it comes with is not a knock off.its a real Velo seat that just says Torker instead of KH on the back patch…it says Velo on baseplate underneath.
Why is the new torker showing up in everyone elses bike shop exept for me? I want one so bad, I got a “Stealth” torker now, but it sucks for trials,how much is the DX model?
I agree with Jag. It seems that Torker, more then most other companies, are actively looking to improve their offerings for the unicycling community. Over the past two or more years, they have offered unicycles which were much better then their previous models, and at a great price.
The one disappointment with the new DX line is the narrow frame. I would have hoped that Torker would see the demand for a wider frame. Hopefully this will be rectified in the next model year, if not sooner.
Are you sure? I ask because: the Torker LXs shown on unicycle.com still show a round crown, the same main cap bearing holders and same offset cranks.
Links:
Positive, the 2004 LX have a flat crown and straight cranks. The frame and crank in my pics (link above) are of the 2004 model.
Uni.com has not put the 2004 LX on the site yet, or at least not updated the pic and description. Both 2003 and 2004 call it the LX. (I would also be leary of e-bay where they are stating they are selling the 2004 but the pic is of a 2003). Probably good to call before ordering if the LX is what you want.
The DX 20 is under freestyle expert and the DX 24 is under rough terain.
Does anyone actually own one of these? I ordered a DX today and since it is being shipped from the east coast I’ll be lucky if it gets to me by christmas. I hear its selling well but has anyone actually tried one of these? I would be interested to know-and what I hear from yoyoguy.com is that the handle is much stronger too.
Yes - these two points are kind of conflicting. Sure the short cranks are good for freestyle, but who actually needs splined cranks for freestyle? The fact that you can’t put a 2.5" Monty tyre in it means its not really a trials unicycle, either. Kind of makes me wonder what Torker had in mind for this unicycle - its overkill for freestyle but not really up to trials riding either!
I bought the DX 20 for use as a heavy duty freestyle. I’ve been using a “frankenuni” built up over the past year piece by piece with an ancient frame, chrome torker wheelset, torker/Miyata seat, etc. Before I got my Trials I was bending cranks when my drops got over 1 foot.
Torker seems to have developed a hybrid uni. True it is not pure trials, with the smaller width tire you get less bounce for hopping/jumping and less cushion when landing drops. But on the other hand I have done a two foot drop and not bent the cranks! Time will tell how strong the Torker 48 spoke and generic double wall rim will prove to be.
For an all-around uni it has its advantages. If you’re going into bigger hops and drops get a true Trials. If you’re going to get into advance freestyle skills get a true freestyle. If you’re want something that will work for most freestyle and street situations this may be the uni for you.
I was at the bike shop the other day, and secretly snuck the DX (24" “off-road”) off the stand and took it for a ride in the shop.
The guys at the shop won’t let you ride a unicycle if you ask them, hence the secrecy. (they were busy at the time)
Impressions:
-Those looking for a heavy duty Muni will have to loook somewhere else, but this bad boy is butt-strong compared to older torker models. I like the splined cranks, the square frame and the Generation III KH seat (especially nice, but the one I tested was too low)
-Not the best muni, but an excellent all-around unicycle. Would be great for bits of anything you wanted-- light off-road, cruising, racing, hockey light trials, and freestyle
-Light, but really strong
Great pick for all those that bought it-- my only hope is that torker continues to improve and give us better (and cheaper than the rest) products.
So far the main downsides to the DX models are the narrow fork and the questionable strength of the no-name rim. Am I wrong? Are there others? I almost feel like getting one just to send the message to Torker that unicycles are worth making and improving.
Torker LX/DX frame similar to a Wyganowski at all?
hello
I am planning on buying a freestyle frame for fairly-heavy-duty flatland-type skills. I have noticed that the crown fork of the frame of the Torker LX OR DX 20" and that of the Wyganowski custom uni look FAIRLY similar. Although the Torker has only one “ridge” and the Wyganowski has two “ridges,” do you think that would make that much of a difference in strength? I am prepared to buy either the entire Torker LX or DX (are they the exact frame design??), since you cannot just order the frame by itself on unicycle.com, OR the Wyganowski custom frame (I have a Miyata 20" wheelset).
UniBrier,
I know this is an old post, but I see that you’ve had your Torker DX for about a month now. What do you think? I want to get myself a freestyle/light trials 20" hybrid for under $200, and this seems to be exactly what I’m looking for. But what are your impressions after a month? Are you regretting your decision? Or are you pleased with its performance? Inquiring minds want to know…
My impressions remain the same. Heavy duty freestyle also good for light trials.
The only additional abuse I have done is more hopping up steps and lame drops (under 2’, I save anything bigger for my Summit). The uni is holding up well (I am 180 lbs and don’t roll out of drops well, if you get my drift.) with no apparent damage yet.
It is fine as a freestyle, I can do all the stuff through level 4 on it, I’m currently working on the level 5 skills, non achieved yet though but that’s not the uni’s fault.
A few minor downsides:
The KH seat on the DX is tougher than the Miyata style to pull out and in for seat out skills.
One of the Wellgo Pedals has developed a click. JC thinks it may be a split or out of round bearing. I need to take the pedal apart. But that is a Wellgo complaint, not Torker.
Unipsychogirl bought a DX24, I don’t know what she was doing but she does have a couple bruises from where the flat crown sticks slightly out from the legs.
One of our club members bought a 04 LX20 for Christmas. One of the cylinders in the double bolt seat clamp appears to have stripped out so right now it is a single bold clamp.
Torker DX 24"
Can not handle a tire much larger then it comes with. Not sure I could get a 2.3 knobby into it. It has plenty of side clearance but little top clearance. If they would add an extra 1/2 inch to the legs it would be an outstanding uni for the price. A 3" GAZZY is out. I got mine to lace the hub upto a Halo Combat SAS 24" and put it on a 26"Yuni frame with a Gazz 24" x 3.0".I will rebuild the Torker frame with a trials wheel. I find the Torker saddle more comfortable then my Velo freestyle saddle even though they are same saddle. The Velo seems to have heavier padding. Hence it crushes the family jewels even more.
Torker DX 20"
Can not handle a trials rim and tire. Top of tire heavily rubs on the frame. Otherwise a great heavy duty freestyle/street uni. Will have to wait and see how the rim stands up to use.
Both are a bit on the heavy side (I have not weight either). Both make a solid clunk when they hit anything. Both would make a great first uni.
“Unipsychogirl bought a DX24, I don’t know what she was doing but she does have a couple bruises from where the flat crown sticks slightly out from the legs.”
Yes, I do have a few bruises on the inside of my right knee. I was using my Torker DX 24" MUni to practice some variations on seat-to-the-side mount…not a good idea! : ( Both of my Trials uni’s were in the shop and my freestyle uni was loaned out at the time, so, I thought, well, even though it has a bigger (24") wheel, I really want to try out some new trick mounts. I do not own a KH 24", but I think one of them wouldn’t bang up your knees as much as a Torker DX 24" cuz it seems to me that the crown on the Torker sticks out a bit more than on the KH (I own a KH 20" Trials). I think I remember hearing that Kris designed his Trials and MUni frames with the flat crown so that if one wanted to bust a freestyle/flatland move, they could. The Torker’s crown, on the other hand, sticks out more and might even be a little too beefy in my opinion. I can only imagine what the Torker crown would do to the legs/knees if you were say landing a drop with your legs pinched a little too much to the seat…ouch!! Overall it seems like a decent MUni though!
~Bruised up a little, but still riding!!..
Sara Chastain
It does not seem to affect ride-ability, but the Torker frames tend to be welded crooked (at least on the 20" LX). The pic below is of mine, my friends is similiar but not nearly as noticable/obvious.
