Anyone tried $50 unicycles from ebay?

Savagely cheap Savage unicycle

Found a like-new 20" Savage for $30. The seat post is much too short (I’m 5’10"), but the real problem, now that I’m able to cruise around for a while, is that the seat is eating me alive! It’s too wide in front and digs a hole in my leg, even after I take just a few 30-meter trips in a circle, flapping my arms like a bird. So this uni’s been fun for learning the most basic, basic stuff, but I’ve outgrown it in only a week. Replacing the seat and post might solve the problem, but doing so will probably cost more than the uni itself. The cranks, pedals and wheel seem to be holding up so far, so maybe this thing is salvageable, but in general I’m beginning to agree with the people on these forums who say you should buy at least a Torker LX even if you don’t know how to ride yet. Many posts say the Torker seats aren’t that comfortable, though, and I pay more attention to those allegations now than I would have before. Oh well, the large-wheeled unis that I would spend money on are still too scary for me when I encounter them face-to-face, so for the moment I’ll just wrap my thigh in medical tape and try to keep on rolling this little POS, but I’m definitely more open now to the idea of buying a high-quality unicycle.

Savagely cheap Savage unicycle

Update: This morning I reshaped the protruding metal bar that protects the seat and was hurting my leg, so the saddle problems described above are now partly solved…

Savagely cheap Savage unicycle

Update: I have managed to learn more stuff on my $30 uni: figure 8s (about 15m wide), riding uphill and downhill, longer and longer distance runs, etc.

New problems have emerged, though. My seat, in addition to being too low and very uncomfortable, also rotates in its socket because the quick release is weak and probably also because I have set the seat far above the maximum recommended height as determined by the very short seat post. Now that I’ve learned to lean into my turns, the rotating seat is less of a problem than it was, but it will probably give me some bad habits if I continue to learn on this machine, and there are probably certain kinds of turns that I will be unable to even attempt. Learning to free mount will also be more difficult than necessary, I think, although I’ve seen more experienced people free mount my unicycle without any problem.

Anyway, future postings on this topic, if any, will be posted on the learning thread. But to make a long story short, although there are some disadvantages, learning to ride on a cheap unicycle is definitely possible.

I have been riding a unicycle for about 2 years. I started out on a $50 cheapie. Everyone that I have seen attempt to ride a unicycle since I started has quit because they didn’t give it enough time…most do quit. But…they all told me…oh no I won’t quit…but they did…so they have this unicycle around that is collecting dust… They can sell it but will they get their investment out of it…

I got my first Uni a £50 eBay special! I started riding maybe 6 weeks ago, and since then, the cranks have fallen off, the pedal screw-threads have stripped themselves smooth, and the seat has snapped in half from my constant bailings. Oh and the tyre has worn right to the canvas (It started just on the bottom from me learning to mount but since I got moving it’s progressed all the way round…)

The wheel’s still true (And trust me it’s been through a lot) And the frame seems to be all OK though. So I guess the important pars are good enough :stuck_out_tongue:

Since I replaced the broken parts (The tyre with a knobbly thick one off an old bike) The Uni has worked beautifully around the streets and down/up some light offroading (As well as some REALLY rough patches) So I can’t complain!

Yep, have owned 2, both broke within a week, first one crank broke off and pedals snapped, 2nd one the cranks literally snapped off on my first ride out the driveway, very weak unis but I guess you get what you paid for,

Upgraded to a trainer 24" I’m surprised how robust they are, have even taken it offroad on small tracks, hopped on it etc and its still holding up, going to invest in a kris holm soon I hear there almost unbreakable :slight_smile:

I am one who had always bought the cheapest unicycle first.

After having bought the cheap ‘ebay’ type unicycles in a number of wheel sizes priced less than $85, in retrospect, a bad idea. I’d suggest buying the most inexpensive affordable from UDC (www.Unicycle.com) , or used equivalent. Certainly you can break this rule by studying the specs, but those cheap cycle dealers probably won’t list the necessary details.

With the cheap ‘ebay’ unis you risk a poor uni experience. I suggest UDC, because they offer quality products, fully support them, and this fantastic sport.

The cheap hubs are crap. I’ve broken two of them, and I’m not hard on my unis. Minimum, you want to be sure get a good hub, cotterless is fine enough, but get the type where bolts screw into the axle. The hubs that have nuts and threads on the end of the axle are weak, the thread portion of the hub will break off, or the wheel will slip on the axle.

The cheap seats are uncomfortable. At best, this will limit your riding distance and skill level. The UDC unicycle.com type of saddle is minimum.

The cheap frames have not really been a problem, expect for those with welded on adjustable seat clamps. The welded clamps are unreliable and hard to break off to replace.

Seat clamps are usually cheap adjustable. I’ve never liked these, find them hard to reliably get tight enough.

The cheap rim/tires have problems. I’ve had immediate blowouts from flashing left at the spoke holes. Have worn the tires down to threads in 15 hours riding.

Cheap cranks/pedals/seat post generally work fine. But, I like pinned pedals so I replace the plastic pedals. Nothing wrong with steel cranks but they are always 150mm, and I replace them with 140mm. Also I prefer the seat tipped up for comfort, and while the cheap posts are not adjustable, a few washers between the seat the post can improve the seating angle.

Savagely cheap Savage unicycle

My $30 Craigslist special has the welded quick release mentioned above in the very helpful post by Chrashing. Removing my quick release would indeed be difficult, but I managed to improve it a lot just by adding a stronger bolt. Once I find the right seat and post, this uni should be OK, as the pedals, cotterless cranks and wheel seem to be alright, at least for gentle riding. Going over any obstacle larger than a crack in the sidewalk would probably kill it, though.

With a cheap uni, you will end up spending less time actually learning to ride and more time scrounging for usable parts - which may be especially challenging if you are new to this sport and have no idea what to scrounge for!

A guy from the New York Unicycle Club gave me a good deal on an almost-new seat and post. The new seat makes a HUGE difference, and now I can ride as long as I want, but my cheap tire is getting bald- in 5 weeks I’ve already had to rotate it once. This uni seems to otherwise be holding up nicely, though, and I just did my first two free mounts yesterday. If you buy a good uni at the start, you will avoid technical difficulties and learn faster, but if you have to buy a cheap one, be prepared to do a bit of tinkering and to spend some money on replacement parts. It also helps, if you have a cheap uni, to get feedback on its shortcomings, so if you live in an isolated area with no unicyclists around, that might be another reason to invest in a good one right from the start.

In seven weeks, I have already spent more on replacement parts (seat, post, tire) for my cheap uni than I did on the uni itself, even though it was in perfect condition. You definitely can learn on one of these things, but the money you appear to be saving may be an illusion.

It sounds like you might still have less invested in it than the price of a name brand uni, and offset by the knowledge you’ve gained from working on it. A fancy new one that didn’t need anything–how boring would that be? :slight_smile:

This afternoon I spent $30 for two different knobby tires to try on my $20 thrift store Sun. I’m off to try out one of them now. It’s pretty cheap for being this much fun.

But the big thing here is that you’re still riding after seven weeks. Great job on that!

Yes, still a lot less.

Yeah, riding my Great Depression uni is a lot of fun, though if I had started out with the comfortable seat I now have, my cheap tire would never have lasted as long as it did.

Yeah, I just got a new $16 Walmart BMX tire with kevlar that seems to be much better. Its larger size makes it seem like it might even be up to some light hopping. There’s probably a tire thread somewhere on these forums…

I bought a 45 dollar new uni, 18" one from China. My 8 yr old has about worn the tire off it. It may have 30 miles on it now. I just ordered a CLUB uni, 20" for him today. I sort of wish I had my 45 bucks back, because it is such a cheapie. But, he did learn on it. but the metal is thin, the tire is weak, and is a violation of the golden rule: “Do unto others, as you’d have them to do unto you”. Just too cheap.

IMHO

Nate

“Ultralite tubing” and “super grip extra sticky rubber” are things you’re supposed to have to pay more for. :slight_smile:

Hope the Club serves you well!

I do have a comment though. When assembling this cheap uni’ we tightened everything, getting the bearing caps equal, and all. Rode it for a couple of hrs, and then re-tightened everything just a little. So long as no slack is developed, anywhere, a cheap uni will last a little longer. (Just don’t over tighten).

Maybe that is why it has lasted this long.

N

In retrospect, the biggest hazard on my $30 Savage (see below) was the seat and post. They slowed down my learning a lot until I replaced them and the quick release. My uni was old when I bought it, I think, but had never been ridden, so it may be somewhat different than a $50 Ebay/Amazon special from 2013. Anybody know anything about this uni? There’s little or nothing about it on the internet.

My frame, cranks and rims still show no signs of wear and tear, and I weigh 190 and ride almost every day, even doing some tiny hops and drops. Last weekend I borrowed a Torker CX, and it felt a bit wobbly compared to this one- probably because its seat had been raised beyond the limit, while mine now has a nice long seatpost with plenty of extra. One pedal on that Torker -the one I hadn’t previously broken off and replaced- also felt ready to snap. So my experience with a cheap uni, once I replaced a few pieces of it, has been great so far. Anyone who can spend a bit more money than the $50 I spent (not including new tires) should buy something fancier than a Torker CX, though.

uniB4.jpg

Hmm, it has “lollipop” bearings, a crummy saddle and is functional if you are careful with it. Probably made entirely of steel. I think the cranks are cotterless. Now if JohnFoss sees this he’ll give you a ton of info and make my 2 cents look silly… :o

Thanks, Shmolagin (hope I spelled it right this time!). Yeah, those are cotterless cranks, and the whole thing is steel, except for the new quick release I put on it.

At the moment, my hops are still tiny, leading only to UPDs, and my drops are never more than 15 cm, but soon it will be time to dedicate this uni to lending/teaching and get one with flat-crown forks that can handle some real pounding…

Update

Tried another cheap uni - a brand-new 20" Avenir belonging to a club. It had modern-looking bearings (not lollipop), with nice, smooth pedaling action. My secondhand Viscount seat is definitely a LOT more comfortable than whatever was on that Avenir (ouch!), but my uni is starting to suffer from the tiny bunny hops I’ve been doing, and has some play in the pedals.

It’s funny, I’ve been dropping off curbs for a while with no problem, but when I started doing little hops, my uni began to cry out in pain, even though I never hop nearly as high as the curbs I drop from. Are lollipop bearings not worth replacing? My uni’s still rideable, but for the first time I am starting to grasp its mortality…

Oops!, There’s nothing wrong with my bearings yet, they just had some screws loose. Anyway, to conclude, a cheap old 20" unicycle with lollipop bearings has been great for learning, once I replaced the parts mentioned above, and it is still going strong. I will have to buy a better one before I can begin to dabble in the dark art of unihopping, but still, this uni will be fine for learning to idle, ride backwards, wheel walk, weird mounting techniques, etc, etc.