Hi, I do a comedy varity wild west show, with lots of circus skills and physical and political comedy. I learned to ride a uni 13 years ago but havent rode in a while. I’ve been toying with the idea of incorporating uni back into my act now that Im doing the wild west comedy thing. I thought ridding a “bucking” uni would be fun. I have reduced a youths western saddle to smallest and size and weight with out loosing its structural integrity. I noticed that this saddle between my legs keeps my feet at a great distance apart. So for that alone I am looking for a 20" 4 1/4 wide boomerage uni to give me max width of peddles. Any sugestions or ideas or offers please. Many thanks and much respect.
A little more about what I want to do with uni in act is idle or bunny hop while spinning a lasso around me, juggling inside of it, playing harmonica, possibly blindfolded. Another wish for act would be to be able to ride off stage on bike without crushing it. (i weight 200pnds.) I realise this last idea may not work on this bike, but it’s not a priority now.
Telly Cardaci
(757) 710 - 2534
New York and Virginia
AceCardacey@gmail.com
WestWasSpun.com 
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You’ll have to find a unicycle, or at least a pair of cranks, with a wide/large Q-factor. The q-factor is pretty much the distance from one pedal to the other - so the overall width of the unicycle.
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I don’t know how you would attach the saddle to a unicycle, but if you already have a way figured out, then congrats.
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Just about any unicycle will hold a 6’1"/200lb person. I am 6’5"/185lbs and I haven’t had a unicycle break due to weight alone (and there are people on these fora that weigh much more than me). If you’re going to be doing a lot of hopping (as in, repeating the same/similar routine time and time again), then it might be worthwhile to get a unicycle with a splined hub/crank interface. I know that just simple hopping (sometimes from 2-3ft tables/trucks/etc.) has caused the axle on one of my uni’s to twist, and the cranks to be at a funny angle (180deg = normal, 160deg = mine). A splined setup will last forever, especially with what you’re going to be doing (i.e. not going off 8ft drops, through rivers, doing street/trials tricks).
Hope some of this helped a bit.
-Joe
Build your wheel with an extra wide hub, use angled cranks, and at least one set of pedal extenders. Hopping might be out of the question (not sure), but idling should be fine. Using a super-wide tire will just make things harder for you; use a normal round-profile one like a Miyata or a Big Apple. It’s more Q you want, not more flotation or grip.
What’s it got fer a tree on it? If It’s not wood I’d think that would be better. I was thinking fiberglass would be the best for what your doin. Any ways find the center on it and take a standard four hole seat post and drill holes and remove the top of yer saddle and bolt it on. Or you could use somthing like wood screws. Oh and take your sturrups and attatch em to the pedal somhow. Do you plan on using the leathers on it?
A bucking unicycle (a unicycle with an eccentric offcenter hub) is difficult to ride for an adult. Lighter people do better because there is less weight to be moving up and down. There are also other factors that make them difficult. A slight offset makes it easier to ride but not much of a visual effect. A larger offset (say 2" in a 20" wheel) is more noticeable but much more difficult to ride. You’ll be able to ride it around in a big circle and a straight line but wouldn’t be able to do any tricks. There is also a problem that eccentric wheels are weaker than regular wheels. The more offset the less strong they are and more difficult to build for the wheelbuilder. I’m in a unicycle club that has a 20" eccentric unicycle with a 2" offset. It is difficult for me to ride (I weigh 170 pounds) and at my weight I risk destroying the wheel just by riding it. The lighter kids do much better with it.
A kangaroo setup would be a better effect. A kangaroo unicycle has both cranks pointing the same direction like this. It would give a horse riding visual effect without the actual up and down motion. Probably a better effect than an eccentric wheel especially if you exaggerate the pedaling movement. A 24" wheel with longer cranks would give you a more exaggerated movement than a 20" with smaller cranks.
Contact Darren Bedford at Bedford Unicycles. Call him on the phone and talk to him about what you want. He’ll either be able to do it or point you to someone who can. He made a unicycle with the 4 1/2 inch wide Stingray tire so he can make a frame that is extra wide and a hub that is wider than normal. I wouldn’t suggest using the 4 1/2 wide Stingray tire though. The tire is difficult to turn with and wouldn’t be good for doing turns and spins. A standard tire will work better.
One of those toy horse heads on the end of a stick that’s attached to the front of the saddle would give a good effect.
And finally, here’s a picture of a horse uni that I saw somewhere. Can’t remember where.
