First of all, sorry for creating another beginner post, however I couldn’t find the information I was looking for in the other posts.
I want to purchase my first unicycle and some basic equipment. However, despite some research I cannot make up my mind regarding what I should purchase.
I am 1m80 (5’11’’), quite the lightweight, and living in a small town in the UK. My current interest leans toward freestyle unicycling and juggling. So I think I should buy a 20’’ freestyle.
I was initially thinking of buying the Club Freestyle as it is cheaper.
However, there is currently an offer on the the Nimbus 2, which seems more robust and comfortable. And I will have to buy a proper freestyle unicycle at one point or another.
What do you think? Is there any reason why I shouldn’t buy the nimbus 2 now instead of the club freestyle?
Before starting I’d also like to purchase mini pump, helmet, gloves and shins guard.
The guards will mainly be used during my learning phase.
I’ll buy the helmet in my local store. However, I’ll have to order gloves and shin guard online (unicycle.uk.com or amazon). Do you have any to recommend? I do not want something to massive or professional(expensive); however, I have to be sure that while learning my wrists are properly maintained, as I tend to strain them when falling.
Is there anything else I should purchase before starting?
Get the Nimbus. In the future you can still upgrade to the Eclipse. Saweeeet!
Why a mini pump? Mini pumps are only good if you’re taking them on the ride. Otherwise I’d get a good floor pump with a gauge. But if you do want a mini to bring with you, I recommend this one. Pardon the American pricing. This appears to be the modern version of the one I’ve used on the trail for many years. The folding handle makes it much more comfortable for pumping.
Buy good pads. If you really get into unicycling, the “learning phase” will last many years, and make you super fit! It’s okay to start with cheap ones to get a taste of what works, but be prepared to wear them a lot.
+1 Also, if you’re on a 20," you’re not going to ride far enough to want to carry stuff with you, and the correct tire pressure is a big question for unicyclists, so having a good floor pump with a gauge is more important than you might think.
Safety gear is not needed much for the kind of unicycling you are thinking of doing, unless you are elderly or obese. Some good wrap-around shin guards (with calf protection) will come in handy if you start doing tricks that involve jumping onto or off of the pedals, but just for avoiding beginner pedal bites, soccer shin guards are enough, and if you are careful, you can probably get away with not having them.
If you live anywhere near North Wales you are welcome to call round and I can lend you 20” or 24” Unicycle to get started with. I also have a spare set of shin guards and gloves that I purchased from unicycle.com so you can try them out as well.
Frankly, I wouldn’t spend money on shin guards for learning or for juggling etc. I unicycle in a helmet most of the time but don’t use one when I’m on the 20. I wouldn’t carry a pump on a 20.
My longest day on a 20 was 20 miles, but that was for a special occasion. Mostly, 20s get ridden around an area the size of a tennis court.
If you’re not going to jump off things or do crazy stunts, just buy a unicycle and learn to ride it. No need to overcomplicate it by dressing like Robocop.
I have owned many unicycles from 20 to 36 inch with square taper cranks and can remember when they were considered a pretty neat idea. Unquestionably, splined cranks are better for a number of reasons, but for a first uni for learning on, you won’t notice the difference. The decision you need to make is therefore, do you buy the cheap one, expecting to buy a better one when you know what you want, or do you buy the more expensive one straight away and risk it not being quite suitable for your needs?
Wear gloves and Helmet if you feel like you need it. I personally don’t think it’s necessary for just riding, even as a beginner, but safety is everyones personal choice. You are not very likely to hit your shins, I’ll say that in advance.
Never, ever buy cheap safety equipment though. There are some wrist guards that are more likely to break your arm than do anything else. Also cheap pads usually fit so badly that you end up not wearing them, which defeats their whole purpose anyway. I’d argue that for unicycling you don’t want a helmet with a pointed “aerodynamic” backside, it can twist your neck around if you fall on it the wrong way, a skate helmet or similar would be better.
Don’t overcomplicate things. The learner unicycle I recommend has two qualities: cheap, and local. I’m not sure about the situation in the uk, but in germany I can find multiple unicycles for under 30£ on our craigslist equivalent. If it’s not completely crap, it doesn’t hurt your learning experience.
I agree, and contrary to everybody else on this thread I’d suggest buying the cheap one to learn on. Or even one of the really cheap ones you can get on ebay - my first unicycle was £30 from Lidl, and that was a perfect choice for me. Because that was fine for learning on, and did everything I needed until it became time to upgrade - at which point I got something nicer than that Nimbus 2! If I’d bought a Nimbus 2 in the first place* I’d now be wishing I had something different and taking a much bigger hit on the cost of upgrading than I did. If you get the expensive one straight away you’re taking a gamble on that being all you want in the future.
As for protective kit, it is a personal choice, some on here seem to wear a lot and are glad of it. Personally I didn’t wear anything at all to learn (well just shorts, but not even a shirt most of the time, it was a lovely hot September that year!) When I could ride a little I did start wearing gloves as I found myself falling on my hands. Shin guards aren’t really needed to learn to ride, though I wish I’d had some to learn to freemount as I got pedal hits - I have some now, which I wear for learning some tricks… I don’t wear a helmet apart from for muni or riding at speed.
I wouldn’t have bought a Nimbus 2 in the first place as I didn’t know they existed, or even that UDC or this place existed
Alucard, I would have been delighted to take on your offer. Sadly, I am living quite far from Wales, on the Orkney Islands.
After reading your suggestions I’ll do the following:
Buy the nimbus 2. For 3 reasons:
1/ My main concern was about the fact that a nimbus 2 might not have been suited for a beginner. Apparently it is not the case.
2/ There are no second hand or cheap unicycle available on my local market. I would indeed have been a smart move. But it is really hard to find someone/a company who agrees to deliver things here it is usually expensive. If I have to pay 30£ of delivering fees, I’d rather order a nimbus 2 than a 30£ unicycle.
2/ It’s more confortable, and I will enjoy learning on it more.
3/ I definitely want a freestyle unicycle and am pretty sure I won’t wish to upgrade it for a while. In the worst (best) case I’ll later buy a second unicycle with a bigger wheel to go around.
Buy the KH pulse gloves. Due to my past experience, I definitely want to protect my wrists properly. And as you said, I’d better buy proper equipment for that.
Buy a real pump (and a potentially a helmet) in my local bike store.
Buy football shin pads. I am pretty sure I will be able to buy them somewhere local.
I am about to order and can’t wait for the delivery
Haa, I heard there used to be a few unicyclists on Orkney, but I haven’t seen a single one yet. I thought they were all gone.
I’m glad to know that I won’t be alone
Protects 100% against vertical rain, adds 5 mph in a following wind, and slows your descent in the event of a UPD. Can conceal your face when trespassing near CCTV cameras. If the trail is flooded, you can invert it and use it as a coracle. I never g out without mine.
