In February I ordered a Torker Unistar CX 24" for about 100 dollars. Being a beginner, I opted for a cheaper beginner unicycle because I would not sure if I would remain interested in unicycling.
When it arrived I was extremely excited and noticed many things about the uni.
Small seat- this was a problem since day one since I’m about 6 feet tall and 160 pounds.
Large wheel- I knew a 24 inch wheel was going to be big, but it caught me by surprise when the uni was delivered. The big wheel later turned out to be great when I was able to ride around my town.
weird seat post clamp- This was useful when I let other people try to ride my uni
After many weeks of riding I became able to ride fairly well, free mount with ease, and idle to some extent.
As I rode more and more, I began to figure out what I liked and disliked about the uni, and I have come to these conclusions:
The small seat was very uncomfortable, even to the extent that sometimes I didn’t want to ride because it hurt so much. However, I eventually became used to it and the seat became only a minor nuisance. The seat also does not have a proper handle.
The tire was more like a freestyle tire and was not completely suited for the riding I did around my yard. I quickly switched it with a tire I had on a mountain bike, instantly improving my riding experience.
The Torker was extremely durable. I never had a problem with it, even after constant dropping(including once into a pool) and manhandling.
The pedals did not have the greatest traction, and my feet often slipped. If the pedals became wet, I had to get a towel to dry my feet and the pedals to even consider trying to ride. Wearing skateboarding shoes helped combat the slipperiness.
When I sat on the uni, the tire compressed so that the wheel nearly hit the ground. Though it didn’t hinder my riding, many people commented that the tire looked flat even though it wasn’t.
Overall I felt that my money was well spent. As of today I just purchased a Nimbus X Street unicycle as an upgrade and now lend the torker to friends interested in unicycling.
OVERALL:
Pros: many choices for wheel size, durable, inexpensive,
Cons: small seat, not really a specifc style, pedals can be slippery
Wanna chime in and say that I’ve been learning on my 20" CX (and I’m 6’ at 135 lbs) and I like it alright. I just got my Nimbus 29" (which I’m having difficulties with) and I can already tell how it’s a better uni… but for $100 I don’t think you can go wrong learning on a CX. I assume the CX will carry me through learning techniques for quite a while.
ive got a 24" cx and i love it… except for the small saddle and bad pedals. i tried switching to a mountain bike tire, but found that bikers and unicyclists measure the tire differently. unicyclists go by the outside and bikers go by the rim. if you have a 24" tire and want a tire from a bike, ask for a 20".
We have a unicycle club at our high school and 5 out of 6 of the riders started with Torker CXs. They all loved them and never really had much of a problem with it except the painful seat and no saddle handle. No one in the club has had any problems with theirs or needed to replace parts, but now since everyone is getting better people are deciding to upgrade to nimbus or koxx trials.
I’m the only one in my club that decided to go ahead and buy a $230 Nimbus 2 as my first unicycle. I’ve actually had to replace my cranks twice because they kept stripping threads.
Our club (PPUT) has a ton of Torker CXs that literally hundreds of riders have learned on. Every Fall we take them all out of the back room and tighten up any loose bolts but otherwise they keep on truckin’! Many schools purchase 10 or more at a time because they are such a good value for beginners, and afforedable for the school district.
The lx is only 15 $ more. For 15 $ you get a cromo frame, alum rim and a better seat. That’s a lot of extra value for 15 $. The lx seat is actually pretty good, and has a handle.
A KH seat will bolt onto a cx and a set of twisted pc pedals for 13 $ will fix the slipperies.