Big guys and unicycling

Greetings,

One quick story, then on to my big man question.

The other day me and King MUni-Man uni’d to a park to meet his new soccer coach. The man was very short, fit, and I thought athletic looking for his age. After we had our soccer meeting he noticed my KH24, or more to the point he was staring at the Gazz tire with interest. He asked if he could try it out and I said sure. He freemounted on the second try and rode about 20 feet. He gave me back the uni and commented, “that was easier than I thought”. It turned out he rode when he was a boy. This is the 3rd time I have had this sort of encounter. The saddle was too high for him or I’m sure he could have gone further.

Okay, back to the big riders question. One of the parents at the soccer meeting had taken an interest and was very please to learn that I have been riding for less than a year. “There’s hope for me then”, he said when he found out how old I am. Then he asked about prices and more importantly whether or not there was a uni he wouldn’t break. He’s a rather large man, both in weight and general stature (big boned fellow). What do the larger riders recommend as an inexpensive but heavy duty starter model for a big man?

Cheers,
Jason

Pashley Muni is good 'n strong. If he’s a really er… big boned person, then he might prefer more spokes.

Jason,

…a question after my own heart.

My first uni was the 24" United Trainer for Large Adults. Depending on the ambition and dreams of the rider, the key word is “first”. As soon as I learned to hop, it was time to move on. I tip the scales at 285 and regular steel cranks bent during the hopping like melted butter (I’ve always wondered how melted butter bends).

After much consultation and convincing of my wife, I decided that did have a future unicycle dream and purchased a 24" Sem XLW with the Profile setup. I haven’t been sorry since. I use it for my general freestyle-type riding in the gym with our club. I only wish there were shorter cranks that would fit the Profile hub.

Since I purchased my first United, John and Amy have added the United Trainer for X-tra Large Adults. Looks like a good option for the X-tra big guy.

Bruce

Thanks guys. I’ll look into both options.