I cant decide now. I kinda want a BIG wheel uni! I guess being small makes feeling big and tall extremely appealing. I saw a unicyclist on a coker and it was very exciting to me.
I might have to cut the actual tube also on a 29". Not sure as I might be able to cut just the seat tube down and switch posts and be OK. I need to get it down to a 27" inseam. Is it hard to cut the frame tube? You need to do something for the clamp too correct?
Would it be best to stick with pursuing muni on a 24" first or a big wheel? Iām sure the 24" will feel big at first but now I know there is much bigger lol. Iām sure Iāll enjoy both unfortunately. I also think a heavier uni might actually be easier to mount as I could jump up and put weight on my back foot. I hope I can manage to learn SIF so I can stop thinking about getting a muni or 29er lol.
Iām just a bit over 5ā with an 28" inseam so I need an inch for a touch of bend. Iām intimidated by a coker but I think I could do a 29er and could get one at my job for a decent price. I could get a nimbus cruiser or the KH muni and get a hookworm for that. I just know Iāll love sitting up so high and it looks so fun to ride! I am good at cruising now. Not great on mounting but it honestly seems that I would struggle less on a bigger wheel after watching cause then I could jump up. Iām wondering if the big uni would be easier to pick up then the muni right now? I know that road biking is a cake walk compared to the trails so I am not sure when I will be good enough for that on muni. I have a trials uni so wondering if thats OK for muni for when Iām there at my level and in another year or so when I have money I can get a 24" muni then. I love the uni but learn about average pace. I cant afford both. I am wanting to go faster and have a slicker tire then my trials gives me now since I mostly cruise. I also could install a simple linear brake for cheap too if there are mounts or I could drill a hole in the frame I assume and use the adapter? I could go a while on a big city tire with a brake. The trials its easy to tire out quickly.
I donāt think you will have much trouble fitting on a 36. cutting a seat tube is just like cutting a seatpost with the added step of cutting a slot to allow the clamp to compress the tube.
Some people say that you should drill a hole at the end of the slot to prevent cracking but I have never had any troubles with the handles I make from bike tubes or the yellow frame I got from Evan Byrne all of which have strait hacksaw cut slots.
I have one just like it. 29" is a nice size and is less intimidating than a 36". You would need to drill a hole to mount a caliper brake, but it is no big deal. I have not mounted a brake on it because I do not see the point yet. I ride on moderate hills, and the brake would make it a bit easier on my legs, but I am not using it for very long rides. I switched to a Marathon Supreme tire, but other people are happy with the stock tire, and there are lots of options. It is a fun size to ride and the experience is completely different than a 20".
Is there a unicycle club around? You could try riding some other unicycles to get a feel for them. (You could bring a seat with a short tube and an allen wrench to switch out the seat.)
Right now I know of only 2 unicyclists here and before I bought one, I honestly never saw a unicyclist except maybe when I way little at a circus or something. I only have my one seat post too. I cant afford to buy a uni that wont fit me. I cant get anything anyway until Uncle Sam gives me back my tax return.
Iām still indecisive. I was going to get a 24" muni and put a slick tire on it for cruising til I can do muni on it. But like I said, I dont seem to be learning above average and dont think I will be ready to do muni on the trails here anytime real soon. For the road, the mounting would be the challenge but the riding shouldnt be that different. I can ride already! The 29" seems better for my area with lots of tight sidewalks and turns. Plus less intimidating. I was a competitive athlete in high/school college with running, but not into races now so I dont think the touch faster will make or break me on the 36". But its higher and looks impressive to me still lol. Even though Iām actually afraid of heights, I get off on looking down. :p:p
So need to make a decision. If I cant fit on one, then thats out. I just want to start cruising more then the parking lot. A trials uni is incredible, but not suited for this riding. Iām sure it will be fun trying tricks on it but I want to use it for transportation now too and later do muni. Guess I like too much lol. And to drill, just a regular drill bit can make a hole in the Nimbus? I want the option of mounting a brake. Its very hilly here and uni takes a lot of work. I want to ride as long as I can.
Iām not sure why but going to the store on my uni and picking up a few items sounds like the coolest and funnest way to shop.
Iād go with the 24" muni with hookworm tire. Youāll get two unicycles in one that way. With the hookworm you can cruise around the streets (I paced my wife during her 100 mile run out in Oklahoma on a set up like this). While itās certainly not going to be as fast as a 29er or 36er it is less intimidating and still faster than a 20" riding around. Then when you build confidence you can put a proper muni tire on it and hit the trails. At least for me, in my neck of the woods, the trails are such that a 29er is impractical. But it all depends. But if youāre going to be riding around public areas i.e. side walks and such I think youād feel more in control on a 24". Again, donāt think of this as the LAST uni youāll ever buy :), just the next addition to your collection. Like most everybody on this forum youāll probably accumulate more uniās over time. Unfortunately there is no one do-it-all uni out there that is a perfect fit for everything. That is why I say if youāre thinking about adding another uni, the one with the broadest use, IMHO would be 24". The best way to learn muni is to get out there and just do it. While a 20" on trails is fun, youāll be limited on how far you can go. If you want to travel any real distance on trails youāll want a larger wheel. So if you do get a 24" get one designed for muni but also get the road tire and possibly some variety on crank sizesā¦ then do what I did to learn to ride off-road. Find a small section of downhill trail that is, to you, reasonably difficult looking and just session it until you can make it all the way down consistently. Make sure the hill has a little of everything, i.e. smallish rocks that force you to roll over, smallish drops. Perhaps a few twists and turns etcā¦ Nothing thatās going to kill you, but enough to just practice on and not too steep. Thatās how I learned anyhow. Good luck! Before long youāll have a whole arsenal of uniās anyhow! Edit: Oh I was going to say, a friend of mine rides a 36er and I donāt think she is even 5ā, if she is itās just barely. She did have to cut down the frame slightly to get it to work, and had to go with 125mm cranks (probably not ideal for all phases of riding, but not bad).
I agree with MuniSano. A 24" with road tire and muni tire is very versatile. Get 125 and 150 cranks and you can have lots of fun with it. I have a 24" with 125 mm cranks and a Hookworm tire, and it is the Unicycle I ride the most. It is fast enough to ride around town and easy to mount relative to a larger wheel. I like my 29", but if I had to choose one unicycle it would be a 24". OK, so with two tires and two sets of cranks it is more than one unicycle, but that is only cheating a little bit.
I will remind you of an earlier discussion. Because of your size and weight, you do not need heavy duty cranks. In particular, you would do just fine with light-weight 125 mm cranks for road riding. Light-weight cranks will save you some money. (Alternatively you could go with the 125/150 Moment cranks, which are completely overkill, but they might be convenient.)
You could try something like this. Iāt really meant for a 36"er, but seen here on a 29er. Makes frontal dismounts a bit of an Orchiectomy tho . . . .
Depending on what make of 36" uni you buy you might have a problem in cutting down the seat tube.
The new KH 36 has a single wall tube at the top that turns into a double wall tube as it enters the crown. There is very little single wall tube available to cut off. You might want to get in touch with Cathwood and gain some insight into her 36" riding experiences. I believe that she has had a 36"er modified to fit her body size.
Also just to clarify, a larger heavier uni will not be easier to mount. 36"ers are a real beggar to get up on, but yes they are lots of fun to ride.
OK, I think Iāll get the KH24 from work when I get my check and the cheapier 125 cranks once I get used to it. There are a ton of places around here I think that will be fun for me for a 24 with the hookworm tire. There are a lot of handicapped windy paths, plenty of small things to hop on/off or just over which might be easier with a bigger wheel and things to go around which will do well with the not too big wheel. And Iāll get a little more height and speed like I want. If the wheel is like my 24 BMX, Iāll love it a lot!
Iām starting to hop my mounts on the trials uni and thats going better. So I think mounting wont be much harder. I think in another month Iāll be able to use my trials to hop up the stairs and stuff around here. So looks like Iāll be plenty happy for now.
Iām still wondering if the 29 will fit me without cutting the main tube. But maybe when I get there Iāll be ready to get a coker and it looks like that will work! I guess within 2 years I will accumulate 3 unis lol. :o
Iād also start w/ a 24" Muni, a KH or if thatās too much, a Nimbus w/ the 125/150 crank option. The shorter position would be good for the road for now and XC when you get better, and w/ your size, I wouldnāt worry about bending them when in the longer position, unless you plan to do big drops (over 6 ft).
Larger wheels and shorter cranks are both harder to free mount with. Also w/ the increased height and speed of a larger wheel, UPDās were too scary for me until I got better rarely fell on the road.
When riding your Muni, Iād ātechā it up as much as you can: ride w/ either hand on the handle as much as possible, up and down driveways, along āskinniesā (cracks in the sidewalk, painted lines, & edges of curbs), hop up/down curbs and up stairs, ride around the āXā cracks in the sidewalk as if they have cones on them. When you get a lot better you could 1 foot/ww/glide/coast along skinnies and up/down driveways.
I knew I was ready for Muni when I could ride for over a hour, riding up every driveway and off the curb I could find (about every 20-30 yds) w/ only a few UPDās (and no scary ones).
I think a KH24 would work ok, but a KH26 might be a better medium. It would be a pretty great size for commuting and muni once you get around to it. Of course with two tires and cranks as people have been saying above.
Great decision. I know people argue for the 26", but depending on what actual rim/tire/frame combination you get for it, effectively a 26" can really ārideā more like a 28" (26x3 type tires). So then youād be approaching 29er territory, however a 26x3 setup rides a lot differently than a pure 29er. However, all things being equal, what sold me with going with the 24" is that I really love doing trials, especially natural trials. Often Iāll be in the middle of a muni ride and see some features Iād like to session. And doing trials on a 26" or 29" is far more difficult (heavy) compared to a 24". This also applies for doing more urban trials with the 24" with hookworm tire, far better on a 24" than a 26" or 29". At least thatās my $.02 worthā¦ Good Luck with whatever you choose. Again not the end of the world, think of this as just the NEXT unicycle to add to your growing collectionā¦
Iām certain for muni, I dont want a bigger uni then 24". A trials is too small for the rocks and such really but at my tiny size, anything above a 24 would be hard for ME to maneuver or to hop on. Iām VERY tiny, like a 10-12 year old so I have to aire smaller. Plus the trails here are very technical so I really need to turn around a lot of rocks and roots. I know Iāll love muni when I get there! I just think it will still be awhile before I have the skills to do it. But doesnt mean I cant start on the paved trails and maybe dirt paths later.
I think for road it will be a 29 or 36. But looks like that will be later now. Hopefully someone will chime in on the sizing, cuting the frame tube or I will see if I can check out one to measure if its feasible as is for the vertically challenged. :o
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