Could this Bridgestone unicycle be worth $400? Is there anything special about this particular unicycle? I’m not interested in buying - just curious why this one has a high price.
Maybe the seller thinks it’s a collectible? A set of Bridgestones for a car costs about that much.
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Just an optimistic seller…
As with a lot of vintage unicycles, it doesn’t matter how cool or rare it is, they seldomly are actually collected (and even less likely that someone actually pays a significant premium for them).
Seller must think it’s a collector’s item. Which it may be, in the bicycle market. I’ve never heard of one but I’m intrigued. So I sent the seller an email asking about the uni, and offering that I don’t think it’ll draw much; $150 at the very outside. I noticed he is in Campbell, CA, which is where Silva Cycles is located. Seller does not appear to be connected to Bronson Silva.
Waiting for a response, if any…
Hi @johnfoss - After another long break from unicycling, I’m getting back into the hobby once my new Schlumpf hub arrives and my new Schlumpf 36er is built. However, therein lies my problem. I had hoped to have my wheel built by Bronson Silva, but it looks like the website for his bike shop is down and Yelp indicates that they went out of business. Would you happen to know if by any chance there is a way for me to reach Mr. Silva and/or do you think he might be receptive to building my Schlumpf wheel as a freelance job? In case Mr. Silva is not available, is there anyone else you would recommend who I could hire to do a top notch job of building me a 36" wheel with a Schlumpf hub and disc brake? Any recommendations you could provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks! And if I get to your neck of the woods this Summer, it would be great to catch up!
Your old friend,
Andy
If any other forum members know of any qualified individuals I could hire who could surely do an excellent job of building my Schumpf wheel, any referrals are most welcome and appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Andy, wow, long time no see! Probably since I visited the NY Unicycle Club in… 2005? If you didn’t know this, you are part of the development of Unicycle Sumo, at least the way we teach it at the big unicycle conventions. We developed our “house rules” in that parking lot near your house way back when, after injuring each other, tearing the pockets out of our jackets, etc. I’ve always resisted putting our rules down formally in writing, because then that document would be scrutinized, people would make “improvements” that would complicate things, and all the fun would be sucked out of a good, simple Sumo match. 
I don’t seem to have contact info for Bronson other than his shop; I didn’t know he was closed down, and guess he’s either transitioning, or has moved on to other things. Bummer. To build a wheel around your Schlumpf hub doesn’t require specialized uni knowledge, but it would help to find someone who has built up 36" wheels before. The main thing you’ll want to do is decide which way you want to face the hub. I believe having the Upshift button on the right is common, but it’s not a rule; you can face it the other way if you prefer. Otherwise you just need a good wheel builder, who isn’t afraid of working on wheels that don’t fit a standard truing stand. When I’ve done mine (me not being an expert), I use the fork as the truing stand, with a piece of tape or similar going across to help see how round and true the rim is as I go.
Do you still live in the East? If you’re out in my area visiting, please let me know! You can reach me via my website, Unicycling.com.
Hi John - It’s been quite a while. Time sure does fly by! I’m honored to have taken part in the development of a one-wheel activity that still lives on! That’s more than I can say for my attempt at developing/promoting “rolling trials,” though I sure did have a ton of fun at the competitions I held over 15 years ago at Rays MTB in Cleveland. There’s one more uni-based sport I’ve wanted to try out for a while that I’m hoping to introduce at a NY Unicycle club meet up this Spring or Summer.
No problem, I found Bronson on LinkedIn, so I will reach out to him soon. Thanks for the tips on finding the right wheel builder. If things don’t work out with Bronson those tips may very much come in handy.
I still live in NYC, but I spent six months of the year in California from 2015 - 2018 in order to take advantage of the world-class hang gliding available in your state. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get back out there since, but I am hoping to return again as soon as I can. Once I do, I will surely reach out to you and would very much look forward to getting together.