buyin my 1st uni

General
1

hey guys I am buying my first unicycle cause I am sick of seein these chicks on campus riding longboards cause they saw Avril Lavigne riding them and they think its cute. So now I am gonna ride a unicycle to class after I get good and see if they can copy that! HA!

Anyways whats a good uni to get? The bike shop I work at has some chinese 24" that seems a bit tall to me… don’t feel any too confident on it since my feet can’t touch the ground. Should I get a 20" to start? I assume uni’s generally use BMX parts… whats a good upgradable brand? Once I get to riding this thing I will undoubtedly be doin some urban and trials stuff on it so I would prefer to get somethin that will withstand that.

Anyways Im open to suggestions… cheaper the better of course.

Jon

2

It is possible to learn on any size of unicycle. At least one person in this forum learned on a Coker (36 inch).

However, it seems to be generally agreed that it’s easiest to learn on a 20. That’s easier to learn to ride, and easier to learn tricks.

A 24 will do almost everything a 20 will do, but it’s a little bit more unwieldy for tricks and stuff. On the other hand, it’s faster, and will go over rougher terrain.

So, for short local journeys on tarmac or concrete, and for hopping up and down things, I suggest you go for a 20.

When you can ride, you will develop a preference for riding style. That will inform your choice of seat, pedals and crank length. All of these items are easy and reasonably cheap to upgrade. Also, it is reasonably easy to upgrade the tyre.

So, all you need as a first uni is a 20 inch with a reasonably good wheel, a reasonably good seat, and with main cap bearings, rather than lollipop bearings. That means almost any 20 inch model you can get from unicycle.uk.com, or unicycle,com.

For a good basic, solid, and upgradeable uni, consider the Nimbus, known in the USA as the Yuni. It is worth paying the extra for the later model with the square fork crown if you intend to learn a few tricks.

If I were buying a new 20 for myself, now, I would probably buy the Onza trials uni with the very fat tyre. However, I’m glad I learned on a uni with a thinner, harder tyre.

3

My advice in short:

Get a 24", they’re the best all round unicycles. If you’re above 5’3" they’re not too big for you.

Use safety gear. You probably wouldn’t hurt yourself without it, but it will make you more confident.

Here is a short guide about how to get started.
Getting started

What unicycle to get depends on your budget, but
This unicycle is said to be very good quality for the price.

Good luck, and have fun

4

Here are some tips on what you should get Unicycle FAQ, What should I buy?

I’d say that you can’t go wrong if you decide to buy unicycle with a Kris Holm saddle and a new Nimbus [u]II[/u] or Yuni -frame. The saddle is about the best available and the frame (both 20" and 24" or even 26") will fit any tire available in these sizes.If you’re not absolutely sure that you’ll stick with unicycling (well, who wouldn’t) a Torker or United is a cheaper option.

5

If you’re on a budget, the black Torker Unistar that Borges mentioned is an excellent choice to start with.

6

If you’re wnating to ride to lectures I’d be wary of getting a 20"-er.

A 24" is just as easy to learn on and much better for getting round on.

I believe that 24"-ers look a lot less ‘clown like’ than 20’s and you’ll get less ‘humerous’ comments from passers by.

24" nimbus/yunis are really good value and will last for ages if you’re not doing big drops etc.

7

Well, i started learning a month ago on a UNistar Torker my friend had, and that is an excellent unicycle. I have since upgraded to the Summit 20" trials uni, another excellent unicycle. For learning, the Torker was fine, and it’s also a lot cheaper

8

Actually the shop I work at sells the Torker’s so I guess I can just use my sweeeeet discount and buy one! I thought they were cheap Chinese crap but I guess not. Its nice working at a shop that sells unicycles and has barrels of leftover BMX parts :smiley:

9

The Black Torkers are much stronger than the chrome ones!
Buy a black one, not chrome.

10

Re: buyin my 1st uni

On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 01:34:03 -0600, seely
<seely@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> wrote:

>
>hey guys I am buying my first unicycle cause I am sick of seein these
>chicks on campus riding longboards cause they saw Avril Lavigne riding
>them and they think its cute. So now I am gonna ride a unicycle to
>class after I get good and see if they can copy that! HA!
>
>Anyways whats a good uni to get? The bike shop I work at has some
>chinese 24" that seems a bit tall to me… don’t feel any too confident
>on it since my feet can’t touch the ground. Should I get a 20" to
>start? I assume uni’s generally use BMX parts… whats a good
>upgradable brand? Once I get to riding this thing I will undoubtedly be
>doin some urban and trials stuff on it so I would prefer to get somethin
>that will withstand that.

Wheel size? For a first uni the choice is really between 20" and 24".
On a 20" you will learn quicker but that’s not important enough to
base your choice on.

For transport like riding to class, 24" is better. For trials and
urban riding 20" is better. If you want to do both with one uni I
think that a 20" is better. And it should be strong for trials.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict

“My butt has a crack in it , but I can still ride. - spyder”

11

I just learned on a 24" Torker Unistar - the chromed one. It works well, but I had to true the wheel and I had a bit of trouble with one crank arm coming off. A spot of locktite fixed that. I’ve read here that the black Torker frame is stronger, but nothing I’ve done so far is likely to break anything except the seat, which is pretty well bunged up from hitting the pavement so much. The seat that comes on the Torker is disposable, though. The most useful piece of protective gear for me was wrist guards. I’d recommend springing for Harbingers. They saved me from the results of my own clumsiness several times. I consider a helmet obligatory, but fortunately I’ve never “used” it. Soccer shin guards are good, especialy if you’re using pedals with pins. I found knee guards too uncomfortable to wear. I skinned my knee once. Good training. Learning a uni is at once the most frustrating and most rewarding thing I’ve done in a long time. :smiley:

12

Re: buyin my 1st uni

Your feet should be able to touch the ground very easily as soon as you mess up riding it. If you work in a bike shop, someone there should be able to help you adjust your chosen unicycle to the proper seat height, which is related to the distance from seat to pedals, and not the ground.

For campus riding, get a 24". A 20" will be annoyingly slow. The Torkers in your shop are great beginner cycles, but not intended for the pounding of Trials or off-roading. But you could still start out with one of those and see how things work out until you know what type of unicycle you want next.

BTW, don’t expect the unicycle to be a chick magnet. Based on the “research” of people in this forum, it’s 90% you and 10% or less whether or not you’re on a unicycle… :slight_smile:

13

Re: buyin my 1st uni

On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 11:38:24 -0600, johnfoss
<johnfoss@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> wrote:

>For campus riding, get a 24". A 20" will be annoyingly slow.
This is only relative. It may seem that way now that we have 29’ers
and Cokers and whatnot. But not too many years ago, 20" was the
dominant wheelsize in the unicycling world. And it is only 17% slower
than a 24" anyway.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict

“My butt has a crack in it , but I can still ride. - spyder”

14

Re: buyin my 1st uni

>On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 11:38:24 -0600, johnfoss
>John Foss <johnfoss@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> wrote:

>>For campus riding, get a 24". A 20" will be annoyingly slow.

klaasbil_remove_the_spamkiller_@xs4all.nl (Klaas Bil) wrote:

>This is only relative. It may seem that way now that we have 29’ers
>and Cokers and whatnot. But not too many years ago, 20" was the
>dominant wheel size in the unicycling world. And it is only 17% slower
>than a 24" anyway.

Klaas is right. Before the Coker was introduced in 1998, there were
primarily just two wheel sizes for unicycles:

20 inch (508 mm) was used by beginners to learn on and for freestyle
unicycling.

24 inch (610 mm) was used for commuting and racing in official events.

(Although there were Muni cycles prior to 1998, they were rather limited
in total numbers and very few companies produced them. At this point
there were probably more big wheels than cycles designed for Muni.)

Five years later, things have changed a bit:

A 20 inch is still the best wheel size to learn on for adults. One
could get a 20 inch trials unicycle to begin with, if trials sounds
interesting to do after learning to ride.

A 24 inch is still also a small enough wheel size to learn on; it may
take a little longer though. One could get a 24 inch Muni cycle to
begin with, if Muni riding sounds interesting to do after learning to
ride.

Sincerely,

Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com>

P.S. In my opinion, Cokers (36 inches = 914 mm) are annoyingly slow.
The wheel size should be increased to at least 48 inches (1219 mm)
or a harper hub (1.5 x 36 = 54 inches = 1372 mm) should be added.