Buying a second unicycle

General
1

I am 2 months in to riding an 26" nimbus oracle disc. I am selling off some stuff to buy a second unicycle.

Do I:
[LIST=1]

  • Get a 20" trials unicycle
  • Get a bigger wheeled unicycle.
  • Get 24" muni without brakes for more technical descents. [/LIST]

    I already have a cheap 20" circus type unicycle?

    My eventual goal is to cover distance over trails in the alps.

    Stew

    • 2

    Hi there

    Keep on developing skills on the circus type 20’’. Which other wheel to get is tricky: your Oracle 26 is a very good size for muni and Cross country. The Trials 19’’ one is great for improving your technical skills: rolling hops/etc… which, as you get better, you can use them when doing Muni on the 26.

    I’ve also got a 26 Muni and just a week ago I decided to get a 24’’ despite being very close in wheel size to a 26’’. I have to say so far I am loving it as it is easier to do technical stuff in the 24 than the 26.

    In the end, like most of us, you will end up buying loads of different wheel sizes :roll_eyes:

    3

    Like most early unicycle-add choices, the question is which one to get first? It may be hard to tell until you’ve done the various types of riding, but at some point you’ll have to decide. Would you rather:

    • Ride longer distances, faster?
    • Be able to jump all over things with a lighter unicycle that won't break?
    That's kind of what you're aiming toward. The big advantage of the Trials uni is that it won't break. If you're going to work on "lighter" tricks, your circus 20" will work. Use it to learn the basics; idling, backward, wheel walking, one-footing, etc. But get the Trials if you want to jump, hop, pound and do crankflippy stuff. {don't look that word up}

    Get the bigger wheel if you want to go places. Not much necessary to add to that; there’s nothing better than a large wheel for getting there.

    Notice I didn’t mention the 24" Muni. I’ve had a 24" Muni with no brake since 2003. Now I have a KH 26" with a brake, which allows me to do much better on descents than the 24". Depending on the tires you have, those two wheel sizes might be very similar, so unless your most important goal is to be better at Muni, I’d get one of the others first.

    4

    Thanks John and Molski
    I think the 20" trials looks like the one to go for as it will help me develop transferable skills for muni. Like you say the 24" might be a bit too similar for now…

    Stew

    5

    I would suggest picking up a trials uni. I started out on a cheaper 20" and debated what to get next. Luck would have it I found a decent trials on Craigslist and it has become my go to cycle. It lives in the back of my Jeep due to it’s smaller size so gets used the most as I always have it with. I use it to practice techniques or warm up before riding the bigger unis. After some time off I find it gets brain back into uni mode easier than just hopping on the 24 or 26.

    6

    +1 on the trials.

    7

    Don’t stress too much about what to get, toss a coin or something. If you have the ‘bug’ you’ll end up with at least one of each size anyway!

    8

    What OorWullie said. Get whichever one you want the most right now. You’ll want more later. :slight_smile:

    9

    How about this?

    10

    Yeah can only agree with that. My 7th uni was a trials 19" which I bought last month and I don’t know why I thought it would be my last, now I’m thinking of getting a 32", hoping it will be easier to mount than the 36 and faster than the 29. On the other hand I just had a nice 18km muni ride in Germany, which I did on the 29" which is maybe too big, but my 26" doesn’t have a brake. Maybe I should add an additional 26" with brake.

    Before you know it you won’t know where to put the unis. I love trying all of them all the time, just toss a coin and go for it.

    11

    Looks like a decent uni to me. (But I think I would tend to refer to it as more of a street/flatland uni than trials.) Would be nicer with pedals! Better figure that cost into the price!

    12

    Assuming those cranks survived trials… maybe the thread is gone, hence the lack of pedals! :smiley:

    13

    Sorry, but this is in no way built for street or flat. Beginner trials would be a good term maybe. Solid uni for your first hops up stairs etc. the 20" rim as opposed to 19" will hinder you when you get to hopping about 3 pallets.

    Those cranks on there bend easily, so I would definetely take it for a test ride first, they might feel all wobbly to you (if this is his only uni, he would likely not notice since he’s used to it). I’d say the price is a bit steep for what it is, considering building something similar to this new with the some better cranks would be 220 Pounds on udc, and a new, much better Nimbus Trials would be 235 (not cheap, but much better) .

    14

    Thanks loads for all your advice. I’ll steer from this one…
    Appreciate all you support.

    Stewart