I recently bought my first unicycle from Unicycle.com. It is called a 24" Dodger. It was classed as a beginners model and to my untrained eye it does look a little basic compared to more expensive unicycles I see. This is a link to it:
Now I want to upgrade. I have learnt to ride and have begun to take this unicycle off road - as can be seen in my avatar pic. It is awkward because it doesn’t have a front handle on the seat (I just grip the front), the tyre is not off-road and all-together I expect I am pushing it too far - even though I make progress and don’t fall off to much on slightly uneven ground.
My problem is I dont know what MUni specification I need - i.e. size of wheel, spokes and hub specification, crank length, the best seat for the job etc.
Will I find a really big noticeable difference between riding a more expensive MUni off-road compared to my learner model? Where could the difference show? I appreciate the tyre is a big issue - but what size, what profile, what pressure? What about the seat? I realise the seat handle is an improvement - but can the actual seat itself be designed better to sit on - owing to, say, a better shape?
Depends on the style of off-road you wish to do. If you want to do technical downhill you will need a 24" but if you intend a more XC style of off-road then a 26" or a 29" will be the way to go.
For 24" the Nimbus Muni is a great uni - reasonably priced and good quality, the Nimbus can be upgraded by ordering the Kris Holm Moment cranks at the time of purchase. Next up is the Kris Holm 24" - more expensive but has a lighter aluminium frame.
Nimbus also make a 26" version of their Muni and the same can be said for their 26" as I said for the 24".
At the 29" spot - the Kris Holm is probably the best bet.
As to crank length - with a 24" get a 150mm a this seems to be the standard and you learned with 152mm cranks. With the 26" it will be a toss up between 150mm and 165 mm.
With the 29" probably dual hole cranks - 125mm/150mm.
I must say I have read your progress links and I am truly impressed at how quickly you have attained the skills you have so far!
I think the distance you are planning and how extreme you want to go will decide what you should go for as much as price.
The Nimbus Munis are great unicycles to get started on for off road. They all have Magura brake mounts now, and have ISIS cranks, so you can upgrade now or later when you have some spare cash.
I have a Kris Holm 24", and a Kris Holm 29", and they are great. The Kris Holm unicycles are expensive, but they are really nice. The 2007 models are very good value but the 24" ones seem to be finished now.
If you decide to go for a 29" Kris Holm, I would recommend getting the dual hole cranks. I used mine in the summer for a duathlon, riding 18 miles on the road with a road tyre, and the pedals in the 125mm setting, then fitted the off road tyre and put the pedals back to the 150mm setting for going off road again after the event. If I could only have one, I would go for the 29", as it is a bit more versitile.
I’m selling my Qu ax 24" MUni if your intersted.
Its a bit heavy but the chances of it breaking are very low.
It costs £223 new on unicycle.com (i think:o) and i want about £140 for it.
One small issue, it doesnt have a seat (i snapped it, lol) but i would recommend getting a Kris holm fusion freeride saddle.
If you just want parts, i know marcus collings, (sparky marky) is intersted in the frame, seatpost and clamp. so if you would just like the wheel i am happy to negotiate with you and Marcus.
The Nimbus’ are a great value. If you get one make sure it’s a '09. According to UDC a 2.3" WTB Stout will fit the 29er, I don’t know about the 2.4" Racing Ralph. There’s some debate as to if the frame can be modified to fit a geared hub (I don’t see why not since some of the earlier '07 KH’s needed it to fit that hub).
A couple of pluses of the KH is it has a 5 mm wider rim, it’s lighter, and can definitely be upgraded to a geared hub. The sizes are: 19, 24, 29 & 36", no 26" (unless you put your rim in a 29" frame).
Unless you intend to progress to doing big drops, you should consider upgrading to the double hole cranks (I’ve read they’re O.K. up to ~ 4 ft w/ a rollout)
The wider KH rim is virtually the same weight as the Nimbus’ (a rebranded '05 KH), is a bit less likely to pinch flat, or fold over on large side hops/landings. Also it gives a flatter profile giving slightly more grip straight up/downhill, and a bit more stable loose sand or mud.
On my Muni, 38 mm rim, a 3" Duro has a rounder profile than the stock tire (it’d be flatter w/ a wider rim), 2.6" Kenda Kinnetics. W/ my rim the Duro’s more twitchy in loose dirt/mud, is harder to get it to run straight, not S’s, and turns differently at mod-high speeds (lean instead of pivot). For now I don’t feel the added volume is worth it for me. I very briefly rode a '07 KH w/ a 3" Duro and noticed the same things but way less, so much so that it may be insignificant compared to the issues I have w/ my rim.
I bought the Nimbus 29" Uni and upgraded it with 150mm KH cranks and a WTB Stout tire. Works great for the trails we have here in Northeast Texas. Mostly flat with short ups and downs. With the 150mm cranks I can stand up and muscle my way up some pretty steep inclines.
I also just got a Nimbus 24" Muni for Christmas. I’m actually having trouble figuring out what to do with it… It’s too exhausting to ride the types of trails around these parts. I’ve begun building a short technical set of trails on some local family land. Kind of a less technical, longer distance trials course. The 24 is heavy and I don’t have much experience so it’s been a challenge. Having a lot of trouble hopping over obstacles of any real height…