Getting ready to order my first unicycle. I’m favoring the Club 24" Freestyle (6’2" with a 35" inseam). I’ve never ridden before so I’m not looking to spend a bunch and I plan to upgrade should I find I like it and want to continue. I plan on riding on paved trails and with my young children. Any other brands/models I should consider over the Club?
It sounds like the ideal uni for what you want to do. One of my students brought a 20" club to school last year and I was impressed with how nice it is for the cost. The saddle was not too bad, and that’s saying something. A lot of budget cycles have poorly designed saddles that are uncomfortable.
A 24" wheel is good for learning, but even with small children on bicycles you will be working to keep up. I was okay on a 24 when my son was 3, but I soon found a 29er a better fit.
You may get some extra speed/mileage out of shorter cranks after you get comfortable on the 127’s. I would try 102’s which shouldn’t be too much to push on a 24 with a road tire. An extra set of cranks should set you back another $15 or so which isn’t too bad. Also, you can pick them up on Amazon later if you don’t want to get them with the Uni.
I started four months ago on a 24" Sun. Yesterday I did my longest ride yet, 7 miles on that Sun with a KH seat and new pedals. Sun has awful seats. Pedals were ok but I wanted to try different ones.
In July I took a unicycle class (12 hours total time) that provided unicycles and all of them were Clubs. I rode a 24" club during class. Those unicycles were fine. My only issue was that the 24" had 137mm cranks instead of 150mm cranks like my Sun. Switching back and forth between my Sun and the Club was challenging when trying to free mount. It didn’t take too long to get use to one or the other but it did seem a bit awkward to switch.
BTW, I’m 5’5".
A club is fine for learning.
I’m considering another uni but don’t know what to get, muni or road. Either way it will have at least a 26" wheel.
Oh, I always thought those cranks were 137mm. Looks like they’re 127mm! For me the 150mm cranks were easier when learning to free mount. Perhaps that’s because I’m short.
Would you consider going larger than a 24" then or is that going to make it too difficult to learn?
I am also 6’2". I started on a Torker LX 24" with 150mm cranks, so that is where I’m coming from. I would advise against much shorter cranks for a beginner. Short cranks are going to put more strain on your lower back and knees, you will be less confident maneuvering, applying back-pressure on downhills will be more difficult, mounting will be more difficult, learning to idle will be more difficult. To the extent that a unicyclist becomes stronger through practice, it makes sense to start with longer cranks, which produce more torque with less force, then later move to shorter cranks when you are stronger and more in-control of the unicycle. IMHO from a relative beginner.
First I want to qualify what I said about the saddle. It is a nice saddle for a starter, but keep in mind that all uni saddles take some getting used to for the uninitiated. All things being equal, the club comes with a decent saddle.
Size:
How old are your kids, and are they riding bikes well? How long do you hope to ride this uni before upgrading? Have you considered a used uni to get started, and then a new uni when you are ready to bump up the size?
For your size I think the 24" would be a good starter. You can certainly learn on a larger wheel, but as the wheel get’s larger it get’s harder to learn. There are posts on the forum from people who learned on a 26, or even 29, so it’s possible.
Learning to ride is a uni bit like having an argument with physics. In the beginning I remember feeling like there is no way this could work, and any time I’ve ever seen it there must have been some trick. Once you get past the impossibility of it all the possibility opens up, and within a few hours you are riding. So, wheel size may not be as important as perseverance.
Kids are 4 and 7. My ideal unicycle would be a 36" as I just think it looks fun but since I don’t have any experience yet that is just an idea. So I would imagine I would be upgrading in the future and this one would be more for just learning.
I didn’t notice the Club’s had shorter cranks. Should I be considering something with 150mm cranks instead?
You will learn with what you have, and changing will feel weird. So people that are learning on 150’s will find the switch to 127’s a bit startling.
I personally think 127’s on a 24" wheel would be an ideal all purpose length for learning. It “may” be easier to learn with longer cranks, but they will be slower and more awkward. What I mean is that they won’t spin as smoothly as shorter cranks. And 127’s on that wheel are by no means short cranks.
It’s easy to start out with a lot of ideas that lead to trying different crank lengths, and saddles, and whatever else to fix problems. The truth is that you will run into problems learning to tame the wheel. Most of the problems will be due to technique, confidence, and muscle memory. I would go ahead with the Club, and take it as it is. Learn it, and then make adjustments. My guess is that when you do make changes it will be for shorter rather than longer cranks.
Was that the class at Seattle Central? How did it go?
Yes that was the first unicycle class at Seattle Central. Another one is starting 9/29. Noli said he’s teaching that session! I think it’s great that the college is offering these classes (which includes the use of school unicycles).
I happened to come across your post about the class just after purchasing my first unicycle and was starting to learn on my own. By the time class started I could ride about a quarter mile and was nearly free mounting on my own.
There were two other students in the class who had never tried riding before.
The first 6 sessions were outside on a brick area in front of the Broadway Performance Hall. I think that spot was ok for the beginners but I found it a bit challenging since I was use to practicing on a sparsely used playground black top. For the last 6 sessions we moved to the track above the gym. That spot was better since we were the only ones there and it has a long railing all around the track. The down side was that there was no space to practice turns. Honestly I really wanted to be on the gym floor below.
Nick was a good instructor. He’s from the circus world and had time on his hands to teach since his partner was recovering from an injury. Each week he had good exercises tailored to our skill level. My favorite was when he got on his unicycle and held my hand while guiding me in a circle. That helped me get a good feel for turns. We did lots of idling practice that I’m sure will pay off soon.
I was the unicycle nerd of the class always asking Nick about equipment, various types of unicycling and specific techniques I’d found on You Tube. I’m sure he thought I was nuts asking him all those questions. He know tons about performing on a 20" unicycle but isn’t so much into other types of unicycling.
It would be interesting to take the class with Noli. I’m sure it will be totally different. I told him to make sure to strongly encourage his students to get off the rail/wall as soon as possible. At least that’s how I learned relatively quickly.
IMHO, this class is for those who feel they need an instructor to guide them. For me, this forum and You Tube had enough info to learn how to stay on a unicycle (and beyond). Plus I practiced at least a half hour each day.
Yep…Noli is a great teacher. He helped my nephew learn tricks at the weekly Gasworks Park meetings.
I also just used YouTube and lots of practice in the beginning. One thing that REALLY helped was having a place to practice where there was a nice handrail and not alot of people. Where I live, there’s this really nice 1/3 mile boardwalk through a wetland, with handrails all the way–very nice for seeing how many cranks you can go before grabbing the rail.
Try to remember that in the beginning, it is going to feel completely impossible. You just have to decide that you’re going to continue practicing, no matter how weird it feels. Also, you don’t really consciously teach yourself how to uni; you just spend enou\gh time in the seat that your body eventually figures it out. Theory is great, but there’s no substitue for seat time.
Good luck!
oh yeah, btw: everybody’s different. My 12-year-old nephew accomplished in three days what it took me two months to figure out. (the brat!) 