My first uni was a cx. If you buy a CX, you’ll need to buy a new seat. If you buy a LX you probably wont need a new seat, but might be nice. Either way, if you really get into unicycling you’ll want a uni better than the lx or cx.
Bottom line: it doesnt matter than much. Both are great beginner unicycles. buy a nice seat like one of these or these, especially if you go cx.
I wasn’t kidding; an LX frame will fit a trials tire under the right conditions (and with a hammer). Here’s a picture of my unicycle from several months ago… The tire is on an Alex dx32 rim and is fairly worn, and the frame had the legs bent outwards (to fit the hub) and a dent put in the bottom of the crown.
Stick the ends of your legs in a vice. Take it slow, moving the legs in and out will weaken them (ie tighten 1.5 cranks, loosen 2.5 cranks, check, tighten 3.0 cranks, etc.).
The seats on the LX and AX are identical.
The LX frame is steel w/ a flat crown (better for tricks). The AX frame is aluminum, so a bit lighter and a rounded crown frame. The wheelset is the same on both.
Also the LX has more room for a wider knobby than the AX.
I have an LX 24", which is my first (and only) unicycle.
If the seat on the CX is any worse than the LX then I’d say go for the LX because of the seat alone, which is by no means fantastic.
I want to eventually get into trials, street and flat, and would like to ride some moderate distances. A 24" is not ideal for any of these, but will function just fine if you’re learning and want to at least be able to go for little distances without killing yourself spinning on a 20.
I now know I’ll be getting a much larger wheel eventually and a 20" for when I start to learn anything more advanced than simple stuff.
Torker CX
Seat and post:
Small child-size one piece seat without a handle, plastic bumpers in front and back, traditional 22.2mm (7/8in.)seatpost
Frame: traditional steel freestyle frame, quick release on 22.2 mm seat tube. It’s heavy, too much vertical tire clearance for a true freestyle uni
Wheelset: steel rim, cheap stainless steel spokes, cheap cast square taper hub like older unis (1st gen cokers, etc) 129mm steel cranks, plastic beginner pedals.
Great starter for young kids
Torker LX
Seat and seat post:
Miyata-style seat (older, squarer than velo), cheap steel miyata-style 25.4mm (1in.) post.
Frame: chromoly square crown frame w/ pretty good tire clearance, newer ones have wider reinforced crown.
Wheelset:
Fairly strong aluminum single-wall rim, decent ss spokes, pretty good chromo square taper hub, cheap aluminum cranks, plastic beginner pedals.
Better entry-level uni for lager kids and adults, ok for learning basic tricks and light muni.
Torker AX
All same components and seat as LX, the aluminum rounded frame is a little lighter then the other torker frames.
The LX rim and tire are a bit wider than the CX, and stronger. Unless you plan on upgrading your uni in a year or two I’d shy away from the CX, it’s a great learning uni but you will soon need something more advanced in design.
Since you are looking at an LX anyway I’d go for the LX Pro. It’s new for 2010 and should be available any day now. I bought my son an LX last year since he is hard on anything and it’s held up well. The Pro model has some nice features which you will eventually appreciate (the wheel is closer to the frame crown, the crown ends don’t stick out as much, available with a long neck frame, etc).
One of the LX Pro suppliers in Asia got hit with the tsunami so the shipment is running late. I think SeriousJuggling.com has them but you’d have to check.