I would like to go for a disc brake, and I’ve also wanted to ride a 27.5 for a long time, though I never had the opportunity to try one.
What I could do:
Stick to my current unicycle but just swap the hub, brake and frame. I add that I’d also like to go from 140mm cranks to 125 ones.
Thing is, I won’t have use of the remaining old parts…
Sell my whole 24" and buy a new one. I don’t want to downgrade though, and I don’t know if I should stick to KH or another brand. KH are damn expensive. I’m not doing muni these days, but I will in the summer.
However, I’ve sometimes been frustrated by the smallness of the 24" wheel when I rode some distance (a few kilometers to 10+).
I 've ridden a basic 29" (heavy, no brake) mainly in the woods for two years and I was happy with it, though I find this size too big and not practical enough now.
Sell my whole 24" and buy a 27.5". Thing is, I’ve never tried this size before. I tried a 26" and I found it a bit too relatable to my 24. Didn’t change much the feels, speed, etc. A 29 is too big. Maybe 27.5 would be the perfect wheel size for me. Who knows. But 27.5 are expensive and I didn’t find any used one to sell in my area, so I guess I’d have to buy a whole new one, which is expensive too.
Also, I never learned to jump with a unicycle with my 24". That would be very handy in the street to mount on the sidewalks. Do you think I can learn to do that (and no more) with a 27.5? I’ve wanted to learn to do that for a long time but I never took the time to learn, and the fact that it may not change is realistic, I guess, lol.
If I was going for a new 24", any advice regarding the brand? I only know KH. It seems strong and I like very much my comfortable freeride seat and the overall lightness of the uni, which makes it easy to pick up by hand.
If I was going for a 27.5… Same question. I’ve heard about the new Quax which has custom hub/cranks and seatpost size or something like that. I’d prefer to be able to switch parts easily if needed or wanted.
The purpose of my main unicycle is a means of transportation. I almost never walk. I like offroad and muni, I will do it during vacation, but I don’t do that very much when living in town (that may change with a better weather though).
If you can afford it I would recommend to keep your current KH24 and buy an additional Muni with a disc brake (27.5 sounds like a great size). I’ve got the KH 24 and the KH 26 (with the fantastic surly Knard tyre). I am currently using the KH 24 to do challenging Muni or stuff around town (improving my very limited Trials skills) and the 26 for doing easier Muni. I love my 24 and it is great for improving your riding skills. The 26 is great for Muni but I find it that extra bit harder to control when trying new challeging stuff.
My only Muni used to be the 26 but since I bought the 24 (a year and a half ago) my riding skills have improved considerably.
Brand wise I think all the main Brands are great, so if budget is an issue, I would go for whatever Muni is discounted at the moment.
Well, I usually don’t ride long distance, I just move around in town, so mostly short rides. 10-15km are the longer I ride. I said in my message that 29" is a bit too huge for me now, so I won’t buy a 36… Though I tried one a few months ago and it was very cool to ride!
I upgraded from a nimbus Oracle 24" Without a brake which was my first decent uni. To a KH 27.5 With disk brake and i loved it until i got a 36" Oracle
Now i never use the 24" and very rarely use the 27.5. I think if you know 36" is to big for you, then you would be very happy going KH27.5
Thank you for your replies. Since I’m here asking about 27.5, any thoughts about this one? https://www.einradladen.com/584mm-275-Inch-QX-Q-axle-Disc-Muni-PLUS
The white one seems fairly cheap, of good quality I guess? Does the larger rim mean that it can be difficult to find fitting tires?
That is a high quality unicycle with a fair few proprietary parts. A great package as it comes but it might be a bit harder to modify by swapping pieces around if you are into that.
“Regular” tires should fit just fine on that 45mm rim, though you will be more exposed to snake bite punctures with slimer tires, as well as increased road camber sensitivity. The flip side of course is it will be more stable when running lower pressures and bigger tires offroad.
If you have a good place to keep both unicycles I would consider keeping the 24 as a loaner/spare. Older well used unicycles tend not to go for much on the open market.
Anything around 27.5 - 29 inches is a good all round general purpose uni. Fast enough for transport, nimble enough for Muni, safe enough around crowds.
Hopefully, you will end up with one of each main size sooner or later. Most of us do.
I have to restrain myself not to keep getting more Unicycles… I haven’t tried any of the wheels sizes between 26 and 36 yet… But I am sure I will one day (probably the 29er)
Do you? Or do you really just need to move into a bigger place.
I think the “right” answer in this thread is pretty clear. Pick the new uni you will love. Keep the old one unless you need to sell it to buy the new one. Then start saving up for #3!
Can I suggest the QX series muni 24 ?
Actually there s nice prices on that muni (about 450$) for a complete muni with disk brake, double insert crancks (125/145), nice saddle, nice tire, nice rim, qaxle hub (better than isis), and light weight.
I own a 20" for many years, a 29" for some months and recently bought that muni as a more versatile unicycle, and it s finaly as fast as my 29", since there s less balance corrections to do, and it s not crown sensitive, so I’m riding on it as fast as my 29 (about 9mph on 15km).
The 3" tire make it looking more like a 26 than a 24, but it s very versatile, more comfortable, easy to transport (in bus/cars), much easier to climb hills than my 29".
