I have been watching the videos you all are posting and want to know what is the difference between the trials unicycles and the muni’s? They look the same to me. Also, I want to try a bit of each, is there a good one that you can do both on? I will never get real good at either but I would like to at least learn to hop up steps and hop over limbs on a trail. You guys are more familiar with these uni’s than I am so please let me hear the pro’s and con’s. Thanks
A Trials Unicycle uses a 19" rim with a specially designed tire to fit it very tightly.
A Muni usually has a 24" or larger wheel with a much higher volume tire, 3" instead of the 2.5-2.7" Trials Tires.
If you would like to do a bit of both then the 24" muni would probably be your best choice. Hopping on it will be slightly harder than on a 20" trials uni due to its additional size and weight but trail riding / off road riding will be much more pleasurable on the 24"
Trials is about hopping, jumping and riding small distances on and between obstacles. You can spend a whole day doing trials on a couple of picnic tables.
So the uni needs to be light (for jumping) with a small wheel (for fine control) a low seat (to avoid painful contact) and a fat soft tyre (for soft controlled landings, and springy jumps). Ideally the pedals should be grippy without damaging either shins or the obstacles, which are often public property.
Muni is about riding natural obstacles, and usually covering some distance. (Otherwise it would simply be “natural trials”.) You need a strong Uni (impacts and drops) a bigger wheel (for reasonable speed, and to roll over uneven ground), a seat positioned to support you when riding the easier flatter bits, and a fat tyre that is not so soft that it makes riding hard work. Pedals can be as ggrippy as you like, because you won’t be using them to “grab” benches and marble walls.
Mike… good info, now i am getting the picture. Now the big question, what uni would be best?
If you want to get anywhere quicker than in 6 weeks + the post office kicking you around, get a Muni.
If you want to do mainly Trials… well… get a Trials unicycle then, but don’t plan on riding to a place to practice, 19" wheels are quite slow little gremlins.
You could always just do what I do: carry the trials cycle to a trials spot while riding your trusty coker! 
Or bike there with it on your back… even faster.
I’ve done that! I rode like 8 miles to the “village”(dont blink you’ll miss it:D ) in my town. It was kinda cool but my frind and i got bored cux we sucked then and didnt know any good spots. Now that im better i want to go back with a couple of my skater friends tht know som decent spots.
And a 19" may be slow, but i think it is much more versitile. If youi can only get one, i think a trials would be better, unless you want to foucus mainly on Muni, than get a Muni. If you can afford it, it would be awesome to have both. I only have a 19" for now, but i woul like to get a Muni soemt ime to try it out(i havent really done longer trails because as mentioned by someone else, trials unis are kinda slow, and not the greatest for long distances.
Eventually you will probably want both, but for you I’d start w/ a Muni.
Muni:
More virsitile - can fit any 24" tire, so you could put on a fat 3" cruiser, then commute on it and do urban trials and some tricks. Put on a fat knobby and you are ready for some epic MUni.
Trials and tricks will be a bit harder and falls are a bit scarrier .
Your learner 20" can be good for learning tricks and trials, just NO DROPS.
I’d get the best Muni you can afford (KH is the best w/o going custom), but make sure it has a splined hub. If there are hills in your area you may want to make sure it comes w/ hydrolic brake mounts (so, not the Nimbusunless you can weld or know someone who can - otherwise a really good, strong MUni). If you can’t afford a KH, I’d get a Torker DX on e-bay.
Holm 24’’
I use my 24’’ Holm for both; if you are going to do drops I would not use Kris Holm Mountain 24 inch Mountain Rim with holes around it it looks cool and is less weight but weakens the rim. I put a major flat spot on my rim so I bought a Double Wide rim. So far I haven’t had any problems. The Double Wide adds weight but it is so strong I don’t mind. I have been doing 6ft drops all day and the breaks don’t rub you can also put zip ties on the spokes to help add strength.
one disagreement. I ride with my seat higher than most because i rack myself LESS that way.
that is a rather important point…
I have 2 24" (and my dads 26") im trading out one of the tires for a 20 so i can learn more tricks but im a large fan of the 24"s
Please explain. In my short experience with unicycles, I have not heard of using zip ties for strength.
Neither have I.
Its funny how often I see people saying you cant use a 19: for distance. I do all the time. Not long distances, thats why I use a coker, a biker, or a car. But to the store, from my house to get downtown, and all over, I use my 19", and I also hit all the stairs and rocks and skinnies I see on the way.
If im in a hurry, im just gonna use a car to get there.
If I had a 24", id ride that the least of my unis, cause I would only use it for muni, the little bit of extra speed wouldnt be worth it for me to use it anywhere else except on the trails.
I agree with the genreal consensus, trials is ok on a 24 but muni sucks on a 19, so a 24 is better if you’re going to do both.
Unless you’re too small to fit on a 24…then a Trials tire is the perfect MUni:
wow… thats even lower tahn my seat when i started! ( i was super short)