AnimalCage,
UDC says the Club 24" has a 180 lb weight limit (not an issue for me). They also say I’ll taco the wheel if i take it on anything more than a smooth trail. It doesn’t sound like that’s the case from your experience.
what to buy?
I started and had two unicycles one a 20 inch cyclepro and the other a 24 inch no name. I found it much easier to learn on the 24 inch. After I was able to go around the block I bought a 26 inch club and I found that it made all of the difference in the world. My legs were so sore with the first two that I had trouble getting up to riding one block, with the club there was no problem, I also found that I would be so winded that I couldn’t go any further. Not so with the club. So, I would say that it isn’t worth it to get an old no name get something like the club and you know that you will have have something that will work well for you, but you haven’t broken the bank to buy it.
^^^
I bet your riding style is what was wearing you out on the smaller wheels (too much weight on the pedals, not pedaling smoothly causing a lot of zig zag).
A bigger wheel, generates a lot more inertia and even w/ longer cranks it would zig zag less, even w/ longer cranks than the smaller uni.
I had a similar problem, I’d zig zag all over the place. After switching to a 24 and riding that for a couple of months, I was able to go back to my smaller wheels and ride streight.
My .02 cents. My wife bought me a 20" torker cx and I’m around 220 lbs but the best thing I did was get a kh seat and it became comfortable to learn on. Just saying if you get a cheaper uni that a new seat is a huge difference. I thought I was crazy to buy a saddle that cost almost as much as my uni but it helped me want to ride more.
I bought a used Nimbus 24" off craigslist. Although it’s “used” it doesn’t appear to have been ridden much if at all. I think it’s the Nimbus II, but when I got home I realized that it doesn’t have the ISIS cranks. It’s got 125mm Qu-Ax 1 cotterless aluminum cranks with a 48 hole (blue) alloy rim and a unicycle.com cro-moly hub.
Is this an older Nimbus II? Is this fine for what I want…to learn on and eventually take off road? And did I pay too much ($160)?
Setup:
Nimbus II frame (Chrome)
48 hole alloy rim (I assume it’s double walled)
UDC cromoly hub
Qu-Ax1 125mm aluminum cotterless cranks
Nimbus Gel saddle
Maxxis Hookworm tire 24x2.5 (brand new)
I just got my first unicycle about two days ago. It is a avenir deluxe chrome. Not sure if it’s the best to practice on (due to my lack of experience), but I am slowly learning and am able to keep my balance pretty well with the help of a ski pole or two 
Best part is, I got it for 20$ from a cop on craigslist 
Anyone know if this model is harder to ride/learn on than a beginner uni on unicycle.com? Sure as hell was a lot cheaper. Oh, and one more question to experienced riders reading this: I have no one to practice with and have spent at least two hours a day the past two days practicing. Is there any way to tell where I should be in regards to skill level? Again, I have really no gage to judge my progress. I am hooked, even though it is quite frustrating and really no motivation besides sheer determination to be able to ride a unicycle. ahaha so far so good I guess
Not sure on a model. Price seems good to me, especially considering it’s “like-new.”
Sounds like a great setup to learn on. It can certainly handle light trail use.
A uni from UDC may (or may not) have a more comfortable saddle, but aside from that your uni is just as adequate to learn on.
Different people learn at different rates, so it’s hard to tell. Personally, after 4 hours practice, I still couldn’t ride at all, just get a few revolutions along a wall. Ya just gotta stick with it until you have a breakthrough…keep your chin up, weight on the saddle, and visualize yourself riding!
spoke to UDC. this is a Nimbus II…earlier model. Only diff is that mine comes with cotterless aluminun cranks instead of isis. I think the price i paid is ok and I’m good to go.
Just had a breakthrough today! My goal is to be able to ride solidly within 6 days of purchasing my uni 
I’m going on day 4 tomorrow and I can ride about 15-20 feet without any guidance. I might just meet my goal:D
Nice work :).
mik - just saw this. At 220 lbs, I do lightly abuse it (curbs, small stair sets, etc). It has held up quite well. I’ve gotten a 10-mile ride on it, and the saddle is not fun after an hour or so. But short breaks and a camelbak make the longer rides possible.
I hope you enjoy your Nimbus, heard a lot of great things about them. My advice would be to ride it into the ground. That’s how to learn, and how to get the most enjoyment out of it!