I just heard about the hobby/sport of unicycling a few weeks ago. Up until then I am sorry to say I was one of those people who thought unicycling was just for clowns :o But now I know better
One of my friends friend came to visit us with her uni. She told me all about the different tipes of unicycling like muni and trials. It really blew my mind.
I had a go on her uni (20" basic learner) in our tight corridor. In about 5x20 min practice sessions I managed to do 3-4 revs unsupported wich I am pretty proud of From what I have read deciding to go for it and learn to ride is a big part of the challenge and the fact that I am usually way to stubborn for my own good makes me think that I am really going to get the hang of this thing.
So the next step for me is to buy my first uni
I don’t want it to be the most basic of basic unis. What I want to be able to do in time is to ride my uni wherever I would normally walk. In and out of town. So I presume I want a fairly big wheel. But isn’t 24" the biggest that is recommended for beginners? I also want a comfy seat because my friends uni seat started to feel a little uncomfortable even after that little riding. I Think going for a cheap uni is just not going to pay off for me. It cost the same to post a bad one and a good one home to Iceland (a lot!) so I am probably better off getting a decent one right from the start.
Ok to sum it up. Do you guys have any suggestions on which uni would be best for me for town commuting and basic off road riding (of course not just yet).
oops, almost forgot. My inseam is about 34".
Bonus question: what about different crank lengths?
Thanks a lot for any help or advise you can give me, I really appreciate your help
Sounds like you have some natural talent. I’d suggest you get a 26" with 150mm cranks. That unicycle will serve you well once you learn to ride it. Though it will be a bit harder to learn, you will not outgrow it and it is capable of everything you said you wanted to do.
^^ I totally agree. I learned on a 24" with 150mm cranks and it worked out fine. You should do fine learning on a 26". It may take a little longer, but it shouldn’t be that bad. Once you get going, a 26" is a pretty good size for cruising around town, and it is very common for muni as well. You may wish to get different sized cranks down the road, but for learning 150mm or maybe a little bigger sound good.
As for which type to get, unicycle.com has a wide selection of unis available. The Nimbus brand is very good for the money, and Kris Holm unis are fantastic. I’d reccomend getting either a 26" Kris Holm, or a 26" Nimbus muni. They are both durable, good quality unis that will make you happy.
Thanks for the advise. I wouldn’t have thought of getting any bigger than 24" but when I think about it, it makes sense. I am probably going to end up getting the 26" Nimbus muni. Is the huge 3" tire not gonna couse me troubles though?
I also think 26" will be OK. If you have possibility to borrow your friend’s 20" to learn a bit before then it should be quite easy to change to bigger one.
I’ve started from 24" and as soon as I learned to ride I knew that it was too small. Now I have 29" and I’m totally happy with that, but it may be to big to begin with.
3" tire should not make a problem especially if you pump it up to a high pressure, but you may consider getting some smaller tire. 26" is most popular bike size so you could get some 26x2.0 tire more suitable for road riding quite easily.
What I would also suggest is getting dual hole cranks. 150 is nice for offroad but you will soon want something shorter for a city ride and as getting a new pair may be expensive for you, why not to get 125/150 from the beginning.
There isn’t the greatest selection of 26’ers, but if you don’t mind spending a bit more than your quality basic unis the Nimbus Muni is a good choice. I’d get a road tire for riding around town and so you don’t wear out that nice knobby before you can make good use of it.
Also some extra cheap longer cranks like these. Most don’t like cranks more than 150mm for Munis (I’m an exception w/ 170’s on my 24). They will make learning all your basic skills and hill climbing easier, especially if you can’t continue to use your friend’s learner.
Edit:
Another reason for going 26 over a smaller uni is taller people tend to preffer bigger wheels.
Well, the best thing would be to wait a bit if you can so you can join shipping costs. When I bought mu first decent muni I bought also 2 for friends. Ask around and show them a uni so you’ll find surely someone.
If you are not sure and come from Europe I will try with the Qu-Ax, they are extremely cheap and tought. What I did was buying 2 24" and 1 29", we tried them and finally I got the 29" for me. If you haven’t tried any of them it’s very difficult to know which one would be better for you, it’s a personal taste and selfbalance issue.
You can have a Qu-Ax 24", 26" or 29" for just 200€ and later you can easily sell it for 100-150€ to go for a better one from Kris Holm. Think about this like “renting” a not so bad uni for some months to train and see if you like the sport.
But if you really want a good one from the beginning go for the KH26, that size is in the majority of bikes, so spares would be easier to find in local shops and at the end you’ll save money. You’ll have top quality double hole cranks, great saddle and tire that you’ll eventually buy if you continue riding.
I like hearing all sorts of different opinions.
I’m going to give it a go and see if any friends are going to be interested in joining me in the shipping, although I am not very hopeful of getting any of them to actually spend money on this. They will most likely say “wow that’s awesome! Maybe I can try yours and then see if I really want one” in wich case it is going to be too late
When I know how my finances are looking after christmas I’m most definitely going to ask UDC for a quote for shipping a 26" nimbus muni to Iceland, maybe with KH 125/150 cranks as well. I didn’t know they made double holed ones, thats a brilliant idea!
You’ll be fine learning on a 26", that was what I learned on. A crappy Sun 26" that I destroyed soon after I could manage riding a mile or two at a time. I had the immediate goal of riding MUni as well and since I had plenty of 26" tires around from mountain bikes I thought that if I could learn on a 26" unicycle all I’d have to do would be swap out tires once I learned and I’d be good to go. Well I was half right, killed the Sun unicycle but then piece wise built up a 26" frankenMUni after that.
From what I have read deciding to go for it and learn to ride is a big part of the challenge and the fact that I am usually way to stubborn for my own good makes me think that I am really going to get the hang of this thing.
