HEY EVERYBODY! Okay so I think I am going to get the Nimbus 20" Hookworm Freestyle. http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=629 What size cranks are better for freestyle, 110mm or 125mm? Also, whats a good size seatpost legnth for freestyle, I am about 5’8" and 135 pounds (if weight has anything to do with it). Another thing is this a descent unicycle for freestyle? If not, can somebody reccomend another freestyle unicycle in about the same price range? Thanks!
-Nyle
Hey,
I think crank size really depends on your preference for riding. If you like tricks such as spins or pirouettes then smaller cranks are better because your pedals are less likely to hit the ground while leaning or spinning or whatever.
As for my thoughts on this unicycle for freestyle:
Frame: In my opinion, the frame clearance from the top of the wheel is way too high for freestyle, especially if you will be doing stand up tricks.
Tire: I have not tried the hookworm (so i dont know much about it) but for freestyle generally (at least i do) you want a tire with alot of grip to it (yet non-marking). The Primo “The Wall” tire is good.
Seat: The non-upgraded seat that comes (stock KH) i think would be too fat for freestyle. Something like a Nimbus/KH gel or off the like would be better.
Seatpost: For your question on the seatpost, I would say get a 350mm or 300mm, for freestyle you want a high seat to make wheel/stand up tricks easier.
My recommendation for a freestyle unicycle, is the upgraded XL 20" Freestyle from Semcycle.com with ALL of the upgrades (except maybe the saddle upgrade. more of a preference thing though). I think with all the upgrades mine was $220 (including shipping) and it is a great freestyle unicycle. Read through this thread when i got a freestyle unicycle last August:
EDIT: A picture in this thread: My freestyle unicycle came today!!!. Since then, ive gotten a White primo “the wall” tire and i got a nimbus gel seat.
Hope that helped.
clearance could be an issue…
110mm cranks definetly.
and if you buy from unicycle.com US, ask them if you can get a miyata saddle. They always say they are out of stock but when i ordered my unicycle they said they kept a few hidden away for special purposes (that was 2 years ago). It is well worth getting a miyata saddle, or a semcycle. The KH saddles are so bulky.
I think Jeff’s semcycle is a pretty good option if you are buying from america =)
ok so… http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=697
i think i will get 300 mm seat post with 400 mm seat tube with grey kh seat (i may replace it with a better seat for freestyle) 102 mm cranks and green tire. Would this be a good unicycle?
buy a stock LX and a a pair of 102mm cranks and and a green the Wall tire. about $150 plus a crank puller and you have a sweet freestyle uni with the only problem being that the seatpost clamp is low and could be in the way. if thats a problem for you could buy something along the lines of: http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=849
a bit of work and you get to save about $50
saving the etra 50 bucks doesnt mean that much to me if the nimbus is better,
I think I will do that. Please tell me if my plan will not work in any way. (All of the prices include shipping in American) I am only getting the Toker LX for the wheel set and seat/seatpost.
Torker LX Unistar 20" $106.31
Nimbus X Long-Neck Frame $54.69
United Deluxe Non-Marking Pedals $18.75
Primo The Wall Freestyle Tire $28.70
Total-$208.45
that should work well. everything will work. the LX pedals are good for freestyle. but i am not sure if they would mark stuff up.
do you know the clearence from the frame to the tire using the nimbus x frame, it won’t be too much right?
would the lx seatpost fit in the nimbus frame?
I think the site may specify the seat post diameter for the frames, if they are the same then obviously they will fit, the big problem with the nimbuses is the clearence over the tire, i think it’s around an inch. I ended up going through miyata but they are fairly expensive and it will take a little while for your unicycle to come mine just came in and i ordered it in mid august but it is completely sick and well worth the wait, i had my unicycle bilt with 5mm of clearence
Crank length:
In the end it’s a personal choice, and I think shorter is better as you learn the skills. You might want to start a little longer while learning them. I learned almost all the moves I can currently do on 125s (in the early days it was a 24" uni with 140s). But 125s hit the ground a lot, and make smooth-flowing stuff like spins harder. My newer Freestyle uni came with 110s, which I found to be a little short for my tastes (probably because of all the years with 125s). More recently I got a pair of 114mm cranks that I’m happy with. If I wanted to do more Japanese-style riding, I’d start with 110 and work my way down to shorter ones. Many of the top riders use 89s, but these can make many non-Japanese style tricks a lot harder!
Seat height:
For Freestyle you’ll want it nice and high, the same height as for road riding. Only a slight bend in your knee with your heel on the bottom pedal. This is a lot higher than you’d use for Trials, Street or MUni.
Tire clearance:
Lower is generally better, though I had to get used to my Wyganowski when I first got it. Lots of the foot-on-fork stuff I did had to be somewhat re-learned because the tire was much closer than what I was used to.
I would recommend going witha semcycle uni for freestyle. At the moment I don’t see any freestyle unicycles on UDC that I would buy. They all have loads of tire clearance. My recomendation would be a semcycle XL uni from Semcycle.com with a Kris Holm Fusion Street Saddle from UDC. I don’t think you can do much better than that from the states. Plus the price is pretty much awesome!
do you have a website or something for this? i would loke to have one with 5mm clearence hah
I have exact the same Semcycle XL freestyle like Jeff, even the color is exact the same.
It’s also available to the rest of the world at semcycle.com. In Europe you can consider buying at semcycle.nl
At below picture you see it with the Primo “The Wall” tire of 1.85 width.
The same tire in the 2.1 width version would fit very nice under the fork-crown, and give the best possible wheel contact for stand-up stuff.
is it possible to buy the semcycle without a seat?
Maybe, you’d better ask them (I don’t think they’ll be reading your question here).
yea, I’m thinking of getting it with all the upgrades, but I’d rather put my nimbus gel on it.
does anyone know what the tire epgrade is?
A Pr1mo “the Wall” in stead of a -I guess- Schwalbe (a.k.a. Swallow) tire.
um, is it the 1.85" one or the 2.1" one?
I’m thinking I’d like the slightly wider tire, but I’m not sure.