Help! A Unicycle for Christmas

Off-topic
1

Hello! I’m in a bit of a dilemma and I could think of no one better then the brilliant people of this unicycling community to ask for advice.

Here’s the deal: My sweetheart loves to unicycle, so much so that a few month’s ago he wore his out and it completely fell apart. We’ve been a little hard pressed for cash so it hasn’t gotten replaced… so! This Christmas I wanted to surprise him with a nice new shiny unicycle! I’m putting my savings into this, so I want to get a good one, but I don’t really understand what size to get him or what to look for. If anyone could give me some advice I would greatly appreciate it!

Here’s some information that might help:
He is 5’4",muscular, and weighs about 140 lbs
He would like a unicycle that would be okay for tricks as well as getting around our small town

Thank you sooo much and God bless!

2

Most people do tricks on a 20" (or 19"), but they’re not very good for getting around town. I think a 24" wheel would be better. I have a Nimbus brand ride that I like. You might look here for one. I’ve also seen a lot of K-1 brand unicycles marked waaaaaaay down for some reason. This looks like a really good deal.

Those sites ship in the U.S. If you’re outside the U.S. you’ll have to find something closer. You get the idea though…

3

Kenzie,
You will get more useful answers if you at least tell you what country you’re in. If the emphasis is on getting places, go with 24" to still be able to do plenty of tricks. If the emphasis is more on the tricks, 20" will be more versatile (but slow going anywhere). Ultimately the answer to this is two unicycles, so you can also think in terms of which one to get first.

For affordable, basic transportation, this 24" from Unicycle.com USA is only $125 (comes in various colors). But if he wants to bomb around more (put more stress on it) you should move up to something like this. It has a stronger wheel, a much stronger axle and cranks, and a better seat.

4

Thanks guys! We live in the Midwestern region of America. Also, what about the seatpost size and I’ve read something about a crank arm? :thinking:

5

I think you should go with a medium length post. Unless he’s all legs, it’ll probably be too long, but that’s alright. It’s easy to cut a little off the seat post to make it fit. You’re out of luck if you get one that’s too short…

For cranks, I use 125mm. They work fine for me.

6

Not much to add, follow the advice above.
But this needed to be said:
Kenzie, you are an awesome sweetheart!!! :smiley:

7

Kenzie, how did the original unicycle “completely fall apart”? Is it not a case of some part that died and that maybe can be replaced? In that case, you could get an alternative size as a present so that after the repair, your friend would have a choice of two unis. So if the old uni is a 24", buy him a 20", or vice versa. 20" and 24" are the two most common wheel sizes for unicycles. The size is often embossed on the tyre, or you can measure it yourself: it’s the outside diameter of the tyre.

Secondly, you wrote you “read something about a crank arm”… You know what a crank arm is, right? It’s the thing on which the pedal is attached, and so every unicycle has two crank arms, or “cranks” for short. Any unicycle you would buy comes with two cranks included, and the length and type of them is usually just fine for general use - so don’t worry about cranks at this stage. (Having said that, for experienced unicyclists the length and other characteristics of cranks are an important issue, and various cranks cater for various purposes - and are subject to personal preference too.)

Good luck.

8

I’m not entirely certain how he broke his old one, I think he said something about the bearings in it getting warped and breaking the axle? :thinking: I could be horribly mistaken though. I asked his mom and she told me his old one was a 18". I also went five different bike shops yesterday and found one that carried unicycles! :smiley: I hassled the shop owner until he made me a deal, I bought an 18" like his old one, however, the shop owner agreed that if he opened it and decided he needed a bigger size, we could bring it back and trade it no charge! (I got it in writing too haha)

Thank you guys so much! I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t come here first that guy would’ve ripped me off. I brought my mom with me too and she haggled 20% off the price. I’ve learned a lot already, and who knows? Maybe he’ll be looking for one for me next year!

9

Terry posted this a while back. This is the best deal in quality unis available now. They usually cost about 150 $ more than this. These are really tough, I would suggest the 24 track monster. Anything you get cheaper will be much weaker.

http://stores.ebay.com/Makaiscom/Bikes-/_i.html?_nkw=unicycle&submit=Search&_fsub=1951974012&_sid=10415122

10

What is the difference between the White Russian and the Track Monster? why do you recommend the Track Monster?

11

Kenzie, I’m going to deviate from the above advice mildly, and I hope you take what I’m saying into consideration.

I’m going to give you several reasons for purchasing a 20" wheel rather than a 24".

  1. For transportation, an 18" wheel is awful - it’s hard to recommend worse. One in a hundred people rides them, and this is the very reason why. So, a 20" would be an improvement for him in these terms, and for that I think he would be grateful. For a small town, a 20" is perfectly adequate, though as a rule, the larger the wheel, the better for saving energy for transportation. But, if he was able to get around on an 18" without complaining, the 20" will be just fine.

  2. Perhaps the only reason you would sacrifice the extra inches, and own an 18", is because it can be good for tricks. I contend that a 20" is every bit as good and perhaps superior to an 18" even in this area.

  3. 20" is not only as good as 18" for tricks, but compared to a 24", it is immeasurably better. If you had come in and said, “Sweetheart likes doing tricks on his unicycle, and I would like to buy him one. What size tire should I buy?” The answer would be, invariably, “20 inch”. Those I know who own a 24" and a 20", who wish to do tricks, NEVER take out the 24" for this purpose, and I don’t see why they would. You would be greatly hindering Sweetheart in his ability to do tricks by purchasing a 24". This effect will be amplified because of his stature.

  4. A 24" has a very different feel than an 18". Liken it to someone who rides a regular bmx bicycle being bought a mountain bike as a gift. Or imagine someone who rides a mountain bike being bought a 21 speed thin-tire street bike as a gift. Far be it from me to determine whether or not he would like the change, but it is different, and you have to decide whether it is worth the risk.

So why would anyone recommend a 24"?

Knowing nothing about unicycles, you mentioned that he needs to be able to use it to get around town. That is understandable, but I fear that others have placed too much emphasis on this statement, and are suggesting a 24". 24" is virtually the only size of unicycle that can be used for both tricks and is energy efficient. It is not nearly as fast/efficient as a 28". It is not nearly as good for tricks as a 20". However, it does have qualities of both, and for that, it has merit. Thus, I think they are recommending a 24" to cover all bases and be “safe.” However, I believe we have enough information that that is not necessary, and we can answer questions about your situation specifically.

I would be to revising my opinion if you said one of these two things:

“When he rides, he usually rides several miles.”

“If it were a bit quicker and more efficient, he would not mind if the unicycle was limiting in terms of tricks.”

So, what do you think about those statements, Kenzie?

Recommendations:

We do not know about your budget. You already said you’re putting your savings into this gift, but it is not easy to recommend specifics for this reason.

It would also be more biased, so I don’t care to add in my two cents here for fear of making the rest of the post look more biased than it is.

On unicycle.com, you can adjust/customize specific parts of the unicycle, such as cranks. You will get these parts much cheaper, perhaps 50-75% cheaper, if you do it this way, compared to if you upgraded the parts later.

I would recommend upgrading cranks, if you do not buy a Kris Holm cycle, to Kris Holm Moments cranks. These are very, very sturdy, and there is an extra piece called a Rollo that you can stick onto these, and only these, cranks. It helps a lot for certain tricks, and is pretty cheap, but I won’t go into the details here. Measure his old cranks from the center of one hole to the next. It will be 110, 114, 125, 127, or 137 mm. Kris Holm also makes cranks with two holes, indicated by a slash (110/125), and these are like having two sets of cranks at once, which, with Kris Holm cranks, would be $160. They’ll probably install one of these for you for $48 if you’d like. It’s a luxury, but an option.

Cheers
Lance

12

I feel dumb.

13

Most of the above makes good sense, except (IMHO) the last recommendation to upgrade to Kris Holm cranks no matter what unicycle you buy. Firstly, KH cranks are quite expensive, and if the OP buys a cheapish unicycle, the expensive cranks are “out of tune” with the other parts. Secondly, KH moment cranks don’t fit on every unicycle. If the uni has cotterless cranks (square taper), that isn’t compatible with KH moments. Admittedly, cotterless cranks are the hallmark of cheaper unicycles, but then again, most unis sold new still have a cotterless hub/crank interface. The OP mentions that she’s a little hard pressed for cash, so a splined interface (like the ISIS hub that KH cranks require) may be out of reach.

14

Kenzie has left the forums

Um, guys:

15

Oh well, consider the continuing advice useful for future reference. And what do you mean by “Kenzie has left the forums?”

16

Kind of like saying someone has left the building. It’s an expression (but maybe not where you are :p). I was trying to be funny, which is something my wife keeps telling me is futile. :o

Anyhow, I just doubt Kenzie will be checking back on this thread after her last post. It struck me as a little odd that we’re collectively continuing to debate what the best advice is for her, when she already made her purchase in disregard of most of the advice that had been given to her.

17

Perhaps your wife just has a dry sense of humor. :roll_eyes:

Scott

18

It’s a possiblity. :wink:

20

Thanks a lot fellas! I’m the ‘Sweetheart’. I thought that it was funny that

Kenzie wandered her way onto a forum that I used to frequent on a regular

basis, in order to surprised me with a new uni, so I thought that I would look at

the thread she started. To whoever asked how the uni broke, it was the

cheap plastic piece of crap that I learned how to ride on when I was about

12, and rode until I was about 17, a year or so ago. The hub, being made of

plastic, could not take the amount of abuse that I put it through, and

eventually the steel cranks wore the hub out, to the point that the uni was

not ride able because the cranks just spin around in the hub. Its even

cracked from a few jumps that were to high up for it to handle. Repairs, I

Believe, are completely out of the question. I might be able to recycle the

seat, as the seat on my new one is a bit uncomfortable, and the cranks are

pretty nice, but that is about it.

Again, thank you guys so much for helping my girl friend find me a unicyle. I

Really do prefer 18 inchers, I like doing tricks and it is what I’m used to.

When she said “get around town,” she meant liesurely ride around, not

trying to get somewhere. I don’t really care to much about speed.

Also, she did check back to read your posts after her final one.