I am looking at buying my husband his first unicycle as a gift. Any chance you could guide me in the right direction? He is a very avid road biker and mountain biker and previously worked at a bike shop however, has never tried a unicycle. Also, he is 6’2" and 160# (if that matters?). What would be a quality yet reasonably priced beginner unicycle for him? Thanks for any and all suggestions!!
Torker LX’s are good quality for cheap.
Club is decent as well.
Either go with a 20" or a 24" wheel size.
Shmolagin’s recommendations for learner unicycles are good, though Torkers, for some reason, are unusually expensive on Unicycle.com right now, so you should look elsewhere if you want one of those. Finding a long enough seatpost when I started out was a problem even for me, and I am not nearly as tall as your husband, so be careful about that when buying.
The nice thing about Unicycle.com is that they’re riders, and are accommodating. This would be a good one, a good value, and you can choose from 3 different seatpost lengths.
http://www.unicycle.com/unicycles/beginner-series/adult-trainers-20-to-29-inch-wheels/trainer-24-inch-unicycle.html
Good luck, and let us know how he likes the sport.
Here’s a good deal on a torker lx. I’d go with it rather then anything else but that’s mostly because I’ve had very good luck with torkers. I’ve had three and never had any problems with them.
What brand/types of bikes does he own? If he’s the kind of person who likes the quality and craftsmanship of high end hardware, than Kris Holm unis are a good option, probably as high end as you want to start. To me, Nimbus is more the equivalent of a solid mid range uni, more in my price range, and still a very high quality piece of kit. Both of these are way more than you need to learn, but there’s something to be said about it being more motivating to learn when you have nice stuff. That said, Torkers, Clubs, are just fine; buy from someone who specializes in unis like unicycle.com and you won’t go wrong.
Personally, I started on A 24 incher, and moved to a 20; everything got a lot easier with the smaller wheel. I’ve been riding for a couple of years now and have 5 unis, but still use the small wheel regularly.
One more consideration - as he learns he’s going to fall, a lot. And cycle gloves aren’t going to help that much, though they’re better than nothing. I can’t say enough good about the Kris Holm uni gloves; if I had a pair of them from the start I would have lost a lot less blood learning.
Sam
Only problem is now you’re talking almost $700 and you don’t even know if he’ll like it.
Triton. All he’ll ever need…
Geared triton with solid gold trim, unubtainium saddle and platinum filled everything else.
The above Ebay link for a Torker is probably NOT what you should get for someone who is 6’2," as the inseam measurement for someone riding it is listed as 34" maximum. My inseam is 34" and I am nowhere near 6’2". The link posted by LanceB is a good one, as there you can be absolutely sure you’re getting a seatpost that’s long enough. It is also true, as a few have pointed out here, that the people who work at Unicycle.com are extremely helpful.
Lol, what, you trust some random ebay seller for torker information? I had a Torker lx, and unless this model has something weird done to it, the maximum inseam length is waayy more then that. When I bought mine I had to set it way down from where it was and the post had been cut. My inseam is ~33"…
A club. It’s what my club uses
Good advice here IMHO. The OP’s husband is a serious bicyclist who has worked in a bike shop and might be a big-time gear snob or might not be. A pretty good rule of gift-giving is to get something as good as or better than what the recipient would get for him or herself.
And different people can have different ideas of what “reasonably priced” means. Compared to the really snooty bike stuff, all unicycles are reasonably priced.
Yeah, what LargeEddie said. Considering what kind of bike(s) he rides now could offer a lot of insight as to what brand/style of uni he is most likely to stick with.
Knowing much he rides each bike would help make a good decision, too. Does he ride mostly on bike trails? Off road?
Sam
Contact Unicycle.com (in the country that you reside in) http://www.unicycle.com/ and give them the info above that you have supplied us with. They will be able to assist you.
The crowd here will typcally assume any new unicyclist wants to learn Trials and Street, so they need an unbreakable 19" or 20". All we know about the gift recipient in question is that he’s a road biker, and knows a lot about bikes.
This does not mean he wants to be a road unicycilst; he might not even consider the idea. But for a new rider, it should probably be a 20" or 24". And what you spend on it should be commensurate with your economic freedom. Here’s a nice 20". Really nice quality, durable, and great for learning to ride, as well as going as far as he wants into doing non-poundy tricks.
Here’s a nice 24". The purpose of a 24" would be if you think he’s more interested in covering some ground than in doing tricks. Both are good to learn on. Also there are many other fine models in both wheel sizes, like the Club, which is totally fine.
All the advice here is good. Keep in mind that if he does take to unicycling, the one you buy him will not be his last unicycle. Getting something serviceable (20, 24) is a great place to start. If he enjoys it he can get more specialized unicycles for road or mountain unicycle riding, or one of the specialized trick riding variety.
Get yourself one to keep him company!
Scott