An old uni-cycle made its way into my shed via my son, who got it from a friend. It’s been stuck in a corner rusting for years as the tire has always been flat, the entire seat was wrapped in duct tape and the seat post was in rough shape.
I also have an old Raleigh Chopper in very good condition and was looking into doing a restore but decided to attempt the unicycle first.
The unicycle is all chrome and has a whitewall tire which I suspect is original. I polished up the chrome and wheel simple enough but the seat post was seized and misshapen so that took most of my efforts to straighten and reshape to round again. I unsuccessfully tried to find a replacement seat and post. Removing the duct tape from the seat revealed no issues, so I cleaned it up and applied some rubber paint.
Anyway the only information I could glean from the bike did not help identifying the manufacturer except for one obscure website linking to e-bay for a sold Vintage Japanese “American Eagle” Unicycle Body and Hub 20" Naniwa Chrome. I scrolled through 1000’s of images and followed the link with no results. I haven’t tried to contact the seller yet.
See the following:
Stamped on the frame: NANIWA 79-10 and S/N CC65327N
The seat is: Roodin RD-629
Before you sink a lot of time, energy and money into this it is very likely this unicycle has little to no value. Depending on what your motivation is for doing the restore will determine if it is a worth while endeavor. If I was going to restore the unicycle I rode when I was a kid I would put time and money into it. If I’m restoring because I think I can resell and make a profit that likely is not going to happen. If I’m restoring to ride it then there are so many better options available put your money toward something a lot newer.
I think it’s worth while doing the research but the vintage unicycle market isn’t exactly booming and even as we build and invest into the unicycles we ride resale is usually at a substantial loss.
Thanks for the replies. It’s just a pet project and I’m giving it to my nephews to play with. It only cost me a tire and tube and some rubber paint for the seat. Most of the time was to fix the seat post. It’s done and ready to go.
Am curious about its history, and if parts are available.
Looks great. Without any identifying marks it will be hard to identify. If you can send me a picture of the underside of the saddle I may e able to give you a better saddle.
It has to be pretty old it has cottered cranks
These older unicycles usually had a completely different saddle to seat post mount than a modern unicycle… Though that saddle looks more modern and it looks like it has been flattened.
As far as spare parts go, tires and pedals you should be able to get at any bike store. If there are any issues with the seatpost and seat I would recommend measuring the seat post diameter and replacing both with something more modern (from unicycle.com), there is not really any point in keeping that “period correct” or original.
For a uni to just start out on and play around it looks good, it’s not a type I recognize but judging by the bearing holders, the frame seems to actually be a pretty nicely done piece. (I can’t identify it, that would be a question for @johnfoss maybe. )
The crown arrangement and cottered cranks look like those on my old Oxford unicycle. The Oxford had a much more brutal saddle than the one you show. Also, the frame doesn’t have the classic blue and chrome look. In short, it looks reconditioned. Even the rim.
I believe it’s a close relative to the Oxford that Harper mentioned; possibly from the same factory in Japan. 70s, possibly early 80s. I have an Oxford that I believe to be all original, and the bearing holder area is very similar if not identical. Mine came from “new” stock in the garage of Bill Jenack after he passed away in 1982.
One of my earliest unicycle purchases was a Concord, another Japanese uni, with a frame identical to the one you are eyeing. The wheel could also be a match; you really cleaned away the years on yours! The crank arms are also the same (long) length, but your pedals are definitely not original, nor is your seat. Which is a good thing.
That seat looks like it could be a flattened Viscount/Schwinn saddle, though it’s more gray than black. When they re-introduced the Schwinns in 1986, the 20" came with a black seat and black bumpers, and the 24" came with a blue seat and white bumpers. A few years after that, they lost their minds and made them all black/chrome, an attempt at “retro” that didn’t help save the company.
Anyway, the uni looks solid (and shiny!) and should be fine for learning on; you could have done a lot worse. Just don’t use it for hopping, droping and other moves that would squish your cotter pins. Enjoy!
As usual John Foss comes through with some great info. If you are planning on learning with this uni I would definitely swap out those pedals as they will surely leave some nasty snake bites on your shins.
I think, I remember those seats. Not sure, what the name of the manufacturer was. They were on many unicycles in the 90s and used to bend very easily. The cushion was foamed rubber and used to crack over time. We had them on many of our Pichler unicycles, but with red bumpers.
