help please sorry im a moron

General
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Hi, ive been wanting to get a unicycle for a long time, and i’ve been doing a lot of reseach on what to get, and the more i research the further away i am from being able to tell heads from tails of this thing, every where i look there are conflicting viewpoints and conflicting every thing else too, i’ve heard that i should use any where from a 16’ to a 24’ in wheel for doing what i want to do. Also every website and store is completly subjective, saying only there brands are good and are the best and everyone elses is crappy and will break almost instantaniusly,

At stores they say they’re brand is great but have no idea how to even get on a unicycle.

So i figured i should ask someone who isn’t subjective and knows something about it

so here are all my things that i could think of that you could possibly use to help me out

(not metric)

Height:
Weight:
Age:
Inseam (without shoes):
Inseam (with shoes):
Sex: M
and that’s all i can think of now

Now theres all the information i can think of to give you now here’s what i would like to know:

Alright first of all i have never been on a unicycle although i think i know the general tecnique to that but for a beginer what would be an:

Appropriate wheel size:
and good qualty relitivly cheep brand:
Any other in formation

also (i know it never ends does it. sorry.) i have found some cheep sun unicycles brand new for $48 do you know if they are any good? also for $46 (same size) i saw a new 2004 Torker unicycle, im preety shure those are good quailty and good for tricks but are they only good for advanced unicyclers? any way please email me and try to help me thanks.

also if there any more info you need about me to help email me as well

thanks so much,
daconfusedmoron

ben_unruh@yahoo.com

2

I just got my sun 20 incher today and I love it. I can go about 120ft. and considering I just started like 4 days ago I think thats pretty good.:smiley:

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Once you learn how to ride what style would you like to continue with?

Muni
Trials
Freestyle
Commuting

David

4

Hi Ben
Not too long ago I was in the exact same situation. I spent countless hours here on this forum, and at unicycle.com checking out all the selections. Unfortunetly, on my computer, your stats (as far as height age and inseam are conserned) are blank, but I’ll report on my own experience as much as it might be worth.
1.I have a feeling age does not matter.
2. Height and weight–I am 6’3, about 235 lbs (in America, I have no idea how that translates abroad, but lets say I should still shed a few pounds)
I decided on a Nimbus Muni 26 inch because of the following–a muni is generally built for rough conditions. I am a big guy in New York City, which may not be a forest filled with obstical courses, but it is an urban environment filled with its own challanges. Any 24 inch I tried felt a wee bit too small, any 29inch felt promising but too difficult to begin with, so the 26 felt just right. I discovered, while trying out a few unicycles, that the 3" muni tire was a pretty good confidence builder because I felt more stable upon it. This may or may not be a good thing in the long run, but when trying something as ubsurd/profound as unicycling, I think one should begin with the confidence builders.
That considered, I looked at all the Sun unicycles–and I resisted ordering one because I kept hearing all sorts of stories on how their rims and axels went out–perhaps it is rubbish, but I thought it might be better to spend just a bit more. I was torn between a 26" Yuni Journeyman and the Nimbus 26" with the 3" tire. I went with the nimbus because it appesared to have a tougher saddle and the 3" tire, simply for 20 bucks more. I ordered it yesterday–my local bike here in Manhattan is an official dealer of unicycle.com, and by ordering it though them, I know that competent people will assemble it correctly.
The desire to unicycle puts you into an interesting group of humanity–pick something good because a crap unicycle might be discouraging. A good Yuni or Nimbus will have resale value, by the way–I could have gotten a Sun 3 weeks ago, but having waited as I did before ordering the Nimbus, I am glad.
Now I know I have to work my ass off to learn how to ride the darn thing!!!–It will be fun.
I hope this was helpful,
Steve, NYC, USA

5

For your current situation www.unicycle.com is the place to go. Since you’re just starting, chances are you don’t want to spend more than $200(us). I know someone who is just starting out and they’ve got this unicycle and it’s working out great. By the time you’ve killed that one (or whatever uni you end up getting) you’ll know exactly what you want when it comes time to buy you’re next.

6

It’s surprisingly simple: just buy a reasonably good one!

The easiest size for a learner (other than a small child) is a 20 inch wheel. Anything smaller is twitchy, fiddly and slow.

The second easiest size to learn on is a 24.

It is possible to learn on any size, though.

A good unicycle has the wheel held in place by two C shaped clamps at the bottom of the forks. Ones with “lollipop” bearing holders are generally less robust. (A lollipop bearing holder looks like a lollipop, with the “stick” going up inside the hollow end of the fork.)

A good unicycle has cotterless cranks. In fact, I’d go so far as to say, don’t buy one with cottered cranks. Cotterless cranks are the ones where you can’t see any nut, bolt or anything else holding the crank on because it’s concealed by a dust cap . (Just like on a decent bicycle.)

Once you have bought your unicycle, learn to ride it, and enjoy riding it. You will find yourself pushing your limits in one direction or another. You might find yourself wishing you could ride further, or faster, or you might find that riding over obsatcle or uneven ground is what challenges you. Some people prefer to develop technical skills, or even string together a performance.

When you have identified your preferred style of riding (and you won’t really know until you’ve been at it for a while), you can start to “tune” your unicycle. Typical upgrades in approximate order might be longer or shorter cranks, a fatter or grippier tyre, grippier pedals, a better seat, or a seat handle.

Then you will find that you are pushing your upgraded unicycle to its limits, and you will start to daydream about the perfect machine - the perfect combination of frame, wheel, cranks, pedals, seat… and then, from this position of knowledge and experience, you will be able to choose a second unicycle that meets your personal requirements.

So, if you are an average sized person, just get out there and buy a mid range 20. If you are taller than average, you might want a mid range 24. If unicycling is for you, it won’t be the onyl unicycle you ever buy, so don’t worry if it’s not perfect first time - you don’t know what perfect is yet.

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At times I wonder if I should have bought a 20" unicycle instead of my 24", but then, maybe I could ask this: once I did learn, would I be better off with a 24" for riding around camp? Granted, I would learn faster on a 20", but could I cover much ground?

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I’ve done 20 miles in a day on a 20. Does that count as “much ground”?

Put some 110mm cranks on it and you will have a fast, manouvreable, light and fun machine.

I’ve seen someone do some serious MUni on a 20, too - with such a small wheel, it will go up or down almost any slope.

9

I’d consider getting a 24" over a 20", for the following reasons: -

*It’s a good general purpose uni i.e. commuting, learning, tricks

*It’s better for distance than a 20", being faster, smoother and better able to roll over stuff

*You’ll get less clown comments once you’re proficient on it

*as well as being a good general purpose uni, it’s the machine of choice for off roading

If you suspect that you’re going to get into freestyle or trials, then maybe a 20" is best, but, if you’ve any intention of useing it to get around, I’d go for the 24" (plus get a set of pinned pedals for when it’s wet).

I’d dispute the belief that 20" are easier to learn on, I think it arose mainly because in the old days 20" were the main uni size available, so it’s what most people learnt on.

Now 24" are commonplace- they may be slightly less controllable, but I’m sure the extra momentum makes up for that. Also, in theory they should work better on grass, which can be a good place to learn on as a beginner, as you’ll be happier about falling.

For the money, Nimbus’ are really nice.

10

I love my 24 way more than my 20.
A 20 is not only slower than a 24, it is also more difficult to go up hills(You use a larger power stroke making efficient use of your legs on a 24). With the larger wheel base, a standard 24 with standard cranks gives you much more speed, control, endurance and better trick capabilities.

11

I’d dispute this based on physics. When learning it’s easier to compensate for smaller movements. With a 20" wheel each 1/2 pedal revolution moves the wheel 31.4". With a 24" wheel it’s 37.7". For any jerky or uneven pedal movement you might make the wheel is just a little less likely to move out of the balance point.

That aside, it’s definitely possible to learn on either. I agree with Mikefule. Don’t worry about finding the ‘perfect’ unicylce. Just get something in your price range and start riding. If you get hooked you’ll end up with at least 2 or 3 unis anyway.

Have a ton o fun :smiley:

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my learner was a torker CX they are relatively cheap i think it was a pretty good learning uni so i would say to invest in one of them

here is the link to but the torker CX

http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=42

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You should get either a 20" or a 24" to learn on. I think the difference in difficulty between the two sizes is negligible, provided the 24" has long enough cranks, say 5 or even 5.5-inchers for learning on, to give the same degree of control as the 20". A 4’ person on a 20" wheel is proportionally the same as a 4’10" person on a 24" wheel, give or take a few tenths of an inch. If you have some idea of what kind of riding you’re most interested in eventually doing, it will help you choose a wheel to learn on. But either size is good. I learned on a 24 myself; I don’t think the 20 would have been a whole lot easier.

Anyway, if you do end up hooked, your first unicycle won’t be your last one, and if you don’t, then it won’t matter…

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Re: help please sorry im a moron

I’d go with the 20" if you want to concentrate on doing tricks,
especially if you have long legs. The fork will be at a better
location for 1 foot riding. Wheel walking will probably be easier
because your legs won’t be all scrunched up. I’m having trouble
learning it on my 24" just because my feet are almost hitting the
seat.

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If possible, try out a few–it is well worth it to attend a unicycle club meeting–even if it means getting on a train and going to the next town, or whatever. Do a google search, your city, plus unicycle–there might be a unicycle club. From what I have seen (and read here on this website), unicyclers are very friendly, and if you find yourself at some kind of unicycle meeting, you will have plenty of opputtunity (spelling?) to try out several unicycles.
For a beginner, there is this one question-- does one buy a cheap uni to pound the shit out of while learning, or does one buy a decent uni to learn on that can be upgraded later. I went with the latter.
Here is what I chose (after similar questions that you are going through)
http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=746
I myself respectfully disagree with many here who argue for the 20inch or 24inch solution. What is important is what gives you the desire to keep riding. In my case, I knew I had to order the 26inch.
Try a few, if you can…
–Steve

16

I haven’t read this thread, but I’m sure they all gave you good advice.

I recommend the 20" Torker LX 2004. Or the 24" if that’s what you want. The 20" LX '04 is less than $100, is cotterless, has a Miyata style seat (read very good). It is a beginner freestyle unicycle so you can’t do a lot of trials on it. But you won’t be doing 2 ft drops anytime soon anyways.

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Re: help please sorry im a moron

On Fri, 4 Jun 2004 02:54:40 -0500, “kraze” wrote:

>At times I wonder if I should have bought a 20" unicycle instead of my
>24", but then, maybe I could ask this: once I did learn, would I be
>better off with a 24" for riding around camp? Granted, I would learn
>faster on a 20", but could I cover much ground?

You made a good choice. A 20" covers about 17% less ground with the
same cadence. That doesn’t sound like much but the difference is very
noticeable.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict

be sure to remove the saddle and simply sit on the seat post. this is far more comfortable - tennisgh22 on the comfort of Savage unis

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Re: help please sorry im a moron

On Fri, 4 Jun 2004 11:53:05 -0500, “onewheeldave” wrote:

>I’d dispute the belief that 20" are easier to learn on, I think it arose
>mainly because in the old days 20" were the main uni size available, so
>it’s what most people learnt on.

<http://www.xs4all.nl/~klaasbil/agelearn_short.htm>. Statistically,
adults on a 20" or smaller wheel learn 30% quicker than adults on a
24" or larger.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict

be sure to remove the saddle and simply sit on the seat post. this is far more comfortable - tennisgh22 on the comfort of Savage unis

19

Over the last few months I’ve been converting some of my rock climbing buddies to unicycling (so I’ll have athletic partners) and we’ve gone through the 20" vrs. 24" inch debate many times. This is how it’s all played out:

The first unicycle you own (or learn on) will NOT be the uni you will eventually ride all the time, so go for the cheapest or most available model you can get your hands on.

If you learn on a 20", the process might be a bit faster, but not a whole lot unless you are under 5’ 6" (roughly). And once you are up to speed on a 20" model, you can get fluent on a 24"er in an hour or so.

In short, learn on anything–it matters little. Don’t buy an expensive model till you know where your interests lie–MUni, trials, et al.

If you’re anything like most of us, you’ll end up having most all models (as money allows).

Lastly, what you end up on is largely a matter of available terrain. If there’s no moutains around, you’ll likely spend times Cokering, doing street trials, or if there’s a club nearby, doing freestyle in a gym.

If you’ve got mounatins, you’ll probably get into MUniing and pick up the other skills when your legs are too beat to go MUniing or when you only have half an hour to practice.

In closing: Just get any Uni to learn on. Many of us learned on Schwinn junkers (circa 1965) but we learned. The rest of the process will work itself out in ways you never imagined.

JL

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Re: help please sorry im a moron

“vivalargo” <vivalargo@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> writes:

> The first unicycle you own (or learn on) will NOT be the uni you will
> eventually ride all the time, so go for the cheapest or most available
> model you can get your hands on.

I’d avoid the very cheapest. I bought a Sun 26" as my second
unicycle. The thing looked great in the showroom, but self destructed
(pedals, rim, hub) in a matter of months. In the end, I replaced all
the components (except frame and bearing holders) to turn it into a
good unicycle.

Compared to the stock Sun, the Schwinn I rode in the 1980s was great.

Ken