I currently have two unicycles, my 20in fun brand unicycle I got for $20 off Facebook Marketplace and a 26in Nimbus Oracle. So far I use my Oracle for off-road riding and distance while I only use my 20in when I play my accordion. I Have been thinking about getting the 36in Nimbus Nightfox, but it just seems so expensive to consider it a reasonable purchase. I am 5ft 4in tall, so it would need to be the Nightfox if I ever want to ride a 36in wheel. As I am typing this out, I am starting to realize all of you are probably the worst people to ask. Within every thread people seem to mention they have more than five unicycles. 
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I really sympathise with you here. I have the exact same problem. 
Iām short, (under 5ā4) Iāve got a 20ā for tricks, a 24ā for off-road, and Iāve also been looking for a Nightfox. Actually right now Iām in the process of buying a cheap used one. (hopefully this is the last uni I buy) I really recommend waiting a little and keeping an eye out for a used oneā¦ they seem to pop up every few months or so.
Do you agree that mathematics are the most rational thing ever created? If so, hereās how you rationalise such a purchase:
- Let N be the number of unicycles you currently have.
- It has been scientifically proven that the perfect number of unicycles is N+1.
- Given 1. and 2., you need to buy a third unicycle. Thatās mathematical.
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Nooooooooooo 
We gladly give you good reasons to buy another unicycle. Like:
- Frame types: Donāt have a V-frame yet?
- Steel vs. alu vs. carbon fibre frames - do you have one of each sort?
- Wheel size, got everything from 12ā to 36ā?
- Tyre width
- Geared hub(s)
- Freewheel hub(s)
- Handle bars and aero bars
- Rim brakes vs. disc brakes
- Giraffe, ultimate wheel, twice, trice, ā¦
PS: Thereās a pink 32ā for 600Ā£ instead of 800Ā£ on unicycle.com at the moment ā¦just in case.
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I thought the same thing to myself when I went ahead and bought the Nimbus Oracle 36er.
āManā¦ Iām really paying over $900 for a wheel, a seat, and a bracket to connect the twoā¦ā
Over a year later I have zero regrets buying it 
Itās easily one of my favorite unicycles out of my small fleet.
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Iāve learned that as soon as you get into a hobby, the topics can go very deep, like the big variance of types of unicycle for freestyle, trials, offroad, distance, which all come with their own designs and instructions. Aside from those normal styles, you have some circus like uniās like a giraffe and a UW, though the first I find impractical to take out on the road, I am working on making the UW into something more practical. It just fits in the car and with the right technique, you can ride it anywhere. It is more fun than walking.
Anyways I started unicycling 10 years ago and my first was just a cheap 100 EUR uni to learn on, but then you read about professional wheels, like a KH 26ā and since I make good money as a software developer, money hasnāt really been an issue for me. Then when I learned to free-mount the 26ā, I read that a 29ā could be faster as it has a bigger diameter and that is what gets the ball/wheel rolling. Each wheel size has pros and cons and the more you read about it, the bigger the urge to just feel it for yourself. So when you click with your mouse on my profile, you can see the about 15 unicycles I have.
This year I got a free 16ā for my daughter from a local petting zoo, I got the 36ā UW which now is my most prized posession and I bought a 24ā Nimbus muni, because I only had a 24ā road uni.
My wife certainly has other ideas that money should be spent on, but I make the money and she shouldnāt complain.
So you should just buy what you want and make a choice if you want to focus on distance or municycling or maybe trials, to limit yourself, if at all possible. I donāt do freestyle, but I have had a uni sessions in some local gym where youāre not allowed to ride with black tires.
Better to have a unicycle when you donāt need it, than not to have one when you need it
Iāve been there many times. There is no ālast uni I buyā. Just forget it.
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I can pretty much only go for the 36in nimbus nightfox. The seat post canāt cut down far enough even if I wanted to go with the 27.5in Oracle.
On some unicycles, you can also cut the frame to your size. AFAIK, UDC UK may provide the service.
Another reason to buy a third unicycle: when you go on a ride, the unicycle left at home can feel lonely.
(Automatic subtitles available in English.)
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Oh, wait, I just re-read your post and realised that you were referring to the seat post (attached to the saddle), not to what Iād call the seat tube (the part of the frame where the seat post slides in).
Thereās sometimes confusion in the sense that people think theyāre not supposed to shorten the seat posts shorter than what is indicated (āmin. insertā). But thatās not an issue. E.g. my Oregon has a seat tube (upper frame part) that will only guide the seat post for less than 7cm. While the tube is longer than that, the lower part is wider, thus not offering any sideway support to the seat post. Yet, the Oregon is a muni and can take a beating, so those ~7cm are more than enough contact area to securely clamp the seat post.
Whatās true for this specific uni is also true for others. Just cut the seat post to a length that is suitable for you on the specific uni, so it wonāt touch the tire. I usually cut it a bit shorter to have have some leeway - to be able to use longer cranks, or a different (taller/thicker) saddle, or to be able to let a shorter person ride the uni (if I find a shorter unicyclist 
).
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you can let my daughter ride your uni. Im sure she is shorter. She is Thai and Thai children are even smaller than Thai grown-ups 
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For my 26in Oracle, I cut past the minimum line already. When looking at my uni, the saddle pretty much sits on top of the frame.
So itās indeed either the Nightfox or youād have to (let) cut the standard design frame, but the latter certainly wonāt cut it for a 36er, if a standard 26er is already close to the limit.
Just wanted to make sure that itās a real issue, as there has been confusion about this issue in the past.
Last solution: use tiny cranks. 89 mm or smaller. Youāll be a real rocket 
(I hope you wonāt be a SpaceX rocket 
)
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If it is your hobby you will end up spending more on it than you thought you would. Deduct the cost of a gym membership from your purchase price every month to amortize it. Once you reach 0 itās time to rationalize buying another. āIām getting my exercise through my hobby and saving money in the long runā
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I just signed up for the gym this week. Unicycling doesnāt get rid of my belly.
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Concerning cost, I think there are 2 things to consider:
- how much extra benefit (fun) you actually gain,
- and how much you really āneedā another type of equipment to learn or do something different.
For 1, itās mostly the question of how much will you use it. And you can estimate it with numbers if you want. I bought my 36 just over 10 years ago (at the time my 3rd uni after 24" and 26"). In 10 years I have used it so much with little maintenance cost (1 new tire, 2 tubes) that the daily cost or per minute cost is miniscule (I have ridden it on average 5 days a week for 10 years). So think about how much you expect to use it (more accurately, how much more you expect to use it over your other unis) and then calculate the per minute or per day cost. Also add the health benefit as a side effect.
Concerning 2, itās kind of two issues: If you buy another uni will you ride more in total or ride the others less? Will it open up new types of riding for you? (With a 36, the answer is yes if you actually make the effort to ride it - riding a big wheel is just different)
So, I would say itās mostly a question of you: if itās a fad thing and next year you decide to try RC cars or inline skating as a main hobby and basically quit unicycling, then a third uni is probably not worth it. But if you are pretty sure you will ride a lot, then the actual cost over time is not so high ā after owning it, the recurring costs are pretty low and mostly related to clothes and stuff that you want but donāt have to have ā actual maintenance costs are very low per km or hour. Of course, you might want upgrades as in a new seat but those should mostly be in the case that you ride a lot.
The question I often ask when buying something (much more so for really expensive items like skiis for $1000 or a mountain bike for $3000), especially when considering the ātopā super expensive models: How much more enjoyment will I get for the money? Whatās my return? For example, I used to mountain bike a lot and āeveryoneā was buying bikes for 3-5k! Or more! I found a good bike for just over 2k. Would the extra 2k really give me double the fun? (Lighter weight, more travel). My answer was no, and Iāve loved the bike. Of course donāt buy junk, but the quality that you actually need.
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I wonāt bore you with the saga of how I ended up with eight unicycles, suffice to say I am still considering another purchase from UDC, as well as keeping an eye on local second hand web sites for unis that may need a new home.
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You only have two unicycles. What needs to be justified?
You need at least a 19 for trials, a 20 configured for indoors, another 20 for street, a standard 24 for track, a 26 because they are so versatile, a 27.5 muni, a 29 because they are a good for a bit of distance and a 36 because every uni rider should have one.
I started with a ten dollar 20 inch from a garage sale (not included in the above). Four years later when I bought my Triton titanium frame 36 I told my wife what it cost and she said āSo what?ā
She noted all my unis together cost a lot less than a Harley Davidson that many guys my age indulge in.
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You missed a few unis:
- a 24" freewheel for indoor practice
- a 27"5 and/or a 29" freewheel for muni
- a 36" freewheel because itās fun
- a 26"/27"5/29" geared uni to go fast while staying versatile
- a 32"/36" geared uni to go really fast
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