I have a Unistar CX unicycle my parents bought for me when neither they nor I knew anything about unicycling.
I can ride forwards, loiter, and am almost good with riding backwards but realize that what I want to focus on now is hopping.
I want to do offroad, jumping onto platforms, stairs, etc. I’ve been told I don’t have the right unicycle for jumping and was wondering if this is true and if so, which unicycle should I be using (I’m assuming it would be something with thicker wheels). In addition to which unicycle I use, what other factors should I consider in learning to jump? How do you recommend I begin or does anyone have some helpful links to tutorials for this sort of thing? Any technique suggestions would be welcome. I’m a bit unclear as to what muscle or movement I’m actually supposed to be using to get the unicycle off the ground so I can reach platforms/objects.
-Eli
For what you are describing a trials unicycle would be what you want, or possibly a 24" MUni. I would look at getting a Nimbus ISIS Trials unicycle. Other people are going to tell you to upgrade the cranks but that is something you can do later, the important thing is that it is a solid base to upgrade from.
If you can afford it get it before you destroy your CX. The reason the CX is not great for hopping is its weak rim, cranks and hub, as well as the skinny tire makes it much harder to get some bounce.
It might help to indicate how big you are (weight).
The CX I got for my daughter has a smaller tire than the LX (20x1.75 vs 20x2.125). You might be able to go to a wider tire- I can’t tell for sure if the LX tire would fit in the CX. Anyway, that’d give you a bit more spring, which the CX has very little of.
I wish i could help…but i actually dont unicycle…
For right now, you’ll be fine with the CX for just starting to learn to hop and ride slightly more difficult terrain.
If you want to get a little more serious about it you’ll eventually want to upgrade though. That depends on how much money you’ll be wanting to spend, but you have awhile to decide. The CX will last you fine untill you start doing drops that are higher then say, 1-2 feet or so.
You want something splined.
What’s your max budget? And how sure you are you’re going to stick w/ this for at least a few years?
Get a 24" if you want to do more Muni
or a trials if you want to do more of that or tricks.
Your CX will be fine for a while, just don’t jump down anything bigger than a curb.
A 20X2.125 should fit on a CX (a 2.125 just barely fits my 16"). I’m not sure about anything wider.
Edit
As for techniques in learning how to hop; you’ll want to hold onto the front of the seat with one hand (most other unicycles have a handle there) and lift the unicycle with you after you crouch down and SPRING up.
You should, of course, be jumping with the pedals/cranks in the horizontal position. Crouch down a little and bend at the knees, sort of like you would if you were jumping up while standing on the ground.
Pulling up on the front of the seat is what keeps the pedals securely under your feet.
Watch some videos to kind of get the idea of what it looks like, if you haven’t already. Try searching “unicycle trials” on youtube, or vistit www.unicycle.tv