I’m looking for a new uni, I found a 20" Torker for sale at unicycle.com for US$70, is this a good thing to buy?
I also found savages and united for the same price.
Torkers are great for getting started. I got one when I started riding 8 months ago and it has held up just fine. The seat is on the small side so you may need to replace it with something bigger, but it is pretty sturdy and takes quite a beating. The pedals are cheap and split after taking a few knocks. The wheelset is cheap and next to impossible to keep true but is fine for learning with and should hold up as long as you don’t weigh alot or do any big drops. As a whole I would highly recommend them, can’t beat the price either.
What about a schwinn?
I also found a schwinn and my dad said he’d pay for part of it, how much better (worse) are schwinns compared to torkers?
Personally I like the schwinn’s alot. I would say get it if you can. They have a solid construction, nice flat crown if you want to learn one footed tricks. They come with a Viscount seat (adult sized) so you dont need to upgrade it for a while. This is the kind of unicycle I learned it has seen alot and would be a great freestyle uni except for the fact it got stolen.
Torkers seem like a good short term unicycle if your not sure your gonna like it thats probably the best. But if you know that this is something that interest you I would sugest getting the Schwinn it should hold up better long term than the torker (My Opinion).
Re: What about a schwinn?
Just make sure it’s one of the newer Schwinns and not a 20 year old Schwinn. The old Schwinns used cottered cranks (cranks that use a cotter pin to hold the crank on the axle). The newer Schwinns use the standard square tapered cranks.
Unicycle.com is going to be carrying Schwinns. Here’s a link to their catalog.
<http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=59>
My main complaint with the Schwinns is that you can only adjust saddle height in about 1 inch increments. You can’t really fine tune the saddle height to get it exactly right. On a unicycle a change of just a few millimeters in saddle height is noticeable so being able to only adjust the height in 1 inch increments is a compromise. Schwinn uses a system where you put a bolt through fixed holes in the seatpost to change the height. The holes are about every inch on the seatpost.
Re: Re: What about a schwinn?
I have 2 Schwinns (the new ones) and agree with Checkernuts that they are great, durable unis.
John, however, is correct that the height adjustment system can be inconvenient. I am on the short side at around 5’4" and even I need the longer seat post (14"). They come standard with a 9" seat post when ordered from a bike shop (which must be an authorized Schwinn dealer). Unicycle.com might offer a choice of seatpost, but do not quote me on this, as I do not know for sure.
The other nice thing about the Schwinn set up is that the frame is in two pieces so changing tires is a snap; the wheel doesn’t need to come off.
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
Re: Re: Re: What about a schwinn?
Well thats a first…
Re: Re: Re: Re: What about a schwinn?
I think it’s fair to say that we can all separate what is strictly unicycling from everything else and at least make sure the unicycling part is not personal. Afterall, everything else aside, that’s why we’re all here. 
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
Re: Is a 20" Torker a good uni?
> Personally I like the schwinn’s alot. I would say get it if you can.
I agree.
> They have a solid construction, nice flat crown if you want to learn one
> footed tricks.
The do NOT have a flat crown. The have a sloping crown that is less helpful
for one-footed stuff than a true flat crown.
The other downsides to Schwinn: They are heavy. Due to the flat blades
that make up the frame they are prone to flexing. This has never been a
problem for me. I currently have 4 schwinns and have owned at least twice
that many over the years. I have never owned a torker but nearly everyone
in our club has one.
-mg
My 2 cents.
Schwinns are good, but they are way heavy. I wouldn’t want one because of the weight. However, I’m sure its very durable and user friendly.
Torkers are great, but definitely what you would consider entry level. It won’t be up for a lot of abuse, but its a good freestyle uni that is great for learning on.
My opinion of the Torkers are that it is not designed to be a unicycle that you will ride for the rest of your life. It will either be
A) A great unicycle to learn on, and once you’ve learned on it you will know what type of unicycle you want for the long haul. You will keep it and always look upon it fondly as your first unicycle.
or
2)A great unicycle to learn on, but eventually when you get sick of unicycling or lose interest, it will end up in the corner of your garage to be discovered by your nefew when your 40 years old and it will become a decent unicycle for him to learn on.
Either way, you’ll be happy knowing that the torker only cost you $70. The Schwinn is great and will last you a long time, but how many people here bought one single unicycle and used only that one for several years?
Too old?
How old is too old for a Schwinn?
Re: Too old?
If it has cottered cranks it is too old. Cottered cranks use a cotter pin to hold the crank on the axle. Here is a pic of cottered cranks and a cotter pin:
<http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=180>
<http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=181>
The pic of the cottered cranks isn’t very good because it doesn’t show the cotter pin hole. Hopefully it’s good enough to give you and idea what cottered cranks look like.
Ahh… Here’s a better picture of a cottered crank
<http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cotters.html>
If it has a proprietary Schwinn tire size it is too old. If the tire has a fractional size marked on the sidewall it is too old. A fractional size would be something like 20 x 1-1/4 or 20 x 1-3/4 or 24 x 1-3/4. If the tire has a decimal number on the sidewall then it is NOT old and is good. A decimal number would be something like 20 x 1.75 or 24 x 1.75
The old proprietary Schwinn tire sizes are a pain because they limit your tire choices. I can’t remember the year that Schwinn stopped using those proprietary tire sizes on their unicycles. They probably stopped using the proprietary tire sizes back in the '80s.
Re: Is a 20" Torker a good uni?
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> How old is too old for a Schwinn?
>
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Re: Re: Too old?
- So almost 20 years ago!
Indeed, the Schwinns from before that time are still good and strong. But finding tires can be a pain, and dealing with cottered cranks can be a pain. Production of the Schwinn whitewall “unicycle” tires ended around 1980, so beware those tires. Even if new, they’re old.
If you are an entry level rider and not doing anything fancy, cottered cranks will be okay, but even the local bike shop may have trouble replacing dead cotter pins these days.
Also. Note that people on eBay usually have no idea how old unicycles are. “Rare antiques” are from the 1980s and 90s. If a Schwinn has cottered cranks, it is no newer than 1979 or 1980. If it has cotterless cranks and a fractional inch tire, it’s from 1980-83. There were no Schwinns in 1984 or 85. They came back in late 1986. Those have Viscount-style seats on them (labeled Schwinn). The 24" was blue, with a blue seat, big blue stickers on the forks, and a blue rim. The 20" was black.
Schwinn stopped making unicycles again around 1993 or so. Then they came back around 1996, and everything was black again. Schwinn’s idea of “retro” was to take a technological step backward. But the Schwinns have always been very sturdy, and and are a better investment than a Torker or other low-end uni.
Re: Re: Re: Too old?
John,
Could you elaborate on this point with respect to the 1996 and more recent Schwinn’s?
Thanks,
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
Harper has a Torker that he swears by. In regards to the smaller seat on the Torker, you can upgrade the seat when you buy it.
In other words, you pay the difference between a larger seat and the stock seat. That way, you don’t pay for something you don’t need up front.
Thanks for all your advice. I finally bought a stealth torker. I love it so far.