is it worth it getting a 24"?

Unicycles and Equipment
1

Last time I was wondering about getting 165mm cranks and after everybody’s views and my progress with the 36" it became clear it was a waste of money.

Now that I have a wife and kid, birthdays have become important again and with that, asking for presents (normally I’d just buy whenever I wanted something). So I’ve been wondering if maybe I should get a 24" uni.

The unis I have are : 19" trials, 20" freestyle, 20" freewheel, 26" KH Muni, 26" Hatchet, 29" Muni, 32" Nimbus, 36" Nimbus Night Rider Pro and some 20" trainer thingie I learned on and keep for my kids once they get the taste for it.

This year there was the NKE (Dutch Championships Unicycling) and for most competitions, a 24" was required. Only for 5 and 10km runs the wheelsize was free choice. I didn’t compete, just watched what it was about.
I also rode 10km with my 19" trials two times, but I don’t like having to spin like crazy all the time. A 24" might be easier for that. Still I’d use the bigger sizes for longer distances.

My wife and kid are from Thailand and I go on holiday there every year. It would be nice to have a uni there too, even though it is so hot. A 24" seems nice enough for exploring outside of the big cities and small enough to take onto an airplane in a suitcase.

Then lastly if I were to buy a 24" should I take one with knobby tire like muni or with a road tire.

The sizes I don’t intend to buy ever are 27.5" or 28". They are too close to the 26" and 29" I already have, which are fine sizes.

2

It really depends where you are planning to ride. I love my 24 which is set up as a “standard uni” (125 cranks). The light weight 24 x 1.75 tyre is good on the track and local footpaths. Very controllable.

However it doesn’t roll so well over rougher ground. For that I prefer my 26 road wheel which I have tailored to my riding conditions which includes rough tarmac, grass and fragmented concrete paths.

Nimbus 26 inch Dominator 2 wheel, Maxxis DTH 26 x 2.15 folding bead tyre and lightweight tube, 114 Venture cranks. It is fast and highly manoeuvrable. The low rotating mass makes it very controllable without a brake. In a KH frame it is a very lightweight configuration.

I simply swap that for the whole muni setup with 48 mm wide KH wheel, Ardent tyre and Moment 125/150 cranks. It literally only takes a couple of minutes to do with nothing more than a ball ended Allen key. No brakes to worry about.

It is effectively two unicycles in one. Good for storage and cheaper than a new uni.

BTW The slightly narrower Dominator rim makes the effective wheel diameter slightly larger than a DTH on the original KH rim. It is also a lot sleeker without the rim drillings. I went for the all black, unmachined brake surfaces but it also comes in red. I got mine through UDC Australia.

I chose the zero Q cranks for speed but more because I already had them. Some Spirits would sure be pretty.

3

And yes, every collection requires at least one standard uni so you should have one.

I have three “standards”.

The Nimbus eSport is almost the largest diameter allowed and very narrow. It is great in a straight line but I am faster on curves on the Torker.

The Torker which is an altogether more useful uni.

One of my 20 inch Qu-ax twins has 100 mm cranks which also makes it a standard uni. The crank to wheel ratio is actually very similar as the 24 inch /125 crank standard. It is a great cadence builder.:wink:

4

24 for races is coming from the IUF regulation. Also a 26 rim with very narrow tire fits that requirement. If you want to compete in that races (short distance), no choice.

Also some people like 24 (Muni) for very technical stuff.

Other than those 2 reasons I do not see any point for a 24, considering the collection you already have. You won´t ride it to go somewhere if you have a 26 and 29.

5

The 36 was only a waste of money if you make that decision. It is one of the best ways of making sure you don’t have to spin like crazy.

A 36 is in many ways the easiest unicycle to ride, once you can ride it. Worriting over whether to have 150mm cranks or 165mm cranks is obsessing over 10%, which is the equivalent of about 1 – 2 teeth on the rear sprocket of a bike. If you think that 165s will make it easier to ride, try them. If it gets you confident and you later change to 150s or even shorter, it will have been money well spent.

As for buying a 24: 24" is 20% more than 20 inches, but only 9% less than 26 inches. What will a 24 offer that a 26 won’t? It will be ever so slightly smaller and slower, and with a more limited range of tyres available.

Yes, if you want to race on short courses, you need a rule-compliant unicycle. That is a very specialised need. Will you do it often?

You wrote:

<<Then lastly if I were to buy a 24" should I take one with knobby tire like muni or with a road tire?>>

We’re not going to be riding it. How do we know what will be best for you between two very different options. It’s not like you’re saying, “I need a knobbly tyre for muddy trails. Which is best?” You’re saying, “I don’t know if I want an off road tyre or an on road tyre.”

Until you know what you want, you don’t really want it. Buying another is no answer to the problem of not riding the ones you’ve got.

Ooh, if I were your wife, I’d have a thing or two to say to you, I really would.:wink:

My suggestion is use the unicycles you already have, and ride them until you know with absolute certainty what would be better, then buy exactly the one you want. Don’t rely on strangers with different taste and experience to decide for you, or to validate your choice.

And give that 36 a serious chance, because it isn’t difficult, and there is no feeling like riding a 36 smoothly.

You’re still young. I’m 55 and there are plenty here older than I am. Make the most of it while you can, and don’t just throw money at the problem, because more unused unicycles in the shed is just more stuff you’ll never sell.

6

No.

Unless it’s your learner, it’s a stepping stone, and you’re past that.

If you like to collect or like to buy, then yes.

7

A year ago I bought my newest unicycle, a 24". I bought it for a few different reasons. I wanted to assemble a very lightweight unicycle. My 26" muni has fairly good sized bar ends (which I love to death), and I wanted to try something simpler with no bars. And, I liked having 150mm on my 26", but there were a lot of hills in my neighborhood I suddenly couldn’t ride up (or I felt like I was burning out riding up them). So, I figured that 150mm cranks would be nice for the 24" (and keep the 165s on the 26") The 24" has no brake, and I find it easier to ride brakeless down certain hills, whereas the same hills on the 26" would be difficult. Some of the decision came down to the type of riding I like to do. Lots of trails and hills in my neighborhood. I spent extra money on this custom 24". I bought the Impact frame with the 32mm bearings, a titanium hub, an Impact Naomi seat and a KH rim. I currently am running a weight weenie tire on it, a Schwalbe Smart Sam 2.1" (about 600 grams). I love the combination of the wider rim and the narrower tire. The whole thing is super responsive and tight like a tennis racket. Another reason I went for a 24" was because I did not enjoy riding my 29" so much. The reason may have been the combination of the inferior build of the 29" and the relative lack of practice I did on it. Nevertheless, my sense was that there was a kind of geometry between myself and the unicycle that worked on my 20" and 26" but did not work on the 29". So, I though, why not try a 24". I really like it. Ironically, I might end up putting a Shadow handle on it. I like being able to create more leverage between the front of the handle and the back of the seat.

8

That’s really interesting. If I take to this whole unicycle thing the way I really hope I will, I can see myself buying another one at some point like it seems so many other people do. I hope I don’t have the problem you describe, or can get past it somehow, if it comes up after a purchase.

I am kind of surprised you couldn’t adjust the seat post or … crank length maybe? … to get it all working together properly.

Or could it just be that you don’t enjoy large uni’s? Have you ridden a 36?

9

I know this goes against the received wisdom around here but I think you can have too many unis. I personally wouldn’t bother with a 24 considering the collection you already have.

Regarding the travelling, a 26" is flyable. I use a Brompton bag for mine and it fits within the standard airline checked luggage size.

10

Yes we always need another uni. I originally thought nine would be about right but I find myself with sixteen wheels.:wink:

For want of a better expression, the 26 is the smallest of big unis while the 24 is the biggest of the small unis. Two wheels (muni and road) with a single 26 inch frame is very portable and covers a lot of riding scenarios especially with two hole cranks.

It becomes a serious riders’ touring kit when you put a Schlumpf in the road wheel.

11

Riding the 36" is no problem for me. It was just the mounting which I got the hang sort of now. Within 5 tries I’m on. I wondered if there were lighter 36" than the one I have, which is quite heavy. The 32" is much easier to steer with.

As said, I don’t do that anymore.

Im sure I won’t use it often, but I do ride all my unis nearly every month as I like the different feels they have.

If it is up to my wife, I’d sell all unis and give them money to her. She doesn’t understand my hobby.

My favourite uni is the 29" Nimbus. It is the perfect size for me and can mount it 99.99% of the time. Today I took it to work.
I will keep riding the 36" for now every Saturday morning where I can ride it without having my 5-yr old along, which doesn’t allow me to make proper speed. So yeah, now I’ve got the hang of the 36", I won’t put it in the shed and forget about it for a year. One of these days I will ride it to work as well.

I will look into a Brompton bag and might just get an extra 26" to use in Thailand.

Apart from the fact that I won’t be using the 24" so often, it is always nice to get a new unicycle with the mail, making me as happy as a child getting presents ^_^.

Maybe for the next NKE I might borrow a 24" or get a used one.

12

Hi there

The 24 is an excellent size unicycle. I love it. I bought one about a year and a half ago ago and I use it as much as the 26+ I already have. My reason for buying it was to improve my skills in technical Muni. I found the 26+ hard to control in downhill/very steep sections, tricky drops etc that are beyond my skills… It is true that pretty much everything you can do in a 24 you can do in a 26 (as many you tube videos show) but I definitely find the 24 easier to handle than the 26.

I also use the 24 to cycle nearby to practice jumps/hops/drops/wheel walk/freestyle tricks etc… etc that I am mastering/learning with the 19 Trials.

However, as other people point out, the 24 is pretty close to the 26. Depending on how you plan to use it might be not worth buying it. For just cycling around the 24 is definitely slower than the 26.

The 24x3 Duro tyre is a very beefy tyre and I love it but it is not the best for cruising around (great for Muni and Trials though). I often use the Hookworm for town, which is heavy, but it is great for drops/riding downstairs etc.

13

There is an insane amount good off-road riding in my neighborhood (no need to drive anywhere). That’s partly why I’ve avoided getting a 36". I find muni riding exciting, even considering my generally slow pace/cadence on the 24" and 26". To get the equivalent excitement on a 36", I’d be risking injury by riding at speeds I would likely not be able to outrun. Also, the law of inertia seems to be somehow connected to my level of interest while riding. Smooth and steady equals boring, to my sensibilities. Maybe that’s part of the reason I love my 26" more than my 29". The larger wheel tends to promote smoother, steadier riding, compared to the smaller wheel.

14

Takes me back many years to when I had a craze for riding a cheap 24 (about a 1.75" tyre) on 102mm cranks. I would just ride and ride at the highest cadence I could achieve, and often do several laps of the local country park without a dismount. Then I used to go for “high scores” (top speed as recorded by GPS) on my 26 with 125s. Now I like to ride briskly but not frantically.

There is much fun to be had on a 36, but, off road, it is to do with planning and decision making, rather than just going for it in a gung ho manner.

15

Everybody is definitely so different. When I used to bicycle, I loved the feeling of flying through long swooping curves, down hills, or gliding along a path, with the wind cooling me and drumming around my ears. I loved both speed and the almost eerie ease of long rides that hardly ever required me to pedal, just enjoy. All on the street. No desire to mountain bike at all.

Thought that was silly and impractical.

Strangely enough, I have little desire to ride a unicycle on the street, bought one even though I understand that with a unicycle my gliding days are over since you have to pedal constantly, and it’s going along trails that interests me.

And I love that there is something inherently silly and impractical in unicycling.

So, I like bikes and uni’s for pretty much opposite reasons and want to ride them in opposite ways too.

Oh well. I never said I wasn’t peculiar.

16

If you’re always travelling to the same place then you could buy a dedicated uni and store it at your family’s place. No need to worry about flying with it then.

17

Standard class racing is fun, but unless you do it competitively, it is a lot to spend on something you may not use much.

There are a couple of things to consider:

The 24" standard class is any wheelsize less than 618mm. This actually allows 26" rims to be used, provided you use a skinny tyre (26x1"). Many of the top track and 10k standard racers use this wheelsize, rather than a 24".

A 26" wheel has more options for off-road tyres when you are not doing standard class racing. You need a relatively skinny 26" rim…I run a Velocity VXC rim which works great with a 26/x1" tyre for standard class, but is also capable of taking a 26x2.4" tyre to work as a lightweight MUni.

18

true, it will only be a one way flight with it. With 9 unis at home, I can easily do without it. Taking it with me on the plane seems a better solution to me than buying one on unicycle.com and have them ship it to Thailand. Half of the addresses there are obscure and it might just get lost. the parents of my wife just found a piece of land way back when and decided to put their house there.

19

And wheels with such narrow rims still have the same hub width? So it would be as simple as shifting wheels. My KH26 Muni doesn’t have a brake which means just unscrewing 4 bolts and changing a wheel. Changing wheels is easier than changing tires

20

… and cranks in most cases when changing tyres.

Swapping wheels is unbelievably fast especially using a ball ended Allen key. The bolts can be spun in or out in seconds. Then just tweak the saddle height (using the same key) and you are on your way.