Intro: I road a 20”unicycle for 5 years and with a friend built a 6’ tall unicycle back in the mid to late 70’s but due to the lack of parts and the issuance of my drivers license I moved on.
Now 30 years later with 3 boy and a mortgage and in need of physical conditioning. Just last week my boys and I saw a kid at the park trying to learn to ride a unicycle my boys were intrigued with this imposable one wheeled contraption. We watched for awhile then. I could resist no longer the temptation. I had to ask if I could try. After reassuring the kid that if I damaged his uni I would have it repaired he let me try. With my boys pleading “dad you’re crazy be careful” I mounted the uni and with arms flying in all directions road some 30’ to everyone’s amazement. Up to that moment only a few child hood friend had ever seen me on a uni. For that brief moment I was a kid again.
All this week I can’t stop thinking about the ride in the park. So I googled Unicycle to see if you can still buy them. To my astonishment I found you people.
Hello is this place for real? It’s like wheels of dreams “build it and they will come.”
this place is very for real. Glad you found us, welcome to the forums, be careful though you may end up spending more time here than on the unicycle. Have you gotten yourself a new unicycle yet, or dug out your old one?
Well it seems most people have been recommending the Nimbus 20" ISIS trials unicycle for starting. Assuming that you want to get into trials unicycling or something. If you want to do more just riding around town, or out on the trails in the woods then a Nimbus 24" ISIS MUni is what you’ll be looking for. Granted these all costa pretty penny but they’ll hold up for a long time AND you’re boys can give them a go too.
EDIT: you can look around on unicycle.com and find a cheaper option but if you do much more than learn with something too cheap it wont last you too long.
The kids here all have trials unicycles on their minds. It’s all they know. To them everyone needs a trials unicycle.
Trials unicycling is riding along and over technical obstacles by jumping, rolling, pedal grabs and other means. Street unicycling is an offshoot that involves doing more freestyle type moves in a skatepark or urban setting.
For trials and street you need a strong unicycle with a splined hub, beefy cranks, etc. That’s what the kids here all recommend everyone start with. When the only thing you know is a hammer then everything looks like a nail. To them everything looks like a trials unicycle.
Muni is offroad riding. You need a beefy and strong unicycle for that as well.
But for regular riding you don’t need anything fancy. A basic freestyle unicycle with either a 20" or 24" wheel will do the duty. The trick for an adult is finding one with a seatpost that is long enough.
Unicycle.com has many choices. You can browse the site to see what’s available or give them a call if you have questions or want to ask them what the best option would be for you. The important bit is to find one that will fit an adult.
In my mind this is the best deal that UDC has going for them right now.
There are more basic unicycles but this one is probably the best for basics if you have a bit of money to spend.
The hub and cranks (probably the first thing to break on a unicycle) is top notch, and should be more than enough for most learners.
The seat, is nice and comfy which is something that 90% of learner unicycles leave out and is a joy to have.
The rest is pretty basic but still not bad, this unicycle probably will never have to be upgraded for most people.
The advantage to getting something that won’t break (besides it not breaking) is that the resale value is also higher, if you find after a few months it hasn’t been touched in forever, then you still have something that is quite desirable to many people.
Another issue with things breaking is that although you don’t expect it to happen, particularly with beginning, when it does it can be quite a let down, and often things just don’t get fixed, so not having to worry about it is definitely a good thing.
Like John was saying, you are not going to be needing a big beefy unicycle to start with.
But with ISIS becoming the new standard for hubs and cranks, and with all the unicycles I linked you to being on sale, it is soo worth it. Be quick to buy one though, as the sale ends at the end of this month.
You cant pick wrong here, the tire sizes are 20" and 24" which are the perfect size to learn on. The 20" will be better for tricks and jumping, so if you have that in mind, go 20". But if you want more of a relaxing, cruiser unicycle, go for a 24".
As of now, pick the tallest seat post, and you can cut it down to your preference later, and id just go with the default crank length, so it doesnt get too confusing for you.
Welcome to the forums, and back to unicycle. Im sure youll love it here.
road some 30’ to everyone’s amazement. Up to that moment only a few child hood friend had ever seen me on a uni. For that brief moment I was a kid again. 
