I have the 24" Nimbus II 48 spoke freestyle unicycle. Today I was coasting, and when I fell off, I forgot to catch the unicycle. It sailed at least ten feet and bounced around a lot before landing. This happens a lot, unfortunately. This time however, when I went over to retrieve the unicycle, I found that the right axle had snapped, about where it attaches to the crank. So now I’m looking for a new hub. I suppose I could just get a replacement hub of the same type as the one I broke, but I would like to get something a little stronger if possible. I know splined hubs aren’t usually very good for freestyle unicycles, and they are awfully expensive, so I’m wondering what some good options are for a good strong freestyle hub, for 75$ or less.
(This is very frustrating, as this is my only functional unicycle, and I had just figured out how to get into stand-up gliding a few minutes before, although I haven’t really gotten more than a couple feet yet. I was really looking forward to perfecting this skill.)
You don’t need both cranks to glide, just work on your 1 footed rolling mounts into gliding the stand up
I think this is a good opportunity for you to get a 20" freestyle unicycle. Replacing just the hub could end up costing as much as a new wheelset. I don’t think there is a stronger square taper hub than the UDC (except a custom hub or maybe the one on the KH freestyle uni) The new kh/onza hub are pretty light i hear and come in 127. Also there is the QU-AX hub and crank set, it’s only $125. and also comes in 127.
In the meantime, you could remove your other crank and have a high speed DH glider with no wobble.
I’m a little hesitant to get a 20" freestyle unicycle. Although I do want to get one eventually, (probably one of the better Semcycle long necks, or the Wyganowski) I want to have a 24" freestyle unicycle on hand in any case. I have tried my brother’s 20", and I find it really hard to ride properly, since I’m used to the bigger wheel. Also, the 24" wheel gives you 4 extra inches of height when you do stand-up wheel walk/gliding.
Until I get it fixed, I’ll probably work on my side-riding a bit, and maybe left-footed backward one-footed riding, as well as wheel walking tricks that I can get into without the right pedal.
Freestyle unicycles break too when used for the more advanced freestyle skills. Just ask the people in the TCUC. They’ve broken unicycles and hubs doing indoor freestyle stuff. It’s gonna happen when you use a unicycle that much in that manner.
I don’t see the current splined hubs as being an option for they type of freestyle riding you’re doing. Yeah, they’re available in 127’s now, but they’re bigger and bulkier and heavier than the standard hubs and cranks. There is also the Q-factor change. The standard cranks cranks are available in more sizes which allows you to tune the crank length to tune the crank length to the style of freestyle riding you do. More choices is better.
