I received my first Uni when I was 11 in 1986. It’s a Cycle Pro 24" all original even the tire and tube. I bent the wheel pretty bad the other night while hopping. Now I am in the market for a new one but don’t want to spend a lot of money. My 9 year old son just picked one up about a month ago and is riding with me. We live across the street from our county trail (paved) which runs a total of 34 miles. We also skateboard so doing tricks interests us as well.
I have never ridden a giraffe but it looks fun. Correct me if I am wrong, I have a feeling the novelty will wear off and I will be left bored with it. So my sites have been set on a standard size Uni but I have not made a decision. I’m stuck in this 20"-30" range. The large size wheels look like fun if you want to travel but seem limited to that. The 20" looks great for tricks but you really aren’t going far. Now with my young son on such a tiny Uni, I would guess I’m not going far anyway. Seems like I’ve narrowed it down to a 20" cycle.
I would appreciate any input/recommendations you can provide for my situation. Thank you.
You pretty much nailed it. Giraffe unicycles are best for shows/showing off, parades, and cheating at basketball. 
Quite fun, but of limited practical use. To ride with your son, get a 20". Of course he may be relatively close to growing into a 24" wheel, which can still be used for lots of tricks and will get you around faster.
For buying, your main decision (other than wheel size) is whether you need a splined axle or not. I know you killed your Cycle Pro by hopping, but those unicycles weren’t even good with kids hopping on them. I know this from the fleet of 20 of those we bought for a school in New York (in 1987-89). Once the kids learned it was easier to hop than to ride them, cranks started bending immediately. We had to impose a “no hopping” rule for the school unicycles! A better unicycle will hold up to plenty of “regular” hopping without issue. But if you plan to do lots of hopping, dropping, or other strenuous stuff, get a unicycle with an ISIS or other splined hub. Like this one:
http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=1055
If you think you don’t need the heavy duty hardware, consider a colorful Club uni:
http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=1198
For a more comfortable seat on the Club uni, upgrade to the Nimbus Gel or a Kris Holm saddle.
Thanks for your input and I’m glad to know I am on the right track. I can get a barely used 20" Torker DX locally for $150. I’m gonna think on this some more but most likely get this one.
A note on the Torker DX
They are built like a tank, probably twice as heavy as the club freestyle but it should be able to stand up to anything you could possibly throw at it.
Thanks for that info. I have read that more than once around here and it does concern me. I don’t imagine I would want a heavy uni. I really like that club. I would imagine it may fit my needs and withstand what I may throw at it. My son and I are both trying to perfect idling and going backwards. I just don’t know how agressive I will actually ever get. Maybe the club is the way to go. Love the white tire by the way. The fiancé was all about it.
Any other ideas on where I can get a Club 20-inch Freestyle Uni? All they have in stock is purple (the worst color). Are they the main dealer?
As far as I know the Club unicycles are UDC only. You could try the Canadian UDC www.municycle.ca
They have the 24" size in stock in a wide variety of colors. . .
the club is really better for children, it probably hold up but i’d really advise getting something stronger. 24’s are great if you ever want to ride further or off road, and if you just want to do tricks and ride in the house then a 19/20" would be the way to go. (i have found that larger unis can be a real pain to ride in the house, literally lol)
fwiw, i wouldn’t rule out the dx at that price. it still sounds like it’s probably your best option.
See if you can talk down the dx seller
I’m assuming it’s the older dx with orphan cranks and bearings. Still, for a starting rider, the extra weight of a dx isn’t gonna ruin you. Maybe put pc pedals and a KH seat on it. Pretty much any splined uni is going to be better than any square hubbed uni. They are built from the tire up to a much tougher standard. Although one of the least desirable splined unis, for 100-150 ish USD$, I am sure the used but new looking dx would be much better than any new square hubbed uni. People crab about the seat and the orphan parts a bit, but it is unlikely that you will break anything soon.
I made my decision and just purchased the new 2010 Torker Unistar LX Pro Long (http://www.cyclesportandfitness.com/torker-unistar-lx-pro-unicycle.htm)
I also purchased the Gusset Pimp white tire (http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=1359). I wanted something that would handle more air pressure. The stock tire is 65 psi max and this will handle up to 100 psi plus it looks cool.
It’s funny, I really liked the green Gusset tire and EVERYONE has it listed as 100 psi max but if you actually look at the tire, it reads 45-60 psi unlike the white and the pink one which reads 45-100 psi. (http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=1358)
Why would you want such a high tire pressure? 
Most folks who hop, jump and do tricks seem to run with very low pressures. I generally run all my unis at the lower end of the pressure range.
The original post was a pretty accurate summary of the situation anyway. Giraffes are fun, but the novelty might wear off. My impression is that mostly they are used for performing rather than riding for pleasure. Large wheels are mainly for travelling, and small wheels are more or less limited to local stuff: trick riding, hopping, trials, etc.
But of course all rules are there to be broken. Plenty of people do serious distances on a 20 or 24. Some people do journeys on giraffes. Some people do big drops and so on on a 36er.
Personally, if I had to ride sometimes with a small child, but sometimes had chance to ride alone, I would go for the 24. It’s small enough to go slowly and do “clever stuff”, but big enough to do distance. If you choose one with a square taper hub, two sets of cheap cranks will give you plenty of versatility.