It sounds like I need to build up my skills. Currently I mount with my dominant foot back, but I hop much better with my dominant foot forward. That means the mount, hop around and ride leaves me with me weak side mount or my weak side hopping. I guess I should have good skills with both feet. Oh well, something to work on. :o
Thank you for the advice.
Hello! I have a Coker which I use for touring and distance and a 24" Dodger, but I’m looking to replace the latter with a Muni so that I can ride trails and give my girlfriend the Dodger.
I’m leaning towards the 24" since the Coker fulfills my distance needs very well and I like the 24" size. It’d be good for Muni as well as just getting around shorter distances. I’d like some information on the differences between the different Munis available, though; truth be told, I’d like a KH24, but I’m not sure if I can afford it. Is there a compelling set of reasons that the KH unicycles are the best for Muni? I probably won’t be able to get one till July, so there’s no rush. I’m building up my skills in the mean time.
I’m 6’0" and around 150lbs, if that helps with any recommendations.
Thanks. 
Hello! I have a Coker which I use for touring and distance and a 24" Dodger, but I’m looking to replace the latter with a Muni so that I can ride trails and give my girlfriend the Dodger.
I’m leaning towards the 24" since the Coker fulfills my distance needs very well and I like the 24" size. It’d be good for Muni as well as just getting around shorter distances. I’d like some information on the differences between the different Munis available, though; truth be told, I’d like a KH24, but I’m not sure if I can afford it. Is there a compelling set of reasons that the KH unicycles are the best for Muni? I probably won’t be able to get one till July, so there’s no rush.
Thanks.
Since you ride a Coker, why not try a 29" or 26"?
As to whether KH are better, it’s not really better so much as lighter, and it’s really just the frame we’re talking about.
My son has two KH unis, I have two Nimbus unis, all four are outfitted with top end parts, my frames are steel, his are aluminum. The aluminum frame saves 1/4 to 1/2 pound, but it costs $300 vs $45.
BTW, I ride a 26" for muni and love it, some folks feel the same about their 29er, but there are more tire choices with the 26".
I’d say there is less difference in “feel” between the KH and Nimbus frames now than there used to be. My old muni frame was an older-style Nimbus II 26", and other people’s KH munis felt much nicer to ride than mine (more solid, less flexy). That’s not to say the Nimbus was really bad - just that the KH was noticably nicer.
I recently bought a new Nimbus II frame (still 26") and it’s so much better than the old one it really surprised me. I’d say it would be hard to tell the difference now between that and a KH. The frame design looks the same as old Nimbus II, so the only thing that could account for the stiffer feel is the machined bearing holders holding the axle more solidly than the old pressed ones - unless they use different tubing now of course.
Some people report knee bashing problems with the Nimbus II frames (it’s a wide crown) but I’ve never had trouble with that. I’m a similar height to you (about 6’1").
KH frames do look nice though.
As for what wheel size, it really depends what you’ll be riding most. It sounds like you’re looking for more of an all-rounder, so perhaps a 29 or 26 might be better than a 24, like NurseBen mentioned. If you’re going to be riding a lot of extreme technical stuff, then go for 24.
Rob
My Coker is exclusively a distance machine; it’s not something I take out hugely regularly unless it’s to train or go somewhere far away. A 29" is appealing, but then I wouldn’t have a smaller wheel, and that’s something I’d really miss. I think it’s probably between 24" and 26".
By the by, I just went out for an hour’s ride. The terrain where I’ll be riding is mostly very hilly; there’s a lot of undulating grassland, but nothing hugely technical (I’d be interested in that sort of thing in future, though). There are also some longer, trail type rides that I’d do pretty regularly. I’d also use it just for getting around (which my current 24" does admirably.) If there’s no significant advantage of KH over, say, Nimbus, then I may go for one of their unis; they really are a lot more affordable. Still, if the money happens out of nowhere, a KH is a possibility.
So, what’re the main pros and cons of the 24" and 26" for Muni and overall? Any particular recommendations? I know it’s been covered sporadically throughout the thread, but it’d be really helpful to have a decent summary. I expect that it’s be useful for other newcomers, too.
The 24" vs 26" discussion is long and sometimes heated, but as someone who has both let me say that I think of my 24" as my tank, i.e. very technical terrain that requires a lot of vertical mobility (hopping). I recently got another 26"; I rode one last year before switching to a 24".
I switched back to a 26" because my riding style is more XC vs super technical terrain. I’m over forty and falling is no longer my friend, whereas my son is on a 24" because he loves rocks!
The higher off the ground, the less control you have, so a 26" is a little more precarious. Also, the taller unis are a little more difficult to hop. But, they’re faster and roll over terrain irregularities a little better.
I did have a 29er and felt it was really tall for muni, though it might have been better if a fatter tire were available. In the 26" I have the tire choices to go fat or skinny, so it’s a nice compromise. Note that I’m also 6’/200# so a bigger uni fits me better. My son is 5’7"/110#, so he thinks my 26" muni is huge!
Honestly, if you’re coming from a 36", a 26" is not going to feel too tall. If you were coming from a trials uni, then a 24" might be an easier transition. The Nimbus 26" Muni is a nice ride, though the rim is only 42mm wide so the tire will have a slightly less flat profile than on the KH 26x 47mm. I built my 26" wheel with a Koxx TYRALL 26" x 47mm rim and a KH hub, the rest is all KH or Nimbus.
24 is better for super technical terrain or doing lots of trials bits on the sides of the trial, and gives a lower effective gear for climbing.
Bigger wheels are a tad harder to free-mount, less maneuverable (w/ the same tire, possibly the same w/ a skinnier one), harder to hop, easier to roll over obstacles, faster, and can get up hill w/ the same overal effort as a 24x3 if you have a light enough tire.
Aside from less weight, the KH has a wider rim, increasing stability, allowing to lower air pressure w/o pinch flats or getting tire fold over. Also you can difinately fit a Schlumph hub on it if you upgrade to it later on.
For me I think a 26" may be better, since I roll everything (haven’t actually tried one yet), but I think I would want a wider tire than is available on a 29", I bet even w/ the wider KH rim.
I learned to ride on a cheap 26" Sun and did some of my first off-road riding on this set up before the whole wheel tacoed. But then I built a custom 26" off of available parts at the time: 28" Yuni frame, Alex32 26" rim with 26x3 Nokian Gazz Tire (the beast!) etc… There was a reason I called this setup “Yellow Hammer.” So my first real MUNI experiences, just starting out, were on Yellow Hammer and I must say it was indeed a fun ride! It truly rolled over everything. I alternated between 165mm and 150mm cranks on this setup but ended up prefering 150’s. So I kept with Yellow Hammer until I started to gain more confidence and hit the rougher trails and started doing higher drops. I built Yellow Hammer with a UDC square taper hub as there really wasn’t an inexpensive ISIS or other splinned type hub available (Nimbus was yet to be). So as you can imagine I started bending cranks alot and finally destroyed that hub. Right about this time I earned my graduate degree and as a graduation gift I got a Kris Holm 24, again at this time there really wasn’t a true 26" out there; you either had to go 29" or 24" or a custom 26" like Yellow Hammer, but I wanted a bit higher quality stuff like machined bearing housings and ISIS hub so I went with the KH24 as it was built for the stuff I was doing. I got the KH24 and I’ll admit I did initially have “issues” with rolling over everything. I kind of took for granted what Yellow Hammer could just easily roll over so I suffered A LOT of UPDs on the KH24 at first. However after a few rides on my normal routes I’d adjusted and really my route times ran about the same on either unicycle so no speed penalty. Plus this 24" was so much lighter than Yellow Hammer that I had an easier time climbing. And it was with the KH24 that I started to do longer muni epics; on the order of 20-30 miles at first and then a 50 miler during a 12 hour race a couple years ago. So you can see I’d grown used to using the KH24 for ALL my off-road riding. Then about a year and a half ago I got into trials riding. As I couldn’t afford a proper 20" right away, you guessed it, I learned to do basic trials stuff on my KH24; side hops, gaps, skinnies etc… I’d even incorporate trials lines into my muni rides when I could. It just made sense. Also, remember, during all of this my skill level was improving so if I did ever go back to riding a proper 26" like the new KH26, I’d imagine it could indeed be a good fit for me besides the trials riding ability. However I’ll stick with the 24" as it works for me for everything, I’ve proven that. Now as I’m about to stick a KH/Schlumpf hub into my KH24 I’ll be able to improve the speed penalty I get on flatter, easier terrain at the cost of perhaps making trials riding a bit more difficult with the added weight penalty. We’ll see. So 24 or 26? I don’t think the debate will ever end, but really one can’t honesty argue for one or the other until they’ve put in some quality miles in both. Yellow Hammer was nice, but I imagine a KH26 would be far superior! If I were coming in new and couldn’t decide between a 24 or 26 I’d just flip a coin! I think you’d be happy either way! Regardless of what you ride, you will get used to riding whatever terrain it is you ride with either.
Okay, a 26" sounds pretty good to me; I think I’d prefer XC to technical stuff for the moment, and it’d be good for getting around on too. Thanks for the advice. How difficult is it to build a wheel of your own? It is appealing, but I’m not sure of the steps involved; hub, spokes and rim, right? But aren’t spokes awkward to fit?
@skilewis: Thanks for the additional information; I’d love a Schlumpf hub, but I doubt I’d be able to afford one for a very long time. Still, it’s worth considering.
@MuniSano: Haha, awesome reply. 
Thank you! I haven’t heard of a KH26 – perhaps I’ve missed the news. If one’s due to be released, when would it be?
For the moment, I’m looking at the 26" Nimbus II, perhaps with the Gazzaloddi tyre. Any thoughts?
Nimbus Munis are awesome.
Shameless Mixes are even cooler
Building a wheel is not that difficult to learn… however, it takes a lot of practice, some knowledge, and a certain amount of expertise to make a really good wheel. I’ve built a few, but I wouldn’t recommend building your first wheel as one you plan to ride a lot unless you can build it under the direction of someone more experienced.
I just got a 2007 KH 29 and started riding muni with it. I started out on the 137mm cranks and found that I felt pretty unstable and UPDed a lot over fairly simple terrain. I switched to the 165 holes on my cranks and it was like a new uni. I was rolling and powering over everything. I was very surprised at the difference. The wheel did zigzag quite a bit and my feet would twist off the pedals but i think that that can be remedied. It seems that it is becoming less common for people to use cranks 165 or longer.
I am curious. I know it has been covered before but what length cranks are you using on your munis?
My first muni was a Nimbus 24. I bought a KH29 when UDC had their killer sale. At first I found the 29 stiff and hard to ride technical. But after a few rides, I got used to the extra height and the harder tire. Now I find myself grabbing the KH29 for all of my muni rides. I love the speed and I experience far fewer pedal strikes. I come from a bicycle background, so I do very little hopping. The terrain I ride is definitely not XC, but not natural trials either. My style is to aggressively ride at and over all obstacles, making use of rolling hops for larger rocks. I have ordered the new 47mm freeride rim to give it a try. I just recently got a KH36, and boy, does the 29er feel small and nimble now.
I ride a 24" with 175s, but I’m told that’s weird. I do like how much torque I get, but I don’t have much experience with other lengths and wheel sizes.
I highly recommend the KH24. It is very strong, has lots of crank options, and light weight. It is well worth the cost if you ride a lot. If you don’t ride much, then a cheaper unicycle is probably a better bet.
corbin
You can never go wrong with a KH. But if you don’t want to spend that kind of money on a KH, the brand new Torker will be a good choice too. its not out yet, but it will be soon. don’t listen to what the others say about the Torkers, because the new one is at a whole new level, not the same unis that the older models are. I can’t officially say when the Torkers will be available, but it should be within a couple months at most, that is what I am being told, by the company. So if you want to wait and find out more about the new Torker that will be a little bit more affordable than the KH, then i would recomend that. it will be lighter and stronger than the previous Torkers. I don’t know how much they will cost, but i know they won’t cost 5 to 600.
if i buy a kh 24 (07) will i have any problems, because i no some had issues with the 07 trials.
I’ve got a 07 KH24 and the only issue I’ve had is with the stock (older) KH seatpost that it came with. I think the top clamp piece is bonded to the post and not pinned (or at least not well). After about a year of riding I noticed sometimes the seat would twist! At first, not knowing better, I thought the seatpost was getting loose so I kept tightening the seatpost clamp (dumb!) to no avail! Finally realized it was the top clamp piece (after some research on this forum). So I replaced the whole seatpost with a Thompson seatpost and have no further issues. For the record the newer KH seatposts supposedly don’t have this issue anymore. So you can ride it until it fails and then replace the seatpost. Good luck.
Well, due to the advice you guys have given, I’m becoming more tempted by a 29" KH. The wheel is small enough to be usable within a town but also decent for distance and – so it would appear – XC Muni. The lack of technical trails near me means that it’s more practical overall, and shorter cranks on it would be great for the steep hills where I live.
Any thoughts? Also, how easy is it to idle and hop on a 29" uni?