Some of you may remember that I’ve been searching for a new unicycle for weeks now. I’ve been trying to choose between the Onza and the Yuni 20" Trials unicycles, and also finding out about the Miyata saddles, and have been shocked by the huge amount UPS charges for shipping through unicycle.com. Well, all my problems seem to be solved! Profile racing has an Australian distributor so I can get the hub and crankset through the local bike shop where I work part-time. I can also get the Alex DX-32 rim through the shop, and spokes and pedals are easy. I’ve been told that I can get a Miyata saddle (one of the older and apparently stronger ones) sent from Melbourne (in Australia) for a small fraction of the shipping cost from America. Finally, I’m going to get the frame custom built by a company called Picconi or something like that.
The frame’s the bit that I need help with. Has anybody ever had a frame built or built one themself? If so, could you please suggest anything in particular that I should be careful with. Also, does anybody know where I could get some general dimensions from? I had something like the Yuni frame in mind with the ‘sharper’ edges so I can rest my foot there for one-footed stuff. If anyone’s got any general comments or suggestions about the frame especially, could you please post them.
Naturally, when it’s all done I’ll post some pictures of it and give it a big review. Thanks to everyone who’s helped me make all these decisions. I guess being patient really did pay off, although it was really hard to wait so long. In the end, I’ve come out with a much better deal that’s going to save me hundreds of dollars on something that’ll be just as strong.
what you should so is order the frame from bedford unicycles in canada. it’s about $30us. I can’t see the shipping on just a frame being too ridiculous.
I’m sure the Yuni frame shoulder design is just as good for one-footed moves that require the user to rest the foot on the frame. I’m not sure that it is as good as a flat crown (like, say, the Semcycle XL) for freestyle tricks that require standing on the shoulder. I can’t do any of those tricks yet so I can’t judge. But I’d question the Yuni frame for those kinds of moves. AFAIK, there are no moves like that in the freestyle leveling skills, though.
If you are making a custom frame you can choose what design suits you best.
Alright, thanks. Is there anything wrong with a flat crown then? I’ll be doing all sorts of unicycling but mainly trials and homemade northshore sort of stuff.
it’s very good to have some connections to local bike shops For my trials unicycle I have a selfmade frame, if you want to look pictures of this HERE . It’s an aluminium frame and the weight is around 1 kg…
1 kg sounds pretty light. Is that a normal weight or is it lighter than most? How strong does the frame have to be? I had a feeling that it was only really the wheel that had to be strong and not the frame. Is this true? Thanks for those pictures they were really helpful.
I think for a trials unicycle it is very important to have a strong wheelset like the monty rim and the fat 2.5" tire. The bigger load is probably going on the wheel and of course on the bearing holders. But for safety and design it is good to hold the dimensions of the frame a little bit higher as standard…
Thanks for that review andrea. Felix, you said the bearing holders have to be strong. How do you make them strong? Also, I’ve heard of main-cap and end-cap bearing holders. What are they, what is the difference, and what’s stronger?
Has anyone got any frame colour suggestions? I was thinking of maybe something like a metallic orange or gold or something interesting. Then maybe I could make the rim or the spokes a contrasting colour. Can you paint spokes and rims or is it somehow bad for them?
What do you think of a nice metallic gold or orange. Not anything too bright but a nice shade of orange or gold. Maybe some of you have seen the orange I’m talking about on the Santa Cruz Superlight mountain bike frame. Any other suggestions?
Max’s dad makes a muni frame that would be a good design to copy for a trials frame. The frame has a flat crown so would be usable for one foot and gliding skills. It’s also a design that would be fairly easy to build.
It uses the Taiwanese stamped steel main cap bearing holders that can be ordered from unicycle.com
<http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=206>
It would be better to use stronger machined main cap bearing holders like what is used on the KH frames, Hunter frames, and most of the other high end muni and trials frames. The machined bearing holders hold the bearing more securely and don’t let the bearing flop around. It makes for a stiffer unicycle.
Thanks a lot for the advice. That frame looks really good. What do the machined bearing holders look like? I was just wondering because the ones on the Yuni frame look the same as the ones on my unicycle which is quite cheap and weak.
I’m wondering how much is the profile hub and cranks going to cost you? About the Miyata saddle, juggle art sells them but the last time I was in contact with them (a few months ago) they were out of stock. So I’m not sure if you will get an earlier model.
About the frame design I think the best bet is to keep it as skinny as possible (as in width) because you hit the in sides of your knees on the frame when hopping or ridding down hill. I’ve made my own Muni and I’m currently having this problem. I attached a simple diagram of what my frame looks like. I hope this helps.
For my trials unicycle I have a selfmade frame, if you want to look pictures of this 