I’m looking for a new freestyle unicycle in the $100 - $150 range. I just broke my last, I’m looking at the Nimbus II 20’’ freestyle unicycle at unicycle.com
Chrome-plated steel frame with squared top for one-foot skills Unicycle.com wide CrMO hardened steel hub and 48 stainless-steel spokes
Double-walled alloy rim with nipple eyelets
Hookworm 20 x 1.95 freestyle tire, rated to 120 psi
Velo padded, contoured saddle with lift handle
400-mm chromed steel seat post
Rubber 9/16 pedals (easy on hard wood flooring!)
Quick-release handle
Those are the specs and in exception to the rubber pedals it sounds pretty decent for $144. If you have any negative input about this unicycle or have better suggestions please dont hesitate to let me know.
What broke on your freestyle uni? If it was the hub then make sure you get a unicycle with either the Suzue or the new unicycle.com CroMo hub.
That Nimbus II unicycle has good parts, including the unicycle.com CroMo hub. However, I don’t like that frame for freestyle stuff. The crown is too far away from the tire and because of the shape of the crown it’s not as comfortable to put your foot up there as other freestyle unicycles that have a flatter crown.
A better freestyle unicycle would be something will all the parts from the Nimbus II but swap the frame for a Semcycle XL Long Neck. Here is the Sem Long Neck frame built up on a unicycle: fancy Sem Long Neck unicycle. Notice how the crown is close to the tire. That makes one foot skills easier. That’s a nice freestyle frame.
Swapping to the Sem Long Neck frame would add about $25 to the cost of the unicycle, but you’d get a better suited freestyle uni out of the deal.
uni.com somtimes has “curious” prices and it totaly pays to poke around for the best deal,somtimes even in the weirdest catagories?
for my freestyle uni,i bought a Torker XL,a Sem long neck and a 22.2 seat post to fit it and tranfered all the Torker parts and still came out better than if i had bought any fully built up uni that had the Sem long neck frame on it.
or better yet,just but a Torker Unistar LX 20-inch from a bike shop and pay no shipping.
yah, but if i bought the torker (96) and the frame (65) and the seat post (15) it would add up to about $176…and thats without shipping/handling. Do you think it would be worth it? I am guessing after shipping it would boil down to about 200-215. Also, if i wanted a hookwork tire to match the Nimbus’s it would come to 230 almost after shipping. Then you have the Chromo Hub and such as well. For the price of the torker + mods i might as well get a kris holm freestyle or something. AHHHH what do you think my best move owuld be…is the angled crown that big of a set back?
What type of freestyle riding are you planning on doing? It is hard to suggest a unicycle without knowing how it is going to be used.
I think the Semcycle Long Neck is the best of the lower cost freestyle frames. The frame is designed specifically for freestyle. The crown is nice and close to the tire. The long neck means it fits an adult better. The long neck moves the seat post clamp up higher where it is more out of the way. It is very nice to have the seat post clamp out of the way when doing skills like seat on side, hands free seat out front, and other skills where you legs will rub on the neck of the frame.
The new Torkers are also very nice. For $96 it is hard to beat the new Torker LX. The hub isn’t as strong as the Suzue or unicycle.com ChroMo hub, but it is strong enough for freestyle if you don’t do trials with it. The crown is higher than the Sem Long Neck, but that isn’t too much of a problem until you start getting into the real advanced freestyle skills. The frame is heavier than the Sem Long Neck. The seat post clamp may get in the way, but it’s somewhat low profile. If you’re a taller rider it is more difficult to get longer 25.4 mm seatposts. Most other freestyle frames use a 22.2 mm seatpost and there is more of a selection of longer freestyle seatposts in the 22.2 mm size than in the 25.4 mm size.
At the current moments in my life I am not extremely advanced in the area of freestyle, If i were to get just the Nimbus II or the Torker LX what would you suggest, if you knew that i would probobly get a sem long neck frame in the future to add onto the unicycle I would end up purchasing. So short term stock Torker LX or Nimbus II? Knowing that in the future I may add a better freestyle frame. Not necessarily the semcycle long neck but a better one none the less. And also knowing that I am not extremely advanced in any sense.
For a sense of my current Freestyle Skill my skill level is probobly in the 4 range…working on 5 and can do some of the stuff.
One pro i just thought of for hte Nimbus is that i often have problem of my foot rubbing against my wheel when trying to do one foot skills. The Nimbus’s high clearance would probobly solve this, but it also might be a disadvantage seeing as how i have not used one like it and am slightly inexperienced in freestyle.
If you’re trying to save money my little motto is “splurge on the wheel and skimp on the frame”. It’s more important to have a good solid wheel than a super fancy expensive frame. Fancy frames have their place, but they’re not as important as a good solid wheel.
Using that motto the Nimbus II is the better option. Later on you can switch to the Sem Long Neck frame when you start doing skills where the Nimbus II frame becomes a hindrance.
I have always used frames with a low crown for freestyle. You learn to put your foot on the crown in a way so that you don’t rub the tire when you don’t want to. If you’re used to a higher crown it may take some time to learn to adapt to the lower crown, but you’ll learn to adapt.
I think I am going to go with the Nimbus II because of the wheel set seeming better and then if i feel the need I will get another frame/seat post. Although as soon as i get this freestyle I’m going to want a new seat post clamp.
As for how i broke my last freestyle, well first problem was that it was extremely crappy. I’m not extremely sure what happened but I know its not worth the money to fix or replace the wheel set with the same frame. Somehow i broke the crank/hub set or something. Like if I in any way change the direction of force in pedaling, even the slightest bit, theres like a 3 inch movement of the crank before it catches the wheel and turns it. So all the time in pedaling and mounting etc. I’ll pedal and nothing will move it’s very akward and hard to explain…Do you get it? If not I’ll try to explain again. And if you think it can be fixed I’d like to do it bu still get a new freestyle. It has one of those crappy plastic spoke set things, and lollipop bearings, it was my first unicycle ever.
As for bike shops. I have no bike shops that carry even partially decent unicycles. The only place that carries them is bike shack and they only have a very crappy crappy brand with a high price tag of like $115. I think its like Avenir or something. I think it’s over priced for what it look like, I could be wrong.
Sounds like a cheapie mag wheel uni. Still better than the one I originally learned on, which also has that “coasting” feature now.
Pretty much any unicycle at this point will be an improvement. I agree with John Childs that if you want it for tricks, get a crown that’s down close to the wheel. Also make sure it’s a flat crown, not a unicrown like what probably came with your broken mag. This is easier for putting your foot on.
If your plans are more for general riding, you don’t need to be so specific. I don’t know what the Avenir unicycle is so I can’t recommend that one. The various options people have already mentioned are all good.
There used to be a big unicycle club in Chariton, 60 miles south of Des Moines, and I don’t know how far west of you. I don’t have any current contact information for the folks there, but you could try looking them up. If they’re no longer active, there are probably lots of unicycles (good ones–Miyatas!) you could buy cheap! Look for the Edwards and Rubel families in Chariton.
Thanks, ill look into that. If I fail to be able to get a hold of them or if they cant help me in this department I’ll probobly go with the Nimbus. It seems like it will last a long while and Besides a minor frame issue its good all around, and the frame can be exchanged if ever really desired. So I’ll probobly end up doing that, unless someone comes up with another negative or a better option in the near future. Thanks for everyone who helped me.