My Review of the Torker Unistar 20"

Unicycles and Equipment
1

I wrote this little review of the Torker unistar 20" and I thought you guys might enjoy it:

The Torker unistar is an amazing unicycle for the price. The Torker has a very similar design to the Semcycle XL, but only costs a fraction of the price. The Torker is a little heavier and the seat is not as comfortable as a Semcycle. After riding a while, I find that the seat tends to chafe the insides of my upper thighs. Still, I would recommend this unicycle for anyone who wants to learn to unicycle, but does not want to invest a lot of money. It is the best cheap unicycle that you can buy–sturdier and better than a Savage, CyclePro, Zephyr, or other Tiawanese or department store unicycle.

The Torker is designed to take a lot of falls, although the plastic on the seat and pedals will get scuffed up by the cement, so it won’t look as pretty after a couple months of use. The Torker seat has a little more padding than the United seats (which cost the same amount), but you might the Torker seat to be a little small if you are a big person. I am 6’0" and can ride it OK, but I am really thin. You might consider buying a Viscount, Semcycle, or Miyata seat later if you find the Torker seat uncomfortable.

Although I would recommend the Torker for any beginner or casual unicycler, there are a couple things I don’t like about its design. The quick release for the seat post is bigger than it needs to be. It sticks out an inch on either side of the seat post, although this has never interfered with my riding, I think it looks ungainly. I also find the seat difficult to raise and lower. The seat stem tends to get stuck inside the frame and I have to tug on it a lot to adjust the height of the seat.

The plastic plug covering the nut securing the crank tends to fall out. This little piece of plastic is not important and is mostly cosmetic. I think it is designed to protect the nut and bolt from the rain. I noticed that the crank bolt on my Torker has developed a little rust because that plastic cover fell off.

The nubs on the Torker pedals are a little too big, so they dig into my chins when I misstep and drive the pedal into my shins. I recommend wearing shin guards if you are learning to ride or practicing jump mounts. I got so tired of the scrapes on my shins that I finally took an exacto knife and cut down the nubs (which is easy to do because the pedals are made of plastic) so they wouldn’t be able to puncture the skin. While on the subject of pedals, don’t expose the reflectors on the pedals to excessive heat. The reflectors on my Torker started shrinking and misshaping when sitting on the heater in my apartment.

2

Good review, Amos.

We’ve purchased 30-40 Torkers over the past year for our club kids because we find them the best value for a beginner’s unicycle. I agree with your finds. The one thing I would add is that the Torker pedals are not as resilient as the rest of the uni. We’ve found that the plastic pedal’s outer bearing housing will crack and expose the bearing after a short time. Once that occurs, the pedals become loose and sloppy and can affect riding and especially learning to ride.

Bruce

3

Good review, there is a “Black Stealth Torker” thread over in the Product Review Forum that these comments would add too very nicely.

4

Nice review, thanks.

One minor point: those little black plastic caps are quite important. The thread that you can see when the cap falls out is the thread you need when you use a crank remover to remove the cranks to replace/upgrade or refit them. If that thread is damaged, it might be difficult to remove the crank.

The cap protects the threads from direct knocks, and keeps grit, dust and mud out. If you ride on unmade ground, or fall off lots of times, you will need the caps in place.

They are cheap to replace (via Unicycle.uk.com), and you can buy chromed plastic ones from bicycle shops for about the price of a can of Coke.