So, I’ve decided to get myself a MUni. I took my 24in. cruiser (United) to a couple of parks over the weekend to test the water - to decide if I will like off-road enough to justify buying a MUni. My conclusions are, I love the off-road, and I REALLY need a MUni. I found myself in a couple situations where the cruiser was definitely the wrong tool for the job. I’m hoping you guys can give me some advice on my purchase.
-Pashley 26-inch Mountain Unicycle (MUni) Standard
Price: $299.00 (Looks like a good solid basic MUni. I like the way it looks and the site claims Pashley is a good, experienced MUni manufacturer)
-Pashley 26-inch Power MUni with Miyata Saddle
Price: $449.00 (Same as above, but this one has longer cranks and the Miyata saddle, which I would definitely do the air cushion conversion on - this is pretty important to me. This unit is a little above my intended price range)
-Semcycle XLW 24- or 26-inch with Sun BFR Rim, Gazzaloddi Tire, Miyata Saddle
Price: $329.00 (Looks pretty good, and its right at my price range. Gotta have that Miyata saddle. Definitely prefer the 26in. version).
What do you guys think? One thing I noticed when I was testing the waters is that I felt like I needed longer cranks. There were a couple of times I lost control and I felt that if my cranks were longer I could have saved it. I’m not sure how different it’s going to feel, so I don’t want to shoot myself in the foot by getting cranks that are too long. I think my cruiser has 150’s.
Whats the general opinion on the Miyata air-cushion conversion?
Is a wider tire better? What about size? It looks like the 26 is the way to go.
Pretty wordy for my first post. Thanks for your patience.
The Pashley Muni 26 has a Reynolds tubing frame, aluminium alloy wheel and reasonably long cranks. I’ve found mine damn’ good value. I’m riding it for an hour or more several days a week (6 miles tonight through Sherwood Forest, with som good ups and downs) and it’s done one 20 mile day, mostly off road.
I’d suggest that the time to specify crank lengths, wheel sizes and so on is when you’ve ridden off road for a bit. Find out what you like and what you don’t like. Find out where you really ride it. Find out which bits of Muni appeal most. If you’re a fiend for hills, you’ll need long cranks. Then you can easily upgrade the cranks, seat and so on. (My first changes to mine will probably be longer cranks and a better seat.)
Unicyclist in Fairfax County who quotes the muppets?!? Cool! Where in Fairfax County are you? And for that matter are there any other Northern Virginia people lurking around here? I have been trying to find others who unicycle in this area, but haven’t had any success.
I started in the very same situation you did. I had a trainer, I took it off-road, I loved the off-road, and I was looking around for a good Muni.
I am not sure I can help with the Muni itself (I’m still very new, and overly concerned with giving bad advice).
However, you asked about the Miyata air seat. I have 2 unicycles with the Miyata seat. One of them has the Air Conversion.
The Air Conversion is VERY nice, and it is totally worth it. I can ride for 4 or 5 hours (though I do get on and off often) on the air seat and barely notice any discomfort, if any at all. When I ride on the unconverted Miyata, I am sore after an hour or two, depending on the clothes I am wearing.
So, the Air Conversion, in my experience, is totally worth it.
Financially, some people will tell you to do it yourself … there are instructions online for how to do it. I, however, am not the DIY type, at least when it comes to mechanics, craft, construction, and repair. I hate that aspect. However, if finances are a problem, you could do the old Do-It-Yourself thing.
Thanks for your thoughts. I’m concerned about one thing. Since I’m new to the board, I’ve been browsing some old posts. I saw a topic that’s about a month old where people were talking about how the new Miyatas use different bolts from the old and the airseat conversion may not be possible with the new ones. Does anybody know if that is that the case? Any solutions?
I’m from Fairfax in Fairfax - I guess its Fairfax city, but I have a hard time thinking of Fairfax as a city. I’ve been playing off-road at Burke Lake park and Wakefield Park.
I don’t know any other unicyclists in the area. If you or some other people you know want to meet up and ride some day, I could definitely do with learning from experienced cyclers.
I believe it was the case that some “less expensive” design choice on the bolts on the Miyata seat had been implemented, and that it made air conversion much more difficult. However, I think I also remember somebody mentioned that the unicycle.com folks had come up with a way to make the Air Conversion anyway.
So it should still be possible, but the DIY solution may be more awkward.
I like My Sem XLW with the 2.6 gazz. I prefer a 24" for muni (tighter easier turns and lighter too) The pash is a nice machine too, but no 24" model. Plus, Sem is a cool guy.
-David Kaplan
Personally I’d start off with the Power Pashley with airseat rather than the base, if you are going the Pashley route. Then you don’t have to worry about tacoing the wheel and having to replace it. The upgrade after that might be to Kooka or similar cranks, which you will want for doing any extensive hopping; then you’re set for quite a while.
I did all these upgrades, but you could skip the first one by going directly to the Power wheel and save some money.
Sounds good, valuable info. What concerns me with that unit is the jump from 150mm cranks (my current uni) to the 170mm. I know 20mm doesn’t seem like much, and I do want longer cranks, but it looks like 170 is the longest I’ve seen. Do you think its going to be overly disorienting to move to the 170?
No more disorientating than changing from one uni to another. I have three wheel sizes and at least 3 crank lengths in my ‘fleet’. After a long session on one, I sometimes find it takes a couple of attempts to mount a different one. The answer in extremis is to mount with the assistance of a wall (etc.) and ride for a bit. Then the muscle memory kicks in and you can freemount it. Most 2 wheelers have about a 170 mm crank, if I remember correctly, so it’s not an unreasonable length.
When I got on my muni for the first time after replacing the cranks, I fell off. I only did that once. Don’t worry about the disorientation, it will pass in minutes especially if you have been riding a while.
However, you indicated that you have been on a 24" street uni.
Watch out - the cranks won’t bother you. If you get the gazz setup, the tire will take some time to get used to especially if you
ride on pavement to practice. Adjusting to the tire just takes time.
You will have to get used to the set up with the longer cranks and the knobby tire. But it won’t be disorienting. You will have the hang of it in no time.
Think about it this way. You will eventually upgrade to the 170’s, especially if you have hills to ride. You can ride a uni already, so just do it all now and not wait.
Is the gazz not practical for street riding? I’m looking at the Sem XLW because it looks like a really versatile uni. I’m looking for something I can ride around city streets with and go off road ocassionally. I would like to get into trials eventually, but I’m looking for an intermediate step up from my 20" cyclepro. I’m afraid I’m going to break it if I start hopping on it, I’d rather save it for learning new skills and whatnot.
> Do you think its going to be overly disorienting
> to move to the 170?
I think I can respond well to this, as I’ve just been doing it.
Background: I’ve been riding trails with 150mm cranks on a 26" wheel since
1996. I prefer a speed edge over a leverage edge. This is a matter of
personal preference, and should relate to your riding environment.
On Saturday I took my 170s to Wilder Ranch in Santa Cruz, where there is a
good concentration of technical and steep sections. The 170s fit in perfect
for me there. But on my local Sacramento area trails, There is more cruising
and less hard cranking, so I think the 150s are more appropriate for there.
If your terrain is relatively flat (I go up and down at least 500’ on an
average ride), you will probably be fine with 150s. The thing with cranks is
that you can always buy new ones.
The Sem XLW is great for on the street especially when you start riding off the curbs with it.
Let me clarify regarding the gazz. It is super off road where you don’t really lean into turns as you ride. You spend a lot of time going over stuff and staying vertical. You don’t do stuff like pick up soda cans in a turn as you ride.
For me when I first got my sem xlw, I felt like I could only turn it like it was on a vertical pivot and just lean a few degrees to the left or right. When I started to lean into a turn like I did on my 20" United it just seemed to want to fall over and I couldn’t control it. I got used to compensating for this with practice.
I think the tread pattern has something to do with it. Going in a straight line and around corners from one street on to another will be fine. It’s the tight turns for me that were the wierdest to
learn. Like trying to to a 7 foot diameter 180 degree turn.
After riding for 6 months with it, I don’t notice it anymore.
If you are watching the cost of a muni follow this advice. Skimp on the frame but splurge on the wheel. The Kovachi wheels and an air seat are the best upgrades you can make for a muni. The Kovachi wheels at unicycle.com are a great deal.
Find out from unicycle.com when they expect to get the Nimbus II frames in. The Nimbus II frame with your choice of wheel is going to be a killer low cost muni.
I don’t know what kind of trails you have around where you are and I don’t know what style of riding you plan to do. The two standard tire choices are 24x3 or 26x2.6. Get the 24x3 if you plan on riding trails with roots and rocks and technical stuff. Get the 26x2.6 if you want to go faster and the trails don’t have a lot of big roots and technical sections. Avoid the 26x3 tire unless you have a really really good reason for choosing it. It’s a heavy wheel and has drawbacks but some good points too.
If your trails have anything remotely technical you will find the 170mm cranks to be a big improvement. 170’s are good for both the 24x3 and 26x2.6. The 170’s will slow you down on the flat smooth bits, but will make up for it everywhere else.
Well, I think I’m going to go with the Pashley Power Muni. I definitely want the 170 cranks - I definitely want to work into some hill stuff. Also, you guys are convincing me that the stronger wheel is valuable. Plus, I think the Pashley looks a lot better - and I actually will use the water bottle bolts. There’s something about having a sleek all-black muni with the green trim around the saddle (green wouldn’t be my first choice, but I still think it looks pretty good). I’ve already doctored up a picture of my new MUni in Photoshop…pretty sweet.
Here’s one last (maybe) question. Is it worth another $20 to get the leather seat cover with the airsaddle conversion? The pictures of the airsaddle with the Roach cover look like the cover pops up way too high - it looks like the seat cover comes up at least an inch higher than the bumpers. The pictures with the Gemcrest leather cover looks much smoother. The vinyl Gemcrest may be just as good as the Leather, at the same price as the Roach, but I can’t find any pictures of an airsaddle with the Gemcrest vinyl.
Anyway, the whole thing comes out to roughly $565. That includes a leather airsaddle, a helmet, and shipping. Seems a little high for my first MUni, but I guess its pretty good as far as MUnis go.
Doing this will pull $190 out of the frame… and allow you to put it into the wheel. If you go with the Pashley and decide you want to upgrade later, you’ll be looking at a hole new ride- not just a wheel upgrade.
The Pashley frame and housing run $230. Compare that to maybe $50 for a Lucifer that can hold the 3". One thing is certain: Pashley will appreciate the donation.
Yup. I have a feeling that the Nimbus II frame is going to revolutionize the “low end” muni market. It will be a good inexpensive muni priced within reach of more people.
Just to clear things up. What Christopher calls the Lucifer is the Nimbus II.
