I went to the bike shop today and they had the New Torker Unistar DX 20". I was very impressed that they have put together a trials unicycle for $200.00. It has a Velo seat that looks identical to a KH seat, a double bolted seat post clamp, chromoly fork with a flat crown, a 48 spoked wheel, tubular chromoly cranks, sealed bearings, heat-treated splined spindle.
If you are short on cash this might be something you might consider checking this one out. Half of the cost of a KH 20".
Gene
What length cranks do they have on it? Those cranks in the picture look huge for a 20" wheel.
John,
The cranks that are pictured unmounted are 175mm to 180mm. The cranks that are on the unicycle look to be about 140mm. I didn’t check the cranks to see if they had a lenth stamped on them.
Gene
You could also buy one of the last 2 Summits. They are not much expensiver at the moment. But I prefer to buy a KH
Ferko
How wide is the tire on the trials version? Looks kind of narrow in the picture. Still, I appreciate the effort.
Torkers seem to be good beginners unicycles anyway. They’re ok quality but extremely cheap. I imagine if Wal-Mart sold unicycles, it would be Torkers.
I have a Summit and I like it. I bought it because it was a good deal at 250.00 plus shipping. I think that this Torker is a good deal at 200.00 and no shipping charges.
The size of the tire is a 20x2.125. Which is smaller than the Summit’s 20x2.50. The rim is narrower than the rim on the Summit too.
If money is not an issue than I would buy the KH 20. If it is the Summit would be my next choice. If that were still too expensive the Torker at $200.00 is worth looking at. I like the fact that you can see it at a bike shop before you buy it. I was fortunate that Jagur bought a Summit that I could check out before I bought mine.
Gene
i dont know what your saying about wal-mart either its cheap quality products or its cheap prices(which both i agree with, and i am an anti wal-mart person) but i could never think torkers would ever be in walmart. Just because torkers are cheap it doesent mean they are bad quality. i own a torker unistar and it is a great uni for both durability and ridability, even though i wouldent take it over any of my other uni’s, it is still an awesome uni and i would easily buy another one. and if wal-mart was to ever carry unicycles it would be my guess that they would be selling an serious él-cheapo brand.
does anyone knows anything about the torker giraffe?
Julian
I think it is great that splines are becoming available on cheaper and cheaper unicycles. This is a step forward and it will benefit the new unicyclists who buy their first unicycle and aren’t sure what they want. At least if they buy a cheap learning one it will survive the learning process. They should be able to drop off stuff without bending or breaking the cranks or axle, which is quite frustrating when you only have one unicycle. Torker seems to be constantly upgrading thier products. With a bit of feedback maybe they will bring another cheap one out with a fatter tire and shorter cranks.
Wow, sorry if I came off as anti-Torker (though I too am anti-Wal-Mart). I guess what I meant was that I appreciate the role Torker has played in the unicycle industry, by providing a fair quality and (economically) cheap unicycle for learning on.
They’re much better quality than other beginner’s unicycles at their price range (Avenir, Savage, Cyclepro), but they are what they are, a beginner’s unicycle.
This is far from a bad thing, because most people would be unwilling to put down $400+ for a unicycle they don’t know how to ride yet.
I simply question whether the new trials Torker is fit to compete with the likes of Onza, KH, and Summit. But again, I appreciate what they’re doing. There are now at least 4 readily available splined uni hubs out there: Profile, KH, Onza, and now Torker.
edit: oh yeah, and QU-AX
edit edit: Yeah, what Rowan said.
I saw the 2004 Torker DX (Dirt) in both 20 and 24 today, as well as the LX (Luxury) in the 20.
The DX 20 has 5"/125mm cranks, the DX 24 has 6"/150mm cranks. Both use the Kenda K-Rad Tire on a 48 spoke double wall alloy rim, 20x2.125 or 24x2.3. Velo seat but the fabric seems a bit thinner on the upper area.
Both LX and DX have a new beefier main cap bearing system using hex bolts.
The DX frame and LX Frame are the same construction although the LX is a tad narrower.
The LX cranks are still 5"/125mm but now are straight, no offset.
I put one pic of the DX 20 up here, I will put up a bunch more tomorrow when I have access to my T-2 line.
Quite impressive for the price point.
I’m looking forward to seeing the newest of the Torker line. For those who have seen it would you say that the 24 inch DX is a good deal for a MUni? I know it’s not that hard core because of the cheap rim and narrow tire, but for it’s price is there anything better?
I know it’s not tested yet, but how would you say that hub rates compared to the Suzue, Unicycle.com CroMo, ONZA, and KH?
Personally, I like that you can get 125’s for it.
Daniel
Personally I love torkers. I tell people to buy torkers because they’re cheap enough that if someone gets into unicycling and finds that it really isn’t for them, they didn’t waste a ton of money but they still got a decent uni.
I’m really looking forward to the new ones. But I’m wondering if that price is gonna change a whole lot. The DX is around $200 right? Does anyone know about the prices for the LX and the CX?
I started a thread in Unicycle Product Reviews for the 2004 Torker DX & LX .
My pics are at http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/2004Torker .
Question for you 2003 Stealth Torker owners that have been abusing them:
Have any of you experienced failure of the rim or spokes from drops?
I am wondering what the “drop rating” will be for the 2004 DX. The new splined heat treated axle and hub appears to be strong. I wonder how the spokes and double wall alloy rim will hold up.
would you be as kind as to let us know a bit more about the TX, thanks
Julian
I haven’t taken a good look at it. The one that was assembled was strapped to the display. I has the Torker/Miyata style seat. Looks like the LX wheelset (except it has a sprocket, of course), quick release sleat post clamp, I believe the cranks are 125’s. I’ll try to get a better look and cleaner pics by next week.
The new Torker 20" & 24" are now available from Unicycle.com. They will start shipping Dec. 8th.
The Torker DX 24" model won’t accept a tire bigger than 24x2.3. That’s a bummer that you can’t mount a 3" Muni tire on this.