New uni

General
1

On a scale of one to ten whats the quality rating of a:

            Torker
            Coker   
            Savage (giraffe)
            Schwinn (giraffe)
            DM  (any size)
            Semcycle

I’m needing a new one and would like the best one I can get.
I want it so it won’t break like my first one did. I was riding one day when suddenly I could pedal much faster. It surprised me because directly after my speed pedaling I fell off. My wheel could move when my pedals didn’t. This is usually bad.

Any help is good!

2

What type of uni was yours?
Hey, you are forgeting the Miyata. Which I give a 7 because of the high price, and the short seatposts that go with their seats.
as for the rest-
Torker-4 Great to learn on, but wont stand up to too much abuse.

Coker - 9 GREAT machine, but I would like to see a rim that can be trued.

Savage (giraffe) -8 (with a seat upgrade) or negative 5 (with out a seat upgrade. Great price for a good product. I only give it an 8 because its a decent giraffe that beats the prices of the competition by a lot, with out sacrificing too much quality.

Schwinn (giraffe) - 8 Great machine, but if savage san make a similar thing for half the price, why not wait till your first Savage breaks, and then get another. Those will last [much] longer than a good quality Schwinn giraffe.

DM (any size) - I have only ridden the vortex, but the engineering is great, and I have only heard good things 'bout them

Semcycle- 10+1 I REALLY love my sem! I have treated it horribly for a while, and there is really nothing wrong with it. I highly recomend them, it will last!
-David Kaplan

3

The uni that broke was the first uni that I owned. It has absolutley no brand name whatsoever on any part of it. All I know about it is that every thing but the cranks, forks, and seat where all nylon. I had it for about a year when the bearing and axle wore away so much you could pedal forever and not move (if you could stay up) like an exercise bike. Thats a pretty scary experiance when you are only 11 at midnight and only able to ride down the street and back (It was a looooong way back home!)

4

Damn, a nylon uni. Better not leave it in the sun (especially under a contact juggling ball).
-David Kaplan

5

RE: New uni

> On a scale of one to ten whats the quality rating of a:

These have to be relative ratings. The unicycle should be rated against the
other ones that are available. In this case, what’s available from
Unicycle.com USA:

Torker - 5: Great value for the price, but there are many higher-quality
models

Coker - 9: Best air-tire big wheel, cheapest big wheel! But room for
improvement. There’s almost nothing to compare it to, so the number is not
very meaningful.

Savage (giraffe) N/A: I don’t have enough experience with them

Schwinn (giraffe) - 10: The best thing Schwinn ever made (still available on
eBay). Yes, I’m a little biased. It was the first unicycle I owned, and I
still ride it and it still works great. It’s been in virtually every show
I’ve ever done. If you need a 6’ and can get a Schwinn, don’t look
elsewhere.

DM (any size) - There are many DM models. I own an ATU, which I love.
Quality is great. I would make two changes: widen frame to fit 3" tires, and
change to a more common seat post size.

Semcycle - Again there are many models. Technically, “Semcycle” refers to
the deluxe models (I think). Very high quality freestyle unicycles, very
strong. I’m not a fan of the flexi frame and the old style Schwinn seat.
Semcycle has suffered from model name confusion since they introduced the
XLs. This continues with the addition of the XLW models. I wish they would
come up with a less confusing set of names for the various models.

> I’m needing a new one and would like the best one I can get.
> I want it so it won’t break like my first one did.

Miyata. It wasn’t on your list. As someone else said, I would have to ding
it on price, but it’s still the best freestyle unicycle you can get without
going custom. They’ve got the best seat, a very rigid frame, and very strong
wheels (for what they are). Miyatas are not as robust as some other brands
though, and are a little more prone to problems if you fall or step on them
(land on unicycle on it’s side), for example.

> riding one day
> when suddenly I could pedal much faster. It surprised me because
> directly after my speed pedaling I fell off. My wheel could move when
> my pedals didn’t. This is usually bad.

This will not happen on a “normal wheel” unicycle. Yours had a steel axle
somehow attached to the plastic/nylon wheel, which is a weak point, on a
unicycle intended for light riding by kids. The only other time I’ve seen
this type of problem is on my old Troxel (the unicycle I originally started
to learn on). There is about 15% of rotation in the pedals without the wheel
moving. No, this problem was not there back when I was trying to ride it in
the 70’s…

Stay on top,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com

“We were discussing Big Mac Meals. I think that has little if anything to do
with cow parts. There are probably more UNICYCLE parts in a Big Mac than cow
parts.” - Greg Harper on cuisine