New Unicycle? Help needed

Hey, I have recently taken up unicycling again. My unicycle is now 3 years old and not in the best condition. I am thinking of saving to buy a new one but I’m not sure which kind. The one I have now is nothing special(may have been cheap, it was a Christmas present) it is quite short and has a small wheel compared to the other people at my college.
I think I would like one with more grip and slightly taller so it extends my legs a bit. I am currently still learning, I can cycle around, but that’s about it, I really like it though, its great exercise and looks impressive.
I really just need some advice, what kind of unicycle do I need?

Poppie

if i were you, i would go highest first. a kh would be a good choice. most people slowly buy them self up to a kh or a profile setup, meenwhile they break every uni they get on the way up to the splined team.

It makes sense to buy a good one I guess (: wow, they are about £300, I could save that, it make take a little while though. Should I be looking at freestyle, trials or muni’s? I cant really tell, I know it depends on what I will be doing with it ^^;

He doesnt say he wants to do trials, street or muni on it.

If you just want something to ride you can go with a torker LX 24. Its a 24 inch something faster then what you used to have. If you want a stronger unicycle you can get a torker DX 24 it can handle hopping better and some drops more then the LX if that’s something you’d like to do. A torker LX 20 that’s a 20 inch. There are a few more but torkers are good and last well for just riding.

or freestyle, in which case it would be quite a bad idea to get a KH.

ah /: confusing stuff. That’s the problem, I don’t know what I want to do. I wouldn’t mind learning tricks and stuff, but I would love to be strong enough to just ride my unicycle around town confidently. What do I need?

By the way, I’m a girl (:

>around town

I would go with the Torker Unistar DX 24-inch that has already been suggested. Or a Nimbus (I have the Nimbus26 and like it).

Looking at the pics of the nimbus’, they have much bigger wheels than the one I have, I have heard this makes it easier to balance? They still look quite ‘short’ but I don’t know. I guess it would help to have a shop to try them out first, but that probably wont happen around here. The nimbus’s are very good value, are they well made?

You can check out the “Unicycling Primer” section at Unicycle.com:
http://www.unicycle.com/educationarticledetail.asp?CatID=1&ID=31

This gives a brief introduction to the various main unicycle types. Then you can find out more about each one in that same education section, such as Freestyle:
http://www.unicycle.com/educationarticledetail.asp?CatID=6&ID=39

I will agree with others that a basic 24" is a good all-around cycle that will work in a club/ environment, allow you to dabble in many things, and also get you from A to B much better than a 20".

Thanks John (: that made a little more sense. Maybe something like this?

I just got a Torker LX20. It’s my first uni. I haven’t touched a uni in 10+ years so it is taking a beating! Very sturdy, and tough unit. I’m pleased with how much it has stood up too in such a short time. I practice about 30 mins at lunch each day (on snow covered parking lot) and 30 mins at night in my basement.

So if your looking for something that will hold up I suggest the torker!

jm2c

Get a Torker DX. A great unicycle for relatively little cost. Shop around. Check out eBay.

I’m in the UK, I cant find any Torkers for sale here(and I hate shipping costs) /: I wont be buying one just yet though, so i could keep looking.

Poppie, whereabouts are you? There could well be another unicyclist or two near you who would have a couple of different unis for you to have a play with and see which you prefer…
Whatever you end up with I’m sure you’ll enjoy it to the max!

Kit

Alternatively try and get to a UK UniMeet, held in Kidderminster and occasionally in Exeter. These are a great place to try many different Uni’s of various wheel sizes and styles.

Torker’s are rare in the UK, there is plenty to choose from over here without having to worry about importing. Probably the most important decision is wheel size, what have you at the moment?

Keith

Here QU-AX is not really known. A German brand which makes really good unicycles for half of the prize of a Kris Holm. I ride the QU-AX 2005 trials, and that thing is pretty unbreakable.
It’s a little bit heavier perhaps, but very stable.

You would get one here:
german uni shop

The service over there is really great AND fast.

wogri

Poppie, if you Search the forum (using the Search button), you will find a pile of threads with your exact question. We probably get about 1 per week. Regardless, i understand your dilemma, since i was in your shoes less than a year ago, so welcome.

Firstly, i think that you should think about which style of unicycling you want to do. These are the main styles:

  1. Freestyle - general riding and doing these skills: http://www.unicycling.org/unicycling/skills/skills.html
    If you don’t have a style, then you are probably Freestyle, thus the name.

  2. Trials - pretty much focuses on hopping up obstacles using sidehops, crank grabs, and pedal grabs. It sounds weird at first, but it’s pretty popular and impressive.

  3. Street - like skateboarding, but on a unicycles. Jumping down sets of stairs and off ledges, and grinding ledges and handrails, all while mixing in spins and other freestyle skills.

  4. Mountain (MUni) - riding (mountian) trails. Riding over rocks, roots, skinnies, etc all while out in the wilderness. These style is very popular.

  5. Distance - riding long distances, duh.

(I’ll exclude the odd styles like giraffe riding, etc.)

I think that’s it, but i’m sure that someone will perk up with a few more. If you need more explanation for any of the styles, just ask, and i’m sure the folks here can recommend some videos to help you out. But, the most important thing is to decide which style you would like the most. If you don’t know, we can also recommend some general-purpose unis for you to develop a style on. Personally, i didn’t have a clue at first so i bought a basic 24" uni for $150 CDN, but i used to skateboard a lot, so naturally i now uni street on a $500 Bedford/Kris Holm uni and love it.

That one looks really nice, and the price seems really good for what you get. Three possible drawbacks on that one, none of which may affect you:

  1. For a “serious” trick cycle, the seat shouldn’t have a handle. But I’d expect the relatively low percentage of really serious Freestylers to just by a non-handled bumper rather than leaving the majoity of users without one.

  2. The black tire could be a problem in a gym, if you have a gym. But some black tires are fine indoors, so that remains to be seen. It looks like a great Freestyle tire otherwise.

  3. The cranks are too long. I used 140s on my 24" unicycles even for MUni. Those 152s will be useful for learning tricks, but will slow you down when you try to go places. I recommend 140s for all-around use, or 125s for cruising.

But that cycle is a great package, so I recommend it even if one or more of the above things may affect you.

The 24" Nimbus II is currently my only unicycle and I use it mostly for freestyle. I highly reccomend it if you want to ride distance and still be able to learn most freestyle moves, but aren’t that interested in really big drops, lots of hopping, or rough terrain. So far mine has been comfortable and very sturdy and it works for lots of advanced freestyle, despite 152mm cranks. (I am considering getting shorter cranks though.)

Also, here is a review of the Hookworm tire from unicycle.com “Had a very difficult time finding a freestyle tire in a 24” to use for gym riding. And at the heavier end of the body weight scale, I needed a larger tire for support. Other 24" tires would either mark too much or were extremely slippery on the gym floor. The 24"x2.5" Hookworm does an excellent job at holding the gym floor during sharp cornering without marking as far as I can see and I’ve finally gained the ability perform pirouettes, something that the slippery tires wouldn’t allow. I will probably put my IRC Metro tire on the uni for this summer’s parking lot riding but only to save my Hookworm for when we’re back in the gym. I recommend this tire highly. (Thanks, JD!)"
It sounds like it works for gyms.

MrBoogiejuice: I live in Somerset, anyone else live here?

Keg: I’ve left it at my boyfriend’s but I’m guessing it’s a 20" The ones other people have at my college are all bigger, but i havent been on them.

Hecklar: I’m sorry, I should have thought of that ^^; Thankyou for all the info!

Johnfoss: thankyou for the input (: I may get that one, can I get things like the cranks and saddle changed at a bike shop if they are not right for me? I guess I would have to order them first.
We don’t have a gym(not that we can use) I am at art college so basically we can unicycle around campus and there is a skills club once a week, for all kinds of juggling etc.
I’d also like to ride around town etc. I have found it is faster than walking, and although it is tiring, it will get easier as I get fitter right?

Jsm: thankyou for finding the review on the tire, defiantly sounds good!

Darn, I want this unicycle now! I will have to see what my funds are after Christmas (: