I just picked up a used torker lx 20 unicycle (with upgraded pedals and wheel) from craigslist 2 weeks ago for 80 dollars and have been riding everyday for 1-2 hours and i am happy to say i can officially “ride” a unicycle. although i still very much have trouble free mounting it and controlling when i speed up…
I had two main questions.
I see many seat upgrades on websites but almost all of them seem to say they will not fit the torker LX. although i can ride a reasonable distance with my stock lx seat, i would like a more comfortable riding seat as i will be commuting to school with my uni in about two weeks. can someone reccomend me a seat that is under 50 dollars if possible?
Next,
I had a question about riding straight smoothly. it maybe that i am not at that level of smoothness yet but is it possible to ride a unicycle without thinking smoothly like a bicycle. although i can ride it much smoother than at first, i seem to give nearly still every ounce of body and mental concentration to ride “smoothly”. any tips or hints.
and real quick, any tips and hints on learning how to jump on and off one stair/curb. that is all i need. nothing fancy or anything.
Firstly, You are using muscles you normally wouldn’t when riding a bike so once you build up a bit more strength it will be a bit easier. Strength and practice - you’ll find that soon enough you’ll hardly even have to think about riding smoothly!
For hopping, hold the seat with your dominant hand and jump opposite to it (i.e, if your right handed, jump left). Just focus on the jump - Don’t think too much about the wheel under you. Also, a lower seat can help with getting the height to jump up onto something when you are starting but again, it just comes down to practice and commitment.
Good luck and welcome to the forums - Keep us posted with your progress!
thanks for the reccomendation~!
I was wondering if there are any?
granted i know a better saddle is gonna cost a decent amount (in the kris holm saddles case nearly the price i paid for my used torker lx!). but i was wondering if there any other saddles that will fit the LX.
so ive been trying to do the hop now.
it seems according to instructions online you need to have the pedals in a horizontal position in order to compress down and jump upwards. how i do this when im on the move. once again like everything, is it just feel and practice?
secondly, how much should i lower the seatpost. when i ride, my extended leg is bent a little bit at the knees.
thanks!
You can make any seat fit on your LX. The reason why most state that they won’t fit is because the LX uses the old Miata style seatpost bracket. To use the other seats you need a new seatpost. Your seatpost size is 25.4mm.
Yup it’s just practice for the hopping. Once you get it, it is ridiculously easy. You just need to try for those first few bunny hops and then you’ll progress fast from there. For the seat post hight, if your just riding around, from what I understand, you’re set up perfectly. Once you get better, and if you start doing tricks and stuff, then you may want to lower it. For now though you’ve got it set up just how it should be.
Don’t hop on the LX, you are going to break it in no time. I would focus on freemounting, idling and riding backwards first. At some point you will realize that one unicycle is not enough and will get a unicycle for each riding style (or at least one each for trials, freestyle, muni and distance)
oh no!
my goals in unicycling, is to be able to ride smoothly and commute short distances. and in this work ethic of mine, i want to be able to jump up one stair and down one stair. i am not planning to do any trial running or extreme free styling :] but i see myself trying to muni in the future because i love hiking and mountains.
anyways,
will the LX be strong enough for basic one stair jumping up and down? i hope so!
Lot’s of light riders have bragged here about doing a lot more then 1 stair on an lx, and saying the uni held up well. Can’t recall any of them that said they weighed 200 + lbs though. 100 lbs, no sweat. 150 I’d consider getting a trials or muni before doing much hopping, but one stair is likely ok. 200 + lbs, it won’t last long hopping.
UDC had a sale on older KH street seats a while ago for 35 $. You might try e mailing them to ask if they have any old stock, or slightly marked KH seats laying around. Otherwise, stay with the lx seat, it’s not that bad. Or pony up 65 $ for a KH street or free ride. Cheaper seats won’t be enough of a step up in comfort to be worth bothering with. The lx seat is actually pretty good on a short distance street 20.
Maybe hold up on the seat buying and save money for a bigger wheeled uni. You seem to be concerned about smoothness. Practice makes you smoother, but so does a bigger wheel. The bigger wheel does a lot for seat comfort during commutes. They are a lot faster, so you don’t have to sit so long. 20’s are excellent, often superior for learning many kinds of skills. Most commuters use a 29 or 36. There is nothing wrong with commuting moderate distances on a 20, you can have a lot of fun. If saddle pain is a problem, a bigger wheel would do more perhaps than a better saddle. I own an lx, KH street, and KH freeride saddle. On a 20, there isn’t much difference between them, the free ride is worth it on the 36, but wouldn’t make much difference on the 20 because you don’t stay seated in one position very long.
That helped tremendously!!
I am already starting to save for a bigger sized unicycle because of your help :]
Some questions though (anyone),
what are some of the differences between 29 vs. 36 (or even vs. 24) inch size unicycle. Obviously speed but what else.
Secondly, am i still able to jump up one stair up and down with this larger size and for that matter, do basic tricks?
thanks!!
