Hello Everyone, I just purchased a 24" Quentin Solo at a yard sale this weekend
for $20.00. I’ve never unicycled before, but I’m excited about learning how. I
know I will have a zillion questions for this newsgroup and have already been
reading my butt off at unicycle.com. I guess my first questions are: Does anyone
have any info on the unicycle I purchased?, Is it a good beginner cycle? Is has
a curved seat with chrome hand-holds? on each end, so far, I am GREAT at falling
off, so now I only have to learn the other half…staying on. Thank You, Don
Re:Newbie Question
unfortunately i know very little about brands of unicycles and their quality, i
only began unicycling this past winter (in my basement :)). I purchased mine at
a bicycle store for close to 100 bones (cyclepro) it is still in very good
shape, even though it was the one i learned on. One of the nice things about it
was the seat that it came with had nice bouncy bumpers on the front and back, so
it didt get too messed up, i did though, replace it with a viscount seat once i
was able to ride long distances (the original seat was VERY uncomfortable after
about an hour of continual riding). All i can say is keep with it, it may seem
almostr imposible at first, but once your body learns how to keep itself on top,
its a wild ride! A quick note on the seats w/metal bars… My friend learned on
a uni with one of these seats, and due to the falls, the bar somehow ended up on
the outside of the seat, and the seat itself bent inward, making an annoying
point that would scrape your inner thigh as you rode… so just try to catch the
seat as often as possible!
Don't Give Up!
·•¤Aåron Lënnox¤•·
p.s. how do you guys get the original text in here?
p.p.s. I would like to make my “old” seat or maybe my viscount, either a gel
seat or an air seat, anyone help me out with this?
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If you’re anything like me, you will not buy one unicycle to do these
things. My unicycle collection in order of purchase goes something
like this:
20" cycle pro – learned how to ride forward, freemount, idle, and go
backwards on
24" schwinn – bought so I could return the above cycle to the friend I
was borrowing it from. Used transportation around campus. Learned idling
one-footed, seat-on-stomach, seat-in-front, and hopping on. Used for trail
riding (far from ideal for trails, but I had it, knew it was strong, but
also would not have been terribly disappointed if I broke it and had to
buy a new one.)
20" semXL – bought for the purpose of tricks, with no plans for trails,
or transportation. Learned: seat-in-back, one-footed riding,
wheel-walking, juggling while idling, suicide, kickup, side, backwards,
and a bunch of other mounts
36" coker – transpotation only. I almost never ride the schwinn now that
I have this.
24x3" muni – put this together last week. I’ve been spending too much
time at work to really test this one out, but it’s definitely going on the
hard trails as soon as I find them.
I can see myself buying a 20" trials style unicycle next, but time
will tell.
I have omitted the unicycles I don’t ride with great frequency.
Also, be aware, I have been riding less then two years. However, I am an
insane college student who is currently on co-op, and being paid well at
the moment.
So, to summarize: I recommend 24" if you are going for an all-around
unicycle. As you get farther into things (like with any hobby) you will
realize you want to spend more money on more specialized equipment. As for
which brand to buy, I have no experience with miyata (except for their
seats, which are great.) I have been very happy with my semcycleXL.
Jeff Lutkus
— macgyverfan@worldnet.att.net
> wrote: I’m interested in unicycling, and I want to buy a unicycle… The
> shop that’s around here carries Miyata and Semcycle… Which one is
> better? Why? My intentions are to ride on trails, but I would also like
> to eventually do the 10 skill levels (or as many as I possibly can…).
> Which wheel size would be better 20 or 24?
>
>Thanks for tolerating a newbie and for all your help
Free e-Mail and Webspace - http://Unicyclist.com
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Why limit yourself to what your local shop has to offer? unicycle.com has
a lot more to choose from, and the price differences are probably
negligible. (No I don’t get a commission. Just a satisfied customer 
Besides, why not support someone who really knows unicycles and is a great
resource for the unicycling community?
Most recommendations I see these days for beginners are for the Torker, or
United which cost around $70 to $80. You can spend up to about $350 on
your basic unicycle, but unless you KNOW you’re gonna love it, and you
might want to wait on the high end. Miyata and Sem’s are available in both
the budget and high end models. Seems to me a 20" would be easier to learn
on, although many people seem to have started on a 24 (myself included)."
If you are on the tallish side, maybe a 24" would be better.
If you get the bug for unicycling, it shouldn’t matter too much which size
you get. You will get intrigued, and stick with it. Personally I would by
a Torker, or a if I were starting out. If I fell in love with it, and
wanted another uni, then I would get the best I could afford.
Joe Merrill
> I’m interested in unicycling, and I want to buy a unicycle… The shop
> that’s around here carries Miyata and Semcycle… Which one is better?
> Why? My intentions are to ride on trails, but I would also like to
> eventually do the 10 skill levels (or as many as I possibly can…).
> Which wheel size would be better 20 or 24?
–part1_6c.c339aff.286ab3c7_boundary Content-Type: text/html;
charset=“US-ASCII”
<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>Why limit yourself to what
your local shop has to offer? unicycle.com has a <BR>lot more to
choose from, and the price differences are probably negligible.
<BR>(No I don’t get a commission. Just a satisfied customer
Besides, why not <BR>support someone who really knows unicycles
and is a great resource for the <BR>unicycling community? <BR> <BR>Most
recommendations I see these days for beginners are for the Torker, or
<BR>United which cost around $70 to $80. You can spend up to about
$350 on your <BR>basic unicycle, but unless you KNOW you’re gonna love it,
and you might want <BR>to wait on the high end. Miyata and Sem’s are
available in both the budget <BR>and high end models. Seems to
me a 20" would be easier to learn on, <BR>although many people seem to
have started on a 24 (myself included)." If you <BR>are on the
tallish side, maybe a 24" would be better. <BR> <BR>If you
get the bug for unicycling, it shouldn’t matter too much which size
<BR>you get. You will get intrigued, and stick with it. Personally I
would by a <BR>Torker, or a if I were starting out. If I fell in
love with it, and wanted <BR>another uni, then I would get the best I
could afford. <BR> <BR>Joe Merrill <BR> <BR><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE
style=“BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT:
0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px”>I’m interested in unicycling, and I want to buy a
unicycle… The shop <BR>that’s around here carries Miyata and Semcycle…
Which one is better? <BR>Why? My intentions are to ride on trails, but I
would also like to <BR>eventually do the 10 skill levels (or as many as I
possibly can…). <BR>Which wheel size would be better 20 or
24?</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=3 FAMILY=“SANSSERIF” FACE=“Arial”
LANG=“0”></BLOCKQUOTE> <BR></FONT></HTML>
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So…is the Quentin Solo 24" any good for a beginner?
How’d you even find this thread? The posts are from 2000-2001. I doubt those people are still on here.
Ah, the search function is a mighty tool! Only the wise and learned of these fora utilize it, but you too will be wise if you use it.
But really, is a Quentin Solo any good?
Chrome bars on the seat, hint hint. Why do you want to know now?
For someone who wants a uni.
So are Chrome bars good or bad?
Quentin was a bicycle parts distributor, and they had a house brand of bike that was generally about the same quality as the better department store bikes. They were still around in the mid '90’s, but I don’t think much after that. The parts on the bikes were low quality, and the brazing/welding was also low.
I haven’t seen one of their uni’s, but I would say that it is most likely a modest cycle even for the time it was made. A Schwinn would have been a nice step up.
Possibly.
How about a Bill Matthews unicycle?
This year, or in the year 2000? In other words, if you’ve seen a Quentin like the one mentioned above, you’d already know the answer. There are usually plenty of good, used unicycles on eBay at any given time, including old Schwinns which would probably be an improvement on the Quentin. It may have been fine except for the seat, though my guess is it also had those old lolipop bearings…
Yes, chrome bars on seat = bad. I can’t seem to find any good photos to show you an example! Everybody used to know what they were; among other things, they were the seats UDC couldn’t even give away (at 2 for the price of 1) because so many people ordered upgraded seats on the unicycles in their earlier days!
Bill Matthews unicycles? Solid. I have little experience with his standard models, but Jenack Circus Corp. used to sell the giraffes, which were second only to the Semcycles in the late 80s (in the US). But I think they did come with those awful chrome bar seats!
You mean like the Savage Saddle that unicycle.com sells? The seatpost is not standard and fits a 22.2mm straight pole. It’s weird that some people find the Savage more comfortable than other seats- I find it to be way too wide at the front and the metal bumpers are not much fun.
Yes it is better than nothing but you will want to upgrade everything on it immediately and then buy a new unicycle. The mighty search tool will allow you to search more recent threads about what is good for beginners in more recent times.
Or if you are brave enough, just get a 36" and skip the other wheelsizes.
