I’m looking into getting a muni, ready for something different that a mountain bike and these things look crazy!. i dont know what brands are good or bad, or what size to get? i’ve been told from a couple people to get a 24 or a 26. i’m 6’3" so ive got long legs and dont wanna get to small of one. i will be riding on some pretty rough trails with some drops. so i just want to get one that will be good quality and durable for what i will be doing. any help will be greatly appreciated!
The nimbus 24/26 munis are great. I personally use a 26, and I think that size is the one that I’d recommend. It rolls over junk pretty nicely. I can’t say for a 24 though… But either way, a nimbus muni would be great.
i was looking at the nimbus 26. it looks nice and the reviews i’ve read about it seem to be pretty good.
Have you learned to ride a unicycle at all yet?
If not, my advice is to look on craiglist or the Trading Post sub-forum here. Find a smooth tire learner unicycle. I think I’ve heard from these forums that bigger wheels are harder to learn on. So you might learn faster with a 24". Someone chime in if I’m off there.
With an inexpensive learner uni you’ll:
- Determine if you have the persistence to learn to ride before investing as much.
- Get some experience with one wheel size. Then be able to make a better muni size decision.
- Have a smooth tire for learning on a driveway or parking lot. I could be wrong here, but I think the smoother surfaces and tires make learning easier.
- Beat up your learner, not your muni, while learning the basics.
- Have a better appreciation for the quality parts you’ll hopefully get with your muni.
- End up with two unicycles. Can’t learn a skill on one? Maybe it’s easier on the other. Have a friend who wants to learn? Loan out the learner. Muni needs fixing? Poke around in the driveway with the learner while you wait for your parts to arrive.
I had the drive to learn muni from the start, but got a learner first from craigslist for about $30. I ended up buying my first muni one month later. But it was worth buying the learner to me.
Oh yeah… where do you live? There might be someone on these forums nearby with a uni for you to buy/have/borrow.
i dont know how yet. Ok that sounds like a good idea, i just live out in the country so theres not much concrete or anything its pretty much all rough gravel roads. i live in oregon. right by a town called roseburg
Considering the gravel, I would just go for the Nimbus Muni and enjoy!!
from one noob to another…
I just started learning to ride in early September this year, and bought the Nimbus 26 a couple weeks ago. I have not yet ridden it off road, and put a smooth tire on it before the first ride.
There are 2 ways to approach most things; jump in, or ease in. I have jumped into unicycling, but I am going to ease into MUni. Until I can confidently and comfortably ride the transition from my driveway to the street and back at various speeds and angles I don’t think I will be ready to take on the rocks, bumps, tree roots, etc. of the mountain trails. But that is just me. I am seriously allergic to bad injuries 
The bigger wheel is harder to learn on for most people, so if you are a total noob then the advice from MuniOrBust is sound.
I am also 6’3", about 180lbs. The 26er tire is actually over 27", and with the nobby I think it is pretty close to 28". So, you are up off the ground a long way. I went with the KH 137/165 dual hole cranks. With the pedal in the 137 hole you are an inch higher in the saddle than with the pedal in the 165 hole. Though I wear 34" jeans the actual measurement from pedal spindle to saddle for me is 39". If I am going to do MUni or jumping curbs then I will lower it an inch or so, but for learning and street riding this is ideal.
Getting on the bigger wheel is quite a bit more difficult than a 24" cruiser or 20". I can get on the 20" or 24" with static mount pretty much every time, and a roll back mount almost as consistently. Not so on the MUni. Still need a lot of practice.
The only other thought is safety gear. I would not get going on the MUni without it. You can get a great deal right now on 661 4x4 shin/knee and 4x2 elbow/forearm from Blue Sky Cycling. I use a hodge podge of shin, knee, wrist, elbow, and gloves, but each of them have already saved me from injury and pain!
The Nimbus is a very nice ride. But it will take time for most mortals to get on top of it, particularly on the rough trails.
After I take my first XC or true Muni ride I will come back to this thread and check in. Good luck, and have fun with it! 
Ok cool! I am still thinkin on what to do. I’ll probably get a cheaper one just to get a little experience.
Anyone can learn to ride a unicycle, but it’s really hard and it takes a while to learn, esp to the level of riding trails that are “steep”. Figure one year riding 2-3 x a week to get “decent” on easier single track.
If you’re the kind of person to commit and never, ever, give up, then get a decent muni to start, buy a cheap uni and you’ll have a cheap uni.
At your size I’d go with a Nimbus 26
ok, yeah i’m the kind of person that once i get it i’m not gonna stop till i get the hang of it. so idk how it will go. i ordered a 24" torker cx for 70 bucks, i figured for 70 bucks why not. so i’ll have that by the end of the week hopefully,and if i like it then after the holidays i will order the nimbus 26" muni:) you guys go any tips to help learn how to ride?i’ve watched a couple videos and stuff on youtube.
There are tons of learning helps, and you will find many things on this community if you use the Search tool.
I started a thread in Just Conversation the day I started learning called “Learning Journal” back in early September and kept a log of each day for quite a while. You can look there and see my learning, and see the points I received from so many others. At this point there a bunch of us using it as we all learn together so it has become a “Team Learning Journal”. You can either just read it, or of course you can join the fun and make regular posts of your learning experience. I suggest starting at the beginning and read through the first several posts, then you can jump around in it as it is several pages long at this point.
Welcome the joy, frustration, difficulty, and triumph of learning to ride a unicycle!! You will find no better place for help and encouragement than right here All the Team Learning Journal (TLJ) folks are great, and they will be happy to help you out.
Good luck, and remember to have fun 
ok cool! thank you guys very much! this is one of the best forums i’ve ever been on. I used to race quad motocross so was part of many racing/riding forums and everyone seems to always be rude and think there the best. My experence on here has been great! Any questions i’ve had you guys have answered, and have been very helpful! i can’t wait to become more involved in the sport!
by the way…all my friends think that i am crazy for getting a unicycle or as they call it “wasting my money”. i told them there just scared of a challenge!
All my friends think I’m nuts learning to ride a uni too and keep asking me if I’ve had a trip to the emergency room yet, but at least I’m outside having fun in the fresh air - or rather I will be again when I’ve fully recovered from shoulder surgery and a damnable stomach bug - whilst they grow fatter sitting indoors playing their playstation/xbox/et al.
Get the best you can afford, if you decide you don’t want to ride ultimately you’ll be able to sell it more easily than a cheapie.
Maybe not the best you can afford, but a good muni, like a Nimbus or even a used KH.
If you are interested in uni for off road, don’t buy anything with a single wall rim or cotterless cranks.
You can always resell a decent uni, but a cheap uni has no resell value outside of the $5 you can get at the flea market.
On one hand, you’re right. I bought a cheapie Avener 20" to learn on. It has held up so far, but then again, I haven’t been doing any big drops on it. Just learning, little drops and hopping. If I had to do it over again, I would buy an better 20" uni like a Torker LX or a trials to have for tooling around the neighborhood when I get my Nimbus 26" Muni.
That being said, there are several of my friends who are “on the fence” and don’t want to buy a uni, but would like to borrow my 20" when I get the 26" so they can give it a shot. So I think my cheapie will still see action until it’s inevitable demise and because it was cheap, I’ll gladly lend it out. I’ll never be able to sell it, but it’s served me well and it will be around for a while to introduce others to the sport without worrying if they are going to destroy it. But like I said, in hindsight I should have bought a better uni but at the time, I knew nothing about unis. If I had found this site back then, I would have bought a better one based on all the good information that you guys provide.
Right now I plan on getting a good 20" this summer for the driveway to go along with my Nimbus 26".
That’s what I was trying to convey, wouldn’t have thought only a person with more money than sense would by a Triton for their first MUni 
i can see where you guys are coming from when you want to buy a good uni to start out with. i ordered a torker cx just to learn on and once i feel comfortable i am going to buy a nimbus MUni, but i am not sure on the size yet. i want a 24" or 26". But once i get that then i will pass on the one i learned on to a friend or someone that wants to learn. Nobody around my area that i know of unicycles so i want to leanr how to bad, and maybe introduce people to it so we can all make the sport grow! I just figured it would be a better idea to spend 80 bucks on something that i’ve never done, than just jumping into it and thrashing a 300-400 dollar muni.
I totally agree with you tzenev. I found a used 20" for $50 locally from CraigsList or the Classifieds, I don’t remember which. Now I have a Nimbus 26 MUni, but I still use the cheap 20" Torker CX a lot, and it is helping me improve on the bigger wheel. I doubt I will get rid of it. For example, today I tried a rolling mount on the 20", but I am not yet ready to try it on the 26". I also have a cheap 24" Avenir and I have learned a lot on it, and will continue to ride it as well. If you fall in love with this crazy sport then you will for sure get a nicer uni, but the learner may just always stay in the mix!
Exactly! Why are the 20" easier to ride then say the bigger ones? Or thats what I’ve heard anyways. I just don’t see how it could be much different…