A buddy of mine found this uni in the trash in chicago I want to buy it from him because I always thought learning to ride a unicycle would be cool but he thinks it might be worth actual money, I doubt it but I thought I could post some pictures and see what you guys think as this is the best resource google has given me on the search so far, I haven’t found much information and I really don’t know where to start when it comes to unicycles.
It is a 24" tire, the only identifying characteristic I could see is on the seat it says “Schwinn”
Any info would be awesome thanks a lot! I want to buy this from him but really don’t want to pay more than 20 or 30$
Welcome to the forums! From the looks of this particular schwinn, it looks like the cranks, which are the really old “cottered” type, are off-center. This was a typical problem with these weak, vintage cranks.
Once the axle rounds off, you can’t get them sufficiently tight and they won’t stay properly aligned. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the bearings are loose and worn out.
I would not recommend buying this uni for anything other than a collector’s item, if that. If you are at all serious about learning to ride, get a new, well made uni. You can get a very decent quality nimbus or torker, or even K1, which are currently at an all-time low price at various websites.
They also have a couple nice 24" sizes for under $200, which is a great deal. It’s always better to get something that will last a reasonable amount of time, rather than having to buy several that keep falling apart!
+1
I don’t know anything about old Schwinns, but it doesn’t matter what uni it is after seeing that first pic. Those cranks should be 180 degree opposite, and they clearly are not.
The usual problem there is that the cotter pins are parallel, which often leads to that look. They have to go in opposite ways (one up, one down) for parallel cranks.
But more realistically, you might have trouble finding cotter pins at all. That Schwinn is a rust machine. Have a look around on eBay and you’re likely to find a few just like that, only looking almost new. Unfortunately there is virtually no collectors value in old unicycles. Maybe someday. And an old Schwinn is like an old Model T, or VW Bug from the 70s. A good product, but very common.
If the tire holds air it would be fine for learning to ride on. Probably 20x better than the P.O.S. I learned on. The seat foam may be crumbled away also, but the bolt pattern is still in use today with “modern” seats. Starting with that one would be fine. If you stick with it, then it’s time to get something more up to date. It’s hard to even find tires to fit the old Schwinns at this point (1 3/4" is not the same as 1.75" in tire sizes).
Ya in the brief time looking around these forums I noticed people saying 1 3/4" is different than 1.75" it just doesn’t make sense but hey whoever thought riding on one wheel would make sense?
He’s a guy with a lot of spare time though, I’ll probably just buy a new one for around 100$ and then get him to fix his piece so I’m not the lone rider around here. Or just get his cheap ass to buy a new one too! lol its winter anyways so It’ll be hard finding anywhere decent to practice.
