Okay so as you all know (probably not), I have a crappy Torker Lx. Thankfully, my birthday is coming up and I will have my sexy Nimbus trials! or maybe a Kh. Anyways right now ive been practicing my hops and it seems that my max height was 13 inches. Does the unicycle really make a difference in jump? Oh, and i decided to cut my post down because i thought it would help me hop higher. Is this true? because i tried again and i got around the same height again. Shouldnt i be able to get a higher hop because there is more room to pull up? Thanks for answering my questions in advance i know im a noob 
I’ll put this at the top in case my post is too long… short answer: Don’t worry about your unicycle unless it’s broken. Just keep practicing.
The answer to that question is hotly debated on these forums, so let me give you both sides of the issue quickly:
On the “yes” side is the argument that a lighter unicycle places less load on the body, allowing for a bit more height with each hop in the short term, and higher hops in the long term as it doesn’t fatigue the rider as quickly.
On the “no” side is the argument that one’s hopping technique will make much more difference in the height they achieve than a 10% reduction in unicycle weight. This has been illustrated by several skilled trials riders: given any unicycle (even 24"ers), they are able to achieve roughly the same hop heights.
I’m going to side with the “noes”. Just as a new unicycle isn’t going to make a non-rider learn to ride faster than with an old unicycle, a lighter unicycle isn’t going to magically make you a trials god. Big hops take lots of practice. Not only do you need to learn the technique, your body needs to learn it too. You don’t have time to think while in mid-air; your muscles have to have the experience of many hops before they know what to do to achieve the “perfect tuck”.
Hopping is timing your pre-hop (if you use one), hopping is timing your tire compression and rebound, hopping is pulling up, hopping is tucking your legs, arching your back, hopping is spotting your landing and absorbing it… hopping is a lot more than having room to pull up.
Thanks… now about that seat post length question I had…
A real trials tire helps you hop height quite a bit, as regular tires do not have the rebound needed for higher hopping.
Short answer: cutting your seat post won’t help your hop.
I’m a low hopper
I am puzzled by Mystro’s opinion that a lower seat doesn’t help hopping. Not that I am skilled at this, it is just that I have lowered my seat a lot lately so I can learn SIF and stand up a bit more.
I was under the impression that having more leg range of movement was the idea behind lower seats, and that would also aid hopping.
cutting the post can help, but it doesn’t help everyone. it is one of those tiny modifications that is different for everybody. just look at Joe Hodges VS Max Schulze. Joe runs his seat really low, but Max has his seat more towards the height of his waist. just depends on whats more comfortable for you and what your used to.
Now I’m puzzled. If you lower your seat, how do you stand up more? When riding SIF, you don’t want to be hunched over when holding the seat, as you’ll hurt your back if you ride more than a few minutes SIF. Hence you’ll want to raise the seat as much as possible.
From what I’ve learned, a high hop comes from the combined effort of arm and legs. The legs initiate the hop, then they must tuck up and underneath you to allow the unicycle to achieve its maximum height. Here’s where the arm comes into play. The arm pulls the unicycle up to achieve that maximum height… and to keep the pedals attached to your feet. It also tilts the unicycle sideways, to help absorb the sideways momentum generated in a sidehop.
Whether or not the seat is high or low, your arm is still doing the same work.
I’m assuming you guys are hopping SIF. Seat height is a non-issue in SIF hops.
With SI hopping, you don’t get all your height from pulling the uni up. You get a lot of height from tucking / folding your body (as one does with SIF). The wheel comes in front of you, pivoting about your hips. It looks a lot like a rolling hop.
If all you’re doing is pulling up when you hop SI, then you’re limiting your hop height, as the unicycle stops going up when the seat hits your butt. To get higher, you have to tuck. If you aren’t tucking, you’re aren’t going to get much hop height, no matter how high your seat is.
maestro is right, regardless of seat position and if you are si hopping, sif hopping, or rolling hopping, you will always get about the same height if you don’t tuck. Tucking is hugely important which will be where a lighter uni will help a little bit, a larger tire will also help with prehops and you can land a bigger drop without destroying your rim