My husband wants to start unicycling and I want to buy him one for his birthday. How do I go about choosing one, and where can I buy them? How do I figure out the sizing?
I live in Ottawa. He is a very advanced mountain biker (cross country more than downhill). (I don’t think he’ll be mountain biking with it)
Hey hey welcome to the site im aimee =], erm well basically if he wants to use it for Muni which is mountain unicycling like mountain biking i would suggest 24" or 26", long distance like road riding 29" or 36", trials (which i doubt) 19" anything else just ask =]
If you want a starter class unicycle I’d go with the Torker LX 24’’ Wheel. It’s a good starter unicycle, about a hundred dollars. Unicycles are sized more of on the seat post size than wheel size. I’m 5’5’’ and I had to cut a couple inches off of the seat post when I had and LX, but my friends could ride it who were closer to six foot even with the shortened post. Unicycle.com and Amazon.com both sell the Torker LX 24’’. It’s an all around good beginner unicycle.
thanks for the suggestions. I just found a local store that carries some. He recommended a Trace Offroad 20" wheel. Know anything about this one?
Depending on his height, he could start with a 20" or a 24". I’m only 5’6" and started on a 24".
I never heard of the brand “Trace” , but if your expert mtn biker husband gets into unicycling he’s going to want a better one anyway, so the first one doesn’t make that much difference.
Torker LX is an excellent quality starter cycle. Don’t spend much more than $100 on the first one, because on eBay you can get the Torker LX for around that price.
Contact Darren Bedford (based out of Toronto); anything he sells would be decent.
That is so true, i definitely would consider a LX as my 1st unicycle rather then a cheapo unicycle that would bend/snap the moment you try your 1st hop. 
That’s a good place for unicycles and BCs too also.
i agree that is the unicycle i started with and it only took me a day to learn
It seems everyone likes the Torker LX. He’s about 6 feet tall; will the 24" still be okay, or should I go to 26"?
I’ve also found a shop that carries Norco - anyone know about these ones? No one seems to carry Torker so I’ll have to go online.
norcos aren’t bad but I would just go with the 24" LX. cheaper and more versatile than the 26".
and depending on where you live, it might be cheaper to buy it here. they charge $120 compared to $99 at UDC, but they offer free shipping. Check the estimated shipping price on the UDC page and if it’s more than $20 to ship, then buy it from my first link.
I just started this May with a 20" no-name unicycle. After a couple of weeks I was convinced I just might learn this thing, so I ordered a better 26" unicycle. Wow was it different! It felt like a freight train after the nimble 20"
I still use the 20" for learning new skills. After I am confident I try it on the 26". I don’t think I would have had the patience to start from scratch with the 26" Everything is so much harder, except the miles. There is no way to gain miles on the 20". I don’t know whether my 20" will take any hops, but I am not there yet. The Torker LX should be better than mine.
If your husband is not a born talent or very patient, I’d suggest starting with a 20" unicycle. He can learn the basics on it and then decide how he wants to proceed.
I am 6’3" and I needed a longer (400mm) seatpost for the 20" unicycle. That made a big difference after my first attempts.
Go with the 24’’ LX it’s the best size for learning
Lx
Torker LX is a good, strong unicycle - It comes with a knobby K-rad so he could do begginner muni if he wanted to.
I am not much of an experienced unicycler, but in my (beginner) experience, I would conclude:
I guess this is just one school of thought, but it worked for me.
I bought a seriously cheap 20" for learning on, and I am glad I didn’t spend much more on it. Now, I am planning for a Nimbus Trials and odds are I won’t spend any time on the learner.
I hope this helps.
-Connor