Seeking Advice on New Unicycle

Unicycles and Equipment
1

First off I’d like to say hello. If you haven’t all ready guessed, I am new to the forums and I hope I don’t anger anyone.

I am not new to the unicycle and have been riding for about a year and a half now. Unfortunately I have been limited greatly by my lack of funds and proper equipment and have not been able to do much.

I learned on a Torker Unistar (24 inch) (which is not able to handle much of anything but riding) and later progressed to a Avenir unicycle (20 inch) off of amazon which allowed me to complete some minor trials and minor off road riding.

Now that the Avenir is broken and I have some money saved up I have been doing extensive research pertaining to a new set of wheels…er wheel.

I am currently focused on two unicycles a 26inch and 29inch.

I plan to use this new cycle for offroad purposes but also some commuting as well as I am going off to college soon and would like something to get around the town with while also being able to explore local woods and such.

Having traversed my town on nothing more than a 20inch for the longest time I realize that anything larger will be a blessing, but what I am really after is a unicycle that is the best of both worlds. Something that does in fact give me that ability to easily ride the trails while also allowing for an easy ride through the town.

Some questions I have are:

Although the 26inch is a smaller wheel, i have read through numerous threads and have been told there isn’t much difference in terms of off roading or riding through town. Is that true?

Are the two both sturdy off road unicycles or is one more adept than the other? I guess what I am saying is, will one buckle or bend because it isn’t meant for much trail riding?

Is the 26inch better with jumps while the 29inch is simply for riding marked trails?

And BTW I’m looking at the Nimbus and KH 26 and 29 inch. Nimbus is obviously cheaper but it had me wondering if it lacked quality or if KH was simply more expensive because of the brand name it carried?

Thank you all for any answers you give and once again, thanks for allowing me to join these forums

2

well any nimbus or KH unicycle will not break easily and they are both reputable brands. i would recommend a nimbus 29er, as it is quite fast but is maneuverable enough for offroad use. but for really technical offroading (we call it Muni=mountain unicycling) you should get a 26er, which will have sufficient speed and handling anywhere. hope i helped

3

the 26 is nearly as big in diameter as the 29, because it has a poofy tire.

The nimbus 29er is a single walled rim, which is fine, as long as your trails aren’t too technical and rooty. The 26 inch wheel is a little heavier.

the 29 inch is great for cruising and light trails : )

the 26 inch muni is basically indestructible, but heavy, still great for both.

KH has some great products, but you get more bang for your buck with a nimbus. I don’t think KH is worth the price, but I like steel : ) to each his own. . . Nimbus certainly doesn’t “lack in quality” . . . quite the opposite.

good luck with your descision : )

4

Nimbus and KH are both of about equal quality, the major difference is with KH you get a lighter unicycle with a wider rim which can make a difference if you are pushing the unicycle to the limit.

For a good do-it-all unicycle I would not hesitate to recommend a Nimbus 26. Almost as fast as a 29 on road but easier to handle on the trail. I am not a fan of the tire that comes on the Nimbus but that can be easily changed.

If you have the extra coin I would consider getting either the 165/137 or 150/125mm dual hole cranks if you plan on doing a lot of both road riding and off-roading. Just moving the pedal to the other hole completely changes the feel of the unicycle.

Good luck with your purchase and let us know how it works out for you.

oh and welcome to the forums. :slight_smile:

5

I have both a 26 and 29, runs 165’s on both, as well as brakes.

I run a Surly 26" with a 3" Duro on a Large Marge rim, this is my dedicated muni, wouldn’t waste the energy it would take to ride it around town, it’s a beast! I’ve been riding 26" since I started just over two years ago.

I run a KH 29 with an RR 2.4 on a 7mm FR rim, this is my XC machine for riding fast, going further, the right choice when the Surly is too much muni. This is the uni I’d ride arond town if I didn’t have my 36er, or say I had a long double track ride into some light muni. This is my second KH 29er, bought and sold my first one after finding that I couldn’t handle it; this was on my first year of riding. Got my second KH 29er in a trade a few months back and ride it all the time!

Lots of folks due some pretty rigorous muni on their 29ers. To a degree I am guilty of pushing the limits on my 29er (and finding them!). It’s a tall uni compared to a 26", so don’t believe that it’s the “same size as a 26er” because that ain’t so.

My 29er with a RR 2.4 has a rim diameter of 29" plus 2.5" of tire.
My 26er with a Duro 3" has a rim diameter of 26" plus 2.75" of tire.

Which means my 29er sits 1.25" higher off the ground than an equivallent 26er. This may not see like much, but considering that a 26er feels significantly less agile that a 24" with only a 1" difference, this difference is greater still. Think 10% taller between a 26" and a 29".

I’d get a KH 29er for sure if you’re going to do some off road, this way you can add brakes and run a fatter tire. Running a fatter tire on a 29er makes it much more like a muni and you can always run skinny tires later on. There’s nothnig wrong with the Nimbus 29er, it’s just not designed with muni in mind.

The KH 29 FR rim is worth the money.

6

Fixed that for you. Yup bike rim sizes are stupid and don’t really make sense.

I also love my 29 but a 26 really is much easier to handle on the trails until you get used to riding bigger wheels.

7

Cue Catboy or Maestro8 in 3, 2, 1…

Welcome to the forums by the way!