I got my first uni a week ago and Im having a great time learning. I can free mount, turn left and right on a dime, hop and reach down and touch my tire while moving. But I cant ride as much as id like to because if I spend over an hour a day riding my knees get cashed. Im only 19 and I don’t get sore knees from anything else. Is this just a unicycling thing and my knees will get used to it? Ive also noticed that unicycling is very hard on individuals with exterior genitalia. Is there any special tips for preventing your gonads from getting pushed into your stomach when mounting and doing drops, or is this just something your always gona have to be careful about? Also my gooch will get very sore from riding but I just put up with the pain when riding because I know its just saddle soreness and your gooch gets used to it after a couple of days, but the I still get saddle soreness after Ive been riding for a week, do you veteran guys ever get sore gooches? Just yesterday I ductaped some foam to my seat and I think thats going to help a lot. I know the main reason for my pain is the torker cx that im riding. I was gona order a torker lx online but instead i called all the local bikes shops and all they had was torker cx’s and sun classics, but one guy described his unicycles to be torker lx’s from what I could tell (I asked which model they were but he said that they only say torker on them) because he said they had a square tube frames and they constructed from chromolly steel and he was talking about how much stronger and more solid these torkers are compared to the suns. I could swore he said the were black in color aswell. So I used my gps to drive all the way to this bike shop that ive never seen before and i get there and theres a bunch of orange torker cx unicycles and he says here you go heres your uni and i just bought it because I didnt want to wait over a week to be able to start unicycling. But im probably gona order a nimbus isis soon, im just debating on getting a 20" or 24". Right now i have a 20".
Are you riding with your seat at the proper height? Are you sitting down or not putting enough weight on the seat? These are two common beginner factors. After only a week it’s hard to tell what’s a problem and what is just the basics of getting used to riding.
Welcome to the forums!
For your exterior genetalia pains, if you have a lower seat, when you go off a drop you can stand up, and when you land you compress with your legs, that way it will not hurt. Also with free mounting you just have to position yourself right other wise it could be painfull.
As for uni choice, it depends what you prefer to do, trials and street (get a 20") or muni (get a 24")
Welcome to our one-wheeled world.
Neither Torker CX nor LX seats are very comfortable. Finding the perfect seat is the goal of every unicyclist. The Kris Holm style seats are a big step up.
Regarding your sore knees. Be sure you are resting your weight on your seat and not so much on your feet. As you get better and more comfortable with riding, you will relax and put your weight on the seat. Also, make sure your seat is high enough to almost straighten your knees on the down stroke. Riding with the seat low is hard on the knees.
Many riders use bicycle shorts but the padded ones can be expensive. I use compression shorts which do not having padding in the crotch. They help keep things in place and prevent chaffing of your inner thighs. They are also much cheaper. Find them in the sporting goods department of your favorite discount store (Walmart, K-mart, Target) next to the athletic supporters (jock straps).
Regarding your turning on a dime. Work on smooth, rounded turns. Twisting turns will wear out your tire.
I have been experimenting with various seat heights and i have found that i the height that Im most comfortable with when cruising. i like it to pretty high that way my knees don’t get sore right away. I always try to put most of my weight on the seat, I ride a lot smoother that way. But I tend to put less weight on the seat when I have a really sore gooch. If Im working on my hopping I lower the seat a lot but its harder for me to ride that way. I suppose there isn’t much for after market seats that are compatible with my CX, because i would like to get a good seat now while im still learning and then be able to use it on the next uni that I buy. I was also wondering what street, trials, and muni riding consist of, I figure that trials consist of hopping and riding on obstacles and street must be riding and doing freestyle on the street, and im not sure what muni is, is it off road? Im mostly interested in off road because I live in the country. Btw this Toker CX is a piece, Ive already slightly bent the rim from hopping.
Trials is riding a line that can involve having to hop up or over something, riding really skinny things, and just about anything. The point of trials is to go from an object to another object to another one.
Street is well, street. Same as in skateboarding. Grinding rails, gapping sets, doing flip tricks, doing spins.
Muni = mountain unicycling, which is like mountain biking, but on a unicycle.
I don’t know what your budget is, but a good unicycle for these would be the KH20 or the KH24, each around $500. Those are great, nice looking, high quality unicycles. The KH24 would be better for you if you are interested in mountain stuff.
feel your pain
i remember my first few days of riding uni. awesomely painful, for sure. i’ll address your problems individually…
the sore knees. this is just something you’ll have to get used to. it comes with the territory. riding uni is not for the weak-kneed, no way. build those joints up to be the best rider you can be. the stronger your pedal-action, the stronger uni-rider you will become. seriously, just work through the pain.
the swollen gooch. or, as those of us in the uni community often refer to it, “gooch-burn.” i’m going to assume that it’s not really swollen. if i’m wrong, and it is truly swollen, ice it immediately! more than likely, your experiencing gooch-burn, which is characterized by soreness when: walking, pushing out a turd, clenching and relaxing your sphincter, riding a horse, or thinking about it. also, if you look, your gooch will be redder than normal and may even be tender to the touch. the answer to gooch burn: CRISCO. rub a quarter size amount of crisco all over the gooch, and anywhere else for that matter. credit where credit’s due-- i learned this from my best friend’s grandma.
finally, the gonad-split. this is a tough problem to address, and one us uni-guys have been struggling to solve since the genesis of unicycling proper. i have two somewhat helpful solutions that i’ve found work fairly well, though neither is perfect. first off, the soft pad will likely feel better for a bit, but as it wears down, your gonads are bound to “slip.” my first recommendation- go commando. i know, it sounds nuts (no pun intended), but it’s kinda like homeopathy. let your nards find their own way, and eventually they’ll settle. second, strap them to one leg. only problem with this is it can be a little uncomfortable at first. i’ve heard of some guys actually shoving their testes into their body… some sort of asian thing i guess… haven’t tried it, but sounds like it might eliminate the problem.
hey, hope this helps… and keep on riding!
AHAHAHA!!! shove your testes inside your body? wow, thats… interesting lol. 
I used to have sore knees when I started, and i guess you just have to wait 'till you build up better knees ( my knees are fine now ) .
I hear you man. The CX is a piece of crap. The seat is basically about as comfortable as a brick. My guess is your seat discomfort is due to your CXs crappy seat rather than your gooch itself. If you want to get a new unicycle don’t bother with Torkers, none of em are very good. If you have the chance go for a Nimbus or even a Kris Holm unicycle if you have the cash. Both are great unis and won’t dissapoint. If you want to get into mountain unicycling, which I highly reccomend, you should get something like this, this, or if you can get this it’s basically what I have and I love it. Those are all solid mountain unicycles.
As for your knee pain it could be caused by a muscle imbalance. That happened to me and it can really suck. A good way to solve it is to do leg extensions and leg curls. That’s what I did and it worked. I also heard that cross training like running helps too.
Good luck and welcome to the forums.
Hey guys! Have you never heard of unicycle cystitis? Yeah, that’s right. Never mind honeymoons, the torker seat has a lot to answer for.
Thank you Kris. Gotta love the way you caress my sore ass (and associated lady parts).
That’s hot.
Isn’t that really really bad for you? it defeats the point of the testes being outside the body to maintain a healthy temperature.
I am sure sore knees are the result of uncommon stress to your muscles. For sure seat height and standing on the pedals instead of sitting on the seat may affect it, but it will go away anyway (unless you have other problems with your knees as well). I ride a lot of Muni and my seat used to be very low. In addition to that while riding downhill I am never sitting on the seat. First I got sore knees from riding downhill longer distances but now it’s gone. For more control I lowered my seat even more last week and now the pain is back, but I am sure it will go away again with more training.
The answer seems obvious enough to me, the knee pain is a combination of the fact you are pretty new to this sport, and you’re trying not to wear your nads off on a seat designed for a five year old girl.
Solution: a kris holm or nimbus seat can be purchased from unicycle.com, and it WILL fit your uni b/c the bolt pattern on your seatpost is the standard pattern used on most unis, and not the proprietary miyata pattern the lx’s use.
Also, several people mentioned the kris holm unicycles as a good upgrade, and they are, however the nimbus unis are also awesome, and cost a bit less. Many even prefer them
Oh, btw, welcome to the forums!
If you’re wondering what muni looks like, look for kris holm and unigeezer on youtube
Things to consider, imo:
Saddle (has been kind of covered. I’m a KH fan. Had a Torker and that was better than my 1990’s saddle, but that was not saying very much!!)
Saddle height (inseam from foot arch to crotch less a bit for road, and less a bit more for XC, then a bit more even for street/flatland)
Saddle angle (adjust for pressure on various body parts. ie from your butt gones to your “taint” to your scrotum as you feel is best for your body type/anatomy/level of discomfort)
Attire (what are you wearing?) Cotton gets soggy, and bacteria like that damp stuff. Think about some breathable bike wear at least as undergarment, ie UnderArmour or some cycle shorts. Cycle shorts have padding!!
Lube (worst case get some Assos cream, Glide, or Bag Balm…last chance Vaseline). Short periods of time, less than an hour or two, it may not be necessary, but if you have issue already that are on-going you probably should take care of that.
Hygiene (get showered off and dried out ASAP. Bacteria, etc. Think about a baby’s butt, and what diaper rash means to a grown man? and some of the products that might work there. If you don’t want to smell like Johnson’s and Johnson’s baby talc, you can use some Gold Bond or some other products. I have not had good luck with anything that is scented. So, the J&J unscented baby powder is fine to keep it all dry…I think that baby smell might be ok for lots of 25++ women though:) ) Ok, one last really NASTY part is that you make sure that you dry off your head, your crotch, and feet in that order. You DO NOT want stuff that grows on your feet (like Athlete’s Foot for example) growing in your crotch. Dandruff in your crotch is not a bid deal in comparison
Hair management (I’m kinda hairy, and trimming down in the strategic areas was a REALLY big help from a friction point of view).
Tire inflation (what are you doing, ie drops, road, etc? Saves a bit on the impact zone)
Soreness? (what kind of shape have you started out in prior to uni?) For knee, and lower back soreness, the hopping/jumping/dropping is going to be harder than any basic riding I’ve done. Two days ago, I did about 1.5 hours in the skate par of pretty much continuous hops/drops, etc. I felt that in my knees and lower back. Today I did about 10 Muni hill climbs/descents no problem, very tired, and somewhat stiff, but not hurting. The day before the skate park, I did 50k on a road uni and my legs noticed the ride, and my dick was a bit numb for about 15 minutes, but no serious issues.
Hydration? - drink lots, even if you are hopping around in your yard or on the street.
Don’t “over-do”. Take it step-by-step and get used to whatever task is at hand – bin dere, done dat. My motto might be “if it is worth doing, it is worth doing to exess”. Not always something to be proud of!! Growing old doesn’t necessarily mean you have “grown-up”!