I’m new to unicycling, I can freemount and ride for a quarter of a mile or so before a combination of fatigue and poor balance get the better of me. I can’t hop, go backwards, turn or anything else just yet but I’m very keen to get some skills together and be able to use the unicycle to join my wife on her morning runs around the block and down the off-road tracks we have here. I have one unicycle - (see below) a KH24 that I put together myself. I chose it as when I first saw a KH24 it made me want one. [I bought a cheap unicycle a couple of years ago because I read that a horse rider I admired rode one to help his horsey skills, but I never got the bug because the cheap starter uni was so uninspiring - it was only earlier this year that I realised you could get awesome machines, the bug bit, and I just had to have one].
Obviously I’m now addicted and am thinking about buying another uni for learning skills - tricks - to make me into an all-round better rider. The question: do I use the KH24 for trying out and practicing all the uni skills I want to aquire, or do I get a Koxx-one or KH20 or other smaller uni to practice/learn the street stuff on? And if so, and budget was not too much of an issue, which one would you buy if you were me?
I own a KH24 also. During the winter I bought a Koxx One Black Domina II to play for the same reason as you. So that’s what I would do… because I did!
I haven’t had a whole lot of time to play with it, but it definitely feels easier to learn tricks on that my KH24. I hope to apply anything I learn over to my KH24 and muni.
If you want to focus on riding flat, then getting a 20" uni for flat soon makes sense.
If you want to focus on muni, but just learn skills to enhance your riding, I’d say you’ve got a lot to learn already… turning, relaxing, endurance, climbing, downhill, normal roots, rocks, etc. So getting a 20" could wait.
But if you’re dedicated and have the cash, getting one sooner will probably help you learn skills. Sometimes you don’t have the time or trail/weather conditions to ride muni. Having a 20" lets you mess around for a few minutes here and there and it will probably be more fun and a bit easier.
While I bought the Domina II, I’m not exactly sure how it compares to others enough to really promote it over an others. It was a good price, I likes the look, and with my weight and goals, I’ll probably only stress it a small fraction of what it can handle. And it seemed comparable to other unis in its class. And I will say it appears and feels to be manufactured very well.
I have a friend who is a pretty good Freestyle and street rider. he does all of his stuff on a 24"!
The KH24 is the machine that I would want if I was limited to just one unicycle. If you want to do street and trials and work on skills then you can’t go wrong with a KH20. Keep in mind that if you get another KH then you will have more interchangeable parts.
I have a 24" Muni and bought a 20" trials uni to learn some new tricks and do some more advanced trials. The 20" uni felt way too slow and it took forever to ride from one trials location to the next. I felt kind of “clownish” riding the thing because it was so slow. And my skills didn’t really improve that much. So I hardly ever ride the 20".
The best I thing I found for improving my Muni riding was to get more cardio exercise (running) so I could climb longer hills and ride through rock gardens without stopping. Riding Muni is not an efficient cardio exercise because you tend to stop often, whereas with running it’s pretty much continuous exercise (although not as fun).
Yeah, but while you’re out and about running, you’re not out and about riding - and it’s not just fitness you need to spend time on.
I’ve just been looking - love the look of the Impact Gravity apart from the cranks. The rounded crown looks fab - I’d like one with Mad4one eiffel cranks. So KH20 or Impact Gravity?
If you are thinking about getting a 20" just for learning skills like hopping and idling, riding backwards etc. I don’t think it’s worth it. You can learn all that stuff on a 24. But if you want to use a 20" to do trials or flatland, fun tricks like gliding etc, then sure, if you have extra $$ laying around, grab one of the K1’s that’s on sale.
The question I have for you is what do you want to do on your uni specifically?
But if your purpose in life is now to get good at Muni, I’d get a trials. The two unis you mentioned are great. The round crown Impact is less likely to hit your leg (and won’t hurt as much when it does) on big side hops but isn’t good for foot on frame tricks. Their flat topped frame is good for those tricks but can really hurt when you hit it w/ your leg (for some people it’s never an issue). The KH is the best of both worlds.
A trials is a lot easier to do some tricks and skills with, also it is less scary when you UPD so you can more comfortably take bigger chances on new things you are learning. Build an obstacle course in your yard, master the stuff w/ your trials then take those skills to the trails on your 24.
If it were me, I’d get a KH 20 (wheel is actually a 19") first choice or Impact Gravity second choice, both longnecks.
My guess the KH is a great do it all frame, but the Impact Gravity is a bit better for trials because it’s less likely to hit your leg as much and the Regent is a bit better for tricks since it’s easier for foot on frame tricks.
I think I’m inclining towards a KH20 double crown - I like the quality of KH unis, but I want something that’s obviously different to my KH24 - an ordinary KH20 in blue with the same cranks as my 24 is going to look too similar. The double crown looks different, the chrome is cool and the cranks are distinctive. All in all it looks like a different machine rather than a smaller KH24.
I’m open to persuasion one way or the other - as I’ve said, I love the impact gravity but it’s £100 more expensive than the KH20 and I think the isis cranks are a strange fitment, I think the Koxx-one is fab, but I’m not necessarily taken with the graphics on some of the special editions - alien backflip white Russian etc, I think they are a bit gimicky in a way that the Impact and KH unis aren’t. Having said that I saw a picture on here of someone’s new white and gold Koxx-one with devil graphics and that was amazing - I would definately buy that if I could get hold of one in the UK.
Help me out - give me some arguments. What is the best quality/looking trials/street uni for a 47 year old 220lb - more money than sense - uni addict?
I did a bit of fairly competent hopping on my KH24 this morning, and the first signs of backward movement without panicking - street and trials tricks here we come.
Thanks to unicycle.uk.com for the picture - I didn’t ask, but I’m sure you’ll forgive me when I add it to my shopping cart.
some of the K1 design stuff is just stickers that you can pull right off, and it’s super easy to paint a uni frame. I’ve never heard of people using the KH sym cranks so I’m not sure how they are.
In that case…
-Ti (Trinton) or cf (EB or Koxx Karkon Koncept) frame
-KH Ti hub
-KH seat w/ Scott Wallis base KH adjustable seatpost (for the base) + Thompson post. (If out of production, then Koxx --Pit fighter III post w/ UDC cf base)
-Impact Eifel Tower cranks
-Echo Ti Urban pedals.
(I believe this set up would be the lowest possible weitght while still strong)
Unfortuneately I think some of them (Trinton, EB, SW) might not be making those any more:(
I just remembered that if you can get a SW base, you could bolt the Thompson post directly to it and not need the KH adapter, but you could use that Thompson&KH combo on a normal or UDC cf base.
I’ve heard the biggest benefit is the cf base is it’s a lot stiffer, but it is a bit lighter as well. I’ve never seen them side by side or heard of the weight difference, but I bet it’s close to 100 g.
If memory serves the TryAll is a bit lighter than the Creepy Crawler, but the two big reasons why most ride one or the other is availability and they feel significantly different. Compare on Sponge’s trial tire thread.
I think the TryAll and KH rims are close in weight and strength, but if you find yourself breaking rims regularly or have to retrue it everyother day and tired of it, take a weight penalty and get the solid TryAll rim (or just 13G spokes on the drilled, but I think it’s hard to get nipples for them).
