Hi i was wondering if anyone uses a 24" for street uni… kuz a lot of people use 20 from wut i’ve seen, but is it true that your height makes a difference… i am a 6 feet tall azn(wow we usually don’t get his high…) guy and just wondering if a 24" is more suitable rather than a 20"
I do almost all my riding, be it MUni, trials or freestyle, on 24". I’m 5’8". I’m planning to use it for street riding when summer comes again. I’ll just plant a 2,5" Hookworm or a 3" Fireball on it.
I guess it’s pretty much of personal preference which suits you better. I just feel a lot more comfortable on my 24" uni. You should just try both and decide after that.
I don’t think height makes that big a difference on wheel size. Street rider Kevin McMullin (Tugboat) is 6 feet tall* and rides a 20" with the seat super low. Beau Hoover is 4 foot 10 1/2* and rides a coker.
As far as 24" for street riding, it’s not the current “standard”, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it if you feel it gives you an advantage. When I go to the skatepark, I use a 24" with a Fireball, basicly because I don’t currently own a 20" trials uni. However, I do feel that the 24" gives me an advantage when dropping into vert ramps and getting air on fun boxes, just because of the greater speeds that are possible with a larger tire.
I wonder though if larger wheels make 360’s harder because of their inertia? They definately make unispins more difficult just because you have to kick your legs out farther to clear the wheel. You also have to clear an extra 2-3 inches when going from crank grab to rubber, but that can become easy with practice.
Anyway, ride what you’re comfortable with, there are no “rules” in uni street riding.
*Rider Height Sources:
Kevin McMullin: http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29147
Beau Hoover: http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29251
nice work citing your sources Frank, but next time please use proper MLA format.
i think a lot of people use the 20 because the wheel is stronger. plus, it is cheaper to get a 20" wheelset with a splined hub.
Trials and street uni’s are generally 20", and MUni’s are normally 24 or 26. I think that trials tires are smaller to avoid taco’s on big drops.
I’m 5’3" and do my trials on a 19"x2.5, and my muni on a 24"x3. I use the 19" because I feel like I have more control over it, and also cuz I have a very hard time crankgrabbing my 24. Also, my pedals on the muni won’t survive (they’re Zuzus, and they’re starting to crack), and my 19" is splined, and my 24 isn’t. Another reasaon is that I can’t seem to get my hands on a fireball, and I just prefer a 19". Finally, I’ve noticed my 19" is lighter, which I prefer, even though I seem to get more bounce out of my Muni.
I noticed at the Muni weekend that Ryan Atkins and Ben Plotkin-Swing did trials on 19" when they could, although Ryan didn’t hesitate to do trials on his 24x3 (from what I coud tell).
protest
I’d like to protest the use of the word " tires" to name this thread, or even it’s use on this site at all, unicycles only have one tire, using the word " tires" ( please excuse my usage of it twice ) is almost as bad as saying that thing that has two of them.
I’m surprised the monitors let you get this far, good thing i’m on top of things : )
Re: protest
well wut if i carry extra tires with me?..(jk)… but is it such a big deal?.. its just an online forum… please don’t take me offensively or anything… but i think to correct someone for a minor little detail is just stupid
well…
If you carry extra tires with you i’d like to see that.
For the record I was just kidding about the whole thing. I’m really not that picky, except when it comes to food I don’t like.
Have a good night and don’t stay up too late and get too tired, get it tired… ok, goodnight.
Andrew
Re: well…
no offense taken… haha funni little joke there…ahah
I’m with Hell-on-wheel…go with the size that you’re comfortable with. I wasn’t blessed with much more than 5’ but I learnt on a 24" and now spend most of my [riding] time on a 29er. If I followed the rule books I’d be on a 16" and not very happy.
Not too sure on your definition of ‘street use’. You’re not going to cover many streets on a 20", but then if you do what we call ‘Urban riding’, a 20" could be fine as it will be light and manoeuvrable.
Check too what is available to you for parts - I’ve found 24" a little restrictive whereas there seems to be a lot more variety in 20" and 26" tyres and rims.
tires as in type of tires as in talking about diferent types of tires, sizes of them and the such so it was named correctly smart guy. :o|)
Ah, but we were talking about different sizes of tires, and also different uni’s. Therefore, since you can talk about unicycles in plural, you can also speak of their tires in plural.
Maybe we should be talking about wheel sizes.
Anyway, what does it matter if he says tires. Everyone can understand what he means. And this thing of correcting others has been discussed many times before.
Just thought I’d check based on what I’ve already read: is a 2.5" Hookworm good for trials? I thought they were a freestyle tyre that you have to run at high pressure, but I don’t really have any clue. I’m currently on a halo ception (2.6 version of the contra), but I could do with a tyre for paved roads, and preferably one that’s good for trials. I’d get a fireball, but we can’t get them on this side of the pond. plus that would mean brake removal, but that’s not difficult. I can always put it back on for muni.
And the main problem with the thread name is that you’ve all spelt it wrong
John
I think the 2,5" Hookworm is quite bouncy. You don’t have to run it at high pressures. At least it works for me pretty well.
eeeeentersting, cheers. May consider it, but it’s still a bit pricey. £40 for a tyre? Are they that great?
45€, not 40£. Or did it include shipping? If it does, order some more stuuf so the shipping price for the tire will drop
Re: Tires
Back to the original post (which for you nit-pickers should be called “wheels,” plural not singular). First we have to know what Ed means by “street uni.” Does he mean just riding around? Or is it more along the lines of what Kris Holm likes to call Street Freestyle or Urban Trials?
Those are two very different things. Anything Trialsy is going to be very hard on the unicycle, and the lighter weight and greater strength of a 20" wheel will probably be more fun. But if Ed is talking about riding down the street, or even working on some flatland tricks, then a 24" is in order.
If your priority is to get anywhere, start at 24" and work your way up from there. Get a bigger one if you really want to get places. The nice thing about a 24" is that you can still learn lots of tricks on it, and it’s good for nearly any type of riding.
If you want to concentrate on tricks, a 20" will make many of them easier. If you want to ride on dirt, a fatter tire will help, either 24" or 26". If you want to get lots of air and jump around a lot, you want a strong wheel, either a Trials or MUni type.
Height is not important in relation to wheel size, except in being able to fit the unicycle. If you can’t reach, you’re not tall enough. As a 6’ person, you can use any size you want.