I am soon picking up a lightly used (ridden 2-3 times) Torker Unistar CX. As i have been reading posts on this side many people have complained about the uncomfortable saddle. If i don’t plan on riding for more then an hour or so at a time should i still consider a new saddle? And if so, what kind would be best/compatible with the Torker CX?
And lastly, is $80 Canadian (about $60 american) a good price for it?
I really appreciate any replies, thank you.
If it helps, i am 5’8" and female, and have an athletic body type.
Also, this is my first unicycle, and i have no prior experience.
First off, congratulations on getting a unicycle! I think the price is good in that condition. The CX is Torker’s budget model, but I learned on something more modest than that and it worked fine for me. Make sure the pedals are screwed tightly into the crank arms, and the crank arms are secured tightly onto the hub, and re-check them pretty often. They can come loose, and you’ll do damage if you keep riding after they do.
As for the saddle, if it’s the model I’m thinking of then it might be a while before you’d notice a big difference. Maybe wait a bit and see how you do with the original. People like to complain about them (about saddles in general really) but I never replaced the one on my learner, which I’m pretty sure is the same model. If you get to where you’re riding with enough of your weight on the saddle to notice discomfort, that would fall into the category of a good problem to have. 
You might be itching for another unicycle by then anyway.
Good luck learning to ride it. Patience is the key.
I agree with LargeEddie. My learner had a very uncomfortable saddle, but it really didn’t get to be an issue until I could ride about a half mile at a stretch. Then I noticed how uncomfortable it was. Before that I wasn’t seated long enough at one time to notice. 
I eventually replaced it with a cheap UDC (Unicycle.com) saddle, which is fine for my use. (I don’t ride this one too much any more.)
Welcome to the great unicycling family! It’s a great group! (Post pictures. We like pictures! 
)
I started with a nearly identical unicycle only with a bigger wheel. The saddle will do you fine for learning. The absence of a handle may or may not bother you later. I did bother me a little once I started to learn and wanted to try to put my hands somewhere other than in the air for balance. Stick to it, you will really enjoy this and upgrade as you feel comfortable and sort out your needs. Beyond the saddle; a good pair of comfortable cycling shorts will be in your best interest. If you know other people who ride you may be able to try other equipment out.
I’m in the UK and have never seen a Torker, so I can’t comment directly. My first uni had a saddle that was comfortable enough, but I realised when I got a Nimbus for my birthday that the old saddle was very small. Once I had tried the Nimbus saddle I realised that to get a similar riding position on the learner, my seat bones had to be nearly off the back of the saddle. I bought a ‘seconds’ Nimbus saddle for the first uni, and it made it better to ride.
I considered a saddle upgrade for my $10 no-brand learner (once I started actually sitting) but soon realised it was better economy to buy a whole unicycle.
I did eventually upgrade the saddle when a girl up the road gave me her rusty old uni “for parts”.
Also note that there are at least two different bolt patterns for saddles. Upgrading a Torker saddle often means a new post too.
BTW Why do unicycles have saddles and seat posts?
And be sure that the right crank arm is at the right and the left at the left.
To true!!
Best regards,
Sanne
Wow thanks for all the replies!
I believe they sold me a unicycle under a false name. The unicycle i bought says “LX” on the seat post and has a handle on the seat. I do believe that makes it an LX? Correct me if i’m wrong.
After two days of riding, i’ve come to realize that unicycling is exhausting. I spent about an hour practicing the day i got it, and was able to ride a couple feet along a wall by the end. Yesterday i got a chance to practice again, and spent about two hours in my garage. I can ride about 10-15 feet unassisted now. I’m not exactly sure where to go from here. I live in Canada, and it’s winter, meaning there is some snow to worry about. I think i will just spend the winter in the garage learning to free mount and idle.
Maybe I’ll post some pictures later, but thanks for all the great advice!
I’ll stick with what i’ve got now, but i have a feeling i’ll get hooked and upgrade the whole unicycle in a year or two.
I don’t think i mentioned it before, but it’s a 20"
Also, does anyone have any tips on turning? Since i have limited space in my garage (two car) i’m trying to go around now that i can go across, but i’m having trouble turning sharply enough to keep from running into the walls
The LX is a better quality model than the CX.
Exactly why I’m okay with it! 
Tilt the uni with your hips while you remain more or less upright. Otherwise it is very difficult to get back upright, particularly if you slow down in the turn.
Once you get this happening, try leaning your body into the turn and accelerate.
I have a somewhat entertaining story today.
So a few days ago i was goofing around in my garage with my unicycle. And i can rid across the whole garage so i think “why not try a free mount?” Well i tried, and i made it! I was so excited I made it a few more times that day, and i felt great! Progress!
The next day i figured i would try it again. I pulled out my unicycle, and hopped on. And promptly fell off after idling for about 5 seconds and being unable to move forward. I tried everything. I practiced a hundred and twenty times (yes i kept track) and probably made it maybe 5 times. I was crushed. What was i doing wrong? After i scoured the internet (this forum) for answers, i still couldn’t figure it out. A day or two later i went back out to practice with similar luck, or lack thereof.
I go to sit down after almost throwing my uni at the wall, i was incessantly getting stuck in an idle. My pedals would be horizontal (3 and 9 o’clock) so i knew i wasn’t just in a bad peddle position.
And as i sat, i exasperatedly thought to myself, “why can’t i go forward?? I have all of my weight pushing on the front pedal and it still won’t move!” And that my friends, is when i realized my mistake. My weight wasn’t even supposed to be one the pedals! It was supposed to be one the SEAT. I got back up, tried a couple times being careful to put my weight on the seat so i wouldn’t get stuck in that idle. And i made it almost every time!
So i guess what i’m saying is that if i hadn’t verbalized what i was doing, i may have never figured out what i was doing wrong!
-A happy unicyclist who can freemount
Torker lx saddle
I gave my 11 yo son a new 20 inch Torker LX for his 11th birthday a couple months ago. It is his first unicycle. For the most part it has worked out great. He is still learning to free mount and idle, but is doing very good. We went out for a ride today (me on two wheels, him on one). We ended up going about 4 miles, about 1.5 miles in the saddle started bothering him. By the end of the ride he was using the handle to try to hold himself up off the saddle.
I would definitely welcome any suggestions to improve his situation. What saddle might be good for him? He is about 5’3" and 90lbs.
thanks
7894: sounds like you are doing great. If you don’t mind me asking, what part of Canada are you in? I ended up learning on a frozen lake with a homemade studded tire since it was the only flat area I could find. Having a larger learning area to learn in might help with turning etc. As you have found out learning to ride can be exhausting and it takes a while before saddle soreness becomes a limiting factor in how long you can ride.
wfv: The LX uses an old style seat post that is only used for LX and Miyata saddles. If you want to get a new saddle you would either need to get a new post or modify your existing one something like this
If you want to make the existing saddle more comfortable I have had success taking the cover off other saddles and re-shaping the foam. I shave a little bit off the outer edge to reduce chaffing and cut a “relief channel” down the middle like a KH Fusion Freeride to reduce pressure on sensitive areas. When you are done you can re-staple or lace up the cover.
wfv, I have found a pair of padded b*ke shorts very useful while unicycling. Also a thought. =)
Your practice time will be spent more efficiently if you do four half-hour sessions instead of one two-hour session, especially since you have already learned forward riding and freemounting, and also because you are practicing in your own garage and thus spend no time getting there. For me, multiple half-hour sessions are not feasible because getting to a good practice area takes 10 minutes each way.
On the other hand, sometimes it took me half an hour to get back to where I was the previous session, and it was only once I stuck at it for over an hour that I started to see improvement. I would think it is worth trying both ways. One of the things I think I learned about following advice here is that it is always worth extracting and trying the positive advice (like, try leaning more forward, try sitting more upright, try launching out, try shorter sessions, even if some of it points in different directions) but usually not the negative advice (stop using walking poles, stop using the fence, don’t use different size unis while learning, don’t do long sessions.). Try everything, but don’t let someone else’s advice stop you from doing something that is working for you. Trying different things is actually a good strategy in itself. Different things work for different people at different times, and advice that makes no sense today may click into place a few days or weeks later.
Yes, that’s very true! The opposite also happens.
When I first managed to idle with one foot, I had to always put tremendous pressure on the fork with my other foot. If you get really good at one-footed idling (I’m not there yet), you can actually remove your free foot from the frame entirely and hold it out in front of you.
Torker LX saddle mount
I think Torker might have changed the seat mount on the LX. My son’s seat looks like this:
The bolts are spaced about 20mm x 60mm. I am not sure if this is standard, but I don’t think it is the miyata mount either. Either way, i might use your suggestion of altering the foam.
padded short also a great idea, thanks
Torker LX saddle mount (image)
Sorry about the broken image. Let’s try again, Torker LX saddle mount:
