Reading all your comments here leads me to the conclusion that if I really want to enjoy this new hobby I should get the Nimbus 29" and not any of the Torkers.
I am confident that it will be great as a first uni since I know myself - if I am passionate toward something, nothing will stop me.
I’ll search on craigslist in the coming weeks. I hope it’s popular enough and I’ll be able to find it.
A few questions:
Where is the cheapest place to buy new one (l live in LA)?
Don’t feel like you need to be pushed into a Nimbus! My first uni was a 26" Torker LX, and it’s still around. It’s my preferred uni for casual trips around town and the like. Like pretty much everyone has mentioned, the only thing that you will need to change on it is the saddle because it is God-awful. I’d ride in that thing for 30 minutes and not want to ride for the next few days because my crotch was so utterly sore. Fortunately, this is a $2 fix until you feel like a new saddle is in order (which will also require you to buy a new seatpost since the LX post is proprietary). All you need to do is follow this guide. This is what I did, and it was an immaculate improvement at the time.
Like others have also said, you can’t really do any sort of jumping on it and expect it to hold up, things like curbs should be fine though. I did some light trials on mine back in the day, jumping up stairs and upwards of 2-foot drops, and the hub is a bit crooked because of it, although I can’t tell when I’m riding it so I never bothered to fix it. If you’re just planning on riding around town, then a 26" LX is a fine choice in my opinion, and it should last you for years if it is properly maintained and not abused on a regular basis. But, if you have the money and think that you might be rough on your unicycle at some point in the future, then go ahead and buy the Nimbus. I’m just trying to save you some cash, and I found all of this LX bashing to be quite uncalled for.
I am not planning on doing tricks or going off-road.
4 miles a day, some on the road and some on the sidewalk.
the only time i’ll jump will be from the sidewalk to the road and back.
if the Nimbus 29" can handle this, I believe I’ll try to get it instead of the Torker 26".
I think I prefer to spend the extra money and not having to deal with customizing my seat or buying another one. but thank you very much on the link for customizing it. i might need it if I choose the Torker 26".
Both unicycles will be able to handle that, and the Nimbus can handle much, much more. The Nimbus stock saddle is also much more comfortable than the LX saddle. If you have the cash, you may as well get the Nimbus. If you’re more on the frugal side, get the LX. That’s the way I see it, anyways.
Can you ride a unicycle? I am not sure based on your previous posts. If you can already ride a unicycle then you should not have any problem with a 29" or a 26". If you cannot ride a unicycle I would stay away from a 29". It will be much harder to learn to ride on such a large wheel.
You may want to see a 29" in person before getting one. I would expect it to fit on a bike rack, but I would not expect a bus driver to allow it on a bus in the normal passenger area.
I have a 1-2 mile commute and find a 24" Nimbus very convenient.
You are correct, not only I never ridden a uni, I have never seen one in real life and only 3 days ago found that it can be used outside of the circus…after reading about it on reddit.
Too late for your advice… I just ordered my Nimbus 29".
I have plenty of other questions now:
air pressure for city ride
what should be the seat height?
general maintenance
how to mount myself on it?
mounting it on a bus rack. do i need elastic rope to connect it to the other (empty) wheel slot on the bus’s rack?
I might create separate thread for those, depends of the feedback I’ll get here.
The 29" is a great unicycle for riding around, but it is not a good choice for learning to ride. I would suggest getting a cheap 20" (craigslist?) and learning to ride on that. Once you get the basics down you will find the 29" to be a blast.
In response to your questions, you want your leg almost fully extended but still flexed at the bottom of the stroke, so adjust the seat height accordingly. Ride with the sole of your foot on the pedal.
For just riding around, 30-50 psi is fine. I think I run about 40 psi on a Nimbus street unicycle.
Free mounting is a whole other game. Come back and talk to us when you can ride it.
To mount holding on to something, put your dominant foot on the pedal. The pedal should be near the bottom but facing towards you. Put the seat in your crotch, lean forward and step up on the pedal. The unicycle will rotate towards you and you should end up on top of it sitting in the seat. Then you will fall off. From there it is just practice.
I agree that it is difficult to learn riding on a large wheen such as a 29". I would definitely not recommend it, if you have a free choice. Once you can ride, a big wheel is easy but for learning you need something much more responsive. 20" is optimal but 24" is also OK, especially with longish cranks such as 150 mm. It’s unfortunate that we could not warn you before you bought the 29". Now that you are getting it, you might want to try learning on it with long cranks, say 170 mm, if you don’t want to shell out more money on two unicycles at once. Cranks are cheap. Make sure that you install them correctly though, otherwise they may STILL be expensive!
Scott probably means the BALL of your foot. Most everybody rides with the soles of their feet on the pedal, duh. It is a very special skill to ride with the TOP of your feet UNDER the pedals, not many people can do that.
Again, I agree. Learn to ride first, and mount holding onto something in the mean time.
Klass Bil is correct. I did mean that you should put the ball of your foot on the pedal.
For learning to ride, you might try to borrow a small unicycle for a month to get the basics down. Do you know anyone in the area that could loan you a unicycle?
Klass is correct, I don’t know anyone with uni and never seen anyone in real life using one. i just feel that uni fits perfect with my minimalistic and efficient approach to life.
Here are the specs on bikepartsexpress (where i bought it from).
it is not identical to unicycle.com (ie - tire width is 2.35" and not 2.125")
Saddle - Nimbus Gel
Seatpost Clamp style - Quick Release
Frame Style - Flat top
Frame Construction - Chrome Steel
Bearing Housing - Machined 42mm
Bearing Size - 22 x 42 x 12
Rim Size - 29"
Rim Construction - Alloy, Double Walled, 36 hole
Tire: 29 x 2.35", 65 psi
Hub Type - ISIS Splined
Hub Construction - CRMO
Crank Arm Length - 125mm
Crank Arm Type - Alloy ISIS Splined
Pedal Type - Plastic Platform
I assume I’ll have to assemble some of those.
any tools I need other than a wrench?
if later on I want to replace the cranks/tire/tube/whatever, can I buy the it in any bike store?
is there any other part on the above list I should know about?
(I have no idea what hub or bearing means btw)
Is there anything I need to do to maintain it? (maybe lubricant spray maybe)
air pressure it say 65 psi. is it ok for city ride?
Probably one or two Allen wrenches but you’ll find out when it arrives. Possibly a pedal wrench (thinner than a normal wrench.) Oh and an air pump for your tyre.
Your LBS (Local Bike Shop) will have non-uni-specific parts such as pedals, tyre, tube. But probably not shorter cranks which is the most important upgrade once you can ride, nor another seat.
For learning to ride and also for names of some common unicycle parts, I recommend reading Tips for Beginners, and the downloadable booklet.
Same tools as for assembling, plus a spoke wrench. You can tighten spokes with a normal adjustable wrench but it’s tedious and more prone to errors (wrench slipping off the nipple and damaging it).
Wide tyres are sensitive to road crown (which is when the road surface tilts sideways). High pressure mitigates this problem. So yes, run it at the highest pressure allowed.
To interpret some of the above, or learn more in general, use the search function on these forums. If you can’t find it, don’t be afraid to ask in the forum (but it doesn’t seem as if you are).
Here is another resource that might be helpful. There is a “map” label on the blue bar at the top of the page. Click it and you will see where many of the unicyclists on the forum live. Zoom to your own location and you can find the closest riders who are active on the forum. Perhaps one of them can give you a few tips in person.
All the advice you have received is good. I would imagine that 29" is harder to learn on than 26" (and 26" was not easy!), but that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible.
Learning is more down to attitude than anything else. If you’re like me, now that you’ve bought a uni, you must learn to ride it - no other alternative is acceptable!
Read up on the threads where people have taught themselves how to ride, and understand that it is not impossible, no matter how much it may seem at the time.
My suggestion is to set yourself up for organised sets of rep’s - which, in the beginning will be rep’s of falls .
It’ll be a while before you get to where you are needing to worry about how to fit it on a bus frame, unless it’s the only way to move it around. You will gain a new respect for babies learning to stand / walk, and kids learning to ride a bike without training wheels.
Most important - enjoy the trip, and keep us informed on your progress.
I only have 3 hours during each weekend for training so it might be a while before I can replace by bicycle when commuting to work.
One of the reasons I chose to get a uni is the challenge. it’s not fun if it’s too easy, so I am going to enjoy every second.
I will update you on my progress and I already started evangelizing the unicycles everywhere I go, even though I have never seen one…
On a mathematics perspective, if the pleasure experienced is inversely proportional to the ease with which the task is accomplished, you are in for a lot of pleasure…
The 125mm cranks coupled with the 29" tire makes it seem like your learning curve will be a good amount higher than most people with a better learning setup. If you find that you are making almost no progress after putting in a good amount of effort, I would suggest that you shell out the cash for a pair of these and this, the tool being necessary to remove your first set of cranks (it can also be found at just about any bike shop). Riding a larger tire with shorter cranks can feel similar to riding a bike in a high gear, which of course will not make things very easy for you when you’re learning. Hopefully you are able to make decent progress though, thus eliminating the need for my recommendation.
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