Which is more fun to ride. I was considering getting one since I couldn’t get my 36". I don’t have many hills so I was thinking go for the UW but the BC looks like lots more fun.
Both are fun but each is totally different in that the UW is “fixed” and you pedal it like a regular uni sans the frame and saddle. The BC is a free wheel where you are balanced on free rotating plates, and thus much harder to ride, or at least stay on for extended periods. The UG is currently available from UDC and maybe a few other retailers, but the BC is much harder to find these days, and UDC US doesn’t carry them; at least not currently.
I’m collecting the parts to build a bigger UW at the moment. I really enjoy riding it. I haven’t ever ridden a BC, but it’s probably in my future.
I’m planning on offering my current UW to anyone on the forum who wants to try it out. The deal will be that it will get passed around for the cost of shipping. When I’m ready to start that ball rolling I’ll start a thread in the Trading Post forum that we can use to track who has it and who wants it.
So, with that on the table, I’d go with the BC if I were you. If you end up trying the UW and liking it then you can build your own, or get one of the snazzy Nimbus models.
If I was in the market for a BC at the moment I would certainly contact Terry “Muniaddict/Unigeezer” Peterson to see if he is going to sell any.
When you say that one is harder than the other, is that just to be able to get on and stay on it for 20 or 50 or 100 feet? Would there also be a way to compare them as far as what else you could learn to do on it after you’ve gotten that down. (Tricks, actually riding it to get somewhere, ???)
I’m sure I’m a long ways from taking on either one. But I’m curious about whether there’s a difference in the upside, or if one or the other or both are really just meant for the one trick of actually riding it.
I think for most people just riding either is the trick, and so both are pretty much a novelty even among unicyclists. In all fairness the BC makes as much sense as any small wheel uni. It seems to be good for riding, and doing tricks when you are at a location, but not so good for getting anywhere. The UW, while a real leg burner, has more potential for getting places (in bigger sizes). There are some really cool performances that include UW’s.
These are probably the most well known vids of each.
BC
UW
Yea thats what i thought i found an BC wheel but its about 250 
vs. an ultimate thats about 170 (I’m getting the 24inch if i get an ultimate)
You can build BC wheel by yourself:
Have fun,
Yuval
I have a 20" BC wheel and a 24" ultimate wheel. I haven’t spent much time with my BC wheel but can ride it down an incline at a pretty slow pace for 100-200 feet. It’s fun but not great transportation. You really want to ride it downhill which means a lot of walking back uphill. Nicolas Potier’s is my favorite BC wheel video and shows what’s possible at the higher end of skill and experience:
For me the ultimate wheel was one of the easiest things I’ve learned but it’s physically more arduous. It’s a great workout! There are some awesome videos of George and Kris Peck riding ultimate wheels in ridiculous conditions. In fact they are more correctly wheelsets which is more difficult to ride than a “regular” ultimate which has the pedals closer together. While basic riding is easy to learn there are incredibly cool tricks you can do if you have better coordination than me. Some of my favorite ultimate wheel videos are from Anthony Soumiatin and he has a great ultimate wheel playlist:
The first time I took my ultimate wheel offroad I popped a tire so have been reticent to take it back on the trail. It probably would be great training for mountain unicycling (and riding in general). It’s not bad transportation since it’s even more portable than a unicycle, but it’s much more tiring. I’ve taken mine on a pub crawl. $250 seems a bit steep for a BC wheel.
Thanks for that idea haven’t thought of that a much better alternative to paying $250 … :0 And well lookie there i have a nicely underused bmx bike in my garage looks like its gonna be a fun project this summer. 
When you get right down to it, probably 99.9% of all muni rides are from the car back to the car too. The distance in between matters about as much as you believe it matters. 
Does he look as young to everyone else as he looks to me? That’s impressive! And those look like they might be welded tubular “plates” like these.
He does seem to be getting along very well, a lot better than any BC wheel rider I’ve seen for sure.
Funny, I started to watch that one a few weeks ago but got sidetracked by the song and spent an hour learning about Russian ska-punk bands instead. (Everything by the band Distemper is that good.)
One obvious thing there is that BC wheels seem good for taking advantage of ramps. That puts them more in line with skateboarding and bmx than conventional unicycles.
Wow! @2:42 He provides the ultima–er, the best answer ever to “Where’s your other wheel?”
Some of what he does reminds me of seat-dragging tricks I’ve seen in freestyle unicycling videos, but he can go way beyond them without the frame and seat to get in the way.
Well that’s basically how I rode for the first couple of months until I learned how to keep my weight on the seat. I get a lot better aerobic workout now that my rides are longer, but I don’t get that crazy quad burn any more. I kind of miss it really.
Sounds like you’re ready for an ultimate wheel. I still get quite a burn, but as I put in more time I find that I am relaxing more.
Well that’s basically how I rode for the first couple of months until I learned how to keep my weight on the seat. I get a lot better aerobic workout now that my rides are longer, but I don’t get that crazy quad burn any more. I kind of miss it really.
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I only get a burn if i am going for personal records or racing my friends on their bikes
Wow! @2:42 He provides the ultima–er, the best answer ever to “Where’s your other wheel?”
person: Where’s your other wheel
Him: here it comes now *jumps on picks up second wheel and toddles away on the other ultimate wheel
I’m not sure which would be better on ramps, a BC wheel or a freewheel unicycle (like I ride). Nicolas demonstrates the efficacy of the former but they are relatively small ramps. I don’t have much experience getting air on my freewheel but find my feet tend to drift off the pedals when I do.
I’ve got your posts with the fender washers, 1/2" nuts, and T-nuts bookmarked! I’m more than filling my practice time with basic stuff right now, switching back and forth between muni, road riding, and slow-speed skills. It’s hard to get enough time on any one of them already. This past week I made my first rough tries at seat-in-front and saw how far I have to go there. But it will happen.
Yeah, I thought about your freewheel unicycle but decided against bringing it up because of the title of this thread. For sure, I’d love to see it if you ever get the chance to ride any ramps or bowls and manage to make it work.
Right now I’m pretty charged up about unbikes. They seem like they could be good for gravity-assisted tricks too. I was never a BMXer but I’ve got most of the parts here anyway so I’ll probably try that first. It looks like getting air with a BC wheel relies on pinching the plates between your feet to stay attached to it. I guess you’d need a different trick on pedals or BMX pegs.
building a bc
I have a mountain bike front wheel would that be able to support my weight if I was to switch it to a bc wheel. No jumps or anything but just to learn on.
If it’s a through axle hub you can make an uber strong bc with it. I wouldn’t put too much faith in a 9mm qr axle though.
Hmm… You’ve got me thinking now. I’m pretty sure non disc through axle hubs are available for dirt jumping. I may have to build a BC.
Probably not…
It has to be 14mm axle, otherwise it will bend easily - more than you can imagine!
Pro BMX 14mm front wheel axle will fit perfectly, the rear wheel will do the work also, but the axle is wider so you’ll end up with a longer thread part, so you have to cut it or cover it somehow (water hose?) if you care about your shoes 
Have fun,
Yuval
I just measured the axle and its 9mm. So I’ll just use my bmx tire then.