Hey Everyone, I’ve searched the forums and only found one thread that fit my concerns for starting to ride a unicycle. I’m 5’10" and about 300lbs. I was worried that I would be too heavy for a unicycle but reading this post http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59810 I see that the Torker DX 24" was a good one. Since this post is about 7 years old I was wondering if that is still a good recommendation or if there’s a better option out there. I’ll be mainly on a sidewalk or street with some riding on grass in my yard possibly. Given my current fitness level I think it’s safe to say I won’t be doing muni or trials for a while so I just need something that will take my weight on street/sidewalk and maybe a little in my yard on grass. At most I’ll go careening off a curb into traffic but I’m hoping to avoid that!! There is a Torker CX for sale on Craigslist near me for $75, would it work or is it too cheap for my weight? Thanks in advance, this seems to be a very supportive forum!
Torker DX is still good, but a bit overkill for learning and street riding. Consider the Nimbus II 24" from Unicycle.com:
http://www.unicycle.com/unicycles/beginner-series/adult-trainers-20-to-29-inch-wheels/nimbus-ii-24-inch-unicycle-blue.html
Good all-around unicycle for learning and general riding, and comes with a tire that’s better suited to riding on pavement.
For someone of your size (height), 20" or 24" are both good wheel sizes for learning. After that, 24" is good if you want to get somewhere, and 20" is better for doing tricks. I’ve never heard of somebody breaking a (regular, adult-sized) unicycle because of their weight. Most regular unicycles would be fine, though I’d avoid no-name cheapies. That Nimbus II will last indefinitely, even if you later add one or more other unicycles to your collection for other types of riding.
Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll have to keep checking Craigslist/Ebay for it or the Torker since my budget is pretty low. It’s hard to justify spending too much on something like this given my past of purchasing exercise equipment and ending up with something to hang clothes on!
I would be careful riding a CX as an adult, you would be asking for trouble. I learned on one at age 47 but soon realized I would probably break it sooner than later. The Nimbus and Torker mentioned above are good choices.
It might be OK if its seatpost is long enough for someone as tall as you. When I started riding, less than a year ago, I snapped a pedal off a Torker CX20, and I don’t even weigh 200 pounds, but it was a semi-public unicycle and got a lot of use from people who didn’t know how to ride. 24s were rather frightening to me back then. For just riding on flat pavement, almost any unicycle should work for you. I got a $30 Savage from Craigslist, and after replacing the seat and seatpost, it felt more solid than a CX, and was good enough for me to ride down the stairs and to lend to a friend who weighs 275. In general, I’d agree that you should probably go with something more solid than a CX. A Torker LX might be OK, a DX better, a Nimbus II better still: solid, simple, not too beefy or expensive, a very comfortable seat, good for learning some tricks later on. I think KH (Kreaky Hub) unicycles are overrated (and over-priced), but my experience with everything Nimbus has been really good.
While not strictly necessary I would look for anything with a splined hub (ISIS or other), double walled rim, and seatpost of at least 25.4mm diameter.
If I were to compromise on any of those criteria it would be the hub/cranks. There are some strong square taper hubs and cranks out there but they aren’t as common as cheeper ISIS systems nowadays.
thanks everyone for your input. I’ll keep an eye out for a deal on the DX or Nimbus II. Hopefully I’ll find something before too long!
Yeah, me too until I discovered unicycling 
Same here!
Added to my search list! Thanks.
Thanks. I’ve added it to my watch list in ebay! <fingers crossed>
I’m seeing a lot of them on Craigslist by Sun. Not usually much detail on them so I’m guessing it’s a “no-name” that I should avoid? They’re usually asking $50-$75 which also makes me think I should avoid it.
Suns are low-cost unicycles, but they’re not necessarily bad. They have a number of models, some better than others. You would need to examine a used candidate carefully before buying. (This should be the case no matter what the brand.)
http://www.sunbicycles.com/products.php?cl1=UNICYCLES
I rode one at a local bike shop (LBS) a few months ago, and it wasn’t bad. Seemed a lot like Torkers.
I’ll consider these “Plan B” then if I get too impatient looking for a deal I can afford on the nicer ones.
Are you learning to ride? If so, the biggest problem you may have is falling over and over again - this is harder on bigger people. I’d strongly recommend a 19 or 20 incher for starting out; at least for me (5’9, 200lb) the difference between a 20 and a 24 was huge, the difference between falling down and stepping off in most cases.
Since then I’ve gotten rid of the 24; the 20 continues to be a lot of fun along with my bigger wheels. Its a great size for practice and/ or just having in the trunk and bringing on trips, so don’t think you’ll grow out of it.
Sam
Oh, you won’t grow out of a 20" wheel, unless you acquire a taste for 10-mile rides or something. Sun unicycles seem OK to me. I think of them as being among the better low-end unis, a bit like Avenir. Sun also makes some fancier unis that I’ve never ridden, with ISIS cranks. A warning about almost all cheap unis, though: once you learn to ride more than a few revolutions, you’ll start realizing that having a comfortable seat is way more important than you ever imagined. I ended up putting a Viscount seat on my learner uni and it was very comfortable, at least compared to what I had started with. I was able to ride it for several miles at a time without stopping for a break, and it was nice and small.
I’ll back up Samstoney and song on this. At this risk of over-generalizing, it might be that more agile and acrobatic people are put off by the slow speed of a 20" wheel; while those of us who are somewhat older, larger, and/or less physically gifted appreciate being closer to the ground and being able to walk away from our mistakes more easily. I started learning on a 20" Avenir DLX from Amazon.com about a year ago, but found a used 24" Sun Classic for sale locally not long afterward. Having both, I’ve found that the 20" size is easier and less tiring to practice on. I’m around six feet tall and I had to raise the seat all the way up on it, but I got by.
You can spend a long time pondering it–and it’s the nature of Internet forums to encourage you to do that–but you’re really looking at something that costs about as much as an average pair of shoes. If things go as well as possible and you keep riding and decide you love it, you’ll want to buy another unicycle (or two or three!) before long, because it’s a pretty cheap hobby and having the right unicycle for what you’re doing is way more fun than making do with a Jack of all trades.
For perspective: Two week ago, I joined up with about a dozen forum members for a weekend of mountain unicycling at a state park in Virginia. I rode the trails on a 26" mountain unicycle that I started riding after a few months on the Avenir, but I brought along the Avenir too and practiced low-speed skills on it inside the campground. And I spent more on my campsite rental and the tank of gas to get there and back than I did on that Avenir.
Regarding seats: The Avenir DLX and Sun Classic both have the same model of saddle on them, which looks a lot like the Viscount based on the pictures I’ve seen. I might just have an iron butt since I haven’t minded any saddle I’ve ridden on but they’ve worked fine for me.
I’ve got my eye on a Torker DX 20" on ebay and if that ends up falling through without something similar coming available in the mean time I’ll probably start contacting the people with the Sun’s on CL. My bottom is definitely not made of iron, but it’s got enough padding that it may supplement what’s in the seat!! I’ll gladly spend the $50-$75 I’m seeing the Sun’s go for but dropping $250-ish for the Torker DX or Nimbus II is out of my range as a start. Odds are that if I end up with the Sun and use it enough to realize I really enjoy it I’ll be able to re-sell it for a similar amount to go towards a better one down the road. I’m loving all the support out here for this and I’m looking forward to getting started soon. Not just for the health benefits (anything is healthier than sitting on said padded bottom!) but also just because the more I’ve read about unicycling the last couple days the more excited I’m getting about trying it!