With low-end unicycles, there are a number of reasons why a used one is actually better than brand-new. If it ever comes to that, though, think twice before selling.
I’m also onboard with the 20" fan club…
I’ve got a 36 and 29 in my garage getting very little love lately. I’ve been riding my 20 daily for hours. There is a lot you can do on a 20, and you don’t need a lot of space either which is nice.
If the ebay auction I’m watching for the Torker DX 20" falls through how would this
http://www.amazon.com/Flat-Extreme-Matte-Gray-2014/dp/B00I89TB7I/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1399568807&sr=1-3&keywords=sunlite+unicycle
be as an option? It seems to have some of the features I’ve been told to look for like the ISIS hubs. I would say this is about the upper limit of what I can afford and that’s only if I can’t find a steal of a deal first.
I hadn’t seen that one before. ISIS hub is a good thing, and that looks like a pretty fat tire which can help if the surface where you want to practice isn’t perfectly smooth. It doesn’t have a quick-release seat clamp, and that’s good because the ones on entry-level unicycles never clamp tight enough, and you have to unclamp and straighten the seat every time it hits the ground–which it will be doing a lot.
Sunlite is a common name in aftermarket bike parts, no clue if it’s any way related to Sun unicycles, Sunrace, Sun Ringle, etc. No doubt it’s made for them in a Far East factory that makes a dozen other brands too. You’d be taking a bit of a chance if no one here can vouch for that one, but life is full of risks I suppose. Keep in mind that it’s $45 more than a 20" Club from unicycle.com, which is a known item from a company that will be there to support you. (But that’s not ISIS and not free shipping unless someone knows of a discount code that’s still good.)
From what I’ve gathered by initial comments I’ll be best served with ISIS hubs given my weight. Even though I don’t plan on going any further off-road than my front yard I’ll be abusing any uni I ride until that weight starts flying off from all the riding I’ll be doing!
Sure, all else being equal, as the saying goes… I’d guess that ISIS hubs aren’t all equally good and square-taper aren’t all equally weak (saskatchewanian’s point above) and I haven’t managed to break any of them yet. But it’s your call to make. That’s what makes a horse race as someone said. I think that Sunlite is pretty cool too.
There are reviews here and here for fairly recent models of the uni you’re thinking about getting. A lot of unis are good once you put a decent seat on them. The new Torker LX has ISIS cranks… Oh well, whatever you do, search these forums for reviews before buying anything.
^^ Good advice for sure.
We’ve had a few friends well into the Clydesdale range (over 200lbs) learn to ride with us. One was a mountain biker close to 300. He has broken high end bike frames riding XC. He put the hurt on a couple of the lesser unis in the fleet by just learning to ride. You may be able to get by with a cheap uni, but it may break. Wheels and cranks take quite a beating.
One other consideration for sure is seat comfort. Cheap unis often have cheap uncomfortable seats.
I wouldn’t rule out finding some older higher end unis at reasonable prices. I’ve scored a DX 24 for $75, a DX 20 for $50 (from the forums), and 2 1st gen KH unis (one 24 and one 20) for $125 a piece shipped (also found on the forums). Of course, patience is key. If you’re in a hurry to get on one, you may not deem it worth the wait.
I’ve also got a cheap Sun uni with a single wall rim that is essentially junk because heavier adults learned to ride on it and in spite of my best efforts at maintenance, due to normal in the gym UPDs and poor materials the rim is shot. It’s not worth the expense to rebuild it either.
If you buy a quality uni, you may be able to resell it later. A broken cheap uni is destined for recycling.
Edit: Maybe check here? http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110110
Any chance you’d take $150 shipped for any of them? 
In all seriousness, I’m down to these two options since the Torker DX on Ebay didn’t work out.
Cheaper Sun on Craigslist here that I’ll have a possible chance to upgrade down the road if unicycling works out for me.
Or:
Nicer Sun on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Flat-Extreme-Matte-Gray-2014/dp/B00I89TB7I/
which will be harder to justify an upgrade for quite some time (but may not need upgrading as soon.)
I’m still watching the Trading Post on this forum, CL, and Ebay for other deals but would like to move on something soon.
The Sun Flat Top Extreme DX is pretty much at the top of my price range. I know that a Club 20" was mentioned before because it’s a known good name but the Sun has a few nicer features assuming they’re not cheapest possible options for those features. I’m open to that still if the general consensus is brand over features.
You do know that unicycle.com is in Marietta and has a public showroom, right? Seems like it might not be a bad thing to stop by if you could and say hi and see some things in person, whether you bought there or not. I sure would if it was a little bit closer to me.
I’ve been to their website but didn’t notice they were in Marietta! I’ll definitely go there before I do anything. I called a couple of LBS near me but the ones that carried uni’s only had child sized ones. Thanks for the tip.
The one on Amazon looks decent. I think it is a better choice than a Club as it appears to have a proper adult sized saddle as well as the ISIS hub/cranks. There may be no need to upgrade in the future.
unis
If you really want strong it’ll cost you more cash, spend less than 100 it might be new but the axle might snap when you bunny hop, the weakest uni you could get away with is a torker lx, a dx has isis hub and is around 300 bucks starting point, if you find a cheap 50 dollar used uni on craigslist sure you can buy it, but it will be as disposable as a bic lighter.
for 300 or above you can probably find a better high end uni than torker, and if you stick with unicycling after learning you will probably be upgrading to something better anyway, but really any uni you can get your hands on to learn the basic riding will work,
also consider tire strength, I have popped a 20 in kenda tire that came stock on my torker lx, a uni has all the weight on 1 tire so blowouts happen when you push the limits, so far i have used some decent bmx tires meant for hard landings and haven’t had issues for a while, but that kenda tire split the sidewall pretty bad and made a loud bang like a small caliber firearm. and kenda usually makes better tires than most companys out there.
I also weigh around 200lbs a little more if i eat too many chinese buffets and have the ice cream for desert.
:) Or maybe $20 tops, bottom feeder bait.
Oops! I made a mistake before when I said that the 2014 Torker LX has an ISIS hub. That’s only correct in this [upgraded] case. It’s worth the extra money, IMO.
For only $25 more I definitely like that Torker LX Pro you mentioned. The only problem is it doesn’t qualify for shipping!! I would have to find someone I trust who lives in that area to pick it up for me and then ship it to me. I actually know someone in the Las Vegas area but it would then cost a lot more to ship it. A $25 upgrade then becomes a $75 or more upgrade (not sure what shipping would be on a unicycle by private party, but I’ve seen at least $50 or more on Ebay listings.) It’s probably worth it in the long run for Torker vs Sun but it puts it above my price range unless the wife goes cheap when she picks her Mother’s Day/Anniversary gift.
Looks like I’ll be going the longer patient route after all. We have a chance at a trip to the FL Keys and that will likely use both her Mom’s Day/Anniversary and my unicycle money!
I just want to thank everyone again for their insights and tips. Even though I’ll not be joining the unicyclist ranks soon hopefully this will help inspire someone else like me who worried they were too heavy for it!