I bought a uni off of CL for $20 and its been about 2 weeks and the farthest I’ve gone is about 10’. And thats with a dish towel wrapped around front.part of seat.
Well was already looking for another uni, and was wondering if I bought newer uni would my ridding improve??
quoting something a watched when I was younger…
“a master painter can make art with any brush”
Description of the parts or a pic would be helpful. But, since it was $20, most likely a uni at least a bit better would be helpful for learning…(since you dont have to worry about failing parts and what not)
Possibly. Generally u get what u pay for :o If u post a picture of ur uni we might better judge its quality (but doesn’t sound good). Two good learners are Torker LX and the Club. Taller people (6’ +) tend to prefer a 24" over a 20". Maybe all u need is a better seat which could cost double ur uni unless u find one used. Prob only slightly better good quality: Nimbus Gel
A 20 is slightly more portable, more maneuverable for tight spaces, most tricks and skills are easier, and OK for light trials. A 24 rolls smoother, a bit faster, and OK for light Muni.
Instead of getting another uni only slightly better than what already have I’d think about what type of riding u want to do and get a quality uni of that style. Watching vids will help.
This would be easier to answer if you had a picture somewhere, and gave us some info on what kind of uni you’ve got. Also if you described what exactly you’ve done for practice that would help.
If the cranks, pedals and wheel are in decent shape (straight, spinning freely, true), then you probably won’t gain a vast amount by buying a new uni. A big difference in getting a new uni would probably be in durability. Getting a uni with a different wheel size or tire width would affect your learning, but I don’t know what you need.
You mention your seat, what does it feel like? If it feels like a rock and looks like a torture device, then you might want to consider getting another one just to let your crotch survive the learning process. This could also a huge difference, it’s very helpful to be comfortable while learning something new.
Not a lot to go on, but I’d say garden-variety learner’s-level unicycle. A lot like the one I learned on (and still have, and ride occasionally). If the rest of it is similar, I suggest keep on riding. Sometimes it takes a while. Practice every day. That helps. A new uni may not make you ride any better, but you’ll probably enjoy having it! If you only spent $20 on this one, go ahead and buy a new (or good condition used) better one, like the suggested Torker. If you are adult-sized, you may like the 24" size. It will feel smoother.
Good luck!
LanceB
This thread contains some pretty helpful buyer’s guides for cheap unicycles, and includes my own adventures with a $30 uni from Craigslist, the main problem being the extremely uncomfortable seat:
My uni seems a little newer than yours because it has cotterless cranks. The new seat and post I put on it made a HUGE difference, but would have cost more than I paid for the whole uni if I hadn’t bought them used from a guy in NYUC who apparently has a garage full of old unicycles and parts. Although I learned a lot in the weeks before getting a decent seat and long-enough seatpost, I would have learned much faster if I’d had them from the start, along with a better quick release lever.
Having a seat with protruding metal rods that dug holes in my thighs and was too low forced me to limit practice time and prevented me from relaxing my weight into the saddle -a very important habit to acquire. It also made turning especially painful, and my seat’s tendency to spin in its socket would have made it very difficult to learn freemounting if I had even dared to try. Once I got a decent seat (Viscount) and long-enough seatpost, and clamped them in tightly with a good quick release lever, I was freemounting within a day or two. Some of the bad habits I acquired from having an uncomfortable seat took a bit longer to get rid of, however. Anyway, I’d second the recomendation that you figure out what sort of riding you want to do and then buy the appropriate uni. That’s my plan, but whenever there’s time to shop, I just end up riding instead!
That is a very good description of why it is important to have a decent seat.
From your pictures, what you have should be fine for learning. It’s normal when learning to look for flaws in the quipment, but a brand new unicycle of similar spec will ride about the same. Learning to ride a unicycle is just hard!
What we don’t know from the picture is how horrible the seat is, and if it’s high enough. You want plenty of air pressure for riding outside, like 50-60. The seat should be high enough for your legs to go almost all the way straight.
The seat that typically came with those lolipop/Tiawan unicycles from the 80s is crap, but if it isn’t bent all out of shape it also won’t be a big impediment to learning, just not comfortable. Does it have metal bumpers? If not, it’s probably bent all out of shape; spend some of the money you saved on a nice seat.
Getting me a Torker unistar DX trails
IMO a Nimbus trials is a better deal & about the same price. 125 cranks is a bit better for some tricks and a bit more speed, 138’s better for trials.
I’d spend a bit more on a N-Street
Hang on there, if you order the DX from UDC it is about the same price as the nimbus. If you shop around, you can get the dx for quite a bit less than UDC wants for it. Here’s an example.
That is a lot less. But 48 spokes is heavier and most feel is over kill.
W/ the Nimbus it’s avail in diff color combos, u can ask UDC for diff cranks for free (other size) or little $ (KH), same w/ a diff seat. Also the N. has a wider rim.
The N-Street (one color) frame’s crown is rounded, making it hurt less if u hit it w/ ur knee, and it’s lighter still.
The seat photo shows what is actually a pretty good seat from the time period.
And some underwear. 
Not a bad seat at all, for a learner uni. The duct tape reminds me of the old days with Schwinn seats.