Hello, I am new to this forum and somewhat new to unicycling. I have been riding an old cottered crank piece of junk for about 2 months, but now that my riding is getting better and im going down drops i’m messing things up just about every time i go out to ride. I am a small guy, only 5’1", and I weigh about 120. I am looking for a trials uni that will hold up to the drops, stairs, and falls that i will be experiencing while i learn. I will also be occasionally riding off road on dirt/rock trails. My budget is limited so unless i can get a used K/H trials, or summit I dont think i can go that nice, Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts about the cheaper uni’s on unicycle.com (United trials, nimbus)?? If I do get a cheaper uni, are there any modifications that i should do to start with?? Or if anyone wants to sell a uni let me know?? Thanks
You don’t need to “go that nice” on the entire uni… just where it counts. The hub and cranks are the most critical parts, IMHO, and if you go cheap here you’re going to end up replacing them over and over.
Get a good splined setup (Onza, KH or Profile) and you won’t find yourself wasting time and money on replacement parts. You might not be riding hard enough to need these parts now, but as you get better you will appreciate the fact that you’ve got some solid hardware underneath you.
The Asian-made frames (Nimbus, Yuni) offered by Unicycle.com give you lots of bang for your buck. They’re 1/3rd the cost of the KH, so you could splurge and get a new frame on a budget!
I haven’t seen the actual numbers, but I believe the Yuni frame is lighter than the KH by a noticable amount. I’ve been riding a 24" Yuni Muni for 1 year now and am quite pleased with the strength of the frame… despite numerous drops, falls, impacts, etc. the frame shows but a couple scratches.
Good luck with your journey… take lots of pics and share 'em with us! 
Here’s a trick that I used to use when I was young and poor. I’d get all the money I could scratch together, go to a demonstration and afterwards corner the athlete and offer him cash for one of his/her backup climbing ropes/unis/surfboards, et al. Most pros not only run free gear but have a quiver of gear and will often give up the dinged up unit for cash, discretrely offered.
Perhpas there’s no uni demos near you, but this tactic works even at big events.
Otherwise, just get a 20 freestyle uni off E-Bay and practice tricks till you can rustle up 230 or so bucks for a 20 inch trials. The main thing is to just get something to ride.
JL
thanks for the info,
What about the Torker DX, they are fairly cheap compared to the KH, and it says it has spined hub and cranks i think, will this unicycle be ok for the learning phase of trials and some general skills?? Or should I make sure to get the fat tire??
Randy
re: Torker DX
Hi, mrrwt! Welcome to the forum.
The Torker DX models are sturdily made and will hold up to trials use. Darn them for not making them with a trials tire, however!
That extra volume in the tire makes a big difference when it come to jumps, hops and drops.
I have converted two of the 24" Torker DX models into trials rigs. One with a 19" trials rim and the other with a true 20" rim and a fat (3") cruiser style tire.
I think that a 20" DX might accept a 19" trials wheel set-up, but I’m not sure about that. Anyone else know?
Check e-bay for the cheapest Torker DX’s. There are two sources available. One of them (cycle source) has a poor reputation for delivering the goods in a timely manner. The other one I’ve had no problems with.
You could ride the Torker until you think you really have to have the trials tire, and then convert it. It will cost you around an additional $150 to do so.
If you are still in the early stages of riding/trials, I would suggest getting either the Nimbus Trials or the Torker DX. The Nimbus trials is a true trials cycle right out of the box. The problem with it is that it doesn’t have a splined hub/crank. This means that it’s not as strong as most other trials cycle.
The Torker DX is much stronger, but it comes with a 20 inch rim which will not allow for a trials tire (unless there is a 20 inch trials tire I don’t know about). If you are not yet a trials rider, it should be ok for you to go ahead and get the DX and learn some techniques on the narrow tire. Once you get to the point where you feel the narrow tire is holding you back, swap the rim and tire for a true trials setup. You may also need a new frame depending if the DX frame is wide enough to accommodate a trials tire.
Both cycles are a very good value will serve a long time if you take care of them and know their limits.
Daniel
Hey,
Welcome to the forums! The Nimus trials and Torker DX would both be great, but if you want, since you are on a tight budget, try and contact Darren Bedford from Bedford Unicycles (http://www.torontounicyclists.ca/contact-darren.htm) and I’m sure that if you were to tell him some of the more important parts that you want to upgrade, like the splined hub and crank set, he would be more than happy to custom build you one. I am not exactly sure how much this would be, it could be more expensive, but it can’t hurt to ask. Otherwise i would definatly recommed either the Numbus or the Torker DX. Good luck!
Begunsame here
i am also looking for a nice trials unicycle. somthing that will really hold up for 4+ foot jumps. the only porblem is that my budget is limited to about $150 is there any sugesstions a nice uni for that price
Chase P.O.W.am also looking for a nice trials unicycle. somthing that will really hold up for 4+ foot jumps. the only porblem is that my budget is limited to about $150 is there any sugesstions a nice uni for that price
Chase P.O.W.
torker dx with trials tire, i think
hi. im a new unicycler. ive been looking for a torker dx with trials wheel
http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=764 it said it was a torker dx trials, but the posts above said torker dx was just a heavy duty freestyle. which is which?
the specifications said it had a 19" rim and i dont know if it is a trials or a heavy duty freestyle. could someone tell me?
thanks
wow, old thread…
a Torker DX is gonna be fine for trials, especially the new one. The splines are only a little weaker than others, and I’m not even sure how much weaker.
To clarify, the new DX models were radically changed from the old ones that this thread refers to.
The current ones are splined trials cycles.
dude the new DXs have wide tires… they are super aweosme i got one for x mas ive doen 4 1/2 foot dropps with horrble form and its fine …get it
Chase
whoah that is weird… i just uknowingly replied to a thread that was like the first posts i ever made… weird
Chase
I havn’t actually held a yuni frame, but I find that hard to belive, the KH frame is INCREDIBLY light, I was so suprised when I took the frame off my KH one day, its like nothing.
so the 2006 model of the torker dx is a good trials?
also does anyone know where i can find a dx cheaper then 260 at unicycle.com?
ebay from that one guy for 260 including shipping
Chase
this is kind of random but what are some simple tricks i could learn fairly quickly?
(i havent been uniing very long)6 months or so
“what are some simple tricks i could learn fairly quickly”
Why do you want to learn tricks quickly? I’m only just learning to do anything other than ride and I’ve been riding 2 years! Not because I can’t but because I never wanted to before.
Reputation shouldn’t be measured on how many tricks you can do on a unicycle! Surely it’s about doing challenging riding aswell!
Of course if freestyle is your thing you should probably check out wikipedia: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/The_Unicyclopedia:Freestyle
There is a huge list of tricks to impress there.
May I recommend riding seat out, riding backwards and seat drops?
AndyC
it has nothing to do with my reputation
its just fun
what would be some challenging riding?
i can do a little snow riding
thanks