I would like to have something to keep up with bikes going a moderate pace on the road as well as something to ride off road. I know people do muni on 36ers but is that really ideal or should I specialize more in a unicycle purchase and eventually get two. I don’t know if it makes any difference but I am 6 foot tall.
people do muni on 36ers
Ummm…
Most 36ers can handle light XC muni, but if you wanted to do any “extreme” terrain, you would have to get a KH 36, which may fit your budget.
A 29er might suit you best, if you got some dual-hole cranks on it. UniGeezer just started a thread about the versatility of a 29er; you may want to check that out.
Reading posts I have the impression that doing Muni on a 36er is an amazing skill that many do not have. I guess I am asking if it is very practical or if I would be better off with a 36er made to ride on a road and then also have a 24" or 26" Muni made specifically for off roading. Obviously, combining the two would save a lot of money. I like the speed of a 36er for on the road and I have asked MuniAddict about the speed of his KH29 so I will see what he thinks.
If you want to keep up to bikes going a reasonable pace on the road and ride offroad the best option would be a geared Muni, your choice 24, 26, 29. 24 is pretty slow on the road and 29 might be a bit tall for lots of trails so i would suggest a geared 26 for a do-it-all machine.
Of course it would be cheeper to just buy a 36 and a suitable MUni, those geared hubs are pricey.
If you are really on a budget dual hole cranks can go a long way to making the unicycle both road worthy and MUniable.
MUni on a 36" is a blast on the right kinds of trails. The drawbacks are that the wheel is pretty heavy, which makes it a serious chore on big or steep climbs. Also it’s not well suited to the technical stuff. I love using mine on fast, not-too-technical trails.
Here’s a video clip Jess Riegel did of me on an excellent singletrack trail on our 36ers. That kind of riding is a blast!
I have a KH20 and a coker, so when it comes to muni on a trail two miles from my home, obviously I choose the coker. Have you tried riding the coker on your local trail? This will be the easiest way to find out if its suibtable!!!
I rode my 36er on a very technical, rocky and rooty bike trail and let me tell some parts were TOUGH. Sometimes you hit a rock, try and get over it by putting all your weight and force on the forward crank and still nothing, because the wheel has so much inertia.
But as John said, when the terrain is right (small rocks gravel etc) it is really fun having the extra speed and momentum.
Unfortunately where I live I have never seen another unicyclist so I have never been able try out different unicycles so I am trying to figure out what would be best for me by asking questions. At college I know of another person who rides but it’s just on a 20" nimbus and 5 ft. giraffe. I already have a Nimbus Trials and 24" UDC club so I can’t learn too much from riding his unicycles that would pertain to what I want to get into.
Maybe you could post a few pictures of the trail and let us advise 
Having ridden a lot of muni in past decades on a 24, and now exclusively on a 36’er (mostly road).
I had a blast recently on my nimbus nightrider pro, riding the “Reseda to the Sea”, which is a ride commemorating the first true mountain bike race in Southern Cali. It goes from the San Fernando Valley up and over the Santa Monica mountains to the sea.
Not without consequences, though. Ended up with a black eye and a cut in my eyebrow (the offending mountain punched me in the face once). I discovered:
- Previous posters are right about more technical terrain, especially when climbing. The ride opened up with about a mile or so climbing technical singletrack, and this is where I upd’d for the above injury.
- They are also right about the 36’er being a BLAST on more predictable terrain (smooth singletrack, fire roads, etc).
- One note re: descending in the rough… Firstly, the 36’er exerts a greater moment of force while descending any type of terrain. The problem is a magnified in rough terrain because it’s difficult to modulate the brakes to control speed in the rough. Normally, I use my magura rimbrakes quite effectively on steep road descents, which really saves the knees. My knees suffer a great deal for working harder than usual on the muni descents. This isn’t nearly as big a problem on a smaller wheel because it’s MUCH easier to slow/stop the wheel with pedal backforce than it is on a 36’er.
- And one more previous mention that I’ll concur with… the 36’er definately will not climb like a smaller wheel, whether on road or off.
I have pretty much decided that I will buy two separate unicycles because then I won’t have to give up anything by settling for one. My question is, is there any reason to buy a KH36 for just riding on roads since I don’t plan on doing muni with it?
Only if you have a strong preference for regular width hubs. All the offerings from Coker and Nimbus use a super-wide hub, about 25mm wider than a regular hub. It is also the easiest to put a schlumpf hub in.
The 36er that often gets overlooked (mostly because it is hard to find one in north america) is the Qu-Ax 36. It has a regular width ISIS hub 48 spokes and pretty standard but quality components.
I’ve done some rather unconventional riding on my 36er over the years. It can be a real blast offroad, but since I got my 29er (and soon to be first G26er!) I use my 36er primarily for distance road riding these days. The 29er is a really fun and versatile uni that can tackle the trails and roads as well, plus the kh 29er is super light, strong and responds quickly to your needs.
Some 36er MUni and Trials:
I’m looking at 36ers at the moment as well. I found some Quax in 2 places for north america:
The QuAx has 48 spokes which not only adds unnecessary weight to an already heavy machine, but that’s a lot more truing time as well. You could get a Coker Big one for less and it would be much lighter as well with the more standard 36 spokes and aluminum frame. Also, I think the QuAx is only available from Canada. Shipping might be prohibitive.