I’m looking for a uni that can is light enough to jump, but can take drops as well. Also, I would like to be able to ride it around town, I am wondering whether 24" is too small to feel fast enough around town.
Any help is appreciated,
~Liam Meron
24" is defiantly where it’s at for what it seems like you want to do. What were you thinking of getting?
Did you mean one like this?
Heh heh
How tall are you? If you’re very tall, maybe something more like a 26" would be appropriate.
Just a Torker LX 24" because that is all that is in my price range =(
I would look at that, after conquering the basic unicycle. And if it was sold on Amazon, I have a gift card there that is the only reason I can afford a decent uni =P
Not particularly tall, just 5’ 7"
If you want to upgrade right after you learn I would say either get something like a nimbus muni right off the bat or get a cheep 20" to learn on and the upgrade after.
I may be able to get a Nimbus II 24"
You might want to look at mine:D 4umfreak already posted it.
I would, but I can’t pay cash. I have an Amazon $200 gift card, which is where I am looking at unis. And unfortunately, most people are hesitant to recieve gift cards as payment because it is too easy to get scammed.
The blue Nimbus II for $260 on Amazon is well worth the ~$100 difference over the Torker LXs available there. It would only be $60 out of pocket for you with that gift card. New LXs are available as much as $40 cheaper, but you wouldn’t be able to use your Amazon GC.
I’d contact the seller and ask if it actually comes with the Hookworm 2.5" tire mentioned in the item description. The Hookworm is no longer made in the 24" size. I only mention this save you potential surprise/disappointment, that unicycle comes with a 2.1" Kenda tire now. Unless the sellers stock was acquired before the tire change you will get the Kenda tire.
The Nimbus is still superior to the LX. It has a better saddle, an ISIS hub, and a double wall rim. One caveat regarding your desire to use the unicycle for jumps/drops, the cranks aren’t meant for jumping. You may want, or you may end up needing, to upgrade the cranks at some point.
Being new to the uni scene, there are still things I have not found out. I can understand how a longer pair gives you more leverage and therefore making it easier for hills and whatnot, but how do the cranks affect jumps/drops? And about how much does an upgrade cost.
Hey LiamMeron
Cranks are a huge preference thing for everyone!
For hopping and tricks shorter cranks being closer together have a more natural feel, my personal preference is no longer then 110mm for me, my brothers 20" nimbus has 135mm and it feels like im hoping while doing the split (not literally)
Check out Unicycle.com for all your needs… upgrades can range on cranks from $40-130
The nimbus unicycles all come with ISIS drive hubs which are for all intensive purposes pretty much indestructible… my brother is hopping off picnic tables with no issues… My Norco Muni with cotterless (square tapper) hub has a bent hub and cranks from hopping on and off of curbs and singles steps… even for a beginner uni it is pretty terrible and i paid $230 canadian with taxes and that was a good deal at my bike shop… I am going to buy either the Dirty mix or the KH 20" for my next uni =D 110mm KH cranks
Just for a fun experiment (when no one is looking) trying hopping onto a curb with for feet and start with your feet slightly off set and work them further apart to see the how weird it feels >_<
The crank upgrade would probably cost you about $65, if you are buying new. For that difference in price you could skip the Nimbus II and go straight to a Nimbus 24" Muni which comes with the heavier duty cranks. It also comes with a wider (stronger) rim and a higher volume tire. All of which are better suited to hopping and dropping than the Nimbus II. If you are planning to hop curbs the Nimbus II is fine. If you are planning to work up to picnic tables, etc., the Nimbus II would (at the very least) require a crank upgrade.
The same seller on Amazon that has the Nimbus II for $260 also has a Nimbus 24 Muni for $320. One potential downside to the Muni is the knobby tire. If you are going to be doing most of your riding on pavement you might want to swap to an inexpensive 24x2.1/2.3 tire that is more road friendly while you are learning.
The differences between standard duty uni like the Torker LX, a heavier duty uni like the Nimbus II, or a heavy duty Muni are moot until you achieve basic riding proficiency. When you start learning how to hop/drop those differences will become important, more so as the hops/drops become larger.
Given that you are new to the uni scene you would probably be best served by looking for a cheap ($25-$60) learner on craigslist, or look for a unicycle club (or other unicyclists on this forum) in your area. Once you actually learn to ride a unicycle you will have a much better idea of what you really want/need going forward in the sport. If you find that unicycling is not for you then you will have a much smaller investment, if any, to try and recoup.
I have a torker cx I got off of craigslist that I am going to pick up either tomorrow or Tuesday. Right now I’m looking at the next step up. I’ve looked a bit at the Nimbus muni vs the Nimbus II and the muni seems to be about 5 pounds heavier. How much and in why ways would the extra weight affect it?
There shouldn’t be that much difference, that’s probably shipping weight. UDC lists the Nimbus II 24" at 13 lbs and the Nimbus 24" Muni at 14.5 lbs, most of that extra weight is in the tire. I don’t have any personal input to give you regarding unicycle weight but the search bar in the top right corner of the page can direct you to the many threads discussing it.
Glad you found a CX on craigslist, it’s a decent enough uni for learning to ride. You will likely have several weeks to several months before you need to worry about upgrading. That will give you plenty of time to peruse these forums in between your practice sessions. You can also find many video tutorials on youtube.