I am sure this question has been proposed over the years on this forum. I am in my 40s and brand spanking new to this sport. I am only about 8 hours in. I have a 24 Sun Flattop isis hub model I bought to learn on and somehow a QuAx 20 beginner muni showed up by accident, seriously it was a Amazon ghost order! Anyway, if you could only have one unicycle wheel size to commute and ride trails, what would it be? I am looking at the nimbus oracle line.
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Welcome to this niche corner of the internet for this fine sport!!!
Keeping the answer simple - a 29” wheel. Personally I’d have it custom built from parts chosen. But to your line you’re looking at the Oracle 29” is a fine unicycle.
The catch with unicycles and the n+1 issue with buying more is the part of your sentence: “…to commute and ride trails” - as one quickly realises there other use cases that require a different wheel size 
Seriously - if I had to sell all my wheels, I’d just keep a Geared 29er.
What about you? 
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I vote for the 29" as well. It’s my favorite, fast on road as well as on trail.
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I have thought of building my own. Seems like everything i look at is sold out. Are sold out goods a normal thing for this sport, or is it just due to the holidays?
29" keeps creeping in my mind, thanks for making my descision easier. I love fast and flowy trails. I have no aspirations of doing jumps or drops at this point, hence the reason i am looking for a good ol’ all-a-rounder unicycle. I may go for the nimbus non-disc to save some money and source a disc set up from my mtb spare parts box. Once proficient i will likely build my own next summer. I’d love a titanium frame with a carbon wheel!
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Another nod to the 29er. My pick for road and bike trail riding. Easy to mount and control and you can do some nice long rides.
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Where are you located? I think the shipping container issue hit the unicycle.com usa pretty hard, but I think that will ease in the future. Overseas shipping might be reasonable - check the rates on the websites and see if that might work for you. https://www.unicycle.co.uk/, https://www.mad4one.com/gb/, etc.
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If your looking to do down hill muni. You may want to consider a 27.5. It looks like the future of the sport. Best of 26er and 29er.
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Yep, USA. Higher spec’d mtb parts are getting easier to locate. Been frustrating for sure the last while.
Look at buying used. My stable of unis including 20 inch nimbus, 24;oracle muni, 24 Schwinn, 26 nimbus muni, 29 udc trainer, 29 nimbus road, 32 titan. And 36 coker were all bought used. I bought some on eBay and some on this forums trading post. I have also bought saddles, touring bars and cranks the same way. You just have to be diligent and keep looking. If your like most of us you will end up with a collection
My vote is for a 27.5+
That tire is 29.25 inches in diameter. Then, you can install a 27.5 road tire if you want to spend time on pavement. But, the 27.5+ frame will also accept a 29” rim with a road tire, which will be 29.25” in diameter.
I wondered when I bought my 27.5+ Oracle if I had made a mistake by not buying the 29” Oracle.
After acquiring a 29” Nimbus II road uni for less $ than I would have spent on a 29” wheel to install in my 27.5 Oracle frame, I realized I had made the correct decision (for me), in buying the 27.5” Oracle, because the Duro Crux 27.5x3.25 tire is the same exact diameter as the Schwalbe Big Apple tire that is on my Nimbus 29er road unicycle.
I was asked last month which of my unicycles I would keep, if I could only keep one. It would have to be the 27.5+ Oracle. It really is my “Best of all worlds” unicycle.
That being said, I own every size unicycle except a 32”. And, the size I find myself riding the most is my 24” with CST Cyclops tire (it’s a Hookworm/Big Apple clone), due to the fact that it must be the one unicycle I am most comfortable on, and it’s the closest speed to running.
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29 with multi-holes cranks
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For me personally, a 36”er.
But I needed the 29”, I own as a “stepping stone” from the “20” no name learner unicycle I started with.
I only really commute and road ride weekends.
If I had more opportunity with nearby mountain trails I might say 29” but I wouldn’t feel comfortable commuting at all.
I just don’t know how guys get so fast on 29” unicycles (as fast as my 36” speeds). Anyway I prefer the rolling momentum of the larger wheel.
And I have had my worst injuries from my 29”.
Just minor stuff like gashed calves, sprained ankle, road rash.
I do enjoy tree root hopping on the 29”er.
And I could idle it at lights when I tried commuting with it once.
Worst injury, so far, (knock on wood) for KH36” is sore right heel when thrown off forward at speed and landed running.
Depending on the money, I’d have to spend, it would be a 36er or a geared 29er. The second one being way more expensive than the first one. Both would let you go at 25 km/h after some training and they can be pretty versatile with multi-hole cranks.
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My case against 36 and for 29 or 27.5.
36 is:
Harder to mount.
Harder to ride.
Harder to get tires and tubes for.
Harder to transport .
And you need to be tall enough to ride one.
I will give if you can master it you can cover some ground, better than any other size.
27.5 is:
It seems to be where the bike industry is going so you will have more tire choices in the future.
People that have this size seem to love them.
Seems to be the perfect muni size
29er is:
Easy to learn to mount.
Very controllable size for riding.
Good for road, xc and muni.
Can handle a long day trip.
Perfect size for commuting / urban stop and go riding.
Good on hills with the right size cranks
Plenty of good choices in tires.
Can reach decent speeds in some cases experienced riders can roll with the 36er crowd.
Love my 29ers. I logged loads of miles on my cheap 2nd hand udc trainer with cotterless cranks. Set it up with a KH street saddle and touring bar, I put on some 125 cranks and a 2.5 schwable hurricane tire and a bmx pull brake and hit the road. This is a dependable, durable, versatile and affordable uni. I have since upgraded to a nimbus 29 road uni but still ride my trusty udc.
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Most of your “against” points are solved after some adequate training 
Regarding the tube, as we now know that we can use stretched 29er in our 36er, I don’t think it’s an issue any more.
But I concede you that it’s harder to get tires or to transport a 36er than a smaller uni. BTW, I don’t think size really matters - expect if you’re under 1.50m. NightFox is there for you if you’re not tall enough to ride a traditional 36er 
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I asked this very question a while back about Muni sizes. The Forum has this not well known feature where you can create a poll and see the results that’s what I did here:
Because of the polling results I decided to get a 27.5 Oracle and I think it was the right choice for me. Of course I was asking about muni-specifically, I think I would have opted for a 29 if I was going to be doing primarily Road riding.
It might be interesting to create another poll specifically for Road riding sizes to see what people’s votes turn out to be for that style…
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One other thing I thought I would mention…
When my Oracle 27.5 Muni showed up, I was quite surprised how big and gnarly the tire was, the pictures on the website don’t quite do it justice. I was expecting something like a typical MTB Tire but this thing was quite a bit bigger.
In fact, my son happens to have a 29 in mountain bike with a 29 x 2.3 Tire, and I was surprised to see that my 27.5 x 3.25 tire was actually about 1/4 of an inch taller than the 29 inch mountain bike tire!
I realized this is pretty convenient if I ever decide to get a 29-in road uni sometime in the future the transition from the muni to it should be very easy because I basically have a 29 inch now
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I’m 5 ft 7 inches tall and have a 36 coker with 125 cranks and the seat post cut and down the whole way. I can ride it but I can not mount it at this point. The 125s are as long as I can go and still pedal legs extended. I ride a 32 titan that I can mount and ride quite nicely. I just do not feel 36ers are for every one where a 29er is more practical and plays to a larger audience and more styles of riding. You’ll note that I said they are harder all the way around not unrideable. If I get my 36 riding down I may feel differently in the future. Time and practice will tell. For now my pick for one size I would own is 29er.
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27.5 for the trails around me.
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36er hands down all day every day. I love the 36inch wheel it’s so much fun you can go far go fast and go off road it makes for a fun fantastic adventurous ride for me I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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