So I work at REI, and want to get my first unicycle. I have been wanting for quite awhile, so this isn’t an impulse buy.
I am sure you see a lot of these, and I did search and read around the internets, but I have one seperate question, and a special case
How compatible are various parts? Rims, wheels, hubs, crank arms, etc? Working at REI, I can get these cheap. I assume crank arms, rims, and pedals are all easily swappable.
What would make more sense? Get a brand new Sun unicycle dirt cheap via my store’s shop (they order it at discount), and replace parts as needed or when they break.
advantages:
Lower initial cost ($60 ish)
upgrade to the parts I want- customize- ‘pimp my ride’
if it’s not my thing, not a lot of money down the drain
OR… Get a torker LX for around $100, have less upgrade money, but still a little, and end up waiting a bit longer if I go for the kris holm.
Genreally, the tyre, pedals and rim are taken straight from bikes (only KH makes his own rims, and they’re bike compatible anyway). The square taper cranks are the same except bikes rarely use the short lengths that unicyclists require. I wouldnt describe a rim as easily swappable, you’re porbably going t nned new spokes and get the hweel laced and trued, although I guess if you work at what i presume is a bike shop you can get this done cheap. Personally I would get the LX, swapping parts out from a cheap uni always ends up costing more, and never achieves as good as a result as buying something a little more exspensive in the firts place.
incidentally I have no doubt that some people will post in here saying you should get the KH. Yes it’s a brilliant uni, I have one myself, but I really would hold off spending big bucks until you’ve learnt to ride, decided you really want to stick with it and decided what kind of riding you want to do. If you realise that freestyle or road riding is your thing, or that you’re really not that serious about riding, then all that money you spent on the Kh will be wasted.
Not sure how REI connects to the bike companies for parts. Can you only get parts for the bikes sold at REI, or do you have access to their entire catalogs? If not, rims will only come in the sizes you have in the store, which are probably mostly 26" and 700c. Wheels will be bike wheels (with bike hubs). Same for hubs. Unicycle hubs are different. Cranks may all be too long for what you want. What do you want?
Don’t start with the Sun. No matter what you do, your frame will be low-end and your seat will be crap. Those parts will cost more to replace. Better to start with what you want (especially if you can’t upgrade it with what’s available to you).
My advice is to save up for the KH and get the full package with no hassles!
Awesome. I have access to stuff REI would never carry, parts wise, through special orders available.
I just mentioned getting a holm for if I do get really into it, I definitely wouldn’t start with it. I mentioned it because we get a good deal on them, and all the models (XC, trials, etc) would cover all my bases.
Any opinions on the Surly Conundrum, another uni I can special order?
Get the torker. It’s a much better starter uni. The conundrum is awesome, but it’s more of a specialized machine (snow and sand). The KH is a better all-around MUni.
The Conundrum is a special-purpose uni; unless you’re planning to ride mostly on sand or snow, I would go for something different.
Bike cranks work on square tapers, and on the ISIS hubs some of the newer unis are coming with (such as the KH), but generally bike cranks have a spider on the right side, so you either need to machine that down, or find a crank where it’s removable. Also, bike cranks are generally longer than you’d want to run on a unicycle, unless you’re doing MUni.
Most of the other parts are interchangeable, except for the frame, the hub, and the seat. If you get a seat with a bicycle rail adapter, you can use bike seat posts. You actually could use a bike seat if you wanted to, but it wouldn’t work very well.