Newb questions: type of uni for riding around college/beach and how to prep

[Narniacat]

Hi,

My name is Claire and I am new to Unicycling and to the forums.

I am looking for a uni to ride around campus and possibly along the beach. I am 170-180lbs and will be carrying a backpack with textbooks (which can get heavy). I am looking to spend around 100 - 300 dollars. From what I have read on the forums and talking with some people a "Torker Unistar DX 24-inch" seems like my best choice. Are there other unis I should look into?

I have never used a uni before in my life and I want to work on the muscle groups necessary for riding. I know I need to work on basic cardio, back, abs (Essentially all the "core" muscles), posture, and legs (specifically quads). Is there anything else I can do to help my riding besides riding, practice, keeping my weight in the seat, pedaling equally with both legs, etc? Any balance exercises etc?

Thank you very much,
Claire

[Jerrick]

Originally Posted by Narniacat

Hi,

My name is Claire and I am new to Unicycling and to the forums.

I am looking for a uni to ride around campus and possibly along the beach. I am 170-180lbs and will be carrying a backpack with textbooks (which can get heavy). I am looking to spend around 100 - 300 dollars. From what I have read on the forums and talking with some people a "Torker Unistar DX 24-inch" seems like my best choice. Are there other unis I should look into?

I have never used a uni before in my life and I want to work on the muscle groups necessary for riding. I know I need to work on basic cardio, back, abs (Essentially all the "core" muscles), posture, and legs (specifically quads). Is there anything else I can do to help my riding besides riding, practice, keeping my weight in the seat, pedaling equally with both legs, etc? Any balance exercises etc?

Thank you very much,
Claire

DX would be overkill. It is a heavy splined uni.

Sounds like you just want to easily commute. A basic 24" or a 29" would be great for this.

Torker makes a 24" LX unicycle, and is a great one to learn on, and will be able to get you places rather quickly.

I would recommend you get the 24" LX, to learn on, and see how you like it, if you feel you need to go faster, the 29" or 36" unicycles can be the next step up.

For unicycling, you just gotta get on and do it. I really dont know any balance exercises either lol.

Welcome to the forums!

[gagtape]

I agree with what Jerrick said except a 29" may be too big for you fi you are just startin, however for what you are using it for a 24" may be too small, i have a pashley 26" er when i got it, it cost me £100 i don't know how much that is in dollars but it would be better for the beach because its a Muni (Mountain uni) so maybe you should try that, it would also be a little faster than a 24" er

cheers

bye

[Jerrick]

Forgot about the 26" and 28" sizes lol.

Yeah, I was jsut saying, learn with a 24", then if you still need more speed, go for a bigger size.

[gagtape]

thats a good idea, i mustr admit after riding a 20" for 2 years i found 26" challenging for the first 5 mins then i adjusted.

[thejdw]

you'd only want a splined uni if you planed to stat jumping off and on stuff

[Chexjc]

I agree with everyone above. My only thoughts are that something like the torker lx would be horrible on sand, unless you upgrade the tire.

Here is a picture of my brothers LX with a Kenda Kinetics 2.6" tire upgrade:



You could buy the LX for $100 and then upgrade the crappy tire it comes with to something like this.

That is a 2.1" wide..you could fit up to 2.6 on the LX. It seems likes UDC doesn't sell the Kinetics tire separately, but it comes on the DX model. Perhaps if you called you could special order that tire for around $20.

In total it wouldn't cost you over $125 for a perfect learning unicycle with offroad capabilities.

[feel the light]

And learn by finding a long wall with smooth pavement. If you can't find a cheapo 20 and you are gonna buy new, consider a 24. They are way cooler for riding any distance, but maybe a bit harder to learn on, but doable.
After that, the only real answer is to have several unis. A 36 is the only thing for distance street riding (and really fun), a trials 20 rules for jumping around your yard. If I could only have 1 (shudder), thankfully life is not so cruel, the KH24 IMHO can do everything. But if I post the link how to get a good deal on a KH one more time......from AE Bike.....
Anyways, all uni riders can use a really cheap 20. After you learn, you can teach your friends with it. If you get it used you can sell it for what you paid for it. I won't recommend torkers anymore because they use a rip off unique bearing that costs 30 $/ set to replace. Sun is much better for a learner uni IMHO.

[hobo_chuck]

Originally Posted by feel the light

And learn by finding a long wall with smooth pavement. If you can't find a cheapo 20 and you are gonna buy new, consider a 24. They are way cooler for riding any distance, but maybe a bit harder to learn on, but doable.
After that, the only real answer is to have several unis. A 36 is the only thing for distance street riding (and really fun), a trials 20 rules for jumping around your yard. If I could only have 1 (shudder), thankfully life is not so cruel, the KH24 IMHO can do everything. But if I post the link how to get a good deal on a KH one more time......from AE Bike.....
Anyways, all uni riders can use a really cheap 20. After you learn, you can teach your friends with it. If you get it used you can sell it for what you paid for it. I won't recommend torkers anymore because they use a rip off unique bearing that costs 30 $/ set to replace. Sun is much better for a learner uni IMHO.

about right.

[Brian O.]

The only problem with the Torker LX is its seat, it's terribly uncomfortable.

[Narniacat]

Thanks bunches for your replies.

My college is right on the beach/near the ocean so even if I don't ride on the beach I can't get away from the sand. So the upgraded tire idea makes sense for me. Any other options?

Also, I will be near an ocean and I know that that can make certain metals corrode faster. Any ideas to help with the corrosion and do you guys recommend getting a 100+ starter and then upgrading? I really will only be using it to get around campus and possibly ride along the beach. I have never been one for tricks and I don't for see jumping in the near future.

thanks again,
Claire

[puresyn]

Originally Posted by Narniacat

Thanks bunches for your replies.

My college is right on the beach/near the ocean so even if I don't ride on the beach I can't get away from the sand. So the upgraded tire idea makes sense for me. Any other options?

Also, I will be near an ocean and I know that that can make certain metals corrode faster. Any ideas to help with the corrosion and do you guys recommend getting a 100+ starter and then upgrading? I really will only be using it to get around campus and possibly ride along the beach. I have never been one for tricks and I don't for see jumping in the near future.

thanks again,
Claire

I ride 20" at the beach. I am not much for riding insanely far (less than 6 miles) because of the people traffic on the boardwalk and sidewalks. Stop and go, and lots of swerving around people make easy mobility on a 20. The big wheels are MUCH tougher to go up a hill and it might turn you off completely if you start with something bigger than 24. Stopping takes a more effort on a big wheel as well. I think the 24 has the best compromise of maneuverability and distance for crowded areas. You might be able to find a cheap LX on craigslist for under $100 but you might hate the stock seating. Unless you know you are going to love it, thats a strong commitment to spend up to $300 piece of hardware that you just might hate.

Good luck on whatever you choose. I hope you love it.

Sean

[Jerrick]

The Miyata/LX seat is very easy to turn to an air seat or modify the foam in it as well. The cover is held on by metal clips, pry those back about a cm, and the cover comes right off, well, after taking the handle and bumper off too. lol

From there, you can make it an airseat, or modify the foam to a better shape, put a grove it.

Search around for what people have on seats, and youll see tons of possibilities for you to try once/if you ever need to.

[Brian O.]

Originally Posted by Jerrick

The Miyata/LX seat is very easy to turn to an air seat or modify the foam in it as well. The cover is held on by metal clips, pry those back about a cm, and the cover comes right off, well, after taking the handle and bumper off too. lol

From there, you can make it an airseat, or modify the foam to a better shape, put a grove it.

Search around for what people have on seats, and youll see tons of possibilities for you to try once/if you ever need to.

The issue with that is that there isnt much room in the torker cover to convert it to air, you would need a new saddle cover. Also, the foam is so thin already that you can't really modify it to be a better shape

[Jerrick]

Originally Posted by Brian O.

The issue with that is that there isnt much room in the torker cover to convert it to air, you would need a new saddle cover. Also, the foam is so thin already that you can't really modify it to be a better shape

Ive done 4 LX seats to air seat just fine. You use a 12" tube for the Miyata/LX seats, the fit perfectly.