Would a UDC trials unicycle work for Muni for an 8 year old?

[peter.bier]

Hi all,

I've got someone who is looking for a good off road unicycle for their 8 year old daughter. Their daughter just fits on a 20" unicycle, so we thought a basic trials unicycle might work well.

Has anyone got any experience with 8 year olds and trials unis as a Muni? I have seen a few 7 year olds riding KH20s but my main concern is that a UDC trials unicycle is a bit heavier and may be too heavy for an 8 year girl.

Looking forward to your comments.

Peter

[johnfoss]

I don't know about the specific equipment vs. the specific little girl, but otherwise I've got two words for you: Beau. Hoover.

He started riding MUni at age 8 or 9, and for years he kept up, then led the way, on his little 20" Trials.

When he graduated to a 24" wheel he really started kicking our butts.

[brendan]

Originally Posted by peter.bier

Has anyone got any experience with 8 year olds and trials unis as a Muni? I have seen a few 7 year olds riding KH20s but my main concern is that a UDC trials unicycle is a bit heavier and may be too heavy for an 8 year girl.

Actually a basic UDC trials like this :

http://www.unicycle.uk.com/unicycles...-unicycle.html

is 5.3kg. A KH 20 is 5.55kg. If you want ISIS cranks on the UDC trials i think it's 200g more than a KH20, but I hardly think this will be noticeable or neccessary for an 8yr old.

In other thoughts, are you sure a 19" trials wheel is the best option? The tyre is much heavier so turning the wheel is alot harder. Maybe it would be better to get a 20" with a knobbly tyre... I've seen a few kids on those that did muni on them quite well. It's not like she's going to be doing 1m drops and 50cm hops, so I doubt the trials tyre will be much use.

Good luck!

[johnfoss]

BTW, small kids don't need splined hubs. At least not until they're going big and putting big shocks on. Beau's old 20" (maybe it was a 19") was square taper. Of course splined was pretty cutting-edge at the time, and expensive, but he never needed it until he, and his uni, got bigger.

[unicycledood]

UDC trials are pretty light... I think it'll work. I have 8 year olds riding on UDC trials uni's, not extreme bunny hopping and drops etc haha buuut I think it should work?

[DavidHood]

I'm thinking, once she gets tall enough, about buying UDC's 20" Freestyle Club for my 8 year old daughter to learn on. It has a fairly thin 1.95" Kenda Kikzumbut tire to reduce rolling resistance. When she starts tearing up the trails in our yard, I will get her something a little more knobby. For now, I am trying to give her the best chance to succeed by providing her with the right equipment. It's not easy raising your own riding partners. I try to make learning fun. Patience is a virtue!