What is the best wheel size?

[danielx129]

I want to know hat is the best wheel size for doing tricks but also riding long distances! I prefer a 24". Is this good?



Can someone please reply thanks!!!

[anton005]

the one you are on

[johnfoss]

20" is by far the most common size for unicycle tricks, as seen in Freestyle competitions and general playing around. For Street and Flat riding, it's 19" or 20", which are in fact about the same size, but the fatter tires make for heavier wheels.

That said, you can also do lots of cool stuff on a 24" wheel. Up to the mid-1980s, more (Americans) were using 24" for Freestyle. This was in part due to the simplicity of having a single wheel size for track and tricks. In fact, it was usually a single unicycle. Then you had different ones, like giraffes, for parades or other forms of showing off. Big wheel unicycles existed, but they were handmade and not great for road riding. The shift toward 20" was perhaps started by the guys from Sweden that came to the American conventions in 1981, 83 and 84. These were the guys that invented coasting, gliding, seat drag and several quick-move tricks that made more sense on a lighter, smaller wheel. Then in 1984 Peter Rosendahl (also from Sweden) won the Men's Freestyle at the first world championships, also on a 20". I made the switch from 24 to 20 during the early part of '84, and won the Freestyle at Unicons II, III and IV on a 20". By then, 20" was a much more common wheel size for Freestyle.

Meanwhile, Freestyle was just getting started in Japan, on a mix of 20" and 24". Not sure what people were using in Europe for Freestyle/tricks. Unicycling was a lot less developed then.

You can also do tricks on smaller wheels, but unless you're a small child, anything under 20" is problematic due to pedals hitting the ground, and generally lower quality rims & tires in those sizes.