A newbie's question

This is the place to ask any questions about unicycling.

Describes this part of the forums, so here's my question.
I don't unicycle at all yet. My boyfriend unicycles. (I'll try to get
him online, although I doubt he will be very active on these forums.)
I want to try unicycling, and I'm willing to pay for a uni. He
recommended a Torker Unistar LX 20-inch to learn on, but the website I
checked said to buy one that matched my inseam, which is between 32 and
33 inches: it recommends a 26-inch uni for me. I would like to know
whether to buy the Torker Unistar LX 20-inch or to buy a 26-inch uni.


--
duckspice
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Get the 24 inch Torker LX
I had my new friend buy one for $99 at unicycle.com cause it's more
durable and easier to learn.


--
leadpan

"Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever" - Lance Armstrong
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Supposedly the 20" is good for learning. The 26" might be a little big
for learning. Personally, I learnt on a 20" that was too short for me,
then I traded up for a 24". The big thing is to make sure the seatpost
isn't too high, that's beena common problem I've seen. I've got a few
friends who have had to cut down the seatposts on their uni's so they
could ride them. Have you tried your bf's, and if so was it
comfortable? If it's not too big/small, get something the same size.

Which hicktown area are you in? I grew up in the Laconia region, and
my parents still live there.


--
evil-nick

Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total
obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and
through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see
its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will
remain.

* Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear.

I'm late for checkers with the Dalai Lama!

My gallery:
http://evil.linuxfreak.ca/uni.html
Our Club:
http://cs.ubishops.ca/~buuc/
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Nick, you grew up in Laconia? How come I never saw you riding your uni?
I've been here my entire life!


--
Brian O.
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I live in Boscawen, but I hope to be moving to New York city in the
spring.

I will buy a 20" if it's best for learning. How long could you ride
your 20" before you bought a 24"?


--
duckspice

Practice makes perfect, only I'm mildly dyslexic. Please bear with me.
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I would agree that a 20" would be easier to learn on, although I learned
to ride on a 24". I am 6'5" and I prefer riding the 20" Torker LX
(because it's newer, more comfy seat, more maneuverable, trials,
freestlye). Sometimes, if I have to go somewhere within 3 miles,
instead of driving, I ride my 24" Torker CX, but I suffer a sore
perineum afterwards (stock seat :'( ). The LX, on the other hand, has a
Miyata-style seat that makes me orgasm (when compared to the CX seat).

CONCLUSION:
_Get_the_20\"_Torker_LX_. It is durable enough for you to get a really
good grasp of the sport, and cheap enough to make you want to learn.

PS: Go girl unicyclists!

there aren't enough of you.


...you aren't a gay male not-yet-unicyclist are you?


--
burjzyntski

It's no good being Polish unless you prove it once a day.

"Every silver lining has a touch of gray."
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I said Laconia -region- I actually grew up in Sanbornton, but most
people look at you and go "wha?" to which I reply "East Bumfsck"

I didn't actually start riding till I was in college, and that's up
here in Lennoxville.

The 20" was too small, the big challenge going to the 24" was having
something the right size. After that I went to a 24" muni. Each time
there's a period of adjustment. The 20" was too small, so I didn't
ride much, and I was a poor student so I never bought a new one A
friend gave me an abandoned 24" from the Northfield Police they'd had 2
years, and that sealed it for me .

It took me about 30 min to get used to the 24" (and I could barely ride
anyways) and another 30 min to get comfortable on the muni. Once you
get the basics down, being able to freemount, ride, etc, it's mostly
just getting used to a new uni. Since I got my muni I've tried 20"
freestyle, 20" trials, different 24", and even a 16" and 12" uni. I
might not freemount 1st try, but after a couple tries I can usually
ride Don't worry about transitioning from one size to another,
that's the easy part

Side note, even though I'm from Sanbornton, there's at least 2
unicyclists there... The wife of the maintenance guy from my HS, and a
kid who lives about 5 min from my parents. Another guy I went to HS
with rides, though I didn't know until 7 years after grad And the
family down the street from my parents sold me a 24" uni at a yard sale
this past summer. There's prolly a bunch of uni-ists in Laconia...
they prolly just don't that there are any others...Actually, now that I
think of it I know of a set of twins who ride, either in Laconia or
Meredith. They're not on the forums, and I only met them once or twice
through a friend but didn't know they rode There's more of us than
you'd think!


--
evil-nick

Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total
obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and
through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see
its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will
remain.

* Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear.

I'm late for checkers with the Dalai Lama!

My gallery:
http://evil.linuxfreak.ca/uni.html
Our Club:
http://cs.ubishops.ca/~buuc/
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Ah I see. I've yet to meet any more here. Although my friend and I went
up to gunstock the other day. We rode down the smith and phelps ski
slope trails, it was a blast, which trail do you recommend?


--
Brian O.
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On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 18:14:23 -0500, duckspice wrote:

This is the place to ask any questions about unicycling.

Absolutely! Your question is excellently at its place here.

He recommended a Torker Unistar LX 20-inch to learn on

In general that sounds like a good suggestion.

but the website I
checked said to buy one that matched my inseam, which is between 32 and
33 inches: it recommends a 26-inch uni for me.

Which website is that? For beginners (except for young children) I
would recommend 20" or 24" to learn on, also for very tall people. A
longer seatpost works wonders for them.

20" is somewhat easier to learn on than 24". But don't let that guide
you too much. The size of wheel should be more chosen based on what
you want to do with it once you can ride.

More info for you on my Tips for Beginners page:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~klaasbil/uni_beginners.htm

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
"dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it, dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it, *dit* diddle dit dit *dit* diddle dit dit, diddle-diddle-diddle-diddle-dit dit diddle diddle dit dit did-it,... - Spudman"

Um, yeah, listen to Klaas. The wheel size has nothing to do with the
rider's height. Whichever website you were reading should be notified
to remove any such statement to the contrary.

Wheel size is dependent on how fast you want to go versus how technical
you want to ride. The two are inversely proportional. The bigger the
wheel, the faster you go, but the less technical you can be. The
smaller the wheel, the slower you go, but the more technical you can
be.

Thus, here's a table based on which style (level of technicality vs.
speed):

*Freestyle & Trials (lowest speed, highest technique): 20'' wheel
*Street (low speed, mid technique): 20" or 24" wheel, it depends on
you.
*Muni (mid speed, mid technique): 24" wheel
*Urban Commuting (high speed, low technique): 26", 28", or 29", depends
on how fast you need to go vs. how many obstacles you'll have to avoid
*Distance Riding (highest speed, lowest technique): 36" wheel

The only thing that relates to your inseam is the seatpost height. If
you are really tall, get an extension. If you are really short, cut
the post down to size. If you are average, just get out and ride.

That being said, forget about your inseam and consider which style from
the list above you'll want to ride. If you don't know, you should
probably go with a 24" beginner uni for around $100. That's what many
of us did when we started.


--
hecklar
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