24" MUni vs. 26" MUni

24" Muni's will give you a little more versatility on technical parts
than a 26". But i ride a 26" and a Coker Muni. Once you master the wheel
size the bigger the more speed,distance and fun. I don't feel going from
a 24" to a 26" will feel much different after a short ride. But your
speed and distance will both increase.

Have Fun, I do

--
JustOneWheel - Every One Should Ride One
------------------------------------------------------------------------
JustOneWheel's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9237
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

24"
pros:
more durability
more flexible (*extreme* trials, freestyle, urban, downhill)
3" tire (with less weight)
what the best riders ride
matches the 26" in speed

cons:
small selection of tires
less local availability (LBS)

26"
pros:
seems lighter
WIDE selection of tires
wide selection of rims
??

cons:
less durable
more weight with a cushy 3" tire

--
ChangingLINKS.com - member

Wishing you Happiness, Joy and Laughter,
Drew Brown
'Changing LINKS' (http://www.ChangingLINKS.com)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ChangingLINKS.com's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/5468
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

26" is faster than 24". I can just about keep up with Roger Davies on a
26" until it gets super-technical and he certainly is a bit faster than
me on an equal wheel size.

26" is nicer for riding most mountain bike trails, riding singletrack
etc., 24" is nicer for riding big drops, hopping up things.

I like 26" with a 2.6" tyre because I don't have a car, so I'm often
riding long distances from train stations or from home. The extra 10% or
so (the difference between a fat 24" and a fat 26"😉 does increase the
distance you can do in a day, which makes a bit of difference if you're
wanting to do a lot of riding (40+ miles of trails in a day).

Joe

--
joemarshall - dumb blonde
------------------------------------------------------------------------
joemarshall's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1545
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

crank length plays a role.
skill plays a role

24" and 26" can easily be equivalents in speed.
Except for the fact that tires and rims are common, I see little use for
the 26" size. If you're not going to do much hopping and such might as
well run the 29" 🙂

--
ChangingLINKS.com - member

Wishing you Happiness, Joy and Laughter,
Drew Brown
'Changing LINKS' (http://www.ChangingLINKS.com)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ChangingLINKS.com's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/5468
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

I have a 26" Yuni.

I think the question really comes down to riding style. The 24 will be
better at hopping and gapping; the 26 will be better at rolling
obstacles. I roll. I use a 26".

The comparison to a 29er is ludicrous; there is no similarity at all
between a 29er and a 26x3.0".

--
tholub - Kinetic Sculptor
------------------------------------------------------------------------
tholub's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/804
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

tholub said:

*The comparison to a 29er is ludicrous; there is no similarity at all
between a 29er and a 26x3.0". *

Think before you attack people. The rolling diameter of a 26x3 tire is
usually somewhere around 27.8-28 inches. A 29er is about 29 inches. A
29er will often feel a lot better since the wheel is so much lighter.

--
TheObieOne3226 - SWAT

'SWAT Gallery' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/SWAT)
'SWAT webpage' (singlewheeledattackteam.1hwy.com)
'Arrow Racing' (http://www.arrowracing.com/)
'Sixsixone' (http://www.sixsixone.com)

"Obie is definately a trend setter, I got in to unicycling because of
him, and came here because of him" - KJ-52

"try not to annoy the great Obie, for he is better than us." - Murde
Mental
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TheObieOne3226's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4851
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

TheObieOne3226 said:

*Think before you attack people. The rolling diameter of a 26x3 tire
is usually somewhere around 27.8-28 inches. A 29er is about 29 inches.
A 29er will often feel a lot better since the wheel is so much
lighter. *

I own both a 26x3.0" (Gazz) and a 29x2.1" (NanoRaptor); there is no
similarity at all between the two of them in terms of ride
characteristics. The fact that the tires are similar in diameter is
almost completely irrelevant.

--
tholub - Kinetic Sculptor
------------------------------------------------------------------------
tholub's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/804
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

tholub said:

*I own both a 26x3.0" (Gazz) and a 29x2.1" (NanoRaptor); there is no
similarity at all between the two of them in terms of ride
characteristics. The fact that the tires are similar in diameter is
almost completely irrelevant. *

You're an overly defensive idiot, who is mistaken. CL said that if
you're going to be just rolling you may as well go for a 29er, and I see
merit in his point (I am aware of the smiley).

A 29er is a decent option for XC and light to mid level muni with little
hopping. The more technical the riding gets, the smaller the wheel needs
to be to make the riding easy.

So really a 26x3 is only 1 step below a 29er with a 2.35 tire.

Your claim is that they share no ride characteristics. That is purely
subjective. They obviously share some ride characteristics (one wheel
etc) but you are eliminating the ones you think are insignifigant. This
is where discretion comes in. You may think they ride nothing alike, but
they are more similar than 29er and coker or 29er and 20''. It's just
that your opinion is different from everyone elses.

--
TheObieOne3226 - SWAT

'SWAT Gallery' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/SWAT)
'SWAT webpage' (singlewheeledattackteam.1hwy.com)
'Arrow Racing' (http://www.arrowracing.com/)
'Sixsixone' (http://www.sixsixone.com)

"Obie is definately a trend setter, I got in to unicycling because of
him, and came here because of him" - KJ-52

"try not to annoy the great Obie, for he is better than us." - Murde
Mental
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TheObieOne3226's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4851
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

TheObieOne3226 said:

*You're an overly defensive idiot, who is mistaken. CL said that if
you're going to be just rolling you may as well go for a 29er, and I
see merit in his point (I am aware of the smiley).

A 29er is a decent option for XC and light to mid level muni with
little hopping. The more technical the riding gets, the smaller the
wheel needs to be to make the riding easy.

So really a 26x3 is only 1 step below a 29er with a 2.35 tire.

Your claim is that they share no ride characteristics. That is purely
subjective. They obviously share some ride characteristics (one wheel
etc) but you are eliminating the ones you think are insignifigant.
This is where discretion comes in. You may think they ride nothing
alike, but they are more similar than 29er and coker or 29er and 20''.
It's just that your opinion is different from everyone elses. *

The original poster is asking for the difference between a 24" and a 26"
MUni. Therefore, at least he believes that those things are similar
enough to want to choose between them. It is realistic to expect so,
since they are in the same category on unicycle.com, and they are viewed
in the same way by the riders. At Moab, 80% of the riders are on 24"
wheels, 20% are on 26" wheels, and maybe 1% will be on 29" wheels or
Cokers. (OK, I rode Moab on a 29er in 2003, but I bent a crank and
taco'ed the wheel). For 24 Hours at Laguna Seca, all the riders are on
29ers or Cokers; you won't see 24" or 26" wheels, except perhaps for
night laps.

Obviously you can ride a 29er off-road, and it's just great for some
things. The things it is great for are totally different than the
things a 26x3.0" MUni is good for. Again, I'm speaking as someone who
has put in hundreds of miles on both.

So I am trying to correct some advice that is not only bad, but is
ignorant of the question being asked and the distinction being made.

--
tholub - Kinetic Sculptor
------------------------------------------------------------------------
tholub's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/804
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

Wow! This has got a few people going hasn't it?

Calm down Guy's

Anyway, to the question:

I have a 26" Pashley, and I am planning on getting a 24" Kris Holm
hopefully next month (If they are in stock by then).

I am planning a change for a few reasons; one is that I am climbing
steeper hills now, so I want a better climbing ratio. I also wanted an
upgrade, and 24" seems to have more choice of number of unicycles to
choose from than 26".

I am planning the Freeride Kris Holm 24", for the bigger tyre, and
longer cranks, and the Kris Holm will give me the option of fitting a
brake. Not many 26" unicycles give an option of brake mounts.

I am hoping that the 24" with a 3" tyre will still roll over bumps and
tree roots.

Innes

--
innes - Unicyclist
------------------------------------------------------------------------
innes's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9123
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

You know how a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, riding one of
each would be worth a million. If you come to Moab, I'll let you try
out my 24" Wilder and a 26" Yuni. Both are great for certain things,
but they're very different.

Most experienced riders agree, however, that a 24" MUni works better in
most MUni situations. I certainly do feel that way. But, it's a
personal decision that should be made with consideration given to where
and how you tend to ride. Good luck!

--
elmer - uniimpaired

"At 40 life begins...to show."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
elmer's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/5193
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

Rather than argue back and forth about inches (especially since mine is
longer anyway :o ) perhaps tholub will enlighten us all on the
*significant* differences in riding characteristics between a 26" and a
29" while keeping in mind his quotes:

1. "there is no similarity at all between the two of them in terms of
ride characteristics."
2. "the 26 will be better at rolling obstacles. I roll."

I think the root of this conflict is *skill.*
Even though tholub claims to have ridden hundreds of miles on both wheel
sizes, I recall an observation:

For those who can't ride very well, *equipment makes all the
difference.* a carbon fiber seat, a millimeter in crank length, a single
pound of weight, .4 inches of tire width, 2" of diameter, the amount of
[censored] in the intestines and bloodstream, and the average heart rate on
Wednesday.

For those who can ride . . . Well, let me stop right there: Observe
several Kris Holm clips where he uses a 26" to do trials at a level
beyond 99% of the 20" riders. In contrast, the better riders rarely (if
ever) whine about minor equipment differences.

With that . . .
I retract my request for clarification from tholub. After reasonable
consideration, I realize that his opinions about minor changes in
attributes - simply don't matter.

Back on topic:

Original *weissnp* question:
"Hey I was wondering what the difference was between having a 24" or 26"
wheel on a MUni. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Nathan"

At MOAB I noticed that the the best riders were on 24".
The benefit to riding a 24" is obvious - you get to take advantage of
the insight of the greatest riders. Otherwise, you may end up *short*
(pun intended) and . . .

. . posting comments and personal attacks like tholub.

--
ChangingLINKS.com - member

Wishing you Happiness, Joy and Laughter,
Drew Brown
'Changing LINKS' (http://www.ChangingLINKS.com)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ChangingLINKS.com's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/5468
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

Hey guys, you really need to take a breather before you respond with
such scathing messages. Tom used the word ludicrious as an adjective to
describe a comparison. ...maybe a little strong of an adjective, but
still nothing close to the downright hateful stuff you guys came back
with.

You guys responded with personal attacks. That's really not cool, and it
happens way too often here.

Especially when you're calling someone an idiot and insulting their
skill for describing their personal experiences and riding style (just
because you hop everything, it doesn't mean you're more skillful than
someone who can roll the same obstacles), especially when you don't even
counter with your own experiences.

Having ridden all three styles of unicycles (yesterday actually), I can
say that I would offer almost the exact same opinions as Tom. Of COURSE
it's subjective. Opinions always are.

A true debate would be interesting. Having differing opinions and
experiences would help everybody see different perspectives.

Insults and name calling are base and have no place here.

Seriously people, raise the standard around here a little.

--
mscalisi - Not such a newbie anymore
------------------------------------------------------------------------
mscalisi's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4961
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

i ride a 24" muni and am switching to 26" for speed/rollover effect. i
do not think that the weight will make that much difference when trying
to hop, also since a 26" can weigh less that a 24" depending of what
parts it has.

Also, i am going to side with Obie on the argument, because riding
characteristics are purely subjective. ive ridding many wheel sizes, and
for good comparison on this subject i would ride a 170mm coker like
Mackenzies and a short cranked MUni, like frank brown's 24" muni with
145mm profiles. similarities are apparent, as well as differences.

also, i'm poor. someone buy my stuff. for infinity munnies.

--
shadowuni - Crispety, crunchety, peanut-buttery

"No one is taller than the last man standing"
My Give-A-Damn's Busted
"Bullets! My only weakness! How did you know?" - Cop
"Imagine what you'll know tomorrow" - Agent K, M.I.B.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
shadowuni's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4806
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

mscalisi said:

*Hey guys, you really need to take a breather before you respond with
such scathing messages. Tom used the word ludicrious as an adjective
to describe a comparison. ...maybe a little strong of an adjective,
but still nothing close to the downright hateful stuff you guys came
back with.

You guys responded with personal attacks. That's really not cool, and
it happens way too often here.

Especially when you're calling someone an idiot and insulting their
skill for describing their personal experiences and riding style
(just because you hop everything, it doesn't mean you're more skillful
than someone who can roll the same obstacles), especially when you
don't even counter with your own experiences.

Having ridden all three styles of unicycles (yesterday actually), I
can say that I would offer almost the exact same opinions as Tom. Of
COURSE it's subjective. Opinions always are.

A true debate would be interesting. Having differing opinions and
experiences would help everybody see different perspectives.

Insults and name calling are base and have no place here.

Seriously people, raise the standard around here a little. *

I'll admit I was a little quick to jump into attack mode. I was just
[censored] by the way his responses had an "I'm right and everyone
else's opinion isn't worth my time" vibe. Oh wells, I disagree with what
he said, I can move on.

In the future though, please note the disclaimer in my signature. That
gives me free reign to say anything I wish without fear of the
consequences. 🙂

--
TheObieOne3226 - SWAT

'SWAT Gallery' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/SWAT)
'SWAT webpage' (singlewheeledattackteam.1hwy.com)
'Arrow Racing' (http://www.arrowracing.com/)
'Sixsixone' (http://www.sixsixone.com)

"Obie is definately a trend setter, I got in to unicycling because of
him, and came here because of him" - KJ-52

"try not to annoy the great Obie, for he is better than us." - Murde
Mental
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TheObieOne3226's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4851
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

I ride a 26x3" (Nimbus). When I bought it I had never ridden with any
other unicyclists, so had to make the choice based on what I would use
it for. I would refer to most of my off-road riding as cross-country
rather than technical muni, but there are some rocky sections where I
ride, so I wanted something reasonably strong. I ended up going for the
26" because it would be (in theory) slightly faster on the easier bits
of trail but still rideable when it gets rougher. And I'm happy with my
choice, although I have still not ridden a 24" muni. I'm not a greatly
skilled rider (yet 😄) and I'm sure there are lots of people who could
spin shorter cranks on a 24" and leave me standing, but I feel the 26"
suits me better at the moment. As for the weight argument, I really
don't think it would be that noticeable - extra bits on a 26" are two 1"
lengths of frame tube and about 6" section of tyre and rim, oh and 36"
of spoke wire. I know it's a heavy tyre, but I reckon the lot must
weigh less than half a pound. When the whole unicycle weighs in at
between 15 and 20 lbs it's not that significant. I agree with the point
that a smaller wheel may well be better for very technical riding
though.

Not really on the original poster's topic, but for my riding (which
usually includes some road as well as the trails) an even larger wheel
like a 29" (possibly with shorter cranks than the 165s I have at the
moment) would probably be even better, but with my current skill level
the extra speed would frighten me and I would be afraid of damaging the
lighter wheel on the rocky sections of the paths.

Anyway, enough waffle... the point is that I chose a 26" and it suits
my riding style very well.

Rob

--
rob.northcott - Unofficial level 2, on a good day
------------------------------------------------------------------------
rob.northcott's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7436
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

I wish I could make it to Moab but I have no way of getting out there.
Just to tell you all I have a 24" Qu-ax MUni (which is very nice 🙂 ).
The point of this thread was to get some info for a friend who is
building his own muni, and since no one around here rides a 26" we were
wondering what the differance was.

Nathan

--
weissnp - Look mom no hands!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
weissnp's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9347
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

TheObieOne3226 said:

*In the future though, please note the disclaimer in my signature.
That gives me free reign to say anything I wish without fear of the
consequences. 🙂 *

Disclaimers are for used car salesmen, sketchy pharmaceuticals, weasels
and lawyers.

---

What I'm wondering is the performance of a 24" vs. 26" on really steep
stuff. Granted, I should probably get a brake, but sans brake, would
one have more control with a smaller or larger wheel? I'm finding there
are some sections of my favorite trails I just can't roll 'cause my 24"
gets a bit too squirrely...

--
maestro8 - Mad Scientists for World Domination

Those are my principles. If you don't like those, I have others. --
Groucho Marx
------------------------------------------------------------------------
maestro8's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/7871
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029

Most of the guys who do insanely steep stuff run 24" MUnis, but I don't
think it's for that reason. The 26" definitely tends to be a little
more stable when riding on loose downhills, less likely to be bumped off
its line, but it's also a little harder to control, harder to get it
onto that one narrow bit you're aiming for. The 26" is an extra inch or
so off the ground, so pedal hits are somewhat less of a problem, but the
24" is more maneuverable in tight situations.

Really I don't think the difference is all that large; you can switch
back and forth between 24" and 26" and not really adjust your style
much, and be able to ride pretty much the same stuff.

--
tholub - Kinetic Sculptor
------------------------------------------------------------------------
tholub's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/804
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/39029