Help- Buying a Uni.

Generally the best place to buy is unicycle.com, but if you know and like
you local bike shop then buy there. At least have a look at unicycle.com.
http://members.tripod.com/~MarshT/index.html has some good information on
learning.
http://www.unicycling.org/unicycling/howtoride.html also has good info.

Jim

"ParadoX" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hey,

I'm new to this board and unicycling. I'm 14 and have never unicycled in
my life- yet I would really like to. Could anyone tell me what would be
a good company to buy from and the price range it entails? That would be
a good help. Also whats the best place to learn how to? Thats all for
now!

Peace!

-ParadoX

P.S There is a bike shop near where I live that has a uni selling for
$70, it seems decent and I trust and know the people that work there.
Would this be a good buy? I'm not sure what the maker of the UNI is but
it seems to be made well.

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ParadoX
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Hey alright. Thanks alot. But there still remains the question on where
the best place for learning. From what I have read the tennis court is
the best place. If this is true-What convience, we have 6 of them near
our house. Also how do you manage to turn on a UNI? Theres like no way
of doing it with your pedals, do you lean or what? Hard to belive people
have perfected the way of balancing on 1 wheel!

-ParadoX

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ParadoX

-"There is nothing to fear but fear its self."
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Lean to turn and also use your hips. Anywhere to learn works, I learned
in front my house using 2 chairs to start up then just went 1/2 a pedal
then fell. Repeated that for 8 hours slowly getting more pedal turns and
it worked fine for me. Taught me how to jump off the uni also 🙂 My
jumping still needs practice, I've hurt my back, hands, knees, ass, and
elbows from falling already.

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Gobd
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ParadoX said:

* Also how do you manage to turn on a UNI? Theres like no way of doing
it with your pedals, do you lean or what? Hard to belive people have
perfected the way of balancing on 1 wheel!

-ParadoX *

[censored], Gobd beat me to it, oh well:
I turn either by leaning or pivoting. When you are learning, its usually
easier to lean. You will probably discover fast that in the beginning
its easy to turn, but unintentionally and not in the direction you want
to go. For me, by the time I could ride straight pretty confidently, I
was able to turn without much effort. Just out of curiosity, what part
of California do you live in?

--
litldude2 - Spencer
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ParadoX-

Try to get a unicycle with main cap bearings, not lollipop bearings. If
you're short, get one with a 20" wheel to learn. If you're tall, get one
with a 24" wheel which is faster and more versatile.

Avoid the Savage brand which is a name that applies quite well to the
saddle...it is savage. Unicycle.com was trying to unload Savage saddles
for $5 each in lots of three at one time. Savage unicycles also have
lollipop bearings which are not replaceable.

Torker is an excellent introductory brand. The old Torker saddle is
designed for children and is quite small. The newer ones may have more
reasonable saddles. Torker makes a line of unicycles some of which have
very good saddles but the one you're talking about, $70 at your LBS,
probably doesn't have the good saddle.

Learning to unicycle is about determination, not balance. The average
learning time is in the 10 to 20 hour range. That is the point at which
most people can ride 100 meters on flat, smooth pavement with relative
consistency.

Keep your weight on the seat. Repeat that to yourself constantly as you
learn. Look ahead, not at the wheel. Try to maintain good posture. Try
to make round, smooth pedal strokes. Try to ride until you fall rather
than chicken out and step off. Set your saddle to the same height you
would for a bicycle but perhaps 1/2 inch to an inch lower. Did I say
keep your weight on the seat? Did I say it again? Seriously, repeat it
to yourself constantly as you learn.

Any flat, smooth area is a good place to learn. Gymnasia, tennis courts,
indoor or outdoor parking lots, or a sidewalk or driveway to start. Good
luck. You will be a rider in a few hours.

--
harper - Fountainhead

-Greg Harper

B L U E S H I F T

"You go through life and you choose." - Greg Harper

"Find weak people and take stuff from them" - Greg Harper
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ParadoX - Check out mine and Andrew Carters website -
www.unicycle.2ya.com its completley based on unicycling tips & tutorials
and you may find it very helpful, it has written and video tips for all
levels, so will help you while your learning, and as you get into tricks
etc. anyway take a look and it may help you.
cheers
Peter

--
munimanpete - mocacycle

WWW.MUNIMAN.2YA.COM

*www.unicycle.2ya.com*
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If you're trying to just get by with an inexpensive "trainer" unicycle,
you might want to check into the Gravity brand that uni_farmer was
looking into buying;

http://tinyurl.com/459wq

--
Krashin'Kenny - Crash Tested

If you ain't crashing, you ain't going fast enough!!!!!!!!!!!

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Hey thanks everybody. And I live in the bay area of california (near
Oakland but not that near). So I'm guessing that $70 for a UNI is a good
buy?

-ParadoX

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ParadoX

-"There is nothing to fear but fear its self."
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munimanpete,
that is one good and well put together website. I am a webmaster after
all. Accually I'm more of the computer hacker than anything else. Like
this PERL program.

#!/usr/bin/perl

$in= <STDIN>;
print "The first program I ever wrote in perl!";
print "Do you think so? $in";
chomp {$in};
😄
Well thanks for the link, I am sure to be riding soon!

-ParadoX

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ParadoX

-"There is nothing to fear but fear its self."
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ParadoX said:

*Also how do you manage to turn on a UNI? Theres like no way of doing
it with your pedals, do you lean or what?*

You will figure out turning as you learn to ride straight. Most people
tend to drift to one side or the other at first.

Remember, airplanes turn, with nothing to push against except air. Cats
flip over on their way to the ground, and almost always land on their
feet. Don't worry about turning--yet.

Before buying at your local shop, you might want to check out what's
available at Unicycle.com where you can see many unicycle types in one
place. Having a choice gives you more power in knowing what you want.

Beyond that, my main advice if you look in the stores is to avoid these
two things:

- Seats with metal bars front and back. The bars aren't so bad, but the
seats they are on are just bad seats. Could be Savage or other brands.

- Lolipop bearings. This is a bearing holder that's attached to the
unicycle by two bolts that screw into the side of the fork tubing. You
don't tighten bolts against non-flat surfaces. That's why this type of
bearing attachment is a future problem waiting to happen. Torker and
other inexpensive brands should have two vertical bolts, clamping the
bearing to the end of the fork.

The tennis court is good. Anyplace you can grab a fence or wall with
pavement next to it.

--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com

"It's good to find something that makes boys into men and men into boys,
my opinion is that unicycling fits the bill." -- Lloyd Johnson

"Read the rules!"
'IUF Rulebook' (http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/)
'USA Rulebook' (http://www.unicycling.org/usa/competition/)
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i got a torker from unicycle.com, and its held up with a lot of abuse
that ive put it thru. however, i havn't taken any big drops with it, cuz
torker axels suck.

--
gasmaster - level 4 unicyclist

Real men only need 1 wheel.
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