Welcome back Joseph! He says he's back after a six-year hiatus. He was
the winner of the first Long Jump competition we ever had at the USA
convention (1999) and used to attend the earlier California MUni
Weekends.
By his description it looks like he's more interested in custom
building than buying "off the shelf" though I don't know if he's looked
at the cycles that are on the market now. Here are some answers to some
of the questions he emailed to me, that I hadn't gotten back to him
on:
1. So you think 9 feet is the record? thats a good jump. flat
ground?
There's a video on the forums of a guy doing a jump of reportedly 9',
8", over a gap. That's not official, but it's farther than whatever the
official competition record is.
2. "Hotter", you mean unicycling was more popular right?
Unicycling, especially in the area of Trials and Street riding, has
gotten enormously more popular in the last few years. There's a lot
more competition for you today, which explains why you actually have
several brands of very good unicycles to choose from, without having to
go custom unless you want to.
3. I want to jump down stairs and do some stuff that requires some
speed like the long jump. Basically get up to par with these riders
now but in my own style, skill and flow. Also, I feel unstable on a 20
incher.
If your focus will be on tricks and jumpy-type stuff, 20" is what most
people are using. 24" (or larger) for riding trails, which can include
lots of crazy stuff as well, but in the world of straight Trials and
Street, everybody's on a 20". But that of course is up to you. Click
around the forums, especially the video forum, to see what people are
showing off.
4. SO where are all the specs on these unicycles? like weight, slop,
and tire size.
http://www.unicycle.uk.com/ has a page that compares all the splined
hubs, and another page that compares only the ISIS-standard ones. But I
can't find those pages! Anybody know the link, or where to find similar
stats? Beyond that, your best bet is to try to figure out what
components you want to use, then get the specs for those specific
ones.
5. you mentioned Qu-ax, Koxx? whats that?
Those are brands. Koxx is sold in the US through 'Renegade Juggling'
(http://www.renegadejuggling.com/Web_store/rev3k/index.html). Qu-ax
products are available through UDC and elsewhere.
6. Do you know which uni has the largest tire?
Tires are made by tire companies. Currently they still top out at 3" (I
think), though we've been waiting a few years for a super-wide Large
Marge, which I believe will be closer to 4". The 'Surly Conundrum'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=1005) was designed to
fit this tire, but the tire's still not on the market yet...
7. why do the hunters and the dm unicycles cost more? what is better so
that people are willing to spend more than twice as much?
They're not necessarily better, they were *first.* DM, Hunter and
Wilder frames are hand made, by people who live in places with a high
cost of living. The KH frames are factory-made in Taiwan, but they were
*designed* by Kris Holm himself so I trust their strength and quality.
Notice how UDC says "only two left" on the DMs? That's because they
haven't ordered any new ones in years, and are hoping some collectors
will take a liking to those last ones. They've been surpassed by
cheaper unicycles that are arguably better, or at least equal in
quality.
I still recommend the 'KH MUni'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=951) for now, unless
you're completely set on having something custom made. Then I'd start
by researching the hub and tire, and then contacting 'Rick Hunter'
(http://www.huntercycles.com/) as a great framebuilder.
--
johnfoss
John Foss
Email: "jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com
-----------------------------------------------
"pretty much every trail that we've done on the California or Moab Muni
weekends is an XC trail." -- Kris Holm, on XC from a North Shore point
of view
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