Which is better

how tall are you?
what are you using your unicycle for?
can you even ride yet?

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im 5,5 or 5,6
havent got a unicycle yet just doing "research" i plan on getting one in
the next week or so

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Get a Coker (36"😉.

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why? may i ask? im not really into 36' it seems way to big

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Because if you try to learn on a 36" you will get a lot of extra support
from this forum.
Also, it can be used for muni, distance riding and let's not forget
"rolling trials competitions."
People who have them, swear by 'em.

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The accepted wisdom is that average sized or small people buy a 20
first; taller people may buy a 24 first. The accepted wisdom is not
always right, but it's always a good starting point.

On the whole, it's easier to learn on a less intimidating machine - a
20. On the whole, the 20 will be cheaper, more portable, easier to
store, and easier to sell if you don't take to it. Like guitars and
rowing machines, most unicycles are put in the shed, garage or
understair cupboard after the first few weeks, and forgotten.

On the other hand, if you DO take to unicycling (which we all hope) then
you will develop your own preferences as you learn to ride. Soem love
the technical challenge of learning specific skills; some get into
performance and circus skills; some like the challenge of difficult
trials moves (hopping onto and off things); others prefer the extremes
of mountain unicycling, or the challenge of cross country or distance
riding.

When you know what your style is, you will know what you want as your
second uni. But you will always have room in your fleet for a 20,
because it's portable, easy to store, manoeuvreable, light and fun. And
you can use it for teaching friends to ride.

So the good move for a beginner of about average size is to buy a mid
market 20. Upgrade or modify it over the first few months (pedals,
cranks, seat, as required) then buy a second unicycle that really suits
you.

Then a third, fourth and fifth...

Cokers are great fun. However, they are an acquired taste. People have
had them as a first unicycle, and learned on them. They are the
exception. I have a Coker, 28, 26 and 20. I find I ride the 28 most
often **at the moment**.

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Get a 20" uni to start with....and don't worry about going splined yet,
you don't know if you'll need splined in the future so it's not worth
taking out an investment quite yet. Look on
url=unicycle.com]unicycledotcom[/url] for a 20" Torker LX, most people
agree that's pretty much the best beginner unicycle.

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Neither is "better". For a good answer, you should provide more
information about what kind of riding you want to do. Eg. 20 inchers are
better for learning skills, but a 24" is better if you actually want to
go anywhere.

36ers are awesome, but not a good place to start. (were you being
sarcastic Drew?)

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mscalisi said:

*36ers are awesome, but not a good place to start. (were you being
sarcastic Drew?) *

On one hand, I was being sarcastic.
On the other, I was being serious.

Remember how much support was written for the lady who was trying to
learn on a Coker? (Lots of people are probably wondering what ever
happened with her, besides the fact that she did some practice on a
smaller wheel.)

I've also learned that often times it's best to overkill by starting
the learning process "the difficult way" and then trimming back to use
an "easier" solution.

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Some general points for this and other similar threads.

It strikes me that it is a bad symptom of our consumer society that so
many people thinking of getting their first unicycle worry so much about
the exact specification, even down to whether the hub is splined or not,
before they even know how to ride. It is the same in every action
sport.

We've all seen bicyclists on mountainbikes with front/rear suspension,
21 gears etc. etc. rising easy forest trails at 10 mph. I used to do
kayaking and see people in highly technical boats barely able to paddle.
I was once diving with a novice (on his first sea dive) and he had to
abort the dive because he had too much equipment and couldn't cope with
the weight and bulk. In fencing, I've seen keen beginners buy foils
with totally inappropriate grips, long before they have the basic skills
to use a conventional grip.

Does it matter? Yes, because sometimes the technical equipment is
harder to use than the simple stuff, and sometimes the beginner resents
the money "wasted" on a toy they can't use.

Examples: would a complete beginner benefit from learning on a uni with
aggressively pinned pedals? Would a fat squidgy low pressure knobbly
tyre make it easier for a beginner to learn basic skills like idling?
Is a handle essential? Not if you can't ride without waving your arms
about!

I'm sure that it is true that the vast majority of unicycles sold in the
world are consigned to the shed after a couple of weeks.

In any action sport, it is far better to get a reasonable but cheap
basic bit of kit, learn to use it, and then develop a genuine
understanding of what upgrades will suit your own particular needs.

And the responses: many of the people in this forum are very very keen
riders, some with amazing levels of skill and commitment. It's tempting
to answer this sort of question from our present position (yes, splined
hubs are better; the KH saddle is "essential"; don't buy one that can't
cope with 10 foot drops, etc.) This forum is a fantastic resource,
but it would be even better if beginners received advice pitched at
their level.

As for splined hubs, for example, I have in my career owned 10
unicycles, although I'm now down to 4 that I regularly use. I ride 10
miles regularly, and sometimes 20 or more miles. I ride cross country
and light muni as well as on the roads. I have never had a uni with
splined hubs, and never damaged a hub or a crank (except for the time I
fitted the cranks on the wrong sides:o )

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Mikefule is only half right.
I did exactly the opposite of everything he wrote.
I did extensive research upfront and then bought the single uni that
meets my needs.
I admit, I have evolved the uni (as stuff breaks) but for the most part,
I bought the tool that I wanted to end up using from the start.

The point is that there are different approaches.
SOME beginners want to buy the beginner (extra) 20" uni and slowly
grow.
Others, like me, take a bigger leap of faith.

The way I see it, it's OK to have the best equipment possible - even for
mild use.

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ChangingLINKS.com said:

*
The way I see it, it's OK to have the best equipment possible - even
for mild use. *

Best quality equipment, yes. Within reason, or we'd all be riding £1000
machines, which I, for one, don't.

Most appropriate equipment, yes. The best MUni in the world is less
appropriate for freestyle or road riding than a more general machine.

As in Darwinism: survival of the fittest, often misinterpreted as
meaning strongest, fastest, most fierce - but really meaning, "the best
fitted (suited) for its niche".

Unicycling is such a broad church. The skills, equipment and
temperament needed for each discipline vary so much. When I started to
get seriously into riding, about 4 years ago (after many years of
occasional riding), I never dreamed I get the most pleasure from riding
a road unicycle (28x32, 110s) cross country. More challenging than a
Coker on the same routes, and more versatile than the 26 on the road
sections.

One of my other sports is fencing. Almost all begineers who take up the
sport with some prior knowledge and commitment assume that they will
enjoy epée or sabre most. It's only when they've done some foil that
they appreciate it for what it is. Most people who stick with fencing
stick mainly with foil, but most who try fencing give up within a year.
I suspect a similar phenomenon exists in unicycling.

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i like to tell people to learn on a 24 inch. its as easy as a 20, with
the proper frame can hold a fatter tire if you're curious about muni,
can do lots of freestyle, and has a little momentum to the wheel which i
thought was helpful when learning. then again i'm 6'4.

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well i can tell you that 3 of my friends shorter than me im 5'10" they
all leanred on 24's and one who is as tall as me learned on my 28 so i
think its all opinion..

Chase

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When I first got into unicycling about 6 months ago, after seeing some
awesome trials videos, I went straight to eBay and bought a 24" Torker
CX. I had no idea that there was such a large unicycling community, so
many different styles of riding, or even the difference between splined
and unsplined hubs. I would not recommend getting the Torker CX to learn
on, especially if you want it to last a while. My cranks come loose
quite often and I find that I need to carry a socket wrench with me if I
want to ride it for more than a mile , or else stop and finger-tighten
it every few hundred feet.

When I switched from the 24" to my new 20" LX, I noticed a few drastic
changes; the 20" moves much slower than the 24" but is much lighter and
has a stronger wheel (I taco'ed the 24" once at a playground). I know
now that I am a trials/street person, and, until I get a Coker, I will
remain as such.

I agree with Mikefule completely, you can have an expensive
top-of-the-line machine, but it's still -you- that has to ride it, so
definately get one to suit your needs. I am 6'5", about 170lbs, and my
Torker LX suits my needs perfectly. I know that there are better
unicycles out there, but I don't see any reason to spend $1500 on a
unicycle when my $150 unicycle still works just fine.

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burjzyntski said:

* My cranks come loose quite often and I find that I need to carry a
socket wrench with me if I want to ride it for more than a mile , or
else stop and finger-tighten it every few hundred feet.*

I have been riding just over a month and I learned pretty quick on a 24"
Torker CX. After the first few days or so (that is, after I was able to
ride more than 5 feet!) I noticed my cranks would come loose often too.
I studied the uni a bit and found the problem and a very simple
solution: rotate the seat 180 degrees! 🙂 Since the change, I haven't
had to tighten the cranks once, even tho I ride every day.

For the record, I borrowed the uni, so it wasn't I who put it together
wrong. 🙂

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