Newb questions: type of uni for riding around college/beach and how to prep

Hi,

My name is Claire and I am new to Unicycling and to the forums.

I am looking for a uni to ride around campus and possibly along the
beach. I am 170-180lbs and will be carrying a backpack with textbooks
(which can get heavy). I am looking to spend around 100 - 300 dollars.
From what I have read on the forums and talking with some people a
"Torker Unistar DX 24-inch" seems like my best choice. Are there other
unis I should look into?

I have never used a uni before in my life and I want to work on the
muscle groups necessary for riding. I know I need to work on basic
cardio, back, abs (Essentially all the "core" muscles), posture, and
legs (specifically quads). Is there anything else I can do to help my
riding besides riding, practice, keeping my weight in the seat,
pedaling equally with both legs, etc? Any balance exercises etc?

Thank you very much,
Claire


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Narniacat wrote:
Hi,

My name is Claire and I am new to Unicycling and to the forums.

I am looking for a uni to ride around campus and possibly along the
beach. I am 170-180lbs and will be carrying a backpack with textbooks
(which can get heavy). I am looking to spend around 100 - 300 dollars.
From what I have read on the forums and talking with some people a
"Torker Unistar DX 24-inch" seems like my best choice. Are there other
unis I should look into?

I have never used a uni before in my life and I want to work on the
muscle groups necessary for riding. I know I need to work on basic
cardio, back, abs (Essentially all the "core" muscles), posture, and
legs (specifically quads). Is there anything else I can do to help my
riding besides riding, practice, keeping my weight in the seat,
pedaling equally with both legs, etc? Any balance exercises etc?

Thank you very much,
Claire



DX would be overkill. It is a heavy splined uni.

Sounds like you just want to easily commute. A basic 24" or a 29" would
be great for this.

Torker makes a 24" LX unicycle, and is a great one to learn on, and
will be able to get you places rather quickly.

I would recommend you get the 24" LX, to learn on, and see how you like
it, if you feel you need to go faster, the 29" or 36" unicycles can be
the next step up.

For unicycling, you just gotta get on and do it. I really dont know any
balance exercises either lol.

Welcome to the forums!


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I agree with what Jerrick said except a 29" may be too big for you fi
you are just startin, however for what you are using it for a 24" may
be too small, i have a pashley 26" er when i got it, it cost me £100 i
don't know how much that is in dollars but it would be better for the
beach because its a Muni (Mountain uni) so maybe you should try that,
it would also be a little faster than a 24" er

cheers

bye


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Forgot about the 26" and 28" sizes lol.

Yeah, I was jsut saying, learn with a 24", then if you still need more
speed, go for a bigger size.


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Jerrick

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thats a good idea, i mustr admit after riding a 20" for 2 years i found
26" challenging for the first 5 mins then i adjusted.


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you'd only want a splined uni if you planed to stat jumping off and on
stuff


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I agree with everyone above. My only thoughts are that something like
the torker lx would be horrible on sand, unless you upgrade the tire.

Here is a picture of my brothers LX with a Kenda Kinetics 2.6" tire
upgrade:

[image: http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i4.../IMG_0957.jpg]

You could buy the 'LX'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=675) for $100 and then
upgrade the crappy tire it comes with to something like 'this'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=286).

That is a 2.1" wide..you could fit up to 2.6 on the LX. It seems likes
UDC doesn't sell the Kinetics tire separately, but it comes on the DX
model. Perhaps if you called you could special order that tire for
around $20.

In total it wouldn't cost you over $125 for a perfect learning unicycle
with offroad capabilities.


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And learn by finding a long wall with smooth pavement. If you can't find
a cheapo 20 and you are gonna buy new, consider a 24. They are way
cooler for riding any distance, but maybe a bit harder to learn on, but
doable.
After that, the only real answer is to have several unis. A 36 is the
only thing for distance street riding (and really fun), a trials 20
rules for jumping around your yard. If I could only have 1
(shudder), thankfully life is not so cruel, the KH24 IMHO can do
everything. But if I post the link how to get a good deal on a KH one
more time......from AE Bike.....
Anyways, all uni riders can use a really cheap 20. After you learn,
you can teach your friends with it. If you get it used you can sell it
for what you paid for it. I won't recommend torkers anymore because
they use a rip off unique bearing that costs 30 $/ set to replace. Sun
is much better for a learner uni IMHO.


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feel the light wrote:
And learn by finding a long wall with smooth pavement. If you can't find
a cheapo 20 and you are gonna buy new, consider a 24. They are way
cooler for riding any distance, but maybe a bit harder to learn on, but
doable.
After that, the only real answer is to have several unis. A 36 is the
only thing for distance street riding (and really fun), a trials 20
rules for jumping around your yard. If I could only have 1
(shudder), thankfully life is not so cruel, the KH24 IMHO can do
everything. But if I post the link how to get a good deal on a KH one
more time......from AE Bike.....
Anyways, all uni riders can use a really cheap 20. After you learn,
you can teach your friends with it. If you get it used you can sell it
for what you paid for it. I won't recommend torkers anymore because
they use a rip off unique bearing that costs 30 $/ set to replace. Sun
is much better for a learner uni IMHO.


about right.


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The only problem with the Torker LX is its seat, it's terribly
uncomfortable.


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