3.3 What should I get for my first unicycle?
Description
This article is from the Unicycling FAQ, by Beirne Konarski with numerous contributions by others.
3.3 What should I get for my first unicycle?
The first unicycle you buy should be a quality one. It will survive the
learning process fine, then you will have a unicycle to keep. In selecting a
quality unicycle, keep the following in mind:
Do not under any circumstances buy a unicycle in a department store or from
a catalog that doesn't let you see how it's constructed. Even for $10 at a
garage sale, these shoddy unicycles are three times harder to ride and
probably do more damage to our sport than anything else.
What I am describing is any unicycle that either does not have an air tire,
or that does not have wheel bearings. Any (non-giraffe) unicycle that has a
one piece crank with pedals that are just kind of stuck on the ends of the
crank (tricycle technology) was not actually designed with the intention
that it would be ridden. Under the weight of a rider (any rider) the wheel
is very resistant to turning, and the short crank arms compound the problem.
I learned to ride on a unicycle like this, and it took a month!
Outside of that, the price ranges from around $90 to $250. In the U.S. and
Canada, you can get Schwinns and the many variations of Taiwanese unicycles
at local bike shops. Look for the kind that has a seat that's soft foam
rubber all around. These seats bounce quietly when dropped, and take a
tremendous amount of drops, on pavement, with scarcely any mark. After that,
try for hard plastic bumpers on the seat. This is what Schwinn has. By all
means try to avoid seats with metal rails at front and rear. This is older
technology that usually is mounted on a seat that's too wide in front, and
can't stand being dropped.
Other brands like Semcycle, Schwinn, Miyata and DM are more durable than the
Taiwanese models, and will last longer, especially for riders that weigh
more.
Also, try for cotterless cranks. Most brands are these days, but there are
still some of the cottered types out there. Cotterless are easier to take
care of.
So your basic choices in North America are:
* Taiwan types for $90 or so
* Semcycle XL (Taiwan type with good parts) (313) 537-8175 for about $150
* Schwinn (very strong and heavy) for around $160.
* Miyata (best engineering but expensive and hard to get) for around
$250.
Being North Americans, we don't have complete advice for other parts of the
world, so if you would like to add advice for your part of the planet send
it to Beirne Konarski (beirne@ald.net). Also, neither of us sell unicycles.
You can get more information on retailers elsewhere in the FAQ.
John Foss (unifoss@calweb.com)
Beirne Konarski (beirne@ald.net)
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