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The Unicycle Thread


isitafox

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Thought I'd start this as I'm going to buy a new unicycle in a few weeks and I know there's a few others on here who ride.

Been really missing mine since I sold it last year and they're great fun for messing about on or doing the odd trail on, I was planning on building one from scratch but it's gonna be quicker and cheaper to buy one outright and then upgrade later on.

Here's what I'll be getting, a Nimbus 26" muni http://www.unicycle.uk.com/unicycles/muni-24-29/26-nimbus-muni-black.html. Got an Echo/Shimano disc brake to go on once I've got a bit more cash available to upgrade the cranks, can't wait to have a go!

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Got a new street uni I bought off my next door neighbour for £30, bargain as its a decent quality nimbus with little use. Also got myself a giraffe a while back, not taking it seriously as a sport but its cool to be able to ride and im sure i'll still have my giraffe in many years to come! Can only ride forward just now but aim to be able to learn to idle and ride backwards in the next while! Will get some pics of mine up.

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  • 1 month later...

Loooong bump, thought sod it earlier and whacked a new 29" Nimbus Muni on the credit card, I'm hoping to use it for riding to work on but it may need a few bits changing like the seat and cranks first. Can't wait to have a go as it's been a while since I rode now.

Not looking forward to telling the wife when I get home from work tonight though :oops:

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Good to hear, and £205 is pretty cheap believe me! Can get some properly expensive bits, even Triton make ti uni frames and you can get Swiss made geared hubs, a steal at just over a grand!

My plan is to see how this is for riding to work then I may move upto a 36" for road work and get either another trials or maybe a 24" for some street/trials.

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Here's my new ride, arrived this morning so I got it built up straight away and had a quick go. First thoughts are it's very different to riding a trials uni, for a start mounting it is a task as it's bloody huge but I'm gonna get some practice in at work this weekend so I should be good to go by Monday. Gonna keep it how it is for the time being till I've put some miles down then when I've got my confidence back I'll change the tyre for something a bit more road friendly, change the cranks for some Kris Holms with dual holes so I can change the crank length for road and muni riding and probably stick a disc brake or magura on.

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One of the nicest things about unis is how versatile they are- you can still comfortably do trials or street on a 24" or 26" just by switching to a more suited tyre and experimenting with the seat height (which is more or less the same as with a set of bars/stem). Though I wouldn't recommend a brake as an early upgrade for your uni unless you're regularly riding uncomfortably steep descents on a mountain! Having the fixed wheel alone is more than enough to slow you down/speed up as and when necessary, I'd say it 'trains' your body to control the uni more naturally and effectively than using a brake. I knew a few muni riders years back who never used brakes and relied purely on leg control.

Have you had a browse through some different seat and crank options? They definitely make the biggest difference in feel and are a relatively cheap upgrade. Nimbus do several very affordable cranksets and seats/posts which are pretty damn good value for money. Slimmer seats like Koxx are undoubtedly more comfortable to grab for trials/street but If you're sitting down most of the time then something chunkier like the KH Freeride is a great shout! UDC-Nimbus and KH are great brands that offer some amazing kit, both of their post-sales customer services are admirable, often going out of their way to help out riders. From my experience, Roger and Kris are both prompt in replying to emails and do try hard to give good advice on different styles of riding and what parts would be suitable for what you're demanding out of your uni. It's not the 'coolest' sport in most peoples' eyes but it's hard to find another sport with such a humble, positive and friendly community.

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Yeah I've been into unis a while, took a few months to decide what wheel size would be best for me due to where I live and what I'll be riding mostly. I'm in the middle of the Peak District which is generally one of the hilliest areas in the country so I think a brake is going to be a worthwhile upgrade when the time comes. I'll be switching the cranks for some with dual holes so when I'm on the road I can get some speed up but when I take it on some trails I'll still be able to ride up some of the hills, Kris Holm do a set now which the rotor mounts straight onto so it makes sense to get these as I have a spare disc brake in my toolbox. Also there's a good chance that I'll probably end up moving up to a 36er for all my road work somewhere down the line which will definitely require a brake so it's not going to be wasted money.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

Been trying to sort a brake out on my muni for a while now. Was gonna go down the disc route originally but the price of disc compatible cranks or a hub is pretty much out my league currently so with the frame having magura mounts I thought I'd stick a cheap rim brake on for the time being!

The first dillemma with this though is where to mount the lever, you can buy mounts off the shelf but as I'm a cheapskate I made one up from a piece of aluminium plate and a set of old flat bars sourced on here for about a fiver(?). I made up a rather sketchy template to bolt the plate between the saddle and seatpost like the proper ones but mine has a bar extending down from it. This way I can have 2 bar end attachments, one short one to mount my lever to for use with the saddles original plastic grab handle or a longer one extending in front of the saddle for a bit more control and comfort should I go off road.

Here's some pics of it currently, gonna go and scour eBay next for a bargain pair of bar ends!

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  • 11 months later...

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