Chris Bensen: May 2010

Back in February I posed about my new toy. I have now been riding it for 3 months in the parking lot, around the neighborhood, commute vehicle, and the most fun, Mountain Unicycling in the Santa Cruz mountains. I've figured out a lot and thought I'd start jotting down some notes to help others out.

Where to buy:

First off I've done most of my unicycle shopping at www.unicycle.com. They have the best selection of unicycles that I've found. I've noticed that the products they list tend to change price and available colors from day to day.

Equipment:

Every product out there has a high end, low end and something in the middle. The High end unicycle is the Kris Holm brand. Those unicycle parts are about as good as you can get. Nimbus is a pretty darn good runner up as the middle road. They are a little heavier but they are very good beginner unicycles and solid as a rock. I wouldn't use anything less than a Nimbus for Mountain Unicycling. I bought a Nimbus 26" MUni Cycle with ISIS hub. I got a 400mm seat post because I'm tall but I replaced it with a 350mm Kris Holm adjustable seat post. The adjustments are key. I got the 150mm Kris Holm cranks which are a standard length for the 24" and 26" unicycles. The 24" unicycle is considered the standard unicycle. It is a little slower than the 26" and a little easier to maneuver. I choose the 26" because it just seems to fit better and I like the ride. The Kris Holm cranks are a lot nicer than the Nimbus cranks but the Nimbus cranks work just fine for a beginner. There wasn't any other choice at unicycle.com when I ordered. A brake isn't worth it until you learn to ride and I didn't get one but I can see it would be really nice to have one when going downhill. But I figure it's a good workout so I won't be getting one any time soon. The most important part of the unicycle is the seat. Nimbus use a Kris Holm plastic seat frame but instead of using a draw string to hold the seat cover on they staple it to the plastic. This means the cover and innards are not replaceable or modifiable. The seat frame also seems to be more U shaped which I don't find very comfortable.

Safety:

The first requirement is to protect your noggin. I first tried my bike helmet but it doesn't protect against falling backwards. Not that I have fallen backwards but the possibility is there. So I bought a nice skateboard helmet. You'll also want to protect your wrists. I suggest a good pair of wrist guards. The best I've found are the Bullet Wrist Guards. I also wear a pair of fingerless gloves to protect my palms. Depending on the kind of riding you do you'll want to protect your shins and knees. At the very least you'll want a good set of shin guards. I have a pair of Kris Holm Percussion Leg Armor which are great but they get very hot and I need to make some adjustments because the XXL are perfect heigh wise but are designed for much larger around legs.