Best size wheel for learning tricks? 20 or 24"?

I think this is more of a preference issue. For me, I find
tricks easier on a 24", possibly because I'm a big guy.

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digitalattrition - Addicted to Crank (mounts)

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tricks as in freestyle or tricks as in trials? either way
i'd probably recommend a 20" wheel. might make a bit of
difference, but dont go out and buy one just cuz i said to.
try one out first if u can

-grant

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Most tricks are easier to learn on a 20" wheel because it's
lighter and more responsive. This doesn't mean you can't
learn or do them on a 24", so don't be afraid to practice
with your Miyata. Those are great unicycles for doing
flatland tricks.

Some tricks work better on a 24". Generally these are the
ones that involve pedaling or momentum. You can
(theoretically) spin faster, and it's probably easier to
ride one foot with a little extra inertia in the wheel.

Wheel walking, contrary to popular belief, does not require
a big wheel. As the wheel gets smaller you have less space
to put your feet, but the wheel also gets lower down, so
it's easier to make the foot movements you need down there.
I would rate 20" easier for wheel walking, though you can
probably go faster with a 24".

My own background: My early riding was on a 24" Schwinn, and
then a 24" Miyata. From 1980 through 1983 I used a 24" for
all trick learning and performing. In early 1984 I decided
to switch to 20" because I had seen some moves that would
clearly be easier on that wheel size (such as coasting). It
took me about half a year to get comfortable with the
smaller wheel size, but then I could do quite a bit. This
gives me the background of having learned all the basic
tricks on 24" (up to at least level 5), then moving to 20"
and learning more advanced ones.

Another advantage to 20" is you can fit more tricks into a
smaller space. This matters a lot if you're an entertainer
and your performing space is limited, which it almost
always is. Especially if you're working in lots of
elementary schools!

So get the 20", but don't be afraid to learn tricks on the
24" as well.

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johnfoss said:

So get the 20", but don't be afraid to learn tricks on the
24" as well.

Let me add a couple of advantages the 20" has over a 24"
for skills:

First, you have to step up 2" higher when mounting a 24" and
you drop 2" farther doing a UPD. That may not sound like
much, but over the course of hundreds of falls and mounts I
get a lot more tired on a bigger wheel (though my bigger
wheel is 27"😉.

Second, it is easier to place your foot on the crown of a
20" when doing one-footed skills. I also found it very easy
on my 20" to get my foot back in place after a few
revolutions one-footed - I couldn't come close on the
larger unicycle.

On the other hand, I think I felt more comfortable learning
to idle on the bigger wheel. There is more room to go back
and forth and thus more time to correct.

Ken

20 for tricks, or, as some would prefer to call them,
advanced skills.

A 24 is 20% bigger than a 20. Of the standard wheel sizes
(excluding the Coker) the difference between a 20 and 24 is
greater than between any other adjacent pair of sizes. That
is, changing from a 20 to a 24 is a bigger change than from
a 24 to a 26, or from a 26 to a 28... or even, for that
matter, from a 24 to a 28.

A 20 is light, portable, manoeuvreable, and safe.

For freestyle, try a 20 with about 110 mm cranks. For
trials, a 19 or 20 with a fat tyre and longer cranks.

Stick some 102s on your 24 and cover some distance on it, or
some 150s and a knobbly tyre and get some muni done.

(Or put some 89s and a knobbly tyre on it and make a bid for
a Darwin Award.)

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Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling

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Wow! Thanks everybody. Very helpful! Might someone be
able to define "freestyle" and "trials" for me? You have
all been very helpful...I have gone from a kindergarden
level unicycling education to a highschool diploma in a
day it seems.

:-)

--
thejuggler
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trials is hopping around on rocks and urban obstacles like
benches and handrails, etc. generally, the unicycle is
light, has a 20" wheel, and a fat tire.

freestyle is more graceful and a bit less "hardcore". it is
more of a performance style than trials. it has been
compared to dancing or ice skating. basic freestyle tricks
are like riding with one foot, riding backwards, etc.

-grant

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tennisgh22

The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a
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20" rocks!

--
nickvb123 - learning to side ride

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That's 20" and 102mm cranks nick.

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Jacinto is the king.
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you tell 'em robs

you obviously know quality wheel size when you see it. eh?

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For some reason, I learned a lot of tricks on my 24 before
my 20. These would include idle, 1 foot idle, wheel waling,
riding backwards, and a few others. However, once I learned
a trick on the 24, transferring it to the 20 was very fast.
Now, I can do all of the tricks better on the
20.

I think it might have to so with the 24 moving slower in
terms of wheel rotations and therefore, you have more time
to correct yourself.

For tricks like unispins there is no question that a 20
is better.

I don’t know if there is a point to this post... it’s mostly
babble, but I think the moral is it doesn’t matter much.

Now remember kids, never buy a unicycle from a drunk pirate.

Daniel

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tennisgh22 said:

*trials is hopping around on rocks and urban obstacles
like benches and handrails, etc. generally, the unicycle
is light, has a 20" wheel, and a fat tire. -grant *

Light? Trials? My summit is HEAVY! It's because the tire is
so big. Don't fool yourself into thinking trials are light,
at least not compared to freestyle.

--
Rayden
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