6' Unicycle buying advice

The Savage 6' has a 25.4 seatpost and a seat that is total
[censored]! The Savage 5' has a 22.0 seatpost and, depending on
wether or not you get any upgrades, a decent seat.

I *learned* to unicycle on a savage 5'. it held up well
until i started learning the running mount (well over a
year, for 4 hours a day), then I twisted the frame.

I own a savage 6' as well. The original 5 frame has gone to
the great re-cyclery in the sky. I don't handle the 6 as
well as a 5. It feels more sluggish and it's definetley
harder for me to feel the ground while riding.

I think also, that body size might have a little to do with
my difficulty. I am only about 5'3" (or 4" on a tall day)
and so my 6' towers over me by 9 inches. Despite the fact
that some people here believe that a 6' is more impressive,
I think that impressiveness has a lot more to do with riding
style than height off the ground.

A giraffe is kind of limited due to the space required to
mount it, the extra mass, and the fact that you are elevated
off the ground a bit more than usual.

So. In response to your original question, yes, a Torker 5
is a good buy for a beginner. And if you totally trash it
while you're learning, no big deal, because if you like
riding on a giraffe enough to continue, you'll want to buy a
nicer one anyway (or start upgrading components)

And if you really want a 6', I've got one that has 1 busted
spoke in the wheelset due to a bad weld, and the top tube
has been shortened about 3" but otherwise is a great
unicycle to learn on. If you're interested, PM me.

--
hopeful - revelling in the glory of 700c

a sawzall...!? why not just use an axe. -- Jagur

Long live the Lotus -- Mojoe
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I'm well over 6' tall myself and I was wondering if the 5'
would really feel that much higher. I know this has been
asked before but it has been a while.

Has anyone actually tried a Torker TX?

Thanks for the help Hopeful. I will take that into
consideration.

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RangerForrest - Isolated Unicyclist
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Forrest,

I had a chance to try a Torker TX today, and I was not
satisfied at all with it. On the top of my list of concerns
is the lack of a welded cog onto the hub. It uses a
lockring, and while a lockring setup is acceptable for a
track bicycle, it tends not to work so well on a giraffe.

As soon as I felt it slip the first time, that ruined the
whole unicycle for me. I really didn't like the feel of it
either. If I were you, I would buy a Savage if you want
something cheap, or a Sem, if you want something that will
last a while.

hope this helps, Matt.

--
hopeful - revelling in the glory of 700c

a sawzall...!? why not just use an axe. -- Jagur

Long live the Lotus -- Mojoe
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hopeful said:

*I had a chance to try a Torker TX today, and I was not
satisfied at all with it. On the top of my list of
concerns is the lack of a welded cog onto the hub. It uses
a lockring, and while a lockring setup is acceptable for a
track bicycle, it tends not to work so well on a giraffe.

As soon as I felt it slip the first time, that ruined the
whole unicycle for me. I really didn't like the feel of it
either. If I were you, I would buy a Savage if you want
something cheap, or a Sem, if you want something that will
last a while. *

None of the other unicycles you mentioned have a welded on
cog either. They all have the threaded cog with a lockring.
Even the Sem has a threaded on cog with a lockring.

The first generation Schwinn giraffe unicycles also had
a threaded on cog with a lockring. The second generation
Schwinn's used a bolt on cog. The second generation
Schwinn's are the only commercial giraffes that I know
of that used something other than a threaded on cog and
a lockring.

The welded on cog is an aftermarket modification. The
unicycle didn't come that way unless you bought it from
Darren Bedford. Darren welds the cog to the hub on the
giraffes that he sells.

The inexpensive giraffes use less expensive parts. One area
where they skimp is in the quality of the cog and the
sprocket. They will used stamped cogs and stamped sprockets.
Stamped cogs will not be perfectly round and don't have
nicely machined threads that will hold the cog on the hub
tight. High quality cogs and sprockets are CNC machined and
are nicely round with nicely shaped teeth. But CNC machined
cogs and sprockets are expensive.

The club I'm in has a black Torker TX giraffe. It works
well. It's not perfect, but it works very well
considering it's price. I would rate it better than the
Savage. The Torker that you tried probably had a loose
cog. You should Loctite the cog and tighten up before
passing judgment on it. Once you're happy that the cog is
round enough you can have it welded on the hub and never
have to worry about it slipping.

--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (at) hotmail (dot) com
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I own two five foot Savages. I've seen the Torkers. My
next would definitely be a Torker. It has a nice paint
job. An aluminum wheel and a much nicer seat for around
$100.00 on e-bay.

--
elmer - uniimpaired

"At 40 life begins...to show."
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Both of the savages that I own have welded-on cogs. I bought
both of them from Unicycle.com. The do not appear to be
welded onto a threaded section, but rather, onto a flat
section with 4 spot welds. I'll try to get photos sometime.

I've never had any problems with my Savages. Another guy
that I know has a Savage 5' as well and his cog is welded on
too. It came from Unicycle.com as well.

--
hopeful - revelling in the glory of 700c

a sawzall...!? why not just use an axe. -- Jagur

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john_childs said:

* Once you're happy that the cog is round enough you can
have it welded on the hub and never have to worry about it
slipping. *

I build a lot of custom unicycles and would like to give a
word of caution about welding on a sprocket. Welding the two
together is problematic because they're both (almost always)
made of different metals. That means you need a welder that
knows what they're doing. The heat can also distort your
sprocket and/or knock it out of true. It can also melt or
weaken an aluminum hub. The weld is likely to crack too,
especially when two different types of metals are welded.
All of these problems have caused me grief (and money) in
the past. The only way I connect sprockets now is by bolting
them on. If you do go with welding anyway, I'd recommend
using TIG (presuming your hub is alumninum). Most hubs are
aluminum, while cheap sprockets tend to be steel (better
ones are aluminum). In any case, you need filler to get a
decent weld to aluminum and you need to keep the heat down.
You should also clean your surfaces with acetone first and
then use etchant. Otherwise you'll overheat the pieces
trying to burn off the surface crud and everything will end
up melting.

--
todd1814 - x
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