Riding a Muni... Basic question...

I there !

As I said before, I got my first MUni ever and started to ride it a
couple of weeks ago. I have so much fun with it riding over roots, going
downhills, etc. but I found that I had to modify my riding style a
little bit...

So here's my question. When I was in the process of learning to ride a
unicycle, people kept telling me to put as much weight as possible on
the saddle. That helped me keep my balance and stability. Now that I
ride a MUni, I've found that, on uneven terrain, it is sometimes helpful
to stand up just a little bit on the pedals. It seems to help me pass
over obstacles because, that way, I can put more power on the pedals and
can react more quickly to sudden changes.

Is this a bad habit or just a good Muni technique ? I analysed the
question and thought that it was the reason why many Muniers hold the
front bumper of the saddle while going down or riding uneven trails.

Thanks for you precious help and have fun !

Christian.

[m_extreme_uni]

i alsodo this when riding on uneven terain. I'm pretty sure it's the right thing to do, and it really helps on hard uphills. anyways, anything in mountain unicycling that helps c'ant be bad. it's sure more tiring than riding with your weight on the seat, so i try to keep it to a minimum.

[U-Turn]

There are lots of good articles by very good riders at www.muniac.com, and they cover that question in detail.

Basically, though, a MUni ride is a constant shifting of weight to and from the saddle to trade off stamina and reactability to the terrain. The hand on the saddle serves several purposes, some of which are: stabilize the point for rough terrain, add pressure to the pedals for better foot-pedal connection and for torque during ascents and descents, and quick change into hops and jumps. Each of these purposes fades in and out as the trail changes.

It is, though, a good idea to practice very hard at getting your weight on the seat, and spinning better (making your cycling less choppy). These will improve your riding immensely, even on rough ground, both in technique and stamina.

But go to muniac.com and let more experienced teachers help you.

[UniDak]

It cant be poor form, just for the fact that there is no way you could ride most muni trails the same way as you ride a coker.
Just my two cents.
-David Kaplan

[rhysling]

Originally posted by U-Turn
...and spinning better (making your cycling less choppy). These will improve your riding immensely, even on rough ground, both in technique and stamina...

Keeping my cycling tight and clean seems to have helped significantly in the climb; the last thing I want when I have to start crank shifting after spining up a hill is to have the wheel torqued over too far, since it will only compond any wobble introduced by the crank shift. The wheel can come so far out of plane to make the next crank shift prohibitively formidible.

I'm not sure if it's true- and it makes no sence to me- but the 170's seem to have helped improve my spinning. Go figure.

Christopher