I hope another “how to” post is acceptable. I have been working on the sideways wheel walk on and off for a few months now. Despite considerable practice though, I can’t seem to get much beyond one or two cycles of the wheel. I seem to have the balance in the direction I’m moving down pretty well; it’s just a matter of speeding up and slowing down the wheel. My problem is the sideways balance. (from the unicycle’s point of view) It seems that I usually climb on and start moving, than fall off to one side just as I would if I were trying to do a stillstand in this position. The result is that I can only stay on about two or three seconds. I can only vary my distance by adjusting my speed. I suppose learning this is mostly a matter of practice, by in any case I would like to know:
How do you maintain sideways balance in this position? (from the unicycle’s point of view.
What speed usually works best?
What were some tips that helped you make a breakthrough with this skill?
if you haven’t figured this out yet, one helpful hint would be to keep your weight on the seat like you do when you ride normally. so basically all your weight is going to be in your arms pushing on the seat. don’t put any weight in your feet on the wheel, the only thing your feet are going to do is be there to push the wheel to make you go.
it is hard to say how fast you should go, probably easier to show you, so if you have a video of someone doing it in their routine or something, whatever speed they are going is will probably be right about the right speed you will want.
you can’t go too slow, you do need to go fast enough so that you will stay up. anyways, i hope that helps a little, if i think of anything else i’ll let you know.
-lindsey
For best results with how to do skills, find somebody with a digital camera that can do video clips. Keep making video clips until you get an example that’s typical of your problem, then post it here. Uh, or get someone with a functioning account to post if if you can’t.
For sideways wheel walk, the side-to-side balance for the unicycle works the same way as it does when you’re riding. Steer a little left, a little right, etc. You have plenty of steering power, as your hands are probably gripping the seat nice and tight. Now you just have to get a feel for which way you’re going over, in time to make corrections.
Speed should be walking speed or less.
Oh, and if you use existing videos for examples of how to do it, avoid top-top experts like Ryan Woessner (I have him on my web site). He does it great, but he’s not necessarily the best example for starting out!
you want to put soo much of your weight on the seat that normal seats bend and crumble under the pressure. also locking your elbows/standing up with your arms type action helps.
and also the leading foot does almost all of the work. try both feet as your leading foot see what works best (I had more success with my lesser one foot wheel walking foot leading)
as for speed fast enough that you don’t fall off ? probably comparable to tipical riding speed I would say faster then wheel walking
Thanks for all your advice. I would post a video, but I don’t know how. I have been trying to put all of my weight on the seat, but it’s still a problem. Two things which may be inhibitting me are the 24" wheel and the KH saddle. The KH saddle is good for almost everything I have tried except sideways wheel walk. Since I don’t want to put my weight on the lift handle and break it, I have to put my left hand in a rather awkward position. Unfortunately, I can’t afford a new saddle right now, let alone a regular 20" freestyle unicycle, so I will continue to work with what I have.
Has anyone found sideways wheel walk one-footed easier than the regular version? I seem to do just as well or better this way.
