26 vs the curb of doom

I just received a 26 inch and I can’t seem to get up any curbs a all, I can ride down them just fine, but every time I try to hop or roll up a curb [I]'m crashing, any tips?

I started writing some stuff up but really this all comes with time in the saddle. Doing some rough offroad stuff will teach you much faster than just riding around on the road/sidewalk.

So… practice, practice, practice. :slight_smile:

It just takes practice! Start with bouncing in place like a pogo stick, and then try hopping up lower things, and over sticks or potholes. Don’t try to begin with rolling hops, work up to it

Just what I would’ve said…practice, practice, practice.

If you fall forward, try to lean back a little before the wheel hits the curb.

I would say the opposite. When riding on flat ground you want most of your weight in the saddle. If you continue this habit when you go over bumps, you will almost always be launched off your unicycle, you need to stand up out of the saddle a little bit, or just put your weight onto the pedals instead of the saddle. Then when you go over a bump like a curb, the unicycle has room to move up underneath you, and your legs act a bit like shock absorbers.

Hopping up is good to practise too- try and line up your pedals so they are in the strongest position, with one foot at the back and one at the front - cranks horizontal. From that position you can front or sidehop up curbs easier than in the dead spot of vertical cranks. After approaching curbs for a while you can intuitively line up your cranks by approaching at an angle, and also the pedal position becomes less of an issue except on bigger hops.

Edit:
Make sure you have sufficient tire pressure before riding straight at a curb because it can pinch flat if it bottoms out. You will find that curbs might be a psychological barrier and once you get up a few you realise how easy they can be.

I think by “time in the saddle” saskatchewanian just meant time spent riding, i.e. continued practice. But your advice is very specific and accurate.

For more useful help, please describe the problem. All I know is that you’re crashing. So my first advice is to try a regular curb, and then work your way back up to the “Curb of Doom”.

My first question would be… can you hop up a curb on another wheel size? Or is 26" all you’re riding. Because riding down a curb always comes first, and if you can hop up a curb on a different sized wheel, then you probably just need a slight adjustment to your technique or just need to let yourself get more used to the wheel size.