Ok… I wasn’t going to admit to this even on here because I know that the equipment is not the problem and I feel a bit of an idiot collecting unis before I can even ride. But it did bug me a tiny bit that there are all these big guys being advised to start on a 20" and here’s little me at 5’ nothing, 120lbs clothed and an inside leg of 27" being given the same advice. So last week when I saw a 16" for sale locally, I though ‘what the heck - the worst that happens is I have a uni I can lend a child.’ And it did occur to me that a smaller wheel would make better use of my cramped practice area at home if the light or weather doesn’t let me get out. So since then I have added it to the mix and it is since then that I have started to feel those moments of rebalancing - though mostly on the 20", not the 16". I think maybe the twitchiness of the 16" makes the 20" feel easier. Today, probably sparked off by something I read here, I gave the 16" a go free-mounting and to my surprise got it four times out of six, straight off. That was on grass, which may have helped to hold the wheel a little, and I only got a couple of pedals afterwards, but I am very chuffed.
The 16" may be training you to react more quickly. Keep up the progress!
Whatever it takes, there is no sure fire way about doing anything at all… great to hear that you are improving though…
I thought I would go with the flow and just hammer away at mounting the 16" at the skatepark this evening. My percentage went down from my initial little session but overall I made quite a few and I really enjoyed it - got 4 pedals from a free mount and a record 8 pushing off from the fence. The hour seemed to go really quickly. The mount I am getting is a rather awkward cross between the rollback and the static as I end up at 12/6 and then go forward, but it seems to work quite often and it is probably good for giving me practice getting out of the dead zone.
Congrats on your progress! Sounds like you’re doing well. There may be times when it seems that you’re going backwards in your progress, but that’s just your brain and body’s way of figuring it all out. While you should continue to try for more revolutions, don’t worry if on a given day you seem to be doing less. It’s a completely normal part of the process.
I’ve noticed that shortly after I seem to be having setbacks with my practice (with unicycling and other things), I have a breakthrough. It’s almost as if some part of my brain is trying out all kinds of things to figure out how to improve, and part of that process involves doing things that don’t work. Somehow, in all that madness, our brain is getting valuable information that we need to progress.
As it has been said many times before, the real secrete to learning to ride a unicycle is persistence, and it sounds like you’ve got lots of that, so you should go far!
That’s the idea behind the “Scientific backing for having multiple unis” discussion, isn’t it? (As if we need scientific backing to buy more unicycles. :))
Whatever the explanation, it’s great that you’re making good progress, Spinningwoman. Keep doing what you’re doing!
I’ve had that happen… then gone out the next day ready to revel in the joy of my new skills, and it was as if it had never happened; I might as well have dreamt that I did it. Fits and starts, but we all got there somehow.
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But it did bug me a tiny bit that there are all these big guys being advised to start on a 20" and here’s little me at 5’ nothing, 120lbs clothed and an inside leg of 27" being given the same advice.[I would still offer the same advice, but admit it’s based on lots of experience involving very few 16" wheels. Proportionally, I still think one would be a little small for you.
That said, I find it awesome that you already have a small fleet of unicycles, before you are even riding on your own! That shows commitment. 
I, on the other hand, didn’t own my own unicycle until after I had learned to freemount a 6’ Giraffe. What a freeloader. My original “learner” (P.O.S. solid plastic tire tricycle thingie) was leant to me by my neighbor, who didn’t want it back when I returned it to him; I still have it…
I call that a Dead Spot Mount, because that’s where you end up and it’s hard to get going. But a more accurate name would be Beginner Mount, since it’s so typical of people in their early mounting. It’s probably easier than a Static Mount, though awkward, and it’s definitely less intimidating than a proper rollback, where you have to pull that top pedal back before you can go forward. Those two will be your goals as you progress.
Congratulations on your progress; I have so little memory of my progress at that level. Partly it may be because my little uni was maxed out to the point of falling apart (when I started trying to do turns the wheel would always stop against the frame).
I am soooo glad you didn’t quit.
John Foss - a world where neighbours have unicycles! Unimaginable! So far I have met two people who used to unicycle but the only unicyclists I have ever seen were doing street theatre on giraffes. There were quite a few kids at the skatepark last night with skateboards, scooters, and bikes. They were obviously interested in the unicycle, and one eventually asked me if I was learning because I wanted to join a circus. It seemed like a serious question. I said no, I just wanted to learn to ride, like you learn to ride a bike. It occurred to me afterwards that I ought to tell them to look up some of the stuff on YouTube, so that they get that people do amazing stuff and it’s not just clowns or a strange hobby for peculiar old ladies!
I think the main difference I feel with the 16" is the shorter cranks. When I go back to the 20" the first few pedals I feel like I am doing knee to chin exercises. It is a much bigger body movement, whereas on the 16" I can spin them much faster with relatively little change to my equilibrium. (Such as it is.)
Elpueblo - you must have misunderstood<g>. Giving up is not an option. I’m just worried I will still be writing these blog posts from my nursing home. ‘Day 6356. I’m fine whizzing down the corridors to the lunch room, but I still find myself leaning on the walls to balance. Persuaded the nurses to let me out on the patio despite the embarrassing incident with Mr X’s grandson last week. Since my landmark legal victory in getting the unicycle reclassified as a form of wheelchair, (after all, they aren’t called ‘wheelschairs’) there is not much they can do to stop me. Binned the usual letters from my kids telling me I need to give them power of attorney before my mind goes completely. Managed 6 full revolutions unsupported - that’s a record since the incident of 2026. So feeling pretty hopeful that I will get this.’
You might be missing one small piece of the puzzle.
A common mistake is watching your feet. Look straight ahead and keep your head level. The balance system in the middle ear works much better that way.
Do you have a subconscious goal of six revolutions that stops you continuing once fulfilled?
No, I’ve got it. Eyes up, weight in the seat, every piece of good uni advice ever given… And I don’t have any subconscious goal except to stay on for one more pedal. I’ve done seven or eight… but mostly it is threes and fours. But that’s fine, it’s only a week or so back that threes and fours were unusual. I’m frustrated, but not in a bad way. I’m still having fun; I’d just be having even more fun if I could unicycle.
Are you still using the wall or poles or anything to help you? If so, those things would only be delaying your progress at this point and need to go. Once you get started on an attempt, try not to think about what you’re doing and just ride. Trust your brain to sort it all out without you having to consciously think about it.
You will be able to do it. If you can do eight revolutions, you can do nine, and so on…
This made me laugh! Thanks for helping me to smile today Spinning woman
No, I’m not using the fence any more. That feels counter-productive now that I’m regularly getting a number of pedal stokes unsupported, particularly now that I’m working on mounting. I’m still undecided on using the poles, although in fact I haven’t used them at all this week. I’m less convinced that they are a bad thing. Anyone who skis gets used to using poles as a cue for turning, and it seems to me that using them for this is similar. It cues the body to turn into the direction of the overbalance, which is the right thing. I have read of four people who learned with poles, and haven’t come across anyone who has actually used poles properly and has then said it was a mistake and held them back. The people saying they are a bad thing haven’t used them, and from the way they talk they obviously imagine using them in a very different way, leaning on them rather than just using them like a skier does. However, at the moment I’m banging away at the freemounting/curbmounting launches because it feels like that’s where the progression is.
I have… 
I did that during my first time on a uni, years back. I became pretty good at riding with them. To the point where I would fall at the very second I would drop them. When I finally understood that my brain wasn’t going to cooperate, I went back to the drawing board. I mean to the railing. I wasted a couple of weeks with those. The way you push onto something to regain your balance is very different from how you use the direction of the fall to not fall.
btw I grew up in the Alps, the ski comparison doesn’t quite hold I’m afraid… And skiing is sooooo easy compare to uni! 
The short little chicken flights can be frustrating, but you are riding! You will get further and further. Anything that helps is a good thing.
Remember that right now you can ride a unicycle farther than most people in the world can. That’s pretty good! It will start getting much easier very soon. 
Thanks, that’s useful.
That’s what I’m counting on.