I think you just need to do more Giraffe riding. Benefit of dismounting off the rear is that you can hold the handle of the uni going down… don’t think it’s possible by dismounting off the front. Or if it is possible, it can’t be as elegant.
They are not always available, but if there’s a pole or wall to hold when waiting for a traffic light to change I’d take advantage of it, I’d use it to stay mounted while waiting. Better than having to dismount and remount!
Also, I moderate my speed, ie. ride slower or faster, to try to get to the intersections when the signals are green without stopping.
Similarly, if I think there will be a short queue of cars at a roundabout, I’ll go slower, so they’ll clear the intersection before I need to stall/come to a stop… because stalling/stopping will often mean a dismount for me. And I would rather stay mounted.
I should clarify that I’m doing an assisted free mount, not a real static mount.
Here’s the link to the method I’m following:
What attracted me to this method was “successive approximations” and getting used to getting up, and more importantly, getting off and learning how to fall forward instead of backwards.
I’m on Day 6 of learning to ride and can confidently get up on the uni with both feet on the pedals with a brick behind me. Now I’m working on feeling the transition on leaning forward and riding off (that’s where I’m falling off now).
Probably not the typical way to learn but I’m pretty happy how it is working out for me.
Here I got past my previous “personal best” of getting 1/2 way down the driveway
Chief
Hi Gockie,
Im not on facebook but managed to watch your giraffe ride which was great.i recently have brought one too which i have not ridden yet as i firstly had a trapped nerve in my leg thats fine now thankfully then secondly good old england has done nothing but rain recently so im waiting for dry roads give it a go!! been riding my hatchet that i built recently instead 
Good stuff!
I’m a believer in working on your freemount at the same time as learning to ride.
They’re both hard and deserve practice time.
You do need both to ride.
Once you learn how to mount, it’s just something you do to get on your uni. Like swinging your leg over the seat for a bike.
Practice a freemount every time you try to ride and I will show you a person that will be able to mount 10/10 times in a short amount of time. A missed mount will be a rarity.
Oh… and be ambidextrous too. 
Ambidextrous mounting? That’s unpossible well least for me, guess I’m just lazy but you do make a good point.
Mounting with my other foot is too weird.
I’m glad I can manage one free mountain all :).
I’ve stuck with my static free mount for years. I have tried others but with no success 
Based on reading other riders’ accounts of learning and what is “comfortable”, if you wait until you’re comfortable riding before learning to free mount, you will be waiting too long. Don’t fall into the trap of applying only linear thinking to the process of learning to unicycle. I strongly disagree with the notion that we can perfect part A, then move on to part B, etc. The key to unlocking one technique may be present in another technique. For example, learning to mount helped me learn to dismount gracefully off the back, idle and ride backwards.
I am prone to believe learning to ride first, then learning to mount…does not speed up the process of learning to mount. It was suggested by another rider, in another thread, that this might be the case. From a psychological / motivational standpoint, I can see how riding first gets the rider hooked, so maybe they will keep working, including on their mounts. But, I don’t see how the techniques of basic forward riding translate into easier mounting. Someone, please correct me. My point here is: If you are planning to keep riding, why not start learning to mount now?
For the newer posters that don’t know me…
When I was learning to freemount and ride (before handlebars) I would rotate through 4 slightly different semi-static mounts.
1-right hand saddle/left foot first
2-left hand saddle/right foot first
3-left hand saddle/left foot first
4-right hand saddle/right foot first
(if you miss a mount then go on to the next one)
Keep rotating through these and you will develop ambidextrously.
Then you can pick up your uni with any hand from any angle on any sort of terrain and just jump on and go.
I think bad habits for your mind and body can develop if you only learn asymmetrically.
I might start trying right foot first for the 20" then. One benefit, I’d then have all IUF Level 2 skills under my belt.
My only mount at the moment is left foot first static no hands. Works for 20" up to 29" wheels, and as wheels get bigger my ability to do it on inclines becomes non existent. I’d need to learn to mount and hop for balance then ride.
I would like to be able to free mount a 36, I think rolling mount is the way to go but for me it needs a lot of commitment mentally. I would like a coach to tell me when to do what with it. Maybe it has to be a goal for next few months of 2020. Along with idling.
I completely agree with you. I spent 2 weeks learning to mount with my non dominant side, also swapped the hand on handle while hopping, changed the foot used to learn idling… I mixed everything and after 2 weeks I wasn’t able to choose a preferred side. I can understand which is the dominant hand or foot in unplanned fast movements (to avoid a sudden bike) or checking the success rate of a hop or mount. My body simply prefer now the laziest choice: the foot position and hand when reaching the uni will decide which eill be the starting foot or hand on the handle. And I’m still a beginner (not get idling, but still training)
Freedom!!
For me a rolling mount takes less energy and especially for a shorter rider I would think it would be the best mount for a 36er. I can do a static mount, a jump mount and a rolling mount but most often do a rolling mount. The static mount takes more effort and works best with a little down grade. The jump mount was easiest for me to learn and it was just a matter of going for it with no real learning curve. I find that with the brake set, a jump mount is much easier then without the brake. I can use my arms to help pull me up on the uni.
There are several good videos on 36er mounts and for learning exactly what to do when I find it helpful to study videos in slow motion or one frame at a time. On Youtube you can slow videos down by pressing the “<” key and speed up with the “>” key. Use the space bar to stop and start a video. When stopped you can advance one frame at a time with a “.” and back one frame at a time with a “,”. Especially with the one frame advance and back control you can get a very good idea what needs to be done and when it needs to be done.
Some videos at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFjKLIA6IsE
(Does static, jump and rolling mounts)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k88MdY4_XIA&feature=emb_logo
(Rolling mount)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqWtEBgG300
(Free mount a 24" and a 36" unicycle)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MDIZ6DTEmw
(UniGeezer: New 36er Unicycle Mounting Tutorial)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jP6y_RWAaw
(Not a tutorial, just what I do)
https://pbase.com/jimthode/image/168587139
(Jump mount with brake)
Any of the videos show middle aged women of average height doing it? Even putting my first foot on a pedal at the 3 o’clock position (I mount left footed) I find uncomfortably high and far.
It’s a pretty crazy idea (or maybe brillant?), but if everything else fails…
A fitting a metal spike in the side of a helmet is probably not a really smart idea. Maybe a plastic stick on one?
Landing on your head during the mount wouldn’t be ideal either.
Hi @Gockie, No doubt you have some disadvantage, but maybe you’re letting it distract you. Sorry, I don’t mean that harshly just perhaps with the right technique for you it will happen. Or the same technique just done your way.
How much taller am I over you @Gockie, 10 cm maybe? But I’m sure I have less bounce in my old, tired legs than your middle aged ones and you can jump higher than me, but I static mount the 36" sort of OK and with not a of leg power plus dodgy knees. I do so with techniques and a way of visualising I have worked out over time. Next time I mount near you, see I don’t jump so high, more roll up and over onto the unicycle.
I think Jim’s video collection is just a fantastic learning tool, I bookmarked 2 I’ve not seen before. Looking at the “jump mount” (what I would have called suicide) he so easily jumps up onto the saddle. I’m not brave enough to try, but for someone who hangs upside down from ceilings it should be worth a go?
Can we have a quick survey? How tall is everyone, what size unicycle do you freemount and preferred technique? Starting with me:
BruceC 177cm, 20 to 36" static.
I think I have to try both the rolling mount and jump mounts on a 29 and then a 36 inch uni. A brake would be helpful though for the jump mount. I like the jump mount idea because you can push down on the uni to get up.
Who knows. Maybe I can finally get my brain to do them…
I’m also thinking I may end up putting the inside of my forward foot onto the crank too (not just the pedal) when getting on. Extra support can’t hurt…