Saw this on Google Video: a great 5 minute clip of a woman doing an artistic bike routine in Germany a few years ago. She shows many unicycle skills like riding the bike (back wheel only of course) backwards in a circle, one-footed, no hands. And many many more.
—Nathan
repost and why did you post it hear
Cause its Nathan, he is a great guy lol.
KH.
Awesome!
Thanks Nathan.
Wow, that definitely counts…thanks for sharing. I’m betting she could get right on a uni and ride, even if she’s never been on one before. Really exquisite control, especially on those slow spins near the end.
I’m glad she didn’t live in my neighborhood when I was a kid and trying to show off with my wheelie riding prowess.
Actually I posted this because I’m curious about some of those one-wheel tricks she does. Do you think they are harder on a bike than a regular freestyle unicycle? Or easier? The only person I know who does both is John Foss…anyone else here try artistic bike?
Anyway, sorry for reposting but I just love that video.
—Nathan
i think its pretty much like riding a giraffe unicycle with a few bits sticking out beneth you. that is still some neat riding.
Way harder. Start with the seating position. Not sure if she ever sits on the steering bearings in that vid, but that’s one of the positions I never figured out. Ouch! That’s when you’re sitting on the head tube with the handlebars in front of you and the tire behind.
After seating position, move on to body position. Some of those leave you in a fairly cramped or distorted position.
Then add the “wrong” shape of your not-unicycle. all that extra lateral mass makes it very different to handle than a unicycle, espeically for getting into spins. Being indoors with indoor tires helps.
Artistic Bicycling is an amazing sport. The skill level is off the map, yet once you’ve seen all the tricks, it actually gets boring to watch. That’s because the creativity level is zilch. You’re not allowed to make up tricks. This is the event our Standard Skill is modeled on. You can only do the tricks on the list.
Great additional context; I was going to guess “way harder” as well.
John Foss: Since I’ve seen close to zero artistic bicycling, help put that video in perspective. Where is that woman on the scale of “Standard Skill” expertise? I’m guessing quite high-end…would I be correct?
Yeah she’s way up there. Possibly a champion though that’s impossible to tell from the video. It’s not a competition she’s at, as there are no 8m circles on the floor, and the audience reactions are those of a general audience, not an artistic bike crowd. She appears to be wearing the national colors of Germany, and World Champions get to wear rainbow jerseys just like they do in road racing.
I haven’t seen competition since 1986 either, so the state of the art may have improved. What you don’t see the girls doing as much are handstand moves. One of the hardest moves from '86 (new tricks get added from time to time) was this:
Balance yourself in an L-seat position with one hand on the handlebar stem and other hand on the back of the seat (legs sticking straight out in front of you. Hold this position for 3 sec., then press into a handstand. While in the handstand, complete a figure-8, as you saw the girl do in the video. Then return to the L-seat for another 3 seconds without touching the rest of the bike, then back to the seat.
wow i never would have guessed that is where the origins of standard skills lie.
I’ve tried to interview her on my way to Langenthal.