BC/coast distance record?

This is simply wrong. The amount of continuous balance and focus/concentration needed to maintain a long BC wheel, (non-braking) freewheel unicycle, or coasting run is one or more orders of magnitude above the same distance on a regular unicycle. You can get into a zone where long stretches can seem easy but you are always one tiny balance correction or focus change from a UPD.

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Huge +1!

The distance would be a lot shorter, but it would be “reasonable” in that it’s comparable to runs done by different people in different places. For this reason, we have Track Coasting and Track Gliding as events in the IUF Rulebook. They are not always held though. In Italy, they opted for a Downhill Glide competition, which is more fun to watch (also because it fit the schedule; being held in the mountain town where we did the MUni XC and other offroad events). A competition held downhill, however, is unique unto itself and could only be compared to other competitions held on the same course.

Level ground contests don’t have the distance, but they do force riders to push the limits of what’s possible. At Unicon XIII we had a track coasting competition in which Yuichiro Kato went about halfway around the track. And it was a rubber track (higher friction)! That was pretty spectacular. More spectacular, in fact, than the Coasting competition held at Unicon VII, in a neighborhood with non-level streets. The distance was much farther, but it ended at the bottom of the hill (Actually, when Jose Roman had to bump up into a driveway, which he successfully did, but ran out of room shortly after).

In this case the assistance is gravity. But yes, it’s a lot more fun than level-ground distance attempts.

(referring to ice skating) Not at all. I remember visiting my grandparents house in Onalaska, Wisconson one winter, and standing on the frozen Black river taking sunset pictures with the wispy fost blowing over the ice. Then a guy on ice skates came by. He wasn’t doing anything, justing standing straight, with the wind pushing him along at a good clip.

People can juggle three clubs while riding a BC (Dave Winston did this at Unicon II Freestyle). While it’s definitely not as easy as cruising on a unicycle, it is possible to relax, somewhat, while riding one. Most of your corrective motions tend to be front-to-back, which allows for things like juggling. Your side-to-side balance/corrections are much easier if you’re already a unicycle rider.

How long were the runs of juggling? My record is 12 catches while coasting on my freewheel unicycle. I’m sure I can get that up and it may be good practice. I’m not sure I would say it would be relaxed, however. I still need to focus on balancing. The focus needed for juggling 3 clubs is small in comparison.

I can’t remember. I know I learned to do it a little bit, but never worked on it to make it solid. All of this was 25-30 years ago.

Yes, there’s definitely a higher level of tension when riding a BC than when cruising on a unicycle. And you have to pay attention even more. I agree the juggling part is trivial in relation to keeping your body in position to do the throwing and catching.

Rather than creating new discussion topics, I’m taking the opportunity of bringing up old ones.

In 2013, I didn’t know how to use a brake on a unicycle… but now that I’m able to coast on a freewheel unicycle for several hundred metres (my record is 950m at the moment). The discussions in the past were very rich. Both the discussions about the ‘record’ aspect and the skill required to coast long distances.

It’s true that it’s difficult to compare 2 distances that weren’t done in the same place, but for me finding a good spot to train and push your limits is part of the performance.

I think there’s a parallel with slacklining, in terms of the effort and concentration required as well as finding a spot. The longest slackline records are linked to the ability to find a suitable spot (they have reached 2710m).

@waaalrus have you managed to push your limits in coast distance?

I was looking forward to the weekend to get back to 10km from home to try and pass the “kilometre”, but I think I’ve done too much over the last few weeks. Today, it’s fatigue and muscle pain that are predominant. :dizzy_face: (In the last month, I improved my personal best from 350m (which was set 5 years ago) to 950m)

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Congratulations on your progress, Simon! That’s an impressive feat. Even at my best I don’t think I made much more than a run of 300m.

In my early days of practicing fixed-wheel coasting, freewheel unicycling and peg unicycling I practiced on the sidewalks around where I lived and there were places where a run would max out at 60m and 100m. Many of my early videos are on those sidewalks. There were some other spots I found over the years where I would practice coasting but they weren’t any longer. I’ve gone over 100m probably a dozen times or so, either on bike paths or riding the street back from Rocky Canyon Trail (the site of my video Downhill Dream).

Besides physicality and skill there are a couple other factors I would add in which I think are often overlooked. The first is daring. That’s a big limiting factor for me at this time. I used to be much more comfortable than I am now at coasting at higher speeds. The second is error percentage or clumsiness. I have a high clumsiness factor. This manifests in missing easy layups in basketball as well as making unforced errors when I’m coasting. I know what I need to do to make a balance adjustment, it’s just my body doesn’t always execute it correctly. That doesn’t mean I can’t have a perfect, error-free run, it just means I have fewer of them than other people. The longer the run the higher chance there is for an error.

The main ride I do these days includes a dirt road that’s about a mile long. There are a couple spots that I think someone like you or A.J. could turn into a 500m run. Currently, physical endurance is my limiting factor and I can make about 60m. I’m working on that. Once I get my ab endurance better I’m going to try working on my speed. I might be able to hit 300m again but your distances are well out of reach for me.

This video shows the dirt road:

P.S. Can you share details about your usual practice session? If you don’t make the whole distance do you continue on or do you restart from the “top”?

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Probably riding the G36 has helped me gain confidence at high speed.
In comparison, on my 29" freewheel, I don’t protect myself very much because I’m less impressed by crashes. At the moment, I only wear a helmet and a pair of gloves.
Whether riding a G36 or a 29" freewheel, I’m convinced that the higher the speed, the less mistakes are punished. Wheel inertia considerably increases stability and facilitates front/rear balance. At higher speeds, you shouldn’t hesitate to make wider and stronger movements to correct your balance.
I’m thinking more of that than of what might happen if I fall.

That said, from one session to the next, I can see that I’m getting used to the speed and I tend to take more risks. I’m thinking I should at least put some knee pads on before I hurt myself. Up until 1 month ago, I was rarely going faster than 20km/h, and not by much. Today, I did 15 seconds at 28kph on a coast, and I was crying at the finish because the emotion was so strong. I’m feeling very strong sensations but I can see that from one training session to the next, I quickly get used to it and the sensations are less present. It’s a shame (because it’s really good :sweat_smile:) but at the same time it’s a sign that I’m making progress!

Yes, I’m confident that I’ll succeed. I’ve had my doubts today, because I had a party last night… I thought it wouldn’t be compatible with a freewheel session today. I kicked myself up the arse and convinced myself that I was in good shape. I would have been sorry to miss a great opportunity, today the weather was nice and there was little wind.

One aspect I haven’t mentioned, but which I think is important, is the shoes and pedals I use. I use running shoes and look trail grip plastic pedals. My foot stays firmly on the pedal, it can’t stay partially hooked on a spike, and if I fall, I’m at my best for jogging. :man_running:

I run twice a week and since November, I’ve taken up skipping rope. I warm up by doing a bit of jump rope before going for a freewheel session.I also do strengthening exercises for my calves, ankles and feet once a week. I really try to limit the risk of injury on a fall and on the repetition of falls.

I do 2 types of freewheeling sessions:

When I really want to reach the maximum length of a spot, I go to the top and start again. But I’ve gained a lot in terms of consistency: I often manage to succeed on the 1st or 2nd try.

All this to say that today, I did 3 coasts of over 1 km. The first was 1,400 m, which is the maximum length of the spot, and I managed it on the first try (with some cars overtaking me…), followed by another coast of 1,050 m, on a spot where I’d done 950 m last weekend, I had more speed (I was at 28 kph for 15 seconds before the final flat section… that’s when I cried at the finish).
Finally, I made 2 attempts on the only longer spot left: the first at 850m and the second at 1350m, which ended with me falling at 25kph (on my feet).
I decided not to try again, because 1/ I knew I’d already passed the kilometer mark (which was my goal) 2/ the riding was already long (over 30 km away by the time I got home) and 3/ I still need a challenge, it’s a 1700m spot and it’s the longest near my home. :upside_down_face:

I’ll be sharing the details of my spots with you in the coming days.

And I hope to share some images with you. On Friday, I ordered a hoverair x1 drone to film my coasts. I should receive it within a dozen days.

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Here’s the map of the 3 spots for the 3 coasts of more than 1km I did yesterday:

Another map showing the gradient:

1st section (1400m)

The first section is the easiest, with a very smoot slope and speeds almost always between 18 and 22 kph. The hardest part is the flatter section, where my speed dropped to 12 kph.

2nd section (1050m)

The second section is the most irregular in terms of slope, but it’s also the section with the most recently surfaced road. There are no holes.
There are several difficulties: a bend quite steep, followed by a flat where the speed drops below 10 kph, and a final section where you pick up quite a bit of speed (28 kph yesterday). This is the section with the strongest sensations.

3rd section (1350m)

The 3rd section is on a damaged road of poor quality, with bends that lack visibility. The slope is smoother than section 2 (and less so than section 1). When I fell, there was still around 350 m to go to the bottom, of which at least 100 m had to be done at around 25 kph. This is the section where I could go over the mile.

EDIT : I know that the original title of the topic only concerned BC wheel, but since the content was more generally about long distance coasting and the freewheel was mentioned, I’ve changed the title slightly. :slight_smile:

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That’s it, I’ve improved my record and passed the mile mark! :star_struck:

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I rode 80km (5h15) on a freewheel unicycle. I’d never have done so much if it had been a 29" with a standard hub and 125 mm cranks.

In fact, on Saturday, I went back to try the nearly 1700m segment that I’d failed to pass a few weeks ago. This time, I succeeded after 3 failures at 1000, 1150 and 900m. Each time, I got trapped in the flattest and slowest part because I was looking for a rest.
In this 1700m segment, it’s almost impossible to rest: the road is damaged and there’s often a bit of traffic (I didn’t make a single descent without being overtaken or crossed by a car).

In other sectors, there are often sections of good quality asphalt where I can rest my legs a little by sitting on the saddle.
For my successful attempt, I tried to stay as concentrated as possible without trying to rest.
This got me over the flat (which is between 900 and 1200m), except that I started to hear a car coming up behind me. I was in “never mind, keep going, I’m almost there” mode.
And then the slope was so steep that I had to hold out for 15 seconds at 27kph. My thighs were saying “stop, stop!”. The car passed me at the end of this section and I heard another car coming. It stayed quietly behind me until I finally fell, struggling to keep my balance at around 10kph.

Here’s the location map:

In total, that’s about 1,620m. I tried to measure precisely because my goal was to pass the mile and a priori it’s 1.01 miles :sweat_smile: (I’d have been a bit disappointed to do 0.99 miles). In any case, I plan to go back, it remains a real challenge to succeed.

Here’s the unofficial measurement:

Here are the 3 failures followed by the successful attempt:

Zoom in on the successful attempt:

For the past 10 days, I’ve been making a lot of videos with the IA drone I bought.
I don’t have video of this descent, I never tried to fly my drone here. There was too much traffic and it would have added extra stress. Maybe I’ll try it on a sunny Sunday lunchtime, but I need practice, and above all I need to make the descent several times. There may be a way for the drone to stay well ahead of me in the first curves, but I think that in the faster part at the end, I’m likely to overtake it and it won’t follow me all the way.

In any case, I’m having the time of my life. I feel I’m progressing at a good pace and I’ve got lots of ideas in my head to keep progressing and having fun. :grin:

At the moment, the longest descent I’ve filmed is 900m long. On a bike path in perfect condition. It’s much easier.

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I’m impressed and been following your videos on Instagram :star_struck:

Bit off topic - but what drone is it that you’re using for the shots you’ve filmed? (Really smoothe and good at tracking you!)

I am also curious as someone with zero insights into freewheeling - are you deliberately not using a brake to control the process? As in the aim is to use your core to control the flow of riding in freewheel? (Or do you just not have a brake / don’t like using it?)

The more I see of this new discipline of unicycling, the more I feel I’ll have to try it one day - even if my fear response and inclination for spinal safety steer me away from it in favour of the easier sport of Schlumpfing :sweat_smile:

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Has someone tried to ride a freewheel with one feet in the air for better balance, I don’t know how comfortable would it be as the pedals could move, but from my experience coasting on a 20" uni, you can be more relaxed and go through an irregular terrain easier. The main problem of that on a fixed unicycle is that the feet that you have on the frame can easily slide, specially if the shoe sole is wet or with dust. I think that my best is 150m, look forward to get a freewheel and experiment.

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The drone is a hoverair x1. In early January, I saw a video of an American unicyclist on facebook (unicycle chat) made with this drone.
I’ve been freewheeling intensively for 2 months now (at least once every 2 days, at the moment I’m freewheeling almost every day). When I found out more about this drone, I said to myself that this drone and the freewheel could make an incredible combo. And I’m not disappointed :star_struck:

2 months ago, I already knew how to coast on a freewheeling unicycle. I’d only trained in one street, the 320m dead-end where I made my first videos (with Peio). In 2 months, I increased my maximum coasting distance by a factor of 5.

But it’s already been 8 years since I started freewheeling. In the beginning, I always had my hand on the brake, but eventually I managed to coast a few meters… I mostly practiced in a gym.

And then I tried it outside… but I never did as much as I do now, because I didn’t control it as well, I used the brake a lot, and I fell more. The repeated falls caused me a few injuries.

Generally speaking, I really like using the brake on a unicycle. And that’s how I discovered freewheeling. My overall technical level on a unicycle was too low, but my mastery of the brake was sufficient to begin safely on a freewheel unicycle.

In my opinion, when you brake on a freewheel unicycle, it’s the sensation of braking that takes over. The coast is a sensation that interests me more than the braking sensation, which I’m already familiar with on fixed unicycles.

I use the brake to get on the unicycle easily and to stop, that’s all. When I use it at other times, it’s a failure.

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Coasting with just one foot is possible if you use a peg rather than cranks. It’s an “unbike”.

@waaalrus had one, and we see videos of it from time to time (there’s one on unicycle chat: https://fb.watch/qnbDIgMXx4/).

I’ve tried riding with just one foot and it’s super difficult. It means you’re in the position with the cranks vertical and you take one foot off… Even with 2 feet, it’s not the position that offers the most control, so with just one, it’s harder.

However, it must be possible to coast with the 2 pedals down. I’d test it for fun, but the problem is that once you’re at the bottom of the slope, you can’t pedal your way back up.

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Clips? :smirk:
:warning: Don’t try at home, unless you are a professional

That’s a brave thing to write without a legal disclaimer “don’t try at home” or “only for professionals” :smile:

Which, on the other side, is the case for toutestbon …

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Fixed :grin:
But clipless pedals are even better on a freewheel than on a fixed uni. :grin:

Yes, absolutely, without a a shadow of a doubt…

Defining what aspect is ‘better’ varies per person though. In my case they are better for falling off and hurting myself :wink:

I would agree that one-footed coasting was a little easier on my peg unicycle vs. my freewheel unicycles. I didn’t practice it much but I certainly wouldn’t say it has better balance.

I put a small clip of it in this video from August 2014:

I personally don’t think it has better balance on a fixed-wheel unicycle either, although some people think that. I think some people practice extended one-footed coasting first and get good at that and remember that as the “easy” version. I practiced two-footed coasting first so always considered that easier.

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This gives me something to aspire to. Just getting used to coasting short trivial distances without using the brake. Still can’t bring myself to take my hand away from the brake yet.

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