Yeap, true to the title, I picked up a unicycle exactly 3 weeks ago out of curiosity and im happy to say i can free mount, ride almost smoothly, go up and down steep hills, and turn with beauty :] I practice every night at my school (UCLA) for about an hour or even more.
if it matters, i ride a torker lx with upgraded pedals and wheels (got it used).
my questions are:
how to jump/hop?
-how important is it to be able to ride without your but on the seat and with the seat in front of you.
-and also, how do you jump while riding because how is one suppose to time the pedals to be horizontal at the split second to compress down and jump.
(dang, i wish i had some acquaintances that can unicycle but i know NONE!..)
secondly,
any tips to ride backward?
im guessing its just practice like i did riding forwards and increasing my pedal revolutions. are there any other tips you guys can give me?
THANKS!
much love from souther california.
davey:)
a little off topic but i think Spencer Hochberg goes to UCLA
and it is important to be able to ride seat in front (SIF) if u ever want to start doing tricks.
i think you made hopping sound very difficult. to learn to hop, begin doing it statically and just get used to the idea of jumping around and keeping balance. as you become more confident start maybe trying further/higher hops and in no time, you will be able to hop while riding
riding backwards can be tricky but I suggest holding onto a rail, post etc. gradually work your way up to leaving the post/rail and riding.
im sure other people will have a few more pointers to help you out
Hop static: Ride slowly wiht your hand grabing the seat, when your pedals are horizontal stand up and keep rigid and extended your arm and legs. To hop just pull up the seat and gently flex your ankles. With practice you will learn to hop higer flexing your arm and your knees when pulling up.
Rolling hop: Ride with your hand in the seat, countdown revolutions and block the back foot (keep it straight) while pulling the seat up. Could be a bit tricky and you have to master static hops.
Riding backwards: The best approach is to combine it with learning how to idle with both foots. To idle just hold to a wall and try again and again with your weight in your seat (80%), you’ll find it exhausting but it worhts it. To ride backwards I prefer do it without holding; just ride forward, stop, half revolution backward, and go forward. Then 1,2,3 revolutions backwards, then forward and so on. You will learn idling and riding backwards at the same time xD.
Riding SIF: When you master the above techniques !!
PD: If you could ride with Spencer you are the luckiest ********* in the world !!
yeap i heard an awesome unicyclist goes to ucla and i saw a small camera crew recording him but i had no clue he was the best.
imma facebook find him and something.
hey could you clarify on what you mean by block the back foot (keeping it straight).
thanks!
Exactly! Riding backward is nothing different that riding forward, except for the direction, and the fact that you don’t have eyes on the rear-side of your head.
And what you say about increasing revolutions counts for any skill:
if you can do it a little, you can also do it a little more, and probably also much more. Just a matter of practice. You can quote me on that.
Just don’t be scared. Make sure there’s nothing or nobody behind you and things suddenly get easier. Don’t be scared to fall; you probably wont; it only happens sometimes, and even if, falling on your back is usually not that bad -as long you made sure you have space enough, and there’s nothing behind you than smooth asphalt or so-. I can’t recall any injury from falling backward (seriously). But maybe my memory is bad, since that last fall (just kidding).
Seems like you’re a beginner? so maybe the levels? Many find these to be usefull basics.
You’re learning fast! I never had the opportunity to practice that much so it took me ages to get to your stage.
Anyways I’ve just started hopping as well, and the main thing I find is that I tend to fight myself, ie. I’m pulling up on the handle before I spring with my legs. This is just tiring and inefficient. Jump first with your legs then pull the uni up after you, not the other way around! That said keep your feet on the pedals.
In terms of timing again it’s just practice, but if I’m trying to jump over a specific obstacle I find it’s just a matter of luck whether the wheel is at the right orientation at the right time to be able to make the jump. I figure once I can jump further it wont be such an issue. What I do is ride along and then when at the right point I suddenly stop my legs at the horizontal and push up. This pitches me forward and I would fall off except that by now I’m in the air . Most of the jump force seems to come from whichever foot is on the rearmost pedal.
Riding backwards really is just a matter of time and to keep on trying. Idling the same. I found idling took just as long as learning to ride in the first place.
+1 It’s a precursor to MANY tricks. For trials or Muni you’ll need to be able to ride SIF to do high hops. It’s also great for improving your general control of the wheel.
Find a long railing, get on uni w/ the rail to the opposite side of your holding hand. Try to pedal REALLY sooth, your hand can help to keep the uni from flopping side to side but if you’re pedaling correctly your hand should require little input. Gradually try to hold on w/ fewer and fewer fingers & w/ it further in front of you. When you can hold it w/ one finger way out in front, drop it and you’re doing a seat drag. You can do the same thing w/ seat in back (SIB). I learned to do it w/ each hand (this could eliminate the need to turn around in some trials lines).
That’s how I learned, but I know a lot of people who first learn to idle, then ride back one full rev then forwards, then two back, etc.
U got me!
hahah,
so today i rode around UCLA again for about 90 minutes.
this is what i did today.
Found a 90 feetish long pole so i practiced going backwards and i can get about 1 revolutions and got about 2 when i got really lucky before holding the side. that is going much smoother than expected :]
but practicing riding with seat in the front…
I can ride pretty well without sitting on the seat but when i try to ride with the seat out in the front, i am stuck in quick sand. but today is like my second day so we’ll see soon if im truly stuck.
real quick question, my torker lx seat is close to impossible to pull out from underneath me because the rear fatter end of the seat is too fat. hmmmm. anyone have this problem or is it just as i get better, this will soon be in the past or do i need to lower the seat and bend out more or what.
Real quick answer, any unicycle seat is not easy to pull out, but it helps when you ride slow come closely to almost a stop when the pedals are horizontal and then ‘stand on your toes’.
Same counts for the transition back. Watch this clip, and focus on my feet.
W/ cranks horizontal, simultaneously tilt both knees out, then pull out the seat. And/or lower it. One inch was enough for me to from hard to easy to pull outthe seat. I’d learn to ride w/ it out, then learn to pull it out on the go.
Hi daveykim,
I started uncycling about 6 months ago. I unicycle at your big crosstown rival USC. I am not a student, just work for them. There was a student I meet briefly that said he uni but I haven’t ridden with anyone yet. Anyways, if you are over here I would be up for a ride.
i have a torker lx too and i also have trouble moving the seat to the front because of its fat rear section. right now i’m just practicing riding SIF and i figure once i’ve got THAT down then i’ll worry about the transition. but i second that sentiment. maybe just a weird cowboy leg flare is necessary.
hey btw i just got the KHtrials.
the seat of the torker lx is significantly fatter than the kh but still its semi “takeoutable” if you can practice taking it out decently out on the torker, its SUPER EASY taking it out on the KH street seat :]
