Hello everyone, I am a rookie unicyclist, who started riding about 2 weeks
ago. With a lot of concentration I do manage to keep most of my weight on
the seat while riding on a level surface. As soon as start riding uphill
(let’s say at an angle of 4 degrees or so), I become aware that I lift my
bottom end off the seat (i.e. I am putting my weight on the pedals). Is
this the “normal” way of shifting one’s balance for riding up an incline?
Or should I still keep my weight on the seat and use a different way for
shifting my center of gravity forward? If so, which one? I hate to teach
myself something I would have to unlearn the hard way… I’d appreciate
any hints. Thanks - this is a great forum. Fred fhs@ieee.org
With practice it is possible to climb relatively steep hills without
lifting off the seat - you just concentrate on spinning and getting
through the dead position each time. You can sort of ooze over short extra
steep parts by twisting your hips a little. But on really steep uphills
(and that might be 1 degree or 30 depending on your experience), you will
want to stand up, at least part way, lean forward, grab the handle and
pedal for all you’re worth. This is what makes long Muni rides possible.
Standing up for uphills keeps your butt from getting sore - I can
literally ride for 5 hours and not get sore at all. On the flat, my record
is about 1 hour (11 miles) and I stopped because I had to, not because I
wanted to!
For long distance uphills (multiple miles), it is possible to be standing
the whole way, but only if you take it slowly and are relaxed. In those
cases, I switch between both techniques, standing on the steepest parts.
Like this, we have been able to climb without dismounts for 2000 vertical
feet over 4 miles - not super steep, but very continuous.
When I was learning, uphill was the hardest thing. I couldn’t do it
at all. If you are already going uphill after only 2 weeks, you’re
doing great! Try to stay as relaxed as possible and it will get
better and better.
—Nathan
“Fred Splittgerber” <320095845127-0001@t-online.de> wrote in message
news:9qjlsh$8ov$01$1@news.t-online.com…
> Hello everyone, I am a rookie unicyclist, who started riding about 2
> weeks ago. With a lot of concentration I do manage to keep most of my
> weight on the seat while riding on a level surface. As soon as start
> riding uphill (let’s say at an angle of 4 degrees or
so),
> I become aware that I lift my bottom end off the seat (i.e. I am putting
my
> weight on the pedals). Is this the “normal” way of shifting one’s
> balance for riding up an incline? Or should I still keep my weight on
> the seat and use a different way for shifting my center of gravity
> forward? If so,
which
> one? I hate to teach myself something I would have to unlearn the hard
> way… I’d appreciate any hints. Thanks - this is a great forum. Fred
> fhs@ieee.org
Fred, I personally find it very difficult to ride up any considerable
incline without “lifting” off the seat. By standing more on the pedals
(and holding the front of the seat) I find it is much easier to “drop” my
weight on the forward pedal. The same is true for downhill. It is possible
to sit but much easier to stand a little.
Jeff
On Wed, 17 Oct 2001 12:17:47 +0200 “Fred Splittgerber”
<320095845127-0001@t-online.de> writes:
> Hello everyone, I am a rookie unicyclist, who started riding about 2
> weeks ago. With a lot of concentration I do manage to keep most of my
> weight on the seat while riding on a level surface. As soon as start
> riding uphill (let’s say at an angle of 4 degrees or so), I become aware
> that I lift my bottom end off the seat (i.e. I am putting my weight on
> the pedals). Is this the “normal” way of shifting one’s balance for
> riding up an incline? Or should I still keep my weight on the seat and
> use a different way for shifting my center of gravity forward? If so,
> which one? I hate to teach myself something I would have to unlearn the
> hard way… I’d appreciate any hints. Thanks - this is a great forum.
> Fred fhs@ieee.org
>
>
>
>
>
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Greetings
In message “Re: center of gravity when riding uphill”, jeff d
tuttle wrote…
>Fred, I personally find it very difficult to ride up any considerable
>incline without “lifting” off the seat. By standing more on the pedals
>(and holding the front of the seat) I find it is much easier to “drop”
>my weight on the forward pedal. The same is true for downhill. It is
>possible to sit but much easier to stand a little.
Putting all or most of your weight on the seat (and holding on to the seat
as necessary) is a better strategy for long distance uphills. Standing on
the pedals for a long time is quite exhausting, in my experience.
>Jeff
>
>On Wed, 17 Oct 2001 12:17:47 +0200 “Fred Splittgerber”
><320095845127-0001@t-online.de> writes:
>> Hello everyone, I am a rookie unicyclist, who started riding about 2
>> weeks ago. With a lot of concentration I do manage to keep most of my
>> weight on the seat while riding on a level surface. As soon as start
>> riding uphill (let’s say at an angle of 4 degrees or so), I become
>> aware that I lift my bottom end off the seat (i.e. I am putting my
>> weight on the pedals). Is this the “normal” way of shifting one’s
>> balance for riding up an incline? Or should I still keep my weight on
>> the seat and use a different way for shifting my center of gravity
>> forward? If so, which one? I hate to teach myself something I would
>> have to unlearn the hard way… I’d appreciate any hints. Thanks -
>> this is a great forum. Fred fhs@ieee.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>________________________________________________________________
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>access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
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Stay on top, Jack Halpern Executive Director for International Development
International Unicycling Federation, Inc. Website: http://www.kanji.org