I have a few questions about coasting, I am (unoficially) 7th level unicyclist and I decided, that the next skill I’ll learn will be coasting. I’ve been working on it about week or so, but the progres seems to be very very slow (i usually coast for few inches, but for a few times i managed to go for some 2-4 meters)
So here are my questions.
1)how long does it take to get good at coasting (I mean go for at least 10 meters before falling most of times)?
2)Is it posible to learn to coast without first having gliding down ?(i have noticed that tire wears of very quickly via this skill:( and im not as rich to buy new one every month:) )
Is it posibble to coast downhill (i mean does any of you do that:) withou killing yourself?
im working on the same trick at hte moment, I used to ve farely well at it, but stopped and havnet tried for bout 5 months, I started again today but am having dificulty cause im doing it in bumpy rocky dirt. Are you riding one footed into your coasts or are you riding right into it? To get it down is depending upon person, terrain and how much you practice. I dont know about hte coasting before gliding cause i never tried before I could glide. As for downhill im sure its possible, as long as the grade is not insane and its for a short distance, but why bother, just glide down the hills and try to coast on the flats. But I dont know too much on hte subject cause I still havent gottin it down…
I am starting my coasting from riding one footed (i have 1ft riding pretty well down=can go fwd/bwd in figure 8 with either foot :)).
Is there any other way (besides gliding) to transfer to coasting?
For some tips on learning to coast, look here. You will have to scroll down a ways.
Learning time varies from person to person. Jesse Berg told me he learned it in a day. I have been working on it since June of 2004, so about ten months, and I’m just about to the point where I can go ten meters consistently. It will probably be a very long, frustrating process. Just practice as much as you can, and it will come eventually.
No, gliding is not necessary before coasting, although it would certainly help to learn gliding first. I started on coasting about the time I started working on one-footed wheel walk, but by the time coasting actually clicked, (I could go ten meters and ride out at least once in a while), six months later, I had learned gliding. I think I probably would have gotten coasting eventually without gliding, but I can’t say for sure.
I have done a little downhill coasting. It’s certainly possible on very slight downhills. It’s very scary on steep downhills, though, because you accelerate sooooooo fast. I have managed to stay on on a somewhat steep downhill grade for about twenty meters. Beyond that, the fear factor usually overrides my balance. (Which is pretty pathetic in any case.)
There are a bunch of ways to get into coasting. You can go from gliding, one-footed riding, regular riding, and one-footed wheel walk fast. The most practical for learning is one-footed riding, but I think going directly from regular riding is a good exercise to improve stability once you can coast at least a little bit.
I suggest you work on both kinds of coasting, with the leg extended and with both feet on the frame. Originally, I worked only on leg extended, coasting, and it was only when, six months later, I finally switched to coasting with both feet on the frame that I finally got it. Now I actually find it easier to coast leg extended. So work on both, and don’t be afraid to experiment.