Well, if you want an aswer to your question, all you need to do is head out to a skate park and count them number of skaters over forty; these would be the folks who learned to skate in the heyday of the 70’-80’s. You won’t see any. Same goes for BMX, just not that common with older populations as they have moved on to other things. Snowboarding seems to be the exception
My son is an excellent rider, kills it on a muni, but after two years of riding his interest has wained. He started high school this year, has lots of homework, none of his friends ride uni, so he spends his free time playing Magic and goes for the occassional muni or bike ride. Meanwhile, I cont to ride 2-3x a week
The injury thing is a real problem for me as an older rider. It seems like I am almost always nursing a broken finger or two; currently L index finger and R pinkie. So armor, stitching my glove fingers together, and being cautious.
There some older riders from the “dogtown” era, who still skate bowls but they are definitely the exception. You’re right about the injury factor with older riders. Our bones break easier, and heal much slower, muscles aren’t as resilient, our bodies not nearly as flexible (in most cases) and older riders generally are much more aware of the possibility of getting hurt.
Not that flatland is any more dangerous than riding down super steep, rocky terrain, or doing big drops, etc.; it’s just different, and something totally new for me. Because it’s completely new, uncharted territory, I think the chance of getting hurt by falling on the uni during a trick, or onto my tailbone, or faceplanting is a real concern. I also realize that part of learning flatland will likely mean a LOT of bails. Hopefully none too serious! :o
Terry , 2 possibilities, the first , you have a lot of free time and pratice A LOT! to learn all this skills , the second , your are the fastest flat learner !
I spent 2 days for learning a simple leg wrap , and 1 day to learn more or less how to tire hop , and you do more tricks in less time! ok you have a fan haha
I always manage to catch myself with my hands before faceplanting, and tailbone collisions have been avoided by landing on my elbows (laying flat on my back with my elbows under me, hurts like hell but better than a tailbone injury I guess). Falling onto the unicycle though, is definitely the worst. Once, I somehow managed to fall, hard, with my upper thigh going into the frame and all my weight on top of it, and I couldn’t walk for a day, limped for at least like 4 days, and couldn’t ride for like a week. 4/5 times you’ll be able to stay mostly on your feet though when you fall, especially in the beginning, so you should be good.
Haha thanks Eric, but I really haven’t learned much yet! I wish I could learn what you did in such a short time! I think it will take me many, many months to do even a few tricks with any consistency and flow.
The great riders make it look easy, but I know it’s anything but easy! Of course there are some who take to it easier than others, and seem have a natural “affinity” for it, while others really have to work extra hard at it. I fall in to the latter category, and then some. :o
They look really cool but they kinda hurt my feet, so I’m wearing them in the house to hopefully break them enough that they’ll be comfortable. If not, I can take them back within 30 days. :o
You should be good for a least one summer with that! Seriously, Flatland destroys shoes, my shoes are already dead within 2 months. I’m going to buy 5.10 soles and stick them under my shoes though. Hopefully the 5.10 soles will last longer!
I dont want the whole 5.10 shoe, I only want the sole so I can stick it under my Vans! Also, my mom dont want to buy me new shoes… I detroyed them too fast for her:(
Yeah that might be a good idea I know you can buy the 5.10 sole kit and glue them on. I think you would have to somehow remove the old worn out sole first though, right? What part of flatland makes shoes wear out so fast? (All of it? haha)
I’ve had a pair of globe skate shoes with this sole for about 8 months and there’s no sign of them giving up for a while. They’re by far the best shoes I’ve used for unicycling.
I still dont know how to repair my shoes, but I guess you’re right! I think the destroying shoe part of flatland is pretty much everything, I know that rolls are really bad for them, but maybe wider cranks aren’t that bad (I used my Tensiles alot for flatland) but there’s also bad landings (alot in my case!). I’m not a pro at flatland, and I know that I’m a shoe destroyer no matter what, maybe someone else can explain why.
Yeah I can see that. Maybe rollos will help not only in learning, but by giving more surface area for the shoes.
They look nice, what model are they? I saw these but the soles are pretty much like all the rest. The soles on yours look like they might last longer, as do the nike twilight soles.
I’ve worn out the soles on three pair of 5.10 high impact shoes over the past 3-4 years, but I guess that’s not so bad considering how much I ride! So that’s like one pair per year. I think the 5.10 resole kit comes with instructions.
My current shoes (Nike 6.0 Mogan 2, cost $35-40) that I’ve been riding 3-4 months on the left, new shoes that I’ll ride in soon (same but different colorway) on the right.
cool shoes and they look like they’re wearing very well!
Well, after LOTS of searching and researching, and trying on LOT of different skate shoes, I finally found one that is SUPER comfy, fits perfectly true to size, and is much more flexible that the nikes I had (and returned). They are the Vans SK8 hi fleece! Amazingly comfortable right out of the box. A close second is the half cab, but those are a lot heavier.
Today i Painted my old yellow handball shoes ,turned in dark purple shoes haha for a while is the best one i have to flatland! , He has an unevenness in the middle of the sole (a detail of tennis)
and it sucks, sometimes slip because of this unevenness, it is like a litlle step! I really need a skateboard shoes
Seriously, Flatland destroys shoes, my shoes are already dead within 2 months. I’m going to buy 5.10 soles and stick them under my shoes though. Hopefully the 5.10 soles will last longer!
