Do you also hop on smaller wheels. In some of those vidz with 19" it looks more like peeps just push the uni underneath their buts instead of putting on one foot on the pedal and then making a small hop with the other. That is also how I mount, but the idea of just pushing the uni underneath me, may make it much more table with mounting. It should be doable with a 24". Maybe I should just see if I can keep balance by just having my right-foot on the pedal and the other one just hanging in the air.
From day 1 (5 years ago) I have mounted by jumping off left foot and landing right foot on pedal. Felt right for me.
While touring the length of New Zealand and western USA I continued the same.
But at a time in the eastern USA after about 5000km and feeling my left leg beginning to fatigue one day, I thought I better try Jump mount, jumping off my right foot and landing on the pedal with my left foot.
This is with a 25kg (55lb) loaded 36” unicycle and a 9kg (22lb) backpack.
On a slight downhill slope, it took about 5 attempts and then I miraculously mounted successfully. With the attempts, it felt kind of “not too foreign” and I left it at that and went back to jumping off left foot.
Fast forward 3 weeks later (July 2) and being injured with Medial Collateral ligament tears to left knee, it took 2 weeks to rehabilitate to the point I could walk and 4 weeks to try ride again.
With ongoing rehab of left knee, I could only mount jumping off right foot. With unloaded unicycle, eventually I got it and continued short 2 km rides. This was at UNICON22 (July 24 - Aug 8) where I had to ride from the classroom share accommodations to the Youth hostel for breakfast.
By the end of Unicon22, I was riding (unloaded) distances of 20km again and also completed a couple of official Cols (hill climbs) in the area with 5 - 10% grades. Best continuous hill climb was 10% grade hill for 800m before rest stop. All mounting jumping off right, pedal landing with left foot.
After Unicon, I could ride with unipacking loads again (mounting - stepping off right foot) and rode from Innsbruck over the Brenner Pass - 150mm crank length used on steep bits (I walked the last 5km of steepest hill) and on towards Venice. I stopped at Conegliano, once back on the plains (out of the Dolomites) where the Munchen-Venice trail got too convoluted, zig - zagging around villages, and the direct roads had no shoulders and were busy with traffic including tractors towing wide trailer wagons.
I realise I should post some of this post as an update to the Unicycle circumnavigation post I created.
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I mount with the right pedal back. But I hop and jump mount opposite with the left pedal back.
For freestyle I try and learn tricks on both sides. But for trial I mount right foot back, do a half-rev and jump with my right foot forward or jump mount with left pedal back (i hold the seat with my right hand and jump to the left).
So I would definitely say I am right foot dominant.
But I think for unicycling it is a bit complicated concerning what us regular vs goofy footed.
I previously did bike trials and freeride mountain biking and ride with my ride pedal forward. I would argue that is regular, as the right foot is the power and control foot for bunny hops and jumping. If I remember correctly, many bmx riders disagree and say the dominant foot goes on the back pedal.
In most sports I am regular: snowboarding, skateboarding, slalom water skiing, etc.
In freestyle I can only do one-foot wheel walk and standwalk with my right foot. And my one-footed riding with my right foot is very very strong. However, after quite a bit of practice my left foot one-footed riding is not so good, which makes it hard for me to improve my gliding (ideally pedal one-footed with non-dominant foot and the put the dominant foot on the tire for gliding).
So I would guess mounting may be mostly a function of how you learned, and most people are initially shown right pedal back.
And footedness in unicycling is more significant in hopping jumping. I can barely manage to hop a few times with my left foot forward (as i mount), whereas i do trials with my right foot forward and can jump multiple pallets and jump over 140cm laterally (right foot forward, right hand on seat and jumping to the left).
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