Please! Any advise how to free mount a 5 foot giraffe? I already wach it the
video One Wheel No Limit. Do you have any other suggestions? Thank you very
much. Pietro Ippolito.
Re: Free mount a 5 foot giraffe.
I’ve got a 6’ which I can mount on good days, so I would suspect if you follow
the same procedure, it should be about a foot easier for you.
(For reference, I’m left-handed and idle with my right foot down… whatever
you’re most comfortable should be fine)
Stand behind the uni, holding the seat post in your left hand, place your left
foot on the tire. Almost wedge your toe into the frame of the unicycle. If you
were to apply all your weight to your left foot, the foot should be pushing
forward. Since forward is against the frame, you don’t have to worry about
rolling away.
The frame is angled slightly forward. From the point of view of the rider, I
hold the unicycle so it looks almost completely vertical. (I’m sure it must lean
forward somewhat… I don’t know what others do, but I find it best to keep the
unicycle as far from forward as possible without allowing yourself to fall
backwards.)
>From here on, everything is done in as solid a mottion as possible. It must
be done quickly, but don’t rush it. You’d be surprised at the amount of time you
actually have. Don’t rush, but don’t stop either.
Apply your full weight to your left foot, now, pick up your right foot, and get
it on the right pedal.
(Pause for explanation: consider this – if all your weight is on the right
pedal, and that peddle is in its downmost position, the wheel will not roll.
Yes, I’ll admit, it is possible for you to fall off at this point, but
remember is has nothing to do with the wheel getting out from under you.)
Apply your full weight to the right foot. About here, I switch to using both
hands to hold the seat (no longer by the post)… I don’t know if this is the
best way to go… my hands just naturally do this. Take the left foot off the
wheel, and place it on the left pedal.
Pedal forward one quarter of a revolution (until the pedals are at 3:00 and
9:00) and sit on the seat, and ride away.
Misc advice…
Before I had a giraffe of my own, I had read someone else’s description of how
to freemount. I practiced the only part I could without the unicycle – I took
my standard uni, and put my one foot on the tire, heald the seat with one
hand, and just stood on the wheel on one foot, with the other foot off the
ground. I still can’t do this for very long at all, but it definitely helped
with my balance.
Being able to ride seat-in-front is useful. This helps give you a little more
balance when getting the seat under you. I suggest pedaling until you have the
crank arms horizontal because that’s the point when you’re tallest, and have the
most clearance above the seat. Don’t try to ride seat-in-front in the giraffe as
you would on a standard uni. Since I can’t ride seat-in-front correclty on a
giraffe, I cheat and hold the seat as close to my body as possible here.
Try using a wall to mimic the freemount motion. (Be warned, freemounting as I’ve
described is one of the better ways to get on in terms of stress applied to the
unicycle. Using a wall allows you to easily apply greater amounts of stress for
greater amounts of time. I’ve done no damage (to my sem) but it’s always a
possability.
While I can’t always freemount, I can now always mount fine if there’s a
wall nearby…
same deal – left foot on wheel. Left hand holding seat post, right hand on
wall. Right foot on pedal, left foot off wheel. Now, the left foot is just sort
of dangling. You’ll need a good amount of force to hold the seat in the up
position, but as long as you can support yourself, the wall will support
everything else.
Remember what I said about the wheel not moving if you’ve got your weight on the
down pedal? Here’s where you really feel that.
Ok, now you can get that left foot onto the left pedal. It’s a bit of a battle
to get that seat under you while one hand’s still holding the wall. Go ahead,
and you’ve got it. When I was still getting the feel for the giraffe, I’d
always give it a few good idles before letting go of the wall. Now, ride off
and have fun.
good luck, and have fun jeff lutkus
>Please! Any advise how to free mount a 5 foot giraffe? I already wach it the
>video One Wheel No Limit. Do you have any other suggestions? Thank you very
>much. Pietro Ippolito.
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Re: Free mount a 5 foot giraffe.
Thanks for the info. I’d been up to the point where I could freemount perhaps 1
out of 5 tries on a good day. After reading your message, I made 5 successful
freemounts in a row.
jeff lutkus
>I would agree with most of what Jeff offered except that once you are standing
>on the left pedal the next step should be sit on the saddle. This should be
>done before you attempt to place your foot on the right pedal. Once you have
>made contact with the pedal, rock back one quarter pedal.
>
>I learned this technique from John Foss and have successfully taught several
>riders to free mount using it.
>
>John Hooten
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Re: Free mount a 5 foot giraffe.
I would agree with most of what Jeff offered except that once you are standing
on the left pedal the next step should be sit on the saddle. This should be done
before you attempt to place your foot on the right pedal. Once you have made
contact with the pedal, rock back one quarter pedal.
I learned this technique from John Foss and have successfully taught several
riders to free mount using it.
John Hooten
Jeff Lutkus wrote:
> I’ve got a 6’ which I can mount on good days, so I would suspect if you follow
> the same procedure, it should be about a foot easier for you.
>
> (For reference, I’m left-handed and idle with my right foot down… whatever
> you’re most comfortable should be fine)
>
> Stand behind the uni, holding the seat post in your left hand, place your left
> foot on the tire. Almost wedge your toe into the frame of the unicycle. If you
> were to apply all your weight to your left foot, the foot should be pushing
> forward. Since forward is against the frame, you don’t have to worry about
> rolling away.
>
> The frame is angled slightly forward. From the point of view of the rider, I
> hold the unicycle so it looks almost completely vertical. (I’m sure it must
> lean forward somewhat… I don’t know what others do, but I find it best to
> keep the unicycle as far from forward as possible without allowing yourself to
> fall backwards.)
>
> From here on, everything is done in as solid a mottion as possible. It must be
> done quickly, but don’t rush it. You’d be surprised at the amount of time you
> actually have. Don’t rush, but don’t stop either.
>
> Apply your full weight to your left foot, now, pick up your right foot, and
> get it on the right pedal.
>
> (Pause for explanation: consider this – if all your weight is on the right
> pedal, and that peddle is in its downmost position, the wheel will not roll.
> Yes, I’ll admit, it is possible for you to fall off at this point, but
> remember is has nothing to do with the wheel getting out from under you.)
>
> Apply your full weight to the right foot. About here, I switch to using both
> hands to hold the seat (no longer by the post)… I don’t know if this is the
> best way to go… my hands just naturally do this. Take the left foot off the
> wheel, and place it on the left pedal.
>
> Pedal forward one quarter of a revolution (until the pedals are at 3:00 and
> 9:00) and sit on the seat, and ride away.
>
> Misc advice…
>
> Before I had a giraffe of my own, I had read someone else’s description of how
> to freemount. I practiced the only part I could without the unicycle – I took
> my standard uni, and put my one foot on the tire, heald the seat with one
> hand, and just stood on the wheel on one foot, with the other foot off the
> ground. I still can’t do this for very long at all, but it definitely helped
> with my balance.
>
> Being able to ride seat-in-front is useful. This helps give you a little more
> balance when getting the seat under you. I suggest pedaling until you have the
> crank arms horizontal because that’s the point when you’re tallest, and have
> the most clearance above the seat. Don’t try to ride seat-in-front in the
> giraffe as you would on a standard uni. Since I can’t ride seat-in-front
> correclty on a giraffe, I cheat and hold the seat as close to my body as
> possible here.
>
> Try using a wall to mimic the freemount motion. (Be warned, freemounting as
> I’ve described is one of the better ways to get on in terms of stress applied
> to the unicycle. Using a wall allows you to easily apply greater amounts of
> stress for greater amounts of time. I’ve done no damage (to my sem) but it’s
> always a possability.
>
> While I can’t always freemount, I can now always mount fine if there’s a wall
> nearby…
>
> same deal – left foot on wheel. Left hand holding seat post, right hand on
> wall. Right foot on pedal, left foot off wheel. Now, the left foot is just
> sort of dangling. You’ll need a good amount of force to hold the seat in the
> up position, but as long as you can support yourself, the wall will support
> everything else.
>
> Remember what I said about the wheel not moving if you’ve got your weight on
> the down pedal? Here’s where you really feel that.
>
> Ok, now you can get that left foot onto the left pedal. It’s a bit of a battle
> to get that seat under you while one hand’s still holding the wall. Go ahead,
> and you’ve got it. When I was still getting the feel for the giraffe, I’d
> always give it a few good idles before letting go of the wall. Now, ride off
> and have fun.
>
> good luck, and have fun jeff lutkus
>
> >Please! Any advise how to free mount a 5 foot giraffe? I already wach it the
> >video One Wheel No Limit. Do you have any other suggestions? Thank you very
> >much. Pietro Ippolito.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com