From searching, I know that this is a much-covered topic. However…
I’ve started trying to shake off the ignominious lamp-post. Going from advice on RSU, I started with a static mount, pedals at 2 and 8. No great joy; mostly I was just not able to push forward enough to start pedalling[1]. I then tried the roll-forward variant, to give me a bit more oomph. Over the course of dozens of attempts, I realised I had started to pull back on the top pedal as I got my weight on the seat. Hang on a mo’ - that’s what Charlie Dancey recommends in his book, but I’d dismissed it as too hard.
So now I’m deliberately starting from a 12 and 6 position, easily able to get the height to get on the seat and pulling back on the pedal. The trouble is that 19 times out of 20, I’m ready to go in the front/back plane, but off balance sideways, invariably (mounting with my right foot low) to the left. Because my left foot (that I’m pushing off from) is offset to the left, there’s lots of scope for error). I’m starting to feel that I would be better learning to idle first - at least that way I could correct the lean!
Is this a fault of technique, or just another thing to learn?
Cheers
John
[1] I can do it (occasionally) if I lower the saddle, but I like the saddle where it is.
The Roll-Back mount is best started with the ‘low’ pedal slightly off 6o’clock position.
It should be slightly towards you so that the wheel will roll slightly towards you as you step on that pedal.
When you step up onto the machine, sit on the seat and aquire the second pedal, your weight should be slightly behind the balance point. Pulling the pedal back will then roll the wheel in behind you and leave you leaning slightly forward and perfectly poised to ride off.
I don’t think you’re doing too much wrong at the moment.
I’m afraid the solution to your problem is probably just practise, practise and more practise.
Make sure you have the seatheight right.
When seated on the seat with your heel on the pedal, your leg should be straight but not locked.
Where in the UK are you?
Can you hook up with other riders?
My .02 - To me, it seems the mistake most make when learning to freemount is thinking that they are supposed to back pedal the wheel under them entirely. This often results in a projectile unicycle in the rearward direction or at least a very shaky start…
It’s a combination move… Hold the pedal down with your foot, but you also need to push yourself up on top of the uni with your foot on the ground. Not a hop as that’s not smooth, just sorta a quick up on your tip toe and then to the up pedal. When you mount, the wheel in relation to the ground shouldn’t move back much. Almost like you’re using the down foot on the pedal to just hold it in place while you push yourself up on it with your grounded foot.
One of those things that’s easier to demonstrate than write.
Also try not to hit your shin. People do it all the time when they try my uni. I learned to freemount by just getting out there and doing it. If you start getting it you’re doing it right.
I will tell you my story of freemount
I start in August 2005 with unicycling. After two or three days I could ride a little bit and so I start to try freemounts. I wasn’t able to make the normal freemount but I could sidemount after 5 minutes !?
I prefer to start going backward after mounting but I can’t ride backward so this was not a good way. One day later I was also able to sidemount and go forward
It needs the next 4 month to be able to make the “normal” freemount and I’m still not good in it. I could also make a jumpmount for example, this is more than easy but normal freemount is still difficult for me.
I also could jump with uni after some minutes and before I could ride it
While time I meet some people that riding for many years and some of them told me that they still got some probs at normal freemount.
So maybe first try to learn another way of mounting (I think jumpmount is the most easy cause you have to do nothing than to force yourself to jump on the uni. After I do it the first time I must laugh a lot cause I think two weeks about trying it and it was SO easy.
From my opinion there are no fixed rule what to learn first and what after.
At http://www.unicyclist.org you could find a lot of video clips about several mountings and also about many tricks. Mayb you should look there for more help or for “your” mount.
the thought that the rollback mount is shakey isnt entirely tru…i never learnt the static mount though i should and my rollback is near flawless. its very stable.
Maybe you should give the static mount a go again, it’s really easy and will help you mount on skinnies (later on) a lot easier. What you do is you put your uni slightly in front of you, with the pedals at 3 and 9 o’clock. Put the seat against your crotch, and at the same time as putting your foot on the pedal nearest to you (preference, I use my left foot) slightly push against the uni, to stop it from rolling back. You should be able to hold this position quite easily, one foot on the pedal one foot on the ground. Now, next, you’re going to push down with the foot on the ground. What this does it not only does it give upward momentum, but it also counteracts the fact that your back foot is already pushing down a bit on the pedal. Next just plant your right foot on the other pedal, and away you go!
[QUOTE=olarf]
I will tell you my story of freemount
After two or three days I could ride a little bit and so I start to try freemounts. I wasn’t able to make the normal freemount but I could sidemount after 5 minutes !?
I prefer to start going backward after mounting but I can’t ride backward so this was not a good way. One day later I was also able to sidemount and go forward
It needs the next 4 month to be able to make the “normal” freemount and I’m still not good in it. I could also make a jumpmount for example, this is more than easy but normal freemount is still difficult for me.
QUOTE]
Practically identical to my freemounting experience. I still use the side mount 90% of the time, with a few roll back mounts from time to time. I think if you can nail the standard mount though it will help when you get a bigger uni (and trust me, you will…) My freemounts on my 29er are still more than a little wobbly…
Actually, what I meant to say before (but forgot) was that I always console myself (when I have been practicing freemounting for hours/days/weeks and not getting anywhere) with the thought that it is time well spent because even if I haven’t managed to freemount very successfully I have probably learnt something about balance and I believe that it helps me in generally riding the unicycle.
For example I have just spent many hours over the last two weeks practicing freemounting my 29er. Although I’m still not very good (although better) at feemounting I have much improved my control and confidence in controlling the wheel and can dismount very gracefully.
I like to think that you have to fail at a skill a certain amount of time before you’re ‘allowed’ to get it right.
A karmic kinda thing.
The sooner you notch up your 1000 (to pick a random number) ‘failures’, the sooner the freemount faeries will allow you to freemount.
It’s up to you to decide how long you want to take to get thru the required amount of ‘failures’.
I toggled back and forth between failing at the static and then failing at the rollback mount. (I like variety.) In the beginning I was less crappy at the rollback, but at this point I have almost mastered being less crappy at the static freemount. Here’s what helped me:
First off, I lowered my standards. I am not 14. I can’t practice 3 hours at a clip… I have to work, grocery shop, feed the dogs, etc. I stopped being envious of Dudewithasock (well, mostly) and decided to be happy with my own pace.
Somewhere in here someone gave a description of stepping up on the uni when freemounting that made sense to me: Step on the back pedal with the same sort of fake-step you’d use when stepping on your friend’s stomach. I also experimented with the pedal height. I found that having the back pedal somewhere between 9 and 10 o’clock helps me not to put any weight on it. (Intellectually, I thought lower would be easier, but once again my mind was completely out of synch with reality!) Also, I slid my foot forward so that I had the arch on the pedal instead of the ball of the foot. Mixed results, but the idea is to keep fine-tuning.
I can’t really give any advice on the rollback mount. I had a sneaking suspicion as I practiced that one that I would learn how to unicycle backwards before I ever learned the mount itself!
I had many long (150+ feet, which, for this beginner, seems long) rides today, and I even turned a corner successfully (mostly). So I know I have to start in on freemounting soon. I’ll be checking out all of the threads I can find on freemounting using the search function, but since this one’s current, and I can’t remember reading this question before, I’ll just ask it now.
I’ve been mounting with a support on my right side since I started. Should I learn how to mount and take off with the support on my left side before I learn to freemount, or does it really not matter?
I only ask because I tried it a few times, thinking, “well, what the heck, it’s the same thing only a mirror image, I should be fine,” and it was as if my body had never even been on a unicycle before. I almost fell over while I was still holding onto the support. It was about the same as when I started with the support on my right side, but, thankfully, I can barely remember that.
So anyway, I was just wondering if being able to mount with the support on the other side would make learning how to freemount any easier, or if I should just bite the bullet and start learning to freemount.
If it feels really weird when you try it with the support on the other side then it’s obviously something the body still needs to learn
That can only be a good addition to the step you take on your way to the freemount and it’s always a good idea to learn everything on both sides or with both feet.
On Fri, 27 Jan 2006 19:03:50 -0600, RichVoice wrote:
>I’ve been mounting with a support on my right side since I started.
>Should I learn how to mount and take off with the support on my left
>side before I learn to freemount, or does it really not matter?
The mounting-with-a-support may lead to a foot preference that carries
over to freemounting. I remember that was so in my case. There’s
nothing wrong with that, especially if it is the foot you prefer
anyways. If you would prefer the other foot for freemounting, I think
you can attempt the freemount rightaway.
If you still decide to try the other supported mount before the other
freemount, please report back whether or not you think it was helpful.
