Freemounting

@Wheelou exactly what I mean.

How I learned freemounting:

  1. I learned riding on a street with cars. After 6 tries to successfully mount I had to dismount to let a car pass by. So I learned mounting quickly, but not perfectly yet.
  2. Next goal was riding backwards. With that ability idling was no problem.
  3. With idling mounting is a “no-brainer”
  4. Idle mount is very slowly compared to walk in the direction you want to go to and jump on. So I learned the rolling mount on a 36er. Unlike the 20" the 36er rotates slowly, so you have sufficient time to jump on and hit the pedals.

Same here, and I only need a few weeks off to have ‘problems’ :slight_smile: But doesn’t take long to get back in the groove.

Now, 2 months later, I’ve ridden all size unicycles again : 19", 20",24", 26", 29", 32" and 36". The hardest free-mounts are still the UW’s. Even the 36" wasn’t all that bad. It is the cold starts that are hardest or when going back from a bigger to a smaller wheel, but I learned that having done some rotations brings back the feel of the uni and then the second time mounting after riding mostly goes right the first time.
Sticking to one size make the free-mounts most stable, but I like riding them all.

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i am riding for one and half to two years now. I still struggle with the freemount (6-9 pedal position step on) type.
I constantly try to improve it and had some success by trying to lean very much forward and by trying to direct the push off more in forward direction not so much in vertical direction. Playing around with these two parameters improved my mounting skill significantly.
Out in the fields especially direction uphill on none asphalt my skills to freemount are still very limited.
I also have trouble to immediately get the right foot position, so i often have to adjust my second foot, which regularily fails in forest path conditions. I keep on trying and enjoy it!

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I am assuming you meen 3-9 :sweat_smile: 6-9 translate in my head to a pedal setup that is very silly and fun to ride :joy:

I still often fail that on my first try after 16 years of unicycling, and yeah, in the woods that can make things interresting indeed sometimes. :sweat_smile:

I guess I have focused more on managing and correcting than on actually getting it right first time.

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Keep at it, folks, you’ll master it before you know it, after all, you can’t ride it unless you’re on it. I will forever be a huge advocate of the rolling mount. Works in any conditions, flat, uphill, downhill, and it can be done smoothly after you’ve gotten the concept down. A static mount often involves shifting your weight as you hit the second pedal and the saddle. On a rolling mount, you’re already moving forward, you’re weight naturally continues to move that way.

Grab your most comfortable ride and find a flat, smooth surface. Tennis court, parking lot, empty street, they all will work. Hold the uni in front of you with your preferred holding hand and start walking forward; casual pace for smaller wheel, a bit faster for a larger one. When your preferred mounting pedal, the one you normally step onto first, reaches just above the lowest position, step onto it and jump up and forward placing your second foot onto the pedal. As soon as your second foot hits the pedal, you should have enough gathered momentum to almost immediately begin pedaling forwards. The jump off of your second foot will vary based upon the speed you were walking and the size of the wheel. It might seem awkward at first, especially if you’re used to static and roll-back mounts. However, once you get the feel for moving forward as soon as your second foot hits the pedal, you’ll be hooked. Even on my 36, I always semi-jog at least four or five steps before attempting a mount, the rolling mount just flows so much more smoothly in my opinion.

I will give it a try again. When first learning to ride the 36" so many years ago, I also tried the rolling mount which worked a few times, but I found that static mount was easier, in a sense that I didn’t have to keep looking at the pedal for it to be in the right position and then look forward to continue the ride. Also even with a rolling mount, while on top, the wheel wood still stop for a moment to let my balance point get past the wheel.
As with all of these things, practice makes perfect. A rolling mount does look cooler.

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It’s a static axis, during any mount the wheel is gonna have to stop rolling. All a rolling mount does is help your upper body and second leg to be already be moving. The wheel will probably stop, but you’ll likely find yourself already in front of the wheel as you begin to pedal.

As far as foot position, as you put your second foot up, aim for your tippy toes, maybe the ball of your foot. You can place those two spots way more accurately. Both of them on the pedal will allow you to pedal a few revolutions and then adjust casually as you’re riding. So long as your foot is on the pedal and not hitting the crank, you’re safe to pedal forward. Even try riding with your less dominant foot in weird positions, it might help you get used to mounting and riding a few revs before adjusting your feet.

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Eventually I will also have to learn rolling mounts on the UW, but that requires me to hop up and land both feet simultaneously on both pedals. This could also be a fun SIF mount and then just shuffle the seat between ur legs and ride off into the sunset.

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The UW I have absolutely no tips for lol. Idk why that contraption has become so popular in the years that I’ve been away from my uni.

I just keep telling myself that if Im good enough it can be an alternative transport for quickly going to the shop or something. I just hope I will get that experience before my knees give out.
Aside from that I like it, because it is very difficult to ride. It is a good challenge every time.

As for the rolling mount on a normal uni, I once saw this vid on youtube from someone in some competition who just ran with his uni and made the jump in fluid motion where he landed on the unicycle and rode on, without stopping the uni from rolling.

I’ve mostly settled into something like a rolling mount, but only rolling about a quarter rev or less, so not talking any full walking steps into it. IMO it gives a bit of the momentum as from a rolling mount, but requiring less space and coordination. “slightly rolling mount”? “sloppy static mount”?

i recorded a quick demo yesterday on my 29 just before doing some muni, but it’s what i use for all my unis 24-36. i think the amount of roll i need is less on smaller wheels and has gradually decreased in general, but i exaggerated it a bit here.

isn’t that a normal static mount? I mean possibly you need to keep the wheel fully still when mounting, but once Im on, my left non-dominant foot will have rotated the wheel close to the 6-position, leaving just enough space to put in some force in starting the roll. On the 36" though the wheel tends to roll backwards a little, instead of forward, so I roll the uni under my body instead of moving my body over the uni. Only with the 36".

Maybe it depends who you ask? I’ve always thought a “proper” static mount meant no forward roll at all until the second foot is on, and therefore no weight on the first pedal or else you’d roll back. But I’m using the bit of momentum from the partial roll so that i can put a bit of weight onto the first pedal without rolling back.

I agree. @unitortoise pushes the uni into 3-9 pedal position before the foot leaves the ground, and then does a perfect static mount. This is actually how I also perform what I call a static mount. I start with an angle and then push uni into 3-9 when I leap.

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Ok, apparently I don’t know what a static mount is, but thanks, I’ll take the compliment that I can do a perfect one :laughing:

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He performs perfect rolling mounts without stopping the wheel.
It is just really hard to do. What he does is awesome. Watch out for his last mount, perfectly continuous rotation.
I remember me chasing my UW and I had no chance to hop on correctly.

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just wow. If only I could do that. Those are 24" UWs. I haven’t tried mine yet. It is a slightly wider tire than the 28". Maybe that makes it easier.

Here’s another crazy UW vid:

yeah I’ve seen that vid many many times. Whenever I feel like quitting because it is to hard, I need to see it, so I know again what my goal is. Freedom on just a wheel.

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