The reason why i post is because i feel i skipped some important stuff mostly being able to idle i still cant do it. although i cant idle it is not like i am bad (cough) well ok not great but i can do jumps, ride seat out in front and behind, do a wrap around (leg around the seat), seat drop (kind of) and crank grab to rubber…
does idling improve stillstands and overall balance alot??
is there any advice on idling or riding backwards (i am going to the ashburtan uni meet uk)
I learnt to idle fairly early on, but I can’t remember the last time I tried it. I’ve probably forgotten how! I just haven’t had the need; a standstill with little corrective hops is less effort, takes less room, is far more controlled, quicker to get out of, the list goes on. Right now I can’t actually think of one advantage of idling over stillstanding.
If you really want to learn for the sake of it then keep trying, but I would just leave it for now. If you have the urge in the future you can always come back to it, but don’t let it spoil your enjoyment of riding and learning other skills.
Both hands are free… thats it as far as I know. Good for hockey since you can have both hand on the stick. Plus on things like giraffes stillstand/corrective hopping isn’t really an option.
Idling is overrated as a skill, most competent uni riders are only just about ok at it, I’m not all that good. As Phil rightly says, there’s easier, more compact, and more efficient ways of achieving the same result.
I reckon you only posted to brag about how good you are after only two months
I can just about idle now after almost two years - took me ages to get it half decent on my 20". I still can’t really idle the 26" for more than a few repetitions. I seem to be pretty slow at picking up new skills (I still can’t ride backwards more than a couple of revs - too chicken :o - and I’m getting quite annoyed about not being able to hop up things, seems to be something I just can’t get right at the moment :(). But I really enjoy riding the unicycle and I’m actually quite respectable cross-country.
So don’t worry - you’re really doing much better than a lot of us!
I agree with rob.northcott about the bragging about how much you’ve learned in 2 months.
After nearly a year, I can actually idle. But only because it’s the thing that I’ve practiced since I learned to ride. I wanted to be able to idle and juggle. Also I wanted to be able to dance at BUC. I can even idle with my ‘other’ foot. And I’m getting there with the backwards riding.
But I can only hop up 7cm and drop down the curb. I can’t do any other ‘tricks’, but I can ride my 29er off into the sunset.
just give it some time men… all the good riders have been riding for more then 2 months and I dont think iddling is that important… I barelly ever do it evne tho I can do it… learn funner stuff … unispin crankflips…
ok i am really sorry about coming off like that. i promise you i did not mean it that way. I have had my uni for a while but never really bothered learning, only off and on would i go out on it. it was only when i looked up on the internet 2 months ago that i realised it was amazing and it was the first time i ever realised you could do tricks and not only ride. (i saw the trailer for universe 2 and a short vid by kevin mc mullin http://www.kiteflix.com/unicycle.html)
I did have a lot of time on my hands though and it probaly helped i had skated and tried unicycling before. So dont think i didnt practice. It was before i got my school report and i didnt care that much for coursework so i just rode all the time as much as i could. I now have prelims and gcse’s coming up and need to work more.
Most curious. Doing little hops means most of the time you aren’t moving, and the only real effort is to bend your legs slightly as you shift the wheel over a bit to keep it under you. Doing this doesn’t move around much - you don’t see muni or trials riders idling before a jump or whatnot - and while you’re standing still you are free to launch into whatever move you choose, rather than being constrained by where you are in the cycle of idling…
Agreed about the backwards riding, though, I’d forgotten about that. Also I learnt to wheelwalk from idling too. Not that I use either of those skills much, mind…
I’m sorry, I missed the part about why you were annoyed. It sounds like you’ve learned quite a lot in your two months! The vast majority of the world’s unicyclists probably only ride forward and cannot idle or ride backwards. Or in many cases even freemount.
I would say yes. It’s a fairly basic, or root skill for the unicycle. Many other things branch out from idling, including riding backwards. It teaches you to work around the balance point to the front and rear.
There are tons of threads on idling, so give the search a try. I know it’s not the greatest search out there, but after some more reading you may be able to ask in a little more detail about your problems. So far your problem sounds like not enough time spent on idling, nothing else!
I’d just like to chime in and say that idling, next to the rolling mount, is probably the skill I use the most. I idle seat out, seat in, when I’m waiting at the crosswalk, on slanted surfaces, in the rain, seat on side, in my sleep. When I’m up on the unicycle and thinking over how to tackle a new trick, I’m idling. I think it’s a hugely useful skill. I don’t even think about idling anymore.
That said, I ride a freestyle uni, and so it’s quite easy to idle, and hard to hop-stillstand on compared to something with a bouncy tire. I think that all you people saying idling is overrated are very wrong. It’s a base skill that helps you learn many other skills, and you should at the very least look into it. It will help you understand how to control the uni, and I find it requires less effort than hop-stillstanding.
On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 20:56:16 -0600, Tim Morin wrote:
>I’ve never tried that. Is it overly useful?
Idling is seen by many as an important skill both it itself (not sure
if hopping is less effort to stay in one place), AND as a stepping
stone to other skills.
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
“erectile function trumps public image - David Stone, commenting on the importance of seat comfort”
and I dont think iddling is that important… I barelly ever do it evne tho I can do it… learn funner stuff … unispin crankflips…