Going up kerbs...

General
1

I can totter around quite acceptably now; the one thing that prevents me
really being able to unicycle somewhere in one go is crossing roads. I can
go up and down kerbs if they’re dropped; I can go down full kerbs, but I’d
love to be able to go up them!

But… how?

I’ve been able to do little jumps of about an inch; I can’t remember exactly
how; I’ve generally just used willpower and somehow I get airbourne! What’s
the best way to go about learning, given the abject terror caused by
approaching high looking kerbs knowing that pain is imminent?

Ta,

Phil, just me

2

Phil,

The few times I tried to pilot a pogo stick, I failed miserably- untill I learned to hop on a Uni. I spied a 'stick in the toy store, and just had to jump on- stuck it the first try, thank-you-very-much. I’m not sure if it works the other way around (ya, ya- riding a pogo stick upside down- I know, I know) but I susspect it does.

Just like on a stick, first you compress, then spring out while keeping a firm grip. Fight the inclination to leap OFF the pedals and pull the uni AFTER you; rather, bounce-springing with a firm but slightly flexable link with the seat hand- this will allow the uni to be pulled along with you. You’ll find that a significant portion of your height comes from folding at the waist and drawing the cycle up under you after the spring (this also naturaly puts it closer to where you want it for the landing).

Hopping from a still stand did not feel natural to me largly because I was trying to pull the cycle up after jumping off it- kinda like trying to teater-totter by yourself!.

Check out Steven’s great instructions and short vid here:

http://www.muniac.com/tips.htm#hopping

Leen into the direction of the hop before starting the spring to vault in the desired direction.

Skill progression for me started with still stands and rolling hops.

Still stands grow naturaly out of learning to iddle or roll back. Practice coming to a stop, then continue riding. Eventualy, you will be able to come to a complete stop and hold it for an extended period. Actively controlling foot pressure in the still stand is key.

I used this skill as a base for rolling hops; once I could come to a stop, I simple did it at speed, bringing the cranks to a dead stop right as the back pedal was slightly high of horizontal. The back pedal will naturaly try to shove you off- just help it out by springing against the pedals and providing a gental tug on the seat. Now you can try jumping over lines in a parking lot, or seams in sidewalk- a pain free way to develope controll and height. Unlike learning to hop from a still stand (where you can fall in any direction), balancing chalanges are less because you have inertia and direction.

Tackling curbs with a rolling hop ultimately requires more skill than hopping from a still stand- but looks and feels great. It requires you to judge where your foot position will be several revelutions ahead, and make adjustments under pressure.

Transitioning from rolling hops to hopping from a still stand allows you to build a bridge to new skills on existing skills.

Persavier and the uni will feel like an extension of you in no time, reaching out and sticking landings for you.

Christopher

3

Wait, I’m not done rambling…

Phil,

So how to safely develope the hop into something that can tackle curbs without feer? Two things worked for me.

With the rolling hop, I practiced hopping over a 6’ section of 2x4. Since it is harder to jump ON something than over it (you don’t have to land with the body folded when you jump OVER), and since the short section of wood would deflect if I botched the jump, I could be relatively brave. Once you can hop over a 2x4, move up to a 4x4- then the curb.

When hopping curbs in saddle (as apposed to seat out front) it helps to have the seat a bit lower than usual. First learn to hop comfortably without a curb. Your going to have to hop both up-and-over to clear the curb (ya, I know: duh!). Unlike rolling hops, the horizontal motion will not be free. You’ll need to develope travelling hops BEFORE attempting the curb. This is easy to do, thanks to those lovely parking lot lines. Ride parallel with a line, come to a still stand, lean tword the line, and execute a hop (bair your weight down onto the pedals, flex your ankles slightly, then spring- keep a flexable but firm link to the seat with one hand). It doesn’t have to be high at this point- just practice hopping to the side untill you feel like you own those lines. As you get better, practice hopping back and forth across a line. Then start adding height by increasing the force of your spring and the amount you fold your body.

By building skill progressively and independant of risk, you can tackle new chalanges with safty and confidence.

Christopher

4

Heh- that great article was, of coarse, writen by Scott Bridgman. If anybody knows who this ‘Steven’ is, please let me know! :slight_smile:

C

5

Great tips, Chris…I had a similar question myself, so I’ll work at implementing what you’ve said next time I’m on the uni.

Thanks a lot.

6

The easy way to get up a kerb is to hop up. Hopping up things like kerbs takes some practice. One hint is to work on your still stand so you can ride up to the kerb, do a short still stand so you can compress your legs and prepare for the hop, then hop up. Easier said than done. But learning to do a short still stand will help your hopping.

The cool way to get up a kerb is to just roll right up it. George Peck can do it. According to George Peck you just need to unweight the cycle at the right instant and you can roll right up. I can’t do it. Wish I could. One of these days I’ll find the magic flow to be able to roll right up a kerb.

john_childs

7

I would ere on the side of caution from one who nearly chucked his wrist when learning to hop.

Be careful how hard you pull up on the seat. The early tendency when learning to hop is to pull up on the seat too hard. This can create some major problems. Take breaks when you notice some pain or even better, break up the practice sessions with other practicing other skills. Most of all, allow your self A LOT of time to learn this. If pushed too hard, you’ll be useless until it heals.

Learning to hop is like working a maze. You have to make everything work fluidly together and that takes time.
With time and patience it will come to you.

Okay, do I sound like a dad,or what?

Work the maze.

8

Teach’,

Just answer me, yes or no (no cryptic BS): Are you David Bowie, the Goblin King?

Christopher

9

Re: Going up kerbs…

In NYC, all I ever see is “kerbs.” In addition to the good advice already
given,

  1. Watch videos such as Universe.
  2. Starting with your 1 inch jumps. Move to 1.5 inches, then 2, etc.
    Practice frequently.
  3. Inflate your tire to a point where you get maximum bounce.
  4. After a lot of practice you will start to develop an instinct for riding
    up to a kerb, and adjusting the angle of approach so that your pedals land in
    the right place.
  5. Side jumps are easier than direct frontal jumps. Practice both at
    comfortable heights.

Unlike other skills where you might suddenly experience a breakthru, I think
jumping and hopping is more of a gradual accumulation of coordination and
conditioning.
Maybe you could find some planks in order to create a variable height
practice kerb. Otherwise, just keep your eye open as your ride around for
eligible practice surfaces.

Joe

10

Re: Going up kerbs…

I’ve seen David Stone roll straight up a curb while pushing his kid in a
stroller. I can’t do it either, but it does look cool.

Joe

In a message dated 2/22/02 1:45:10 PM Eastern Standard Time,
john_childs.grha@timelimit.unicyclist.com writes:

> The cool way to get up a kerb is to just roll right up it. George Peck
> can do it. According to George Peck you just need to unweight the cycle
> at the right instant and you can roll right up. I can’t do it. Wish I
> could. One of these days I’ll find the magic flow to be able to roll
> right up a kerb.

11

Re: Going up kerbs…

Most responses focus on hopping from standstill. If the kerb/curb is
not too high I personally favour to take it rolling.

I have built a little contraption that can be adjusted in height from
1 to 11 cm. 1 cm is barely noticeable if you just ride over.
Increasing the height gradually makes you develop a rolling hop almost
for free. Analytical directions, all pertaining to the moment of
impact: lean back, put less weight on seat (more on pedals) and pull
up the seat.

Klaas Bil

On Thu, 21 Feb 2002 23:43:08 -0000, “Phil Himsworth”
<phil@flippet.neeeet> wrote:

>I can totter around quite acceptably now; the one thing that prevents me
>really being able to unicycle somewhere in one go is crossing roads. I can
>go up and down kerbs if they’re dropped; I can go down full kerbs, but I’d
>love to be able to go up them!
>
>But… how?
>
>I’ve been able to do little jumps of about an inch; I can’t remember exactly
>how; I’ve generally just used willpower and somehow I get airbourne! What’s
>the best way to go about learning, given the abject terror caused by
>approaching high looking kerbs knowing that pain is imminent?
>
>Ta,
>
>Phil, just me
>
>

–
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked automagically from a database:”
“zone, Pacini, DT”

12

Re: Re: Going up kerbs…

And how did the stroller manage to vault the curb?

Christopher

13

Re: Going up kerbs…

Big tyre, that generally helps.

Chris

Phil Himsworth wrote:

> I can totter around quite acceptably now; the one thing that prevents me
> really being able to unicycle somewhere in one go is crossing roads. I can
> go up and down kerbs if they’re dropped; I can go down full kerbs, but I’d
> love to be able to go up them!
>
> But… how?
>
> I’ve been able to do little jumps of about an inch; I can’t remember exactly
> how; I’ve generally just used willpower and somehow I get airbourne! What’s
> the best way to go about learning, given the abject terror caused by
> approaching high looking kerbs knowing that pain is imminent?
>
> Ta,
>
> Phil, just me
>
>
>

14

Re: Going up kerbs…

Thanks all for your input;

I shall try it sometime this weekend. Hopefully it will be sunny this
weekend so I will finally get the opportunity to ride over the Malvern hills
and do some jumping et al.

Right now though I am just very, very drunk. Sorry all…

Phil, just me

“Chris Reeder” <reed8990@uidaho.edu> wrote in message
news:3C76BE8F.6040308@uidaho.edu…
> Big tyre, that generally helps.
>
> Chris
>
>
> Phil Himsworth wrote:
>
> > I can totter around quite acceptably now; the one thing that prevents me
> > really being able to unicycle somewhere in one go is crossing roads. I
can
> > go up and down kerbs if they’re dropped; I can go down full kerbs, but
I’d
> > love to be able to go up them!
> >
> > But… how?
> >
> > I’ve been able to do little jumps of about an inch; I can’t remember
exactly
> > how; I’ve generally just used willpower and somehow I get airbourne!
What’s
> > the best way to go about learning, given the abject terror caused by
> > approaching high looking kerbs knowing that pain is imminent?
> >
> > Ta,
> >
> > Phil, just me
> >
> >
> >
>
>

15

Christopher,

No is the answer.:smiley:

16

Re: Going up kerbs…

On Fri, 22 Feb 2002 00:35:37 -0600 john_childs
<john_childs.grha@timelimit.unicyclist.com> writes:
> The cool way to get up a kerb is to just roll right up it. George
> Peck
> can do it. According to George Peck you just need to unweight the
> cycle
> at the right instant and you can roll right up. I can’t do it.
> Wish I
> could.

I think I’ve done this a couple times. It requires matching the rhythm of
the sidewalk though! To me it almost feels like a half jump. I do agree;
it’s cool when I can do it and not faceplant.

Jeff

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