If anybody could give me some useful tips on ww i would really like it. I know that you have to lean back farther than usual but what else. Thanks
Anyone?
I’m trying to learn too. I find it better not to hold on to something when trying new things. I guess it helps me to be less dependent on other things and more dependent on my balance. Also, wear a helmet!
ehhh, hold onto something and go uphill @ first, you get it in like 5 mins, then just keep going off the object and do it a bazillion times and you will be able to do it, also it is much easier to do on a unicycle with rounded crown and a bigger tire
help i need more help!!!
why go uphill at first???
Why a rounded crown? And when you say bigger tire, do you mean the width,or bigger as in 24" vs a 20"? I thought ww was easier on a 20". Is that because of the center of gravity thing? A freind of mine and myself will be trying to learn ww later today, on our MUNIs!
this is what I learned doing wheelwalking. way easier on flat ground. lean back way more than you think you should. It’s way easier on a 20" by 1.95 or simial tire. At first it seems easier on a trials tire 2.5" wide, but once you really start doing it it’s harder than on a freestyle.
Don’t be shy to sort of slightly zig zag back and forth at first… it makes it much easier to keep your balance.
When I started practicing it was indoors in a hallway where I could reach out and hold the walls if I needed to.
Here’s a vid I made for someone else a few months ago where you can see what I mean by zig zag… You can also see how I put my feet and have my arms helping balance:
http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/?g2_itemId=196316
Other than that just Practice! Practice! Practice!
For more useful help, please describe your problems. You do not need to lean back. That piece of advice is often mis-related. Like most other tricks you need to sit up straight for best results. But when wheel walking it feels a lot different because of your leg position. Practice while holding onto a fence or wall to learn the foot motions. Don’t let your feet touch or overlap each other. Keep a few inches between heel and toe. Put toe on the tire first, then middle of foot, then heel rolling off the front. Your best grip is with the toe and heel part of your shoe.
Other advice I don’t agree with:
- Rounded crown: depends on the size of your unicycle. Your feet aren’t on the crown, but any crown that doesn’t get in the way is fine. Often a rounded one is less in the way, but generally a rounded crown is bad for lots of other tricks.
- Not holding onto something: This will probably just waste more time in the initial stages. First you must learn the foot motions, then learn to speed them up. After that try doing it in the open.
- Yes, uphill makes it easier. Wondering why? Give it a try.
- 20" wheel? I prefer 24". Lots more room for your feet, but it’s 2" higher up. A wider tire will be easier for your feet to work with.
I’m trying to learn to wheel walk at the moment, too, and I’ve found that I can stay on longer and keep control when I wheel walk very slowly. It’s easier to keep your forward/backward balance when you don’t have to concentrate on making your feet go fast.
How about this for a ww learning tool: A long rope streched tight betwen two points, about 10-20’ long, and about 6’ high, or just high enough to reach up easily to hold onto in order to guide you forward as you ww. Would this be a good way to learn? Seems like it might work well.
Thanks for all your help. I can get about 20-30 feet now so i think i will have it by next nationals.THANKS!!!
I modify the above by saying TWO ropes instead of just one, about 4’ apart and only about 5’ high. You would then ww between these 2 ropes, using them to help balance and guide you forward, and also could be helpful in the event of backward upds.
umm … the ropes will make it harder… it will be one more thing to balance on right?
i suggest a wider tire
w/ some kind of slower tread, the main thing with wheelwalking is keeping your speed under control, but i also found it is much easier to mount wheelwalking
… and you sort of lose it if you don’t do it often
Now that u mentioned ropes i remember that when i first learned to ride, my dad put up 2 sawhorses and nailed 2 2by4s in between them
That’s an even better idea.