Okay, so I recently got my Nimbus 24" Orange MUni and have gotten really good at riding it and have decided to start learning some basic tricks. The first, and highly important trick I want to learn how to do is hopping; just even a simple bunny hop would be sufficient for me. I tried different methods in order to achieve a hop but they all failed. I would really appreciate any sort of tips you could give me to began the skill of hopping.
+1! I’m working in this too, progressed but not down yet.
I learned near a fench about hip height. Hold onto it and stand up make sure your feet are vertical e.g left fwd or right fwd, and the other behind. hold the handle with which ever hand what ever felling best (same as feeting postion) and just try to hop from there it’ll take a little while to do it well e.g hop in 1 place like a pogo stick 
but soon after you can hop really well move onto try rolling hop.
Hope this helps
Keep the pedals level. The rest is just details.
My only input since I’m still learning is I found I started hopping once I stopped pulling up on the seat trying to pull the uni up, just bouncing on my toes. I have yet to go from riding to hopping. I keep trying to ride-stop-ride but most the time I UPD forward.
NOTE: if you are just learning to hop, please practice hopping with the pedals in the same orientation as when you mount. When MUniing, it can be VERY useful to static-mount straight into a hop (especially when you are playing on an obstacle such as a boulder or a log).
This is assuming you learn to hop with only one pedal configuration. If you can hop with either pedal forward, it doesn’t matter.
Also…
Practice hopping without the unicycle (with one foot forward / one foot back as if on pedals).
Ride - stop - ride. Then ride - stop - bunny hop - ride.
Try hopping while holding on to something.
Static mount into a still-stand. Then static mount into a still-stand then hop.
Don’t forget to pull the unicycle up with you (the tire compressing will help you).
If you want height, bend your knees! I think that’s why I stink at hopping. You won’t get far off the ground otherwise. Again, practice jumping up in the air without the unicycle.
If you can expand upon this part, this is where I’m stuck! Thanks. lol.
I’m not sure how to fix your problem. You stop with the pedals level, right? (horizontal – at three o’clock and nine o’clock?) It’s unlikely that you are doing that wrong, but I just wanted to mention it.
If you UPD off the front, it’s possible that the wheel is stopping but your body isn’t. I’m not saying to lean back as you are stopping, but maybe just think about leaning back in order to counteract the momentum of your upper body. It’s subtle. Do that only if you think you have a momentum problem.
Here’s a diagnostic idea. Can you hop while you are stationary and holding on to something? I don’t care whether your wheel even gets off the ground – can you at least bounce your weight up and down on the pedals? You have to evenly distribute your weight in order to keep the pedals level so that the wheel doesn’t twitch or roll. If that is giving you trouble, then maybe that’s what’s throwing you off when you stop. You are stopping, but your weight is not evenly distributed and the pedals move instead of staying put.
Also, do you dismount to the rear? That’s a little like ride-stop-ride (it’s just the ride-stop part). If you just pop off the front when you stop, it’s not as graceful or skill-building. A rear dismount and a static mount are somehow related: a rear dismount is a little like a static mount in reverse. And a static mount (or a graceful dismount to the rear) is a second-cousin to both a brief stillstand and a hop. Do you static mount? Try a static mount into a stillstand. Or a static mount / stillstand / rear dismount. Or a static mount / rear dismount. Work on all those related skills that teach you to keep your weight evenly distributed*
^^^ Think of ride-stop-ride as ride - quick stillstand -ride. Think of the space between hops as quick stillstands. Static mounts, rear dismounts, stillstands, and hopping are all interconnected because they all require careful and even weight distribution across the pedals. Perhaps observing yourself doing one skill can help you with another.
Just some random ideas. It has to be a momentum problem or a weight distribution on the pedals problem. Good luck. Let us know how you make out!
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- eventually, you will have to work on keeping your weight unevenly distributed when necessary. Someday, when you are hopping maniac, find a hill and start hopping. Over the course of many hops, hop in a complete circle. Keep hopping in one spot, but after each hop, turn slightly. When you face up the hill, most of your weight will need to be on the front pedal. As you rotate around and face down the hill, most of your weight will need to be on the back pedal. Then go out in the woods and hop on uneven surfaces! You will have to quite dynamically shift your weight from pedal to pedal as you feel what the rocks and roots under your wheel are doing to you. All this will come sooner than you think.
I learned to hop by holding onto a basketball goalpost and then gradually trying to drift away from it.
Hmm. I can do ride-stop-hop-ride. I can hop in a circle. I can hop using either hand or no hands but I can’t hop high enough to clear a curb. Any advice? I’ll be happy to hop up a curb. I’d love to be able to hop over logs etc but a curb would satisfy me.
just practice, it took me a long time to be able to hop a picnic table now, I remember when I started to hop I just practiced all the time on stairs. After practicing alot I was able to hop 2 stairs with on hop. It was great time until I taco-ed the rim of my learner uni:p
Again, try it without the unicycle. Try to hop or jump up onto higher things without the unicycle (higher than a curb). I think you will find that you are bending your knees on the way up in order to get more height. Observe yourself. Then get back on the unicycle. I bet you are keeping your legs fairly straight when you try to hop high with the unicycle. I haven’t touched my MUni in a long time, but that was always my problem.
Another thought – Unless your seat is ridiculously low or your are hopping seat out, you can’t bend your knees a lot before the hop. I just tried to hop high without the unicycle. I observed that I bent my knees a lot first and then sprang up. Since you can’t quite do that on the unicycle, I think that you need a more explosive downward force. Then on the way up, bend your knees a lot and pull the unicycle up with you.
I’m not a good hopper, but I think my analysis is correct.