I have been riding for about 10 days and can get around a little. I’m riding a torker 20". I was wondering if anyone had a tip on how to mount the uni easily. I have to use a stationary object to get on. I was also wanting to get maybe a bigger uni. All that pedaling gets you no were fast. Is it to soon to go to a 24"
raven, i’m just starting out also. it was suggested that i start on a 24" unicycle. i am brand new. i put my unicycle together last night and started practicing. it seems impossible, but i won’t give up!
the easiest way to mount imo is to put the pedals around parallel to the ground, put 1 foot on the back pedal, step up and throw your other foot on. you’ll go backwards a little bit but then just push down on the front pedal and ride off.
i learned on a 20" but my friend has a 24 and i dont really feel any difference except going a little faster
Hope this helps
Try mounting higher; it works for me
I’ve been riding about three times a week for roughly four weeks.
My first three weeks I tried Killian’s method of having both pedals roughly perpendicular to the ground (3 o’clock) and sometimes as low as to the ground as 4 o’clock. While it feels safer that low I haven’t been able to successfully free-mount it.
Just a few nights ago I accidentally free-mounted at about 7 o’clock and noticed a huge difference. I went higher, to about 10 o’clock and found it very easy and vastly improved my free-mounting ability.
I dunno why but having my dominant leg higher makes it easier to mount. I think it may be because I’m afraid to bring my left leg onto the pedal, so mounting higher gives me more time to get into position.
Worth noting is that I mount slowly; I step onto the unicycle in a very controlled manner. If I step downward to quickly I usually lose control and drop the thing.
Hope that helps!
reply to all
to GaUniRider, if you really want to ride just keep at it. I just went around my truck untill I got the confidence to just push off and then just kept on doing it over and over again. In all it took me about 13 hours to get to were I could ride. Thats were you really learn is out in the open.
To Kilian, that seems real easy but do you first have to know how to stall to mount that way? So the 24 is not that much different? I wonder were the sweet spot is for controllable and speed is?
To angryrabbit Thanks for the reply, but to do it in a slow and controlled way would be to easy, usually it is sudden and uncontrolled. So can oyu mount with no help? When was you able to do this? I saw on a youtube video were the rider held the wheel still by grabbing hold of it. The only problem with that is that you are leaned to far forward.
I had a few minutes late last night to practice a little. Last night went some better than the night before. I made a couple pedals without any support. I’m still mounting with support, but i know mounting last night went a lot smooter. This is going to be FUN!
If you want to do focus on tricks, a 20" is probably easier. If you are using it for transportation, the bigger, the faster (or get one with a geared hub). A 24" is somewhat of a compromise. I definitely prefer a 20", 24"s seem heavier and bulky when hopping, but some people like it. It really depends on what you want, but i would recommend a 20" for a beginner.
Hopefully this helps a little.
It is really great to hear all you new riders. Stick with it and you will succeed!
I just wanted to say that I am able to mount now. This is what works for me. By the way I’m riding a 24". To start I have the pedals level with the dominate foot pedal back. I grab the wheel with my right hand and hold it in place then bring my other foot up to the peddle, let go of the wheel, then peddle away. This is the only I know how to mount right now.
I’ve been reading a lot of post an it’s really exiting to read then go out and ride around. I’ve been riding for about a month now and just wanted to encourage the new riders out there that its not impossible, but it does take time.
Even when I wasn’t riding I would think about riding and things would come to me about what I was doing wrong or things to try.
The 24 is the way to go for me. I don’t do any tricks but for riding the 24 covers more ground. I rode a 20 yesterday and I had way more control over the cycle but could not get over the amount of times I had to peddle!
I had a question for anyone out there. My legs get really tired fast when I’m riding with most of my weight on the peddles. I try to put more weight on the seat to give my legs a rest but I don’t have as much control of the cycle. What is a good weight ratio between the seat and the peddles? 50:50?
Raven, unicycling is a really good workout for your legs, so they are going to get fatigued in the beginning stages. When you have more weight on the pedals, your legs are competing with each other. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but its exhausting. After a while, your body will learn to relax more weight on to the seat while still being balanced and in control of the unicycle and then your legs are just going through the motion of rotation without exerting as much force on the pedals. Of course there will be times when more force on the pedals is needed, but on flat you should be very very relaxed.
As for free mounting, it is usually more difficult than learning how to ride casually. Stay relaxed and be methodical. Trying to do all the steps at once can cause confusion. I found it helped to try just stalling in a balanced position before I even bring my other leg up to the pedal. With the pedals horizontal, I would keep my dominant leg fixed and put most of my weight on the seat, and this prevents the wheel from moving while you push off the ground with your other foot and your momentum will carry you up to the balance point. When I was comfortable with that I would then move my “push-off” leg forward until I could reach the pedal without throwing off my balance. Its hard to visualize but I hope it helps. Also try searching youtube for some mounting videos. You’ll get lots of different advice but it may work out well!
mounting
i put my right foot on the pedal all the way down, step on with my left foot, idle for a second to get balanced, and go. took me about 3 tries this way.
http://marsht.tripod.com/Here is a fantastic site, taught me alot,even though I’m not very good yet…
This is how I leared mounting, 6 or 7 months ago.
But: Before trying to freemount, you must be able to ride a short distance. So don’t waste you energy on freemounts as long as you can ride only a few meters.
What I’ve found with free mounting, personally, is to bend my knees when getting onto the uni. I position the seat, get as close as possible (pretty much over top of the uni), then put my dominant foot on the back pedal. I’ll do a tiny hop off of my non-dominant foot whilst bending my dominant leg at the knee and putting as much of my weight on the saddle as possible and put my non-dominant foot on the other pedal. I’ve also found that holding onto the handle throughout the entire mount helps me tremendously, rather than having my hand flailing about for balance.
When I first started free mounting, I found myself wanting to stand up on the pedals all the time, putting a lot of pressure on the pedals when they were at 12 and 6 and then leaning forward to start my momentum going. Worked alright, but there was many times when I didn’t go anywhere and I’d lose my balance cause I had no momentum from the wheel rolling.
Roll-Back Mount
Here is an example of a roll-back mount with video. It is a bit harder to learn than a static mount, but on level ground it is very comfortable. I find I use it more than any other mount on a moderate sized (24") unicycle.
Here is the video:
I started trying today and got it in less than 40 attempts using the method described here
Some videos are in the post 11
It is really easy. Try it. People say that doing that way and getting used to it you will probably later doit without putting the hand on the tire anymore.
It is therefore not a bad habit.
Do it with one hand on the tire. It helps a lot.
I started trying today and got it in less than 40 attempts using the method described here
Some videos are in the post 11
It is really easy. Try it. People say that doing that way and getting used to it you will probably later doit without putting the hand on the tire anymore.
It is therefore not a bad habit.