Im just learning how to ride a uni, and i can ride for a good distance. I want to learn how to just idle, but i just can’t do it. I’ve been practicing it for a week now! Any tips?
Idling is like using the search function. It seems difficult at first, but you soon get the hang of it.
There are many threads on the subject in this forum.
The basics:
Get confident at riding forwards.
Learn to stop under control and dismount off the back.
Learn to ride to a stop and then start again without dismounting.
Ride to a stop and do a tiny little backwards movement (say a quarter of a revolution) before riding away forwards.
And when you get to this stage, set aside a few minutes a day to work hard on your idling.
Idling is done with the bottom foot. The bottom pedal swings from about the 5 o’clock position to about the 7 o’clock position. (Maybe from 4 to 8.)
In the perfect idle, your head stays completely still, and the unicycle swings beneath you like a pendulum.
It is very important to fix your gaze on something a reasonable distance away, rather than looking down.
Count the pedal strokes before you fall off. Your learning curve will go something like like this:
0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 3 1 2 2 3 2 3 3 2 3 4 2 3 2 4 3 4 3 2 4 4 5 3
It just takes practice.
Good luck.
I agree with Mike’s advice. Get comfortable riding before starting to work on idling.
I would expect a lot more zeros and ones before you get to the higher numbers. It might look like a page of binary. 
Scott
Yeah, Mikes advice is great. I just spent the last month learning how to do it, it was A LOT of practice, probably more than I have practiced anything in my life (how sad is that 
). It’s a great skill to learn and will help you as an all around rider a ton.
So get started today! Before the end of the year you’ll be idling like a pro!
Yeah, Mikes advice is great. I just spent the last month learning how to do it, it was A LOT of practice, probably more than I have practiced anything in my life (how sad is that ). It’s a great skill to learn and will help you as an all around rider a ton.
So get started today! Before the end of the year you’ll be idling like a pro!