When I learned and got better, I noticed 4 distinct “phases” as I got better.
Phase 1: On the lower pedal put down “maximum” weight. On the top pedal “shuffle” back and forth as fast as you can. It’s not natural at first, so I had to keep thinking “fast/back/forth/fast/fast”. At the same time you will naturally figure out how to lean your body back and forth. Tip: don’t sit up…get down and crouch…crouch…CROUCH!!!
Phase 2: Steering the top foot. Yes, you can “vector” the foot toward the left or right. That means as you shuffle fwd/back, you can kinda push it left or right. It gives you sideways leaning control. So, if the unicycle is leaning to the right, then you kick with more side force to the left to balance. There is “fine touch” that you will get eventually.
Phase 3: Get the Balance Right. (like the Depeche Mode song). So, as you get more efficient you will notice doing these things:
a.) Use less weight on your down foot.
b.) Crouch less and sit up/straighter on the seat. (yeah…now you can get more traditional…but good luck trying this at first)
c.) Rock your upper body with “less throw/movement” but doing this much quicker to anticipate balance and compensation.
Phase 4: Getting too easy and time to juggle. At this point you are:
a.) Fully weighted on the seat.
b.) Using less feet “shuffling” and more body “rocking”
c.) Also, here’s a big thing you can control side/side lean just by weighting or unweighting the seat. Remember there’s 3 down force vectors/load points for lateral ctrl: down pedal, seat, and top foot. They all work together.
d.) You will also be able stall for a second or two.
Here’s another tip: learn to free-mount by doing the half-idle technique!!! Keep on.
Idling is one of my aims currently,i have been doing both holding to a wall then try idling once ive let go of the wall and riding along,stop,try idling and either fall off or get going forwards again. i currently am stuck with a maxuim of about 8 idles by each method and i just cant seam to get any higher/longer.
I have tried many things to try and get more from swinging bottom pedal both harder,softer,short and longer movements.I have tried different pressure on saddle and pedals to try and get more idles.
currently here in the uk we are on lockdown but allowed to get out for exercise and my work is shut due to covid 19 so i want to make use of the extra time to try and make progress with this idling so any tips or advice would be very greatful.
I am using a club 20" on 125 cranks and a qu-ax muni 24" on 145 cranks and am at about the same level now on both.
I found when learning that it was good to explicitly try both: i.e. try long “half revs” for a while, and then try shorter strokes. Also, try slow and then faster. As you get better you can do both and I would say middle-to-long or long is then the easiest, but that might differ.
I’m not a true free-styler, but did quite a bit more practice this year…
As to the bottom foot/top foot thing, it also seemed “wrong” to me at first that the bottom foot should be doing the work, as I felt that the upper foot ws doing a lot. However, when you learn to one-foot idle (which only works with the bottom foot), then you really see that the bottom foot is clearly doing most of the work. I think when learning one often does it “wrong” and uses the upper foot more, but it’s probably not really wrong. I would actually say don’t worry much, the main thing is to practice frequently. I was very happy this winter as I managed >100 one-foot idles on BOTH feet. I also learned mount-to-one-foot-idle athough only about 60%, but also with both sides and feels pretty good. This was all in the hall with a 20" with 89mm cranks. But wow, I can see the difference outside. Today on the trail on my 29 with 137mm cranks I wanted to do a jump/drop again and multiple times rode along the singletrail, started idling and while idling turned around 180 degrees and the rode bck the other way, did another idle-turn and then the drop again… that felt really cool. In the 36 with 125s I can’t quite handle it (at a light I usually can only do 2 or 3 and can’t make the duration of the light, but on the 29 with 137 or 127 usually works). Oops, sorry for the long brag, but just felt good to master it.
Having learned to idle in the last several months I’d suggest to spend a little time each day, keep doing what your are doing and don’t expect a major break though or significant improvement in any one day. Over time you will get better. It simply takes time to burn in your muscle memory so you will automatically react instantly without thinking about what you are doing.
Thanks for the tip mucfreerider so i will see what i am doing with my top foot (hopefully not a lot!) sounds like you like short cranks,I recently changed my 26" from 145s to 125s and i really dont like it.
Hi Jim T thanks for the encouragement as i keep chipping away and i do seam to make little progress most times but seam to be stuck at 8 idles currently.whilst on this lockdown i keep jumping between idling on the 20/24s one day and the next getting out on my hatchet which is todays turn!!
hopefully with all this covid 19 going on everyone can still get out for one wheel fun.
Here’s a new perspective on that question. Tis better to Half moon it? or to Rock it? That is the question.
The answer is you do both, but let me tell you where it can get confusing. It comes down to the “two types” of unicycle riders.
The one’s are able to “fully weight” their saddle, and the beginners or off-road riders who have more weight on their pedals.
Yes, the age old battle of the butt riders vs the kick standers!!!
1.) Idling method 1: Executing a half pedal rock with “perfect balance” and then do the reverse. Performed perfectly with upper body “quiet”.
2.) Idling method 2: Throw all your weight on the down pedal, and furiously slide top pedal back/forth. Twisting upper body and lean violently compensate.
Typically, when we see someone idling perfectly, we see method 1. Very few unicyclists get to that from the beginning, but the one’s who can shouldn’t teach.
The reality from my own experience. I tried that and quickly failed, but luckily tried other things. I suspect some of you who are great riders have never “gotten” idling keep trying method 1, because you’ve been made to believe it’s the only way.
Don’t give up. Try method 2 and it will get you started. No matter how ugly it looks once you can let go and do it it’s an amazing feeling.
Then the more you do it the cleaner it becomes.
So, again. Forget about 100% butt weight.
Put your weight back on the pedal and Rock it!!!
Agree!
As an idle learner, you just have to do whatever to need to idle!
The wheel will want to go one way or the other, so follow it. Don’t expect you can do it straight forward and backwards, without any sideway turning.
Once I started feeling which way the wheel was wanting to go and going (turning) with it, I made progress.
It won’t anything look like the idle of an experienced idler, but that’s fine.
I think this is true, except maybe at the extremes of difficulty or athleticism. The athleticism part is easy to understand; if you come back 30 year later and you weigh more and are out of shape, 'nuff said. For the more difficult, sensitive skills, more time may be required to get back to a level where you can do it will. For many years, a 3 min. Freestyle routine was a part of every show I did. I had done it so many times, on so many different surfaces (grass, slippery wood, carpet), I had it so down I could do it (on a friendly surface) without a warmup, while suffering from the flu, on a borrowed unicycle, etc. But over the years the amount of shows dwindled, to a trickle, and then a very slow drip. Now I have to do a bunch of practicing just to get through that same basic routine. I’m happy I can still do it though!
It’s odd to think of doing idling with the top foot in control. I didn’t even understand how that would work until I read Slamdance’s version. Maybe I did a little of that myself when I was learning, and only during the process did I figure out that the bottom foot had all the power. The top foot method only works for going through the motions, but is not great at actually sustaining an idle.
I learned idling from a few pictures and brief descriptions in the Schwinn Unicycle manual. It took a while for it to “click”. Also I think I learned it on a Schwinn Giraffe. It’s easier to idle on a giraffe, though I can’t necessarily recommend it as a method. But that’s what I had at the time, and I was 17, so falling wasn’t a problem (meaning that we fell a LOT). I was holding on to a high fence, or a pole, etc. I do not remember if we learned Idling first, or freemounting the Giraffes, believe it or not! But I definitely don’t recommend even riding a giraffe if you can’t idle. It’ s not that you can’t ride one, it’s just a lot safer for you, and whoever/whatever is around you.
As I am progressing more on idling I am “quickly forgetting” the basic elements that I articulated before.
What I wrote before does still apply. It is valid for a total beginner or someone who wants to analyze the elements involved.
However, I don’t think about each basic elements anymore. From practicing the motion over/over my body has “synchronized/orchestrated” those elements.
So, idling to me feels like a single synchronized repetitive motion, now. It’s almost automatic.
However, there are still a few basic things that go through my mind:
1.) Full weight on saddle and body straight.
2.) Rock my upper body just using hips.
3.) Perfect equal pressure on both pedals. (mentally visualize and feel both pedals working in each direction)
The last point 3.) applied whether I do a"standing" idle or a “perfectly seated” with minimal rock.
Have you ever heard of Standing Idle? It’s where you actually stand with maximum weight on pedal.
I did not just invent that. I’m sure others can do it, but nobody has ever mentioned it.
So, when you this you will actually reach a 3 & 9 o’clock pedal stall, as you rock back and forth.
Why do this? Well, I found that it helps my backwards riding, immensely.
Now, it’s not “efficient” so I won’t do any juggling with this maneuver, but it builds leg strength and stall balance skill.
For anyone who can already idle, I highly recommend you try this. This is a great warm-up, also.
So here’s a question… given our current lockdown situation, I have been giving more time to devloping some skills instead of just riding around like I usually do. The comments about more weight on the feet when idling seem to have helped, and my idling is now more consistent and more relaxed, but I still can’t correct towards the left. My preferred side is to idle with the right foot down and I can happily correct my balance with small shifts to the right, but if I need to correct the other way, I just can’t do it. So I either end up drifting further and further to the right hand side (less of an idle and more of a right hand crab), or have to give a little hop to regain my composure. Any tips?
It’s a vital skill when exploring narrow winding unmade paths in the woods. I’d be wary of relying on it on the road because of how other road users may react.
I had a very similar problem. With the right foot down, I would steadily drift to the right. With the left, I would stay in place but slowly spin counterclockwise. No amount of practice seemed to help.
A usual trick to break through a plateau is to go for a harder version of the same thing. So I started idling with one hand holding the seat. It was A LOT harder. As in super-bad an sketchy and all over the place. But eventually it got a better and and after a week or so of the harder version, I could finally control drifting and spinning when idling normally (with both hands out).
For the sake of versatility, when practicing with one hand on the seat, I would cycle through all four foot/hand stances: right/right, right/left, left/left and left/right. But that’s just me.
I just re-read my post and realised I meant to say more weight on the SEAT was helpful, as in I started out with too much weight on the feet. I am also very one sided in a lot of skills, so I need to work on that as well.