I was wondering if any of you have found a carryover from unicycling to other sports and activities (presumably manifesting as increased balance) ? Specifically I am interested in learning stilt-walking at some point , and I am thinking that learning the basics of unicycling might improve my balance in the meantime . What does everyone think ?
Of course it would…Since ive started unicycling my balcance has gotten immensly better and my hand ey co-ordidnation is even better. Alot of atheletes use Uni as a cross training device because of its great cardio workout and its balance enhancement.
Go for it…but beware. Unis are very addictive:D
-Phil
yeh it really does help with balance just the other day i bet 3 other ppl at a balancing compitition on a baancing beam in the wind + i did it on 1 foot to prove a point (they did it on two feet ) and i had crap balance
Sorry to bust your bubble, but balancing on one foot is actually easier then balancing on two feet.
That said, I do notice a distinct increase in my balance from unicycling, and I hope to try ropewalking sometime soon.
I’ve noticed increased balance in all areas. In fact, I’ve noticed a cross-training effect that carries over from one type of uni to another. The more I ride my Coker, the better I am on my freestyle, for example, and the reverse is true.
I do ballroom dance and have done ballet - both of which require and train good balance - and was surprised to notice (after uni) that my balance was so good that I was no longer aware of maintaining balance, it was just there, even on extremely slow waltzes.
I likewise noted much increase in balance, as well as stamina. The most notable was when catching bait to fish in the Mississippi River.
To catch bait a 6 foot radius cast net is thrown from the front deck of a 14 or 15 foot john boat. You have to be standing to do this.
Before Uni this was dicey for me “I have fallen in the river”.
On a fishing trip last weekend I threw the net for about an hour. I noted less fatigue than perviously and never felt insecure about balance.
When I learnt to ski some years after learning to uni I found my balance was good enough for me to develop all kinds of bad habits. I could survive up a point on balance alone. Then it was really hard to learn the technique I needed to do things properly so i could get down steeper stuff.
Stilt walking’s is easy… Very, very easy. You will pick it up on the first try. It’s always annoyed me how audiences are 10x as impressed by some greenhorn on stilts than someone 1f riding or wheelwalking a uni. No need to unicycle as crosstraining for stilts, at all (unless you’re into stilt trials or offroad stilt walking, which I highly reccomend against, unless you like the rule “no second tries”… if you eat it, you need a very high bench to remount, assumin you’re not hurt)
I learned stiltwalking about a year before I learned to unicyle. I actually had to re-learn my stilt walking after I learned to uni, and I’ve never reached the level that I was at before I learned unicycling (not that I’ve really tried…).
I’ve noticed almost no change in my balance with uniiing. I used to walk handrails while waiting for busses, and it’s not any easier after unicycling. The only improvement I’ve noticed is slackrope is slightly easier, but I still suck at it, so go figure.
I went from stilts to Unicycling and I was jumping on one foot and going u and down stairs then I got a unicycle and noticed that I already had a feel for the Unicycle within the first week, I tried recently to ride stilts and am nowhere near where I used to be I used to be able to run on them but now i can hardly hop with them on but once you get into unicycling you won’t be able to just stop so beware (wow I just repeated everything that has already been said I am such a noob)
I think unicycling a lot helps your balance on a unicycle mostly. I don’t think it transfers too much, but definitely some. Unicycling has noticably improved my reflexes though.
Unicycling has about as much effect on improving balance as Bicycling. Which in my experience- not much 
Remember how hard it was to ride a bike for the first time? Same with unicycling? And how much harder it is to do a stillstand on a bike or a uni?
Once you have can ride a Unicycle it’s so instinctive that you dont’ think about balancing. To balance on another type of object (eg stilts) requires rewiring your brain to suit the new activity.
I was able to pogo stick with only one foot and no hands on the stick while I had my hands behingd my back befire I could unicycle so I think that helps me unicycle
unicycling has helped me with my mtb. i can now do wheelies for as long as i want + turning as well. i also can can do no hand riding for as long as i want as well. my record is like 5km more than before i started unicycling.
I think the greatest advantage balance wise after riding my unicyle is being more aware of where my centre of balance is. Some crazy (and not really crazy, just extra excited about balance) scottish lady was explaining to me how we all move from a central point, and once you know where it is, your movement becomes much more fluid.
makes sense to me I spose
it’s funny, my friends all know i ride a unicycle, but i’m definitely the clumsiest out of all of us.
I don’t think unicycling helps deal with clumsiness, I’m also a litle clumsy(though I fall as much as a normal person, I trip, but not really fall, a lot more than them, I was once about to fall sitting down!) like tripping in my own room, don’t you think I’d know where my brother’s stuff was?And tripping in curves.Anyways, I learned how to rollerblade after learning, after dragging my uni for balance,(I just came up with the idea that maybe now I could in-line like every other person I know that owns a pair) which was a weird use, I let it go, and I did it!I still can’t figure out how to brake and turn, though…I survived!I can’t pogo yet(at least not the first few tries, I tried one out at Toys’R’Us, but I couldn’t get the hang of it, though, you’ve gotta admit, I’ve improved, just…not that much) or skateboard(I used to skateboard, but not since ramps…the smallest one was too big!) or play soccer well(I was told soccer “was all about fun and balance”) or…I’ve never tried stilts!
I was in a self-defense class recently and for our “test” we had to close our eyes while someone attacked us. Reason being, the instructors planned on setting one of them up on all fours behind us, while the other guy pushed us backwards so we’d fall to the floor. I was the only one in the class who didn’t fall - I was able to twist my way out of it somehow and landed on my feet to the side of the guy on the floor.
I haven’t specifically noticed an improvement in balance, but I have noticed that I am much better at learning physical things than I used to be. I was slow to be able to ride the unicycle at all, and my first unicycle skills (like freemounting, hopping, and idling) took forever to learn and seemed impossible when I first started. Now that I’ve spent so much time learning things on the unicycle, when I approach other physical activities, I’m able to figure them out quicker and more intuitively.
I haven’t really noticed that unicycling specifically has helped my balance. I think it has helped me become more well rounded with my other interests like tele skiing, alpine skiing (especially on one ski :)), climbing, and slacklining.