When I started a few months ago I did use a wall for a couple of weeks until I got to the point that I realized it was just becoming a major clutch and holding me back in many ways.
If I had to learn again or teach my wife or someone else I think I would start with the wall just to get the feeling of it all and how the balance and pedaling works then just push away from it. For me once I started just allowing myself to push off and constantly fall the whole balancing aspect really started to kick in and let me see the issues I was having and what I can do to correct it. When I was using a wall or a fence I couldn’t really see what was all holding me back from being able to ride.
I spent plenty of time along a wall in my early days too. In my case, I felt out of control riding away from the wall and bailed off immediately, which felt futile and unproductive. Along the wall, I could make progress of some kind and mostly under control. Even after I could ride 5 or 10 feet without it, I still went there for a few minutes at the start of a day’s practice to warm up and find the groove again. I practiced making the transitions when starting and stopping before I had the balance to do any of that without support, and worked on intentional dismounts a lot there too, which might have helped to make the unintentional ones go more smoothly. But it probably doesn’t matter all that much. The main thing is probably for each of us to do whatever it is that keeps us working at it and not giving up.
And Deke, I had the same takeaway as you from the Learning Journal thread. On the other hand, I saw how so many riders loved 36" unicycling, to the point where that was the one that they would never let go of, some even giving up totally or nearly so on smaller wheels. I figured NSYO might have jumped too soon, getting it once he could ride it under ideal conditions but without the experience or mastery to deal with trouble when trouble came. I set a moratorium on getting one myself for just that reason. Like you, I went for a 29" and rode many many miles on it in the meantime. And I’m happily riding my 36" unicycle now that I’ve got it with no intent to sell and no tales of woe to tell.
Learning how to ride a unicycle doesn’t have to hurt. I’ve never gotten hurt, neither has my 8 yr old when he learned. There’s absolutely no rush into it. Let the body naturally adjust to something that’s completely new and unnatural. I learned by placing one hand on the fence and the other on the side of my van. Spending a total of couple of hours mostly rocking back and forth, forwards and backwards a few feet. Dont underestimate the importance of rocking back and forth, it is so crucial that you get real comfortable with that as a very first basic…Then when I was comfortable enough, I went to only one hand on the side of the van. Then eventually I was able to reach a few feet out, practicing with many deliberate dismounts, the next to avoid injuries. Your has to learn hoe to fall properly. The point is you don’t need to rush it and hurt yourself, because if you hurt yourself bad enough, youll tendo to hold yourself back even more.
I taught my son the same way. He was very anxious to learn it fast, but I told him to focus on more of rocking back and forth with two hands. When he got the feeling down, then I was confident he could move on and practice riding dismounting and confidently falling.
The problem with trying to learn off the railing is you begin off balance with only one hand leaning on the railing, so when you go to fall, youll tend to reach out both hands to grab the railing.
Two hands on two supports will keep you at a straighter posture so you can practiceasily that crucial rocking back and forth and more of sitting straight on the seat.
Well, I hope that helps, and just don’t give up. Take it slowly because you don’t need a painful experience to learn and eventually you’ll learn it, believe it or not;)
Sorry hard to type with this S6 new phone.
I think you’ll do fine with the 26er, just need more practice rocking back and forth. Sometimes you gotta go back a little in order to go forward, that’s all;)
Aloha VegasDealer,
When I first started trying to get the feel of being on a unicycle I too had a paralyzing fear of falling.
Trying to ride along a wall freaked me out 'cause I couldn’t grab on to anything.
Riding along a bar didn’t cut it either 'cause it was a little low and I found myself leaning too much.
Luckily there was a chain link fence nearby.
Once I did that for a while I had the confidence to move on to a wall.
When you get more comfortable riding next to something I suggest finding a person to help you ASAP.
I noticed that when someone was helping me I made a lot of progress. They’d help support me for about 15 mins. until I got used to the feeling of not having anything like a wall next to me. Then I had the confidence to try launching by myself. (I had moved on to curb mounting by then.)
Are you wearing padding and wrist guards? That might alleviate some of the fear.
Also, in the very beginning, my brain was convinced that pushing down on the pedal would result in me falling forward and landing on my face. But then I realized pushing down just meant my whole body would move forward with the unicycle.
Hang in there!
BTW anyone on the Big Island (east side) on this forum?
I am trying my best not to over-post on here, but this particular thread keeps coming to mind at odd times, like in the middle of my work day, and, like trying to get a children’s song out of your head, the more I try to think about other stuff, the more I catch my mind wandering back.
I have a very nicely used Torker CX 20’’ unicycle that I would not dream of recommending as anyone’s “main ride”, but that I would not hesitate for a second to recommend as something to learn on. The seat post is barely long enough for my legs, and I am 5’10" tall. I still enjoy riding it, but I’ve started using it as an excuse to not ride the 29er, and that simply will not do. I’m not sure if someone taller would enjoy trying to ride it, and it has a non-standard seat post, so it might be a challenge to lengthen it. And don’t plan on sitting on the CX seat for more than about an hour, and that is only if you have a high pain threshold.
If you are interested in it, pay the shipping and it’s yours, provided I have your word of honor that, once you have gotten your uni-skills sufficient to ride your 26, you pass it along to someone else under these exact same terms.
The pedals are kinda beat up from the number of times it has tumbled, but it’s very much rideable, and plastic pedals are cheap as dirt. It has about 60 miles total ridden on it.
I’m sure a taller person could ride it, but I’m not sure it would be fun to LEARN to ride on for someone 6 feet or over.
PM if interested. This offer is extended to the OP only. I’m not trying to give away a unicycle; I’m trying to put a point on my conscience for future use
Very poigant. Going back to go forward. I had such an experience not so long ago myself, learning, by returning to the wall I had prematurely abandoned, as a way of learning to REALLY sit down on the seat. I doubt that if I had not “returned to the wall” to discover how to really SIT DOWN, I would have kept trying. I was very frustrated.
A very useful tip, in my case. I wonder if the tip will prove useful in ways other than retrospect. I will make a point of looking back as often as I can remember in the future.
Going back to practice earlier skills will also add confidence by comparison. Nicely said.
Hey Deke, that is a really nice offer. And I do appreciate it and would take you up on it. However, I saw a local ad for a Torker LX for $70. It’s all orange, but I just wanted to get something to learn on, so looks are not important. I have not had a chance to try it out yet, but I am confident that if anything’s going to work for this beginner, this should. I’ll post an update when I have something meaningful to post.
Aloha Geminimaoi: Good advice about getting someone to help. Wish my wife was a bit more supportive about all of this, but I think she secretly likes seeing my fall on my ass. I still have a dull pain down there from over a week ago. Yes, I do have all the supportive equipment, but none of that will help falling backward on my rear. Some have suggested padded shorts. I will try this new unicycle out. It seems a bit closer to the ground and possibly easier to dismount.
stephen101b, LargeEddie, and UPD: You all offer some advice for starting out. I think what works depends on the individual and his/her comfort level. I am going to try the rocking back and forth (was doing that on the 26…but that thing really moves with very little effort) to get comfortable with sitting and balancing on it. Then I will try the wall/ladder and perhaps nothing to see if any of those work. I think I will see some improvement once I try this 20’ wheel. Thanks again for all the advice!
Deke asked me to continue posting updates so that my learning experience might help other beginners with similar problems getting started. So, here is an update:
After a few weeks of just getting on the unicycle terrified that I might fall and hurt myself again (I can still feel some pain from the last fall three weeks ago!), I was able to actually move forward, albeit while holding a wall. This is a big development for me as I was just rocking back and forth since my last big fall.
As others have mentioned before, the 20’ unicycle seems easier to start on than the 26’. I am terrified of heights, and even if there’s just a few inch difference, as John Foss has pointed out, my mind has been eased somewhat. Yeah, it probably is all mental, but whatever it takes, right?
I raised the seat up about two inches. Although it put me further off the ground, I was able to put more of my weight on the seat rather than the pedals, which most here have stated is one of the keys to learning how to ride the unicycle.
I switched the side that I was using for balance. I am right-handed. So, naturally, I was using my right hand to balance against the wall. I tried going in the opposite direction with the wall on my left and my right hand out for balance. I found this to be easier for me. I realize I will need to be comfortable with the wall on both sides, but at this point, it is good to actually be able to pedal forward.
So, I’ll just keep doing this wall thing until I get comfortable enough to totally let go (not counting on that happening anytime soon). Geminimoai mentioned trying to find a chain-link fence, and I have been on the look out for one. Just finding a place with grass or soft ground out here is a challenge. When I practice in the evening, it is still over 100 degrees (it’s 97 degrees now at 2:30am) outside, and tons of sweat is pouring into my eyes!
One arm is going to be better than the other for flailing in the air for balance. I am right handed, but my better balancing hand is my left hand. Try walking across something skinny. If you had to balance with only one hand, holding the other hand close to your body, which one would it be? This is the hand you will progress most with, holding it out in the air, with the other hand on the wall.
I spent some time practicing (I think it was idling) next to a chain link fence. I had to stop doing that, because grabbing the chain link with one hand…then falling…put a lot of stress on my fingers.
One thing I learned later that would have made learning much easier if I had learned it early was to REALLY sit down on the seat. I skipped that part because of my frustration trying to ride along the wall, or even sit still next to a wall, when I just turned 90 degress and stared falling into the great wide open. It was only after a few weeks when I was getting 100 and 200 yard rides in and my legs were on fire and I couldn’t figure out how anyone could possibly ever ride a mile on a unicycle that I accidentally stumbled backwards onto the answer.
I rode up next to a wall and decided to take a breather and totally, 100% completely relaxed my legs and just sat on the seat, and that made me realize just how much weight I was putting on my legs even when I thought I was “sitting down”. Problem cured.
I know you didn’t ask about that, but if you nip the issue in the bud now, you won’t have to experience it later. While you’re there along the wall, make sure you know what it feels like to REALLY sit down on that seat, because your legs won’t appreciate learning the way I did.
Of course, that brings us to seat discomfort, but I’ll leave that for someone else.
Just realized that I already mentioned that bit of advice, albeit not so intently. Sorry for the repetition. It’s been a few days and lots going on so I forgot.
No, I appreciate the advice. Sometimes good stuff needs repeating, especially if a reader misses it the first time. Yeah, I put up my seat so that I can ensure that I’m more in my seat and less on my legs. I try to be mindful about putting more weight on my seat. Of course, this isn’t always easy with so many other things (like accident scenarios!) going through my mind at the same time.
Another thing that I have found somewhat helpful is to do anything I can to block anything external from distracting me while trying to learn how to ride. I am practicing using a cinder block wall, and the top is very gritty and has some sharp spots. I have small cuts on my hand from putting my death-grip on the top of the wall. So, I put some work gloves on under my wrist guards. Now, I’m pain-free in that area, and I have more focus on my balance.
elpuebloUNIdo: I have seen some videos of people using the same method (chain-link fence), and it seems quite helpful if you don’t instinctively keep holding on when you’re not supposed to. I think it’s a matter of getting to the point of feeling comfortable on top of the unicycle and knowing that even if I dismount, I’m only going to step off without injury.
I wish it were a bit cooler here now (it’s 111 degrees now) so that I could get more time practicing in during the day.
Deke, it is great to have such a self-reflective new member on the forum, but I have to ask the question: Can we put more weight on the seat before we’re ready to put more weight on the seat? It is easy to surmise that if one only knew then what one knows now, one would have learned to unicycle faster.
I know a lot of really good riders on the forum recommend to beginners putting more weight on the seat. But that doesn’t preclude a quasi-newbie such as myself from spouting off half-baked theories, suggesting otherwise. So, here goes…caveat emptor, baby!
Everyone eventually puts more weight on the seat; why rush it?
There are plenty of riding styles and techniques involving putting more or all weight on the pedals; there is no need to view weight on the pedals as a bad thing.
Weight on the pedals, no matter how inefficient, is still good exercise.
You will like mUni more if you can learn to ride standing on the pedals.
Too much weight on the seat can, for beginners, cause them to lose contact with one or both pedals, resulting in a bad fall.
I am not denying that “more weight on the seat” is important. I have read many posts by new riders, describing it as one of the “aha” moments in their learning process. However, I think a few other technical things need to be ironed out before “weight in the seat” is ready for prime time. My advice to beginners: Keep riding, and you ‘will’ put more weight on the seat.
Even as a total beginner, I can feel the importance of weight in the seat. My biggest two falls have been a result of me putting weight on one of my pedals and the unicycle shooting out from under me. Quite scary since I landed on my back both times.
With the seat higher, I don’t see this being as much of a problem. I think stressing the importance of being in the seat to a newbie is justified because most of us are accustomed to riding bikes, and at least with mountain biking (I guess similar to muni), most of the time is spent on the pedals.
Well stated on all points, ElPuebloUnido. I do not disagree at all. My experience made that issue very significant to me, but it’s entirely possible that my experience was unusual, and even that my advice related to it was unhelpful. I am being reminded, frequently, how much I have yet to learn when I compare what I can do against what I hope to, so thanks for the food-for-thought.
How’s progress, Vegas? I decided to just do a short hop of a ride yesterday and didn’t wear my wrist guards and promptly took a forward fall that I’m feeling in both wrists today. Nothing is broken or anything; it just reminded me that falling is unavoidable, so falling well must become a honed skill.
Not much to report. I have not been trying to ride my unicycle for about two weeks now. Yeah, I know that’s not a good thing, but it is what it is. No, I have not given up. Just have had some other things come up that needed my immediate attention. I’ll post any updates once there is something to post. Thank you for checking up on me though. Appreciate your concern. :
