Is my seatpost too short after all, or is it just me!?

General
1

So far I read all these posts and drool, living vicariously, churning up
mud with my MUni… IN MY DREAMS only! :slight_smile:

I still am at the point that I’m consistantly riding under a hundred yards
and I’d like a little help.

Firstly, while sitting erect (no this is not the ‘doin’ it on a uni’
thread) on my saddle my leg extends down to bottom dead centre with my
knee slightly bent and my foot slightly sloping down. WHILE I’M RIDING I
feel… well that my posture is sloppy. It FEELS like my seat needs to be
raised although I’m at the seat post limit. And it seems to take more
energy then it should to steer my unicycle.

What happens is this… I’m riding along and my unicyle wants to tip to
either side being held up by my thighs. I never can really stay in a
straight line. I’m either veering to the left and my unicycle is tipping
to the left or I’m veering to the right and my unicycle is tipping to
the right.

If I want to change direction I have to very consciously tip my uni in the
other direction NOT JUST PIVOT.

I am 6’3" with a long inseam. My seatpost measures just under 200mm from
the bottom of the seat to the “STOP HERE” mark on the post.

Is my seatpost likely too short even though while static it SEEMS to be
the correct length? OR… is it that I just have to get used to this by
practicing more?

If you analyse YOUR posture while riding do you tip the uni from side to
side or is it pretty well vertical?

Thanks guys!

Christopher Grove

“Be Bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.” -Basil King (Anyone who
can give me more info on THIS Basil King please email
me.)

My small but growing site: http://home.earthlink.net/~crgrove/index.htm

If you are in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, MI area check out my resume and if
you know of a company that fits me please let me know… Thanks!

2

Hi Christopher,

I was thinking exactly about how I steer on my ride to work this morning
and came up with the conclusion that, besides not falling off, keeping my
weight on the saddle (which I run lower than normal for trials stuff) was
the biggest factor for easy riding.

It sounds like your post is at the right height and it’s likely a practise
thang to get you on the straight and narrow. Virtually everyone has the
veering to one side thing when learning. It’s just something that gets
less and less noticeable with time and practise.

When I’m riding normally I’ll have pretty much all my weight on the saddle
as this frees up the muscles in your legs for the pedalling bit. So it
might help to try focusing on this to see if it helps.

As for steering… unless I’m making a very sharp turn the direction I
take comes more from pushing my hips slightly to the side for the
direction I want to go: to go right my hips push slightly to the right. My
torso will stay pretty much where it is so the uni does tilt slightly with
the movement of my hips but the upper body stays over the axle.

Hope this helps, Neil

-----Original Message----- From: c_r_grove@yahoo.com
["]mailto:c_r_grove@yahoo.com] Sent: 30 November 2001 14:27 To:
rec.sport.unicycling@kildrummy.co.uk; rsu@unicycling.org Subject: Is my
seatpost too short after all, or is it just me!? Importance: Low

So far I read all these posts and drool, living vicariously, churning up
mud with my MUni… IN MY DREAMS only! :slight_smile:

I still am at the point that I’m consistantly riding under a hundred yards
and I’d like a little help.

Firstly, while sitting erect (no this is not the ‘doin’ it on a uni’
thread) on my saddle my leg extends down to bottom dead centre with my
knee slightly bent and my foot slightly sloping down. WHILE I’M RIDING I
feel… well that my posture is sloppy. It FEELS like my seat needs to be
raised although I’m at the seat post limit. And it seems to take more
energy then it should to steer my unicycle.

What happens is this… I’m riding along and my unicyle wants to tip to
either side being held up by my thighs. I never can really stay in a
straight line. I’m either veering to the left and my unicycle is tipping
to the left or I’m veering to the right and my unicycle is tipping to
the right.

If I want to change direction I have to very consciously tip my uni in the
other direction NOT JUST PIVOT.

I am 6’3" with a long inseam. My seatpost measures just under 200mm from
the bottom of the seat to the “STOP HERE” mark on the post.

Is my seatpost likely too short even though while static it SEEMS to be
the correct length? OR… is it that I just have to get used to this by
practicing more?

If you analyse YOUR posture while riding do you tip the uni from side to
side or is it pretty well vertical?

Thanks guys!

Christopher Grove

“Be Bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.” -Basil King (Anyone who
can give me more info on THIS Basil King please email
me.)

My small but growing site: http://home.earthlink.net/~crgrove/index.htm

If you are in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, MI area check out my resume and if
you know of a company that fits me please let me know… Thanks!
_________________________________________________________________________-
__
rec.sport.unicycling mailing list -
www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu

3

Christopher-

If you are 6’3" with a long inseam and your seatpost measures 200mm from the seat to the minimum insertion warning you probably have a 300mm seatpost and it is too short. I have a 300mm seatpost on my 24" uni and I am 6’2" with a 35" inseam. I am cheating by extending past the minimum insertion mark but I’ve always been a rebel that way. All I have to do is spend ten bucks to get a 400mm post but I’m too lazy.

Weight on the seat (repeat indefinitely). Scan the ground directly in front of you for obstacles then spend as much time as possible looking way ahead. Weight on the seat. Relax when you’ve got a good run going just to see how it feels. Weight on the seat.

Remember after each practice session: I got on a unicycle and rode it; I feel great; I’m doing a good job at something that is difficult to do.

Good luck. Stick with it. When you start drifting one way or the other, just ride over that way. There may be something important over there.

-Greg

4

> Is my seatpost likely too short even though while static it SEEMS to be
> the correct length? OR… is it that I just have to get used to this by
> practicing more?

You are still in the beginner stages. I know it’s cold out there in
Michigan now, but the best thing for you to do is type less, ride more.

Try playing with your tire pressure. Generally I like real high pressure
when riding outdoors, but when learning it might help to lower it some,
because a very full tire can be “spinny” (harder to track straight on). If
your tire pressure is too low, this could be the problem as well. Low
tires don’t like to turn at all, forcing you to work much harder to make
course corrections.

Adult beginners tend to squeeze the seat with their legs, and not sit down
enough. Try to relax while riding, and figure out what it is that’s making
you fall when you do. Then repeat a whole mess of times.

Good luck, JF

5

c_r_grove@yahoo.com (Christopher Grove) wrote in
<3C079727.E60016A4@yahoo.com>:

>So far I read all these posts and drool, living vicariously, churning up
>mud with my MUni… IN MY DREAMS only! :slight_smile:
>
>I still am at the point that I’m consistantly riding under a hundred
>yards and I’d like a little help.
>
>Firstly, while sitting erect (no this is not the ‘doin’ it on a uni’
>thread) on my saddle my leg extends down to bottom dead centre with my
>knee slightly bent and my foot slightly sloping down. WHILE I’M RIDING I
>feel… well that my posture is sloppy. It FEELS like my seat needs to be
>raised although I’m at the seat post limit. And it seems to take more
>energy then it should to steer my unicycle.

<SNIP>

>Is my seatpost likely too short even though while static it SEEMS to be
>the correct length? OR… is it that I just have to get used to this by
>practicing more?
>
>If you analyse YOUR posture while riding do you tip the uni from side to
>side or is it pretty well vertical?
>
>Thanks guys!
>
>Christopher Grove

Chris

I’m a beginner and I found that over the last six months (from fall off
after 2 meters at the beginning up to about 5 km now) I have raised the
seat height about 150mm. I’ve had to buy a new seat post (and an extension
post for the Miyata seat). I keep playing with seat height and find that
raising it makes the ride more stable and secure, though it makes the
mounts harder for me.

If you have a quick release, try it. Move the seat up in 5mm increments,
ride for 30 mins and see what difference it makes.

Phil whose ambition is to stay upright and turn at the same time.