Jumping onto or over obstacles.

I have been unicycling half a year now. I can ride some very rocky terrain. However I still have not learned to jump onto or over obstacles such as large rocks or big tree roots or logs while in motion. How is the jump while riding performed. What should I be trying to do how should I be timing the jump without stopping?

Appreciate all of the help.

Unicorn

Make sure that when you jump that your cranks/pedals are in the right position that you like when you jump. (so that the cranks are horizontal). And then just jump. You can practice jumping over 2x4s and then just keeping adding on as many as you can jump. You can also practice jumping over stacked skateboards. I can do 3 on my friend 20" lx. But if you don’t have either just find anything to practice jumping over. Hope that helped.

Well, to time the jump, the easiest way to do it is to practice calculating the distance to from the pedals so that they’re horizontal when you’re about to hop. Or, you could see what the circumference of your wheel size is to make the estimating easier. Here’s a link. You may also want to learn other skills listed on the page, like crank grabs.

Wheel Circumference(aprox.)

16" = 50"

20" = 62"

22" = 69"

24" = 75"

29" = 91"

36"(can you hop on this?) = 113"

So, I hope I helped…I’m still learning to rolling hop myself, I have no problem with the calculation, but I just can’t do the actual hop.

The advice you see above is suitable for trials / urban / street riding, but stopping to measure or changing your trajectory to achieve pedal position isn’t always feasable when you’re riding off road…

…so you want your MUni riding to flow? First you’ll have to get comfortable with rolling hops in a controlled situation. I learned by jumping cracks on the sidewalk… then I moved on to jumping up over the curb onto the sidewalk. You should master these skills such that you can jump in any pedal position.

It seems weird at first, trying to jump with your pedals in some positions; cranks vertical can be frustrating at first… but with practice you should be able to catch air in virtually any crank position. The mechanics of jumping will be the same regardless of position: push off your rear foot (whichever foot is back at the time), pull up on the seat, tuck your legs, and prepare for a landing. I try to land with my cranks near horizontal, so I’ll have to rotate my wheel mid-air sometimes, but it really isn’t that hard (with practice).

Good luck!

Of course I will! Oh, wait, you appreciate the help? Maybe you should’ve said that, then… :stuck_out_tongue: