Hi,
I’ve just learnt to bunny hop on my 20" and tried it today on my 24". But I couldn’t do it - the uni seemed too heavy. Is this right d’u think? Or have I just not ‘got’ it yet? And does this mean that if I wanted to go leaping about on mountains, I would need a 20", or doesn’t it work like that?
Cathy
Keep trying, unless you have a uni made of lead. 
no, just together me & the uni are pretty heavy.
Cathy
Don’t get discouraged, just keep practicing, and give it time.
I’m just learning how to hop too…I’m trying it on an old 24" Schwinn that I have hopes of destroying in order to get a nicer Muni. Could it be that your seat is in a higher position in relation to your cranks on your 24? Seems to me that I need to have the seat lower than I normally ride in order to have a hope of some hopping…just a thought.
–unidaddy
Practice.
Kris Holm(and lots others,of course)namely,does insane trials hopping on a 24",Its generally pretty easy.I think theres old videos of him doing trials on a 26".
I learned how to hop on a 24",it wasnt until a year later that i got a 20" uni,and i personally dont think that weight matters unless your pushing yourself to the limit,then a lighter uni would help you to be able to “refine” the hop and get that last 2 extra inches in,or whatever.
As for learning to hop,get better and more efficent at hoppping the 20",then you’ll be more efficent at the 24".
I can jump my coker. You should be able to jump a 24.
As some have mentioned, Kris Holm does great on the 24". I myself reached around 30" on my 15-16lb 24, which is plenty for the vast majority of things found in and around trails. Just practice on the 24 and you’ll get better, and even better, it’ll improve your skills on the 20" as well.
my freaking biceps are all sore from practice hopping my 24" nimbus muni… sucker is heavy good thing it’s not a 26…
Hopping in it’s early stages is all about the timing, and all in the ankles. All it needs is a quick flick that’s timed correctly to use the wheel’s spring back to your advantage (this comes with practise) and you’ll be hopping with the greatest of ease. If you’re hopping to simply stay in the one spot and aren’t trying to get over anything all you need is 5 or 10mm clearance off the ground. A common mistake of most people when learning to hop is to bend at the knees too much and keep the ankles rigid. You should spend some time developing the little flicks of the ankles, and hopping will become much more effective and much less tiring. Picture doing small quick hops on the spot without the unicycle. Most people use mainly their ankles for this and that’s what you should be doing on the unicycle…until you need to go for any real height, in which case the use of the ankles is still very important.
That’s what I think anyway.
Good luck.
Andrew
Re: Just a quick question re hopping
I’m not a great hopper, but even when I could barely hop the wheelsize
didn’t make any difference at all. Unidaddy’s comment may hit the nail
on the head, though.
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
“When it comes to the family jewels, you won’t be having fun until they’re having fun. - Jake D”
Thanks for your comments.
Full of enthusiasm following your encouragement, I have been practicing and am now getting there. Phew. not time to go on a diet or buy a new unicycle (yet).
Cathy
I learnt to hop on someone elses 20, and it was a while before I could hop on my own 24 or my own 20, the 20 got easier once I put a fatter tyre on it. I’m still not very good at hopping the 26, but I don;t try very often.
SArah
Good to see you at BUC, you’ll be danceing with the best of us next year 'm sure
Absolutely Sarah!
Dancing, hockey, there’ll be no stopping me next year. Hang about…trails?? Actually I don’t think I’ll manage that.
But I’ve been greatly inspired by BUC. I’ve acutally learnt to sit DOWN in my seat. Now I feel like I’m riding my uni instead of fighting it.
I even managed some hopping on the 24" this morning.
What’s the next trick to aim for? Idling? Jumping? I have a very long list of the things I want to learn NOW after BUC.
Great fun, and lovely to meet everybody. It’s strange coming back to a world where nearly everybody doesn’t ride a uni.
Cathy
Awesome, i’ve been practicing hopping over a growing stack of 2x4s as training, and now after a couple of days of practice my vertical hop is up from 2" to 9" on my 24x3
I was missing a lot of height due to not using my torso momentum as effectively as possible, and indeed, the ankles are key. I just think of myself as a big worm, trying to squirm upwards and tuck the uni up under me as high as I can… timing is crucial, or you won’t have it pulled up 100% as you hit the apex… and don’t lose confidence, or you won’t stick the landing
you didn’t describe what kind of unicycles you have for a 20" and a 24". if you have like a trials 20" with a big fat squishy tire then a 24" like racer with a skinny really hard tire it’s going to be really different.
maybe let some air out of the 24" tire and see if that helps?
Thanks.
20" and 24" are both Nimbus 2.