landing tecnnique

General
1

It seems that in landing from a drop, people (well, I do, anyway) tend to
apply more weight to the “back” pedal then the “front.” The goal in fixing
this problem would seem to be to ride forward away from the drop.

In figuring out how to correctly land, it seems most reasonable to try to
figure out why I land incorrectly (or at least not ideally). Does anyone
have any experience to add as to why people generally put more weight on
the back pedal?

My best guess is that on some level, I believe that landing into a
stationary position would be safest, so I lock my legs. Since I am facing
forward, it would be reasonable to conclude that I am applying this
weight to the back pedal in an effort to break. Does this seem reasonable
to anyone?

To those who have managed to easliy roll out of drops, are you using an
active or passive effort to roll? (Do you try to pedal forward, or do you
just left forward motion happen?)

Good day, Jeff Lutkus

Free e-Mail and Webspace - http://Unicyclist.com

2

At first, as you said, I was instinctively locking my legs since I seemed
safer. After a while - without active effort, just feeling I’d say - I’m
just trying to move forward immediately after landing. Maybe my weak leg
(left) is just getting stronger or has better control. I don’t really
focus on that foward motion.

Oli-

-----Original Message----- From: Jeff Lutkus
[mailto:lutkus@unicyclist.com] Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 11:38 AM To:
unicycling@winternet.com Subject: landing tecnnique

It seems that in landing from a drop, people (well, I do, anyway) tend to
apply more weight to the “back” pedal then the “front.” The goal in fixing
this problem would seem to be to ride forward away from the drop.

In figuring out how to correctly land, it seems most reasonable to try to
figure out why I land incorrectly (or at least not ideally). Does anyone
have any experience to add as to why people generally put more weight on
the back pedal?

My best guess is that on some level, I believe that landing into a
stationary position would be safest, so I lock my legs. Since I am facing
forward, it would be reasonable to conclude that I am applying this
weight to the back pedal in an effort to break. Does this seem reasonable
to anyone?

To those who have managed to easliy roll out of drops, are you using an
active or passive effort to roll? (Do you try to pedal forward, or do you
just left forward motion happen?)

Good day, Jeff Lutkus

Free e-Mail and Webspace - http://Unicyclist.com

3

To some degree you have to put a lot of force on the rear pedal, otherwise
your uni would fly out ahead of you. The key is to transfer as much force
as possible, after the initial impact, into forward rotation.

The alternate possibility is to drop seat-out-in-front, and land in a
stationary position. This works well in trials situations where you
can’t roll out.

Cheers,

Kris. — Jeff Lutkus <lutkus@unicyclist.com> wrote:
> It seems that in landing from a drop, people (well, I do, anyway) tend
> to apply more weight to the “back” pedal then the “front.” The goal in
> fixing this problem would seem to be to ride forward away from the drop.
>
> In figuring out how to correctly land, it seems most reasonable to try
> to figure out why I land incorrectly (or at least not ideally). Does
> anyone have any experience to add as to why people generally put more
> weight on the back pedal?
>
> My best guess is that on some level, I believe that landing into a
> stationary position would be safest, so I lock my legs. Since I am
> facing forward, it would be reasonable to conclude that I am applying
> this weight to the back pedal in an effort to break. Does this seem
> reasonable to anyone?
>
> To those who have managed to easliy roll out of drops, are you using an
> active or passive effort to roll? (Do you try to pedal forward, or do
> you just left forward motion happen?)
>
> Good day, Jeff Lutkus
>
> _____________________________________________________________
> Free e-Mail and Webspace - http://Unicyclist.com

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4

I tried out the idea of keeping the wheel spinning as I ride off a ledge
(I think Kris Holm mentioned this in a post recently). It works great. If
you haven’t tried it, it makes landings smooth as silk.

But to roll out of a drop which starts from a stationary position is a
different matter. I’d like to learn this too. Dropping and landing to a
stationary position will not only jeopardize your cranks, but also you
spine. I weigh 140 so I haven’t wrecked any cranks, but my lower back took
a beating from those stationary landings.

Joe

In a message dated 7/5/01 11:42:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
lutkus@unicyclist.com writes:

> My best guess is that on some level, I believe that landing into a
> stationary position would be safest, so I lock my legs. Since I am
> facing forward, it would be reasonable to conclude that I am applying
> this weight
to
> the back pedal in an effort to break. Does this seem reasonable
> to anyone?
>
> To those who have managed to easliy roll out of drops, are you using an
> active or passive effort to roll? (Do you try to pedal forward, or do
> you just left forward motion happen?)
>
> Good day, Jeff Lutkus

5

Jeff Lutkus wrote:
>
> It seems that in landing from a drop, people (well, I do, anyway) tend
> to apply more weight to the “back” pedal then >the “front.” The goal in
> fixing this problem would seem to be to ride forward away from the drop.
>
> In figuring out how to correctly land, it seems most reasonable to try
> to figure out why I land incorrectly (or at >least not ideally). Does
> anyone have any experience to add as to why people generally put more
> weight on the back >pedal?

I think the key (of which I am no master, I’ve just got a hypothesis)
seems to be in landing with your body perpendicular to the landing surface
(as viewed from the side).

If you land with your body angled rearward from perpendicular, we must
apply lots of force to that rear pedal to keep from landing on your butt.
Our body applies this extra force naturally, and we are happy in doing so
because this method brings us to a quick (if not instant) stopping place
at the bottom of the cliff. Another reason we naturally angle backward
while in the air is probably because it’s easier to get your tire to clear
the lip by shooting your tire forward than by actually jumping forward
that extra distance. Of course this effect is exaggerated with larger
diameter tires.

So basically, if we land vertically perpendicular to the landing zone, our
body will naturally have to apply even forces to the two pedals in order
to keep us on the uni. This is pretty easy to do if the landing is on a 20
degree upslope, but requires more thought (and a high speed rollout) if
it’s on a downslope.

Anybody else buy into this?

Chris

6

Hi Chris,

It sounds like from what you’re saying that, in order to roll out
immediately from a drop, you’d want your body weight slightly over the
front of the axle (or your weight on the leading pedal) thus causing your
mass to continue forwards on landing and your legs instantly begin to
pedal… or else you’ll end up eating dirt. That sounds perfectly
reasonable to my non-physics enabled brain. The rolling-off-a-drop method
is kind of the same
i.e. your momentum is carrying you forward as you come off the edge so you
have to ride it out.

Also, rather than dropping straight down (or as near as anyway) putting a
little extra spring in to the clearing hop (to give yourself more forward
momentum) would achieve a similar effect. I guess that would only work for
smaller drops as with higher ones you’re going to come down more
vertically anyway? The forward momentum will basically stop you from
landing at a complete standstill and force you to ride out of it. This
would all, of course, be taken care for you by dropping onto a downward
slope. I’ll take my hypothetical hat off now.

Neil

-----Original Message----- From: reed8990@uidaho.edu
[mailto:reed8990@uidaho.edu] Sent: 05 July 2001 18:28 To:
lutkus@unicyclist.com
Cc: unicycling@winternet.com Subject: Re: landing tecnnique
Importance: Low

Jeff Lutkus wrote:
>>
>> It seems that in landing from a drop, people (well, I do, anyway) tend
>to apply more weight to the “back” pedal then >the “front.” The goal in
>fixing this problem would seem to be to ride forward away from the drop.
>>
>> In figuring out how to correctly land, it seems most reasonable to try
>to figure out why I land incorrectly (or at >least not ideally). Does
>anyone have any experience to add as to why people generally put more
>weight on the back >pedal?

I think the key (of which I am no master, I’ve just got a hypothesis)
seems to be in landing with your body perpendicular to the landing surface
(as viewed from the side).

If you land with your body angled rearward from perpendicular, we must
apply lots of force to that rear pedal to keep from landing on your butt.
Our body applies this extra force naturally, and we are happy in doing so
because this method brings us to a quick (if not instant) stopping place
at the bottom of the cliff. Another reason we naturally angle backward
while in the air is probably because it’s easier to get your tire to clear
the lip by shooting your tire forward than by actually jumping forward
that extra distance. Of course this effect is exaggerated with larger
diameter tires.

So basically, if we land vertically perpendicular to the landing zone, our
body will naturally have to apply even forces to the two pedals in order
to keep us on the uni. This is pretty easy to do if the landing is on a 20
degree upslope, but requires more thought (and a high speed rollout) if
it’s on a downslope.

Anybody else buy into this?

Chris

7

On keeping the wheel spinning:

I have issues with this (at least mentally) – I want to land with the
pedals horizontal… this way, the force of my impact will go to the
pedals, and not the seat. Is this flawed reasoning on my part? It just
seems to me that if I don’t land with the pedals horozontal, I could end
up doing something to my ankel.

(These are just the ideas that exist in my head… I’m just the sort who
can execute something best if I throughly understand the standard
procedure as well as why it is standardly practiced that way.)

Jeff Lutkus

— Nycjoe@aol.com
> wrote: I tried out the idea of keeping the wheel spinning as I ride off
> a ledge (I think Kris Holm mentioned this in a post recently). It works
> great. If you haven’t tried it, it makes landings smooth as silk.
>
>But to roll out of a drop which starts from a stationary position is a
>different matter. I’d like to learn this too. Dropping and landing to a
>stationary position will not only jeopardize your cranks, but also you
>spine. I weigh 140 so I haven’t wrecked any cranks, but my lower back
>took a beating from those stationary landings.
>
>Joe
>
>In a message dated 7/5/01 11:42:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
>lutkus@unicyclist.com writes:
>
>
>> My best guess is that on some level, I believe that landing into a
>> stationary position would be safest, so I lock my legs. Since I am
>> facing forward, it would be reasonable to conclude that I am applying
>> this weight
>to
>> the back pedal in an effort to break. Does this seem reasonable to
>> anyone?
>>
>> To those who have managed to easliy roll out of drops, are you using
>> an active or passive effort to roll? (Do you try to pedal forward, or
>> do you just left forward motion happen?)
>>
>> Good day, Jeff Lutkus

Free e-Mail and Webspace - http://Unicyclist.com

8

A little while ago Kris gave a hint to help roll out drops. Take off and
land with the front pedal slightly lower than the rear pedal and land with
some pressure on the front pedal. I’ve been practicing that technique for
my drops and it almost forces you to roll out a drop.

NB Landing a drop with the pedals vertical or nearly vertical is a bad
idea. The landings get rather intersting that way. Think Josh Bender
getting bounced off the seat of his bike and flopping over with his
butt high in the air. :slight_smile:

john_childs

>From: Jeff Lutkus <lutkus@unicyclist.com>

>
>It seems that in landing from a drop, people (well, I do, anyway) tend to
>apply more weight to the “back” pedal then the “front.” The goal in
>fixing this problem would seem to be to ride forward away from the drop.
>
>In figuring out how to correctly land, it seems most reasonable to try to
>figure out why I land incorrectly (or at least not ideally). Does anyone
>have any experience to add as to why people generally put more weight on
>the back pedal?
>
>My best guess is that on some level, I believe that landing into a
>stationary position would be safest, so I lock my legs. Since I am facing
>forward, it would be reasonable to conclude that I am applying this
>weight to the back pedal in an effort to break. Does this seem reasonable
>to anyone?
>
>To those who have managed to easliy roll out of drops, are you using an
>active or passive effort to roll? (Do you try to pedal forward, or do you
>just left forward motion happen?)
>
>Good day, Jeff Lutkus

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9

It does seem counter-intuitive, but I had read the post about this a few
weeks back and just tried it before I had a chance to think about it. I
tried this riding quickly off a two foot drop with good momentum. So when
you hit the ground, your wheel is spinning at the correct speed and your
body is in the correct perpendicular position. You literally do not think
about pedal position. Just think of it as riding forward with an airborn
split-second and a big bump at the end. You naturally absorb the shock
with your legs and whole body, but wherever your pedals happen to be, you
just keep riding forward.

I was lucky in finding a great place to learn this: a flat granite ledge
bordering a downhill slope . I would ride along the ledge and then
abruptly veer off it for the drop. As I gained confidence, I went further
and further out on the ledge. First I did 4 inches, then 6, then 8 etc…
until I just went off the far end (20" drop) at a pretty good speed. I was
amazed how easy it is compared to dropping from a stationary position and
bouncing or splatting all over the sidewalk.

Maybe think of it this way. You wouldn’t think twice about quickly riding
off a 4" or 6" curb. You would just ride forward at whatever speed you
felt like. So start with a height you’re comfortable with and then
increase it in small increments. Hope that helps. Joe

In a message dated 7/5/01 2:39:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
lutkus@unicyclist.com writes:

> On keeping the wheel spinning:
>
> I have issues with this (at least mentally) – I want to land with the
> pedals horizontal… this way, the force of my impact will go to the
pedals,
> and not the seat. Is this flawed reasoning on my part? It just seems to
me
> that if I don’t land with the pedals horozontal, I could end up doing
> something to my ankel.
>
> (These are just the ideas that exist in my head… I’m just the
> sort who
can
> execute something best if I throughly understand the standard procedure
> as well as why it is standardly practiced that way.)
>
> Jeff Lutkus

10

Your logic seems reasonable. For drops more than maybe a foot or so, I
always stop, hop once or twice, lean forwards, and jump down. Once I get
my new set of crank arms, I guess I’ll try some rolling. I’ll also find
out which breaks first – the cranks or me :slight_smile:

I have to say, the 24x3" tire is the best, though. After I made a jump or
two, I thougth nothing about making drops I’d never have attempted on any
of my other unicycles (I believe the thickest had a 1.75" tire). (Keep in
mind, though, to me, a 4’ drop is still a big one.)

— Nycjoe@aol.com
> wrote: It does seem counter-intuitive, but I had read the post about
> this a few weeks back and just tried it before I had a chance to think
> about it. I tried this riding quickly off a two foot drop with good
> momentum. So when you hit the ground, your wheel is spinning at the
> correct speed and your body is in the correct perpendicular position.
> You literally do not think about pedal position. Just think of it as
> riding forward with an airborn split-second and a big bump at the end.
> You naturally absorb the shock with your legs and whole body, but
> wherever your pedals happen to be, you just keep riding forward.
>
>I was lucky in finding a great place to learn this: a flat granite ledge
>bordering a downhill slope . I would ride along the ledge and then
>abruptly veer off it for the drop. As I gained confidence, I went further
>and further out on the ledge. First I did 4 inches, then 6, then 8 etc…
>until I just went off the far end (20" drop) at a pretty good speed. I
>was amazed how easy it is compared to dropping from a stationary position
>and bouncing or splatting all over the sidewalk.
>
>Maybe think of it this way. You wouldn’t think twice about quickly riding
>off a 4" or 6" curb. You would just ride forward at whatever speed you
>felt like. So start with a height you’re comfortable with and then
>increase it in small increments. Hope that helps. Joe
>
>In a message dated 7/5/01 2:39:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
>lutkus@unicyclist.com writes:
>
>> On keeping the wheel spinning:
>>
>> I have issues with this (at least mentally) – I want to land with the
>> pedals horizontal… this way, the force of my impact will go to the
>pedals,
>> and not the seat. Is this flawed reasoning on my part? It just seems to
>me
>> that if I don’t land with the pedals horozontal, I could end up doing
>> something to my ankel.
>>
>> (These are just the ideas that exist in my head… I’m just the
>> sort who
>can
>> execute something best if I throughly understand the standard procedure
>> as well as why it is standardly practiced that way.)
>>
>> Jeff Lutkus

Free e-Mail and Webspace - http://Unicyclist.com

11

Nycjoe@aol.com writes:
>It does seem counter-intuitive, but I had read the post about this a few
>weeks back and just tried it before I had a chance to think about it. I
>tried this riding quickly off a two foot drop with good momentum. So when
>you hit the ground, your wheel is spinning at the correct speed and your
>body is in the correct perpendicular position. You literally do not think
>about pedal position. Just think of it as riding forward with an airborn
>split-second and a big bump at the end. You naturally absorb the shock
>with your legs and whole body, but wherever your pedals happen to be, you
>just keep riding forward.

I have to disagree a tad on one point, JM, and that is about pedal posish.
If the pedals are at “6 o’clock,” it’s really hard to stick the landing.
At almost any other point it’s not too tough, and 9:15 (or if you are a
late riser, 3:45) is the easiest. But I still have occasional ‘unplanned
dismounts’ (UPDs) off small curbs when I have to land at 6 o’clock. DS