Thanks Lance! If I’ve anything going for me, it’s probably patience and modest expectations. Nothing natural about either of those. 
Woo hoo, way to stick with it! Happy anniversary!
Just imagine what you’ll be able to do in your second year, being able to ride right from the start of it.
giraffe mounts
20150316_095442_opt.jpg
Order of progression of assisted mounts.
from van,
then ladder
to picnic table to hang on from tree,
static mount from picnic bench
static mount from picnic table
to pole
to hop roll mount from picnic bench
To hop roll mount from picnic table,
And last for the day, hopped up to covered trash can, one foot balance to mount.
Yah! Pure pleasure, minus the nut crunches. A lot more independent on this 3rd day.
In the middle of the running season. What to do?
I thought still stands would be a fun way to practice without using energy or working sore legs…
So far I have acheived nothing… have no idea what I should be doing. Can’t find any info about it as it seems to be something people just learn to do so that they can do exciting things. In videos riders always hop sideways when they lose it. I still just roll over the axle and roll forward. Just bringing new depths of incompetence to the game 
Sunday : Seoul International Marathon 3 hours 37mins. A good day 
Can you idle very well? Maybe work on your idling until you’ve got the rolling down to very small strokes, and slow down your time going from front to back that way you are getting some short still stands in there…
As to the marathon…and my calculations…do you mean you ran an 8:17 pace for 26 miles? 
I was pretty excited about my 9:07 pace for 4 miles last weekend, but I’m no runner
Idling: Big strokes vs. Small Strokes
I talked with another rider who practiced using small strokes while idling. As a beginner idler, I used smaller strokes, but over time, my idle has gotten bigger. My knees used to hurt when idling (small strokes), especially the 6:00 knee, now they don’t hurt any more (big strokes). Unless I am misunderstanding the meaning of “small strokes”, I would say that performing still-stands while idling is harder with smaller strokes, and it is easier with big strokes. With big strokes, the opposite ends of the idle put you in the 9:00 and 3:00 positions, which is more desirable for a momentary still-stand. Also, the 9:00 and 3:00 positions provides more power to change direction. Idling “big” provides, IMO, a logical path toward riding backwards. The whole idling experience, for me, feels more relaxing when I “go big” and do it slowly. The same applies to one-footed idling.
Yes, congratulations krjames! That’s a very fine achievement.
Thanks, I think 5.2mins/km sounds better though 
On the idling, I still say keep pushing that seat post up 5mm a week until you can’t reach the pedals or you’ve got the idling under control! I can now idle pretty effectively right foot down, can make corrections and change the direction I’m facing. Left foot is completely unreliable…
Cheers
Introduction
Since I have been reading this thread in its entirety over the past two months, I thought I would this thread to do my first post.
I started unicycling about a year ago. My initial learning curve was steep for the first two days, then very slow after that. My neighbor started unicycling, and I decided to use some time off to buy a unicycle and start learning. On my first hour on the Uni, I was able to ride about 100 feet. After resting for a few hours, I learned to freemount the same evening. My neighbor doesn’t like me anymore.
I cycle a lot and grew up on BMX/freestyle bikes. When I was younger, I could ride a wheelie as far as I wanted. The skills seem to translate well.
After that, the learning was slow. The Uni I learned on was a 20" Club. After a few months of practice, I decided to try Uni-cross at the Portland-area Crusade series races. I figured that there was no better way to learn Muni than to just go for it. Racing on a 20" was an exercise in futility, so I got a KH29". My only race on the HK (last race of the season) was quite difficult, as I only rode it for the first time the day before the race. Much of the race was spent trying to free mount after a UPD. I’m now looking for an “inexpensive” 24" Muni to act as an intermediate. The 29er is good for going fast, but not the best for learning to ride the technical stuff. There is a 24" Torker DX for sale in my area, but I don’t know the vintage well, and if this will stand up well to the abuse of Muni.
I feel like I already know everyone on this thread; I’m happy to now be a part of it.
-Steven
Welcome Steven! Thanks for a great intro post. It sounds like your progress was superhuman for a couple of days, then more like a normal person after that.
I’m guessing that the KH29 will serve you well in the long run, but although I haven’t tried 29er muni myself, I can imagine how much of a challenge it would be trying to learn muni on it on a technical course. Getting a smaller wheel to practice on first sounds like a good idea. Also you might try your 29er on easier trails to get seat time and learn how it responds to smaller irregularites first. Like everything in unicycling, experience matters a whole lot for muni.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Thanks Large Eddie for the welcome. It looks like editing is turned off in this community. I’ll have to be more careful about my proof reading.
It turns out that what I thought was a 24" DX was only a 20". I already have the Club, so the only advantage to the DX would be durability and longer cranks, at the expense of weight (I assume). The price is right, though - $130, so I am still a bit tempted. My daughter has commandeered my Club, so I could use the DX as my own and stop switching seats whenever I want to ride the Club while my daughter isn’t practicing.
As far as my current skills, I can ride, stop, hop, and ride, and I am getting better at rolling hops. I can ride off of curbs, but not up. I can free mount the 29" 8 or 9 out of 10 times. I can turn the 29 around in about a 8’ radius, but not much smaller. Actually, my turns are more octogons than circles. I cannot idle or ride backwards.
I have another neighbor that also rides - he can ride a giraffe, he can ride one footed, backwards, and I’m sure other things as well. His son learned very quickly, so we have 5 people on my street who can ride.
Welcome to the forum, Steven! (The editing feature is only active for 15 minutes, so yeah, it’s not too forgiving.)
Sounds like you’re doing really well for the length of time you’ve been riding, and I think you would enjoy muni riding. Check the forum Trading Post, or on-line sellers like UDC or Goudurix, and you’ll find one that suits you, I’m sure. 24" and 26" are the two most popular off-road sizes, which one is best for you depends on the terrain you ride most, and your personal riding style. My area is pretty hilly, and I now prefer the 24" (though I rode a 26 the last couple years).
It’s great that you have other riders so close. It’s a lot more fun to learn and ride in a group.
Good luck, and post photos! Cheers!
quarantine!!!
I’ve been practising still stands indoors over the last two winters and can only manage 7 seconds max…I feel that at any minute I’ll have it sussed…but I’ve felt that way for months…
still stand technique
I practiced still stands for a 1 1/2 years almost every day without improving! I determined that either I didn’t have the talent to learn the skill or I was using the wrong technique. After studying the videos for hours (which I have previously done without result) I finally saw what I was doing wrong. I don’t know why it took me so long to see it. Whenever I would start falling to the left I would shift my hips to the right, drop my left hand by my side and extend my right hand straight out to the side. The idea was to move as much of my mass to the right as possible. Unfortunately, this was the wrong technique (at least with the arms).
The key is to use a physics principle called conservation of angular momentum. Keep your arms straight out to the side. If you find yourself falling to the left then quickly rotate your arms to the left. This means that the left arm rotates down and the right arm rotates up. Of course you should also move your hips to the right. The faster your rotate your arms the bigger effect you get. This effect is much larger than the effect you get by simply extending your right arm. Rotating your arms in this manner with cause your body to rotate in the opposite manner which means your body will move to the right.
Slack liners also use this technique as do tightrope walkers (their pole serves as extra long and extra heavy arms).
stillstand technique
Another point I forgot to mention. Sit down on the seat. It is easier to balance with a low center of gravity when you cannot move your base of support.
On a side note, when you can move your base of support it is easier to balance with a high center of gravity. That’s why it is easier to balance a long stick on your finger than it is to balance a pencil on your finger.
This means that while it is easier to ride a giraffe unicycle, it is harder to still stand on a giraffe unicycle.
still standing
Yes, I managed to work that(the arm swinging) out too, but without the science 
I can sometimes get a whole second! (but then I may be counting fast…)
I found one video describing learning stillstands and the guy used a wall to practice against. This does make a difference compared with riding to a stop. I can spend more time sitting with the legs working (going no where) and it does seem to improve my ride to stop performance. Obviously out far enough from the wall to have only a finger tip contact.
Cheers
Hills
Hi,
This thread has given me a lot of encouragement over the last few months. Some great tips too.
Some of the best advise, which in hind sight is soo simple, one of those duh moments, I got from about the 50th you tube clip I watched on learning to ride a unicycle. If you are falling forward, peddle faster and if you are falling back, peddle slower. Soo stupidly simple.
I bought a QUAX 29 disc muni in Feb of this year. I started out on the tennis court and I can finally, confidently, ride up and down my road which is relatively flat and about 400metres long. My free mounts are getting there, slowly but surely.
At the end of my road, the hills start. I have been battling with hill climbs for a while now. My question relates to hill climbing on a uni. Do you transfer weight to your peddles and stand up out of the seat in the process or do you keep the weight in the seat and pump the legs?
Most of my experience has been on a 24 inch and I have just started on a 26 so I don’t know how well it will translate to 29.
The bottom line with hill climbing is having the strength to build up enough speed on each stroke to get through to the next pedal thrust. Start climbing hills and your body will respond very quickly. The human body is a marvel for reconfiguring itself as required. Take on hills that you can manage and just keep working up. It is more effective than struggling on something too steep.
Rhythm is also important. Once again get out there and do it and you will soon find the differences in how you work on the uni on uphill.
You didn’t say your crank length. The crank length to wheel diameter ratio also determines how hard you must push. Longer cranks climb with less force but it is easier to ride smoothly with shorter cranks and that can help on hills.
You can increase the force on the pedal by holding onto the seat. Force is applied in two ways.
Obviously you can pull up on the handle.
Less obvious is you can grip the seat between your thighs. This can sometimes be effective because it keeps the force vectors within the leg so as not to add strain to your upper body. It is a useful technique if your arms are otherwise occupied. However the seat must be high and there are limitations to how much force is practical to apply.
Under some circumstances such as side slopes you can apply this technique strongly to one leg because the forces are holding the inner thigh against the seat.
However like most things about unicycling a combination of factors are traded off against each other. Letting go with the thighs and standing slightly changes the effective steering geometry of the unicycle by moving the “upper steering link” further forward (into your hand) and can help to stabilise the wheel track under strong drive. Somewhere in between is normal.
I get near to standing up but don’t find any real advantage in actually coming off the seat. The first thing I discovered was the potential for “things” not settling back in the right place when I sat down again so I have not been inclined to try it much.
The forces when climbing are strong so you can get a good feel for them so it is a great learning experience. However the physical factors involved are so complex that the only way to really come to terms is to explore a variety of positions and techniques until it feels right for you at the level you are at now. Then be prepared for it to all change as your skills develop.
It depends on the hill. Up to a certain point, I sit as much as I can and pump my legs. Beyond that point (steepness), I can’t pull that off and must stand to pedal. Pulling up on or even pushing down on the saddle handle can help to climb some of the harder slopes while seated. As you get better at it, the dividing line (of steepness) moves.
I ride mostly on paved roads and greenways.
The same hill is less tiring when ridden seated. It works different muscles (I feel it in the glutes), which is its own other topic, but standing on the pedals to ride is more tiring. The challenge is to conquer progressively steeper hills without having to stand. Standing is still a resource at your disposal, and good to have when sitting doesn’t work. If the terrain on a hill is bumpy, you may end up standing anyway for the control.
Another way to look at it is to deliberately ride standing just for the increased exercise, even on easy grades. We all have different motivators. Sometimes, it’s about making it harder, rather than easier. Or getting a workout without having to go terribly far.
Glad to hear you’re battling the hills, rather than avoiding them!
Don’t worry about standing on the pedals. Some hills where you currently stand on the pedals…will become hills you are able to sit and spin up. Don’t force the technique, it’ll come.
As other posters have mentioned, getting one hand to pull/push/stabilize on the seat…should help you out. Your climbing will improve drastically when you start doing this, but don’t sweat if you’re not ready to do it yet. I remember, in the learning process, that just reaching down to touch the seat with one hand…practically sent me UPDing. For the time being, you should probably ride with your arms out for balance.
Having recently installed a KH t-bar on my MUni, I am a huge advocate for the T-bar (or Shadown Handle). You might wait until you can ride short distances with both hands on the front of the seat…before investing in the handle. I love mine!!!
There is so much technique to hill climbing. Some of the best riders do a kind of hip thrusting dance, helping them to overcome the dead part of the pedal stroke, on the most severe hills (Watch UniGeezer climb Fargo Street). I am still trying to figure this technique out.
Happy riding!