AnimalCage, I recognized your story when I read it as similar. You are further along than I am, but I did hit the street in front of my house this afternoon after reading the comments after ratcal saying his pride was getting in the way (along about page 16 or 17). Now I’ve done the hard part. The neighbors know I’m nuts now, so it’s okay to be seen again tomorrow. Gee, 2400 feet! How long have you been practicing?? That sounds like an eternity away for me!
Also. I am practicing on the 20" at school (before school, during lunch, and after the bell) and a 24" at home (in the street). They are SOOO different. The 24" felt so foreign this afternoon after working on the 20" for a bit at work. Should I work on one or the other, or try them both? I thought I would leave the 20" at work and work on freemounting in my classroom and practice riding and doing turns in the halls (after everyone is gone for the day). Then I plan to go home and practice distance with the 24"… hoping to make it around the block in the next few weeks. I thought it would be nice not to have to carry one or the other to and from work. What do you all think? Thanks!!!
This was my hello thread when I first registered a month ago. Unlike you 57UR, I re-registered under a different name. I only practiced about 10-15 minutes a day because that’s all my legs had. It’s getting better, now that I’m focused on sitting down. As my legs adapt, my practices will get longer.
After I posted earlier, I thought about why I did so well, and the answer was obvious to me. For the past month, my job has been a lot of driving vs. actual work. Today, I spent most of the day wrestling with and climbing a 14-ft stepladder. My thighs were quite warmed up when I got home. Other days, I’m just riding cold. So for days that involve mostly driving, I’ll have to consider warming up before I ride.
Hi 57UniRider, Nice to meet you here. I am the oldest in this thread but that was before
In my opinion, I think you should work on both, I learned to ride on a 18" starter unicycle, but as soon as I received my new trial uni ( think more than 2 weeks now) I didn’t use my 18" since that time. 2 days ago I wondered to try it again, feeling so confident that I didn’t use any safety gear but then I felt the first time it’s like i’m starting all over again. I couldn’t ride, could not even mount. So, What I did (force mounting on the crank) I made a hop to transfer my foot to the pedal, I missed the pedal and hit my shin so hard
Now I have this red mark on left my shin minus the blood. A remembrance from my old machine. I don’t know if I will ever try it again. but if i will try, I won’t forget my safety gear.
Yesterday is my 4th day riding off road, with lots of bumps and dips complete with downhill and uphill. Down hill is no problem but for the uphill untill the 4th day I didn’t conquer the top most. So today I just take a rest, maybe next week I’ll try it again.
For me, they both have their own respective purpose. The 29er is great around town here in Central Pa - lots of hills, start and stops at intersections and weaving in and out of traffic. It’s light and nimble comparred to the 36er, but still can be speedy enough to make quick commutes.
The 36er, on the other hand, is great on the local rails-to-trails where there are no hills, intersections or traffic. Maybe in the future I’ll be better at handling the beast, but as for now, I find it too heavy and hard to manuever quickly in town.
I’ve taken the 29er offroad, but I haven’t even thought about trying the 36er yet. But now as I think about it, there are some new dirt access roads to the new windmill farm on top of the mountain that I may try on the 36er the next nice day…hmmm…
The bumps and dips were soooooo hard in the early going - and now? Well they are just plain hard still But easier than before. I am looking forward to more trail riding once things dry up a bit. It is raining/snowing today and the next several. Typical Utah Spring
I think it is great to be working on both 57UR. I find that riding the different sizes make me a better rider overall, and there is a lot of transfer of skills and confidence between them. It is no wonder that it is the rare uni-rider that only rides one wheel (pun intended!)
Keep up the good work. It is motivating to read your posts.
TS - with the 29er I imagine that you will not put the Hookworm back on the N26 very often. For now I am going to keep it on there for another 2ish months until the trails are mostly dry, then I will put the Duro back on and seek out a lot of trail riding through the summer/fall.
Hi all, I’ve been lurking in the shadows reading other posts and have found this a really intersting and relevant thread. Although you are are youngsters in my eyes, the fact that you are not in your 20’s gives me some hope that I can succeed at learning. I hope you don’t mind my intrusion into your thread. But I think your experiences will be the most helpful for me.
Would you experienced learners recommend going for the cheapest uni that can handle my weight or going to a slightly better uni?
The one above is better than the cheapest suitable for my weight. I weigh just under 160 pounds / 11 stone 4 with my clothes and shoes on and have a step over of about 33" / 83 cm.
Is ther much potential to upgrade uni’s as cyclists do, no one seems to mention doing this with the cheaper ini’s? ie to more durable parts.
After a 2 year gap in commuter cycling do to ill health I’ve started warming up to learn to unicycle by riding fixed on my bike. When I am more comfortable with the fixed wheel I was planning to learn to track stand and mount the bike. Do you think any of these or other cycling bskills will prove helpful to learn to unicycle?
I hope my intrusion is acceptable to you. Thanks for any advice.
Hi One Speed. We are the same age and are possibly the oldest posters here. I may have seen one post by someone who was 60, and there are posters who don’t list their age, but we are definitely on the “older beginner” end of the spectrum here. One likely difference is that I am a “girl” and you are probably not. As I look at your post again, since your birthday is 6 weeks away, I guess you might take the lead on being the oldest. Shucks. I was momentarily sort of enjoying that status.
I am also quite a beginner. My longest distance is just under 800 feet, and I cannot freemount yet. That’s what I’m working on right now. I’ve been “riding” for about 4 months on a Torker LX 20" and 3 months into that added a Torker LX 24". I had seen quite a few recommendations for the Torker.
I’m not qualified to make recommendations, but these two are working nicely for me. I must say I was quite surprised at how DIFFERENT the 24" seemed from the 20 inch. The 24" seemed huge, and the difference in the pedal spread was surprising even though it is only a total of about 2 inches. The pedaling action is quite a bit different in my opinion. I got the 24" in an attempt to be less exhausted so I could ride further. This helped a little, but I am told that the exhaustion will be less and less as I improve my technique.
I’m a little hesitant to post here too much or too often for fear of appearing to “hog” this thread. I’m just enjoying it SOOO much and am getting so much out of it. Thanks so much to everyone for the advice, and may I be so bold as to consider myself member enough of the “moldie oldies” to say welcome One Speed! Happy Unicycling! I’m looking forward to gaining “experience” status, and it will be rewarding to read about your progress. Please keep posting One Speed. We are comrades.
Welcome Bob! I started not too long ago on a cheapie 20", and personally, I think that’s the best way to go. I still have the cheapie, and the kids are using it to learn.
I would buy the one you feel most comfortable investing in knowing that eventually, after you decide what type of unicycling you will be focusing on (street, trials, freestyle, muni or long distances - or all of them) your beginner will probably end up as a loaner or not being used very often. But, for your first one, I wouldn’t go too cheap.
As far as upgrading a cheapie: It would be like putting $750 carbon fiber cranks on a Huffy. Sure there are parts to upgrade, but you want to put them on a good, quality base uni.
Using the fixed gear bike would build your “slow down muscles” (back-pedal pressure) which is a must on a uni, and just the workout of cycling is good prep work for any activity. But that’s it. Mounting, riding, balancing and even the leg and core muscles you use to uni are different. I have been on a bike and a long distance runner all of my adult life - the first 3 months of riding a uni felt like I was sitting on the couch since I was 20 years old. Don’t be discouraged if your legs feel like they are going to explode the first time you ride 100 feet.
Welcome One Speed! The Learning Journal is an open thread, especially for learners so not only is it not an intrusion we are pleased to have you join our growing team :D. When I first joined the community and started the Journal I had no idea there were so many riders that aren’t in their teens or 20’s. Now I kinda think my name is funny since there are so many 50+ riders out there. But ten years from now it will be just about right
The uni you have chosen is actually a very nice unicycle that should last indefinetely. The splined hub is very strong (bullet-proof) and the frame is also very durable. On the question of upgrades the only thing I would see is probably a saddle, but that is a personal preference. I can only suggest that if that saddle is not comfortable don’t hesitate to get something more comfortable as it may just be the most important thing on the uni–but you probably know that from your commuter riding. Other than that I don’t see much that you would upgrade on this one. (get the RED one ;)) Your next upgrade would most likely be to purchase another uni with a bigger wheel. But having the 20" around is great - I still get an my 20" regularly.
We look forward to hearing your adventures!
57UR you should not feel hesitant!! We love your posts and are already getting a lot out of them. “Moldie Oldies”, “Old Dogs”, or whatever we want to call ourselves, we are, as you said, comrades. And we are having FUN :D:)
PAX and MAW had a great ride on Thursday late afternoon on the Indian Head Rail Trail where all our riding together first began four or so months ago. This is a flat, smoothly paved re-purposed rail bed alongside some beautiful stretches of water.
We saw all kinds of wildlife including lots of turtles, many basking on logs but also one tiny three incher that was crossing the trail and needed to be avoided.
While it wasn’t our intention to set a new PB distance record it just worked out that way. I was on the 29er for a change with a slick tire and 125 cranks and we were just flying along. With plenty of daylight we decided at some point that we might as well go for the 20 mile target. As we predicted the last mile or two was pretty painful with my quads screaming as we ‘climbed’ to the parking lot. Less than three hours total trip time including about fifteen minutes of snacking and hydrating time- pretty zippy.
PAX, MAW and JB’s son Hutch also hit the Cedarville MUni loop on Sunday and had an excellent ride. MAW showed off some awesome log hopping skills and Hutch impressed the heck out of both of us for a 14 yo (on Mom’s N24). The 3.0 tire and some good hopping cleared some good size logs and roots.
MAW (Gregg) put together the clips that we captured into this video…
It is great to see all the new contributors to TLJ aka Moldie Oldies and that the crop of ‘new’ riders keeps on coming. After six months of riding unicycles I have to admit that this has been a wonderful adventure- thanks in large part to the Learning Journal and having MAW to ride with. Post away!!!
Exactly my thoughts! I have only tried Nimbus and KH saddles, which are quite comfortable. However, I have had problems with chafing on longer rides in the last weeks - probably because I always ride in jeans. Yesterday I tried to wear padded cycling shorts under the jeans and that really made a huge difference!
LOVE the videos! Maybe you should call them the MAXPAW files (getting the most out of one foot on the ground). I aspire to that type of riding, and I’m not against giving you guys a call when I can ride as far.
What are you doing differently? - tire pressure? - WIND!
So Alan (Animal Cage)… Can you put into words what it feels like you are doing differently to get you to 3700 feet as opposed to the 800 you were telling us about less than a week ago??? (it seems like less than a week ago). My leg muscles are absolute MUSH! Could it be that I just have weak leg muscles, and it will take awhile to get them strengthened up enough to go much further than 800ft. (I want to go around the block already!!!)
The wind has been crazy STRONG for well over a week, and I haven’t even come close to 800 feet in the last few days. Maybe I’ve been spending too much time trying to freemount and not enough time trying to improve distance.
Also, did you guys say lots of air pressure was good for control. I pumped it up to about 60 to work on freemounting, etc., but when I took off down the road I was having lots of difficulty with control. Maybe it was the wind, but that’s not what I thought initially. Thanks! Martha (57UniRider)
57UR (Martha), I have no answer, really. I was shocked that first time I went 2400 ft. There’s a corner I was UPDing every time, and I had a mental block. Always tried to push past it, always fell. I quit caring about the corner, and just rode for control. Slow, easy control. I guess I quit worrying about how far I was going, and just focused on the ride. Now, when my legs start to feel tired, I see it as my body telling me I’m not sitting down enough.
I have ridden bikes in the past, 10+ hour rides. Climbed ladders a lot of my life. I have tree-trunk thighs. I thought maybe that made a difference until I saw the video today of the 4 year old riding a uni. Plus in the Favorite Videos thread there is a video of 10 year old girls doing muni. Blows my theory! That means you can do this.
Also, I don’t go anywhere if I don’t freemount. Once I learned to go 30 feet, it was the end of holding on. To me, freemounting is essential to learn control. But we all learn different.
Best advice I can give you is stop worrying about distance, sit in your seat, and go slow and easy. The more control you have, the further you will ride. You will experience the long ride, it could be tomorrow!
(I am also big into protein shakes. I don’t believe our American diet gives us enough, and that includes women. I do a 60-gram shake after any physical exertion. A. You’re here, so you’re already crazy. B. You won’t turn into the Hulk.)
Way too COOOL Animal Cage!!
I’m going to do this if it takes me 'til I’m a hundred! HAAA! If I’m 100 when I can finally ride a mile, maybe I’ll make the nightly news and have my 15 minutes of fame afterall!!! Loving it! Thanks for the tips Alan!!! You go!
I do feel like if I can just get the freemount down, all of this will come a lot faster. I’m working on it. Martha
I will give you some free advice that will be worth every penny you pay for it.
I found free mounting to be very challenging early on, but later it came more easily. If you are a better rider and can recover from overbalanced positions, then you can ride out of a lot of feeble mounting attempts. My advice is to do some drills to get to be a better rider, and them come back to free mounting in a week or two. I have found riding in circles (both directions!) and then moving on to figure eights to be very helpful in improving my skills as a beginner. They force you to develop control, and they teach you how to ride from an out-of-balance position. Initially the circles are very big, and gradually they get to be small. I still cannot do pirouettes after a few years of riding, and to be honest I am not even sure how to begin, but I can ride figure eights with about 1 M circles.
If you become a more skilled rider, then the distance will be easy and the mounts will come faster. You are in the “my legs are killing me” phase, but it passes quickly. If you look back about two years ago, you can find a post from me about the same issue. Put your weight on the seat. No, I mean REALLY put your weight on the seat and float your feet on the pedals with the absolute minimum pressure needed to keep control and you will find riding will take much less effort. (At least after you spin out of control and crash a few times. You might wear pads for the next few weeks.)
I have even designed a drill for you! Put an egg on each pedal. Now hold onto a fence and very gently mount the Unicycle with one foot on each egg. Ok, all set? Now ride off without breaking either egg. Fun! (I have never tried this exercise, I made it up in the safety of my own living room.) If you are crazy enough to try it, please film it so you can share the results with us! With a good video it may become known as “Martha’s Egg Riding Challenge!”
Even if you do not use a real egg, think about using light enough pressure to avoid breaking an egg that might be sitting on each pedal.
The only thing I can add to the excellent advice from scott ttocs is to continue to play around with saddle height. I ended up raising it several times, about 1/2" each time, before I found an optimal position that helped me REALLY put my weight in the saddle and not on my legs. Recently I adjusted it back down significantly for the Muni and a little on the 26er, but these are very recent and I now have much better control of my brain to force myself to SIT DOWN :). While there is definitely a point where it is too high, I was surprised at how high I eventually got it–and am glad that I did because it forced me to quit standing on my legs. I have ridden road b*ke for many years and never noticed just how often I jumped out of the saddle for brief moments and how lighly I actually sat in the saddle a good portion of the time. But the uni is different and even though my legs were pretty strong to start with I was wearing them out quickly just like you (and most everyone other beginner).
Also, a big +1 on the figure 8’s. I need to take a video of where and how I have been practicing these (taking the video, editing, uploading, it’s all a pain so I keep putting it off!) They have made my riding much better and I am convinced that if I practice them more they will really improve my technique, balance, strength, control, etc.
Keep it up Martha! I am confident that you will have another positive break through soon that will get you excited to get back out there and tackle the next level of learning. This whole unicycle thing is largely a set of plateaus. You can level off anytime you want, but hitting the next level or conquering that next thing, even if it seems small, seems to just keep motivating you to come back for more punishment
Thanks for the advice 57, tstessney, NSYO and Klaus.
I went up to Oddballs in London and the guys up there were really helpful. The cheaper uni’s didn’t have standard parts although the guys at Oddballs said they would both be good enough to learn the basics on. I wanted something with standard part sizes so I got my wife to buy me the Indy Freestyle Uni for my birthday. Oddballs replaced the DMR style metal pedals for me for some indoor pedals. (I’ve had experience of the DMR pedals smashing into my shins from my mountain bike and didn’t want the same on the uni.)
Sorry NSYO, although I did want the red one too they didn’t have any in stock so settled for the blue one.
Now I have to wait 6 week to start learning. This is going to be a long 6 weeks.
Klaus, cycle shorts are great for increasing comfort and I also wear them under street wear on rides of 10 or more miles on my bike. On really long hot rides a small amount of vaseline is also good to use to prevent chafing.
Thanks Animal Cage, Scott ttocs, and NSYO.
I have noticed on the freemount attempts that I don’t seem to be able to keep the second pedal from moving back (as in what I think is a static mount). I do understand how to keep from putting weight on the first foot. It is the second foot that moves the pedal back… not the first. When I jump up to get the second foot positioned, I always seem to need to pull back to get all the way up. This puts me in a position where I am stuck. I decided I am headed for doing a roll back mount (?) if I can ride out of what I am getting myself into. I am now practicing (from holding on standing still) trying to let go, roll back, and immediately take off from the rolled back position. I think if I can do that, then I will not be stuck when I try the freemount and the wheel ends up rollng back.
Thanks for the advice to practice riding skills like circles and figure 8s. I have yet to do a figure 8. I don’t have a good open space to practice on a regular basis. Maybe I had better find one. Most of my practicing is straight, or attempts at turning corners in a long hall, or even more cramped in my classroom at school, and then there’s the long stretch down the street.
Also, I am not totally convinced that learning on 2 different size unicycles was the best idea. That seems to have slowed me down. I am now leaving the 20" at school to practice when I have a chance during the day, and I practice the 24" less frequently (but sometimes more diligently) when I get a chance at home. Maybe I should be taking the 24" to school everyday afterall. Thanks for all the great advice.
ONE SPEED!!! Are you kidding? You have the new unicycle sitting in front of you and you can’t try to ride it for 6 weeks until your birthday?!! Come ON!!! Talk your wife into letting you get started on it already!! Then on your birthday you could have a celebration ride! You gotta get on that thing.
However. When’s your birthday? It wouldn’t be May 31st would it? That’s the last day of school here before summer and the day I have been LOOKING for for since August 14th last year. That’s 6 weeks away. Your birthday must be somewhere near May 31st. I hope you get to ride that unicycle long before that, but I shall be celebrating in about 6 weeks too! I know I sound like a crazy person now, but 6 weeks from now I plan to be good enough to have a celebration ride around the neighborhood. One Speed, if you get started now. You could have 6 weeks of good practicing behind you by then! Get on that thing!! (Just my humble opinion)
Keep it up!
But easier than before. I am looking forward to more trail riding once things dry up a bit. It is raining/snowing today and the next several. Typical Utah Spring 
