Thanks @slamdance for this. Your tips are extremely nice and well presented. Maybe we should have a section of the forum where all the best tips are gathered -a sort of wiki- for beginners landing on this forum.
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This is a bit of a tough topic to handle because I feel like the way we all learned is a bit more like convergent evolution rather than a clear cut program.
Want a cake? Follow this recipe
Want to unicycle? Listen to these anecdotes about one dude who happened to have child size ski poles or this person who lived in an airport and had access to the flight tarmac. Like birds, bats, and bugs all being capable of flight through different avenues, so too has the unicycler learned through some method someone else would never have expected.
Part of me thinks there can be a lot of over thinking the process. Itās tough now to think about what I do that works and also seems like itād be tough to tell someone to ālean forward, find a center of mass, and send itā and have them try and repeat this mantra in their head before attempting to pedal.
That being said, I can review what I did to learn and hope it helps. As a disclaimer though, Iām not sure I can really say whatās easier in general for grass or concrete, just what I found easier as a beginner. So I guess this is really a āfor what itās worthā response.
Parked cars for me helped create two railings at the desired height. Park them in parallel with enough space between them and start on one end and try to ride to the other. It can also help you mount assisted. You do risk the unicycle getting away from you and hitting the car however.
As one poster said, parking lots are really helpful. I went to my Middle School and practiced there with wide space to avoid crashes, street lights and walls to mount and practice, and wheelchair ramps with railings. There was also a grass field though I never used it. I can imagine a soccer goal can have the same use as a streetlight. Also the area in front of a soccer goal typically is more beat down and trodden from constant, focused use by the players and keeper. Worth an inspection.
Depending on your location, Iād also look to meet at a crushed stone bike path. I feel like Iāve never rode on this surface and experienced a noticeable difficulty than the asphalt. Stones arenāt too big to knock you off and itās generally maintained enough, at least Iām most spots, to not be plagued by potholes. These typically have trail signs, fences, a wooden bridge with railings, which can be nice places to mount an try riding. I believe the surface to be softer for a fall, or at least disperse ls your weight better. Pad up if needed.
Astroturf, also as mentioned before, is oddly difficult to ride on. Its like a mix of sand and snow, I feel like I get stuck and the more I work to get out of it the more I slide around.
So, what does this all mean. Well, to put it into video game terms, I truly feel like unicycling is like a Roguelite game. You learn in phases.
Doubt that itās possible
Fear of Death
Fall at the first obstacle (trying any sort of rev, mounting)
Fall at the first obstacle 100 more times
Figure out the pattern of that obstacle (this could be figuring out the best way for you to assisted mount)
Falling instantly at the very next stage
Learning from the first stage and incorporating it into the next one, build upon your knowledge and understanding
Fall 100 more times because youāre convinced you figured it out
Proceed to the third obstacle.
Build on what you know and apply it to the next step
And thatās honestly how I think I learned. Learn the best way to get on, learn how YOUR body moves with the cycle under you, learn how the cycle moves when you do certain movements and try to see why, incorporate that information into a half rev. Where are you now? Are you over the wheel or behind the wheel? What will make me return to center and is that where I feel the most balanced? Regroup and reprocess, half rev maybe full rev. Are you still balanced with assistance? Donāt be afraid to lean accordingly, donāt let the wheel go ahead without you. Move with it, feel how you move and it moves and use the wall of you need to.
I think, even if you learned strictly by muscling it out, we all learned this way. Itās like an instant addiction as you walk to get back on, you repeat to yourself āI fell but I understand why, letās work on this or that or I think I know what to do here.ā And then you go back and apply that knowledge. You fall off repeatedly, just like a Roguelite, and probably get mad but you canāt stop attempting and using your learned muscle memory and how you interact with it.
I hope this helps.
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I absolutely agree.
My program was simple; practice every day on a parking lot.
The unicycle pivots more easily, I think, on this surface. I am guessing this is a good thing. As a beginner, I could ride forward, but I was not good at steering. By removing some of the resistance to pivoting, crushed stone paths may help beginners learn to steer.
Iāve been watching this thread with interest because Iāve been learning to unicycle. Iām just to the point where I can static free mount and ride 100 meters off and on, so you might say I can just barely unicycle.
Today I went back and did a riding survey of the grass, artificial turf, and pavement surfaces Iāve been practicing on to compare them back to back to back.
Ideal Grass:
Pros: A grass field with a fairly hard dirt surface under short grass is my favorite for learning. It is not abrasive and even hard dirt is soft compared to pavement so Iām less likely to get injured. Importantly, grass feels less threatening, so I worry less about hurting myself and am more inclined to go for it.
Cons:
Grass surface hardness and flatness are extremely variable. Its difficult to find an ideal hard, smooth, grass area. Grass fields are often tufty making the surface irregular and more difficult to ride on. They can also be too soft or wet.
Artificial Turf:
Pros: The surface is very smooth and regular and it doesnāt get muddy when wet. The surface is soft and unlikely to cause injury so I feel like I can āgo for itā. I havenāt noticed much difference between dry and wet riding on the turf field Iāve used.
Cons: The artificial turf field rides soft and slow (Iām on a Nimbus II 24" with a stock Kenda 2.1" tire inflated to about 60 psi). I have to pedal more powerfully/emphatically to get going and stay moving. It feels like Iām riding in shallow sand atop a hard surface (but never having actually ridden in sand I may be off base). I think turf fields have a soft layer beneath the surface that feels just a little soft and has a slight rebound when walking or running, but feels sluggish for a unicycle.
I often felt twisted when riding on the turf and the small adjustments that correct this on pavement have not been enough correct this on turf. Perhaps thereās more friction between the tire and the relatively soft turf field than there is with either ideal grass or pavement and Iām just not correcting emphatically enough?
Pavement:
Pros: Relatively smooth and where there are irregularities, they are easy to see. Pavement has low rolling resistance and immediate feedback to power adjustments, balance adjustments and corrections.
Cons: Itās an abrasive and unforgiving surface.
Recommendations:
I believe thereās merit to practicing on multiple surfaces early in the learning process.
In retrospect, I think I spent too long learning on artificial turf. One day I had to move from turf to pavement and, after a little time to adjust to it, I set multiple new personal best distances (e.g., 30ās, 40ās, and 50ās strokes). Revisiting the artificial turf surface today, I still found it difficult and limiting, making me think the surface was holding me back.
If youāre just starting to learn, Iād suggest checking to see if you have access to good grass and artificial turf fields. Start learning to ride and to free mount on grass and turf. Then, after a few hours, start doing some learning on pavement. Perhaps practice some riding on pavement and practice free mounts on grass or turf until youāre a little more confident with them.
Free Mounts:
I took lessons and got advice from someone with more experience who strongly recommended learning free mounts as soon as I was able to pedal 5 strokes from a fixed object. I think itās a great idea to start learning free mounts right away. Sometimes learning two complementary things is a great strategy. It has worked well for me.
Good luck!
Artificial Turf:
Non-ideal grass with some modest tufts. The surface is more irregular than it looks from the image.
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mroze, youāre killing it! Someone else, the other day, mentioned riding on a crushed cinder (fine gravel) surface, for side-to-side movement. There are an amazing number of different surfaces within 1/4 mile of my house. Sand, coarse gravel, fine gravel, thick grass, soccer field, dirt track, wood chip beds, asphalt, cement. Riding on all these surfaces helped me progress.
Keep up the good work! If I recall, my challenges at the ~100 meter riding stage were: 1. Remembering to breathe, 2. Keeping my speed in check, 3. Not running out of road (because I couldnāt steer that well).
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I thought my response to this quote may be better suited here.
This may be the biggest trump card (sorry 
) in the learning-on-grass deck, and thatās because you go straight from āI can ride 100 meters!!ā to āI can quite easily ride around the neighbourhood without falling!!!ā when you move onto pavement for the first time.
Grass feels unnecessarily hard when youāve done something on pavement before. Thatās why I think if you move to pavement too soon, youāll be tempted to stay on it because itās so much more satisfying than grass.
As long as youāre not getting discouraged with grass (which in theory you wouldnāt, viewing the failures as normal parts of the learning process) then I think it helps with the mental game in the long-run (because of the above, but also because you donāt have to re-learn to ride on irregular surfaces).
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Thatās why you go straight to muni after you can ride. Itās so much more fun. Then you can also start practicing long distance.
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Some riders ask, āWhy make learning any harder than it already is?ā in reference to learning on grass. My primary argument for learning on grass is to keep the rider from quitting due to bad falls. My secondary argument is that it helps with the transition to muni and other resistant and uneven surfaces. As a beginner, I was not afraid to ride on blacktop. What scared me was epic failed mounts / sudden falls onto the street. Thatās what sent me to the park to practice mounting. As far as free mounting on pavement goes, I suggest beginners use a āsafeā mount and save their more experimental, less polished mounts for grass.
This has been covered on the forum before, but a good āsafeā mount is the ātire grabā. I learned it on my first unicycle, a 24". I canāt quite reach the wheel doing it on a 20". I wore full fingered gloves while practicing the tire grab. Its advantages are: 1. It keeps the wheel from rolling forward or backward. 2. It gives tactile feedback about the degree of backward force being placed on the first pedal (which will gradually be diminished as you progress toward a proper static mount). 3. It stabilizes the side-to-side motion of the uni during the mount. 4. It allows the mount to be slowed down. 5. It encouraged leaning forward with the upper body, getting the center of gravity more forward, which will help later on while static mounting. 6. It helps develop balance that is not reliant on looking forward / toward the horizon (I have read about other riders getting disoriented when looking down at the ground; probably, this is more a function of never practicing looking down). 7. Since youāre leaning forward / looking down during the tire grab mount, you can more carefully place your second foot on the pedal. 8. You can start the mount closer the 3:00/9::00 āstrongā position.
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I think you can keep discussing this until they end of time. I say, just practice on whatever you like and have available. Trying different things is gonna help you figure out what you like.
Ex. I did my first freemount on gravel (just to practice somewhere in peace), but I also learned that loose stones tear the skin something terrible 
.
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Hm, thatās really strange. I had to teach myself to look up, I learnt looking at the ground (to watch for bumps - thatās grass for you 
).
This specific field is quite irregular (in some spots more than others), yes, but I think the main reason itās hard to ride on is that it has terrible drainage. On that hill behind the camera, you can be at the top and the grass will be moist, even on a generally hot day. The water makes riding a nightmare.
@Brian87 great job on the freemounting āEx. I did my first freemount on gravel (just to practice somewhere in peace), but I also learned that loose stones tear the skin something terribleā I learned to freemount on gravel, and yeah, loose stones can be a bit āslipperyā and also as you say can tear up skin something nasty. I think in those earlier days I didnāt even attempt to ride with shorts on even if the day was way too hot. That also goes for long-sleeved shirts or jackets too. Now I have got to the point where - oh and I only right now really ride pavement and some grass - I only wear cycling gloves, a bandana (to sop up the sweat and to protect my bald head from sun), and a helmet for protection.
Happy trails,
Dawson
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Generally, I think almost everything is easier to do on concrete than on grass, but when I find a new skill particularly intimidating and I anticipate falling, I search out an ideal patch of grass to practice on.
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How is free-mounting on grass easier? The wheel is always locked and it takes much more pressure to start rolling. I can static mount near 100% on concrete, but not on grass.
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I found learning on a gravelly bumpy dirt road to be very difficult. The grassy field in my yard was even worse for throwing me off. Once I moved onto a paved road my learning definitely improved at a quicker rate. I think wearing protective equipment is necessary regardless of the learning surface. My dirt road and lumpy grass caused me many more UPDs than a smooth surface. On a smooth surface there are no hidden obstacles to hit that would make you wonder why you came off the uni.
I did not have a wall or fence to hold in the beginning stages of learning. I found my tall saw horse with a patio stone chock for the wheel worked perfectly. It was portable for different spots in my yard, I also took it with me a couple of times to a paved area. I also used it a couple of times when getting used to different wheel sized unis.
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You can put more weight on the back pedal without it shooting behind you (if youāre static-mounting), so it is a bit easier to get the idea of it without a bunch of incisions in your shin from the pedal slamming into you.
I was not worried about the wheel shooting away. Because grass can be very bumpy, at least the many lawns here in the park, that when mounting, the wheel just blocks against some bumps, so getting on is easier, but taking off requires an extra push. If I donāt have my balance right while I stand on, I will step off the front again.
This is a fair point, and bumpy grass is much harder to start riding. Somewhat fortunately, I guess, I have a field which is very smooth in a couple places, but the overall levelness of the surface would certainly greatly influence how easy it is to mount.
Permit me to provide some context on this debate.
@AndrewA just happens to have a nearly perfect grass pitch where he lives. It is ideal for learning. I put in some solid hours on that grass field when I just started learning. I havenāt found a better surface, not even astro-turf. That grass field has nice solid dirt so the surface is soft with the grass (e.g., to fall on) but itās not tufty or bumpy or sluggish or squishy (except in the monsoon season).
I think you could make a solid argument that the perfect grass surface is superior to the perfect concrete surface and perhaps as good as a hardwood gym floor (Iāve never tried one).
Perfect grass surfaces are rare. Pretty good concrete is probably better than marginal grass surfaces for most uni endeavors and pretty good concrete is easy to find.
Debate settled. 
OK, I learned by holding to a neighbors open garage door overhead and leaning into the direction I thought I would go down a paved drive. Not really how it ended up going, but I did learn from that and progressed out to the road which was loose stones. The rest of my local town was unpaved at the time so the rest of my learning was fields or dirt road.
So my rambling point is that I think you have to use the conditions available to you at the time. Only those individuals that have a real desire to ride the unicycle will find their place to practice at their comfort level be it grass, a wall or railing or friend standing by. You sir are an asset to those you teach. Continue please.
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