So cool to hear your story about fixed-wheel coasting — I’ve actually been wondering about that! You’ve been a huge inspiration for my freewheel coasting, so thank you for all the videos you’ve shared.
I found it especially interesting that after learning to coast on a freewheel, you now find fixed-wheel coasting with both feet on the frame easier. It makes sense: coasting with just one foot on the frame and using the free leg for balance is fundamentally different from the way we balance on a freewheel. But from what I can see, the easiest path to longer distances on a fixed wheel might still be learning the “one-foot-on-frame” technique — even though that means there’s more new stuff to learn and less that transfers directly from freewheel coasting.
I honestly don’t know how realistic 30 meters is for me by next summer either, but it’s nice to have an ambitious project to work toward. Freewheel coasting has definitely been a lot of hard work (and plenty of frustration), but also a huge amount of joy when things finally start to click. I’ve become pretty tough in the lower back and hips after all the backward falls during the learning process. Thanks for the tip about avoiding pedals with metal pins — I’m sure some of those crashes could have been avoided with different pedals. I’ve had a few backward falls from wheel walking too, so now I avoid practicing WW and one-foot WW in the rain. With a dry tire and dry shoes, I feel completely in control.
I hope you’ll feel motivated to spend a bit more time practicing fixed-wheel coasting — and maybe even the one-foot-on-frame version. Since we both come from a freewheel background, maybe we’ll discover some shared “keys” that help us progress faster on fixed-wheel coasting as well.
Good luck with your training — and thanks again for the motivation!
Funnily enough, I’m on the opposite problem, freewheel coasting is hard for me, fixed wheel coasting is easy.
A few notes from me:
When learning coasting, don’t focus too much on distance at first, focus on learning how to correct the balance. Starting the coast in good balance and going far is great, but what you need to be succesful is being able to shift balance. (You look to be on a good path from the video, but I wanted to mention for anyone else.)
Two feet vs. one feet coasting: As far as I know (it’s been a while since I’ve been to a track coasting event), the most succesfull technique has been starting with two feet on the frame, then going to one foot coast as you slow down. For what it’s worth it matches my experience, two footed (which I’m not great at) is very stable and when going fast that helps against wobbling from the pedals, one footed gives you a bit more fine adjustment in the balance when going slow.
I’d agree that gliding is probably not strictly necessary. My instinct would be to not recommend practicing gliding and coasting together, since they use quite different mechanics of balancing which could be a bit confusing in the process of building muscle memory. (Gliding you don’t tend to make much adjustment from the upper body, but only adjust the amount of braking you do with your foot.)
Thank you so much for the valuable and very useful input! And thank you for your excellent videos on your Unicycle Basics channel — I’ve learned a lot from them and really appreciate the clear explanations.
Your points about focusing on balance correction rather than distance make a lot of sense.
The two-feet vs. one-foot coasting insight is also super helpful. I didn’t know that the most successful riders often start with both feet on the frame and then transition to one foot as they slow down. I’ll definitely explore that approach more.
And your comment about gliding versus coasting is interesting. That’s a good reminder to avoid mixing the two too much in the early stages.
Thanks again for sharing your experience. It’s incredibly helpful to hear from someone who finds fixed-wheel coasting easier, since I come from the opposite direction with a freewheel background. Always great to learn from different perspectives!
@toutestbon Maybe we should do a bit of lobbying or even join the IUF Rulebook Committee to propose an “Unlimited Class” for the coasting competition at Unicon, where freewheel coasting would be allowed. Of course, this would be in addition to the current coasting competition, which could then be renamed the “Standard Class” and follow the existing rules. This would align nicely with the system already used in the 10 km and Marathon races.
That would be fun, but that would cause problems for the judgment. When coasting on a freewheel, your feet are on the pedals. Your feet move a little on the pedals, which can help propel the unicycle forward (provided you have a good quality freewheel hub like the Pipifax).
A great reason to practice both techniques!
It reminds me of the hundreds of meters I’ve done in drag seat without knowing how to recover the saddle All is about distance!
I find that more than the distance, it’s the coasting time that’s interesting. After several minutes of coasting, it becomes very intense (I’ve gone up to 4-5 minutes).
A big difference is that on a freewheeling unicycle, coasting starts as soon as you stop pedaling, whereas on a fixed unicycle you have to take your foot off the pedal, which can throw you off balance. For me, it’s a frustrating aspect that makes it harder to be consistent.
It’s probably possible! I know I wouldn’t be able to do it because I wouldn’t spend more than 15-20 minutes on fixed-wheel coasting, at most twice a week. But if you practice regularly and consistently, you’ll get there!
I’m game! I’ve been thinking about learning to coast, and I think having such a goal will be great. Let’s do it! I won’t be able to get super regular practice in through the winter, but I’m definitely onboard. Coasting is awesome!
Looking at your videos, you’re starting from more than I have to start from (I can 1-foot ride fine, but WW eludes me), but it seems like I should still be able to figure it out. If unicycling has taught me one lesson it is that you can usually learn something if you’re persistent enough!
So cool that you’re in! It’s going to be really fun to follow your practice and progress. Let’s share how things are going — and some videos too — so we can help each other out and cheer each other on! And you’re absolutely right: if there’s one thing unicycling teaches you, it’s that with persistence you can learn almost anything!
I’m just lucky! At my workplace there’s a huge warehouse building that isn’t being used at the moment. If you ever find yourself in Sandefjord, Norway, you’re welcome to come and practice here too!
All is about distance! 
