Hey I wanted to see if I could get a little advice on learning to ride. I was trying to avoid making this post and have looked over the forum for any information on this topic. But learning has gone a bit slower than I thought I’ve put 12-15 hours and can barely get 1 to 1-1/2 revolutions. What I have been doing is taking my truck to a culdesac and riding around my truck for support. I’ve been trying to put more weight in the saddle and sit up straight which has made me feel more fluid. Yet I’ve seen little improvement. If any one has any suggestions I would appreciate it.
I can only tell you what worked for me. This is basically what went (and goes) through my head;
“Sit in the seat. Look ahead. Stop, your not sitting in the seat. Sit in the seat. Look straight ahead, put your arms out. Sit in the seat. Lean forward. Sit in the seat”.
Pretty much repeat ad nauseum.
It just takes time dude. And dont forget to sit in the seat.
Do a search and read my thread First time out! I went into detail on every step I learned. Sit in the saddle and look forward means little as I can ride out of seat and look sideways and still ride. Its all in the twisting of the hips and having the post angle a touch back. And knowing how to spin the pedals firstly. Thats what worked for me. Now its natural. Please read my posts on it. I need to go to bed lol.
I got started riding around and around my van. Go both directions. Try to touch it as little as possible as you get going. Try to take the corners without too much support. Eventually ride away from the truck.
I had a friend lend me a shoulder after I got tired of circling the car. I put one hand on his shoulder and rode around. That helped a lot, and then I let go of his shoulder while going and gradually got the idea of riding without support.
You are doing nothing wrong. It takes a while to learn. Persistence is more important than wonderful balance to learn to ride.
I lifted the seat about 3 or 4 inches and rode for about 40 mins. it felt a lot more fluid, I even made it the distance of my truck once! And it didn’t beat my legs like normal. Thankx for the help I’ll keep trying.
I have been riding here and there since I posted this (probably just a few hours). Today when I was riding I was able to get about 6 or 8 feet away from the hand rail. Then I made it about 24+ feet! Maybe even 30! I’m stoked thanks for the help!
Major congrats! It just takes time. Some people get it right away, the rest of us need to work at it for a bit. But in the end we are all riding. Its all in the hips and a coordination thing you will catch on. I might be back with you again next week as I’m getting a bigger uni and who knows if I can ride it lol.
The biggest step for me was to get rid of the fear of falling off backward. Try to dismount with the uni in front whenever you can. Most people have a tendency to lean too far forward when they start riding. Make sure you have a comfortable saddle, too. I started on a Toker CX, and the brick-like saddle made falling off a very painful experience.
The best way to learn how to ride is to use crutches, if you use a truck or a wall you always lean one way but with crutches it helps you learn to balance both ways.
This also helped a lot while learning to go backwards to.