i have been riding for 3 weeks now and i am trying to freemount. however, i can’t seem to do it right. i do a sort of half static, half rollback mount. i set up with cranks at 4 and 10 position and step on the back one, causing the wheel to go under me (duh). however, the cranks get stuck in dead position. i can sometimes get out of this by leaning forward a lot but only sometimes. usually i just fall off in some direction. any suggestions?
by the way i was trying to learn static mount but i couldnt get on fast enough so then i tried rollback mount and couldnt get the cranks to keep going back so i ended up with this weird mount.
edit: i did use the search button but i was wondering if anyone else did this weird mount and how they fixed the problem.
You want to know how to mount? Here’s your answer:
1.Grab your uni.
2.Stand up with uni in front with you holding seat.
3.Set foot on prefered side.
4.Act like your stepping onto a flimsy traffic cone.
5. ride away
I got suck in dead position too. I then actively pushed the upper pedal backwards with my left foot, which caused the wheel to roll back a little further (and the body to lean forward) so that I could then push the right pedal down to start moving forward.
From my own experience, the blocking factor is the anxiety of rolling a little further backwards.
You’ll need many tries, but you’ll be successful.
Look here too, this is my story. Might be very similar to your situation.
When you roll back does back foot end up down or forwards? You want your back foot to become your front foot.
I would try setting up your cranks at 9-3 or 10-4 like you are doing… as long as the 10 foot is your back foot.
It sounds like you not getting enough roll and your back foot is getting stuck down. If you roll back all the way so your back foot becomes all the way level in the front(or a wee bit higher) you will be able to get much more leverage to push yourself forward.
my back foot ends up down.
here is how it goes:
- the uni is in front, my left foot is on pedal at 4oclock position.
- i apply pressure to left foot, uni rolls under me. i place right foot on top pedal.
- i get stuck in dead position.
my problem is that i cant get the uni to roll back any more.
how much pressure should be applied to the right foot? how far back should the uni roll before i start to go forward?
another question: i am a righty; which foot should be my back foot?
edit: why is my quote thing in another language?
I think you should apply as little pressure as possible to the left foot.
Think about having just broken your toe, and how little pressure you would put on your foot if you had to step on it.
Try raising your back foot to 3 or 2 o’clock. You need to get that foot past the down positions into the the front position at about 9 o’clock.
So it may help to:
- Apply more pressure to your down stoke, but be ready to lift, or release pressure to let the pedal keep moving on the up side.
- Lean a bit more forward.
- When you get your second foot onto the pedal use that foot to pedal backwards until your cranks are horizontal.
You need to roll back further than you are, so you have enough leverage to start pedaling forward.
Your problem is with:
“2. i apply pressure to left foot, uni rolls under me. i place right foot on top pedal.”
DON’T APPLY HEAVY PRESSURE! Basically your foot is just barely sitting on the pedal and you sort of jump/hop off your foot that is on the ground while still keeping LIGHT pressure on your left foot. As you jump/hop up and slightly forward your right foot now comes to rest on the right pedal and you ride off. At least this is way I mount… Good Luck!
To clear things up… There is advice for different types of mounts happening here.
ALL MY ADVICE IF FOR A ROLL BACK MOUNT.
which mount is easier for me (a beginner)?
i think it might be rollback because i doubt that im fast enough to get on the uni for a static mount. or maybe its just in my head…
for the rollback, at which point do i lean more forward?
When I was learning I always rolled back when mounting.
Sorry the leaning forward is prolly not the best advice. You are not leaning forward as much as trying to stay over top of that left pedal. It starts in the back you are in back, you step on it and become on top of the uni. Now as your right foot finds the other pedal you want to push with the right foot while keeping control of the left pedal. You arnt gonna be leaning forward, but you want to stop the left pedal so you can push it back the other way.
I’m sorry, that came out pretty confusing.
When I was learning I always rolled back when mounting.
Sorry the leaning forward is prolly not the best advice. You are not leaning forward as much as trying to stay over top of that left pedal. It starts in the back you are in back, you step on it and become on top of the uni. Now as your right foot finds the other pedal you want to push with the right foot while keeping control of the left pedal, which is now in the forward position. You arn’t gonna be leaning forward, but you dont want to be so far back you cant push the pedal back down.
I’m sorry, that came out pretty confusing.
Sorry I didn’t realize you were trying to do a roll-back mount. Anyhow, IMHO the static mount is much easier since you are taking the uni out of the equation. Really it’s just sitting there and if you do it right you end up on top and just ride off w/o worrying about it rolling backward, going to dead-spot etc… At least for me the static mount was the first one I learned and I’ll stand by it being the easiest way to free-mount and also the most useful for later uses i.e. mounting on skinnies, mounting on trails, mounting uphill etc… But if the roll-back mount is already ingrained, then as a novice it may be more difficult to “re-learn.” Good Luck!
jump mount. it’s scary but it’s EASY!
- 1 for static:
My input is to have your pedals horizontal with your left foot resting on the left pedal. Hold the seat with one hand, your preferred hand. Push up from the ground with your right foot. Then (these two happen at the same time) put your right foot on the pedal making sure you have most of your weight on the seat, and push away with your right foot, which is in front.
Hope that helped… the rolling back thing seems a little confusing because you end up swapping your front/back foot position… but I suppose it works for people who mount with one foot back and hop with the other foot back 
.
If you learn the static mount first, you won’t have to learn it later. You need the static mount for MUni, big wheels, basketball, and pretty much anything else fun you can do on a unicycle. And it isn’t really any harder than rolling back.
Just put less pressure on the back foot, and jump higher. You’ll get it, though it seems impossible at first. Lowering the seat might make learning easier.
i was just outside for 2 hours experimenting with the mounts.
i tried rollback mount but usually ended up falling off.
i ended up doing the best with the static mount.
however, im not sure if i’m doing it totally right. here’s what happens:
- i set up with pedals at 4-10 position. uni is in front, seat against my crotch. i put my left foot on the back pedal.
- i apply “light” pressure to the back pedal [the pedal does go down a bit, maybe 30 degrees (one hour on a clock), as i do this. is that ok or should i try to make it not move at all?] and get on the uni. the action of getting on the uni can be best described as a hop/slide onto the seat. as this happens my front foot goes for the front pedal.
- at this point i have a very awkward moment. i am on the uni and am trying to throw my weight forward enough so that i can move. this seems to take a second or two, which feels too long. this is when i usually fall off (80% of tries). the other 20% i manage to lean my body forward and pedal away.
any suggestions?
should i try to make the back pedal not go down at all?
and finally, how do you do a jump mount (im sort of chicken, so if it is what i think it is, then im probably not going to do it.)
wow! this took like 7 minutes to write
jump mount: get your cranks and pedals horizontal, grab the front of the seat with one hand and jump on. its scary at first but if you just go for it you won’t upd. i never failed it after i got the courage to try it for my first time.
It sounds like you’re doing OK; if it gets you up on the unicycle, you’re doing it right. Just think about trying to get it smoother, with less roll-back and a cleaner mount.
To jump mount, put the pedals level to the ground, straddle the unicycle with your legs behind the pedals, and jump. It’s not hard, but if you’re doing OK with the static mount, just keep at it.
how do you “straddle” a uni?
any vids of jump mount?
what exactly does" cleaner" mount mean?
will looking forward rather than down at my feet help?