After going on few rides at my local forest preserve trails I have a few question.
-I have a torker DX 24
Wats the best way to get over logs you cant roll over?
How often should I have my hand on my seat’s handle?
Random Question but does anyone know just how much of a workout Muni’ing is because I have to say by the end of my last couple rides I barely and the strength to remount. Also anyone know what muscles unicycling targets.
I got the 24 inch thinking I could do trials on it also but right now Im having alot of problems learning. How high is a good hight to be able to hop on my unicycle… right now Im getting like a few inches.
Thats all my questions right now that I could find on the boards and I am sure I will have more as I keep riding. Man this site is great!
You can get better at rolling over logs; it’s similar to rolling up curbs. It gets dicey if the diameter gets much above 8 inches; then you need to work on your hopping. Side hopping is easier than rolling hops, but doesn’t look as cool.
I have my hand on the seat’s handle nearly all the time when riding MUni.
MUni is an excellent workout, but it really depends on your technique and the terrain.
Hopping just takes practice. A 24" is not as good as a 20" for practice, but there are people who can jump three feet high with a 24". I just did 14" (up onto an obstacle) last weekend and I suck at jumping.
Wats the best way to get over logs you cant roll over?
The easiest option is probably to come to a halt, hop twist 90 degrees and then side hop onto the log. You can then side hop off the other side and for extra style, hop twist 90 degrees so you can land riding forward
It is worth working on learning to rolling hop as well, as this looks and feels cooler. It does not destroy the feeling of “flow”. Initially you will find that you can only rolling hop on to a log if your pedals end up being in the correct position as you approach the log. If your pedals are in the horizontal take off position too early or too late you’ll probably find it impossible to make the jump. Gradually you will find your hopping abilities improve, allowing you to jump early and still make it on to (or even over) the log, This improvement in hopping ability will give you a larger window of oportunity for take off which you can further increase by learning to hop with either foot forward. Finally you can often change your approach path to ensure a good pedal position. For example if a straight line approach was not going to work you might switch to approaching the log at an angle which gives you a bit more rolling distance and will allow you to position pedals correctly.
How often should I have my hand on my seat’s handle?
This is personal preference as much as anything Some riders will do an entire muni ride without holding on the handle while others will do an entire ride holding the handle the entire time. I find when riding very skinny structures I tend to use both hands out for balance whereas when riding up or down steep hills I grip the handle. Gripping the handle definately helps deal with unexpected bumps that might otherwise move the seat out from underneath you.
Random Question but does anyone know just how much of a workout Muni’ing is because I have to say by the end of my last couple rides I barely and the strength to remount. Also anyone know what muscles unicycling targets.
More of a work out than road riding! How much depends on how far you push yourself and whether you are riding cross country, downhill or uphill.
I got the 24 inch thinking I could do trials on it also but right now Im having alot of problems learning. How high is a good hight to be able to hop on my unicycle… right now Im getting like a few inches.
When you first start you may not be able to hop more than an inch or two. With practice that will increase significantly. Trials on a 24" is plenty doable and if you work at it you should be able to hop the height of your wheel, if not higher. This may take a lot of time and effort though!
I just wanted to add that I hold onto the handle when the going gets bumpy. Other than that, both hands are useful for balance. When it’s really bumpy, I tend to bounce off the seat if I’m not grabbing and holding TIGHT to the seat.
Personally on the muni, 30 miles of technical riding is an epic ride for me. I’ve done 40 miles of difficult stuff and it hurt. Having said that, I did a 20 mile local ride last year at fast pace, racing with another rider with almost no stops and that killed me a bit.
I think there are two things that stop a trail being rideable by a muni. Firstly there are a few very very steep ups that you can only do on a bike by getting loads of speed and using your momentum to get up them, which you can’t do on a muni, secondly, most sane muni riders won’t do drops much over 6 foot*, so if there’s no chicken run or rollable route, that kind of drop is gonna mean walking for most muni riders. Other than that, there’s not much that can’t be ridden on a muni. In fact I’m sure I’ve seen some things ridden on a muni that couldn’t be done on a bike thanks to the tightness of the trail meaning there wouldn’t even be room to do it by hopping a trials bike round.
Joe
*Personally I’ll walk most drops over a foot, but I’m a bit of a wuss.
The easiest way to get over the big logs is a static sidehop, but that looks like crap and kills the flow of your ride. Rolling hops are much better and keep you going at a decent speed, they are also a ton of fun. As a last resort use the sidehop, but do a rollong one as much as you can.
As for thre other questions, holding the handle generally makes things easier so hold it on a hard part if you want.
Muni is very tiring, the more you do it the stronger you will get.
Trials on a Muni is just a little bit harder, but you will get used to it and it will be fine. I only have a Muni and I do trials on it quite a bit.
