I’d been thinking about building a similar device from conduit for a while. I bought the conduit a few days ago and have most of the bending done. Pics to follow shortly. Don’t know how it will work. Life is an experiment.
Personally, I think a really solid rail is better if you have access to one.
It can’t run away from you, and you can always grab it with both hands.
Like this one.
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/album.php?albumid=500&pictureid=2898
+1 on backwards & ww (wheel walking). The others would make the rig likely to tip over, could be solved by a removable brace at the back.
#SPORK I LOVE your trainer! Looks really light and I like the wing-nut fasteners.
For me, I really like having the wheels caster - you can quickly center yourself in the rig right - to - left to regain balance and turning pivoting is easier when you can pivot the whole rig with you in the center.
Nice job!
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Thanks Siameez. I debated whether castering wheels would be better or worse. For some reason I thought it would be better to have them not caster. The unit is light enough to pick up and reposition easily, but with your experience maybe I’ll go ahead and change mine to caster.
I’ve used the rolling trainer now for the past couple of days. I think it’s really helpful for learning to ride backwards and idle (we’ll see). But I think you were right about castoring wheels. I don’t think the non-castoring wheels are holding me back, but I can see where castoring wheels would be better.
Great work man! Looks really practical. Good luck in training progress!
C’mon Spork, Ya really DONT need it…and honestly, it looks lamely terrible on you!
I will never be caught on that thing–or else how do I practice my falls…
Though, with that being said, it might be great for some hesitant beginners.
My latest iteration… This one is lighter and more nimble… I think I’d like to put smaller wheels as these 8" wheels have too large a swivel radius and smaller wheels would swivel in a shorter distance…
I probably don’t need it, but I think it will have me riding backward more quickly. What I do now is ride backward with it, then I occasionally let go and manage another pedal or two. I’m definitely relying less on the walker over time. I had thought about building it to learn forward, but I learned forward before getting around to building it.
Remove the walker from the picture and it should still be pretty evident that I lost the capacity for shame long ago. 
I still get lots of practice at falls - usually off-road - particularly uphill.
Several friends have said they’d like to try it. I definitely feel better with them using that. It’s incredible how much they want to step onto the uni on the high pedal and don’t think they need to hold onto anything. Then they’re surprised it’s not easy. One guy was pretty sure his problem was that he was wearing flip-flops.
All kidding aside, just want to say,
good job guys on the work, and whatever works to get you riding!
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Every time I see this, it’s hard not to burst out laughing. I quickly correct them before they hurt themselves, though.
I also think that there was more to it than “…wearing flip-flops” !!! HAHA 
That’s why my immediate answer to “can I try that” is nearly always “You’ll fall.”
The way I see it, I spend A LOT more time with my butt on the seat and over the wheel using this trainer, than if I used a wall or a pole.
Using this trainer, I can easily sit in the seat, upright, balanced over the wheel, and really get a feel of being ON the unicycle. I slowly introduced cranking the pedals forward and back, little by little, more and more, feeling the balance, learning to balance. I very quickly progressed to making complete cycles of pedaling, and before you know it, I was up and down the driveway, doing turns at the end of each run, all while BEING IN THE SEAT and OVER THE WHEEL!
I remember that when I first learned to Unicycle back 30 yrs ago, I spent most of my time recovering the unicycle and re-mounting, after it went flying backwards as I went lunging forwards after 1 or 2 (maybe) pedal cranks…
And I don’t care if I look stupid.
I’m upright, pedaling, and having fun.
And anyway, my chick-magnet days have long passed…
Absolutely. That’s the great thing about these trainers. But something I found that surprised me… I can ride forward and turn with no problem. But with the trainer even riding forward feels kind of like I still need the trainer when I clearly don’t. The trainer is light, but I find it difficult to ride while holding it off the ground. With it on the ground my hands are always on it. I can hold it with the lightest touch, but it still defines my hand positions.
This is why I ride away from it sometimes while learning backward. I can definitely feel steady decrease in the amount of help I need from the trainer while riding backward, but ultimately I have to get going backward and try to take a few pedals without the trainer to see where I’m really at - and to get that last bit of balance I don’t get when my hands are in place and ready to keep me up.
That is the most important thing right there.
Unicycling is for the rider with the rare exception of those good enough to entertain. No matter how silly it looks. Keep in mind most ride by themselves and the only real or unreal pier pressure is in forums like this. I have yet to run across another person riding in my normal travels.
So keep it up, enjoy yourself and most of all, keep it fun.
Version 3
New Casters. Hard rubber wheels. Much better swivel bearings, shorter swivel radius. Works great! More responsive than the wooden-framed soft rubber-wheeled versions.
PVC fittings ordered from Home Depot.
Caster Wheels: Harbor Freight
Nobody suggested 2 poles with caster wheels only?
Ok , so I experimented with what I suggested. Went out and bought two caster wheels, (the screw on single bolt type) and attached to a solid wood closet clothe hanger rod at 5.5ft.
Freemounted with rods on one hand then transfered the other rod to the empty hand after the mount…Didnt like it, too wobbly and unstable.
So I ended up reversing the rod to the opposite flat wood end. The stability was a lot better, though not easy. Only had 15 min to experiment on it, will return to it later, it seems a little bit promising to practice backwards riding though. I ll experiment more with it later…
Not recommended for the beginner though, because you become way to dependent on the rods, and besides, if you dont fall right, im sure the rod the rod can find a way to jab into you.