Hi! That was an interesting video but I’m not sure I agree with it. The back pedal is rather high, although it’s not at 12:00. His wheel rolls back a little bit, but he is not doing a rollback mount. I think the pedal position makes it too difficult to execute a clean static mount. Then again, I’ve never been very good at looking at someone’s riding and being able to analyze and offer suggestions.
With the pedals closer to horizontal, you don’t have the entire device aligned basically as a stick with a wheel on it. It fans out into more of a triangle (tracing from the seat, down the frame to the hub, out to the pedal, and back to the seat). Somehow, hoisting the entire weight of your body onto the triangle configuration seems more stable than what the guy does in the video (where his triangle virtually collapses into a line segment – and would collapse if he went any more vertical with the pedals).
People (D1 - are you reading this?) have told me to “lock the knee”. Meaning, don’t let the knee bend as you step onto the unicycle. This advice has never worked for me. I never believed that locking the knee was even possible. I think what really happens is that you put equal force down onto the back pedal and forward into the seat. When you step on the pedal, you try to pedal the unicycle backwards. And when you step forward and push your weight into the seat, you try to push the unicycle forward. Doing both at the same time with balanced force (whatever that means) will allow you to step up without the wheel moving. [maybe the advice means simply that the knee shouldn’t end up bending, not that the rigidity of the bent leg by itself provides any structure or does anything meaningful]
My first static mounting success came when I was out in the driveway talking to someone who had come out to watch me practice. I was at my railing that I had used to learn to ride. I held onto the railing and just kept rocking up onto the unicycle – as if I were doing just 25% of a mount, or maybe just the first 10% of a mount. With no intention of doing more. Just step on the pedal / push into the seat with a little force. Then again with a little more. Keep hanging on to the railing. Don’t actually try to mount. Do it again. And again. Just nudge into the unicycle. Then a little more. See how I can get a little bit off the ground without the wheel moving? This is the beginning of a mount. Now again with a little more force. Wow, I went a little higher without the wheel moving. And eventually, almost without paying attention to what I was doing (which may have actually helped), I rocked all the way up and I was sitting on the unicycle! (still holding on to the railing) This technique allowed my body to gradually learn the forces necessary to execute a static mount. In the first few attempts, I didn’t even let my foot leave the ground. This is how gradual the process was.
P.S. - Hi 57UniRider! I saw your mention of me in another thread! I’m back. I was just busy in the bin Laden thread for a while. (and taking singing lessons – not!)
