New Female rider at age 57

Introduce Yourself
666

Hi pinefresh and guys,
Yey,…I did a sif. In fact I did lots of sifs’. I tried last Sunday on grass on my trials. I managed to do it almost straight away once I had psyched myself up enough. I found I could pedal once, sit back down, then up again. I am really chuffed. I even managed a few metres in length.
Then today I tried on my 24”, on tarmac. I was surprised how easy it was, I thought it would be a lot more difficult than the 20". Though some of the landing weren’t as good and I upd a few times, I am still pleased.:smiley:

I am still trying to idle. The brakes on my uni are rubbing so I will have a look at them tomorrow, hubby think the spokes may need tightening as the wheel only rubs when I am sat on the seat, might be something to do with weight. :thinking:

Have you all seen the disc brakes on another thread? They look very nice don’t they? :roll_eyes:

Thanks for all your help and support guys:)

Alucard

667

Hey Alucard so thats why you’ve not posted for a while…well done on the sif… I’ve tried and failed so far… UniRider57 hasn,t posted much recently either…I wonder what new skills she’s been developing?

668

You mean the new Nimbus 100mm disk hub and caliper mount? Yes :smiley:

669

Hello Everyone!

Hhhheeyyy Alucard!
Way to go on those SIFs!!!
Ooooo… I don’t even know if I have the nerve to TRY it! But Hey, I’ll give it a shot down at the fishing camp this weekend. The weather is finally supposed to be good.

HA! Hey Jojoxie,
No, I don’t have any fabulous progress to report. I think Alucard has been outdoing me with the practicing… by a long shot.

Only one bit of pretty nifty news. I counted to 34 on an idle yesterday. That was good, because I haven’t spent a ton of time practicing idling in the last week. That roll-back mount is still working nicely, but it’s crazy how much catching up I have to do after a week without riding. Add two or three of those, and shoot, I’ve gotta catch up with myself again.

As soon as I have this idling down to something that might look respectable, I’m going to post a video.
(Don’t give up on me!).

Happy Riding Everyone!

670

That is pretty nifty news, 34 rocks is certainly very respectable.We’re all looking forward to that video!
I’m still aware that I have too much weight on the upper pedal when idling, but I’m getting better by lifting the top foot off for a split second every now and then. And why would we give up on you? Not on your nellie!! (do you have that expression in your neck of the woods?)

671

That’s nice :sunglasses:
I can do only 4 or 5 if I’m lucky.
How much time did you spend practicing or what was your secret formula,
to get that far?

Cheers Bela

672

34!?!

I’m still at 0 here.
But after riding with the 26" while walking the dog, my 20" skills have vastly improved. Suddenly it’s kinda light and easy to move. Hope that this can help when i start my idle training.

Greetings

Byc

673

Riding in the Rain

0 Idles, but made my first “clean” ride through a puddle today! What fun!!!

RainRiding.png

674

Nice job 57UR sounds like you have the hang of it.

Way to go Alucard, I told you it was easier than you think. When you say SIF did you actually get the seat out from between your legs and in front of you? SIF refers to Seat In Front and if you did pull that off I’m really impressed!

At any rate did that solve or help with your bum misalignment issue?

675

Hello Everyone!

Goodness!
Lots of conversation here.

Hello Dr.LightWind!..
4 or 5 idles is a good start. Soon you will count to 10 and think that is amazing… then 13… 18… 21… 34… 1000s (hopefully). But sprinkled in with those bigger numbers will be tons of tiny ones.

About counting to 34 on an idle…
This is what is working for me…
My 20" is in my classroom at school all week. I practice idling, freemounts, etc. before school, during my planning period, during lunch, and after school… all when nobody else is in the room. I have other things to do, so I’m not spending hours at a time practicing. I just take a break from other things and spend a few minutes on the uni… go back to other things for awhile… and then back to the uni for a few minutes. When the weather is not cooperating (or whatever) this is sometimes the most practice I get during the week. However, I am quite convinced that the idling is improving everything else… even if I have to spend some time catching up to where I was when I finally get back to the street on a nice stretch of good weather.

I was pleased with the 34 count, and maybe a bit surprised.
I cannot say “I’ve got it,” but I can certainly say “I’m getting it.”

Hey Kickstand!
A puddle! Way to go! You are ahead of me.
I have never ridden through a puddle.

Hello Pinefresh!
Thanks for your comments and helpful tips!
BTW, I’ve been wondering how you came up with the name Pinefresh.
Is there a story there?

Hey byc!
So do you think I should get a spiffy 26"? After avoiding my 24" for several months, it now looks and feels like a BIG foreign object, but I’m ready to get back to it. I want another uni, and this time I want a really nice one with a comfy seat.

Hhheeyyy Jojoxie!
“Not on your Nellie!”
No, I don’t think that is an expression around here… until NOW! I LIKE it! THANKS!
I appreciate your long lasting support! …and your idling video is still inspiring me!
Mine will (hopefully) show up soon!

Well, the weather this weekend is supposed to be good.
I’m going to try this SIF stuff of which you all speak! :astonished: That sounds pretty crazy.

Thanks for the happy conversation everyone!
Happy Riding… and idling… and freemounting… and…
SIFs!!! (Whoop! Whoop! Alucard!)
… oh… and riding through puddles!! ( :slight_smile: Yea Kickstand!)

676

Hi guys.
57Unirider 34 idles, that’s great! You’ll be giving lessons next! :slight_smile:

KickstandRiding through puddles :slight_smile: good gracious you’ll mucky up your uni :astonished:
LOL good feeling though. I like your valve cap:)

aw, pinefresh it wasn’t a SIF afterall, it was. SOOTS (standing out of the seat lol).
I watched your video again and that was just what I did. On the trials last weekend, on the 24" a few days ago and on the 26" today :slight_smile:

You’ve solved my bum misalignment issue pinefresh
You’re my aero :stuck_out_tongue:

Happy Unicycling Everyone:D

Alucard

677

Alucard: “KickstandRiding through puddles good gracious you’ll mucky up your uni LOL good feeling though.”

It was fun. I think it felt a lot like it did the first time I jumped on a frozen puddle as a kid. Point well taken about mucking up the uni though… I spent a good bit of time after that ride picking the mud out from between each knobby on my tire (good thing is only 20").

“I like your valve cap”

Yeah, that little guy makes me smile. A bit of an echo of what I must look like when riding - eyes wide - arms flailing - crazy grin - ending up upside down :roll_eyes: !

“…it wasn’t a SIF afterall, it was. SOOTS (standing out of the seat lol).”

Yeah, that’s what I tried too (but I had one hand on a rail the whole time). Still helpful in evening out the forces of each leg with the other. Nice going pulling that off on all those different size wheels! Need to get that skill in my bag too one of these days as repositioning in route would sure be a big help.

So much to learn. Wish there was a UNIversity close by!

Cheers All!

678

[quote=57UniRider;1507443
Hello
Pinefresh!
Thanks for your comments and helpful tips!
BTW, I’ve been wondering how you came up with the name Pinefresh.
Is there a story there?

[/quote]

Nothing special unfortunately, I came up with it whimsically when I signed up for my first email account and I’ve used it as a nickname for informal online stuff for almost a decade since, it’s easier having only one login to remember.

679

Ha, can you see the big grin on that muni saying “yeah, puddle! No let’s go do some XC and Muni!”

I remember the “thrill” when i first rode over gravel, dirt and gras with my quax luxus, and i’ll always remember the sensation of riding XC for the first time on my 26x3" Muni.

Way to go kickstand.

Greetings

Byc

680

Thank you for the good tips, that’s what I was needed :sunglasses:
I grabbed my light Torker AX 24 yesterday and took it inside to our living room.
So I could practice anytime when I wanted like you’re for 10 - 15 minutes several times a day.
Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up with you and “counting to 34 on an idle”
and let you know within 2 months? :smiley:

Cheers and good progress to everyone,

Bela

681

Hey Dr.LightWind!

I’ve not heard of a Torker AX. Is that LX? CX? or is there really an AX?
If there is, I may want one!

Yey Dr.LightWind!
You might pass me up!!!
Hopefully not too quickly :smiley:

I’m just getting back into the swing of things… catching up with myself. The weather has been great for two whole days. Hopefully we are on a long stretch of good weather now. Skipping out on practice for more than a week at a time (several, in fact) doesn’t do my progress any good at all.

However, spring has sprung. :smiley:
Here’s to happy riding everyone!!

682

57UniRider,

Here is more info on the Torker Unistar AX 24 what I bought for traveling,
which is around 10.5 LBS.
Appears to be the same person has another Torker the “Unistar DX 24”.
I don’t know what is the difference?

Cheers,

Bela

683

Thanks Bela!
So there really is an AX!
Thanks for the link.
How’s that idling practice coming along?
I haven’t hit 34, but just that once.
Hmmm… guess I’d better get back to it more seriously.

684

The AX is the same uni as the LX, but w/ a round crown aluminum frame. An OK learner and for cruising, but if you do a lot of hopping, you’ll eventually start breaking parts (maybe sooner than later, a 200 # guy here bent the hub learning to mount it).

The DX is a super strong, albeit heavy, Muni. 2006 has a week spot in the crown. 07-09 is the same but the crown was reinforced. All of those have Magura break mounts. The 2010 on has ISIS cranks/hub, so gives a wide variety of replacement cranks, but no break mounts.

685

Hmmm…:o
It is very challenging and a very slow progress, not by the days!
This morning I did a 6 but I can do more and more 4 & 5.
Looks like your method of small time frame as many times as possible helps,
because at least I feel more confident.:smiley:

Cheers,

Bela