I just taught my friend how to ride a unicycle. He has reached level 1 after around 3 hours of practice ( 2 hours on a 19" and the last hour on a KH24). He learned to free mount before he could ride 10 feet unassisted.
For a while he was trying to do the standard mount but then he saw me do a suicide mount and thought it would be easer then trying to do the standard mount since he was having problems with kickback. The backward momentum wouldn’t be started like in the roll back when trying to standard mount so he thought you wouldn’t have to work so hard to get started pedaling using the jump mount.
Anyway, he still cannot do the standard mount but can successfully suicide mount the majority of the time and uses the jump mount as his standard free mount.
I had been riding for around two years before I ever tried the suicide mount and it seems like not many people try to do it. Even riders who can suicide mount don’t seem to use it often except to show the skill.
Questions: Does anyone use the jump or suicide mount as their standard? Or is my friend the first to do so that you know of?
Is the suicide mount actually easer to do then the standard mount? Do you think it is just the fear-factor that keeps people from learning the suicide mount sooner?
Finally, what should I try to teach my friend next? He seems like a fast learner and wants to do MUni and some trials.
I played with the idea. Then I found it was to tiring on ride that involve lots of dismounts or trials runs. It also didn’t work to well for MUni, espesialy on hills:D
wow, that’s very interesting…but is it the suicide mount, or the jump mount? because the suicide mount is also called the free jump mount, which is different than the jump mount in that you don’t touch the uni with your hands when you jump, but in a regular jump mount you hold the seat with your hand as you get on.
Ok, He originally saw me suicide (free jump) mount; He now jump mounts, and can suicide (free jump) mount but doesn’t use it as much. Does that clarify things? My original post was kind of rambling in nature.
Start him on a skinny… he’ll learn to static mount then
Jump/suicide mounts seem impractical to me, for everyday riding, muni in especial as heavy metal said. I hardly ever suicide mount, unless I’m demonstrating it. Eventually he’ll learn to static mount, I’d say. Suicide mounts, to me, are more of a show-off thing… they look really impressive, and have a lot of room for error, and a painful fall.
the static, “step-up” mount is my usual way of free mounting. i think it’s the easiest to learn especially if the person has been a bicyclist for a long time or is really good at it. their feet will naturally know about where to go for a static mount. roll back is a good mount to learn and helps with idling, etc, but maybe get your friend to gently put a foot on the back pedal then do a jump style mount without putting weight on said pedal, and i think that’d be the way to get him into learning a “normal” mount pretty quickly.
i find jump mounts the easiest and use them all the time. but when you have a heavy backpack and have been riding all day it takes alot of energy to jump.
I use the side mount (step-over mount?) almost exclusively.
I agree with UNIquelyCanadian in that for me it was just the fear factor that stopped me jump-mounting. I think it’s the same for most others if the row of learners at BUC holding their unis in the ready position for jump mounting and staring at the uni, building up the courage to leap is anything to go by. As Roger said at BUC though, once you’ve done it, it’s actually very easy.
The suicide mount however, is another matter and a mount that I will not be trying without full body armour and crash mats.
the suicide mount is actually not that hard. just catch the seat with a thigh first. leg armor is a good idea if you have pinned pedals. the hardest part is getting up the nerve to do it. it’s relativelty easy. i did it first try. and missed for the first time on try 10 or so. i just kinda had an audience and told them i was gonna try it, and well, after that it’s hard to back out.
Agreed about the fear of not being able to land a jump mount being the major factor in stopping someone from doing it.
I usually rolling/static mount onto my uni, as it’s the smoothest and least energy-requiring way to get on. I don’t even really think about it anymore, it just happens.
Although it’s competing 50/50 for the free 180 spin jump mount, which I’d really like to be able to do perfectly. 360 comes next
> the suicide mount is actually not that hard. just catch the seat with
> a thigh first.
I prefer landing my feet on the pedals first
A pretty painless progression for learning the suicide mount goes
something like this:
Get a solid standard mount, pushing the unicycle forward as you
step on the pedal (i.e. static mount).
Now you can cheat your way into a jump mount by doing nearly the
same thing. Push the uni forward and land the close foot first,
stopping the wheel as you place the second foot.
After that’s comfortable, refine your jump mount, landing both
feet at the same time. Actually, I still have trouble doing
this cleanly, but I try.
After a while you’ll start to think a suicide mount may just be
possible. That means you are ready to do it. It is
intimidating, but it is also simple enough that I got it first
try.
So far, he can jump mount with ~80% certainty of riding out of it; ride in relative control, sharp 90 degree turn both left and right; occasionally stop riding and hop a dozen times before losing control and has tried to learn to static mount. He successfully mounts only about 50% of the time using the standard mount but is working on it.
He wants to learn to ride backwards, is the best way to learn just to ride then try to pedal 1/2 a revolution backwards then continue forwards, or is there a better way?
Also he is trying to do a very short standstill before beginning to hop. I always do a standstill before hopping but it seems there should be an easer way to get started. Is there any tips you guys know of on how to transition from riding to hopping?
Thanks for your advice;
Cameron (Training another unicycle recruit!)
