Most of the recent posts on this forum are from people who are older than you are now, and were older than you when they first learned to ride, so don’t worry! Many of the younger unicyclists who used to post comments here and aren’t frightened of the NSA have moved to Facebook.
Unicycling can be an extreme sport if you are crazy enough to make it one, but otherwise it is quite gentle. Unless you are morbidly obese or suffer from some other condition that impairs your movement or balance, you should be able to learn to ride with no problem. Just find a flat stretch of open pavement and start trying to ride. It may take some persistence. Finding someone to show you the first steps in person is not required, but it is helpful. You can also learn a lot on this forum.
Thanks everyone!
Today I made my first full revolution without holding the fence. Believe it or not, but one of my friends is so confident that I’m too old for it, we made a bet than in two months I will be able to ride a flat surface unsupported. I decided to make it a small anti-ageist event, and invited my friends to come with anti-ageist posters
So did Facebook steal a good bit of traffic from here? It does seem quieter than what I remember. Any idea which facebook groups are the popular ones?
Yelena, as for learning to ride I can’t imagine there are many good tips or lessons you could receive, although encouragement is always nice. Most of it comes down to practice. Start near a wall and keep trying until you can ride away, then learn to free mount and build from there. It’ll take time.
Welcome Yelena! I’m new to unicycling too. I’m 47 and getting younger every day. You’ll do great if you just keep practicing. Hope you bet something good, because you might be riding circles in two months!
Welcome to this forum. I have found it to be extremely helpful and fun.
You are not too old. I started when I was 49. You just need to have patience and lots of determination. Get comfortable by holding onto a wall but don’t do that for very long. Keep launching off without holding on to anything. If you’re afraid you’ll fall you can wear knee pads and gloves. At some point your legs will tire quickly. When that happens try putting all your weight into the saddle so your legs won’t tire so quickly.
There are lots of tutorials on YouTube. Each one will have different pointers so watching several is a good idea. That’s what I did and I think it helped me learn rather quickly. This video is a bit silly but I think has some good tips.
I met a man who was 92 and who learned to unicycle at age 91. It took him a year to learn. I heard of another man who learned when he was 76 and then taught his wife who was 72. You are currently half the age of the youngest one in that group. You’re not too old to learn, in fact you’re too young to quit.
36 is nothing, I met François, a 79 years old as I was riding my 36" in the park nearby, he told me that he also has a 36" but he couldn’t ride it at the moment as he was recovering from a bad fall on roller-skates… He started uni at 74, then went on a 1000km trip, wearing a horse shaped helmet as a homage to the horse he had to give away a few years back.
Thank you everyone for your encouragement!
So far I am progressing very slowly, still very far from being able to ride unsupported. May a size of the wheel play a role? What I’m trying now is 15 inches in diameter, and it feels like I can’t develop enough speed to maintain a balance. Would it be a good idea to try a 20 inches wheel?
From all the research I did prior to buying my unicycle, it seemed that the 20" was what most people recommended for initial learning. However, I also believe that you adjust to whatever you learn on. Don’t be too hard on yourself. It just takes time, and then one day it will click. Have you been able to find a thread called “Learning Journal” started by NotSoYoungOne? It is a really good documentation of the learning process. I read it when I was starting out. Very helpful. Sorry I can’t paste the thread here…I am still figuring out how to use this forum. Good luck.
If it’s really 15", then yes definitely you should get a 20". Too small a wheel is definitely hard to ride. Very hard to ride.
Craigslist might be your friend to get a cheap one, and once you’re hooked you can get a bigger wheel.
Yeah get a 20".
My girlfriend (41)has done here 6th learning session on a trial 19er (20" real diameter) and has been able to ride 5 or 6 tire revolutions by herself, (about 8 meters)
I am 42 started at 36 on a cross 24er, it was harder than to learn with a 20" but after about 20 hours I was riding it.
15" is too small to learn with.
A 20, or even a 24" will help a lot. Also, a good seat will save a lot of pain. And, if you haven’t already put them on, gloves at a minimum; wrist protectors/knee pads/elbow pads/helmet as desired. I haven’t fallen on my head in years, but I distinctly remember landing hard on it a couple of times while learning.
That first 50 feet is really daunting, but anyone can do it with some time investment…it is not harder than walking, and we all manage that.
Thanks everyone again! I already found cheap used uni with a large wheel, and will pick it up tomorrow. Small wheel is hard for the beginner because it’s very difficult to to fast enough to maintain a balance.
You can do it. My ppl thought I was crazy when I started too. Prob is now I just don’t force myself to get out enough. Hopefully change is coming 2016. Work work work sucks!! I’m in Boston so ya got at least one person in your area that’s game to roll out.
And these people are experts at… ? Or their expertise comes from… ? Maybe an article they read in the Weekly World News?
People who will never ride a unicycle are always telling other people what they can’t do. And it’s not like they could never learn; they just decided they could never do it, so told their brain not to ever try. And that leads them to telling others they can’t do it either. The same people who say “I couldn’t learn to juggle for my life”. I heard that literally hundreds of times back when I worked for the National Circus Project.
In two months you’ll be riding rings around your friend. You should up the ante!
Facebook, and perhaps other social media as well, though I’m not an expert. I dabble in Facebook but rarely post; there’s a lot of unicycle content there.
Shorter answer: yes, but longer answer: when learning to ride, people look to make equipment adjustments that they hope will make it easier. But unless your unicycle is really, really bad, they won’t make a big difference.
However, at 15", there’s a possibility your unicycle is one of the bad ones. Does it look like the wheel from a child’s tricycle? Solid tire? Does it look anything like this one? That’s about as bad as they get, in which case nearly any piece of junk from China will be an improvement.
Also, having already made a purchase, you will have the ability to switch back and forth, which will only improve your skills. And once you get going, you will definitely want the bigger wheel to start covering some ground.
Have a great time learning, and prepare to enjoy your friend eating his/her words!
One guy who told me that I’m too old for unicycling (as well as for rolling blading, hoverboarding, weight lifting, shooting, etc) was probably the most nasty ageist I’ve ever met. So his opinion about learning to unicycle is no more than a reflection of his attitude. But my friend with whom I made a bet is himself an older man who is very active and likes to try new things. I was so surprised to know he has such a barrier.
The good thing is that being a Russian born tomboy pretty much immunized me against any “you can’t do it”. I however have to admit that so far unicycling is the most challenging activity I’ve tried. Probably because I barely remember learning to walk, to bicycle, and to ski.
Yes, a small solid tire thing. My new one is so much better. I made three full revolutions today. The most challenging part is coordinating constant pedaling, balancing, and observing your surroundings. That’s a major challenge and a great workout for body and mind.