I finally (after 1 year) started trying to
do a proper mount – I have been utilizing
street signs, post boxes, etc.
On the 20", I’ve been able to hit a mount
about 60% of the time, now, but I don’t
know what it should be called.
I turn the wheel away from my leading
foot, position the lead pedal at bottom
dead center, step onto that pedal, and
then step right onto the top pedal with
the other foot. I then go into a very
short still-stand (I can’t do one for more
than about 1/2 second), and then ride
away.
The trick for me involved 2 things: start
practising on a slight downhill, and learn
to squeeze the seat between my legs
to steady the uni without using my
hands.
Once I can get nearly 100%, then I’ll
try to graduate to the 24".
Congrats! I know what it feels like to be finally able to get that freemount. It is a very valuable skill, as I’m sure you are discovering. Keep practising and you’ll be on that 24 incher in no time at all.
Congratulations. The freemount is the gateway to Unidom!
If I’ve understood you correctly, you are placing the pedals at the 6 O’Clock position, putting your foot on the bottom pedal, putting the seat ‘in position’, then stepping up onto the top pedal.
If so, that is the way I taught myself to freemount, never having seen anyone else ride a unicycle. It works, but it is an unreliable method on uneven ground. The problem is you finish the mount with your power foot at ‘top dead centre’ which is a bad position from which to start the wheel rolling if there is any slope or slight obstacle. The result can be a successful mount, followed by a UPD within half a pedal turn.
There are four basic types of mount, each with variants:
Static mount, where the wheel stays more or less static. This is what you’re doing.
Rollback mount, where the pressure on the back pedal moves the unicycle back into position beneath the rider. Looks cool, but can trap the 'nads, and it’s not too good on rough terrain.
Rolling mount, where the rider and uni are both moving forwards. This can look spectacular, and may be useful when mounting up hill.
The jump. Various versions which involve jumping and landing with both feet on the pedals simultaneously. Mainly for show.
I personally and it’s only me, would suggest that a static mount is the best mount for practical purposes on a variety of surfaces, but here’s the important bit: try to start with the pedals in the 10 past 8 (or 20 to 2) position, with the lower of the two pedals nearer to you. Try to avoid the uni rolling back. This means that you finish the mount with your power foot just above the horizontal, which is the ideal position to start the wheel rolling.
I see you are posting with Free Agent. Have you checked out www.unicyclist.com ? You can access the newsgroup via a nice web interface, which includes a search facility. There were a few recent discussions about mounting (and I’m sure you can find plenty more).
I’m a newbie… any tips?
(this is not all about mounting, so keep searching the page for the word “mount”, and be sure to go to page two, because that’s where I describe how I learned to mount! :))
uni57 (Dave)
P.S. - I like Mikefule’s method of mounting – I think it’s similar to mine.
>I see you are posting with Free Agent. Have you checked out
>www.unicyclist.com ? You can access the newsgroup via a nice web
>interface, which includes a search facility.
The web-based interface on unicyclist.com is fine and convenient, but
there is nothing wrong with Free Agent either (especially for those on
a dial-up connection). Personally, I use FA and save all messages so I
can do a search locally (though not as easily within the message
bodies). And Google Groups has an even more powerful search
capability.
Klaas Bil
Ride carefully; 25% of the people in the world are caused by accidents.
As described, I would call your mount either a ‘Dead Spot Mount’ or a ‘Beginner Mount’.
Beginner Mount was the first one that came to my mind, as this is the way nearly everyone first gets themselves going when they learn to mount. But as Mikefeule pointed out, it’s not the most reliable method.
Dead Spot Mount refers to the pedal position, so it’s more accurate as a name, but less obvious to people who don’t know unicycling terminology. The dead spot is when your crank arms are vertical and you have the least amount of leverage. That’s why being on a downhill slope makes that mount easier; something to get your wheel moving.
When I teach mounting, I usually give learners a choice between what we typically call a Rollback Mount and a Static Mount. No matter which one people work on, their first successful mounts are usually of the Dead Spot variety. Later on, the rider learns either:
To pull the top pedal back for more control and greater ease in riding away forward (Rollback)
Or to keep from pressing the starting pedal all the way to the bottom, and riding away from a non-dead spot (Static).
From my experience, the Rollback is easier to learn, but the Static mount is the more useful, being faster, and requiring less space to do.
Klaas – I agree. I LOVE Agent. I’ve used it since 1995. I use it for email and Usenet. I grab all the RSU posts with Agent for archival purposes. Sometimes I read the newsgroup via Agent and sometimes via the web interface. I always post via the web interface. My point was that you can search the ENTIRE newsgroup archive via Gilby’s web interface. Otherwise you are limited to when you started accumulating the posts via Agent/Free Agent. Of course, there’s always the all-powerful Google search.