all right, i think i’m qualified to make some basic observations from riding about an hour a day.
observation 1: people are less inclined to comment if they’re alone. also, the girls are less inclined to be rude. i think they’re impressed… they like a man with initiative. or, at least a man on one wheel. guys are likely to be jerks when they’re in groups. especially college guys. are they intimidated? perhaps they are just jealous that my groin is tougher than theirs.
observation 2: my groin really hurts. i wonder, is there a way to shift the weight off that area? i know there’s already been a lot of talk about this, i’m just wondering… where else can the weight go? does it just come with practice? and not wearing boxers?
observation 3: freemounting is very difficult. i remember watching a particular clip on m_extreme_uni 's video where he free mounts on a rail. my first thought was that he’s defying physics. by putting a torque on the bottom wheel, he must somehow counter torque elseswhere. i couldn’t find that elsewhere. also watched a clip on a guy freemounting. same physics defying actions. now, i’ve developed a bad habit of mounting(holding onto a rail/pillar) and rotating backwards until i’m at the 3-9 position.
observation 4: i’ve got a nice set of shoulder muscles and back muscles now. chicks definitely dig shoulder muscles… if not back muscles…
If I’ve understood correctly, you’re putting to much pressure on the back pedal when mounting and it’s making the wheel roll backwards underneath you. Is that right?
If so, what I think you need to do is to try to exaggerate the movement of your upper body to start with to make sure that you’re tranfering your weight enough. Don’t worry, what you seem to be doing is natural and you’ll get used to it soon.
Is that what you’re talking about or have I just got it completely wrong?
sounds about right. but right now, it seems a tad … impossible to not put my weight on that pedal. and am i swinging myself, while on the seat, over the axle? i’ll need to try the motions more to be sure what i’m talking about. thanks for the tips.
Yes, while on the seat. Sorry about the terrible explanation. I’m sure someone else will be able to give you some clearer advice.
One thing to try might be to use a brick or cinder block or something like that. Someone did a similar thing to learn to freemount a while ago (anyone remember who?). What you could do is have something underneath your back pedal so that it’s still free but can’t rotate all the way. Then you could try to make it hit the block with less and less force when mounting, and eventually not use it at all.
As you’ve surely heard many times before, all it takes is practice.
I’m not exactly the one here most qualifed to answer the question, but I’ll give it a try anyway.
You wan’t to know how to counter the pressure put on the pedal as you mount? I’m sorry to to say, it’s the groin that’s going to take that force.
While you put downwards presure on the pedal, you push the sadel forward, and that’s what keeps you stationary while you mount.
Actually I may be wrong, since you’re holding the sadle most of the force may be applied by your hand.
#2 air seat, wear cycling shorts, stick around, if u ride an hour a day it’ll toughen up in no time
#3 by the sound of your description, the pedal u first put your weight on is too far back causing the uni to roll out behind u
try with the pedal about 15-20 degrees behind the vertical and with the seat allready between your legs, move forward as the uni moves back till u’ve found the sweet spot, find your balance and can ride away
Many people mount like this – quite handy if you can’t move your wheel but want your feet to be in a “power position”.
The basics of the technique are to move your body forward, so it’s over the wheel instead of moving the wheel back, so it’s under you. There isn’t any noticible torque on the wheel, per se, just the rider balancing over the wheel and using their foot to stop the wheel from rolling off (only using just enough force to do so, though). I’d suggest learning how to freemount first, and then move onto this. It didn’t take me long to get the hang of it, so I’m sure things will progress quickly.
1 - Generally, I think I’ve shared your observations. Chicks dig it…and working on a University campus helps. I just passed a van full of college girls on my way to get lunch and was pleased to hear the surprised comments pouring out…
2 - I wore boxers when I first started. I was amazed at how much the boxer briefs improved matters. I was completely blown away at how much cycling shorts improve matters - it goes even beyond comfort. I’ve found cycling shorts give me more control. Cycling shorts are like the Captain America serum…you’ll be able to do things you’ve never done before.
3 - The key to the static freemount, for me, was when I learned how to make myself weightless. This is not a joke. Think about two things when freemounting - a) skydiving. for that brief moment, be as the skydiver, in total free-fall, absolutely weightless in relation to the things around you. Essentially, take a good - but controlled - leap and don’t put your weight on that pedal foot - just use it for balance. The other thing to think about is b) the suicide mount. The only difference, in my mind, between the suicide mount and the static mount I do is that my right foot is always on that back pedal, and the seat is always in place, to maintain balance.
Just put the saddle in place, put your foot on that back pedal, use that foot and your legs around the saddle to keep the uni steady, jump, make yourself weightless, step your other foot on the other pedal, settle into place.
The biggest key is, find a video of somebody doing it. I couldn’t do it until I saw a vid clip of KH giving a trials workshop. After I saw it, it all clicked.
> observation 1: people are less inclined
> to comment if they’re alone.
Agreed. In my case, they just pull a double take, then smile.
> also, the girls are less inclined to be
> rude. i think they’re impressed…
I saw two coming my way, talking. When they saw me – and as luck would
have it, I actually made it 5 feet or so instead of falling – they
applauded.
> guys are likely to be jerks when they’re
> in groups.
Yup! Three or four at a time, on bikes, circle around (the bicycle
equivalent to a double take) and mumble to themselves, laughing meanly.
That’s all right, though. I’ve already cut up my legs enough to earn some
respect.
I learned to unicycle all by myself. My family and friends just laughed at me. I practiced everyday in my driveway, holding onto to my basketball pole to mount, then riding off as far as I could. I have never unicycled with another person before.
I noticed that wearing a little extra saftey gear (ex. wristguards and knee pads) when I was learning how to mount gave me the extra confidence I needed to nail the pedals when mounting.
I thought of something yesterday that may help with static mounting. Try setting up just in front of a pole or a wall or something. With one free hand, push backwards on the pole/wall. Have your pedals and cranks horizontal and take the front foot off. Try to sit there for a while staying on the uni. This will help to get a feel for not putting too much force on the back pedal.
I was also initially confused by how you could put weight on the back pedal AND not have the unicycle move backwards.
The answer is quite simple:
When you put weight on the back pedal, the unicycle does want to move backwards, but you have another foot, and you also have hold of the seat, … you use your other foot and force on the seat in order to hold the unicycle stationary.
Basically you are using the back pedal to help you step up, … however, you can only put weight on it while your other foot is still on the ground.
You can get a feel for this by just standing with one foot on the ground and the other resting on the back pedal. Now put weight on the pedal, and keep the unicycle stationary.
I’m not sure that i agree with that. If you’re moving your whole body forwards then you can put pressure on the back pedal with the second foot off the ground. In fact, don’t you have to, to stop the wheel from moving forwards? Think about when you do a little idle but pause with one foot in the air before going backwards. I think it’s the same concept. Please correct me if I’m wrong (which I may well be).
Andrew
Edit - Sorry, I just realised we’re talking about different methods of approaching the static mount. I’m talking about where you move your body forwards while the uni stands still. It’s also a good way to work up to doing the rolling mount.
I dont think that moving your weight forward is the right way to think about doing a static mount. Its one of the things that less important than other things that you have to do in order to actually move your weight forward.
Its the same motion as when your going down a steep hill. I mean clearly thats not possible on a unicycle so you cant do it for a mount too right?
When I do a static mount I try to think of my right leg as a statue. It does not move so you dont put any pressure on it in either direction. If theres an egg under that foot you dont crush it.
I put my weight on the seat and place my foot on the other pedal. My seat is low so I can be directlly over the wheel when I’m mounting. For when I have the seat post higher or for a larger wheel, I hop on my left foot up to the pedal. (imagine your just hopping forward on 1 foot) It feels alot like hopping one footed with your left foot up a stair. Your right foot is being a statue and not moving on the pedal so when you hop for the left pedal nothing moves. With using back pressure you can slow this whole process down giving you more time to place your foot where you want it. Once your foot is in the correct location, then you put pressure on your front foot and roll forward out of it.
The importaint things as I see them are to put your weight on the seat. If you dont have your weight on the seat it makes a static mount MUCH harder.
i agree. i just tried out static mounting. since it was a slow work in progress, i decided to try mounting just using a cinder block behind the tire (similar to andrew’s suggestion to put a brick under the pedal). however, putting weight on the seat is no where near as much weight as will be on there when actually on the seat. so a new problem. it’s rather difficult to mount with boxers, which don’t place the ‘essentials’ in the right place. so when actually over the seat, it’s rather painful to sit with weight on the seat. any suggestions? i tried positioning them out the way beforehand, but it doesn’t actually move them entirely out the way.
edit just reread eli’s post. i realized that what i was calling freemounting was static mounting. so, i guess the rest of you figured that out already, but now i understand. perhaps i shall learn ‘freemounting’ first.
and i share your confusion
my 10c worth i added earlier in the thread was aimed at correcting a problem with the roll-back mount and not the static as we now (obviously! dave) seem to be talking about
the cycling-shorts suggestion that’s surfaced more than once will help keep the twins where they wont get mashed, well up front and out of harms way
observation 2: Getting weight off the seat is right! When learning to ride, it’s important to sit down. But once you can ride long enough to get sore, relief is welcome. Cycling shorts. This doesn’t take the weight off, but is the best clothing for unicycling. Then, hold the front of the seat or get a good handle. Like a bike, having a place to lean on takes some of the weight off your crotch. A good, rigid handle on the front of your seat is a major factor in crotch comfort on extended rides.
observation 3: Freemounting takes practice. The rollback mount is good for learners, because it gets you familiar with the backwards motion you will need later for idling and backwards riding. The static mount is handy for a quick takeoff, and when you don’t want to roll back. I like Checkernuts description of being a statue when you step up. Don’t straighten your leg, and the pedal won’t go down. Yes, it takes practice.
observation 4: If you’re saying your shoulder muscles came from unicycling, you’ve got something to teach us! I’ve got no shoulders at all, and wouldn’t mind having some. But I guess if they are from unicycling, you’re using WAY more upper body than you need to…
