Just wondering how much control is possible when gliding? In particular, when gliding off-road in terms of changing directions/speed/hitting bumps.
I’m determined to learn how to glide over the next few months to improve my downhill speed. At the moment I’m taking one step at a time, but I’d like something to aspire to.
I did a mountainbike race not long ago and lost most of my time on the downhill sections (for obvious reasons). Passed lots of MTBkers on the uphill. On average, I’m about 40-50% slower on my Muni cf my mountainbike, most of which is from not being able to freewheel.
Gliding is a really cool skill to learn, it’s a lot of fun. I don’t know how much it would help you in a race.
On a paved hill you can go really fast, probably not as fast as a bike, but a lot faster than riding it. You have fairly good control, more than it seems like you would have. The problem is that once you pick up some speed you run the risk of being seriously hurt. You aren’t very stable while gliding. A little bump can knock you off just riding at a high speed, imagine what could happen hitting something while gliding down a hill at 20 mph. You might be spending some time in the hospital.
Gliding down a dirt road at faster speed than you could ride it is probably a really bad idea.
A break seems like a pretty good idea. If you were going to be doing a lot of gliding down steep hills a break would make the skill easier on your tire, gliding does quite a bit of damage, and maybe your ankle.
Offroad gliding is fun but is definately challenging if it’s not
relatively smooth- gravel roads
or really smooth sections of singletrack work well. However it’s
definately much harder if the
ground is wet. Also I don’t think it’s that much faster because, at
least for me, offroad gliding
is often terminated by a wipeout which definately negates any speed
advantages!
In my opinion, a wide, knobby tire is way better than a smooth tire for
offroad gliding because
you still get traction from the tire even if it’s dusty. A brake can
also be useful for both
on-road and off-road gliding where it’s too steep to just brake with
your foot (or where you can
still brake with your foot but are pressing down hard to avoid picking
up too much speed). A disk
brake would be awesome for this, because if your wheel is at all out of
true, the resultant
variation in braking force supplied by rim brakes makes it hard to
control.
-Kris.
— Ken Looi <forum.member@unicyclist.com> wrote: > Just wondering how much control is possible when gliding? In
particular, when gliding off-road > in terms of changing directions/speed/hitting bumps. > > I’m determined to learn how to glide over the next few months to
improve my downhill speed. At > the moment I’m taking one step at a time, but I’d like something to
aspire to. > > I did a mountainbike race not long ago and lost most of my time on the
downhill sections (for > obvious reasons). Passed lots of MTBkers on the uphill. On average,
I’m about 40-50% slower on > my Muni cf my mountainbike, most of which is from not being able to
freewheel. > > Are brakes useful when gliding? > > > > – > Ken Looi > Posted via the Unicyclist Community - http://unicyclist.com/forums >
Kris mentions the problems off true rims and brakes. What I have found
is
that if you use an old fashioned centre pivot brake and set it up
carefully
there is not a problem. I have mine on the Coker set so that one side
just
touches the rim first, then with only a slight increase in movement of
the
lever both blocks touch. As the rim wobbles about (and it does on my
Coker!) the brake assembly swings with the rim (you must keep the pivot
free). The only problem is that the Coker rim is so badly constructed
that
there is a clunk when the weld passes the brake and this is
disconcerting.
I guess you next question might be how much gliding can you do on a
Coker?
not much if you are me is the answer. I have had a pull glide once but
it
was hard and I did not go far before I lost it - you have to really lean
forward to reach your pullers hand. I have been known to do coast to
stop
using a brake and that is affective although you need to be really happy
with what the brake is going to do.
----- Original Message -----
From: “Kris Holm” <danger_uni@yahoo.com>
To: <rsu@unicycling.org>
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 5:12 PM
Subject: Re: Off-road gliding
> Offroad gliding is fun but is definately challenging if it’s not
relatively smooth- gravel roads > or really smooth sections of singletrack work well. However it’s
definately much harder if the > ground is wet. Also I don’t think it’s that much faster because, at
least
for me, offroad gliding > is often terminated by a wipeout which definately negates any speed
advantages! > > In my opinion, a wide, knobby tire is way better than a smooth tire
for
offroad gliding because > you still get traction from the tire even if it’s dusty. A brake can
also be useful for both > on-road and off-road gliding where it’s too steep to just brake with
your
foot (or where you can > still brake with your foot but are pressing down hard to avoid picking
up
too much speed). A disk > brake would be awesome for this, because if your wheel is at all out
of
true, the resultant > variation in braking force supplied by rim brakes makes it hard to
control. > > -Kris. > — Ken Looi <forum.member@unicyclist.com> wrote: > > Just wondering how much control is possible when gliding? In
particular, when gliding off-road > > in terms of changing directions/speed/hitting bumps. > > > > I’m determined to learn how to glide over the next few months to
improve
my downhill speed. At > > the moment I’m taking one step at a time, but I’d like something to
aspire to. > > > > I did a mountainbike race not long ago and lost most of my time on
the
downhill sections (for > > obvious reasons). Passed lots of MTBkers on the uphill. On
average,
I’m about 40-50% slower on > > my Muni cf my mountainbike, most of which is from not being able to
freewheel. > > > > Are brakes useful when gliding? > > > > > > > > – > > Ken Looi > > Posted via the Unicyclist Community - http://unicyclist.com/forums > >
>Are brakes useful when gliding?
I read this as: Is it possible to keep balance while going downhill by
using the brake only, with no feet on the pedals? That may not have
been what was meant, and it wasn’t answered either.
Seems fun though. Anyone?
Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been
picked automagically from a database:”
“AIMSX, BOSS, tiger”
Definately I think it’s possible but it would definately be a new skill,
not a relaxing
alternative to regular gliding! I’ve tried but never managed yet.
-Kris.
— Klaas Bil <klaasbil_remove_the_spamkiller_@xs4all.nl> wrote: > On Fri, 25 Jan 2002 02:05:24 +0000 (UTC), Ken Looi > <forum.member@unicyclist.com> wrote: > > >Are brakes useful when gliding? > I read this as: Is it possible to keep balance while going downhill by > using the brake only, with no feet on the pedals? That may not have > been what was meant, and it wasn’t answered either. > Seems fun though. Anyone? > > Klaas Bil > – > "To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been
picked automagically from a > database:" > “AIMSX, BOSS, tiger” >
Thanks for all the replies, they were really helpful.
One other thing, should I get some cheap shoes for gliding? I imagine you’d chew through them pretty quickly.
Ken
P/s just learned how to wheel walk, so hopefully can glide in a few months time.
If you glide often, and quickly enough, yes, you will wear down your
shoes
fast. Depending on the type of tire you have, you may wear that down
just
as quickly. I suggest looking for skate shoes (as in skateboard).
Ideally, you want the sole of the shoe to be made of a single piece of
material – the less seams, the better. This will help make gliding
easier, and keep down the wear a little.
jeff lutkus
> Thanks for all the replies, they were really helpful. > One other > thing, should I get some cheap shoes for gliding? I imagine you’d
chew > through them pretty quickly. > > Ken > > P/s just learned how > to wheel walk, so hopefully can glide in a few months time. > > > > > – > Ken Looi > Posted via the Unicyclist Community - http://unicyclist.com/forums >
> Definately I think it’s possible but it would definately be a > new skill, not a relaxing alternative to regular gliding! > I’ve tried but never managed yet.
With Kris Holm saying that, I am convinced it will not be easy for
anyone. I
think what’s needed is some of the hardware/software from the Segway
device,
to handle the balance while the rider handles the steering. Wouldn’t
that be
interesting?
> Definately I think it’s possible but it would definately be a > new skill, not a relaxing alternative to regular gliding! > I’ve tried but never managed yet.
With Kris Holm saying that, I am convinced it will not be easy for
anyone. I
think what’s needed is some of the hardware/software from the Segway
device,
to handle the balance while the rider handles the steering. Wouldn’t
that be
interesting?
> Definately I think it’s possible but it would definately be a > new skill, not a relaxing alternative to regular gliding! > I’ve tried but never managed yet.
With Kris Holm saying that, I am convinced it will not be easy for
anyone. I
think what’s needed is some of the hardware/software from the Segway
device,
to handle the balance while the rider handles the steering. Wouldn’t
that be
interesting?
> Definately I think it’s possible but it would definately be a > new skill, not a relaxing alternative to regular gliding! > I’ve tried but never managed yet.
With Kris Holm saying that, I am convinced it will not be easy for
anyone. I
think what’s needed is some of the hardware/software from the Segway
device,
to handle the balance while the rider handles the steering. Wouldn’t
that be
interesting?
> Definately I think it’s possible but it would definately be a > new skill, not a relaxing alternative to regular gliding! > I’ve tried but never managed yet.
With Kris Holm saying that, I am convinced it will not be easy for
anyone. I
think what’s needed is some of the hardware/software from the Segway
device,
to handle the balance while the rider handles the steering. Wouldn’t
that be
interesting?
> Definately I think it’s possible but it would definately be a > new skill, not a relaxing alternative to regular gliding! > I’ve tried but never managed yet.
With Kris Holm saying that, I am convinced it will not be easy for
anyone. I
think what’s needed is some of the hardware/software from the Segway
device,
to handle the balance while the rider handles the steering. Wouldn’t
that be
interesting?
