I’m trying to learn one foot riding on my 19" uni with 145mm cranks.
Would using shorter cranks make it easier to learn for a beginner?
I recently learned one foot riding on a 20" with 125s on it. I can’t say for sure if longer cranks would help, I would have to play around with crank lengths to really be sure.
Probably the hardest part for me at first was making it past 12 o’clock on the pedal stroke. I feel like having too long cranks might make it a little more awkward with the leg movement at that point, though that’s just me speculating rather than talking out of experience.
Ok thanks and i’m having the same problem going past the 12 o’clock position too.
I’m not blaming my cranks but can’t help to wonder if shorter ones would help me to advance quicker.
Shorter cranks seem like they would be harder because you would loose momentum easier, but really all you need is speed and it does not matter what size you have.
Ok cheers.
I tried it with 125mm cranks tonight and it made no difference.
I’ll try it faster!
speed really helps to get started. You will get slower and slower until you stall, at least I did. But with practice you will get the feeling what needs to be done% when riding really slowly and you will even be able to re-accelerate.
% I‘d say lean a bit forward so you have to accelerate to regain balance, then push quite hard to gain enough momentum to overcome the 12 o’clock position. Just be careful not to launch the uni forwards or backwards when you‘re close to the 12 p‘clock position. I think it‘s best to practice on a hard court. Despite its name it is quite a bit softer than pavement. Protective gear is still a good idea, though.
Yesterday i noticed if i point my toes down i can actually pull the pedal up to the 12 o’clock position.
Is this something i should be doing, pushing down and then pulling up?
Cheers
To be honest i’m a bit scared trying one foot at speed so i’ve been focusing on a hard push more than riding momentum.
Let me put it like this: The ride is much smoother when I‘m fast(-ish). The slower I move the more I get into a pendulum movement, due to the initial hard push before slowing down again while waiting for the pedal to pass the 12 o‘clock position. So the body moves a bit forward - backward with regard to the uni, like when idling. Again, if you have the opportunity, practice on a hard court. It‘ll slow you down more than pavement, but it will hurt less if you fall, and I think it helps to lower the mental barrier for trying this trick with a little more speed.
Sometimes I try what you describe (pushing up the pedal) when riding, but with both feet on the pedals. My goal is rather to train more even pedaling (with little success, I’m afraid). I don‘t think I have ever tried this when riding one foot.
Last but not least: There‘s one foot with the other foot on the crown and there‘s one foot with the other foot stretched out (is it called one foot out? I‘m not familiar with the correct term). Maybe you can give „the other“ one foot a try, maybe it‘s easier for you. Or you could try and idle one foot (nice and slow ).
As a kid I could ride some revolutions with one foot out. So it’s no surprise that when I tried again last winter (thirty+ years later) one foot with the other foot on the crown seemed downright scary („but what am I gonna do if I have to dismount, with that foot high up there?“). But now I think one foot on the crown is a lot easier, since it helps to stabilse the whole system (uni + rider) - I can do this with either foot whereas I can only ride one foot out when the right foot remains on the pedal.
Hey David, like wheelou mentioned you’ll want to have your foot on the frame, which makes it a lot easier. I would recommend looking 2m in front of you, since if you look down you’ll go down. I would also recommend giving it a lot of reps - give yourself a couple hours and you should be able to one foot.
+1 for having the idle foot resting on the crown. Even though my 20" has a round crown, I can still at least find a good spot to rest my foot when doing one-footed riding/idling. I was thinking of wrapping the crown with grip tape so my foot won’t slide off the crown as easily…
If you are currently going with the “just unweight one foot and put it on the frame while riding” method (which is how I learned too), I would consider also trying to start from one foot idling.
If your idling is good, you should be able to learn one foot idling quickly. Then, while one foot idling, pause when the pedal is at the front, let your body fall forward for a split second, then push down on the pedal and try to start riding one footed.
In my experience, this method seems to work a bit better for most riders. It feels safe because you are slow and the coordination of putting the foot to the frame is at a less critical time. Also, while starting without momentum is tricky, you’ll quickly learn the required timing of when to push on the pedal and when to follow the pedal.
Thank you everyone for the advice!
I’ve taught myself to one foot idle due to reading that one foot idling is a good trick to learn before attempting to ride one footed.
I can idle with my foot on the frame and feel quite comfortable, though i can only do a few strokes at the moment.
While idling like this i can do revs where my cranks come horizontal after each push and i’m ready to give a strong push to ride forward. Everything seems ok until my pedal comes up to the 12 o’clock position and i just fall off the front.
I’ve tried this while holding a fence and can get past the 12 position and push again so I’m thinking maybe my nerves are stopping me from doing it while holding nothing.
I think my next step is to put on my body armour to give me some confidence and force myself to just go for it!
I’m gonna take the advice to try on a Tennis court too!
Body armour is good!
I don‘t know about tennis courts. I was referring to this kind of court: https://www.sportamt-bern.ch/media/Brunnmatt_TH_Hartplatz-1760x896.jpg The top layer is made of rubber, thus rather soft.
So i tried today while riding instead of trying from an idle.
I took my foot off but before i could place it on the frame the pedal come around and smacked behind my ankle. It shot my leg up in the air and i managed to land on my opposite foot without falling.
That was fun
Yes, unless they’re already short. 145s on a 19" wheel is on the long side. Shorter cranks, while requiring more force to get them going, make it easier to modulate your power level and get a smoother spin. Note: learning to one-foot will still be challenging.
For everyone learning, you’ll find the biggest hurdle is getting that foot over the 12 o-clock position. That’s where you need a light touch, and to keep your foot moving with the pedal so you can continue after it gets to the front! The rest of one-footing is easy, especially if you have practiced one-foot idling first.
I will agree that speed helps when you’re at that point of trying to get over the top with the pedaling foot. You don’t have to be going fast, but it should be faster than a brisk walk. The speed will give the wheel more momentum, which will help you learn to get that foot over the top. Also you can practice one-foot dismounts while doing this – whether you want to or not.
Yes, though the faster you’re going, the harder it is to do this. It works better when going slowly, which is harder to do when learning. Once you get comfortable one-footing, it’s possible to go very slow. One of the tricks I used to do was trying to pause with the pedaling foot at the top; something Freestyle judges didn’t seem to detect. Not a great audience skill either. Note: I think today’s Freestyle judges would be better at picking this up; my last Freestyle competition was in the mid-90s.
Foot on frame vs. foot out: On frame is definitely more stable, and gives you a bit more leverage when speeding up or slowing down. Riding with the free leg out looks more interesting, is better if you have an audience, and is definitely a little more difficult than with the other foot braced. Note that in One-Foot races, basically all the fast riders have their free foot on the frame.
When learning though, it’s okay to just lift the non-pedaling foot up and concentrate on what the power foot is doing; you don’t need to get it on the fork until you figure out the pedaling motion.
That’s a great bit of advice to remember for nearly all forms of unicycling, and most other sports as well!
Exactly. You are on the cusp! I guess the cusp in one-footing is getting your foot past the 12. It’s scary at first, but keep doing it and you will learn how to let the uni “coast” beneath you. Next you can work your way up to Gliding and Coasting!
Hehe, glad you enjoyed it!
I did some mods to my 29er and on the test ride I ended on the hard court. So I thought I might as well try to do one foot out, since I was already there. I started really fast (riding a big wheel made things quite a bit faster than on the 20er) and of course I ended on my bum …but only after I lost the speed and tried to get the foot back on the pedal. The uni sort of went to auto pilot mode, then I fell. Should‘ve listened to my own advice and wear protective gear. Seems I have a tendency to „just give it a quick try“ when I shouldn‘t - my last uni related injury happened along the very same lines…
Thank you very much for the advice and suggestions.
At the start of this video is the level where i’m at trying to learn one footed.
If you don’t try then you don’t know
I wonder if bigger wheels are scary but actually easier to one foot?
Would they have more momentum when trying?
Scary yes, easier NO! At least not for me. Though my fatty is easier than the 29er with its skinny tire - the 26x4 surely does wobble less.
I got my first two revs!
I found the problem was my body wasn’t straight when the pedal was coming around. I straightened up and found the balance starting to happen.