I learned to one-foot idle and then one-foot ride recently. My progress was very swift. I probably learned to one-foot idle, mount to idle and shift to one-foot idle, and then mount directly to one-foot idle all within about 30 or 45 minutes. After listening to the “go for it” advice from several folks in a previous thread, I was able to one-foot ride, even up and down slight inclines, after just a few tries. All of this was on my Zephyr 24" with a piece of rubber sheet taped to the curved crown for a foot rest. All of it was strong foot only.
I bought a Torker 20" so I could get a small wheel and a flat crown. The foot rest is much better but the small wheel is a little more difficult for me to control. It is much quicker and more responsive. Have others experienced this?
Now I am also trying weak foot one-foot skill development. My guess is that it is taking me about five times as long to reach similar levels of proficiency. I haven’t quite got the weak foot mount directly to weak foot one-foot idle yet nor have I tried to ride weak foot one-footed. Have others experienced similar disparities in strong foot weak foot skill developments? I still freemount weak footed very poorly.
Developing a favorit foot is an impediment I’m familliar with. I force myself to off foot mount untill I begin to favor it (the exception to this being kick up’s- for no good reason besides lazyness). The hurtfullness of favoring one foot became painfully aparent since I began to hop and gap- it is rediculous to waste a perfectly good aproach just because you have not quardinated the off side. Depending on circomstance, you may not be presented with an opertunity to reposition yourself for the favored foot (and doing so would be a waste of energy).
That said, it sure is hard to switch to the off foot when developing hard won skills. You have to have some positive strokes for all the effort. Once my arm gets soar from pating myself on the back, I start working on the off side.
In some cases, my off side developes more quickly and by contrast exposes bad habits and poor technique on the favored side.
I’m jelous of your bravery- try as I might, I still can’t force my foot to leave the pedal. You’re well on the way to that level 5 goal (which I have confidence you will exceade).
I still wiggle back and forth and approach curbs sideways until I get to the grassy area sometimes just to get that strong foot in position before hopping it even though I can hop higher in the weak footed position. Go figure.