suck at mounting. just got back from doing some nordic trails in north lake tahoe. that’s when i found out that i really s___k at mounting on uneven surfaces. my brother-in-law uses the std 04:00 roll back technique, and he hit it every single time. i, on the other hand modified that basic mount by starting at about 05:30, rocking back very quickly, twisting to the side, and then going forward. what was i thinking when i concocked that mount. it works great on smooth surfaces, but not when it gets anything more. therefore, i’ve decided to try the muniacs static mount. seems to work a whole lot better than mine. do any of you guys use his mount?
btw, those trails were awsome for muni. the climbing wasn’t so steep, but technical enough because of the rocks and roots–what a great place to spend the weekend!
Yup, roll back mounts don’t work very well for muni. On uneven terrain you don’t get a consistent roll back.
I do a static mount with the pedals close to horizontal. If I’m mounting in a technical area I’ll often do a couple of little hops in place before I start pedaling. The hops give me time to get my feet situated on the pedals, get comfortable on the seat, and get ready to go. Being able to do a static mount with the pedals horizontal and immediately do a couple of small hops in place is one of the best mounts you can do for muni.
If I’m mounting on an uphill I’ll often mount sideways to the hill and then do little hops and turns until I’m facing up the hill and then go.
I use a somewhat unorthodox form of mounting nearly all the time that seems to work well for me. I start with my weak side foot on the pedal at 6 o’clock then hop onto the saddle. As I hop, the momentum from the hop rolls the uni forward just a tad. I then step on the pedal on my right side at about 2 o’clock as my foot makes contact with it. From there, I just push down with my right foot and ride away!
My theory is that you should only do a roll mount if you could confidently idle on that unicycle on that patch of ground. The roll back mount looks cool, but it is more showy than practical.
My typical mount is with the pedals at 10 past 8, pushing the uni slightly forwards to provide back pressure on the lower pedal as I step up.
Pedal, pedal, seat, in that order.
I’ll try that hopping thing next time. Sounds useful.
I often do a couple of little hops as well when trail riding. I do it for all the reasons John mentioned plus it helps give me a little momentum to get rolling on rougher terrain.
> I do a static mount with the pedals close to horizontal. If I’m
> mounting in a technical area I’ll often do a couple of little hops in
> place before I start pedaling.
My normal mount is some kind of crazy demon-child of a rollback mount
and jumping; I do a tiny rollback, maybe 1/8th of a turn or so, one
little hop to turn the wheel the rest of the way so the pedals are level
and then I can either ride off or hop on the spot. I do this pretty much
everywhere, off-road or on pavement…
Phil
“Cattle Prods solve most of life’s little problems.”