Pedal grabbing, finally!

Unicycles and Equipment
1

Wow! I finally learnt pedal/crank grabbing. What a rush! I came
home seeing a world now full of obstacles I will soon we able to
ride on. :slight_smile:

I found that the learning progression that I had recommended to me
didn’t really work, for me at least. I was told to learn crank hangs
first (i.e., land on the crank on the obstacle, then jump off of the
obstacle rather than onto it.)

I just can’t do this, for some reason. I think it’s because my weight
is on the pedal nearest the obstacle, makes it much easier to jump
towards it than away from it. When I eventually gave up on jumping off
of the obstacle, and tried to jump onto it instead I very nearly landed
it my first attempt.

Now I just need to work on my balance on the obstacle. I was practicing
on a park bench and a lot of the time I was using the back of the
bench to steady myself when I initially jumped to get onto the pedal.

So, is pedal grabbing on concrete walls much harder? I think that maybe
the flex in the bench makes it easier to spring up. Also, is concrete
likely to wreck my pedals really quickly? Can’t help thinking the force
of landing with most of your own and the unis weight on the pedal us
gonna make them break quite quickly.

–
Nick Grey

2

Mh… Pedal/Crank Hangs look very stylish…
I have to learn one of them…
Which one is easier? Crank, because the crank is bigger then the pedal?

3

Re: Pedal grabbing, finally!

Tassilo <Tassilo.qpq8a@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:

> Mh… Pedal/Crank Hangs look very stylish…
> I have to learn one of them…
> Which one is easier? Crank, because the crank is bigger then the pedal?

Well, from my experience of pedal/crank grabs I’d say just learn them
both concurrently. You’ll find that to begin with at least, sometimes
you’ll land on the crank and sometimes on the pedal, so you couldn’t
really choose just one to practice.

Nick Grey

4

i found that learning cranks stalls was alot easier than pedal grabs. when the whole crank is on the ledge it is way more stable than trying to land on a tiny pedal. it also helps to take the seat out front as soon as you land, this way you can move your body arround and balancing becomes about 5 times easier.
i’ve pretty much mastered the cranks stalls, i can land and go to rubber about 4 out of 5 :smiley: i can go to rubber from pedal grabs but this is very hard and i still cant land them in the first place. anyway hope this was helpful.

iai

5

corerection - iain

6

I’m also learning this, but I find it hard to go only onto the pedal. It’s easier to just get the whole crank on it.
But what I find is hardest is getting up there after you’re on. It seems completely different from normal hopping, and I can’t do it at all.

7

Yeah, crank/pedal grabs are REALLY useful!

I cannot pedal grab like Kris Holm, and many others do, where you use the pedal, then swing the Uni up.

I tend to grab with the pedal, as you can get higher, and then bring the crank up, do a little jump so I am both the pedal and the crank (so it is like standing on a normal crank grab) and then jump to the rubber.

Standing in the crank grab position rather than the pedal grab position is much more steady.

I use grabs loads, and think it is one of the most useful Trials techniques you can learn.

Joe,

8

does it matter with which crank/pedal i jump on the obstacle?
I can jump best, when my left feet is in front. and i can jump best to the right side. i were told, that u have to jump on the crank, where ur feet is in front. that would be the left side for me… but i cant jump to left side… can i make crank/pedal grab with my right crank/pedal which is in back?

9

Tassilo, from what you have said, you jump the same as me.

There is not really a ‘wrong’ way to do something. Just do what you feel comfortable with!

I have attached a pic I have just done. This is how I crank onto an obstacle.

Hope it helps.

Joe,

crank grab.jpg

10

Very big thanks, Joe!
Thats the same, like ill jump on an obstacle…
but what i dont like on crankhang, is, that it makes scratches in ur crank… :smiley: and my trial is new…
but it has already some scratches… mh, dont matter, that’s usual you can’t prevent it

sorry for bad english, i live in germany, only 3rd year english yet :wink:

11

I had a dream about pedal grabbing last night. I guess I’ll have to go find a good piece of wood (I think it was a railrod tie, turned into a railing or a curb) to see if it will come true.

12

I found that when going from crank to rubber, the reason I couldnt was because I didn’t think I could. Every time I jumped I would be ready to fall right back down to crank. I just had to tell myself that I was gonna do it and the do it. once I got more confident I could do them whenever I want. hope this helps anybody trying to learn.

-sam

13

I know what you mean about the scratches on the cranks! hehehe. The first time I went out with my new Kh cranks and new Kona pedals I was really careful! Within two minutes though, I was doing loads of crank grabs!
Personally, I like the ‘used’ look! :stuck_out_tongue:

You’re English is great! I took German at school, but I’m not very good. Saying that, I’m not very good at English either!

I always feel guilty when taking to a foreign person, as they have learnt English really well, but I can hardly speak a word of their language! I wish I could!!

Glad my pics helped! :slight_smile:

Joe,

14

crank/pedal ot rubber?

Hey all,
i find that i can manage to land either crank or pedal grabs but can’t get from that to rubber. Is it just psycological? Do you have to rotate the cranks so that it lifts the uni up? or just go straight from the horizontal position?
mark

15

I can currently do pedal and crank stalls and go to rubber on the pedal grabs but fall off at the top every time. Is it normal to feel like the uni is pushing you off the thing you’re grabbing? I’m going to give grabs a second attempt tomorrow to finish off my holidays nicely.

Andrew

16

Re: crank/pedal ot rubber?

Who would have thought a year ago that I would be posting on a Trials thread let alone on grabs to rubber? I have been working on these in the past couple months so the progress is still fresh in my mind.

I started with the grab/stall and jump off. My first success was with my freestyle, I was grabbing onto landscape timbers so no damage to the uni, I concentrated on the launch part of the jump and hit rubber a few times but only landed a couple and that was with a lot of hopping to stabilize. The next day I tried at a sk8 park on concrete with a grind ledge, which does mark the uni, but could not land one that day.

I think my next success was after I got the Summit Trials, even though it is heavier I guess I felt freer to abuse it at the sk8 park. It took a lot of tries but by the end of that session I had several successful landings onto an 18” wide ledge. Again I was really concentrating on a big jump from the grab to get up. It took a huge effort.

Of course my trials are still lame but I think the “to rubber” part gets better when the jump is broken down into two parts.

The first part is the jump up or extension. You start low, jump and extend with a forceful launch. Your back and legs are pretty much straight after the launch. The next part is the contraction, you pull your feet and the wheel up towards you, the knees bend and your body hinges forward at the waist. This gives you the extra wheel height and with your knees bent you can swing the wheel under you for the landing.

I was having troubles getting onto the 2x2 landing on the stairs of death this week when I was told I was scrubbing the tire on the side of the object through the jump. In other words I was heading for the landing before I cleared the side. I tried jumping more vertically then bring the tire under me onto the platform and had better success.

I think a big part of the progress is going from concentrating on the vertical leap, where you get all your height from the extension part, to a two part jump.

If geezers can do it so can you!

For crank grabs to rubber I think the cranks stay horizontal. Take a look at our gallery of geezer trials: http://gallery.unicyclist.com/TrialsAndTribulations . Of course we had the advantage of very springy boards in that session.

17

Re: Pedal grabbing, finally!

napalm <napalm.qt2lo@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:

> i find that i can manage to land either crank or pedal grabs but
> can’t get from that to rubber. Is it just psycological? Do you have to
> rotate the cranks so that it lifts the uni up? or just go straight from
> the horizontal position?

Psychology is a big part of it. Visualise yourself doing it. Don’t
hesitate thinking about it to long.

I go straight up, but I’ve only just
learnt, so maybe rotating the pedals is better form, I don’t know.

Nick Grey
To e-mail me, add 0307 after my name in my e-mail address.

18

Re: Pedal grabbing, finally!

andrew_carter <andrew_carter.qt62m@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:

> I can currently do pedal and crank stalls and go to rubber on the pedal
> grabs but fall off at the top every time. Is it normal to feel like the
> uni is pushing you off the thing you’re grabbing? I’m going to give
> grabs a second attempt tomorrow to finish off my holidays nicely.

What do you mean by the uni pushing you off the thing?

I’ve been practicing on a bench so I can steady myself on the back
when going onto the crank/pedal… doesn’t help much for going to rubber
though as it’s too low.

Nick Grey
To e-mail me, add 0307 after my name in my e-mail address.

19

I think one of the big hurdles to overcome is hopping from the crank to rubber with both feet. Most people are used to hopping with both legs. The idea of using only one leg to jump is kind of scarry. Getting the uni under you again and having the cranks level and with even pressure is yet another concern. The weight transfer is a delicate balance . It’s definetly easier to do the whole process with the seat out front. You can both hop higher and you’ll have better balance on the object once your there. I’m still getting this trick mastered, but today I pedal grabbed onto the top of a picnic table first try. I have never previously tried anything that high, it’s all just been high enough so that the wheel is off the ground. There was a good thread on this a few weeks ago. maybe this link will help
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26475&highlight=pedal+grab
good luck

20

i can do it! hahahahahha

After i wrote my last reply i went out and tried to get from crank to rubber and after 10 minutes i found i could do it! The main reason for being afraid to try it was the fact that i own absolutely no safety gear. I went to my normal spot, at my house, a pile of sleepers acting as a retaining wall, and practised untill i could do it. One thing that helped me initialy to learn was to grab, with my free arm, a tree whose branch was close enough to the ledge, This did not give me that much support but helped psycologicly as i had something that could save me from a nasty crash.

Andrew, i have the same problem. I managed to narrow my problem to the shape of my cranks, They were curved at the end nearest the axle, so if i didn’t land the hop to my cranks well my uni would force me to bail out away from the ledge. Hope i’ve been some help.
Mark