Any free mount will “count” to pass off Level 1. I’d suggest you perfect the mount you’re doing now, and add other mounts later. Congrats on your progress!
What you described is what we call a Rollback mount. It’s a great mount for beginners because it contains a little bit of backwards, and a little bit of idling. Good foundation for learning those skills as you progress. Later you can work on the Static mount, which is generally quicker, and then start getting into trick mounts, like the Kick-Up.
12 and 6? Do you mean with the cranks aligned vertically before you start? That’s how I started and I did it for years at about 50% success until someone told me it was easier to start at about 4 and 10 (or 2 and 8) 0r maybe 5 - 11 (1 - 7). Either way, the better you get, the less the exact angle will matter.
Oh, excuse me. That wasn’t a rollback mount; I misread your clock and thought you were starting with the pedals horizontal (9 & 3). What you’ve been doing is what I call a “Beginner mount” because that’s what most people start with. It’s an awkward mount because your first foot is stuck at the bottom of the stroke, and you have to ride away from the “dead spot”, which is that pedal position.
For a rollback mount, start with the pedal anywhere between 3:00 and 4:00, and your object is to push that pedal down and through the bottom of the stroke, while catching the other pedal with your other foot and pulling it back. This generally brings the wheel far enough back that you are then forced to start pedaling forward. Once you get the hang of it, it’s much better than the Beginner mount, because you start at a static balance, which may or may not allow you to ride away forward.
Ah, I tend to do the mount static, or with only a tiny amount of roll back, but definitely not with the cranks aligned vertically. Problem with mounting with the cranks vertical is you then need to start pedalling at top dead centre. Getting up there is a td easier but moving off is harder, and the net effect is that it is more difficult.
What you’re doing looks to me like what John calls the beginner’s mount:
And I agree, it’s not the most stable mount because you’re at the dead spot. Which you counteract by using the top foot to roll back a quarter turn. You can use that as a base to work to the “real” rollback mount. Start with the pedals at 8pm/2pm and put the mounting foot on the 8pm pedal. When you’re pushing down on the pedal, this is what will make the wheel go backward, not the top foot. The other foot will get on the pedal as the wheel is in motion and will help it finish the movement until the pedals are even, and you’re ready to go.
@Trevwin:
I used to do a rollback mount and also discovered your Instagram mount. The idea of the static mount seemed utterly impossible to me because it requires placing the foot on the pedal and the move over the uni without pressing down on the pedal.
I segmented the training into two moves:
First I just placed my foot on the backwards pedal and then trained again and again to just jump over the other pedal with the other foot. The downwards movement of the foot on the first pedal decreased eventually. (2 or 3 training sessions)
It was only then when I started to include the second movement: instead of jumping over the other pedal I placed my foot ON it. Due to the forward momentum of my center of gravity I just had to start pedaling.
The static mount is in fact a surprisingly easy mount.
The segmentation of a mount into separate movements (1, 2, 3, 4, …) and training at first only 1, then 1 and 2, then 1-3 and so on even made the Legwrap Mount possible for me.
That’s good! It’s in between the “Beginner” mount and a full Rollback. It works fine, and is much better than a full-on dead spot mount. You’ve figured out to pull that top pedal back, which positions you to ride away. Good job!
thanks for all the advice guys, my hybrid beginner/rollback is starting to feel comfortable,trying to get in a couple of (short) rides a day so will be commuting by the summer.
A better static mount is to step up on the back pedal. Stand behind the uni with it leaning back so the saddle is between your legs. Push forwards on the seat and put your non dominant foot hard on the back pedal at about 4 or 8 o’clock (depending on the side). These two forces wedge the uni in place.
As you step up to the front pedal, the weight comes off the back pedal and transfers to downwards on the saddle while the forward force comes off the saddle, remaining more or less in balance the whole way until you reach upright. Then your forward momentum takes over as the weight comes onto the front foot.
I use this mount on all my unis.
Watch unimyra’s explanation video linked from this page.
I agree…I watched Unimyra’s video multiple times, and imitated the slo-mo and well balanced mounting…awesome tutorial! watch it and learn from it…good luck…
