I managed to master the basics of uni-cycling this year during lock down and I’ve been going from strength to strength. The one this that frustrates me is it seems my body is twisting to the left in order to keep going straight. It’s not always like this but more often than not it happens and it drives me insane.
All I can think of is that its my dominant left leg causing me to twist in order to keep the control.
Wondered if anyone else out there has similar experiences…
I had this problem a few months after I learned to ride. I think some muscles on your non-dominant side get tired and the sideways posture is a way of compensating. There are other threads about it. It’s a pretty common issue.
I fixed it by learning to ride with both hands on the front of the seat. It feels really awkward but it forces your shoulders to stay square. It took a week or 2 before riding this way felt normal and then the twisting was gone.
Try switching your saddle hand for now if you are using one hand.
Then like aarons said, try to learn how to use both hands for (or one or the other) for different conditions.
Many people get the twist when they are learning or fairly new, it’s pretty normal. One thing to try is to ride on the other side of the street to ride on the opposite slope or camber.
If you can you can try to ride twisted the other way as well, or ride with both hands on the saddle handle, or behind your back. Once you can ride with your hands behind your back your twist will go away.
I have the opposite problem. I noticed I was leaning on the right side 1 or 2 years after learning unicycling.
It bothers me a bit, but I tend to get used to it. I’m not 100% sure where does it come from, but one thing is known: my body isn’t perfectly symmetric and my hip is a bit off by about 1.5cm.
Welcome here @mrmortar!
There are a lot of factors that could cause this. And trust me I’m an expert on riding twisted… I’ve been doing it on and off for quite a while now. As said, it’ll iron out when you get more proficient and more relaxed when riding. And sometimes it’ll come back for god knows what reason.
I’ve been doing it again recently and remembered talking about it here:
Wow, ok great feedback everyone and reassuring to know its not uncommon.
I had a inkling it may be partly down to the initial stages or riding. I notice its not as bad on my 20" uni but then I find that one easy to control so kind of figures.
When i rode off today from fresh i was fine but as i got into it (I presume as more tired) the twisting came back.
Will try the using two hands approach.
I was worried it might be the result of something else.
Also noticed I have a tendency to ride to the left of the trails too which is annoying me, almost like i’ve got this ingrained sense of keeping to my right of way on UK trails.
I think most people favor one side or the other. After eight years I still turn left more naturally than right. (I’m right-handed, but left is my natural dominant uni side. I mount with my left foot, and tend to hold the handle/use the brake with my left hand.)
Fortunately, like most uni-related issues, the solution is: more riding.
My unicycle mantra (especially learning new skills): “Hours in the saddle.”
Good luck!
@slamdance - Interesting comments, I was kind of aware of pedal force but its really hard to focus on keeping the force through one leg. I’ve been doing lots of really basic trail/bridle way terrain and I don’t think this help with any of this as I go back into auto pilot in order to overcome obstacles. Maybe I need to get on some flat tarmac and do more practicing.
@LanceB - yeah I can certainly appreciate the hours required to overcome the issues. Each time I ride I find one other element becomes more natural.
I normally ride an MTB or Road bike but realised in order to improve I needed to focus more the Unicycle. Trying to ride my Unicycle after doing a road ride my legs were shot and then I was unable to give Unicycling the focus it needed. It’s become the norm for me that if I look outside and its good weather, I choose the Unicycle lol.
Sometimes yes. Self mounting makes it worse i find because i may not have positioned myself on the seat centrally. I shall persevere and hopefully it all falls into place.
