Okay so I’m trying to learn to go backwards for awhile now and I’m having some big issues with it, it’s just very disorienting and whoever says “it’s the same as riding forward”…I disagree. Sometimes I have issues sensing how far I’m leaning back until it’s almost too late, barely catching myself. So far I’m inconsistently able to go back about 5-7 revolutions or so. I definitely can’t swerve my wheel to gain balance like I can going forward.
How many of you can ride backwards over a good amount of distance like 100+ ft? Is it important to be able to ride backwards for that amount of distance or more or is learning to ride forward and like two or three revolutions backward is good enough?
I also have issues with my pedals continuously loosening, even though I haven’t gone backwards too much. I’m very thankful I check up on them all the time or I’d have messed up cranks like with the Torker (which has made me paranoid since I’m dealing with $120 KH cranks now). Am I suppose to REALLY tighten the pedal screw to the crank? I’m just afraid it might damage the thread on the crank or something.
To learn riding backwards I found it useful to not have to look backwards. Find an area that you know to be completely clear like a tennis court or parking lot. Flat and free of obstructions like bumps is also helpful. Ride backwards but look forward into the distance like you do when riding forward. That might help to get you some additional distance and give you a better feel for it.
Yeah that’s what I do exactly, I have a church yard to practice in, very flat.
That’s what I do, I haven’t even tried looking back, that would scare me too much.
Been doing that for hours over the course of a few days (I’m very very persistent), just wondering about the importance of long distance going back. I think most unicyclist just use it to back up a little in case they need it?
I DON"T want to discourage you from learning new skills. That can be part of the fun of this sport. However, truth-be-told, even unicycling forward is NOT all that useful or important a skill, if you have other means of transportation or entertainment.
If you accept that premise, no additional unicycling skill is all that useful. If you are going up or down a mountain, or unicycling across Afghanistan, you can do so without crank flips, pedal grabs, fancy mounts, SIB, wheel walking, coasting, riding backwards, etc.
When I was much younger, I made a point of riding backwards a great distance daily, as well as backwards circles and figure 8s.
Now I’m happy just to ride 5 miles with my dog alongside, occasionally juggling 3 clubs the whole way. It’s a work out, but I cannot convince people its a useful activity beyond that.
I think the biggest reason to learn to ride backwards is the thrill of accomplishment. I rode for 30 years in parades and all over without riding backward. For some reason, I got a bug to start working on it and have enjoyed the challenge. I have stayed with it for the last three or four months and like the feel of the progress I make (minimal as it may be).
Yes, progress is slow but it is progress. Think weeks and months down the road, not just a few long sessions.
I have messed up some cranks while doing this but it has been so fulfilling that I continue. Turning the seat around has helped but then it is a pain when I want to ride forwards.
I never thought I would be able to turn but after time I continue to gain more and more ability in this area. Riding around a turn of the outdoor track is no problem now and I am working on tighter turns so I can ride inside on a shorter track through the winter.
One more thing. My legs get a different workout from riding backwards and they really burn after a while. I enjoy trying to smooth out my form and trying to increase my endurance so I can go farther and farther (but once again, progress is very slow).
Yeah it is pretty fun, that’s why I do it. That’s true, I’ll do it for fun.
I have a checklist of skills I need to get before I really start commuting, I’ve been trying to gather all of them together, I’ve been riding for a month, so far I got:
Riding forward (when I started, rode half a block and got tired, now I can do half a mile…a lot of it has to do with seat pain…especially crotch…)
Freemount (Check!)
Idle (Check!) Currently trying to perfect my forward, then idle, then forward skill.
Backwards (almost got the basics, need two or three more days)
Bunny hop for the curb and road bump jumps (not yet) I need to also learn the bunny hop where when I can jump while going forward. I’ll learn that by the end of the second month for sure!
One hand ride. I’m starting to think though that the one hand ride is something you use sometimes only when you need to hold the seat handle for jumps and bumps but most of the time you have to use both hands to somewhat balance…am I right? I have an issue turning to the right when I am using my left hand to hold the seat handle.
Still have issues riding on the street where the road curves to the side… trying not to hit those parked cars…my wheel just keeps steering towards the side towards the cars, which is pretty scary.
Thank you! That’s a very useful tip to deal with the crank issue, didn’t think of that. I’ll test it out tomorrow and see if it’s a bit too weird. Hopefully church isn’t in session tomorrow, only way to practice it is in a wide open yard since my turning is still bad.
BillyTheMountain makes a good point. Ain’t none of this really important. But riding backward has been the hardest thing for me to learn on a unicycle so far. Even being able to go forward well enough now to go a couple of miles without dismounting and a bunch of other stuff, learning backward seems tougher than forward was to begin with.
I guess I spend less time working on it because I can work on other things too now, but I’ve spent a huge amount of time on it and I’m still lucky to do a few half-cranks. But I do want to learn to do it if only because it’s hard. I regret not having put more time into learning to skate backwards when was getting into that.
Riding long distances backwards is not useful IMO. I would work on circles, figure 8’s, SIF, etc.
To reduce the loosening problem you could try blue Locktite, and continue to check that they are still tight (once a ride should be enough w/ the Locktite).
Or if your are doing LOTS of backwards, turn the seat backwards and ride it like that.
SIF, you just introduced me to a new term. I’ll check up on that. What’s the real purpose to the SIF skill? From what I can see, it just boosts the potential of the bunny hop because you got more squat room to both spring yourself up and squat yourself down during landings…am I correct in that observation?
Figure 8s is another thing I’m going to youtube.
Doing better circles too. Ah…just saw a video of some tight circles…haven’t thought of that.
I was thinking about learning the jump mount as well but me having many off days make me nervous when it comes to precision in the pedal landings…
I’ll add SIF to the skill list…I’ve been seeing people use the 20" for the SIF jumps and the other skills you listed, only thing I got is the 26"…I’ll try it soon
Might be a bit tougher on a larger wheel, but we’ll see!
One-foot ride is a familiar skill, but I’d never heard of one-hand ride, it never occurred to me as a skill (*). Once you gain somewhat more experience, you’ll find that you don’t need both hand for balance. And you are right that one hand on the seat (handle) is useful for jumping, and for some other skills, and there is usually no need to take it off.When I ride MUni (offroad), I have one hand on the seat handle 95% of the time. Most distance riders have handlebars on which they usually rest both hands.
You’ve been riding a month to date? Don’t worry, such issues flatten out by themselves. No specific practice needed, just riding will do.
(*) There is a skill called “hand ride” which is driving the pedals with your hands while your stomach is on the seat. Theoretically you could use just one hand for that, although I’ve never seen it done. That would be a proper “one hand ride”!
Two things:
You are riding a 26" wheel. Certain skills like riding backwards, idling, and jump mounting are harder to learn on the larger wheel. You would probably progress more quickly on a 20". So, if you stick with the 26" wheel, congratulate yourself when you finally nail the backwards ride. You will have done it the hard way!
You mention seat pain. What kind of saddle do you have? In your first post, you mention the Torker brand - but I wasn’t sure if you were saying that you have a Torker. The Torker seat is lousy. If you have a Torker seat, swap it out for a KH or Nimbus. I prefer the KH, but others prefer the Nimbus. Both are pretty good. If you already have a good saddle, try wearing compression shorts under your pants. That will also make a big difference.
PS - if you do have a Torker and want to swap the saddle, you will also need a new seat post. Torker uses a proprietary seat post/saddle configuration. Send the folks at Unicycle.com an email. They will help you get the right seat post for the new saddle.
Yeah at the moment, I’m trying just to gather the necessary skills to deal with commuting like how to deal with people blocking the way (idle to wait, going backwards a bit, bunny hop off the sidewalk).
So that’s where I’m concentrating mostly at the moment. If SIF is more for tricks…I’m going to prioritize it a bit later…but it’s gotten me really interested! I really want to see if I’m able to ride and jump forward up and off of curbs to help the commute.
Yeah, but will I still be able to turn, sharp right corner turns (around the corner of a street) with my left hand on the seat handle? I was thinking that the ability to go around with one hand on seat would have an advantage and a disadvantage as well, right?
Because I’m using it mostly for commuting (haven’t thought about muni yet…maybe in the future). I just need it to deal with the uneven roads (those weird bumps still get me) and hopping on curbs when I need to get out of the traffic.
Unfortunately the church seems to be in session today (I’m suppose to be happy about that…I’m so bad haha…), so I can’t practice the backwards. Yeah I heard the 20" wheeler is great for learning, but after hearing so much thought about how slow it is, I started off with the 24" torker but it broke 2 weeks in or something (was a real newbie and didn’t realize that I had to watch out for the pedals loosening during the riding back so I messed up the crank) and now I have a 26" oracle with KH fusion street seat (sales at municycle.com…Christmas gift to myself), they ran out of the freeride which I really wanted for more cushion but they said they didn’t have anymore.
I just like the bit of speed without being on a humongous unicycle, at least for the time being. So 26" seem like a good compromise…a bit of speed…not to large…still able to learn some flatland tricks…anything larger might be too heavy for me.
The Torker seat was painful and I honestly thought the KH seat (considering how expensive it is) would be a world more comfortable but it hurted so much especially when I lean back with full weight. I felt like the bone on the side of my behind was being crushed or something. Like the seat was pinching the meat of my butt against my bone. A sharp pinching pain.
Tried it out for a few days and I still find myself trying to get off the seat even while I was riding. I might be starting to somewhat get use to it, but wasn’t sure if it was a good thing. I would think if someone was stabbing me, I’d try to get away, not get use to it.
Anyhow, I got so desperate that I took the KH seat apart to take off the cover and I inserted this underneath:
Maybe should have taken the default nimbus gel. I really wish I could have tested the seats out before I buy them but nobody around my area have unicycle parts, not that I know of at least.
It feels a quite a bit better, especially when I sit upright but after riding for about a mile (I go around two blocks, sometimes twice and rest…I do that for about 3 times or so), the skin at the bottom of my groin area starts to ache, before without the added gel pad, my inner thigh and butt would hurt as well. Lately I’ve been able to alleviate it a bit by sitting more upright with more weight on by butt and off my groin but those bumpy streets and sidewalks that suddenly push my seat back…that really keeps me sorta pressed forward, which kills my groin area.
Oddly enough it stops hurting almost completely once I get off the seat.
I have some padded biking shorts coming in possibly today, along with my shin guards maybe.
Off a curb you don’t need to jump. Just ride. It may help to temporarily de-weight your seat and put more weight in the pedals (springy legs).
Oh yes, for sure. It is just a matter of inexperience that you can’t do that now. Will be easy for you in a couple of months.
What’s the disadvantage? Are you thinking of inability to ride a straight line, once you are able to do tight (right) turns? Won’t happen. Once you can turn tight corners, you can ride better than now and riding straight is easy.
With regard to your saddle soreness: you may want to futz with the angle of your seat. Look at the seat bottom where the seat post attaches. The seat post has slots that allow a range on seat positions. A little experimenting may result in a much more comfortable saddle position for you.
+1 on padded bike shorts (no underwear). I always use Chamois Butt’r w/o it I would get chafing, even w/ the cycling shorts. I always wear two pairs to keep everything in its place.
Yeah I took some advice from LargeEddie a few days ago and have done this, it helps somewhat. The thing I did with the Bell gel pad ($5) has worked on that really well. Now I just have the balls aching, probably due to rubbing against the seat when I lean forward due to the ground unevenness/bumps etc.
Is there a similar gel pad that is made for the unicycle seat that can be attached OVER the seat? This way you can chose to take it off or put it on whenever.
Yeah I got them today and they’re a bit awkward feeling, so I’ll probably reserve them for really long rides.
I was hoping something like the over the top bell gel pad to ease the buttocks, something easy and doesn’t require washing all the time, just need something simple. I can probably get some straps and find a way to make my own seat pad cover. One of the reason is the material of the seat, the vinyl is probably more durable but it is stiff (for good and bad reasons I suppose). The stiffness makes it a bit uncomfortable unless there’s A LOT of foam underneath to make it noticeable. Maybe the KH freeride has that, the street doesn’t have enough for me.
I was wondering as well. Why do they create bike shorts and such…how come they didn’t just make really comfortable seats or exchangeable seat covers with varying amount of foam or gel or other soft material so you can slip on and customize the seat to how you want it?
I couldn’t practice today…church was preoccupied :o
Wanted to so badly too, oh well a good day or two to rest the leg should be okay.
They do. All kinds of padding, contouring, and alternative saddle designs have been tried and there’s still a huge array of it out there. After lots of generations, cyclists settled on putting the paddling over the anatomical features that need it instead. Then it’s still where you want it if you shift to a different position on the saddle, plus you can wash it and change it along with your shorts.
The trick for long rides on a bike with a racing saddle is to gradually build up seat time, stoically ignore minor discomfort, and give the butt time to adjust and harden up. Eventually it does, and a hard ass does a lot more good than a soft saddle. Unicycles seem to be working that way for me too so far, but then I’ve made progress at riding much more slowly than you have. I wonder if it might just be that your riding skills are outpacing your backside’s ability to adapt at this point.
Are you talking about unicycle stuff or for bicycles? I was wondering about the unicycle related stuff. I’ve been searching for seat covers or at least pads that are made to fit over the unicycle seat…similar to the bike version I posted on the previous page. Couldn’t find any on typical unicycle websites I’ve been checking out. If you know some, a link would be neat. Buying a whole new saddle/seat to see if it’ll be comfortable isn’t really an option that I have.
How come they didn’t just make a nice comfy saddle so people won’t have to try so hard to adjust to the pain?
I remember the seat on my road bike, rode that thing for months and I never liked it.
I do practice like crazy when I can. Usually when I complain about pain, it’s because I was outside practicing for 3-4 hours on that day (the more stressed I am, the longer I stay outside…) At least at that point it becomes
unbearable, I can deal with the pain in the beginning but when I’m tired and more weight is in the seat, it becomes too much and I call it a day. The seat hurts even at the very beginning when I put all my weight to the back, it just gradually becomes more unbearable over time.
I’m just a bit impatient about painful stuff, I just find it hard to deal with the thought of having to get use to the pain.
Like…do we buy uncomfortable couches, chairs or beds in order to get use to them and hopefully have them be comfortable? Usually we go out and buy the most comfortable furnitures within our budget don’t we?
But so far the bell gel pad does help a lot though, we’ll see how it goes over time. Maybe I’ll improve enough to always sit straight even when hitting bumps.
