Riding up hills?

Riding Advice
1

Just recently I got a brand new 24" Sun unicycle, to learn stuff on until I break it. Today I decided I would try my hand at a littl Muni. I stole my sisters mountain bike so I could have a somewhat knobbly wheel. So I took everything apart and put it back together then I went to the trails behind the local Y, to my disappointment I was unable to ride up steep hills. I can ride down them just not up. I was wondering if there are any special techniques that I should be using. I also just learned to freemount last night and I can do it pretty much everytime I try. Also what is fun and easy that I should learn to do?

Thanks

   Alex
2

Re: Riding up hills?

In article <ajp529.okzym@timelimit.unicyclist.com>,
ajp529 <ajp529.okzym@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
)
)Just recently I got a brand new 24" Sun unicycle, to learn stuff on
)until I break it. Today I decided I would try my hand at a littl Muni. I
)stole my sisters mountain bike so I could have a somewhat knobbly wheel.
)So I took everything apart and put it back together then I went to the
)trails behind the local Y, to my disappointment I was unable to ride up
)steep hills. I can ride down them just not up. I was wondering if there
)are any special techniques that I should be using. I also just learned
)to freemount last night and I can do it pretty much everytime I try.
)Also what is fun and easy that I should learn to do?

Riding up steep hills, off-road, on a unicycle is pretty difficult.
Some would say that even once you can do it, it’s not worth the
effort. In any case, you’ll do a lot better at it with a real MUni
(24x3.0" tire) than with a typical mountain bike tire.

It sounds like you’re doing great for a new unicyclist; just look for
downhill trails for MUni.
-Tom

3

When I first tried steep hills I found them impossible, with practice they get a lot easier.

Tips.

  1. I found that I had to lean more forwards than I expected, if you’re not leaning into the hill your momentum stops and you lose it.

  2. Zig zagging; both in the sense that if heading straight up is beyond you, it may be possible to do it if you go up at an angle, and, if you do go straight up a good technique is to munch up, 1/2 rev at a time with the wheel zig zagging on each 1/2 rev.

  3. Pulling up on the seat can help a little, it was a long time before I could use this as I needed the extra balance I got from being able to wave my arms about. Seat holding is invaluable on rough terrain, especially when coming downhill.

The main thing is practice, if you’re lucky enough to have a steep hill on your run I’d suggest attempting it at least once each time you go out.

4

Here’s one thread on hill climbing:
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24685&highlight=hill+climbing

I rode up the same hill I mentioned in that thread today on my muni. It’s got a 24" x 3" Gazz and 145mm cranks and I found it just as good for hill climbing as my 20".

Andrew

5

Unicycling up hill is hard work, and is probably done more for the challenge than for any practical benefits. It will always be quicker and less tiring to walk up a steep hill than to ride up.

That said, we all go for it, because you’ve got to, haven’t you. ;0)

So, here’s a few ideas:

The Rush
For a very short but steep hill (such as you might find on a BMX track) ride at the hill good and fast. You may need to let the wheel run slightly ahead of you as you hit the slope, otherwise you will fall off the front of the uni. The uni should flow up the hill because of the momentum gained before you started to climb. This sort of thing is really good fun. When it works, it’s like dancing on one wheel.

The Drive
On a long steady hill, just get your head down and pedal fast and smooth. Concentrate on keeping the speed up. It is possible to get up quite steep and long hills just with determination and drive.

The Zigzag
On a steep hill, it is possible to flatten the effective gradient by turning the unicycle about 45 degrees to the slope with each pedal stroke. This means that the uni changes from 45 degrees to the right, to 45 degrees to the left (swinging through an arc of 90 degrees) in a series of short sharp movements. The path of the uni across the ground is almost straight. This technique works for the last few metres of a steep hill when you’re absolutely determined to get to the top.

Tactical hill climbing
I find this great fun. Find a landscaped area with a variety of hills, slopes, saddles, ridges and so on, and then pick a route up, angling across the steeper slopes, traverising across the very steep sections, gaining momentum on the flat sections. Eventually, you can get quite a lot of elevation, just by picking your route carefully.

Generally, you will need to stay in the seat when ‘driving’ up a hill, but as soon as you start to lose momentum, you will need to stand on the pedals. You will probably need to hold the front of the seat with one hand to stop it falling out from between your thighs.

It is possible to gain some extra power by pulling up on the seat, thus pulling your weight down onto the pedal.

Alternatively, especially with a handle, you can hold the uni steady, and sort of throw your weight up onto the top pedal and stomp it down, a bit like when you’re standing up on a bicycle.

Uphill is tiring and slow, but it can be rewarding, and it certainly impresses the public. Downhill is a lot easier.

6

Riding up steep hills is as much about technique and balance as fitness. Actually I think technique is more important than fitness.

The technique comes with practice.

One technique is to learn to be able to pause your pedaling slightly while the pedals are horizontal. This slight pause gives you a slight moment of rest so you don’t blow up while trying to sprint up the hill. The slight pause is similar to the rest step technique that climbers and hikers use when walking up a steep slope (do a Google on “rest-step climbing” to find out more). This pausing is easier with longer cranks. With short cranks you need to keep the wheel moving more and pausing is more difficult.

It is also important to think about pedaling in a circle as you are climbing. There is a tendency to start mashing on the pedals when you climb and you end up pedaling in a square. At the bottom of the stroke point your toes downward and scrape your foot backwards like you’re scraping mud off the bottom of your shoe. Also work on lifting your leg up on the back stroke instead of letting the front leg lift your back leg. The technique of pointing your toes downward at the bottom of the stroke is known as “ankling”. It’s very useful while climbing because it gives you power to get through the dead spot at the bottom of the pedal stroke and it helps to keep you pedaling in a circle rather than a square.

Learning the right rhythm is also important. As is learning how hard and fast you can go before you “blow up”.

Balance is also very important because you are going slowly when climbing and often end up pausing slightly. You’ll also often be holding the front of the seat with one hand so you’ll only have one hand free to wave around for balance corrections.

When the slope gets too steep you can turn sideways and “peck” your way up the slope. Pecking is doing small side hops to get up a slope.

It’s practice. I do OK on climbs, but I don’t consider myself to be a good climber. I’m not very good at making it up steep difficult slopes and my body fails me on long climbs. But as I practice more I get better.

Good mountain bikers can generally make it up steeper slopes than a muni. Mountain bikes have the advantage of being able to get more momentum and maintain that momentum during the climb. On a muni you often stall out on a steep climb and completely loose all momentum. I’m not very good at mountain biking but even I can make it up short steep slopes on my MTB that I find to be very difficult or impossible on my muni.

Practice climbing hills on pavement before trying hills off-road. Pavement hills are easier.

Here’s a little something about climbing from the “Tips & Techniques” section on Muniac.com
<http://www.muniac.com/tips.htm#inclines>

7

I’ve made an attempt to physically explain that in <http://www.xs4all.nl/~klaasbil/lean_uni.htm>

Klaas Bil

8

John and Mikefule’s advice is great as is Mike King’s at the muniac.com site. Mike King’s video has some very good footage of expert uphill climbs.

I estimate uphill to be 20-30x harder than downhill for the same section of terrain. Not only do you have the aerobic/strength challenge, but the balance is much more difficult.

That just makes it more interesting!

One-footed riding with each foot will vastly improve your ability to roll uphill. Then, learn to 1-foot uphill with each foot.

If you walk up all the hills you are really missing out on a good time.

9

hills the liz way…

i just take a deep breath and charge up the hill as fast as i can go!:stuck_out_tongue: