Well I’m finally back in the saddle, after about 5-1/2 months of going without a uni–I finally got the funds, and the bug is back.
I’ve just started to get into rolling hops with my KH20" Pro, with Profiles, and tilted seat, and I was wondering how I might be able to get higher rolling hops. I find that I often cop-out at trying bigger stuff, so I really don’t know where I can push the limits. I know from riding with some trials bicyclist around Western Michigan University that I can get 20" of air on flat ground.
How can I increase my confidence? I’ve only been back riding, with a new unicycle mind you, for a little over a month, with about two dozen practice sessions within that. I’ve been trying to get all my skills back. Should I be more patient, and keep practicing? Will the length rolling hops, and height rolling hops increase on their own that way? Are their techniques I can use so that someday I might be able to confidently roll hop onto a picnic table?
Right now I’ve been concentrating on everything at once: balance, still stand, trials consistency (excess hop removal), riding skinnies, mounting skinnies for future rail riding, rolling hops (long/up), learning pedal grabs (which I got onto a concrete ledge today that had a beveled top edge (so only 2/3 of my pedal were on it) and that was about 36" high).
So am I trying for too much at once? Are there real techniques on cycle, and off that I can use to get used to the feel of rolling hops, whether for distance, or height?
Thanks for your time,
Evan,
the wants-to-be-an-expert-trials-rider-all-at-once unicyclist.
I like how you’re approaching your riding. There’s no limit to how much you can practice at once, as long as you don’t detract from other important skills. A 36" pedalgrab is pretty good.
A rolling hop on a uni is no different from a running jump on your feet, except thqat you have a wheel under you and you can’t go as fast, and it’s tons more intimidating. A few hints and things I’ve noticed:
Aprehension before a big rolling hop is absolutely natural, and is generally reasonable, to a degree. I can do about 32-33" rolling, but I still get nervous on stuff as low as 29". Don’t ignore this feeling. There’s a reason it’s there. But on the other hand, don’t let your riding be dominated by it. Sometimes it’s helpful to learn things bit by bit, by working your way up. i landed my record rolling hop by increasing the height 1/2-1" at a time. Another thing I use to manage my fear is to remember how I will fall if I don’t make it. I have around a 99% success rate when I go for rolling hops, all the way up to about 31". Past that, the number drops to a decent 80%. This means that I don’t have experince falling. I have to remind myself that if I don’t make the height, the worst thing to happen will be that I hit my wheel on the object and I fall forward, without much injury. This makes me commit more to the hop and more successful.
When doing rolling hops, a good way to do it is to measure your pedals so that you are absolutely sure that they will line up. You should make roling hops have as little distraction as possible. A good rule of thumb I use for measurement is that I will leave the ground at a distance equal to the height of the object. Honestly. This means that I will be jumping from as far out as 32" for hops bove 30". It’s wierd, but it really works.
P.S. I also have a copy of this series of frames that’s a bit of double the size if anyone wants it. It will eventually go up at www.unicycle.2ya.com anyway.
uhhh… Thanks. I don’t know if it should neccessarily be put on an advice site, although the general themes I talk about are fine. But either way, I’m gald it was helpful. BTW, Andrew, if you wanna put it on your site for some reason, I won’t stop you.
Andrew: I’ve been waiting to see that frame by frame. What amazes me is how Dan jumps off of his rim, not the bounce of his tire. He rides around 15 psi, so when he jumps his rim bottoms out. More pressure in his tire would give him more bounce, but I’m not one to talk, sicne he can jump higher and better than I.
So what I gather I need to work on is springing upward. When I spring up, do I pull the seat up towards me (towards crotch area) for extra height?
So, crouch, spring up when I’m as far back as the object is tall , and tuck in, while swinging my free arm down towards my object.
I imagine the learning progression is slow–especially during the long periods of cold weather I have here in Michigan. I think part of my inability to be confident in it, is that I’m going upwards, when leaning and springing forwards seems natural since I’m travelling forwards–and also the speed of the process involved. Maybe by the end of next summer I’ll be at about 30". That’s my goal.
