>Ok, I ran into another question, is it better to have the seat too high,
>or too low?
What harper said (after the joke) is the common wisdom for learners,
and mostly for distance and freestyle riders. MUni and especially
trials riders prefer to have the seat lower. Kevin (tugboat) is an
extreme example of that.
Oh and if a question is completely new (as opposed to a sequel on the
original one) it would be better to start a new thread. (I think.)
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
“Friends don’t let friends drop to flat - Kris Holm, discussing large drops to flat ground.”
I get the point, start a new thread, I think you’ve told me this before.
I’m not sure how I ride, like if i’m distance, trials, ect. So far I can just ride straight and turn, and I wanna ride backwards and idle. So i’m thinking i’ll lower my seat so my knees are a little more bent when they’re out as far as they can go, and see if that feels different.
> >Ok, I ran into another question, is it better to have the seat too high,
> >or too low?
>
For learning to ride backwards or for long distance riding, I think
it’s better to have the seat up. Putting the seat down requires your
knees to be bent more and causes your thigh muscles to tighten up.
It’s also easier to idle with the seat higher. I’d suggest setting
the seat where your knees are slightly bent when your pedal is turned
to the lowest point.
A good way to learn riding backwards is to start going forward slowly.
Focus on control and put your weight as much over the axle as
possible. Come to a stop, pause for a moment, lean back and push down
with your rear foot. When you stop, make sure your forward pedal is
down but slightly forward. This is the pedal you “push off” with to
start going backwards. It’s forward position is actually relative to
how fast you’re stopping and leaning back to initiate going backwards.
When you’re ready, push off with the forward foot and push down with
the rear foot. This lets you abort your attempt at going backwards if
you don’t feel balanced right when you stop. Putting your hands out
behind and to the side of you is helpful too. Be prepared to fly off
the unicycle and onto your back a few times. Keep your head off the
ground when you fall. I’ve fallen off my 6’ a couple of times while
riding it backwards and it wasn’t fun!
Well I got to ride a little bit today, inside, it’s a bit snowy around here. I tried riding with my seat down a little more, then I put it up and made my legs less bent, did that a few times. Last time I rode I think I was back to where I usually ride, I’m pretty sure I liked that better. It’s more of a jump to get on, but thats ok. I’m just a little concerned that my seats too extended, it’s like a 200 mm seat post, and i’ve only got like an inch and a half inside the other post.
Oh yeah, and so you’s don’t think i’m chicken to ride in the snow, I did before I left. I just rode around the parking lot, cautiously, cause I didn’t know what to expect, it wasn’t bad. Two guys I work with were leaving and the one said he wasn’t gonna drive me to the hospital, and he didn’t, it was fun : )_
Hey Supertones - if you only have an inch and half of seatpost in the frame then you may want to think about getting a longer post (300mm instead of 200mm). The potential danger is that you could deform the frame where the seatpost enters.
Thank you Knowfear, I was a bit concerned it might do something like that, I do have a 300 mm seat that I got first, I ride it all the way down though. Thank you also everyone else who shared their wisdom with me, everyone except harper who put my one perfectly reasonable question in his sig line, I think he’s makeing fun of me * cries* wahahahahahahahaha!