I’m told that holding on to the seat is a good thing to do in the development of unicycle skills. I’ve started holding on to the seat but at this stage it feels a bit awkward.
I am right handed and I’m holding on with my left hand and use my right arm to help with balance. Should I be exchanging hands to hold on to the seat? Is one hand the dominant seat hand for most of you?
:thinking:Holding the seat gives you a better connection with the unicycle. It also makes many types of riding easier. That is why, in some instances, it is considered more “studly” to not hold on.
I am right handed and also hold with my left hand. This habit was developed in my early days of riding, because my faster right hand was better at catching my old Schwinn seat before it could hit the ground and get ripped up.
But it is best if you are comfortable with either hand on the seat, so you won’t be stuck using one side all the time. I still have to work on getting used to using my right hand on there.
Re: Seat Holding?
I find that it does not matter what hand you use. I tend to alternate depending on what way I am turning. But when i ride one-footed i don’t hold the seat.
-Budd-
I favour my right hand bigtime.
When I was learning, I also kept trying to hold on ad ride at the same time. I remember finding it difficult and I’d always end up falling to the direction of the arm I was holding it with.
I ignored holding onto the seat for ages because I was running a viscount and my hands hurt to hold onto the seat. I learnt to roll of curbs without holding onto the seat.
Then I got a miyata and started hanging on to hop and go off drops and everything suddenly became easier…but I still found it difficult just to ride along holding onto the seat. I found that the more hopping, dropping, jumping I did on it he easier it got to hang on when I was just riding along.
Now hanging on comes in real handy (sorry for the pun) when going up steep hills, down steep hills, and adjusting the ‘boys’ on the saddle…
I’ve been doing a lot of practice climbing hills recently, and have found holding (and pulling up on) the seat provides a lot of additional leverage for pumping up the steeper hills. Can’t claim discovery on that one…just watched the pros climbing and tried to imitate.
I find it’s important to also get a swinging rhythm going with my free arm. I’m right-handed, and so far I find I get a more comfortable rhythm going and can climb steeper hills when holding with my right hand. I’ve been trying to work it with either hand, but find myself always going to the right hand when the hill gets steep.
TB
Holding the seat
In the past I never used to hold the seat for one footing, but since I started riding the 3" wide Gazzaloddi I found that holding the seat provides more stability. I agree with John that it gives a better connection to the unicycle. Similarly riding one footed with a foot on the frame also makes it more stable. I find that with my foot extended if I don’t hold the seat then the unicycle feels a lot more wobbly since theres only two points of contact, one pedal and the seat. Holding the seat handle gives a third point of contact for extended-leg one footing and increases the feel of being connected.
i find it easier to…
i find it easier to not hold on to the seat coz i use my arms 2 help me balance,
(even tho i look lik ei’m imitating an aeroplane who cares?)
Re: i find it easier to…
Once you improve your general riding balance, you’ll find you don’t need to wave your arms around all the time, which means you can grab the seat. Being able to balance with just your body is also handy if you want to do tricks on the uni, or juggle, or get stuff out of your rucksack, or eat sushi or whatever.
As for the seat holding, it’s an essential skill to learn for riding offroad. Any point when you go unexpectedly down a drop, or you’re riding steep downhill and need to slow down or just riding up steep uphills, having your hand on the seat will help you not to crash, simple as that.
Joe
holding onto the seat (when going over rough terrain, and climbing hills) far outweighs the 2 arms for balance, you just need to practice.
Whenever you are riding along the flat, perhaps just out for a ride, or to the trail, or whatever, whenever you have ‘freetime’ while on your unicycle, ride with your hanss behind your back. This will make you steer by only using your shoulders, and will vastly improve your balance in a very short time
When you WW do you hold your seat? I cant figure out how to WW and I was wondering if i should hold my seat?
-Budd-
Don’t hold your seat when you wheel walk. You will want both arms for flailing about to maintain balance since you lose that element from torquing the axle with your legs.
whats it like wheelwalking with that crazy hub of yours?
I hold my seat alot for releaving pressure on the scrotum
Being a guy i usually dont just roll off curbs without holding on to my seat.
wheel walking is hard!!!
I noticed The Complete Book of Unicycling had a drawing of wheel walking with seat out back, so once the flailing is under control, you can try that one.
Wear snug fitting lycra cycling shorts and you won’t have to worry about crushing your nuts when riding off curbs. As long as I’m wearing cycling shorts I can ride off a curb in any pedal position without holding the seat and without risking any nut damage. And that is with my freestyle unicycle with a high seat height. Cycling shorts are a good thing.
Padded cycling shorts also make it more the saddle more comfortable and minimize chafing.
Oh, and you wear cycling shorts next to the skin (no underwear underneath).
All of the trousers and pants I own have seams on the inside of the leg. I think this must contribute to saddle soreness as well as to the demise of the trousers. I don’t think I would ever consider wearing skintight Lycra as it would make me feel uncomfortable. Usually I don’t care about my image much but being one of the “Men in Tights” would be out of the question for me. I have tried putting leather patches on the inseam of some Jeans. This prolonged their life for a while but the patches weren’t big enough and they wore through around the edges. Probably the best bet for me would be some sort of Mountain Biking or BMXing shorts or trousers which have heavy duty materials like Kevlar and hopefully no seam along the inside of the leg. As for crunching the nuts I hold the seat and stand up on the pedals when dropping down stuff. Curbs are not a problem though as the Gazzaloddi goes both down and up curbs without holding the seat if you feel that way inclined.
Re: Seat Holding?
On Thu, 15 May 2003 20:22:18 -0500, evilewan
<evilewan.nhzkb@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
>whats it like wheelwalking with that crazy hub of yours?
Methinks it wouldn’t matter a thing other than that the cranks are
‘flailing’ a bit slower.
The symbol on the pound key (#) is called an octothorpe.
Re: Seat Holding?
On Fri, 16 May 2003 00:51:11 -0500, iunicycle
<iunicycle.nic2d@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
>I noticed The Complete Book of Unicycling had a drawing of wheel
>walking with seat out back, so once the flailing is under control, you
>can try that one.
Hmmm, a drawing, so not a photo. Has anyone ww’ed with seat out back?
The symbol on the pound key (#) is called an octothorpe.
I almost always wear baggy shorts over the lycra cycling shorts. That avoids the Robin Hood men in tights look.
There are BMX, DH, and freeride outer shorts that do well over lycra cycling shorts. Another advantage to wearing shorts over the lycra is that the outer shorts will protect the lycra shorts from getting ripped up in a crash.
I prefer wearing separate lycra shorts and over shorts. I don’t like the integrated MTB shorts that have a lycra liner sewn in. The integrated shorts are more of a pain to wash, take longer to dry, and the inner liner is not as good of quality as you can get in a separate cycling short.
There are lots of choices for a loose over short. For a casual look Gramicci shorts are nice. I can get Gramicci stuff at REI. Roach shorts are nice for muni. You can cut down military pants that you get at a surplus store. Fox makes some good over shorts. Lots of choices. Just avoid shorts and jeans where you are sitting right on a big fat seam.