I know some of you do this, I think I’ve seen Jeff Groves, Ryan Atkins, and Ben PS (If you want me to write it out, get a proper name Ben :D) do it at UNICON.
I’m a trialsrider, and I’ve been looking for a way to get into railriding for quite a bit, especially after seeing that they play quite a part in trials, and that it opens up a lot of lines.
The question is, does slacklining improve your balance (and indirectly, your railriding) , or is it just a fun activity? Having seen a few slackliners, I think most of the balance comes from your hips, which is pretty much the same for railriding.
I haven’t slacklined on a real (taught) slackline setup, just ropes that I’ve found can support me as I -try to- walk along them.
For riding skinnies, it’s best to keep your eyes focused at the end of the skinny, rather than a few inches ahead of your wheel - maybe this is just for beginners, because it seems like Kris Holm can look straight down as he rides along a 1" pole.
There was a post a few months(?) ago about a guy that practiced for something like 12 years to be able to ride along a tightrope on his unicycle while pedaling with his hands (in a handstand position)!
And it’s Ben Plotkin-Swing 
That guy was on an Ultimate wheel too. 
Also, Tristan knows how to spell Ben’s name, he is joking around.
Mike
oh, hehe.
that would be so cool to uni on a tightrope while doing a handstand
that would be so cool to uni on a tightrope while doing a handstand
I can’t speak on behalf of a slackliner, but I can on behalf of an avid skinny rider 
From the videos I’ve seen of slacklining, it appears the entire body is used for maintaining balance… feet, legs, arms, etc. When riding a unicycle, one becomes constrained by the unicycle and cannot move their legs quite so much.
When riding on a skinny, I find that I can maintain balance best by moving my hips from side to side, in addition to the usual arm-and-hand-waving. I’m going to give the boring “just practice” response here, as I believe that skinny riding isn’t a skill that is well replicated by other activities such as rock climbing, freestyle walking, slacklining, etc.
I’d venture to say stillstand practice is the best for developing balance, especially for skinny riding. It forces you to use as much of your body as possible to maintain balance and position. You can also gain much skill by practicing constrained riding, such as riding as slowly as possible along the edge of a sidewalk.
Good luck! Let us know how you do!
FOr skinnies, still stand still stand still stand. If you watch Ryan or Kris riding a rail they are pretty much either doing tiny still stands or riding very slow. I’ve found that it helps to take it slow.
I’m sure slacklining helps, but with slacklines the line moves from side to side, it’s not taught (I guess, I haven’t done it) so it’s a different kind of balance, right?
From the video’s I’ve seen of slacklining (which isn’t a lot), I think the main source of balance is the hips, which is why I thought it’d fit into a skinny riding practice routine. Now that I can slightly walk the line, it’s also just a fun activity, so not all is lost. Guess I’ll just try to find a few skinnies and have at it then.
As a slacker, I would say that it does definitely help, as any balance type of activity would. But, a lot of the balance is lower body and being able to stand on one foot and use your whole body for balance. Though, as far as arms and upper body, it is quite similar… Slacking is fun, and very challenging (like riding skinnies!)
i have been wanting to get into slacklining and was wondering if it would help with bcing
hmm, I practice for riding skinnies by riding on curbs for long distances @ high speeds, I havn’t found a reasonably low skinny for riding yet, but I did get a 1"x2" board on my neighbors driveway, and rode down that a few times, and by the 3rd try I could ride down the whole thing w/o falling off
Isn’t it just something to work up to?
Re: Slacklining and skinnies
On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 09:53:25 -0500, swarbrim wrote:
>That guy was on an Ultimate wheel too. 
And it was a slackrope, not a tightrope.
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
“I’m slowly but surely stealing Wales and bringing it back to my house on the wheel, frame and cranks of my muni. - phil”
Ahh, of course. How could I have been so foolish.
Mike
so who’s going to ride the slacklines on the unicycle first?
insane
EDIT: try it without the tire on, it might work better
i think im gonna try bcing on a slackline