I got a very unexpected, but very welcome Xmas present; a 20" unicycle. So far I’m making slow but steady progress, racking up a few questions in the process. Here goes:-
I started indoors, doing what I now find is called ‘idling’. Hey, it’s winter and I knew no better. I’ve been doing what I think is called ‘circus idling’, around a horizontal pedal position, probably only moving 60 degrees each way. I discovered that this is thought to be harder than having the pedal vertical at the mid point and that I ought to be putting a full 180 degree stroke either side. Have I misunderstood something? This seems to move the wheel far too far for any natural ‘cadence’.
Having progressed outside, I’ve started to put in some fairly consistent 15’ runs, before I run out of paving slabs and onto the grass, at which point the wheel stops, surprise surprise, and I dismount forwards. I suppose it’s a question with an obvious answer at my skill level, but is there anything I can do to keep going? I’m snatching a few moments here and there to practice this, and I’d need to go further afield to use a bigger area.
3, and finallly. I’m having trouble with commitment. I know that in order to get going I’ve got to be leaning forward, but for some reason I’ve got a real brain-lock about it. I’m reduced to using a corner of a wall and the end of a trellis to ‘push off’ like a ski jumper. I’m fine(ish) once I’m going, but it’s a damn bad habit, I’m sure. What can I do to break the habit?
Any thoughts that you’d care to offer would be most welcome!
John, I too am a beginner. Just started at the end of last July. It took me FOREVER to get my 24" just down the block. For me there was two things I needed to do to get past there.
a. Practice trains the muscles to work more efficiently to maintain balance on the uni. There is no magic piece of wisdom that will bypass this. For people like me, you just gotta wanna…
Sounds like you need to start learning how to freemount. You’ll brain lock on this for a while too. Here’s what worked for me. I got me a 12" long 2x4 and put it behind my wheel to prevent it from rolling backwards. When you first start doing this the wheel goes backwards over it anyway. That means you’re putting too much pressure on the foot that is resting on the pedal when you start your mount. By using the 2x4 you can start dialing in how much pressure is needed to prevent that from happening. You can stick with the chock for a while to allow you to also practice on going distance. Don’t hang there too long though. When you want to wean yourself off find a thinner board and use it until you no longer roll backwards over it. Soon you’ll find that you can do a very nice static mount without any chock at all.
Then your brain unlocks and you wonder what all the fuss was.
Use the search button at the top of this site for the information you are looking for. That is what this site is all about. There is more info then you can assimilate in one reading, and answers to almost all of you questions are on this site!!
So for Freemounting, type in freemounting in the search bar, read it and practice, practice, practice.
Congrats on the venture into the wild, wild world of one-wheeling. We’re glad you could join us!
The horizontal idle is, indeed, more difficult than the vertical idle. In the vertical idle, one only needs to apply periodic downward pressure to one pedal to continue the idling motion (allowing for one-footed idling). In contrast, the horizontal idle requires that one apply pressure to both pedals throughout the “idle cycle.”
Don’t worry about the length of your “idle stroke”… the better you get at idling, the smaller your stroke gets… even as a beginner I never did a 180 degree stroke. With a smaller stroke you can manage to idle in a smaller area
Transitions can be tough for beginning riders… other than the advice you’ll hear to “practice, practice, practice” the only other thing I can tell you is to anticipate the transition and plan accordingly. It helps to push harder on the last pedal stroke before hitting the transition, to give you momentum through the transition. You may also want to rise off the seat slightly (put a little more weight on the pedals) to absorb the shock of the transition. Give these two things a try and let us know how it goes.
Free mount! It sounds like you’re riding already, so now’s the time to train yourself in the mount. Search around for some tips on the “static mount”, “roll-back mount” or “free mount” and start practicing. This is the mount where, without walls or railings, you simply step onto the unicycle and go.
BTW, don’t “lean” when you’re starting. Without getting into the physics of unicycling, you’re actually falling forward and pedaling to keep the uni underneath yourself. Sit up nice and tall, then fall forward. Just as you feel yourself falling, it’s time to start pedaling (unless you want to fall off!). The taller you can sit up, the easier it will be for you to balance.
I’m a beginner too, just started a few weeks ago. In the first thread I started, harper gave me some tips that have helped quite a bit. You can find that thread here. Matt is also a beginner who’s progressed quite rapidly, and has been keeping a journal of his progress with many, many tips for us beginners. You can find his journal here. I’m also keeping a journal of sorts in a blog that I started, though it’s more for entertainment of family and friends than for helping other beginners; if you’re interested, the URL is in my signature.
I’m also having the same trouble you’re having with stopping at a change in terrain (pavement-to-grass). For myself, I’m fairly certain that that trouble will decrease substantially (hopefully altogether!) once I feel like I’m in control at all times on the pavement, so I’m not worrying about it too much. I’ve moved to a park for my practice area, and I’ve got nice, long paths to stay on the pavement (when I don’t UPD onto the grass); you might try to find some larger/longer paved areas until you feel comfortable. Or maybe you need to try starting on the grass instead; I don’t think that would work for me, but everyone’s different.
In this thread, jsm posted this link, which has a video of idling. Hope that helps with the idle question; as for me, I’m a long way from idling!
I’m a beginner too, just started a few weeks ago. In the first thread I started, harper gave me some tips that have helped quite a bit. You can find that thread here. Matt is also a beginner who’s progressed quite rapidly, and has been keeping a journal of his progress with many, many tips for us beginners. You can find his journal here. I’m also keeping a journal of sorts in a blog that I started, though it’s more for entertainment of family and friends than for helping other beginners; if you’re interested, the URL is in my signature.
I’m also having the same trouble you’re having with stopping at a change in terrain (pavement-to-grass). For myself, I’m fairly certain that that trouble will decrease substantially (hopefully altogether!) once I feel like I’m in control at all times on the pavement, so I’m not worrying about it too much. I’ve moved to a park for my practice area, and I’ve got nice, long paths to stay on the pavement (when I don’t UPD onto the grass); you might try to find some larger/longer paved areas until you feel comfortable. Or maybe you need to try starting on the grass instead; I don’t think that would work for me, but everyone’s different.
In this thread, jsm posted this link, which has a video of idling. Hope that helps with the idle question; as for me, I’m a long way from idling!
Riding on grass is difficult. Try to stay on level, smooth surfaces. A tennis court is great if you have access to one. You can hold onto the chain link fence for support to get started.
Good comments from maestro8.
My theory about the most essential skill needed for riding is learning to turn the wheel smoothly. That only comes with repetition and practice. Your legs have to get used to doing the circular motion with control. The more you ride, the stronger your legs get and the more control your legs will have. Non-riders think this activity takes good balance. It just takes practice. If you can walk, you can do this. You don’t control the ride with your head so much as with your legs.
The transition from one surface to another is often associated with a bump. If the bump is up, you want your body motion to move up and not just forward. To accomplish this, you have to keep good, constant circular motion of the pedals and as you hit the bump, give just enough extra push with your legs to raise yourself over the bump. As maestro8 said, shift your weight to your legs just long enough to get over the bump. The tendency is to stop pedaling when you hit a bump and the result is to fall forward.
Most of all, hang in there. Keep practicing and it will get better.
I also received a unicycle (24") for Christmas and have been playing with it indoors. I can ride about 10’ before I have to transition into a wall. I’m getting quite good (too good) at jumping off! It’s too wet and rainy/windy around here to go outside, especially if you plan on falling down a lot.
Anyway, are you idling without holding on to anything?! I heard that idling is more difficult than ridding.
Well, it’s nice to know there are others in the begining stages. When I read these forums and hear about everyone going over Niagra Falls on a unicycle, I think I’m in the wrong forums. Keep us posted on your progress.
After awhile it’s not so much of a novelty… other than to work on another important unicycle skill: snappy comebacks to stupid comments. Do some searching on “where’s your other wheel” and you’ll find a plethora of witty responses.
