Some tips to help teach others to ride a unicycle

Riding Advice
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Just some tips if you want to teach people how to ride a uni:
THIS IS JUST MY EXPERIENCE FROM TEACHING PEOPLE
If you have other advice/tips on teaching someone, put it in this thread.
(or if you are trying to learn one yourself, but if you are learning how to ride one, this is for someone who has another person to help them)
I hope this helps us expand our population lol :joy:

  • GEAR- Always MAKE them wear a HELMET! (I don’t care if they don’t want to, they are going to. and if they refuse - which I don’t think they will but if they do, I’m not the one going to teach them how to, they can find another person to teach them or learn themselves) Wrist supports, knee (or knee/shin guards if you have them), elbow pads, and if you want ankle braces- they should be fine without those since they aren’t doing crazy tricks.

  • UNICYCLE SIZE- Start with your smallest unicycle- usually a 20 inch is good. Also depending on their age as well, if they are 12 or under I recommend a 16 inch or a 12 inch (if they are a like 6 and under)

  • MOUNTING- start out with them against a wall and you on the other side of them. I know having support on both sides isn’t the best but when first starting out I recommend that. I DEFINITLY RECCOMMEND keeping your foot in front of the tire when they first mount so the pedal doesn’t slip. If you’re holding them it’s not to much of a problem because you can just catch them but once they are doing it without you holding them and using just the wall, put your foot in front of the tire until they are able to mount safely and balanced.

  • AFTER THE MOUNT - once they get comfortable and are able to mount, have them sit there for a little bit (while holding them or having them against a wall) Let them get the feeling of just sitting on the seat.

  • DISMOUNT- I highly recommend once they learn to mount not to just go on to pedaling. They should know how to dismount safely, and once they start riding on, even if they lose their balance, they can try to save themselves by dismounting the right way (or as well as they can) but same thing with mounting, I put my foot in front of the tire to start out until they can do it balanced.

  • RIDING ON - have them use a wall to start with, have them have both hands on the wall/fence or whatever you’re using. Once they get comfortable with that, then have them use one hand on the wall and one holding the seat. Make sure that they switch their hands that are holding the seat, so they aren’t always relying on one side for balance.

  • NO WALL - Once they feel comfortable enough with the wall and you notice they aren’t leaning as much or relying on the wall as much have them ride off but make sure to hold them at first and then stay close by after they are doing better. if possible, try riding somewhere near grass or have them ride towards grass in case they fall.

Although I’ve never tried this before but using a walker (granny walker) could possibly help someone balance, but you don’t want them using it to much because it can start habits of leaning forward and then they’ll have trouble balancing without it. starting out with it to get use to the feeling. now Idk if this would actually work but try it out first before you make someone else do it lol.

  • OTHER TIPS - Take it slow! I know your friend/person ur teaching is going To want to just go fast and rush the process because they are excited! but don’t rush it! It is very different, and you have to be careful! Alot of times people wnat to learn and then they get hurt and then never want to ride/ learn again. i also recommend that the person doesn’t start peddling the day they learn to mount the unicycle. Wait a day and then the next time or day have them start learning to pedal. Or wait til the person can comfortably mount the uni and then start learning to pedal.

My sister learned how to ride one and taught me, she taught me how to get on and then said to just go for it. I would go for it and fall and she was like “just keep peddling” girl how am I supposed to keep peddling if I’m falling? But any who I learned eventually but not the best advice for someone starting out. I originally used my garbage cans to start riding, I would lean on them and rude around them until I got comfortable riding on.

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The first and most important skill is the emergency dismount. How to run out of the fall before becoming totally out of control. Elegant dismounts come much later. I recommend starting on grass. They won’t get half a revolution at first so the difficulty of riding on grass is irrelevant and it is a lot softer. Once they learn to do a couple of revolutions and can get off safely then move to a hard flat surface which will seem so easy after their initial attempts on grass.

Holding onto things teaches clinging. Spend no more than a few minutes getting the feeling of the unicycle while holding something so they know how to steer with pressure on the nose of the saddle from their thighs… Get away from walls and ride into the open from a backstop that prevents the wheel rolling backwards. Put pressure on the rear pedal, lean both the rider and unicycle as far forward as possible, step up with the other foot and rapidly bring the unicycle up to speed.

Do not try to be too upright. The main balance technique is to pivot at the hips, keeping the unicycle wheel under the rider’s centre of gravity. Think of the unicycle as part of your legs and pivot the upper body at the hips. Controlling the wheel speed is also part of it but a novice can’t respond fast enough.

Pivoting at the hips is similar to what a child does when they first learn to stand. Adults do it too but the movements are so tiny as to be imperceptible.

Do you know anyone who learned to ride a bicycle by first learning how to still stand? Like a bike, a unicycle is easier to ride when it is moving at a considerable speed. Mounting is an advanced skill. Learn how to ride first by steering the unicycle towards the direction the rider is falling. (Also the same a bicycle.)

The mantra, "put the wheel where you would put your foot when walking can help some novices.

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So I only had my friend do a still stand only once just so she could get the feeling of the unicycle. I don’t recommend doing this more than once. I did that for her because I wanted her to learn the feeling of just being on a unicycle (and I know that still stands isn’t always the best way)

Like when she finally learned how to mount the uni, she was able to balance better while holding a wall because of the still stand. Bikes and unicycles are very different, with a bike you can have your feet off the pedals while sitting on the saddle, while on a unicycle you can’t do that which is why I do the still stand so then once they are mounting with a wall they know the feeling of just sitting on a uni.

And I also forgot to mention in the original post that I did show her how to do an emergency dismount, because I know when you are a beginner rider you aren’t going to fall gracefully or balanced, you’re going to be all over the place.

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Very good topic. I am starting to remember many early injuries, and that is directly related to how I learned when I was a beginner. I will be adding more info, and try to help keep this topic at the top.

…slam

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There are 3 types of beginners:

  1. Hesitant and afraid, but “want” to learn. Especially, after sitting on a unicycle for the first time.

  2. The “control freak” who wants to master every “little detail” and not get “overcome” by all the brand new sensations of sitting on a unicycle.

  3. The “go for it” or just “impatient type” who just wants to let go of the wall and go.

Well, the first 2 types, would actually just be happy rocking back and forth holding something like a wall or door way. This is actually the “best way” to learn, but as long as you don’t get bored. Listen to your body, pay attention to action/reaction. Even though you are not going anywhere you can learn": a.) reflex, body movement and balance.

The 3rd type you don’t even need to worry about. The only reason this person hasn’t tried it yet, is because you he/she coiuldn’t find/buy/borrow a unicycle. They are on their way to at least “try” it.

a.) I’m curious how many people are type 1, 2 or 3 who are in this forum and can ride the unicycle.

b.) How many of you in this forum “quit” and what type were you?

researching…slam

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My cautionary tale of anti-tips for teaching others to ride a unicycle, ending with a painful bruised tailbone: I’m trying to add to the population of unicyclist - #2 by unitortoise

I think this was another variation of “beginner type #3”. In this case the friend hadn’t had the interest to seek out trying before, but maybe went into it with too much confidence in his own abilities (and/or my teaching abilities). The blame definitely lies with me for not taking a more cautious approach (and insisting on more safety precautions like starting with support on both sides), but as a would-be teacher this is another kind of student to watch out for.

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I was mostly a type 3 but only certain parts of it, i was also a “Go for it” but not in a impatient way, I knew the process was going to take awhile. I was very motivated to learn but knew not to rush it.
My friend was most DEFINITLY a type 1! But once she got on she turned into a type 3 lol! She wanted to go backwards before she could even go forward! I’m like girl, you can’t even mount hunny
I never really thought of it by “different types” but it makes a lot of sense!

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I think the division into three types is far too simplistic. I also disagree about hanging onto things being the best way to learn.

I learnt by riding out into the open from a backstop. It took me two weeks of trying for an hour almost every day getting a little further each day. The breakthrough came when I realised the advice I had taken from the internet about being very upright as was very wrong and began to understand the dynamics involved. The summer evening it clicked I just kept trying over and over even though it was raining gently.

Ultimately the learner’s commitment to being able to ride is the vital ingredient. I just kept at it until I could do it despite the fact the uni I learnt on was far too short for me.

Six months after I learned, I taught my two adult sons using what I well understood by then. The elder one was (32 at the time) was riding my trials uni ten metres across my front lawn after about twenty minutes in the saddle. The younger (27 years) wasn’t as committed on the day but showed some promise. He got it on the next session in about an hour.

I taught a third guy in under an hour some time later. The fourth person was absolutely terrified of falling and gave up after the first session.

Another gave it a go last year. He was doing a couple of revolutions and showed some promise after about half an hour. He was considerably taller than me and started with the seat quite low for him. I believe he would have been riding soon after if he would have just let me put the seat higher. He lacked any commitment after the first session.

A very important factor is to get over the fear of falling which is why the emergency dismount is the first thing to learn.

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The fear of falling

That is a great point. For many of us advanced riders that stay within our skill limits falling becomes rare. It’s only when we push ourselves to learn a new skill, does the probably become greater. Then we fall.

You actually hit on two big topics:
a.) The fear of falling or injury. Psychology.
b.) The actual fall and what happened. Mechanics.

I want to cover the mechanics first.
Cuz, if you don’t fall you got nothing to fear. Right!!!

Not to brag. Yes, I am. I haven’t taken any bad falls in a long time. So, if I want to really help beginners learn about this, I need to get back into my time machine(go back 8 years). Or, just “force myself” to fall. Watch, observe, experiment and articulate.

However, this is what I remember the various ways of falling both unintentional and intentional. I would invite everyone to reply with their own experience or advice:

1.) The “kickout” when you put weight on the “back pedal” and the unicycle shoots out behind you. Suddenly, you fall straight down, and not with feet planted on ground. Nope. Feets following the unicycle. What do you land on? Knees, front of your body, hands, elbows, chin, face,…

Once, I landed on asphalt with my knee caps trying to execute the “popular” standard 3 & 9 o’clock free mount. Fk it no more, that’s when I totally dedicated myself to the rock back idle mount.

2.) The “step off” method of falling. The best way to fall. I don’t even consider this a fall or a UPD. It’s a coordinated stepping off dismount. Say, you are riding and pedaling, then you feel something weird or consciously think “get off”. Next, the unicycle is lying on the ground behind you and you are either stand up or walking forward. What happened? Your body/mind/reflex all worked together to “disconnect” your body from the unicycle like a machine.

This is an “intentional” fall off the unicycle. If you think about the steps to execute this properly. It is machinelike. Must be done “precisely” . It happens when your feet is exactly at the 3 o’clock position(as it is going to 6 o’clock). Not at 6(going to 9 o’clock…foot will be behind you and your body will be flat on the ground). Not at 12 o’clock (you will “rise” and launch yourself up).

This is “unintentionally learned” from the experience of riding and falling many times. I don’t remember ever reading anything from this website or youtube video about this subject. However, I believe this could easily taught and drilled into a beginner, so that he can do this “before he can even ride” as a reflex.

3.) The “front fall” We all know this and felt this. You are riding along, then somehow the unicycle “stops” all of a sudden(hit bump, curb drop, gopher hole,…etc). What happens next? Nothing you can do. Body moves forwards minus unicycle. You know the feeling just before the rollercoaster goes down with gravity. (Hello 32.2 ft/s^2 or 9.81 m/s)

Maybe you can tuck into a judo roll, but if you have to consciously think/decide/execute? Too late. Nope here’s what happens. Our hands and arms reach forward. Fingers open up to “try” to catch ourselves. As, if our hands can make us perfectly land without a scratch. Hello, sprained, broken fingers and wrists.

4.) The “backwards fall”. This is extremely rare for intermediates and experts, because when we fall back, we instinctively/reflexively “freeze” our pedals and everything(body, unicycle) whips forward from momentum. It’s an instantaneous transfer of linear to angular momentum.

Again this is not something the beginner knows how to do, but again, I believe this can be trained, drill and learned to become an automatic saving reflex.

5.) Finally the “straight down collapse” fall, which happens to both beginners and advanced riders. For beginners when they don’t know how to step off the unicycle(actually “when” to step off in terms of the pedal clock position). Happens somewhere between stepping off pedal, too early or too late.

For advanced/intermediates trying to “hang on/save” a trick you will typically miss, lose or bad time your pedal landing. Then you go straight down. Now falling straight down may not sound bad, but if your foot, ankle, leg position is not where it should be that 1-2 ft fall from riding position to the ground = instant sprain, twist, dislocation,…etc. Remember it’s your body weight and a lever(foot, leg, or whole body) can create “bone breaking” torque.

Anyways, I didn’t realize there is so much detail and verbage to cover this subject. I think I’ve only scratched 10% of it. This can easily be created into 2 categories:
a.) Beginner falls
b.) Intermediate/advanced falls or UPD’s
c.) Also, back to the “psychology” fear of falling.

…slam

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I have had a variety of painful falls. Straight down at take off on a 20 with no protection was among the worst. I was riding to work after dropping of my car for repairs. My usual ride was 29 so the 20 was a piece of cake, or so I thought.

I suspect my uniform trouser leg caught on the axle end of the crank.

They say it isn’t the fall but the sudden stop that hurts, and stops don’t came any more sudden than straight down. It happens so fast.

Wrist was sore for a few weeks but I recon I cracked a rib or strained the connection between them somehow. It hurt for months.

Stepped off the front of my 36 on a steep downhill after locking the brake. It is a very long way down. My heel hurt for many weeks.

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I’m always curious about the magnitude of injury from a “true fall” from a big wheel. Especially moving at speeds above 10mph. Simple helmet and knee pads just doesn’t seem enough. As, you are falling is there any attempt to tuck/roll or hands out so you can fall flat on your stomach?

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I’ve stepped the 36 doing about 25 kph. Unfortunately my running speed is well short of that. One giant step then super-manning down the tarmac.

I wear knee and elbow sliders and Hillbilly full finger gloves. They have huge sliders in the palms integrated with one of the double wrist splints. The grooves in them are testimony to their effectiveness. I got up with a minor scratch on my arm.

Hips are protected with 25 mm thick high density foam hip pads inside my shorts.

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So fun fact, I recently broke my right wrist and sprained my other wrist on my 36er. I go about 15mph (25kph) on that thing, I have done cross country unicycling for 4 years now so you think “oh, well I’ve been doing it for awhile I shouldn’t fall” NOOOO!!! (at least for me) I was wearing hand guards but still managed to break off a fragment of bone off my unler bone or something like that-i don’t understand medical terms.
I have also had other injuries from my 36er as well, I fell on my knee, I displaced the knee cap, bruised the bone, and stressed a ligament but I ended up riding a mile and a half home with my injured knee lol. And I also sprained my ankle as well, but I still rode my unicycle the next day haha.
Usally when I fall or start to fall I put my right hand out to try to “catch” myself, I’m left handed so I don’t mind breaking that one (literally), but even wearing all the gear you possibly can, you can still get injured. Now wearing gear may help prevent a severe injury but from what happened to me, you can still get hurt pretty bad.
But I guess I can say I’ve had a “true fall”

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the foam pads are actually smart! I’ve never heard of that! I’mma go look into that, thanks!

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I put the squares of foam in calico coin bags. They go inside my shorts and the extra length of the bag folds over the waist band.

I believe they saved me from serious injury when I came straight down on concrete with my hip while negotiating a curve on my 29. There was a fine layer of fine wet silt on the concrete path after a flood had inundated it. It was a very familiar bend I always took at considerable speed and lean.

It was very painful and I had over four kilometres to get home. I could barely walk but fortunately riding hurt less than walking. I recon I would have broken my hip without the pad.

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A quick “wheel slip” happens very suddenly you cannot prepare or do a judo roll. Especially, if this is normal route and should have been routine. However, it is very rare, so many would eventually “forget” or “stop” wearing protection, because that is our habit. I know I would.

However, something similar happened to me on my 24". Just slowly riding over sand next to a nice concrete river trail. Perfect surfaces bore me, so I would move over the sand, and rocks. BOOM, I was on the ground so quickly. I was too casual when I went off road, usually I totally focused and all weight on my feet/pedals for instant “feeling of strangeness”, which I could counter and save instantly. Nope, but a straight down drop on the unicycle from a 24" yields minimal injury.

I guess the “judgement” to ride a smaller unicycle is a strategic one, and already lowers the potential for injuries. So, if I ever decided to go bigger, I “hope” I would have the sense to add protection. However, I am an old skateboarder and I like the “sense” of conquering the physics and dynamics to do a trick, and once done it becomes “habit”. Until, something unexpected, right?

…slam, boom…

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