Does a jump mount work on a 36er? I never really learned to properly freemount. I found the most consistent way to mount is to hold the saddle against my crotch and take a step and jump up onto the pedals almost simultaneously. It seems like a cross between a rolling mount and a jumpmount and I mount almost 100% of the time. I have never tried a 36er so I don’t know if that would work for me on a uni that size.
Do you have smaller uni’s to practice a rolling mount?
I moved from rolling mounts on 24 to 29 to 36 (125cm), and didn’t find too much of a transition.
I still can screw up the mount on the 36" on occasion. More often than not, it is a foot placement issue since the pedals I have now are very “sticky” in comparison to the Odyssey.
I hate mounting with my foot too far forward, (or uneven) and trying roll the pedal over or trying to squirm my foot into position, since my shoes really stick to the new (sealed bearing) pedals, and I have a hard time up-weighting my foot to release it off the pedal and re-seat it again. That is something I have to work on a bit!!
I mount with the strong foot pedal back, but really don’t put much weight at all on that foot, and it’s more of a timing thing, as my weight is moving forward anyway, and quickly on to my leading (front) foot, so that I can keep the “mo” moving forward.
I’ve had my 36" for about a 5 weeks (or so) and have about 700 kms on my GPS.
During this experience with road uni, I’ve gradually cranked the saddle down, by about 1/2 a turn for each trial, to being quite flat now.
The other issue that has bothered me is the length of the crotch padding on the “cycle” shorts, and I feel (in my taint) that the padding could probably be go up a few more inches for me - although I’m kind of getting used to the numbness… Has anyone modified cycle shorts for a “uni” app?
…but I was kiteboarding a couple of weeks of that…
I haven’t posted here in quite some time. Still riding, just not hanging out here much lately.
I noticed that this thread has a pretty high percentage of older riders. I’m so glad to see that. I just wanted to say that there’s no disgrace in admitting that a Coker might not be for everyone. After a year of trying, I just never got very comfortable with the beast and sold it. I never got my mount success any better than 50% and I ALWAYS felt nervous and a bit out of control on it. I’ve settled very comfortable on my 29er and I just love it. It is the perfect unicycle for me. I can mount it first time 98% of the time and I always feel like I’m in very good control. I couldn’t be happier. More power to you if you ride and enjoy the big wheel. I’m just saying, 29ers are great for distance/commuting too.
Yes, the jump mount works on a 36’er as does the rolling mount. Both of these mounts do take a bit of practice and as suggested earlier you might want to practice them on a smaller wheel prior to trying them on the 36.
As my legs are too short to mount the 36 with a static mount or roll back mount I resort to the jump mount in order to get myself up and over the uni which helps in getting the heavier 36" wheel moving forward. The rollling mount is one of the easiest ways to get momemtum happining but it does take more practice and timing than the jump mount.
The shorter the cranks the harder the mount will be and the less control you will have at slower speeds. I am fortunate to have 125 / 150 cranks on my 36so I was able to practice with the 150’s first.
I will add my 2 cents worth and increase the rate of older riders another notch.
I, too, have not been riding my Coker much because of mounting issues. I have practiced my version of a rolling mount with very limited success. I can do a static mount or at least I could until I adjusted the seat for increased comfort. Now I cannot do that because I keep sliding off the back of the seat while trying to mount.
I know, I need to get back outside and practice more. I have not done that. However, I have started riding my 29er on mostly flat trails and have really enjoyed that. Some of the trails are narrow, have lots of turns and very limited sight distance due to dense privet hedge that grows in the area. Riding full speed down these trails is a blast! 
Ah, contraire my dear. You’ve been able to freemount it. I’m not concerned with a high percentage of consistancy. Just the realization that it is possible to mount and that YES I COULD do it too as along as I hold out hope and keep practicing! I still bow to you as your words of encouragement from last year still resound in my ears.
Hey Crashing. Goodness knows I can use all the rooting I can get. Thanks.
Shug, Wheel Rider, and IUni! A rolling mount? on a 36? are you serious?!!! Wow. I’m quite consistant with the rolling mount on my 29 but any movement of the wheel while I’m trying to mount the Coker scares me to bits. If there’s a vid out there, please post a link.
I absolutely appreciate your sincerety and advice. Although, I don’t have independence with the 36 because I can’t freemount, I wouldn’t give it up. I enjoy the 29 and also the 36. For different terrain, different moods, different energy levels, and both have a place when riding with other cyclists (unicyclists as well as bicyclists). My rant is in no way a message that I’m giving it up. Strange thing is, without this forum I never would have found either big wheel. I’m glad you love the versatility of the 29. I do too.
I wore the grass out in my backyard trying to learn to mount my Coker. My version of a Coker rolling mount is to adjust the pedals the way I want them, back up half a wheel revolution then move forward. I only move forward half a wheel revolution then I catch the rising pedal and attempt to get on. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Needless to say, my forward motion is not very fast but it is enough to get the wheel moving. If I do a static mount, it is hard to get the wheel moving.
Terry “unigeezer” (muniaddict) video is about as good as it gets for tutorials, imo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRW7ePkZ_8E
Basically, the last few seconds is my method …the speed of mount varies a bit depending on the situation.
You might notice that there is very little time on the back pedal, so the uni has no time to respond, as you move the momentum forward onto the front pedal.
I had to mount numerous times today on a 30k city tour, that took me across major roads, waiting for a train, numerous 4 way stops (where no one stops for a uni), and through a major shopping center parking lot (where no one stops for a uni).
JM Wood
BTW, not a “Coker” but a KH36". It’s kind of a generic term I suppose…like “windsurfer” or “kleenex”.
Well, I’m pleased
Me too. I go through phases and will definately use the 29 over the 36 if there is any kind of ‘adverse’ circumstances (too many people, high winds, ice, dark, etc)
how is this possible with the mount you describe?
when there is a slope going downwards I perform a static mount (quite well) and for sure I am making contact with the seat.
But if I perform a step to catch the mounting pedal I make contact with the seat while going up … how is it possible otherwise?
again main reason for missing is that I perform a quarter revolution with the pedal in front and am unable to pass over the vertical position of the pedals: this is the reason why I miss also when holding a pole: I need a forward thrust to get the beast rolling: it is provided either by a slope going down or by rolling before mounting.
this said I love Cokering (but am not a distance rider: I prefer easy Coker Muni on wood trails)
Sorry I did not explain properly. By making contact with the seat is that once you jump on the dominant pedal you land on the seat i.e. the seat is not in front of you on the other hand you are on top of the seat. Once you start moving up you are making contact with the seat.
Note: Its hard to explain but if you take the step with your non-dominant foot and it lands behind the seat the chances of nailing the mount will be minimal. However if you take the step and your non-dominant foot lands ahead of or at least at level with the seat your chances are better of nailing the mount. You don’t need a downhill or a big rolling of the wheel to mount on level ground or even a slight incline.
didn’t get it 
(may be because I am confused about the notion of “dominant” foot: I start with right foot on the back pedal, left foot is strong foot so it propels me … up to the front pedal . my problem is that my hand for grabbing the handle is also left hand and here I am obliged to switch hand and use right hand)
I usually snatch the right pedal at 8 o’clock and front pedal at 2 0’clock but as I put too much force on the front pedal I go to the left and miss when right pedal is at 12 O’clock … I don’t have sufficient force to push the right pedal … I suspect a wrong position of my body (too much forward)
To me dominant foot = foot at the back pedal. If you were doing a static mount that would be the foot that is on the pedal at around 8 0’clock.
It is strange that you are using your left hand to hold the seat. Are you left handed? If you are it would be easier to start with your left foot at the back pedal.
Another observation: If you are catching the pedal at 12 0’clock you won’t be able to mount unless you are good at idling a 36 and can do a roll back mount. You have to catch the pedal before that so try to catch the back pedal higher i.e. at 9 0’clock to to give you a bit more time to catch the other pedal before it goes to 12 O’clock the dead point.
Let’s picture a static mount:
- I grab the handle with my right hand.
- I position my right foot on the back pedal at around 8 O’clock.
- I jump with my left foot to grab the pedal at around 2 or 3 O’clock.
My suggested mount:
- I grab the handle with my right hand, my feet are side by side my hand is extended as I grab the handle because I want to step over the seat as I try to mount. If I don’t extend my hand it is harder to jump over the seat, so you end up jumping behind the seat and all that happens is that the unicycle goes sideways and you miss the mount.
- I take one step with my left foot my hand extended so it’s easier to step a bit ahead of the seat and as the wheel turns I catch the pedal with the right foot at around 8 or 9 O’clock. Same as a static mount except that I am creating momentum by pushing the unicycle as I take the one step and bringing that pedal over. If you look at the mounting tutorial posted on this thread you will notice that on the rolling mount terry takes about two steps. This is where it’s harder for us older riders due to the fear factor. There are more chances of loosing the pedal because you have to synchronize two steps vs just one step and grab the pedal.
- I try to catch the other pedal before it hits 12 0’clock so that I won’t end up in the dead spot.
lol
lo, im 13 and i free-mounted a coker the first time i ever rode one or tryed to ride one.
Ah, a ROLLING MOUNT. For some reason I was thinking ROLL BACK MOUNT even as I typed rolling mount. Now your suggestion to practice this on smaller unis makes sense. I’ll practice it on my 29.
So sad. More times than not, I get waved through 4 way intersections. Trains? That’s a different story.
Hector: thanks for all your explanations, I will practice again and again!
I have a laterality problem: I do somethings with my (stronger) right hand (writing) and some others with my (more precise) left hand (playing tennis, writing on a blackboard, firing a pistol 
, holding my uni seat), I tried to start with other foot on a uni … no way! I read somewhere this was in fact quite “normal”.
I’m definitely right-handed, but I use my left hand to hold the uni saddle - it feels more natural. My theory is that it leaves the more useful right hand free for other things, like balancing, while the weedier left hand is basically just being a hook.
On the subject of coker mounting, I’m lucky in that I’m quite tall and favour longer cranks (usually 145s), so a normal static mount is easy for me. I find it significantly more difficult on 125s when I use them (very occasionally, which is probably half the problem). The static mount doesn’t work well up-hill though (unless it’s a very shallow slope), so I keep intending to learn a rolling mount, but haven’t got round to it yet. Rolling mounts just look so cool anyway, apart from the up-hill advantage - I’m always envious when people just casually jump on while walking.
Rob
(Ran out of edit time above)
EDIT: Actually, thinking about it, I’m not sure if my assumption that tall people have an advantage in mounting is necessarily true - at least, it’s not that clear…
Shorter people will have the saddle lower, and everybody has to step up the same height to get on the pedals (given the same crank size, or the cranks horizontal). I suppose the step up is proportionally larger compared to the person’s height if they are shorter - does this make it harder? Hmmm…