The best training device?

[U-Turn]

@podzol

I think a stick is best for all-purpose training.

Carrots, I’m in favor of carrots myself.

[JustOneWheel]

Thanks Phil!

@phil

Just recently my favourite training gadget has been my shiny new Garmin Edge GPS. It has a “Virtual Partner” mode which lets you race a course against a previous time; it should really be called something like “Virtual Evil Sadist Taskmaster Mode” because racing yourself is so leg-achingly difficult it’s either going to make me really fit or kill me off completely. It’s amazing how much harder it is to go even slightly faster than your normal cruising speed; I’ve used it on the bike before going up to the top of the Malvern Hills, and while giving it everything I had I got to the top a mere 10 or so seconds in front of when I took it steady.

I’ve used it for biking, unicycling and most recently running, where it proved most interesting in recording the speeds at which I ran each mile of my first half marathon last Sunday.

Phil

I have the same watch and I agree, it’s the best training device I have.

But, I was talking about a training device that will help teach someone to ride in a shorter time frame.

Adam

[podzol]

@U-Turn

Carrots, I’m in favor of carrots myself.

Brilliant. An even long enough carrot can serve as bait and a stick. There is a Japanese radish called a daikon can get quite large.

Use as bait, crutch, defensive weapon, staple or garnish. I think we have the secret to the Japanese unicycle training method.

[dan_de_man]

I used a A-frame swing set and held onto the midde bits of the a’s

[Jerrick]

For me, I learned by pushing off a handrail, then going about 5 feet, then about a 1-2inch drop, to a slight slope of gravel parking lot.

My friend Zach learned by using two poles that are behind his house, they are poles they hold up there awning thing, they are about 10 feet apart, he would ride with one hand on the rope for balance and they worked nicely for him.

For my girlfriend, she learned how to ride by using me, at first it was a lot of falling and catching and almost like a constant hug to keep her up, then she moved to just need my shoulders, then my arm, then to holding my hand, down to holding a finger, down to just a little pinch on my pinky that she doesn’t even need.

I’m really not sure how you would build a device that would help the learning process, except a giant ring that go around the uni with wheels on the ring, it attaches to the frame post in a way that people can still pedal with no extra metal getting in the way, then once they lean to far it catches them and allows them to regain their balance until they no longer need the ring.

[tomtrevor]

a pole and a big flat slab of concrete

[BirdFrenzy]

I learned using a 5 axis articulated virtual/actual reality trainer. It cut learning time down to a manageable 1 week and can hang from a hook in my garage wall.

[rich]

I think that motivation to ride is more important than how easy it is. Even with a shallower learning curve people might still learn and then just leave their uni in the shed unused. Almost everyone I know has and can ride a bicycle but only a few people actually go and use them regularly, if at all.
If you are motivated enough then it doesnt matter about the curve.
Fair play to you though if you can make some money out of it

[tholub]

@JustOneWheel

[B]
Think of how many bikers there would be out there if there were no training wheels. More than there are unicyclist but allot less than there are now.

The thing is, training wheels don’t actually help you learn to ride a bike; kids would learn faster without them. The fundamental skill required to ride a bike is knowing how to balance on one, not knowing how to turn the pedals. It would be better to remove the pedals and let the kid scoot along until he gets the feeling of balance, then put the pedals back on. With training wheels, the kid just learns to lean to one side and then the other. Eventually they pick up how to ride, because riding a bike really isn’t very hard, but it’s not because of the training wheels.

Similarly, the challenge for a unicycle training system is not to make something that helps people get on and turn the pedals, but to make something that helps people train their kinesthetic sense to know how to balance on the unicycle. I don’t think it’s impossible; I’ll be interested to see what Adam has come up with.