Today I (brag thread) V2

Heh, Today I can’t ride much cause of an cracked saddle but I can ride my giraffe.

I rode everywhere! Proof here.
(I had even rode into space on a rocket another time)…










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Your tire seems a great all-rounder!!

Sure is! Gets me everywhere!

Today I peddled 2 rotation going forward without hanging on to anything? :partying_face: :

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Excellent!
The rest is a simple case of practice, practice & practice.

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Today on commute to/from work, I started to feel comfortable to stay in aerobar tuck position while hill climbing. I could put more weight on pedals and lean forward, mostly lifted my crouch off the seat, Don’t know if that is correct technique but it sure made hill climbing less strenuous.

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Good stuff :raised_hands: :raised_hands: :clap: :raised_hands:

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good deal, it will get better from here

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Great start!

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After just short of six weeks of learning to ride, I’ve done my first offroad trail. MUni is the goal, and this is just a small milestone. This has all been part of a larger recovery effort, and it’s been an awesome journey, and I can’t wait to see the rest of the summer.

A small milestone victory, but oh-so sweet :smiley:

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WHOA!!! :exploding_head: That was an awsome jump! :sunglasses::+1:

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I rode down and hopped up my first flight of stairs today. Only 4 steps and they were extra long treads, but it feels like an achievement.

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Yesterday, I beat my half marathon PR in 56’30" for just over the distance (21,54 km).
Here is my strava result:

And it was not even that hard, but I had difficulties at turning my feet fast during the first few kilometers.

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just a small thing for many but I have struggled a lot with being able to ride with both hands on the bars, my last 2 rides I feel I have made a big improvement in that direction. I know I have a ways to go but I can now ride a good distance with both hands and only having to let go here and there to correct balance
I also noticed that my turning has improved 10 fold all of the sudden.

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Good for you.
I still struggle with this. I’m very confident with one hand on the handlebar all the time, but find two a little tricky for anything beyond a hundred metres or so.

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Yes, not to overlook the skill in riding with “no hands” balancing.
That is with hands on handle bar or saddle you are basically “handcuffing” yourself to only rely on your pedaling(pedal force, pedal force direction, and timing) to create lateral balance.

Here’s what I did to develop my skills and “challenge” myself when riding on boring flat roads.

1.) Ride with both hands resting on your thighs. If you get in trouble, you can immediately lift one hand or both to recover.

2.) Get better. Try this. Both hands gripping the front of the saddle. A little more challenging because now your elbows and shoulders actually get “pinned” down forcing not just your hands immobile, but your upper body “rocking freedom” becomes limited.

3.) Finally. True test. Both hands behind you and grab back of the saddle. This forces you to “lean back” and become “fully seated”. Now, you upper body is constrained. So, now with your hands behind you gripping the seat, you may as well be wearing “hand cuffs”, because if you get into trouble you don’t have enough time to un-grip and raise your arms in front for the “flail” save.

At (2.) you can “consider” getting a handle bar for your unicycle, but once installed it will be “two steps back and one step forward”. You will feel like a handicapped rider, or you lost a few levels of skill and “learning again”. Also, get ready to fall a few times with a steel bar tangled between your legs.

However, if you reach “mastery” at (3.), then once the handle bar kit is installed, you should ramp up quickly, maybe during the first ride you will catch on. The new skill to learn is really the “forward” lean that results from the handle bar elbow/arm rest. Prior, to that we are all accustomed to a subtle and constant fore/aft rocking, but with the bar that control motion is gone. You are “tipped forwards” where there is no margin for error, when riding fast.

enjoy…slam

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funny you wrote that, I have done all of those things except I don’t grab the seat behind me, I just clasp my wrist with one hand or just rest them against my sides. I started doing that a while back trying different ways to challenge my ability to stay balanced.

About how lateral balance is maintained with two hands on a handlebar, there does not seem to be a really clear explanation how that is done. At lower speeds I can understand the pedal force idea but at normal road speeds I don’t think it has anything to do with pedal force. At least I don’t notice any pedal force differences when road riding.

I tend to think it is more of a hip motion with some other factors involved. Some other factors include the speed, with the faster the speed (more gyroscopic effect) the easier it is to maintain lateral balance.
Another factor that I notice it the interaction of the tire on the road surface. The more the tire reacts to camber and the more friction between the tire and road, the easier it is to ride with hands on handlebars. With a tire that reacts to camber if you lean in one direction the uni tends to turn in that direction.

I have two 36er’s, the one with the Nightrider tire is very easy to ride two hands on handlebar and a Coker that is much harder to ride hands on handlebar. The Nigtrider is quite sensitive to camber and the Coker is not camber sensitive at all. I can ride the Coker with two hands on the handlebar but faster speeds are required and I ride down the road like a drunken sailor.

JT,
All that talk about gyroscopic stability, high speed and turning with just the slight tilt makes me want to try a big wheel. With skinny tires and high pressure, plus leaning forward on the bars in a tuck postition on a smooth road. Man…that must feel like floating…and invincible!!!

Maybe, one day…slam