It probably does depend on the mount. For a static mount the higher gear works in your favour. You can almost just stand on the pedal and step up. The gear is high enough to prevent much movement
I used to ride a 36er with 125mm cranks so I can most certainly do that.
And I don’t want to cut the frame at all!
I understand how a high gear / small crank ratio helps you mount, but then there is the problem of getting the wheel moving after the mount. When I first got my Schlumpf, I tried a few times mounting into high gear, then decided it was too weird and that I needed to learn how to up-shift, anyway.
I can relate to that – I hadn’t been riding my 32"er for quite a long time and the pedals were in the 125mm holes where I had been using them with no problem before.
On going back to it , mounting it was really solid, like stepping onto a concrete block – unfortunately it also felt like I was trying to get a concrete block to roll (!) and had real difficulty moving off. Moving the pedals out to the 150mm holes made all the difference. I guess it just takes a bit of getting used to again.
I agree, getting the wheel to start is different but doable. Just a matter of getting used to it.
This is with 109mm cranks on a 12% upgrade.
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I’ve been riding for ~7 years, so I decided it’s time I learned how to hop. Today some of the transitions between hopping and riding finally started to click.
Progress so far:
Hop right foot forward
- Mount straight into a hop
- Transition from a hop into forward riding
- Transition from forward riding into a hop
- Hop left foot forward
Mount straight into a hop- Transition from a hop into forward riding
- Transition from forward riding into a hop
I’m using my trials uni for now. Once I’m a bit more comfortable I’ll attempt to do the same on a larger wheel.
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Good stuff. What took you so long 
Good question! Somehow I just never got around to it…
Inspired by you @lightbulbjim, I decided to go for a ride in my neighbourhood and do right foot back hopping practice on my KH24 just now. It really sucked, I am sure I used to do it better… I’m also normally left foot back, and I do that comfortably.
Update… I did more riding and it was less sucky. But still not so intuitive…
I hear you. I’m usually on my 36er and I don’t even try manoeuvres with my non-dominant side on that thing. So over time I’ve become very one sided.
As I learn new things I’m trying to do so ambidextrously. Easy enough on the small wheel, but quite challenging on the larger wheels.
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One thing I found helped with my hopping was just to do 100 hops. I’d do 100 hops left foot forward, 100 right foot forward, 100 holding the saddle with my left hand, then the right and I’d just hop side to side, front to back, rotating, etc… The whole point being for hopping to just become second nature.
For hopping up obstacles I tend to hop to the exact location I want and then still stand until it leans in towards the obstacle at which point I hop it.
I still haven’t figured out 90’s with a ride out yet and my rolling hops are pretty pathetic, but I can hop up small flights of stairs one at a time now.
Last year I found out that I needed a knee replacement. Riding was okay but hard impact falling was out of the question.
So after a whole year of “safe” riding on my KH29 with the cranks on 150mm (usually on 127mm) my control has gone up another level.
Today I hopped on my KH36 (cranks moved to 150mm for the last year as well) and went for a short spin and it felt so good that I tried idling and it was a piece of cake on both sides!
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Maybe a stupid question, but did you have the surgery? Or did you take it easy for the past year, but still need the surgery?
Either way, kudos to you for figuring out a way to work back into riding, safely, while increasing your proprioception and/or control!
No I haven’t.
In Jan. my doctor said roughly 6 months, but now with added delays they’re saying 18 months.
This puts me to next Aug. for my procedure.
I’m very lucky as it still feels okay to spin the wheel and the doctor supports it as it’s strengthened my knees and has allowed me to stay so mobile.
I can’t walk very far but I can roll… just no falling.
Still very lucky to have what I have so I’ll be patient and try and stay as mobile as possible.
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Well, mark.vogels once mentioned that he uses his Trials uni to walk his dog.
Then, Pokalde recently posted about his success in walking his dog while riding his uni.
So, I bought a retractable leash and then waited a couple weeks before I built up the nerve to try walking the dog yesterday.
It went really well! The retractable leash allows my dog to stay close, but not always at the same distance. And, it eliminates any excess slack that might get caught on a pedal, fire hydrant, etc.
While I can walk the dog while riding unicycle, I don’t think I am good enough to walk the dog while riding a unicycle, while taking a selfie that captures me, the dog, and the unicycle. So, I took a photo after the ride.
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It works much, much better than one would think. In some ways I find it easier than bicycling with a dog as you have your ha dis free and can simply step off the unicycle if the dog lunges.
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Exactly! I actually think it is safer. Slower, with a Trials uni, but very manageable, and fun! I have two 24” unis to possibly try it with, but I think it may be too much to ask (of me) to do it with the 27.5+ Muni.
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I’ve been doing it on a 24" with 148mm cranks and that seems pretty well suited to it. On the 24" I don’t need a brake, which leaves either hand free for the leash, but I can still keep up a decent pace. I don’t think the 27.5 would be a problem though so long as I stuck to sidewalks.
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I walk my dogs on my 29er sometimes. They are both very enthusiastic at the beginning and pull me along pretty fast. It feels like water skiing.
But one of them is in better shape than the other. By the end of the walk she has fallen behind, so I’m pulled forward and backward at the same time.
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My dog isn’t that fast, and when I use the 19" with 125mm cranks I have to pull him forward a lot 
Therefore I mostly use the trials uni
Today I did some slackline and steel tube (little less than 2" in diameter) riding:
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