Today I had my first go at kangaroo-ing. My plan was to mount into one foot idle, start riding one foot and then simply drop the second foot (Ultimate Wheel Build - #66 by Wheelou). Well, I was a bit optimistic… since I haven’t practiced this for a while I needed the first 5-10 minutes to just be able to ride one foot. Funnily, I was better with my non dominant foot again, maybe I should say with my non preferred foot for this trick.
Anyway, after another 10-15 minutes I set my personal record: 7 full revolutions 
. When I ended the practice session after 40 minutes, my record was 54 revolutions or a good 150m* 
. That was more than I hoped for and now, one hour later I’m still smiling.
Now my attempts in brake coasting with the muni were far less successful. How anyone is able to do this is beyond me. How do you even practice? On the flat or on a descent?
EDIT: I may just found the answer to my question.
*EDIT 2: That was an optimistic calculation. At roughly 1.5m distance per revolution, it‘s closer to 75m… But the next morning I made exactly 200 revolutions or about 300m 
. The way I felt after this I assume it must be a pretty good core workout 
.
2 Likes
Another person, another strategy, that’s great 
Today I decided to take the UW to the skatepark and see if I could ride in a circle. Unfortunately there were some 14 year-olds on their kick scooters doing tricks and all they could do was laugh at me and make silly remarks. Naturally I had to warm up, so the first few tries failed and they were like “how long have you been practising hahaha”. And then I broke free and could make a half circle. I also offered to 3 boys to give it a try. They couldn’t even stand up straight on the wheel while holding on to something of course.
But eventually I managed 2 times to go full circle, which was really cool. The second time I would first steer to the left and then to the right. But it still takes a lot of energy. Even though I can ride longer stretches, I always have to hop off all winded.
After the session I rode another 10km on the 32", which was much more comfortable. I really love unicycling
8 Likes
This put a big smile on my face today
Now I’d really like to have a thousand “GPS-verified” miles, but this will work for now
5 Likes
Just leave it on while you drive around in your vehicle. You’ll get there in no time. 
So I haven’t posted here in a while…
I was at the Bavarian track race last weekend (Germany) and verified that I cannot spin fast at all (I like short cranks and the 125s were really awkward).
But I set my (recorded) personal best in long jump: 130cm!
4 Likes
I generally have little problem switching between unis as I often ride my 29 Muni with 110s, my 36" with 125 or 100mm and my freestyle with 89mm.
Although in the days before the track racing I practiced a lot of brake coasting with the freewheel and although I improved in brake coasting, I think it actually made my high cadence on the track worse as I was trying to stay center-forward balanced rather than fully forward. The first race was 100m and it was like I was riding in slow motion 
Then, at the end of the second day of track on 24/125mm, I rode my 36" into the city with 100mm cranks. Wow, that was strange! The first few kilometers I was really cautious, after freewheel and then 24"/125mm. But on the way back I finally was comfortable enough to kick up the speed a little.
Very true. I think there is some crossover and trying another wheelsize and crank length helps in the long run.
But the skills do not transfer directly:
- my 36" is pretty solid, riding mostly 125mm or 100mm and I can usually static mount in 100mm if I’m not tired and it’s not uphill
- my drag seat on the 20" is pretty decent, both seat to the front and seat to the back I can usually do 10-20 revs after I warm up
- my brake coasting on the freewheel is improving - although mostly only when sitting where I can often coast for 10+ seconds going downhill
- my SIF is super solid and I can do a figure 8 (bw not so good, need to practice that)
So I tried the ultimate wheel last week, thinking it would transfer from drag seat. Nope. In about 10 minutes practice I only managed about 2 revs
1 Like
This is the brag thread, right? Oh, it better be, 'cause bragging is just what I’m about to do! 
So, today I shifted my Schlumpf for the first time on the move
The fear of falling on my injured wrist held me back almost half a year. But now that the wrist is quite useable again I took the plunge. And this is where the bragging really starts: I made my very first shift to second gear without UPDing!
As we all know, what has been shifted up needs to be shifted down again, and once again I didn’t UPD! So I had another go, and it worked again 
…and again …and again …and at some point I had made 10 shifts up and 10 shifts down …and was still counting. I said to myself tongue-in-cheek that I’ll stop at 20. And that’s what I did in the end. I made 20 shifts up and 20 down in a single go without touching for a single moment the ground or a wall! Man, I’m really proud of myself (now you know, in case that wasn’t clear already ).
Now I was riding slow - about walking speed - and my hit rate for shifting at the first try isn’t great, especially with my left foot. But I’m confident enough to shift on the move from now on, when riding the G29. I’m wearing my protective gear anyway when I intend to ride in high gear. And what’s best: shifting on the move seems to be easier than shifting while holding onto a post or a wall. For some reason (that I don’t really understand) the freewheeling moment was better manageable when riding than when standing still.
I just wish I made that shift earlier.
9 Likes
Very well done. I never got the hang of riding in the high gear. It was just too strange that the wheel would turn faster than my feet. I hit the knob a few times while riding back then too, but as I couldn’t ride in high gear, it just threw me off. I’ve sold it since then and will never buy another geared uni. “Been there, done that, don’t like it”.
Though I’ve still kept my freewheel uni. It is something I am more confident in learning and just the idea of rolling without pedaling is enough not to sell it.
So congrats on your winnings. A well-deserved brag
Thanks. I‘m kinda used to ride in high gear. Or let‘s say, I quickly get used to it again, every time I ride it. But starting in high is a b!tch. It takes a lot of patience to get that „heavy“ wheel slowly rolling. Once you‘re up to a reasonable speed it behaves much more like a normal uni, just moving faster.
When I ride a few km in high gear and then switch back to 1:1 it a) feels strange (because the legs are used to apply a lot more force to the pedals) and b) is very disappointing to move at a slow speed while the legs are moving comparably fast .
I think I was lucky to pick the right day for my first gear shifts on the fly - before today I never rode so controlled when in high gear but moving slowly. That helped a lot.
As to shifting unintentionally: that‘s why I bought some KH Spirits. The Q factor protects the button from being hit by accident.
It’s is a wonderful feeling when you get comfortable and skilled enough to ride it on descents. I/We look forward to you bragging about it in the future.
1 Like
