Tony Ferlazzo <tferlazzo@home.com> wrote in article >>> and more on the seat seems best, but then I tend to loose control,
“uni-stumble” I call it. Anyone have any ideas?
All I hear from my girlfriend when she watches me is that I should sit up
straight and put more weight in the saddle. It’s true that this makes me ride
more smoothly and gracefully (or seems to) but I think I would mind less if she
could ride a uni herself.
I also develop uni-stumble but figure that overcoming this is preferable to
balancing by lurching around like a drunken gorilla (yet another insightful
image of my riding from my girlfriend)… I know I lean forward,
but it’s not as though my knuckles are dragging in the dirt.
BTW she just read this and said “Hmmph! You know it’s true.”
> I also develop uni-stumble but figure that overcoming this is
preferable > to balancing by lurching around like a drunken gorilla (yet another insightful > image of my riding from my girlfriend)… I know I lean
forward,
Sometimes I feel like a gorilla, too, particularly when my head and shoulders
are leaning to the left and the uni and my legs are leaning to the left.
“Straighten up!” I always think. Sometimes I actually succeed and avoid the
dreaded uni-stumble. No one needs to remind me to sit up, put weight on the
seat, and put my arms horizontal for better balance. It just isn’t yet a
subconscious habit.
As John Foss suggested, it is most likely the shoes although it might be the
pedals, which are cheap. I have a 20" Summit and a 26" Emory. Both have been
“improved” with new Semcycle seats and seat posts and quick-release seat post
adjustment bolts because the originals were garbage. Seems like improvements,
modifications and customizations are a way of life for a unicycle rider.
I’m considering asking Santa for a 24" Miyata for Christmas, but am not
convinced of the benefit at this point. I have no illusions of my present skill;
I’m just beginning. I can’t even go a quarter mile yet, and remounting is an
adventure of free mounting (given the road I’m on), using a parked car as an
assistant, or walking. One side of me (the parent side) is arguing that I just
need more practice. The other side (the lazy side) is arguing that poor
equipment can’t be overcome with technique.