Yeah, that fits for me. I turn 56 in a few weeks. Train and skill-up now to build your base for 70+ and 80+.
At Unicon 22 I again did trials, jumps, downhill muni, uphill muni, cross-country muni, freestyle, selected track events one-footed and wheel walk, hockey and basketball (also did x-style and the 10k).
The **new IUF rules now have fixed 50-70 and 70+ age categories!! ** We even had enough older riders to have a separate 50-60 age category in some events (I got a second gold in track jumping even though a 60+ rider jumped higher - we then competed together in platform jumping which was really fun and I outjumped him in the platform jumping).
So not only does the community support older riders, many events and Unicon also supports us. I was happy to receive many medals in the U70 age group (under 70 or 50+) and in 15 years would like to win some medals in 70+ events.
Sounds like fun! Some advice - be careful with the mounts. I’ve never mounted from a static help (pole, fence, what have you) - I learned how to rolling mount as I learned to ride, and that meant that I eventually tore my patellar tendon trying to hurriedly rolling mount a 36er. Over 50 they just don’t have the give they used to apparently
Hello, I am trying to do mounting from a stand still. I realize it takes a fair amount of strength to get to the pedals. Also balance while staying on the pedals. I have been working on it for a few weeks. Brief hx, bought first uni a 20" as a 50 something yo. Learned a little. Then nothing much until I found this website group. I’m soon to be 67, I’m a beginner. I have motorcycle style elbow & knee/shin guards, then wrist and helmet. Current uni 24". Height is my Achilles heel. 5’3". Any recommendations would be appreciated on mounting. I’ve been trying one foot on the left pedal in the near 6 o’clock position. It is OK, but I have not been successful. Thanks for any ideas.
Height should not really be an issue on a 24". I teach mostly kids but I try to get beginners to mount with the rear pedal much higher, ideally 9/3 o’clock but also 4/10 works. I try to teach the near static mount straightaway where you bring your center of mass over the uni with a small jump/step. But rollback where the uni rolls under the rider also works and seems to be what feels safer for many older beginners. It’s fine to learn although later makes it a bit harder to have a consistent mount and relearn static mount.
But starting with the pedal down at 6 o’clock is quite hard (I can barely do it maybe 50% success although I am quite skilled). I recommend gradually raising the rear pedal height.
My best recommendation is to practice with a helper who gives you a hand and can even catch you a bit if you start to fall. Then get the movement down with the pedal at 3-4 o’clock. Then gradually try with less help and on your own.
when mounting any uni, I have my hind pedal at just below horizontal, but generally once I sit on the seat, my left pedal will have turned to 6 o’clock position, then I make a turn to the left to get my right pedal a kick forward and get going.
I’ve been trying to slowly mount the uni, like if I can just sit and then can in a more relaxed way place my left foot on the other pedal, instead of making a hop, where I sometimes put too much force behind it making me hop over the uni instead of on.
I can free-mount the first time 98% of the time but occasionally, maybe when tired or thinking to much it takes 2-3 tries, which makes me feel stupid.
I also mount rear pedal slightly lower.
One thing I got wrong when I first started was that I tried to put all of my weight on the pedals. You want to put most of your weight on the seat, barely any on the pedals. It takes a lot of practice, just be patient.
This video helped me (Chris Huriwai). The progression from wall mount to riding back and forth with hops took me … a really long time. Don’t get discouraged. When you watch him teach mounting, it is just fluid. He makes it look really easy, it isn’t. It must have taken a long time to get to that point of fluidity.
Yes, that is good. I like that he shows pedal down (6 oclock) and explains why he doesn’t recommend learning that way (although it is the best way for a true beginner to get on the unicycle using a wall but not as a free mount).
Sounds like roll-back mount where you essentially roll the unicycle under you with a half rev back. I think it is good for learning but can have limitations later (doesn’t work well uphill or with limited space like a starting at a busy traffic light with pedestrians maybe behind you).
As soon as you get good at roll-back mounting, I would start practicing the static mount (or even jump mount).
generally my wheel doesn’t roll backwards. As soon as I hop on, the wheel goes forwards and the left pedal ends up at the 6 position. The right pedal at the top.
I think my seat may be just a tad to high. In the video he was able to get over the seat easily. I have to get momentum just to get to the pedal that’s free. I need to go back to adjusting my uni, look at all the variables. UDC has some tutorials for setting up your uni. I will have to figure this out. Thank you for all the advice, I am encouraged by the help. (Joe)
My ‘go to’ method for setting seat height is to hold on to something with my heel on the pedal in the bottom/6 o’clock position. I want my leg straight there. That way when I move the ball of my foot back over the pedal axle there’s just enough bend in my leg for normal riding.
I may move it down a little from there for muni but I find that method gets a good, consistent starting point regardless of wheel size, crank length or any other variables.
