Unicycling - as easy as falling off a bike.

General
1

The story so far: I have had my (cheap Taiwanese) unicycle for five days now,
and a group of us have been trying to master the skill with varying degrees of
success. My personal best is 7 revolutions, just 15 minutes ago.

I have read the FAQ, and the various conflicting views about learning in the
archives, but I still have a few queries. Perhaps, if the answers are
interesting, they could be added to the FAQ.

  1. Which part of the foot should be on the pedal?

I assume it is the balls of your feet. Is this correct?

  1. Is zig-zagging bad?

At one stage I found I was continually accelerating until I fell off. I
attempted to straighten up to slow down without luck. Soon I started to zig-zag
fairly violently (around about 30 degrees from the direction I was heading); I
find this checks my speed.

Another learner here tends to keep the wheel fairly straight. Another is
somewhere in between.

Does anyone have any comments about the zig-zagging? Is it a bad thing that I
should actively try to overcome? Is it something which will naturally wear off?
Perhaps it is a positive thing, as I imagine someone zig-zagging would find it
far easier to turn around? Do experienced unicyclists zig-zag?

  1. How long is it all going to take?

I think I have had an advantage over most learners; having read much of the
archives, I have had a fair idea that unicycling was not going to be an easy
task. Unlike juggling, which is often a lot easier than it looks (few people
believe they themselves could be juggling 3 balls in well under an hour,)
unicycling is much harder than it looks - several comments from first-timers
have convinced me of that.

Nevertheless, there were some disappointing periods where I (and others) seemed
to make little progress. I think the FAQ should do its best to warn people
“Unicycling is tricky. Learning to unicycle takes roughly <x> hours to learn to
do the basic manouevres. Don’t give up!”

  1. How inflated should the tires be?

I have over-inflated my tires (from memory, they should be 32psi, and I have
them around 45 psi) until they seem to adequate support my weight without
virtually twisting off the rim when the unicycle is turned on the spot. Is
this wrong?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Regards,

Julian

– Julian Orbach (julian@cs.uq.oz.au) – University of Queensland –
Brisbane, Australia

2

Re: Unicycling - as easy as falling off a bike.

Julian Orbach <julian@cs.uq.oz.au> wrote:

>1) Which part of the foot should be on the pedal?

>I assume it is the balls of your feet. Is this correct?

Right, for most people, the ball of their foot should be centered over the
pedal. This allows the ankle joint and associated muscle groups to provide finer
(more precise) control over the pedaling action of the legs. However, a few
people will find it more comfortable to position the ball of their foot further
forward on the pedal. Although it is highly recommended to position the ball of
the foot on the center of pedal, you should try different positions to see which
one works best. This is because we are not all exactly the same, so perhaps we
shouldn’t expect our unicycling techniques to be exactly the same either.

>2) Is zig-zagging bad?

No. When first learning, it is probably best to stick with whatever works to
keep one up on the unicycle. As you continue to learn, and one’s control over
the unicycle improves, the zig-zagging tendency should slowly go away
naturally. If it doesn’t, then one should consciously work on riding straighter
by using upper body twisting to counter balance the tendency of the wheel to
twist (zig or zag).

It will be extremely difficult to go perfectly straight, since the momentum of
the legs moving back and forth while cycling will cause a very small zig-zag
(1-5 degrees) every rotation of the wheel. Even this natural zig-zag can also be
neutralized by equal and opposite upper body twisting (in sync with the leg
movement), but most riders never learn this and really don’t need to, so don’t
worry about it.

>3) How long is it all going to take?

>Nevertheless, there were some disappointing periods where I (and others) seemed
>to make little progress. I think the FAQ should do its best to warn people
>"Unicycling is tricky. Learning to unicycle takes roughly <x> hours to learn to
>do the basic manouevres. Don’t give up!"

There is a wide variation in athletic fitness, balance perception, and
reaction time among those learning to ride a unicycle. So it is difficult to
predict roughly how many hours it will take to learn certain unicycling
skills. An experienced unicycling instructor may be able to make a good guess
after watching someone ride, but it is impossible without first seeing the
rider in action.

It has taken people as short as 15 min. and as long as 6 months to learn to
ride. However, it generally takes 2-6 weeks of regular practice to learn to ride
and a few more weeks to learn to do turns.

>4) How inflated should the tires be?

>I have over-inflated my tires (from memory, they should be 32psi, and I have
>them around 45 psi) until they seem to adequate support my weight without
>virtually twisting off the rim when the unicycle is turned on the spot. Is
>this wrong?

No. Generally, unicyclists do overinflate their tires by as much as 50% and
sometimes even more. However, if one is learning to ride on a slippery surface
(gym floor) and wheel twisting becomes difficult to control, the tires can be
underinflated to increase the tire area that comes in contact with the floor.
This will make wheel twisting easier to control. Once one has learned to ride,
the tire should be inflated to at least the recommended pressure.

Try to get 40-50 psi or more rated tires and you may overinflate these as well
if you like. However, a 32psi tire will work fine, too.

Thank you Julian, for asking these excellent questions! I’m sure many on the
mailing list will appreciate the answers.

Sincerely,

Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com