What is your definition of "Street" riding?

Riding Advice
1

Street seems to be a very popular form of riding here. Lots of discussion about it, here. But unlike most other forms of unicycing, street is not covered, nor is it even mentioned, in the competition rulebooks of the IUF or USA. It has no formal definition.

We held a Street competition at MUni Weekend in October. But there wasn’t a lot of detailed information about it in writing. I’ve yet to try to write down the system we used for judging. But a Street competition might be different from just doing Street on your own.

So how would you define Street?

Here is what North wrote in a different thread. Though not definitive, we can use this as a starting point:

Add yours below.

2

Yeah the definition north gave was a good one. I also think Kris Holms Definition was a great way to sum it up.

-Brian

3

unicycling where people skateboard.

(except for half-pipes)

i guess a skatepark is considered “street”, but its certainly not the purest form.

4

street in my opinion is using every day pieces of urban architecture to perform unpractical yet highly awsome stunts and tricks

5

i agree with that completely. it has more of a focus on using urban things as obstacles in which to do tricks over, not obstacles to get onto (like in trials). and its true, street, for me is a lifestyle. probably for the same reason as “north” because i cam a lot from a skateboarding background, so i do my tricks with skaters. street is about just going out to have fun, and riding your hardest, and going as big as you can with the most technical tricks you can think of, mostly to satisfy yourself. its about hopefully getting some videos of what you can do, and showing them to people. ive taken the skateboarding dream to, about getting sponsored and stuff. this is harder for unicyclists, because there arent many companies out there willing to. ive been forunate enough to have GB4 sponsor me and to be on the Bedford Factory team. i dunno, thats what i think street is about. for me, its a lot about dreaming of tricks to do over certain things, and then actually doing it later on. i dunno, thats how i feel. street riding is certainly different than any type of competition you could have. unless you took that idea from the thread entitled “street” which i am too lazy to find right now. but thats what it is for me.

Kevin

6

I think everything said so far is exctly it. But I think the biggest difference’s are unlike trials where you just try to get over the obstacle or whatever, in street you do a trick over that obstacle (90% of the time a set or drop). Its differnet from freestyle because you’re in the air. I don’t know thats what I think. Plus everything else already said.

David

7

i disagree with what darchibald said about 90% of the time the trick is being done down a drop or a set, i think there are too many different things to trick off of that making a estimation like that is impossible

i hardly ever do tricks down sets or drops, that’s not to say that other people don’t do 90% of their tricks down stairs but i think saying 90% of most street tricks are done down stair is really pigeon holeing the sport/mentality/style

8

That is a good point but isn’t a street trick on flat ground just freestyle?

David

9

there are way more things trick off of than stairs, and flat ground

there’s benches, ledges, banks, rails, manual pads, and who knows what else

that’s what street is about using your imagination to trick off of stuff and not being limited to what has been done before

10

I forgot about grinds but I think of benches, ledges, banks, and manual pads, as all drops or grinds.

David

11

so to you in street if you’re not grinding than you’re dropping, and if you’re not dropping, you’re grinding? Because if that’s you’re train of thought than you have a very narrow minded attitude towards street riding

12

I’m sorry I was so blunt. I didn’t mean straight drops, drops with tricks, 360’s, 180’s, tiregrabs, shifties, etc. So between grinding, tricking drops and sets, and any combination within, I’m not sure what else there is. If there is anything more please enlighten me.

David

13

although a lot of it is doing tricks DOWN stuff, you can for sure do tricks up, or use upward motion to your advantage. for example, watch dan heaton’s part in U2. his stalls where he throws the frame 360 are done by hopping up. he also does a 180 pedal grab, 180 out. and a 360 up something. i may seem to do mostly down stuff, but ive begun working on all aspects of street. and whos to say you can find flat ground gaps to do tricks over? flat ground can be considered street to. it all depends on your style i think.

Kevin

14

I guess thats true, I always thought of that as urban trials, but it could be considered street too. I actually do a lot of that. I will be opening my mind up a bit more now though.

David

15

when i say street i think of it being like flat land BMX.

16

I think flat land BMX is more like freestyle.

17

Flatland is more like freestyle, because it’s on flatland. Street is like flatland, but the land isn’t flat.
Yeah.

I like Kris’s definition of it, someone posted it earlier in this thread. I think that describes it the best.

18

so yeah…

smoothness,

bigness

tricky (as in tricks)

street=freestyle x trials

not to be confused with urban trials, which is trials.

grinds, spins, feet leaving pedals, rolling gaps, and rolling drops

and any of those you can mix and match.

19

I don’t ride street, but I get the feeling that street is all about challenging convention and doing something new. It’s postmodern and defies definition. Each street unicyclist defines it every time he or she rides.

20

Try: a freestyle trick in an urban enviroment is street…

and some one said you cant ride half pipes… why not? I cant air out but I can ride them… just u wait till I get a geared Hub…

I just wanted to ask kevin/tugboat are you the guy who does the one footers in spaced out? cos if you are, man u saved that movie for me, I was half asleep till u came on!