I’ve been unicycling for around two or three months now. I think the only
thing I’ve managed is getting of it
Seriously, I can ride for a good distance without much problem. I’ve also
mastered turning in medium size circles and riding up and down bumps, kerbs,
ramps etc.
I have however two main problems one I still can’t mount no matter how much
I practice. I always seem to lose balance as I place too much weight on one
foot and so can’t peddle to maintain balance. Alot of people I’ve talked to
said I should learn how to hover and then learn how to mount after that.
Another thing is that I always seems to have a lack of control, or the
unicycle looks uneasy - such as people dodging into driveways to avoid me,
even when I’m on the road. Yet I’m only on a 16" and don’t move at much
speed at all (although maintain a certain speed to keep balance!) I have
started to wave my arms less but am still keeping balance, is this an
improvement?
Althouh I’ve never ridden a 16" unicycle, I know where you’re most likely going wrong. First of all, when you mount, if you seem to always lose your balance whenever you put any weight on the pedals, that’s because it’s probably too much. Try putting as much weight as possible on the seat instead of the pedals; this will help you to mount. the same is also probably true when you ride: you put too much weight on the pedals. Try putting more weight on the seat and ride it more like a bike than a horse or something. Try taking your weight off the pedals and putting it on the seat. Now I’m not saying this is definitely your problem, but from what I know, it is probably what’s going wrong.
Johnathan,
> speed at all (although maintain a certain speed to keep
> balance!) I have started to wave my arms less but am
> still keeping balance, is this an improvement?
This is unquestionably a good indicator for a big improvement: You are getting faster making small corrections.
I can only second JonnyD as far as emphasizing the importance of putting most of your weight on the seat.
From my eyperience with my own 24’’ and 20’’ unis I know that the smaller uni will always appear less stable, i.e. require a somewhat faster response to maintain balance. Although I have never been on a 16’’ uni, this rather small wheel is expected to feel much more “nervous”. The idling rate is also higher which would explain your problems with a rollback type mount. A standard (wheel stays in place) type mount should not be that much more difficult than on a let’s say 20’’ uni, however.
Try a 20’’ or 24’’ if you get a chance.
Still, you are making progress.
Have fun,
Fred
>I have however two main problems one I still can’t mount no matter how much >I practice. I always seem to lose balance as I place too much weight on one >foot and so can’t peddle to maintain balance. Alot of people I’ve talked to >said I should learn how to hover and then learn how to mount after that.
My problem with the standard freemount was similar to yours: too much
weight on the first foot so that the uni shoots out to the rear. In
months of practice it slowly got better. What helped me in the end was
to focus on the fact that the “other” pedal and the “other” foot had
to meet at the location where that other pedal was at the start of the
mount.
After I learned to idle, I could easily learn the rollback mount and
this is now my preferred mount. In it, as I see it, you are allowed
and even required to put a lot of weight on your first foot. The
amount of rollback is determined prior to the mount by the angle of
the crank.
(If this is not meant by the “hover” recommendation I don’t understand
that comment.)
Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked automagically from a database:”
“credit card, Juiliett Class Submarine, top secret”
