Unicycle progression

hey guys, i have been ridding for long time but i can now ride down my street (at least 100m) i can rid off curbs, ride up and over bumps and i am very close at bunny hop but i still cant mount lol. anyone got n e tips?

Hey pitman. How was your trip to Spain?

About mounting - I found that learning on grass helped me to get the correct feel of pedal pressure. There was more resistance to the wheel slipping away from under me . I couldn't do a full freemount, it just helped me learn one aspect of the technique

I don't know what the mount I learnt is called, but I'll describe it as best I can.

Place one pedal facing you, 45 degrees to the ground. In my case, I make the left pedal face me. My right foot is dominant. Place seat into crotch area firmly. Make sure there is no pressure on any manly bits (for most guys, this is an instinctive step). Whilst keeping pressure on the seat, push yourself forwards, and place right foot on pedal. Your left foot should be at a constant pressure, so that the wheel does not move.

Just after you push yourself up, you will start falling forward. This is your cue to start peddling.

To summarise the main things that helped me
1) Maintain weight on seat.
2) Do not try to "idle". Just start peddling as you fall forward
3) Grass helped me to get used to the pedal pressure required to keep the wheel still. Once you feel the correct pressure, go back to a hard surface.

I haven’t learnt from a teacher as such, so there may be better and easier ways of learning. Best of luck learning. It feels great to consistently freemount, and know that you don’t not need a wall to ride.

[EDIT]
I just tried it outside again. a few more points:
1) I hold the seat with my left hand. when I "fall" forward, I let go go and flail my arms.
2) the wheel moves forward a bit when I mount.
3) I mount straight over the wheel. I starting trying to mount a little from the side. this made things far more difficult in the "falling forward" part of the mount.

Hope that makes some sense. best of luck, and let us know when you get it!

That explanation of freemounting is great, thanks for posting it. That very day I'd been thinking 'hmm, how would I go about learning to freemount? I'll have to do a search and hope something comes up'. And I got home and there it was

Not tried it yet, been too busy working on my steering. Which is coming along apace. The other day I went 50 meters which included 2 corners

i tried muni for the first time yesterday. i can wholeheartedly recomend at least a 24inch tire, with alot of tread. i was using a 20incher, with a street tire.

i was riding down a dirt track used for mountain biking. it was that steep that alot of people wouldnt try it on a regular bike

i got some nice runs down, but it all ended after i hit my ankle and groin *very* hard, all at once.

cheers, pete

*yay*

i just did 100 'back n forths' idoling on my uni whee!

super happy.. am gona start trying to juggle 3 balls on it soon

Thats great! I'm off to try some unihoki this or next week. there is a club upcountry that is pestering the 4 Cape Town unicyclists to get a team going here. If we get round to it, hopefully other unicyclists with come out from the woodwork.

Oh, and unicycle basketball is fun, especially if you can pick up the ball without dismounting.

mmm, picking up a basketball, never thought of that. might give it a go since i can already pick up a bottle

also, just got 8 catches of 3ball while idoling. it makes it soooo much harder

Woo, I can ride about 40 metres

Does anyone know anything about ladies cycling shorts?

I was thinking i could wear them under trousers

Pooh.

I bent my axel/hub today. noticed a wobble, nothing was loose, but the cranks were off 180degree angle. good thing is I have an excuse to upgrade my uni

Bad thing is I have to pay for it

At least it lasted till the end of level 3.

End of Level 3 eh WOFT? that aint too shabby

I broke my elbow at the weekend (not unicycling tho) so no more unicycling for me for a while

Ja, I'm getting there slowly:).

K, Sorry to hear about your elbow! How did you break it, and how long do you have to rest it for? Best of luck for a speedy recovery .

So, my twisted axle resulted in me upgrading to a qu-ax 20 cross. More money would result in a better unicycle. Alas, I lack more money ...



Note the flames on the frame

got a 20" nimbus trials uni ordred for christmas and am sitting by the door waiting for it to arrive, so should be getting back into unicycleing again soon after learning to go along many years ago

I'm going no where with mine had a bus knock me off you should see the state of it.

Jem wear the shorts they'l made a huge difference to long rides plus you've not got the extra bits to go numb(Thinks shorts may be too tight? Hmm)

i saw my unicycle in the garage the other day... i left it there a year and a half ago.... ... wonder how i'd be now after so much time out of practice.

try

might have a go tomorrow maybe .. when i have time but its bloody cold out.

last time i played i was at level 5 but could do some of level 6 too ... was getting mostly into street riding.
i got good at 180 crank stalls on a ledge and 180 hop off... or crank stall to 180 off and ride out backwards... but i some how think that will need a lot of practice these days.

Tried a little bit of easy muni today with a mate - Most fun I have had on 1 wheel! Speed was not the goal, so my 20" wheel was great. rain cut our session short though.

If you havn't tried Muni - GO TRY IT!

How are the rest of you getting on? PK - did you dust off your uni?

Nope not yet!... not had any available time... xmas.. sons first birthday and work!... seriously time these days seems precious or is it that im getting old?.

How come rain cut your mission short?... riding in the rain is good... riding on the beach is better but wet riding can be good fun.

Im off to kill Mech cos he needs to send me a video! and like always... he can never be found.

I was worried to ride about in the rain for fear of rusting my uni. I don't really know how to maintain it after it gets wet. suppose I should look that up (Doh).

I got back to university this week - Makes me appreciate the time that I had in the holidays so much more! I do have enough time to engage in sillyness often enough though, so maybe age does play a role :runs and hides...:

If your unicycle is made well, it shouldn't rust at all. Depends if it is chromed, polished, powder coated or painted? but either still all of them should have had a 100% coating/finish, so rust if any should be minimal.

Avoid salt water!, there is more chance that it will rust and faster. This i know as i polish parts for Mega Yachts and have had to re polish on board (nightmare).

Some info on RUST:

Rust is the chemical produced when iron compounds corrode in the presence of oxygen and water. It is a mixture of iron oxides and hydroxides. Rusting is a common term for corrosion, and usually is corrosion of steel.

Iron is found naturally in the ore haematite as iron oxide, and metallic iron tends to return to a similar state when exposed to air, (hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, etc.) and water. Energy is given off when rust forms. The process of rusting can be summarized as three basic stages: The formation of iron(II) ions from the metal; the formation of hydroxide ions; and their reaction together, with the addition of oxygen, to create rust.

Iron is the main component of steel and the corrosion of steel is observed more frequently, since iron is rarely used without alloying in the present day.

When steel contacts water, an electrochemical process starts. On the surface of the metal, iron is oxidized to iron(II):

Fe -> Fe2+ + 2e-

The electrons released travel to the edges of the water droplet, where there is plenty of dissolved oxygen. They reduce the oxygen and water to hydroxide ions:

4- + O2 + 2H2O -> 4OH-

The hydroxide ions react with the iron(II) ions and more dissolved oxygen to form iron oxide. The hydration is variable, however in its most general form:

Fe2+ + 2OH- -> Fe(OH)2
4Fe(OH)2 + O2 -> 2(Fe2O3.xH2O) + 2H2O

Hence, rust is iron(III) oxide, which is formed by the dehydration of iron(II) hydroxide. Corrosion tends to progress faster in seawater than fresh water due to higher concentration of sodium chloride ions, making the solution more conductive. Rusting is also accelerated in the presence of acids, but inhibited by alkalis, through passivation. Rust can often be removed through electrolysis, however the base metal object can not be restored through this method.

[edit] Rust prevention

Hydrated iron oxide is permeable to air and water, allowing the metal to continue to corrode - internally - even after a surface layer of rust has formed. Given sufficient hydration, the iron mass can eventually convert entirely to rust and disintegrate. Corrosion of aluminium is different from steel or iron, in that aluminium oxide formed on the surface of aluminium metal forms a protective, corrosion resistant coating, a process known as passivation. Stainless steel similarly resists rusting by forming a passivation layer of chromium(III) oxide. This is also true of magnesium, copper and zinc.

Galvanization consists of coating metal with a thin layer of another such metal. Typically, zinc is applied by either hot-dip galvanizing or electroplating. Zinc is traditionally used because it is cheap, easy to refine and adheres well to steel. Zinc also provides cathodic protection to metal that itself is unplated, but close enough that any water touching bare iron is also in contact with some zinc. The zinc layer acts as a galvanic anode rusting in preference. Galvanization often fails at seams, holes and joints, where the coating is pierced. More modern coatings add aluminium to the coating as zinc-alume, aluminium will migrate to cover scratches and thus provide protection for longer. These rely on the aluminium and zinc oxides protecting the once-scratched surface rather than oxiding as a sacrificial anode.

There are several other methods available to control corrosion and prevent the formation of rust, colloquially termed rustproofing. Cathodic protection makes the iron a cathode in a battery formed whenever water contacts the iron and also a sacrificial anode made from something with a more negative electrode potential, commonly zinc or magnesium. The electrode itself doesn't react in water, but only to provide electrons to prevent the iron rusting.

Bluing is a technique that can provide limited resistance to rusting for small steel items, such as firearms; for it to be successful, water-displacing oil must always be rubbed onto the blued steel.

Corrosion control can be done using a coating to isolate the metal from the environment, such as paint. Large structures with enclosed box sections, such as ships and modern automobiles, often have a wax-based product (technically a slushing oil) injected into these sections. This may contain rust inhibiting chemicals as well as forming a barrier. Covering steel with concrete provides protection to steel by the high pH environment at the steel-concrete interface. However, if concrete covered steel does corrode, the rust formed can cause the concrete to spall and fall apart. This creates structural problems.

To prevent rust corrosion on automobiles, they should be kept cleaned and waxed. The underbody should be sprayed to make sure it is free of dirt and debris that could trap moisture. After a car is washed, it is best to let it sit in the sun for a few hours to let it air dry. In winter, or in salty conditions, cars should be washed more regularly as salt (sodium chloride) can accelerate the rusting process.

Unicycle repair:

If you have a 3pc crank then you will need to buy a sealed bearing remover tool, available from unicycle dot com for next to no money, probably an hex key 6mm and that's about it, there isn't much to adjust, but it is always best to check that things are fastened correctly before every ride!, you never know what can happen.. my old uni used to have a problem with one of the crank arms coming loose after five minutes of riding, and every time i tightened it as much as i could.. Roger from unicycle.com (UK) soon sorted that for me though, but best to buy one of those tools just in case.

Enjoy reading about rust

Well, I can peddle well now, turn corners and bounce . One of my new years resolutions is to learn as many uni tricks as I can by the end of the year.

I have found that arms are so useful. I find if I move them like I'm jogging it works quite well to keep an even peddle.

To bounce, keep your legs locked straight and jump like you would if you were on a pogo stick. It also helps to have one hand holding the saddle and the other hand high in the air. The top of your legs can also steady the saddle.

Turning courners is all in the waist, exaggerated by your arms.

I disagree with the locking of the legs.

keeping your legs flexible as possible whilst hopping is best, it will enable you to be more steady and give you greater strength to leap forwards and to the sides but also give you the abillity to gain better hight for jumping onto walls, blocks etcetera

The same falls in to dropping off walls etcetera, by keeping your legs in a non locked possition you will able to take the impact of the landings through your legs rather than breaking them... however position of your feet on the pedals is a must, DO NOT land with only the toes on the pedals, i did this and could not walk properly for 4 months having pulled tendons in one of my feet.

Some good skill practice is to learn to ride seat out holding it with one hand and also learning to hop in this position too you will gain good control to move onto other tricks afterwards therefore not feeling unsteady and incapable.. (ie not getting pissed off and throwing your unicycle in frustration) .

Hope that helps you Jem.. and congratulations on your peddling.

A question I'd like a bit of help with.

I've been unicycling for a while now, I don't fall off any more (unless I hit something obviously) I can bounce and turn tight corners easily... I ride around off-road and over hills and such.

But I can't seem to idle!
I'll admit I haven’t practiced it that much, I am constantly discouraged from my failed attempts. But it is just something I never learned.

If you don’t know what an idle is, or you call it something else, it is basically going backwards and forwards on the unicycle so that you stay more or less in the same spot. Good for juggling. It is a forwards pedal – backwards pedal – forwards pedal – backwards pedal motion.

I just can’t seem to go forwards, stop, and peddle backwards! Am I only meant to go forwards one wheel rotation? two? half?
Help appreciated if anyone knows!

Next I’ll pester you about wheel-walking.

i got to play unicycle hockey yesterday. it was two teams of about 4 or 5, playing 4 quarters of it in 30 - 35 degree heat.

i found it extra hard because it was my first time riding a 24" wheel

PK: Thanks for the write up! very interesting. From what I read elseehere, as long as the bearing and cranks are maintained and the uni isn't waterlogged at some point, they hold up fine.

Jem: do what PK said If I can add to that, I use the the tire as a "spring" when I am jumping for height or distance. Instead of bending my legs and then jumping up, I stomp down on the pedals and then spring up. This compresses the tire, causing it to spring back to its normal postion and aid your jumping. Don't lock your legs for landing bigger hops/jumps. To just hop on the spot so you don't fall over, you can lock.

McAlpine: This is how I learnt to idle..
1) ride forwards.
2)stop
3) pedal 1 revolution backwards
4)stop
5) ride forewards.
6) Practice practice practice.

Once you are comfortable with this change of directions, you just bring your stops closer together. so, after you go backwards, go forwards 2 strokes, then backwards 1 stroke, then forwards 2 strokes etc. You will reach a point where you go 1 rev forwards, 1 rev backwards, 1 rev forwards etc. There you have it - You can idle! now, practice practice practice to refine it, neaten it up, control, and idle forever. Hope that helps

Did I mention that you have to practice?

OWD: Good point

Pete: I played a little hockey over the weekend for the first time. Much fun, but so tiring! We are trying to organise a team here. there is an established club up country that has promised to come down to teach us the basics and play a few games once we have enough interest. fingers crossed.

PS: My descriptions make sense in my head - If they are not clear, tell me and I will try my best to clarify.

Idling.... As Dave said!... cos he taught me the basics many years ago

Idling one footed!... now there's a need for practice!!.

I found that much easier by keeping a foot on the fork head rather than keeping a foot out to the side... but then being comfortable riding one footed helps loads beforehand.

Any advice on wheel walking any one?... (even one footed scuffing) i was busy playing using a wall for support but so many times well more than that was on my arse on the floor rather than getting anywhere fast!.

Pete nice photo in your gallery of uni hockey... i spotted that a few days ago when you posted it.