New to Unicycling ....

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ColinOldnCranky
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Mon Apr 15, 2013 8:48 pm

norton75 wrote:Awesome footage of the little uni rider Colinoldncranky. Loved every minute of it. Loved his determination (much required to succed) He is 50 years younger than me and seemed to learn in half the time. Loved it.
Only 50! You're still a spring chicken.

Jo Bolton (son of the legendary grandaddy of community circus Reg Bolton) first performed with his dad on unicycle at six years of age. Certainly Jo was no slouch on the uni when his dad served him up as the surprise guest at my older daughters birthday many years ago. Thankfully Jo has been carrying on Reg's life work for many many years.
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mikedufty
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby mikedufty » Tue Apr 16, 2013 12:18 am

My kids are big enough now to reach the pedals on my 20" but refuse to believe the bit about UPDs not hurting, despite seeing me do it enough times. I did fall on my hands a couple of times while first learning, but they didn't see that.

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ColinOldnCranky
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Tue Apr 16, 2013 5:21 pm

Jump Mount

Something for you Mike. You may care to look at developing a jump (aka walking/rolling) mount. With that mount you can move DIRECTLY forward (much as you would wth the hand mount but quicker). And not worry about peds cutting close behind. By the time I start forward a jump mounter will already be five metres down the road. I think about it every time I mount up to cross at lights when the walk sign goes green

It's only my guess but I reckon that it may be a fairly easy transition from your hand mount than it would be for, say, me with a stationary (ie roll-back) mount. Your inital wheel position is pedals at 3 and 9 oclock when yo do your hand mount and you then move directly forward, which is the same as for a jump mount - and you probably already do a small jump to get both feet weighted at the same time anyway.

I 'm not sugesting it in place of a stationary mount btw - that is still the one best applied to most conditions. But as a desirable alternative that can even be the default mount if you choose.

I intend working on it myself for another reason. But you may already have a start on it.
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mikedufty
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby mikedufty » Wed Apr 17, 2013 12:43 pm

The hand mount is stationary most of the time. I can't idle though, so have to move off before too long or I fall over.

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ColinOldnCranky
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Wed Apr 17, 2013 12:53 pm

mikedufty wrote:The hand mount is stationary most of the time. I can't idle though, so have to move off before too long or I fall over.
That's the plus and the negative. You use it when you can be sure that the front is clear.

After many tens of thousands of mounts I have got pretty minimal/almost zero roll back I still need to be well out in front when I cross with peds at busy intersections. A jump mount would be perfect.

It can be a little hard on square taper cranks though.
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adrian_d
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby adrian_d » Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:31 pm

I'm wondering if anyone is confident enough to use Cleats with a unicycle haha. Would be a death wish :(
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mikedufty
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby mikedufty » Tue Apr 30, 2013 3:45 pm

http://www.unicycle.uk.com/blog/spd-good-or-bad/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby Scarfy96 » Wed Sep 25, 2013 4:05 pm

Just thought I would dig this one back up again.

After a winter of basically zero unicycling for too many reasons that none of you care about I got back on it yesterday afternoon. With great trepidation having not used my newish unicycle for at least 4 months and prior to that only a few times (and never mastered free mounts as I was struggling to adjust to the extra height to my old one) in the months leading up to that.

So up to a post, hopped on and off I went. Just like riding a bike, round the car park a few times and all good. Was relieved because I had been off it quite a while. Rode for about 20 minutes then thought what the heck, time to start working on free mounts again. Got about 1 in 10 which is about where I got to on my smaller one when I was riding a few times a week. So quite happy with that, I think this one (which fits me properly) will be much easier for free mounts so with a bit of practice I should be right. Just need to find a spot now because the garage roof doesn't have the clearance anymore (with the bigger uni) so I would bang my head in there.

Anyway, anyone else out there giving it a go as the seasons swing around?

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ColinOldnCranky
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Wed Sep 25, 2013 6:03 pm

Scarfy96 wrote:Just thought I would dig this one back up again.

After a winter of basically zero unicycling for too many reasons that none of you care about I got back on it yesterday afternoon. With great trepidation having not used my newish unicycle for at least 4 months and prior to that only a few times (and never mastered free mounts as I was struggling to adjust to the extra height to my old one) in the months leading up to that.

So up to a post, hopped on and off I went. Just like riding a bike, round the car park a few times and all good. Was relieved because I had been off it quite a while. Rode for about 20 minutes then thought what the heck, time to start working on free mounts again. Got about 1 in 10 which is about where I got to on my smaller one when I was riding a few times a week. So quite happy with that, I think this one (which fits me properly) will be much easier for free mounts so with a bit of practice I should be right. Just need to find a spot now because the garage roof doesn't have the clearance anymore (with the bigger uni) so I would bang my head in there.

Anyway, anyone else out there giving it a go as the seasons swing around?
Great Scarfy, you gotta be feeling good about that - you've obviously got past that critical point where riding is rooted in your engrams.

Like it or not unicyclists are always noticed and there is always at least one observer that takes delight in others failing something. So keep working on the freemounts. It looks very cool to that observer when you recover with an unfussed freemount.

There is plenty of advice here about freemounts so I won't bore you with repetition.
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ColinOldnCranky
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Wed Sep 25, 2013 6:08 pm

Reminds me Scarfy - I had to stop using the giraffe while a knee niggle sorted itself out. So I need to get cracking myself practicing the freemounts on it as I am required to take it to the Ride to Work brekky.

There is always soemthign to work on. And I'd hate to fail seven consecutive freemounts in the brekky crowd as I observed a performer do at the Edinburgh fringe a couple of years back. His crowd left out of embarrassment and then so did he. :oops:
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby antigee » Wed Sep 25, 2013 8:31 pm

got given one for my fiftieth and tried it for a few days but didn't get it - clearing out to move house "found it" and current house has large flat carport and railings - a bit of youtube and a lot of persistence and am very proud of my new skills - kids think its great but will change their minds if I venture out to the shops or do the school run - nothing special a 20" wheel cheapie but I swopped the pedals for some proper alloy mtb/bmx ones with pins much better - still not consistent with free mounting but close to getting every time but can't idle and that is driving me crazy, think first time downhill (not in the mtb sense - just a gentle slope) was exciting felt really like committing! - wearing wrist guards as took a couple of forward tumbles flat on to my hands

- its fun and ticks the old dog new trick box for me :-)

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ColinOldnCranky
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Wed Sep 25, 2013 9:38 pm

antigee wrote:wearing wrist guards as took a couple of forward tumbles flat on to my hands
Congrats.

Downhill will probably be the only place that you need to exercise a lot of caution which you may have worked out by now. Even now and after 30,000km I do not attack when going down anything mopre than the gentlest of slopes. Any other situation you can attack and you will very very rarely wind up on your hands. (Qualification to that - assumes not a very large wheel or short cranks.)

Congratulations btw. And forget what the kids say - life's too short to pass up opportunities and Dad can never be cool at anything in public. :?

Edit: Another qualification - assume footwear that does not get caught in the pedal which allows for early and automatic separation of the rider from the falling unicycle. (I mostly ride in crocs.)
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby antigee » Wed Sep 25, 2013 11:47 pm

cheers ColinOldnCranky a great thread with I think some really helpful advice - unicycling is great fun. that was a full stop ;-) but hope people keep contributing to this

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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby Scarfy96 » Thu Sep 26, 2013 10:36 am

Yep I am fairly confident I will get the free mount sorted with just a bit more practice. I get up no problems then "miss" the pedal with the 2nd foot (ie come down on it not quite right and slide off or tap it with my toe and spin it etc) or get up and then stall and go back down (forward or backwards). Definitely getting the feel, just needs a little more time.

One kid absolutely loves it (11) the other thinks I am the biggest embarrassment on the planet (13) but like I care! Car park had a gentle climb and downhill as well as plenty of flat so was enjoying the challenge of that as well.

Great stuff antigee, love reading about others giving it a go!

Colin - 7 fails in a row with a crowd isn't a good look :( By saying the "Ride to work brekkie" - are you seriously riding a giraffe the whole way to work? Isn't your commute like 6 or 8km or something?

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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Thu Sep 26, 2013 11:05 am

Scarfy96 wrote:...no problems then "miss" the pedal with the 2nd foot (ie come down on it not quite right and slide off or tap it with my toe and spin it etc)
Probably everyone has a problem with that second foot, myself included. So, for what it'sworth, my journey is as follows.

I used to try and put the left foot on top which required me to always have the pedal set at right angles to the crank but I still found consistency problems. I stuck with this for, maybe, more than 5000kms so I think I gave it a good go.

Eventually I settled on aiming to moving the left fool in FRONT of the pedal and bring it back onto it. I have found it to be amazingly consistent and now stick with it. And with time I could do it regardless of how the pedal happened to aligned.

With that sorted all Ineeded to do was improve the ease and speed at which I could then slide that left foot to be correctly centred on the minority of cases where it is does not go on ccentred. No drills, that came simply with experience.

btw I ride in crocs for reasons unrelated to unicycling. However it does make it really easy to adjust and centre. Also less inclination for the foot to stay stuck to the cycle when I do a UPD (unplanned dismount). From a twitter search it seems that a hell of a lot of other unicyclists choose to ride in crocs too. Of course, if you do use crocs then you will be so un-cool that you can say goodbye to the support from your eleven year old as well. :?
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby Scarfy96 » Thu Sep 26, 2013 11:53 am

Ahhhh, nice tip, thanks Colin, will try that next time I give it a go. Does your 2nd foot (left for me) come onto the peddle at about the top of the stroke (which is where I try to plonk it) or just before or past it (say at the 2 or 12 o'clock position)?

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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Thu Sep 26, 2013 3:49 pm

Scarfy96 wrote:Ahhhh, nice tip, thanks Colin, will try that next time I give it a go. Does your 2nd foot (left for me) come onto the peddle at about the top of the stroke (which is where I try to plonk it) or just before or past it (say at the 2 or 12 o'clock position)?
I'd say not much difference but I must have to raise my foot to before the pedal a little earlier if I do. I can't be sure but most things about it are not much different than putting it on the top.

Of course, with time and the improved capacity to adjust my foot very quickly, now days when I accidentally flip the pedal the wrong way I can choose to place my foot on the top or forward of the pedal. Though the former does like me to know how the angle the pedal is positioned to the crank whereas the foot-forward option is not at all fussy.
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Mon Oct 28, 2013 12:00 am

I've just read through th is whole thread (what are Sunday evenings for anyway
) and realised how busy some of you guys got with learning.

Curious to know how y'all are doing now? Mikedufty's mounts, Scarfy's mounts, is Isabella riding? Norton, you seemed to advance pretty quickly, Are you using it for regular activities like short trips to the shops?

Anyone on a giraffe? Anyone one a 36" (You have my vote if you have cracked that.)

And has anyone found some riding company or regular group rides. If you haven't you may try and get a few out with you on a weekend. Weekend scenic routes where there is some general activity and just enough peds to show off to without them getting in your way. Those conditions takes your attention away from thoughts of "this riding is getting me tired" and "Wonder how far it is to the end."
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby Scarfy96 » Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:15 am

Unfortunately I don't get regular time on my uni so progress is not rapid. I have been training for triathlon a lot of late and had an event on the weekend and another one in a month and most of my spare time has gone into that.

That said I am fairly comfortable riding around on my uni now. I can free mount probably 1 in 5 on average but it seems to come and go a bit, sometimes I can get it first time others it takes me 7 or 8 attempts to get up. Each time I ride I feel a bit more comfortable and riding it for a few hundred metres in no longer daunting. Quads still take a bit of a hammering but not as bad as previously.

Once the next tri is over at the end of November I have nothing much on my calendar for Dec/Jan and plan on spending some more time on it then. I am away for a bit over 2 weeks in January at a beach house and that is a fantastic location to ride it and hope to ride it to the local shops, along the cycleway etc there quite a bit. Still loving it every time I get on it, just too many things in my life to devote much time to it at the moment.

Would love to hear how the others are going.

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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby antigee » Mon Oct 28, 2013 1:13 pm

still trying to get to idling - I think part of problem is that years of mountain biking mean tend to lock out in wrong position - improved my turning and am getting tighter turns and can do clockwise circles but not consistent at anticlockwise! - when first started learning I bought a pair of 5.10 skate shoes as I find that the heel cushioning that sticks out to the side on running trainers would often catch on the cranks if foot not quite far enough out on pedal
passed a guy on I think a 36" during the Bay in a Day he was doing the 210km City Sorrento return said he'd tried to do the 250km round last year but didn't make the ferry in time - was going at a fair pace was near to Rosebud at 11am ish very impressed

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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby Scarfy96 » Mon Oct 28, 2013 2:29 pm

Yeah I cant get idling at this stage either, still working on that.

I use a pair of minimalist running shoes to ride in, for similar reason as you say. Wow impressive effort doing 210km in a day!

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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Mon Oct 28, 2013 3:24 pm

Idling is not easy for anyone. It is somewhat easier on a tall unicycle - the sort that you see under street performers. It is what I would call an essential skil.

However it requires a lot of use to get comfortable with and, while I can do it, I am far from comfortable. So I avoid it a lot when I really shoudld be working on it. It is certainly a skill that we should all work towards.

How's everyone else doing?
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mikedufty
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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby mikedufty » Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:05 pm

My unicycle is sadly neglected, making a nice home for some spiders. My kids have got too fast for me to keep up with on it now, and I've kind of achieved by goal of being able to ride one at all. My eldest son is probably big enough for the 20" now though, not displaying a lot of interest in learning though, prefers 2 wheels.

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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby norton75 » Sat Nov 02, 2013 9:26 pm

I have been riding all winter three to five days per week. Haven't checked in here for a while and when I do you guys are back, which has all the way through, provided inspiration. Thanks. Going well with free mounts. First or second time consistantly, except when tired or been on the beers ! Haven't put any time into idling...something to consider. I would also like a crack at a 24" uni. I'm still on my Crane uni. I don't crash or drop it now, so I can see it lasting a while longer. Had to rotate the tyre due to turning wear spots forming. Nearly completely bald now. I still find once my feet are planted it is quite awkward to reposition them. I too ride in Crocs or thongs. Still loving it.

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Re: New to Unicycling ....

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Sat Nov 02, 2013 11:56 pm

Bedaudy Norton I can't see where you are at but, if by a chance, you are in Perth, I am trying to organise a group ride, probably Sat16th or Sun17th which you may be interested in joining.

Same for anyone else around Perth. You only need to be a competent rider. And the data and where is still changeable, though not very likely.

Anyone who can make it, head over to Perth Unicyclists at https://www.facebook.com/groups/31211059192/
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