Free mount a Big One?

[elares]

Still a newby, I've only managed to free mount my 20" a dozen times or
more. Now I've acquired a Coker and can't conceive a free mount there.
Any advise to speed the epiphany?
Thanks very much in advance. Great to have found this group!
So sorry if this has been asked and answered many times. Point me to an
URL if available and I'll check it out.

R.


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[one wheeled stallion]

I don't own a Coker myself, but I've heard they're for intermediate
riders only. Quite hard to ride I think and very dangerous if you don't
(even if you do, I guess too) know how to use it properly!


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[onefiftyfour]

I recommend watching 'these videos'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/cokertricksters) .

Can you ride the coker with an assisted mount? (For example, mounting
while grabbing a car or lightpost) If not, I would start there before
the free-mount.

Goodluck and keep with it.

-Eric


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[onefiftyfour]

and 'this thread' (http://tinyurl.com/yaib) might help.

-eric


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[elares]

Thanks for the tips so far. I'll check out the links.
Yes, I can ride it w/ assisted mount. Quite a rush. My goal is to ride
it to work (15miles) in the spring.


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[onewheelwizzard]

What I do with the Coker, and I've gotten to be quite good at
freemounting it, is I rotate the wheel until the back crank is just
below horizontal and the front crank is just above horizontal. Then I
put the seat in, step on the back crank, *here's the important part*
grab the wheel to stop it from moving, bring my left foot to the front
crank, and start riding. I can freemount without doing this but it
isn't nearly as easy. Actually, on any uni with a short enough seat
post, you can start with the cranks horizontal, grab the wheel, bring
your other foot up, and ride away without a quarter-revolution
backwards. It's the easy way out, but it works.

Oh look, as I type this, the video onefiftyfour referenced downloaded,
and the 9-year old in it did exactly that (only as a running mount). I
haven't tried it running yet. Well, I hope it proves my point that
grabbing the wheel to immobilize it can help ...


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[shadowuni]

i am the owner of the coker that the afforementioned onewheelwizzard
practices on, and i can tell you that holding the tire is kind of easy,
but it is easier to get used to just putting one foot on, and then
hopping up on it and putting the other foot on. if you do it right the
wheel shouldnt move, plus you can use the now free hand to stabilize
yourself. cokering is fun, and its funny to hear little kids say, "im
going to put one of those on my bike". thats when i laugh at them.


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[nick]

There are quite a few ways I can get onto my coker (Im 6.1 by the way,
it probably helps to be taller rather than shorter in this case.)

anyways, at first Id do a roll back mount, but I'd grab onto the tire to
help roll it back, it worked out pretty well.

Or a roll back mount, with no tire grabbing.

or a rolling mount, where you put the pedals horizontal (i think thats
where I have them anyways) step onto the forward pedal, push down, hop
on, and ride.

or a jump mount, pedals horrizontal, hold onto the seat, jump on, go.

Suicide mount, same as a jump, just dont hold on.

Im trying kick up mounts, but im pretty afraid of breaking the coker, so
I dont try very hard.

Oh, I guess I can do a side mount too.

In all seriousness, If you have the height for it, Id start jump
mounting it.


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[JonM]

I'd say practice freemounting on a normal-sized unicycle first. If you
practice freemounts there, you should be able to get consistently good
within a few hours.

I only had access to a Coker for one weekend (but I did ride something
like 13 miles that weekend), but here's how I was able to freemount
it:

- Address the cycle, placing the dominant foot (right, in my case) on
the appropriate pedal, and the saddle between your legs.

- The pedal should be about 40 degrees below horizontal. If you're
having troubles mounting, tweak this to suit you.

- Make sure the cycle is vertical (straight up and down). This may be
hard if you're short (I'm 5'11", with a 32" inseam).

- With your left leg, push forward and up. Pushing forward will cause
the rear pedal to rise, allowing you to put weight on it.

- Use the momentum you got from pushing forward to step up with your
right foot and quickly place your left on the other pedal.

- Start pedaling. You're going to have to fight the wheel, so unweight
the right pedal and shift your weight to the left.

- Once you're moving, get settled and continue riding. This is the easy
part. :)

-Jon


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[tomblackwood]

JonM wrote:
> *I only had access to a Coker for one weekend (but I did ride
> something like 13 miles that weekend), but here's how I was able to
> freemount it:*

I was fortunate to witness how quickly JonM picked up the freemount on
the above mentioned weekend. I've probably got 350 or so miles on mine,
and I still struggle with a standing or roll-back freemount.

What works best for me is a two-step rolling mount. I start with my
dominant right side crank horizontal and pointing at (closer to) me. I
put my left foot forward, grab the front of the seat, then take two
steps...right foot, left foot....to gain a little speed. My left foot
hitting corresponds with the right crank being just past bottom and on
it's way up to horizonal again. I push off harder with my left foot,
bring my right up onto the rising right pedal, and use my momentum to
carry me immediately into pedaling.

Ain't elegant, but I can hit it with 80%+ success now.


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[Sofa]

'Here are 2 Mounts. a suicide and something hopping up related - 3.5MB
quicktime' (http://www.brianmackenzie.com/CokerMounts.mov)

Give yourself a little time to master mounting this beast, and once you
do, you are unstoppable (remember...sometimes that is NOT good!)


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[carjug]

Don't bother learning to freemount the Coker for a while, it is hard
enough just to ride the thing. Get to the point wwhere you are saying
"gee, I didn't know I could do that" , then start on the freemounts.

I used a long stick at first. I can freemount about half the time on
a really good day, first try don't count. Roll On! carjug


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[Sofa]

carjug wrote:
> *Don't bother learning to freemount the Coker for a while, it is hard
> enough just to ride the thing. Get to the point wwhere you are saying
> "gee, I didn't know I could do that" , then start on the freemounts.
>
>
> I used a long stick at first. I can freemount about half the time
> on a really good day, first try don't count. Roll On! carjug *


I completely disagree

Keep trying until you can get it. Try rolling it a little, then
springing up and landing your good foot on the pedal that is coming up
and around and is horizontal to the ground.

This little bit of momentum really helps out.

I freemount every new uni I get until I have it mastered. It's much
quicker in the long run. By the time you can mount it nicely, you have
tons of control with it already.


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[UNI GUY]

I must agree with everyone, sort of.
Sofa has a good point because he's sofa, haha no I mean when I first
learnt to ride, I didn't learn to mount unassisted and this became a
huge hinderance for me forever. I believe had I first leant to mount the
unicycle, then I would have gone straight to learning to ride, as
apposed to me having learnt to ride first and not worrying about the
mounting part for a long time.


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[carjug]

Yeah, It's a toss-up, and the answer depends on elair's ability. If he
is like me he is better off waiting, if he is like Sofa he, (or she?),
is better off giving it a go. I couldn't freemount until after I had
idling down cold, but I know a child who could do anything imaginable
after only a month of riding. This isn't something to lose any sleep
over. carjug


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[Sofa]

carjug wrote:
> * if he is like Sofa he, (or she)*


Whichever you are most comfortable with


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[Sofa]

carjug wrote:
> *Yeah, It's a toss-up, and the answer depends on elair's ability. If
> he is like me he is better off waiting, if he is like Sofa he, (or
> she?), is better off giving it a go. I couldn't freemount until after
> I had idling down cold, but I know a child who could do anything
> imaginable after only a month of riding. This isn't something to lose
> any sleep over. carjug *



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[Sofa]

something screwwy with the the server made me post that second wacky
post


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[joemarshall]

Vids of a couple of coker mounts are here

http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albuq60

I find the rollback easiest as you're more in control, but the standard
mount requires much less leg strength.

The trick is to put one foot on the pedal, then jump up onto the
unicycle, you have to jump more than you thing you need to.

Joe


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[Sofa]

Does no body else use a rolling mount? Walk with the Coker in front of
you, and as the good pedal is coming up, hop on?

I can't believe how much control you get right out of the gate. If
anyone is not using this method, you should certainly try it our once or
twice.

This way, as your second foot is landing on the pedal, it's already
starting to push it around.


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[johnfoss]

Sofa wrote:
> *Does no body else use a rolling mount? *
That seems the most common. I can't imagine freemounting any other way,
except for display or skill purposes.

Take a step or two forward, and hop up, stopping the wheel while you do,
until your body gets on top of, and slightly in front of the axle, where
you start pedaling.

If you're having trouble with this, you may need to practice on a
smaller uni first. After a while it will get pretty easy.

I still find the Coker a little bit more work to mount than my hard-tire
45" big wheel. I think this is due to the grippy tire, which inhibits
you from making any quick twisting motions to help smooth out the first
foot or two of riding. On the Coker it helps to just be centered, so you
don't have to make any turns as you start to ride away.

Stick with it!


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[carjug]

If would love to be able to do a rolling mount on a Coker, I plan on
learning it next summer. I t was on a video from unicycle dot com which
I got with the jugglebug package for my nephew last Christmas. It looks
reliable and pain free; but for now the only way to get me to freemount
is to take away all nearby trees and mailboxes.


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[elares]

You are the BEST. A question about a specific skill on a specific brand
of unicycle and you folks have come up with 20 useful responses and
VIDEO in two days.
Amazing.
I thought I was alone.

Thank you, all

elares (Ron)


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[Sofa]

Yay Us!


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[XWonka]

Hear hear! Hooray For me! Jolly-good! Capital, Old Boy!


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war which has not yet been justified." -Rowan

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[Klaas Bil]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 09:23:20 -0600, Sofa
> wrote:

>carjug wrote:
>> * if he is like Sofa he, (or she)*
>
>
>Whichever you are most comfortable with

Sofa, are you suggesting that you have the authority to allow a choice
about Elares's gender?
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
"Friends don't let friends drop to flat - Kris Holm, discussing large drops to flat ground."

[Sofa]

nope, I see that after you quoted me, that I am just an idiot, and
misread that one :(


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[GILD]

Sofa wrote:
> * I see that I am just an idiot:( *


now that sofa's up to speed...

;)


ps. sofa's 'dont-ride-it-till-u-freemount-it' aproach really comes into
it's own when u want to learn to freemount the raffie


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[Sofa]

GILD wrote:
> *
>
>
> ps. sofa's 'dont-ride-it-till-u-freemount-it' aproach really comes
> into it's own when u want to learn to freemount the raffie *


I learned the giraffe by freemounting it. :)

I'm tellin ya, it's simply the best way


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[U-Turn]

The only way I could ride Greg's uni.5, in both 24" and 700c
incarnations, was to freemount it. I tried the rail thing and just
couldn't get it.


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[wobbling bear]

johnfoss wrote:
> Take a step or two forward, and hop up, stopping the wheel while you
> do, until your body gets on top of, and slightly in front of the axle,
> where you start pedaling.
>

for me the problem was with "slightly in front"
I was too much in front, falled forward (no big deal, I've missed that
way dozen of times)
but my rear foot sent the coker violently back
the saddle hit my Achille's tendon ... and smashed it!

next time (in 3 months now :mad: ) I will wear protective gear
for the back of my leg!

bear


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[tomblackwood]

johnfoss wrote:
> *I still find the Coker a little bit more work to mount than my
> hard-tire 45" big wheel. *

My Rule #1 is not to argue with John Foss about mounting techniques, but
this is one I hope you can someday show me live. I can mount my Coker
with 75-80% effectiveness. I tried to mount Rob Brown's 45" hardtire
about 20 times this year in the gym at the Portland Juggling Festival,
and I couldn't even get close. I saw some people try and fail while
still making it over the top, but I couldn't even get to that point.


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[johnfoss]

tomblackwood wrote:
> *I can mount my Coker with 75-80% effectiveness. I tried to mount Rob
> Brown's 45" hardtire about 20 times this year in the gym at the
> Portland Juggling Festival, and I couldn't even get close. *
It's a very different ride from a Coker, especially on a gym floor. A
gym floor is like riding on ice, and side-to-side friction is very
minimal. Turn very carefully!

But I haven't seen Rob's unicycle or what was happening when you guys
were mounting it, so I can't really comment further. Too bad we didn't
try this at MUni Weekend...

The main thing a Coker does different from a hard-tire big wheel when
you mount it is go straight. It's a lot more resistive to twisting to
the sides. This is probably what was messing you guys up, as you were
probably more used to riding Cokers.


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[U-Turn]

tomblackwood wrote:
> *
> My Rule #1 is not to argue with John Foss about mounting techniques,
> but this is one I hope you can someday show me live. I can mount my
> Coker with 75-80% effectiveness. I tried to mount Rob Brown's 45"
> hardtire about 20 times this year in the gym at the Portland Juggling
> Festival, and I couldn't even get close. I saw some people try and
> fail while still making it over the top, but I couldn't even get to
> that point. *
It may also have been that the seat was just too high for your leg
length, perhaps because of the larger wheel. I simply can't mount a
Coker when the seat is too high.


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