Newbie advice

[dbp_1999]

Hi all,
had a uni for about a year now and have decided to focus more on
learning to ride it. I can do the wall thing to get on but my pedalling
is VERY erratic. Any hints on how to avoid the dead spots at the bottom
of the stroke. I seem to favour right foot at 6 o'clock and then flick
myself off. Also I am using the balls of my feet, should I be using the
flats? Finally, what height should I aim for the saddle to be, too low
an dI find it hard to pedal, too high and hard to reach for pedal, any
guidelines...


--
dbp_1999
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[bugman]

dbp_1999 wrote:
> *Hi all,
> had a uni for about a year now and have decided to focus more on
> learning to ride it. I can do the wall thing to get on but my
> pedalling is VERY erratic. Any hints on how to avoid the dead spots at
> the bottom of the stroke. I seem to favour right foot at 6 o'clock and
> then flick myself off. Also I am using the balls of my feet, should I
> be using the flats? Finally, what height should I aim for the saddle
> to be, too low an dI find it hard to pedal, too high and hard to reach
> for pedal, any guidelines... *


Some of this works its way out as you ride more.

Sit heavy in the seat, like if you were holding onto a wall and resting.
If all of your weight is on the pedals, you tend to keep the pedals
from going through a smooth stroke.

The other thing that is tough to get used to is there is no coasting,
you have to mentally force yourself to keep pedalling until it comes
naturally.


--
bugman - Survivor 2004 Wolfman Duathalon

My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with
his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive
achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.
Ayn Rand
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[brian.slater]

Set the seat height as you would for a bicycle - with your weight
centered on the seat, your heel on the pedal, and the pedal level, then
your knee should be just slightly bent, just enough that it isn't
straight. Note that this is to high for trials or MUni but good for
flat or roads.

Whether you are on the balls of your feet or the instep seems to be a
personal thing and depends on what you're doing, I favor the balls of my
feet when on the road with -occasional- instep when doing MUni.

You probably are still not putting your weight on the seat (a common
problem when learning) so you have too much pressure on the pedals. Two
things, try to put more weight in the seat and try to think
pedal-in-a-circle instead of thinking push-down-on-the-pedal. Even
professional cyclists have to remember to pedal-in-a-circle.

Have fun learning to ride and remember to stick to it, you CAN do it if
you stick to it.

We will expect to see a post of I CAN DO IT!!! from you, it's a great
feeling.


--
brian.slater - Nellfurtiti, the Wonder Cat

Brian C. Slater
AKA: Snoopy

Ok, I am now officially in my normal state of -advanced- confusion.
Don't try to confuse me, it won't make any difference.

"To not decide is to decide" - undecided
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[dbp_1999]

Thanks.
I have spent two hours practicing already. Pleased to say I now have
bloody holes in my right shin (boy these things drop fast!) but have
managed three connected pedals (although it feels more like a controlled
fall at this point).
I have made two wooden poles to act as stabilisers as there are just not
enough walls on the roads!


--
dbp_1999
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[Mikefule]

Right, let's get you started.

SEAT HEIGHT.
With the cranks in the 6 and 12 position (vertical), sit comfortably on
the seat. Wearing flat heeled shoes, put your heel on the bottom pedal
(which is at bottom dead centre/6 oçlock position). Your leg should be
straight, but you shouldn't need to stretch or 'lock'your knee. That is
exactly the right height for a bicycle saddle. However, for a unicycle,
you would probably lower the saddle a tiny amount - a centimetre/half an
inch.

It matters. You wouldn't run down the road with your knees bent, or go
hiking on tip toes. In the same way, you need your unicycle seat at the
right height to be able to pedal smoothly and efficiently.

MOUNTING
Against a wall. Put the pedals at 6 and 12, with the lower one further
from the wall. Put your foot on the lower pedal, with a lot of weight.
Put the seat in position between your legs, then pivot the whole
unicycle and yourself up into position against the wall. Keep your
weight on the lower pedal as this stops the unicycle from scooting away
from you.

NEXT
You are now sitting on the unicycle, with the pedals in the 6 and 12
position. You probably have both hands holding the wall.

Allow your weight to sink onto the saddle so that your feet are only
lightly resting on the pedals. This is important: weight on the seat.

Now, move the unicycle until the pedals are in the 9 and 3 position
(cranks horizontal).

About now, you should feel confident to take one hand away from the
wall. You will have the unicycle about 18 inches (45 cm) away from the
wall, parallel to the wall, with the cranks horizontal, your weight on
the saddle, and the hand nerest to the wall supporting you slightly.

Now, get comfortable in this position. Experiment a bit, moving the
unicycle an inch or two forwards and backwards. Keep most of your
weight on the saddle.

Now, adjust the unicycle into such a position that your favoured foot is
above horizontal. If you are right handed, you will probably favour
your right foot. This means you need to get yourself in a position
where your right foot is at about 2 and your left foot at about 8 on the
clock face.

STARTING
Now, angle the uni slightly away from the wall. Allow the uni to start
to fall ever so slightly away from the wall. Now pedal.

Count the pedal strokes.

Keep practising.

Your sequence will go something like this:
1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,2,1,2,1,1,1,2,2, 3,1,2,2,1,3,2,3,2,4
and so on. That is there will be lots of times when you make exactly
one pedal stroke then fall off, but gradually, the number of strokes
will increase until you are regularly doing 2s and 3s. By the time you
are regularly doing 5s and 6s, you are on the cusp of unicycledom. 10,
15 and 20 pedal strokes are within sight, then you start aiming for
distances: 10 metres, 20 metres, down to the corner, 500 metres, 100
miles...

IMPORTANT
Keep at it, in short bursts of practice lasting 20 - 30 minutes. If you
fall off the back, you are doing it wrong. If you fall off the front,
that is good. The secret is to commit yourself. Start to fall forwards
(ever so slightly) then move the unicycle to keep up with you. Like an
object in orbit, you are always falling but never landing.

Pedal smoothly, weight on saddle, and look some distance ahead. Keep
your back straight (don't stoop forwards).

Good luck.


--
Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling

Everyone should be fatuous for 15 minutes.
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[LegoBoy]

I started unicycling less than a month ago. I started practicing by just
riding arroung holding onto stuff. Once I could do that well I started
in a doorway and would try to ride as far as I could. It took two weeks
to learn how to ride farther than three feet. after the third week I
then built my distance up to 40 feet. Now I can ride for about 1/3 of a
mile. Although I still need to learn how to free mount (no sucsessfull
attempts at it yet). But just keep trying and you'll get it.


--
LegoBoy
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