Why don't I fall off in the ice?
 

Everything is covered in ice here now. We did have dry frosty weather
which looked great on the trees, and the trails were dry, but it warmed
up yesterday for a little while, then froze again, and everywhere is now
really slippy.

I went out for a short ride, to exercise my dogs, and I didn't fall
once. I didn't try anything on a slope as didn't want to tempt fate, but
on the flat I felt quite safe. I have unicycled in the ice before, but
it still surprises me.

Once you get you head around it, you can travel along quite happily. Is
it because you are perfectly balanced when you are on the unicycle? I
know there will be limits to what you will get away with, but just
riding along is easy.

Innes


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Why don't I fall off in the ice?
 

One thing that helps to keep you on top when riding on ice is the
'coefficient of static friction.'
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friction) As discussed in the article
linked, the coefficient of static friction is quite a bit larger than
the coefficient of dynamic friction. This means that as long as your
wheel is rolling and not sliding it is not very likely that you'll fall.
If you apply a lot of torque to the wheel (by climbing uphill as you
mentioned or trying to stop downhill) the chances are greater that your
wheel will break free from the ice surface and you will go into a skid
from which you can't recover.


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harper

-Greg Harper

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Why don't I fall off in the ice?
 

I was just out for a longer ride on mainly tarmac, and it went well. The
only time I had a problem was when I was riding over an area that looked
slippier than other areas, my head was telling me that I souldn't be
able to ride over it and I tensed up making me have to get off.

Harper; that must be why you feel quite safe when you keep a steady
pace and don't do any sudden turns.

Innes


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Why don't I fall off in the ice?
 

harper;1162604 wrote:
One thing that helps to keep you on top when riding on ice is the
'coefficient of static friction.'
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friction) As discussed in the article
linked, the coefficient of static friction is quite a bit larger than
the coefficient of dynamic friction. This means that as long as your
wheel is rolling and not sliding it is not very likely that you'll fall.
If you apply a lot of torque to the wheel (by climbing uphill as you
mentioned or trying to stop downhill) the chances are greater that your
wheel will break free from the ice surface and you will go into a skid
from which you can't recover.



+1, also your center of gravity is usually directly above your wheel
which helps.


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OneWheelLess

sigg
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Why don't I fall off in the ice?
 

We have had a good hard frost here in the Highlands over the last couple
of days which has been great as I have been learning to freemount and
the hard ground on my lawn has been perfect for me and I havent got
muddy when I have fallen :cool:


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Alan Hogan
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Why don't I fall off in the ice?
 

OneWheelLess;1162662 wrote:
your center of gravity is usually directly above your wheel which helps.



Above your wheel, yes.

Above your contact patch, no... unless you're still-standing.


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maestro8

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contemplate the extent of human stupidity. -- François-Marie Arouet de
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Why don't I fall off in the ice?
 

I ride on outdoor downtown skating rinks with a 24muni tire until
security kicks me out. It is so fun, with practice you can spin the tire
without falling, hop, and more. Free mounting is difficult. Someone has
posted articles online about using metal studded tires and doing
routines with figure skaters.


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Ben Meighen

Git-R-Done
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