Eric Praetzel - Learning to Unicycle

Unicycle Comments

I've been warned that learning to ride forward, track stand / balance and ride backwards are three different skills which each take as much time to master.

I'm pretty good at cycling - I can track stand but not as well as some - that is I turn the wheel so that the bike will naturally roll backwards and balance that by pedaling forward. I tend to jiggle around while the best rides don't. I've also not been able to balance or ride on a rear wheel of a bike for more than a fraction of a second.

As my balance on the unicycle improves - it has done nothing for my balance on a bicycle (trackstands)!

One just can't coast on a unicycle - it's like a track bike and one must fight the impulse to just let the wheel spin!

Slight grades are hard to deal with when beginning! Both low and high speeds are nasty. One wishes for handles bars to reef on to get power going up a grade.

Unicycle Diary

Sept 24, 2010:
I saw a unicycle while at a meeting and it was insanity at first sight. It was too big but removing the seat padding solved that problem. It felt like mounting a pole anchored in greased lightening. Gawd it felt high up and utterly unstable. Aside from a few shots at it I didn't do much that day.
Sept 25:
Today I mounted it using a wall, or cabinet for balance and tried rocking a bit. I discovered very quickly that the way to mount it is with the pedal about 4 o'clock so that the wheel is forced back and under you as you press on the pedal. It didn't seem as insane any more. I tried some rocking with one pedal at 6 o'clock and it was really hard dealing with that dead zone. I think that the practice helped. In successive days I became much more comfortable at point in the pedal stroke.
Sept 26:
No practice at all.
Sept 27:
I tried launching from a car or house as my support. I managed to make it 2 or 3 yards/meters sometimes. Then - bingo, I made it 3/4 of the way around the street circle. I was able to repeat that and then did the full circle and a bit more. But I'm still very erratic - perhaps once in every 5 tries do I manage to make it any distance at all.
Sept 28:
This was not a good day. I practiced very little. The previous day I did a bunch of tree cutting and my arms and legs were aching. I clearly was lacking some fine muscle/balance control because I was not going long distances at all.
Sept 29:
Zowie - I got it. I did runs of hundreds of meters/yards. Also I was able to mount it, and ride away, without a wall a few times! I need space - so I'm outside a lot. Turning is still an issue - big lazy turns and I can do turns in wide hallways and control things enough to shoot thru a door opening. Low speed anything is an issue.
Sept 30:
This day was a bit of a downer - things didn't work as well as yesterday.
Oct 1:
I've had a bit better luck getting up and going without a wall to balance with. I've also noticed some improvement at handling a grade. But I seem to be more prone to just let the uni throw me off (at times stuck mostly balanced) instead of doing a controlled dump to the front or back with a pedal kick.
Oct 2:
Rain rain rain.
Oct 3:
I'm improving on grades and mounting.
Oct 4:
Longer distance riding is getting much easier, mounting is improving and I'm getting signif. better at handling grades (uphill tends to be easier than down). I find that I lean forward or backward higher or lower speeds and to the left or right when I try tighter turns.
I still get hot riding - I get the impression that many muscles which don't need to be involved are getting used! Generally my arms are by my side while riding now - I've never really had to windmill them around much.
Oct 7:
The last 2 days have shown some improvement in mounts (perhaps 50% of the time it works for me) and longer distance riding. I'm now starting to feel comfortable riding it.
Oct 8:
I've started mounting the uni without holding onto the seat with a hand and I'm getting better at tighter turns.
Oct 9:
For the first time I had a padded seat instead of sitting on the hard plastic shell (bought a new seat post and cut it to side). It's much harder to mount the uni and ride it. I was not expecting to have to get used to such a small change. With the padding the seat is harder to hold between my legs - I need to hold it with my hand to mount it.
I found that I was not really putting my weight on the seat but keeping my weight on my legs. Now I'm trying to get used to keeping my weight on the seat.
Oct 10:
I'm not really improving much at turns however I've now done a 3km ride. Distance is no longer an issue - mounting and turning are. I am able to handle bumps better than before - but not at slow speeds.
Oct 12:
Wahooo I mounted it 8 times out of 8 tries! Now to work on rocking and going backwards.
Oct 13:
I took a tour from the campus to uptown Waterloo with gravel paths. I also did a few runs up and down the "hill" at the campus entrance. I think that I'm getting better at abrupt turns. I manage to mount it most of the time on the first try. Today I started to work on running off of curbs. I can survive the drop perhaps half of the time.
Oct 15:
I've had some luck on going backwards - making it 2 pedal revolutions a few times. My rocking keeps me upright for perhaps a second. Both will need a lot more time. I'm also mounting now by not holding the seat - although I prefered the smaller, more slender plastic shell for mounting.
Oct 18:
My right ankle hurts when I practice as I'm right food dominate so I'm always launching, landing and powering on my right foot. I've been pushing hard to learn more and am not good at mounting right foot first yet. I've managed to stall while going foward and then back up about 2 or 3 pedal revolutions at the best of times. Learning to go backwards is taking work. I'm not good at rocking yet.
Oct 19:
I'm improving slightly on going backwards and have made it 4 pedal revolutions. A few times it felt like I was in a sweet spot for a revolution or two. The best place to practice is against a smooth wall or sometimes I stop at a post and then start backwards.
It's time to get my own uni. I had to return the borrowed one.
Oct 26:
Our UDC (UniCycle Dot Com) unicycles arrived today. The 12" fits the kids nicely and the 26" is just my size - I didn't have to cut the stock seat post. When the seatpost from the 12" is used in the 26" then it fits my partner and the seatpost from the 26" in the 12" makes it tall enough for me to ride.
Nov 1:
Going backwards and rocking is taking time. I'm slowly getting better. I was able to get the hang of riding a 12" uni pretty quickly. Starting is hard (one foot on the ground and the pedal to hold it upright for mounting).
Nov 2:
Ahhh - I'm so close to having going backwards. Sometimes I've got it - I can slow down and speed up and somewhat control my direction! BUT ONLY SOMETIMES! I did manage to do a few hops today - very low - and with a post beside me to stabilize me. Hot DAMM. I can mount and go backwards for a bit; but alternating between forwards and backwards still eludes me.
Nov 3:
Sweet - I'm able to backup slowly and control my direction - SOMETIMES for about 8 pedal revolutions.
Nov 4:
I've noticed some improvement on tight turns (twist the wheel) and on backing up (can go further and control direction but it's still spotty). A hill I was unable to handle 2 weeks ago I can now go up and down.
Nov 10:
I did the 5km (3mi) commute into work on unicycle. My left knee ached a bit and my crotch was starting to get sore. I only had one unintentional dismount when I was going too fast - it actually took a few seconds to realize I was loosing it. Now for some practice on backing up, hoping, rocking before I head back home. The MTB knobby tires makes backing up harder!!
By the time I made it home I'd spent 2 hours on the uni and was so tired that my riding was ragged and getting sloppy.
Nov 15:
Breakthru I'm starting to get rocking - but it's by doing alternate forward and backward by 1/2 to 1 wheel revolution. I managed to alternate a few times at several times. I did an 8km ride with Drew, lapping the camps and that was leaving me a bit sloppy at the end although I didn't feel tired.
My daughter managed to get the hang of unicycling and did about 200m runs a few times.
I also rode a Cooker - first generation "The Big One". It's heavy, I mean HEAVY! I did get the hang of free mounting it after a handful of tries and that was easier than trying to use a car. It's slow on the cornering and quite a handful at low speeds; but what an experience. I tried a Semcycle 29" as well but the tires were underinflated but still I really felt the difference of having short crank arms.
Nov 18:
It's been wet and cold so no practice to speak of.
Nov 30:
Snow, rain and more rain. Today I was able to do 5 hops. My backing up isn't iproving but I'm getting slightly better at forward / backward alternations and at rocking. My best is about 4 rocks on the spot. I've tried one foot rocking and it strikes me as the opposite motion as 2 foot rocking. Either way it's very difficult right now.
Dec 2:
I can hop upto 10 or 15 times now and then. I tend to creep backwards and find that I need to alternate hands and feet. So if the right foot is forward I put my left hand on the seat and vice versa. I'm a bit better with my left food forward - which is how I trackstand a bicycle. I can't hop very high (2cm) - but I can slow down and hop higher or do low fast hops.
Dec 20:
I can do 90 degree turns, left or right, with a hop. But that's with my left foot forward - it's hardware with my right foot. My balance is improving slowly and it's making my backing up improve.
Jan 5:
One foot rocking doesn't feel utterly beserk any more and I can rock a few times sometimes.
Jan 11:
I believe that I've got backing up with some direction control. I don't have fine control - the ability to go in tight circles yet. Riding with the saddle in front is improving a bit - I can make it perhaps 1 pedal rev. right now.
Jan 13:
LockTight 242 on the pedals finally stoped them from unscrewing just a bit and clicking. The crank arm nuts always unthread themselves just a bit even though I also tried that weak LockTight.
Jan 14:
The pedals are quiet. I'm better with the seat in front if my right hand is on it than with my left. About half of the time I can get 3 or 4 pedal revolutions before I start to veer to one side or the other.
Jan 17:
I can do right foot rocking sometimes for > 5 rocks. Left foot rocking is much worse. Riding with the seat in front is coming slowly - no reliability yet.
Jan 18:
I believe that I've got right foot rocking. Part of the secret was getting good enough so that when I mount I have a good fraction of a second before I start to loose balance. Left foot rocking isn't as good.
Jan 26:
I took a ride thru some snow and slush - going backwards on uneven, rough pavement is different than perfectly smooth and flat hallways!
Jan 27:
Rocking is still coming slowly but I can go from right foot rocking between one and two feet sometimes. Today I managed to make it > 6 wheel revs with the seat in front with my right hand on the seat. I'm nowhere near as good with my left hand holding the seat.
Feb 1:
Much of the time I can go 10m with seat out front, held by my left or right hand.
I'm working on 180 spins by taping a wall and riding forward and backward out of it.
Feb 9:
I can switch hands holding the seat while riding with the seat in front. I've also been able to pull some 180 degree hops (clockwise only) - but it's not very stable yet. I've also been able to ride slowly and put the seat in front while riding.
Feb 22:
When I practiced outside I could do tight figure 8's.
I can ride fairly well (straight only) with the seat in back in left or right hand, but riding with my stomach on the seat is hard.
Feb 24:
Riding with my chest on the seat is still hard. Seat in back or front works well much of the time - no real steering control but I go mostly straight. I can hop about 1.5" high easily and broke a sideways speaker 2.5" high. One problem with hopping is that I really don't have enough control to hop more than a few times so I have a wall beside me and then hop once and then onto, and off, the object.
Mar 2:
I can hop 4.75" high onto a skid - JUST. I crushed a few other things for hopping practice - the wheel puts a lot of weight onto a small spot! Riding with my chest on the seat works sometimes.
Mar 11:
I've come out of three 360 spins upright! Most of the time I'm off balance coming out of it. I combine a 180 spin with an additional 180 spin via my waist.
Mar 15:
I've tried "walking the wheel" and it's not too bad. I can balance for a second or two and going forward, with my hand on a rail, feels not too bad.
Mar 29:
Ahh - why can't it be easier? I'm getting slightly better at hopping, balancing and wheel walking. But it's slow progress!
Apr 16:
Walking the wheel is coming slowly. I tried a 2.1" kevlar bead tire but it likes to come off the bead when I do lots of hopping. Low pressure in the tire while hopping has a neat bouncy feel - but it means I make more small bouces more when I'm trying to hop.
Apr 27:
I'm now able to suicide mount as well as do a static mount while on a curb. The static mount makes it easier to mount on a curb and then hop off doing a twist or 180. I'm now able to do > 3 hops without having to roll to get balance. I can also mount (static, suicide) with the seat in front and ride away sometimes. Sometimes I can pull the seat out behind me and ride with the seat behind.
May 1:
I'm better at balance when hopping. Instead of three 90 degree hops or sideways hops I can now often do a 720 turn as a series of eight 90 degree hops. Larger hops like a 180 always require a roll-away to get my balance.
May 20:
I"m recovering from my worst accident yet. I hopped onto a concrete block with a post on it. The post had a protruding bolt which I didn't notice. On my 2nd landing the bolt slammed into my arm and tore off the flesh. A bunch of stitches later ... I've lost feeling on that part of my arm between the elbow and wrist.
I can sometimes do two 180 hops in succession without freehops. My balance on single hops has improved a bit too as has low speed stall, 180 spin, and ride away.
May 26:
My UniCycle.com seat broke just at the metal plate. My riding backwards is slowly improving as is my balance - stalling and doing a 180 spin clockwise or counter-clockwise with left, or right, foot at 9 o'clock.
May 30:
I managed to do a full loop of my street going backwards. My balance has also improved noticably - but there is still far to go. Walking the wheel doesn't feel as if it's progressing.
June 27:
I can sometimes land a ride backward (slowly) and do a 180 hop and ride away forwards. Doing the opposite is a bit harder. What's odd is that I get very little height if I try a rolling hop.
June 28:
I tried a one foot rock without support and can do it a few rocks. I'm better with my right foot than my left. Starting is much harder on the left. My wheel walking doesn't seem to be progressing.
July 5:
A great day. My balance was improved and noticable in walking the wheel (I managed 1 wheel revolution a few times) and in hopping up/down stairs while executing a 180 turn as well as during stalls.
Aug 12:
I'm sidelined. In the past month I've torn my left achillies tendon. 2.5 weeks of recovery and 20 hopes later I tore it again. 1.5 weeks of recovery and I tore it on the first hop. So now is the long wait.
Aug 15:
My walking the wheel has improved - I can do 2 or more meters at times and my balance while stalled is slightly better. My goal is to avoid hoping - work on backwards and walking the wheel. Riding seat out front or back right now stresses the tendon too much to do it. Riding curbs is also an issue and must be avoided.
Nov 14:
I can do a right footed, one foot, rock about 10 times. Left foot rocking is not as good (one or two footed) - I'm still recovering from the torn tendon.
walking the wheel is slowly improving. I can sometimes pull the seat behind me, ride, and then put the seat back under me.
Jan 9, 2012:
I've managed 3m walking the wheel. One foot rocking has improved, I can stall in the middle for a rock for a half second or so. My left foot rock is weak (one or two foot) but it's improving too.
Mar 7, 2012:
11C and sunny. My balance has improved. I can usually ride seat behind and pull it, in one go, to the front. Sometimes I can do the opposite. The amount of time that I can stall and do that has improved. This is also noticed in being able to go from rocking, to walking the wheel. However, I usually don't get more than 1m walking the wheel.
I'm now able to stall with the seat in front and hop several times. Riding backwards has improved due to being able to stall for longer.
Mar 28, 2012:
Walking the wheel is coming slowly but balance is improving. With tight pants I can go from seat in front to behind and vice versa much of the time. Stall and ride backwards with seat in front is improving slowly. Going from rocking to walking the wheel is now possible - but I'll rarely walk the wheel far without a side support.
April 16, 2012:
Holding the seat in front and rolling the wheel one revolution backward and then forward is improving as is poping the seat from behind to infront and back.
June 26, 2012:
Seat in front riding backwards is improving - I'm able to get 4 wheel revolutions at times and practice one-half revolution forward and backward for practice.
Oct 23, 2012:
I can usually ride backwards in a large figure 8 (around 4m long). I can ride backwards with the seat infront uptime around 2m to 3m at times. Walking the wheel is not improving.
Oct 2, 2013:
Progress is slow. Walking the wheel and going backwards clockwise and seat-in-front clockwise is much harder than counter-clockwise. I switched to a 2.5" Maxxis Minion Downhill Specific and it is very slippery on tile and polished concrete as well as pavement and concrete paving stones with a slight drone while riding.
May 9, 2014:
Progress is still slow. Yesterday I had a spill going off backwards while curb riding and my left arm is a bit sore. Today I had a failure of the axel just past the crank arm bolt. Thankfully I was just coming off of a curb and it's wasn't an issue.

Wheels and Speed

26" wheel With 127mm cranks it's easy to go 8km/h, 10km/h is an average speed, 12km/h is a fast speed and 15 km/h is a sprinting speed.

20" wheel With 114mm cranks can be ridden at 10km/h or about 11km/h sprinting

12" wheel With 89mm cranks can be ridden at 6km/h or sprinted at 8.5km/h

Seats and Posts

slimmer "more bike like" claimed

Item	Weight	Comment
UniCycle.com club seat	740g, 100g for front bumper	comfortable, rubs thighs when hopping lots, weak for stunts??
Kris Holm Fusion saddle	claimed 774g, measured 780g
25.4mm steel 300mm uni post	360g	stock UDC club uni seatpost
25.4mm Nimbus alloy reinforced 350mm uni post	claimed 300g, measured 240g for 300mm

Tires

Tire	Weight	Ride
1.25" Fatboy slick	600g	corners well, very light, spins easily
1.95" Centre ridge	1.0kg	spins easily, ok on corning
2.0" knobby	?kg	vibration, terrible on tight turns
2.125" mostly solid	1.34kg	Came with the UBC uni - good tire
2.5" Maxxis Minion Downhill Specific	?kg	Very slippery on tile and polished concrete

I did a quick test with a few different tires. I do not like the Maxxis Holy Roller because of the vibration created by the knobs. However, the buzz of full knobby tires is much worse. Tires with deep knobs make turning on a uni difficult and a bit unpredictable (wandering).

Tires with a solid center ridge are a must. The less of a ridge and the less rubber on the pavement the easier it is to spin the uni on the spot. At times it feels as if the tire is slipping - because it pivots to the side so easily. The less rubber on the road the more a tire is easy to pivot (rotate sideways).

Backing up is harder with knobby tires - even with a solid center ridge.

The Fatboy slick is 18yr old and so the rubber has hardened - it pivots easily but is great for turns.

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