Hello again, I have another question (unfortunately I have no local unicyclist to ask and am far too impatient to wait until BUC). I took my dignity in my hands today & rode round the local pavements (which are in a shocking state). My question is: sometimes I went over little bumps, which sometimes I couldn't even see and they would throw me off quiet suddenly. I managed some of them and the more gentle slopes & rises. Sorry, still haven't got to the question, which is: is there a knack to this type of riding or is it just a practice thing? thanks in advance to anyone who can help. cathy
-- cathwood - lunicyclist
"Don't mistake my anal retentiveness for affection"
When you are coming up to a bumpy part, put more weight on the pedals, this will give you more control. Also when you are approaching a bigger bump, right before you are about to go over it, lean back a bit, also increase your speed a bit.
Agreed, one day you'll notice that you haven't been flailing for a while... which means it's time to try muni
-- evil-nick - Unicyclist, Linux Geek, & swell guy
Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
Id rather do technical Muni than ride on flat with little bumps any day.
When im doing a hard trail i know i gotta pay attention and keep my eyes on the trail. When I'm cruising down the street im paying attention to.....ladies, cars, signs, who knows what. Thats when the little crap bumps get me and i feel like a fool. :rolleyes:
Don't worry too much about this little problem, it'll mostly go away with practice, but until you're REALLY good there will always be times that the all-but-unnoticeable bumps will get ya, and even then I think.
-- 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.
Your choice of tyre and pressure can make a big difference. A fatter tyre at lower pressure will soak up the small bumps. If you usually ride with a hard tyre, try letting some air out so it has a little bounce.
cjd wrote:> *Your choice of tyre and pressure can make a big difference. A fatter> tyre at lower pressure will soak up the small bumps. If you usually> ride with a hard tyre, try letting some air out so it has a little> bounce. *
I agree with this.
And, with some practice you'll get used to one hand on the seat handle. Its going to be absolutely necessary with MUni. It becomes 2nd nature before long.
cjd wrote:> *Your choice of tyre and pressure can make a big difference. A fatter> tyre at lower pressure will soak up the small bumps. If you usually> ride with a hard tyre, try letting some air out so it has a little> bounce. *
Hmmm, I did wonder why I struggled with bumps during pavement riding and riding on grass lawns, while my two chums just sailed over them...
My unicycle is a Nimbus X 20" freestyle which comes with a 'Maxxis Hookworm tyre' (http://tinyurl.com/5yqhs). Presumably this is completely wrong for pavement riding as it has to be inflated to at least 85psi, and it's not very knobbly.
Of course the freestyle uni won't have a trials rim so trials tyres are out of the question. What would be a good tyre for pavement riding? (I have no intention of taking it offroad)
gkmac wrote:> *My unicycle is a Nimbus X 20" freestyle which comes with a 'Maxxis> Hookworm tyre' (http://tinyurl.com/5yqhs). Presumably this is> completely wrong for pavement riding as it has to be inflated to at> least 85psi, and it's not very knobbly.>
Of course the freestyle uni won't have a trials rim so trials tyres> are out of the question. What would be a good tyre for pavement> riding? (I have no intention of taking it offroad) *
You don't want a knobbly tyre for riding on the pavement, knobblies only help on soft surfaces such as mud / dirt. If you want to make it easier you want a fatter slick tyre, I think there's a 20" big apple that might be nice, the bigger sizes of them are lovely.
Personally, whilst a fatter tyre and lower pressure is easier to ride, I'd say that for riding on the pavement on a 20" there's no need for it. You'll lose speed and manouverability. The only thing that's really needed is practice.
By the way, you should try some muni, you live right near an incredible amount of really good muni riding (on the North Downs + Surrey Hills) and it's a really good way to practice for basic skills like riding on pavement without getting knocked off by the bumps.
I agree with Joe Marshall, gkmac. Your Nimbus at 85 psi is fine. I've ridden miles and miles all over Manhattan on my 20" freestyle with that pressure and had a blast. The nice thing about the small uni is that it's not a big deal to have it on the sidewalk, and going slow behind walkers is a blast. It's nice and small to take into restaurants, and having it on the subway is not a big deal.
It's just a matter of time before you can handle all kinds of stuff with that pressure.
s7ev0 wrote:> *As a result of this thread, I've been out all afternoon practising> holding the seat, and one of my son's friends plays in-line hockey and> I tried riding with his stick. It was fine until I tried to hit the> ball, then all sense of riding balance fled.* i find it helpfull to point out to new UniHoki players that u hardly ever really need to *hit* the ball more often than not, a gentle tap is all u need to effectively pass it to your team-mate when u eventually get used to riding with the stick, u can start firing slap-shots at the goals, but for now just get used to being able to make the ball go where u want it to go gently keep in mind that your teammate (i'm trying both spellings, it still looks wrong) won't easily be able to control a ball that been *hit* at him/her also try n focus on controlling the ball next to u and not in front of u this makes balance a bit easier as u tend to lean forward when u have the stick in front of u controlling the ball next to u also allows u to look up and decide where u want to pass to, making for more intelligent UniHoki it also protects the ball from opposing players coming from the 'other' side as they can't go for the ball without getting a stick in- or under your wheel
