I've never rode before but I've always been interested then this guy popped up on craigslist for 50$ so I had to get it. How'd I do? And any tips for a beginner?
Posted Jan 10, 2015, 2:11 AM UTC
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Nice find! I'm no expert on price, but for practice I can tell you not to stop. It's going to take a while to train your muscles, and excuses are easy to find. I own two and still can't ride.
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+1, that's a fair deal.
Qualification: I've watched prices on every unicycle sold on seattle.craigslist.org over the past couple years.
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Practice practice practice. You may get mad or hurt but keep trying. You'll eventually get it. Look up starter guides on YouTube of course for something to shoot for. Wear a helmet!
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Helmet and wrist guards. Knee and elbow pads are a good idea too, as are shin guards, but head and wrist protection are the most important. In addition to protecting you from injury, the gear helps with confidence when you're learning.
Most bicycle helmets won't protect your head much if you fall backward. A skate helmet will fare better because there is actually some helmet there.
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In my experience of learning and teaching a couple of others, one thing that can't be overstated is you absolutely have to keep your weight on the seat and off the pedals when learning.
Something I don't see said as often but I found really helpful is that when you start falling off, don't try to catch the uni - keep pedalling to try to recover, and let it fall if you can't. Not sure why, but it seems to make it a lot easier.
Good luck! It really is perseverance and accepting that the road to not falling off is to fall off a LOT first.
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Keep at it. Took me 2 weeks to be able to ride an entire block. But now it -2 in Michigan with ice and I'm still riding. You'll be amazed at how much better you become each time you practice. Monumental differences between days.
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I got that identical unicycle a couple years back for christmas and learned to ride it in my freezing garage. Good times.
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Something looks backwards. Specifically the seatpost clamp relative to the saddle. That's not a disaster in itself, but it is a hint to make sure the pedal labeled "L" it on the left and the one labeled "R" is on the right as you ride it. If it is backwards, the pedals will constantly be unscrewing themselves as you ride forward and that messes up the threads. As you got it used that way, there could already be damage.
If it is backwards, you can just turn the saddle around or turn the wheelset around in the frame.
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Find a good place to practice. Tennis courts are nearly ideal because they are a level, smooth, hard surface near a fence. I didn't have such a luxury and my learning experience was all the harder for it. My driveway is hard, but woefully lacking in those other criteria.
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hold onto a fence or parallel bars right when you start, and crutch pretty heavily on them, ween yourself off a bit, and when you feel like you're making good progress, just start letting go as soon as possible, you'll be riding in 2 weeks or less (assuming a few hours per day i guess)
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The first couple of hours are the hardest. Depending on how good of a shape you're in you might not even manage more than 15 minutes at a time until you get used to it. I learned by going parallel to a wall for support and tried to use the wall less and less until I didn't need it. The first 2-3 hours I felt like I was making no progress at all. Took some 10 hours to ride it indefinitely on a straight line, bit more to turn properly.
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I found that learning with a rail instead of a wall or pole was the way to learn. It's much easier to mount the uni at first with a rail. And practice, practice, practice. The uni has a steep learning curve that demands commitment to master, and is addicting as hell once you're able to ride. Don't give up!
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20 inch wheel, sun unicycle, hardly used! I'm excited to get started!
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I bought that same uni for a learning friend of mine and I quite like it. It's not a Kris Holm but for $50 it can't be beat.
Advice: Keep pedaling, never give up, and let your arms do whatever they feel like doing. The moment I started letting my arms flail around like a madman was the moment I finally started going more than two inches.
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This is one of those things that money won't solve. Will a really cheap uni be harder to ride than something "good"? Sure. A bit. Maybe. Will a really expensive uni be easier to learn on? Nope, not really. It all comes down to self determination. Kind of like juggling. Can you learn juggling with odd shaped rocks? Yes. Can you learn with perfect, computer assisted orbs? Yes. Is one easier tan the other? Sure, a bit, maybe. But not really. You got a good deal on a good uni.
My mantra while learning- Keep your head up; Sit in the seat; Look forward; Sit in the goddamned seat; Head up. Sit down! Look forward asshole! Sit down damnit!! Stop looking at your feet and sit down! Look forward! From there it sort of gets rude. Just keep you're eyes on the prize and don't give up.
The only difference between people that can ride a unicycle and those who can't is that we aren't lazy enough to give up on the very, very hard and aren't boring enough to give up on the very, very impractical.
This is a great way to put it.im keeping it.