v1nn1e Posted November 15, 2019 Report Share Posted November 15, 2019 Unicycle - I'm impressed! Will it help you get on the back wheel and hop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_t Posted November 15, 2019 Report Share Posted November 15, 2019 I doubt it... but it is tougher than it looks and is a good core work out. To be honest if I spent the amount of time it is going to take learning to ride it on the trials bike instead I would probably be better off as far as my trials riding goes... but it is fun to try something new and is a unique challenge, I have a new respect for people who can actually ride a unicycle - although a lot of them seem to be clowns ?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petr Posted November 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2019 On 11/14/2019 at 2:45 PM, v1nn1e said: What slowly dawned on me was that with the leg with the foot on the peg, I was 'leaning' the bike into the inside of that calf and I could feel the bike much better and it was like I could push the bike against that inner calf and it all became easier to balance, still waving the other leg around to maintain it. What I notice now is that as I've continued this, I'm tending to keep the lose leg closer to the bike too - in fact as I lift that up from the ground I also keep the inner calf against the bike and it helps with feel. What is general opinion about keeping inner leg against the bike? I recall I was doing it in beginning when I was trying to balance with front wheel turned. Personally, now I believe it gives you a kind of false security but limits your movements too much. Anyway as somebody mentioned, practice makes it perfect. Only a few minutes every day and next year I will become an accomplished clown! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisCH Posted November 21, 2019 Report Share Posted November 21, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, Petr said: What is general opinion about keeping inner leg against the bike? As I have the bike at work I practice in ordinary boots and work trousers. I wonder if you would get the same feedback in trials boots. I have tried hard to use the feedback through the soles of my feet to get the balance right. As the bike leans then it is inevitable your calf will touch the bike as best I can see. No idea what is right/wrong but my experience suggests that as you get better you can use the pegs more which (I hope) is the correct way to balance when you are actually riding. One thing I do try to do is move the front wheel from one lock to the other as I have needed to do this when on a section. Generally this causes me to overbalance even if I have managed to balance OK on full lock. For me this is "stage three". Stage four might now be with the front wheel facing forwards - see just as I thought I was getting somewhere you guys add a new challenge. Hmmph. Thanks a lot. ? Edited November 21, 2019 by ChrisCH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section swept Posted November 21, 2019 Report Share Posted November 21, 2019 Don’t look down at the front of the bike, look straight ahead at some readily available fixed point. Now when your balance starts to wobble it should be easier to compensate with body movements or slight bar or footrest pressure. Thats the best bit of advice to practice varying foot pressure from side to side. Tyre pressures will have a marked change, with low pressure there is more tyre surface to act upon. But then again some might say the softer tyre walls affect the balance more. I now have Labrynthitis so my balance is questionable. What I do is to ride my mountain bike around slowly in as tight a circle as I can manage to try to re-train my brain ( yes I have one confirmed by CT scan). Static balancing on a push bike is also good for the morale!? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v1nn1e Posted November 21, 2019 Report Share Posted November 21, 2019 Yeah, I would add that I always look straight ahead at some point, and also have tyre pressures down. In fact, raising tyre pressures too quickly was my undoing. TBH, I haven't done much static balance practice for a while, I may get back to it in the coming weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyc21 Posted November 21, 2019 Report Share Posted November 21, 2019 On 11/9/2019 at 5:20 PM, Petr said: Hi guys! I would like to learn how to balance stationary bike with front wheel straight and sleeping engine. I should add it is on the smooth concrete floor. I have tried plenty of variations like keeping the weight back, middle, front, low and high, moving bum/knees sideways, crouching wide or touching bike with inner legs while weighting quickly on the pegs when doing all of this. I see some progress but not enough to see what is working and what is not. Can please somebody tell me what to do? Also, I cannot figure up the leg stretching - which side is which and what is it combined with. Brain balance implant chip wanted! Maplin? Front wheel strait is not easy, and even harder on a smooth floor... My recommendation is to lower your your tire pressure tell they are nearly flat when you first start. Then you can practice tell you brain can't take it any more, and repeat daily tell you get it. Next bring the pressure up about 1/2 a PSI/ or .04 bar and begin again. Rinse and repeat tell you get to normal riding pressure on the tires... Lots of other good information in here so good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petr Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 I am not sure about letting the pressure down. I am willing to spend considerable time learning to balance but not changing variables to make it easier from the beginning and then possibly having to start again. While I was very comfortable balancing on my old Beta (sold now), new one is little bit harder but again than can be caused by new tyres and different suspension. In any case, when standing with straight front - well somewhere between mounting and falling off - do you keep you balance low or stretch up? In my mind crouching down complicates matter as there is one more input (peg pressure) beside the stretching one leg sideway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Balancing the bike with the wheel straight is not really a thing. You have watched the top riders doing this you think, but are wrong. The wheel is into an obstacle, the suspention loaded and bike running with the brakes and clutch working! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petr Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Well, this rider is not exactly wedged somewhere. Moreover, on this bike I think it is twice as difficult. Posted before: https://youtu.be/shJUlpRAN28?t=186 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted November 28, 2019 Report Share Posted November 28, 2019 So you are planning a trip down under? This guy has about 30 more videos, and the bike`s are all running! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petr Posted November 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2019 That explains! They have it easy as they are actually upside down. He only needs to grip well not to fall upwards. I am making some progress. I am finding that jerkiness is slowly diminishing and I can now stay straight for couple of second (to be modest) and then back to either side as a safety net. I am actually trying to put the wheel somewhere in the middle between the full lock and straight wheel. It is almost as difficult but psychologically the wheel slightly sideways looks more acceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted December 3, 2019 Report Share Posted December 3, 2019 All right you are finally making sense. Static balancing will get you to the point of learning to balance with the wheel straight and know when to kick a leg out. You just have to start at the beggining, not where you want to end up. Practice with the bike full locked, using the brakes. But do not fall into the trap of just going one direction. Once you can do it in either direction for 15 minutes you are good enough to start adding in some hopping. 90 degrees left, 90 degrees right. Eventually doing it 360 degree`s. Now you can slowly work the front tire to center and balanced. But now you are good enough to not just fall over. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petr Posted December 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2019 Good, I have a targets now. I know I can easily do 5min both ways. I guess longer times are good for re-enforcing the memory. I have one question though. Front wheel hopping: how do you move sideways? I can hop on the spot but not one after another as a sequence. One, then prepare for another and still not moving anywhere - even that is super difficult now. Do you intentionally fall to the side and then hop making tilt adjustment to land the other way to compensate when in the air? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_t Posted December 8, 2019 Report Share Posted December 8, 2019 Hopping is all about getting the rhythm (like on a pogo stick) deep knee bends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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