rec.sport.unicycling · Public discussion

what am I doing wrong?

Started by Hydrophidian · · Last activity · 12 posts · 335 views

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rec.sport.unicycling
Published
14 May 2008
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15 May 2008
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Hydrophidian
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  1. I've been riding for about a month now and, I can only go a hundred to
    two hundred feet before my quads hurt too bad to continue. I'm
    basically just overexerting myself and I don't know what I'm doing
    wrong. After a few of hours of serious riding at the park, I start
    getting sharp pains in the sides of my knees, also.

    Some things that I thought it could be;
    1.Riding with a knobby tire on rough pavement makes it harder to
    control and I end up putting more energy than necessary into the
    pedals, trying to force it around.
    2. Foot placement. I ride with my boots on and so, the only part of my
    foot that touches the pedals is the arch and front balls of my foot.
    Maybe if I switched shoes, I could ride more on the center of my foot
    instead of the front. My boots have a higher heel and it doesn't touch
    the pedals at all so, all of the strain is on the front of my foot.
    3. Seat height. I've adjusted it a bit and find that higher is much
    better for comfort but, lower is easier to hop on. I also feel like I
    have more control with a lowered seat.

    Probably a combination of all of these things and some more that I
    can't think of.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    -Rico

  2. the most likely culprti is not keeping your weight on the seat. This is
    caused by low seat hight, and the common urge for beginners to keep the
    wieght on their feet. You really need to let all your weight rest on
    the saddle, your feet should feel like they're putting just enough
    force to turn the pedals and no more.

    --
    kington99

    Dave

    - what a thoroughly post-modern subversion of the cycling genre -
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  3. Check 'Here' (http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/phlebitis). as it
    might be a larger problem then riding technique for a short distance.

    --
    adjuggler

    'When you get on a unicycle, your telling that voice inside your head...
    \"no your balls can't get hurt, and that your shins are actually made
    of metal plates\". (Youtube Page)'
    (http://www.youtube.com/user/ADJuggler) 🙄
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  4. All of us have had the same problem in the beginning. There is a
    tendency to stand in the saddle rather then sitting fully in the seat.
    So practice sitting in the seat. I can't emphasize this enough. You
    need to put 98% of your weight in the saddle. The more you stand
    instead of sitting, the more workout you give your legs.

    You should be able to put in 3-5 miles easily without tiring out your
    legs. Just practice.

    Sitting fully in the seat is one of the primary skills you need to
    address in most uni skills ......

    Rob

    --
    rob
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  5. I'm in the same situation. I need to keep my weight in the sit. I can
    ride about a half mile, but then my legs are screaming. On the plus
    side, it has helped me ignore the burn when I'm on a climbing on my
    mountain bike and I stay closer to my "mountain goat" friend. It'll be
    a great day when I can beat him to the top of a climb. I already leave
    him in the dust on the downhill.

    It reminds me of the days I use to run the 400 in high school and it
    would feel like there was concrete in my legs for the last 50.

    --
    surfcolorado
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  6. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    Reminds me of reading about a guy who would ride his 2.5 mi commute on
    a 24" ultimate wheel (UW).He had to take a few short breaks.

    Uni has definately improved my mtb handling skills.

    - O.P.
    Your leg burning is a result of too litle weight on the seat and/or too
    low saddle (as you guessed).

    The knee pain could be from too long of cranks, too low seat, or you
    pushing your knees to the inside (I had that problem and I had to
    conciously focus on keeping my knees over my feet at all times, for 2-3
    weeks, no problems since).

    I would forget about freemounting untill you can ride around your
    neiborhood w/ few UPD's for an hour and w/o being exhausted. In the
    meantime use telephone poles, cars, etc. for assisted mounts. (That
    one took me a while, I think it was mostly from not enough weight in
    the seat, but I also got stronger.)

    --
    skilewis74

    Ride everywhere and never just ride anywhere. If you can ride where you
    are going within a hour, do it, and if you can do a trick 50-75% of the
    time do it along the way.- Bob Burnquist

    What next? 'IUF skill levels'
    (http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/levels/)*'
    Street'
    (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/The_Unicyclopedia/Street)*'unicycletips.com'
    (http://unicycletips.com/)*'Trials class system'
    (http://tinyurl.com/yqpvxk)*'Trials Building'
    (http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64235)
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  7. Change your shoes. It's better to pedal with the middle of your foot
    rather than the front of your foot. At least thats what I find.

    --
    TattooedBandit

    ..

    "What's the matter, kid? Don't ya like clowns?" - Captain Spaulding -
    the devil's rejects
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  8. ^^^^^^^^^^^
    That's a matter of prefference. Some like a flat sole, like Vans,
    others like running shoes, or boots, w/ or w/o heals.

    Foot position: you will prob preffer whatever you are used to, ie if
    you mtb or road b*ke w/ clipless you'll likely have more controll w/
    the ball of your foot on the pedal, and if you are used to riding
    platform pedals, your arch will prob be better.

    For climing hills your balls on the pedals will give you more potential
    power, and for drops you want your arch over the pedal's axle or you
    could tear your achilies tendon.

    Try a bunch of different shoes and pedal positions and see what works
    for you.

    I preffer boots w/ heels and my arch over the pedal.

    --
    skilewis74

    Ride everywhere and never just ride anywhere. If you can ride where you
    are going within a hour, do it, and if you can do a trick 50-75% of the
    time do it along the way.- Bob Burnquist

    What next? 'IUF skill levels'
    (http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/levels/)*'
    Street'
    (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/The_Unicyclopedia/Street)*'unicycletips.com'
    (http://unicycletips.com/)*'Trials class system'
    (http://tinyurl.com/yqpvxk)*'Trials Building'
    (http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64235)
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  9. Just a point that may be causing you this pain. maybe go to a
    chiropractor or someone like that. Maybe your back in out?

    --
    patsandy100

    Unicycles... nothing better 😉
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  10. Yeah, I've got it now. I was putting too much pressure on my legs and
    not putting my weight on the seat.

    I'm thinking about switching out the seat now. It's a stock, Torker DX
    so, the seat kinda sucks. It's kinda small and uncomfortable. It's
    also hard to get back into a comfortable position after a freemount or
    hop. I know that those things will change with time but, I've heard
    several other people on the forums talking about the crappiness of
    them.

    What kind of seat would you guys recommend? What kind of seat will
    fit? Will I have to switch out the seatpost also? I'm a very
    large(6'5", 230lbs) guy and plan to learn some trials and flat tricks,
    if that helps.

    You guys are full of all kinds of helpful information. Thanks alot.

    -Rico

  11. Yeah, I've got it now. I was putting too much pressure on my legs and
    not putting my weight on the seat.

    I'm thinking about switching out the seat now. It's a stock, Torker DX
    so, the seat kinda sucks. It's kinda small and uncomfortable. It's
    also hard to get back into a comfortable position after a freemount or
    hop. I know that those things will change with time but, I've heard
    several other people on the forums talking about the crappiness of
    them.

    What kind of seat would you guys recommend? What kind of seat will
    fit? Will I have to switch out the seatpost also? I'm a very
    large(6'5", 230lbs) guy and plan to learn some trials and flat tricks,
    if that helps.

    You guys are full of all kinds of helpful information. Thanks alot.

    -Rico

  12. OUCH!
    Last Sunday I was riding (well, practicing) out on a old country road
    (bumpy, extremely crowned both concave and convex, and pitted deeper
    than Noriega's face, etc). I was using my 20" and got some great
    practice and good distance. Most of the time I only get to ride on
    city streets.
    I still have too much weight on the pedals and sure enough the 'gods of
    poor form' got even and I injured one of my butt muscles. Yup, a real
    pain in the butt. I hurt it because of all the corrections I was doing
    as I was riding, but I was using my leg muscles to adjust and balance,
    if you know what I mean.
    It's Thursday and it's healing slowly but I haven't been able to ride
    in 4 days.
    This experience is one more motivator to remind me to GET THE WEIGHT
    ONTO MY SEAT!!!

    --
    BurnerDave

    Dave 😄

    This is me, this is my video:


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