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Wheel Walking Question

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01 / Original postWheel Walking QuestionGild · 17 Apr 2004 02 / This pagePosts 1–15Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #15Gpickett00 · 25 Apr 2004

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rec.sport.unicycling archive
Published
17 April 2004
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25 April 2004
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Gild
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  1. Original post
    Gild
    Archived post
    #1

    (talk about getting ahead of yourself) at the club last
    night i spent quite a bit of time trying to get that first
    pedal revolution riding one footed it's so close i can taste
    it grrrrrrrr anyway i decided to have a go while holding
    onto a support and while getting my foot onto the crown, it
    slipped and came to rest on the wheel since i was going
    nowhere with the 1footing (and going nowhere quickly) i
    thought i might as well try wheelwalking

    dont get me wrong, i came nowhere close to what would
    constitute a proper wheelwalk, but it felt waaay more do-
    able than i ever thought it would i got 3 to 4 walks a
    couple of times (unsupported) what really excited me were
    the moments of stability i experienced while letting go of
    the support (jason's daughter's famous 'zen-moments' refers)

    i mostly came off the front which i realise is a bad sign
    and from searching thru old wheelwalking threads i realise
    that leaning back is where it's at

    my question is this is there a 'this feels easier than i
    thought' plateau at the beginning of learning the wheelwalk
    or have i justifiably impressed myself?
    🙂

    --
    GILD - Waffle-[censored] (ocfopgm)

    -ORIGINALLY POSTED BY A FELLOW UNICYCLIST IN A MOMENT OF SUBLIME
    INSIGHT-

    "On the subject of 'significant others' it is a matter of timing and
    topic whether 'significant' or 'other' is the defining word in that
    phrase."
    '[image: "]http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/sp/84255.gif]'
    (tinyurl.comywxgb)
    Namaste!
    Dave
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  2. One Wheeled Sta
    Archived post
    #2

    Same when I learned to do it! Try going up hill *slightly*
    it stops the wheel from shooting off him front and you can
    get used to the feel much easier without having to worry
    about pushing too hard. Keep up the good work!

    --
    one wheeled stallion - Guerilla Unicyclist

    OWS
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  3. Johnfoss
    Archived post
    #3

    Uphill works well because your quads (pushing muscles) are a
    lot stronger than your hamstrings (slowing down muscles).
    - Sit upright with your weight on the seat.
    - Practice walking your feet on the tire without them
    banging into each other
    - Leave some space between your heel and toe. Remember, the
    heel and toe have more traction than the middle of your
    foot, so use them.
    - Wheel walking is much slower than regular riding. Expect
    to go slowly.
    - Twist at the waist and use your arms to help you steer.
    - Cross training can include riding real slow, to get
    used to the balance corrections you need to make when
    wheel walking.

    --
    johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

    John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
    "jfoss" at "unicycling.com"
    www.unicycling.com

    "Hey, could I have some of that spinach? I need to get this pork rind
    taste out of my mouth." -- Ryan Atkins to Kris Holm, on the way back
    from Moab after sampling some of my pork rinds. They grossed out the
    whole van!
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  4. Rayden
    Archived post
    #4

    The first five minutes of my wheel walking was very promising. I decided
    it was easy and all you guys who said it was hard didn't know what you
    were talking about. After maybe 15-20 min i could go 4+ feet. I have put
    in a few more hours and im now not going any farther. So yes I had great
    improvement right at the beginning and then hit a wall. 🙁

    --
    Rayden
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  5. Gild
    Archived post
    #5

    thanx for the feedback i'm especially 'glad' to hear that my
    'it can't be this easy!' experience is not an isolated one
    once again i'm reminded of how much i like this forum
    🙂
    thanx for the cross-training tips john, those sound valuable
    i've been trying to keep my feet as close together as
    possible don't know why it just felt as tho i should be
    thanx for straightening that out now, if u'll pardon me,
    there some practising to do...

    --
    GILD - Waffle-[censored] (ocfopgm)

    -ORIGINALLY POSTED BY A FELLOW UNICYCLIST IN A MOMENT OF SUBLIME
    INSIGHT-

    "On the subject of 'significant others' it is a matter of timing and
    topic whether 'significant' or 'other' is the defining word in that
    phrase."
    '[image: "]http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/sp/84255.gif]'
    (tinyurl.comywxgb)
    Namaste!
    Dave
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  6. Theamazingmolio
    Archived post
    #6

    Is it actually possible on a 20" wheel? i can't seem to
    fit my feet on there without one of them being nearly
    upside down...

    --
    theamazingmolio - A Unicylist, a juggler, and a prat

    Luke Duller ([email hidden])
    Never trust anything you read on the internet
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  7. Kozmicdoughnut
    Archived post
    #7

    once a person is able to wheelwalk, what is the best method
    for getting the feet back on the pedals? I'm at the point
    where i can walk the wheel for a little ways but i have
    trouble putting my feet back on. I'm trying to actually look
    down to see where the pedals are then put my feet back on.
    before i would kinda just throw my feet down there blindly
    and hope i hit the pedals. any suggestions for this? thanks.

    --
    KozmicDoughNut
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  8. Gerblefranklin
    Archived post
    #8

    I'll leave the advice doing to others for the most part,
    except to say this. There is no good way to go back to
    pedals from a wheelwalk. Just look down and try to sight
    your dominant pedal's downstroke, and within one step, you
    should put your dominant foot down in back, an dhopefully
    it'll land on the pedal, leaving you idling. That's what I
    do, and I have a 95% success rate:P the only time I miss it
    now is if I'm lazy and rush it, or if I'm exited, such as
    after wheelwalking up a steep hill, and ruch it. Take your
    time until your pedals feel perfect and you're set up, and
    then do it. Onefoot wheelwalkign is slightly easier to go
    back to pedals from.

    --
    gerblefranklin - Trials Unicyclist

    Don't you think it's a cruel irony that acting like a G.I. Joe in the
    army can get you a Medal, while playing with one can get you thrown out?
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  9. Rowan
    Archived post
    #9
    johnfoss said:

    *Uphill works well because your quads (pushing muscles)
    are a lot stronger than your hamstrings (slowing down
    muscles).*


    You are probably right about the quads being stronger, but I
    don't think that is the main reason wheelwalking on uphill
    is easier at first. I think the reason is that when you
    start, leaning back feels unusual and freaky, which makes
    the tendency for falling off the front common. When you go
    up a hill, there is no longer such an emphasis on leaning
    back as far, so you get to concentrate mainly on placing

    your feet and other important stuff.theamazingmolio said:

    *Is it actually possible on a 20" wheel? *


    Of course it is possible. Wheelwalking has probably been
    done on a 12" wheel. It's not that hard on a 20", but you
    are right, there isn't much room for your feet.

    Quoted message said:

    - KozmicDoughNut - *I'm at the point where i can walk the
    wheel for a little ways but i have trouble putting my
    feet back on.*


    I am at a similar point that you are at. I can go about 40
    meters or something, and I'm getting better at balancing.
    I've only tried getting my feet back on the pedals a couple
    of times and I was not too comfortable with the results, so
    for now I'm going to continue practising wheel-walking until
    I have mastered it a lot better, and then I will figure out
    how to find the pedals, because by then I should be able to
    concentrate on it better. It would look a lot more
    impressive to spectators if you can go from riding to wheel-
    walking back to riding.

    --
    Rowan - _________

    [image: "]http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/waffe/1043691690_0.gif]
    ::*-[FONT=Times new Roman]'Click Here!'
    (-*::"]http://Bogtrotter.v3.net/)[/FONT]-*::
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  10. Rowan
    Archived post
    #10
    johnfoss said:

    *Uphill works well because your quads (pushing muscles)
    are a lot stronger than your hamstrings (slowing down
    muscles).*


    You are probably right about the quads being stronger, but I
    don't think that is the main reason wheelwalking on uphill
    is easier at first. I think the reason is that when you
    start, leaning back feels unusual and freaky, which makes
    the tendency for falling off the front common. When you go
    up a hill, there is no longer such an emphasis on leaning
    back as far, so you get to concentrate mainly on placing

    your feet and other important stuff.theamazingmolio said:

    *Is it actually possible on a 20" wheel? *


    Of course it is possible. Wheelwalking has probably been
    done on a 12" wheel. It's not that hard on a 20", but you
    are right, there isn't much room for your feet.

    Quoted message said:

    - KozmicDoughNut - *I'm at the point where i can walk the
    wheel for a little ways but i have trouble putting my
    feet back on.*


    I am at a similar point that you are at. I can go about 40
    meters or something, and I'm getting better at balancing.
    I've only tried getting my feet back on the pedals a couple
    of times and I was not too comfortable with the results, so
    for now I'm going to continue practising wheel-walking until
    I have mastered it a lot better, and then I will figure out
    how to find the pedals, because by then I should be able to
    concentrate on it better. It would look a lot more
    impressive to spectators if you can go from riding to wheel-
    walking back to riding.

    --
    Rowan - _________

    [image: "]http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/waffe/1043691690_0.gif]
    ::*-[FONT=Times new Roman]'Click Here!'
    (-*::"]http://Bogtrotter.v3.net/)[/FONT]-*::
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  11. Johnfoss
    Archived post
    #11
    Rowan said:

    *Of course it is possible. Wheelwalking has probably been
    done on a 12" wheel. It's not that hard on a 20", but you
    are right, there isn't much room for your feet.*


    Yes, I used to be able to do it (a little bit) on my 12"
    with super-low seat. Now I'm a little fatter.

    There is plenty of room on a 20". Don't suffer from the
    misconception that both of your feet are supposed to be on
    the tire at the same time. The only time they both need to
    be on there is when your toe is going on just in front of
    the frame, and your heel is coming off, way down on the
    front of the wheel. Keep working your fee on there and
    you'll see.

    To get back to the pedals, you only need to look down for a
    second, then wait until the pedals get to where you want
    them. The more you do it, the more flexible you'll be on
    where the pedals can be to get back down. I can pretty much
    do it at any position as long as I know where they are.

    --
    johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

    John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
    "jfoss" at "unicycling.com"
    www.unicycling.com

    "Hey, could I have some of that spinach? I need to get this pork rind
    taste out of my mouth." -- Ryan Atkins to Kris Holm, on the way back
    from Moab after sampling some of my pork rinds. They grossed out the
    whole van!
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  12. Theamazingmolio
    Archived post
    #12

    Awww, you just scuppered my excuse for getting a new uni! I
    can go for a couple of metres now, but only barefoot for
    some reason.

    --
    theamazingmolio - A Unicylist, a juggler, and a prat

    Luke Duller ([email hidden])
    Never trust anything you read on the internet
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  13. Gild
    Archived post
    #13

    quick update life conspired against me and i haven't been
    able to get on the uni since last thursday night
    🙁
    at the club last night i tried to make up for this lack of
    practise with mixed results i'm still struggling with one
    foot riding and decided that since misery loves company,
    i'll alternate onefooting and wheel walking

    i've decided to go to both from a one foot idle i managed to
    turn that pedal over once, twice sadly, both times resulted
    in rapid but uneventfull UPDs i seem to have figured out how
    to maneuvre both body and uni in order to allow the one
    pedalled pedal to move over the dead spot (i figured this
    out quite by accident. once, while trying to set up the
    pedal for a launch forward, i swung it slightly too far back
    and ended up doing a single revolution backwards. imagine my
    surprise. by figuring out the way my body leaned, i managed
    to reverse it in order to go forward.) i now need to figure
    out how to maintain balance while doing that

    going to wheelwalking from the one foot idle (or, more
    correctly, attempting to go the wheelwalk from the one foot
    idle) turned out better than i'd anticipated and by the end
    of the evening i'd managed to (almost) replicate my 3/4 foot
    pushes on the wheel. once again, fleeting moments of
    stabillity kept me coming back for more

    in between these moments, the wheel feels exceptionally
    jumpy and the overriding impression is that the wheel is
    about to scoot out from under me is this cured by leaning
    (anti-intuitively) futher back? or by applying more foot
    pressure on the wheel to keep it 'stable'?

    --
    GILD - Waffle-[censored] (ocfopgm)

    only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible. i think
    it's
    in my basement...let me go upstairs and check.
    ~ m. c. escher

    '[image: "]http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/sp/84255.gif]'
    (tinyurl.comywxgb)
    Namaste!
    Dave
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  14. Paul Royle
    Archived post
    #14

    I'm trying to learn one foot riding at the moment. I can
    manage about 10 revolutions or so, then I usually run out of
    space. I always start from riding 2 footed and take one foot
    off because I was told this was the easiest way. I find it
    easier than starting from idling.

    Paul

    --
    paul royle - Newbie
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  15. Gpickett00
    Archived post
    #15

    I cant idle but i can one foot. Start riding, then slowly
    release pressure from the foot youre taking off. then take
    it off all the way. thats how i did it and i can do it
    pretty far.

    --
    gpickett00 - Level 3.7

    Bicycle is just a short way of saying unicycle with a training wheel.
    'Our unicycling videos' (unicyclist.comalbuv95)

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