what is proper saddle height?

Genreally, yes. For max speed i think you want your legs almost straight
at the 6 oclock position. For Muni you need to be able to stand off the
saddle, either just slightly (to negotiate rough ground) or alot if
you're going to actually hop over stuff on it. Obviously your speed will
suffer slightly frm this lower saddle position, but that's the deal.

Dave

--
kington99

Dave

- what a thoroughly post-modern subversion of the cycling genre -
------------------------------------------------------------------------
kington99's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9417
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40724

For long road rides you want the saddle up higher. It's much easier on
the knees. Doing a lot of long road rides with the saddle too low could
cause you some knee ligament pain or tendinitis pain.

For road rides I put the saddle up so that my legs are almost straight
at the low 6 o'clock position. Put your heels on the pedals. Hang on
to a wall for support. Pedal a full revolution. Your legs should be
almost straight at the 6 o'clock position without you needing to rock
your hips. If your hips are rocking then the seat is too high. Then
when you pedal normally the ball of your foot will be over the pedal and
your legs will have the proper slight bend in them. That's basically
the same way you determine the proper seat height for a bicycle.

For muni you lower it a little bit so you don't get bounced off the
saddle and so you can levitate over the saddle when it gets bumpy. But
mind the knees. Lowering the saddle is harder on the knees.

You'll get the hang of mounting with the seat in the higher position.
You just have to jump a little higher. Learning the rolling mount
(where you take a couple of steps before jumping up to the pedals) will
help. Doing a jump mount is also an option.

--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (att) hotmail (dott) com
Gallery: '' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/john_childs)
' Unicycling Bookmark List' (http://backcountry.unicyclist.com/) ::
'World Clock' (http://tinyurl.com/a99y3) >>>'Click Me'
(http://tinyurl.com/963jr)<<<
------------------------------------------------------------------------
john_childs's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/449
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40724

yes, but make sure the saddle is not too high on the jump mount.
otherwise you'll land groin on to the saddle while your feet can't reach
the pedals. ouch.

--
alexmay - getting a koxx for my birthday

the other one's a stabiliser, mate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
alexmay's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9914
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40724

Great advice from John Childs (as usual). I will add a bit of experience
from my years of big-wheeling. Before I had a Coker I had a hard-tire,
45" wheel. I could ride it with the seat up pretty high, which was great
for long distance. But since the tire has no "give" in it, even little
bumps (like running over a 3/4" diameter rock you didn't notice) will
bounce you upward if you're not ready. I've been taken down by a 3/4"
rock if I hit it with my feet at the 6 & 12 o'clock positions. Ouch. So
I always kept my big wheel's seat a tad lower than I would on another
uni.

On my Coker, because the tire will absorb that 3/4" rock much better, I
don't have the same need to lower the seat. But I still keep it a tad
lower than I would on a smaller wheel. This is because of the higher
height, and higher speed, of that cycle.

My Coker commute to work includes several stretches of dirt. I take it
easy on those, as my seat is relatively high for those sections. Mostly
what I notice is my cranks being too short for the dirt. But yes,
optimally your seat should be at least an inch or so lower for riding on
dirt.

Then just practice. If you're mounting with your pedals anywhere other
than vertical, you should have plenty of leg extension to make the
mount. Even a suicide mount!

--
johnfoss - The wilder Wilder

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

"Read the rules!" -- 'IUF Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/) -- 'USA Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/usa/competition/)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
johnfoss's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/832
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40724

Thanks for those ideas.
I have tried the rolling mount before but favor the static mount because
it was more 'controlled.' The problem I am having with static mount now
is; I don't have enough momentum to get past the 'peak' on my Coker. So
guess I will have to try rolling mount again.

One other side note; I have trouble mounting after riding few miles
and/or after UPD. It takes me about 5-7times to mount again, so I tried
yelling to myself "Come on! Do it! Let's go! LET'S GO!!" And this
worked!
I had psyched/pumped myself.
Is this what some unicyclist mean by "just go for it"?

Thanks for all the great advices!

--
leadpan - OC Cokeur
------------------------------------------------------------------------
leadpan's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9751
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40724

If you want another workable alternative to the rolling mount on to a
coker with the seat set high a suggest the use of a "helping hand".

It IS possible to static mount a coker by grabbing the wheel with your
hand forward of the frame and then using both your legs and the hand to
help you mount. Your hand is there mainly to prevent the wheel from
rotating while you step up into position. It means you can apply more
force with your legs without having to worry about the extra force
rotating the wheel back into a dead position.

I hope that explanation makes sense.

--
peter.bier - Unicycle trasher

-Peter Bier

------------------------------------------------------------------------
peter.bier's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1506
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40724