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Idling: The Foundation of Unicycle Skills
If you want to learn any of the subsequent skills, the first thing you’ll want to learn how to do is idle your unicycle.
Idling is basically rocking back and forth, with the ability to stop and start riding at will. It is the jumping-off point for many other tricks and skills.
Moreover, being able to idle will demonstrate greater skill in the handling and control of the unicycle.
Just be aware: before you attempt to idle, you need to be able to ride and be able to free mount. If you can do those two things, you’re set to try your hand at idling.
With that said, it helps if you have something to hold onto. Mount the unicycle, keeping a firm grip on whatever you’re using for support, and rock backward and forward with your dominant foot.
All the pressure should go through your dominant foot; that is the one you should use to control the process of idling.
Rock between the 3 and 9 o’clock position. At first, you’ll probably be rocking back and forth in a more exaggerated fashion, but as you get comfortable, it will become easier and more fluid.
Practice this until you can comfortably idle back and forth without any supplementary support.
See our you tube video on how to idle:
One-Foot Riding
Once you master the skill of idling, you may want to graduate to the basic skill of one-foot riding.
This basic skill is exactly what it sounds like, with no tricks here: it’s the ability to remove one foot from the pedal while remaining in control of the unicycle with the other foot.
The first step to one foot riding is to idle; while idling, remove your non-dominant foot from the pedal and rest it on the unicycle’s frame. This should be fairly easy since you shouldn’t be using your non-dominant to power the idle, anyway.
(A square frame on a unicycle is helpful here as it gives you a place to rest your non-dominant foot, by the way.)
It also helps to do this on smooth, level ground - don’t try it on grass or uneven ground.
Get starting riding forward, and as your non-dominant foot comes to the top of rotation, remove it from the pedal and rest it on the frame.
Use your momentum to continue powering forward with your dominant foot. It will be a little jerky and difficult when you start but as you become more comfortable riding, it should get easier.
Just be aware: you’re going to fall off a lot while you’re practicing - just don’t give up.
See our you tube video on One-foot riding:
Wheel Walking
Another unique skill to master after learning to idle is wheelwalking, which is the process of manipulating the wheel using your feet on the tyre, directly. To do this, it helps to have a wall or rail on one side to help with stability.
To wheelwalk, remove one foot (your dominant foot, preferably) from the pedal and place it flat on the tyre, in line with it. Do not point your toe in or out across the tire.
Use it to push the tyre forward, and then as it passes forward along the tyre, opening up room, bring your other foot up and onto the tyre behind it. Make sure there is a gap between them because if you move your second foot onto the tyre too quickly before there is room you may get tripped up and experience an unplanned dismount.
One more tip: bringing your legs in front of you will throw off your balance. Therefore, it helps to lean back slightly to counteract this change in your centre of gravity.
See our you tube video on Wheel walking:
Hop/Skip on a unicycle
A fun trick to master is hopping or skipping on your unicycle. Its also useful to be able to hop on the spot as an alternative to idling.
See our you tube video on how to hop/skip on a unicycle:
Unicycle maintenance and adjustments
One thing to keep in mind is that you need to make sure your unicycle saddle is at the proper height before you attempt any of these skills or tricks. Remember, you can adjust the seat post up or down by loosening the clamp and raising or lowering the saddle. As a general rule we would recommend the saddle is at belly button height.
If your unicycle seat post is too long it can easily be cut down. See you tube video for how to cut down you seat post:
We highly recommend keeping your unicycle well maintained! You guessed it… we also have a you tube video for Maintenance! (we got you covered):
We hope you find these tips and tricks useful, please let us know if there is anything you would like to see us cover on our youtube channel
