Riding up Sidewalk Curbs

There has been a post about this before and in it I mentioned that I
would start working on riding up sidewalk curbs. (I was not the thread
starter but a contributor along with John Foss and some others.)

Well, I have been working on riding up about a 7" sidewalk curb that is
outside my house and I suceed about once every 10 tries. Usually what
happens is that my wheel does not get enough traction and just spins in
place. When I do go up it just happens so easily and smoothly that it
is amazing! I am pretty sure that if I keep on workingon it that my
sucess rate will improve to the point of 100%. However like most of us
I would like the short cut. Now I am not asking without having done my
homework. I have been working on this issue and I am saying that the
problem is the wheel spinning out because of lack of traction. Anyone
have any suggestions?

Unicorn


--
Unicorn

Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the pedals, and you will
accomplish great feats!
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I'm rubbish at this, and I tend to just sidehop up them.

But the proper way to do it is to almost rolling hop but not quite.
Basically you unweight the pedals enough so that you go up smoothly. It
feels just like a rolling hop but the wheel doesn't actually leave the
ground, you just don't have any weight on the pedals or seat at the
point it hits the kerb.

I saw someone, maybe Leo White, do this on a massive step up, maybe a
foot tall, so it just looked like he was rolling it, and it looks way
cool when people do it on big stuff.

Joe


--
joemarshall

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thejdw wrote:
same, ridding them just puts a bump in your cource.



yeah.

I made it up a 2 set yesterday on my muni.

I just rode fast.


--
mornish

aim:kiloornish
email: mornish AT gmail DOT com

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I'm glad to read this tread about rolling up curbs. I had learned to
ride as a kid, then stopped until I was 49. It has bothered me since I
started again that I remember rolling up curbs as a kid, and it was
really easy. But now even though I have since learned to idle, hop and
go backwards, I do not have the nerve to roll up a curb like I remember
doing back then. The closest I come, is to ram the curb with speed to
go up which isn't the same.

One thing that stops me these days is that I worry about the pedals
being in the correct position to roll up the curb. I worry that the
pedals will be in the 12 and 6 positions, then I'll just stop at the
curb, and UPD. When I was a kid I don't remember even thinking about
pedal positions, just did it. I can remember thinking that it must
look like a trick, but that it is really easy.

What I remember, is it being like what Joemarsall described. Thinking
about it more, I think I may have recently used this technique in the
woods to get over tree roots, but I'd like to work back up to those
curbs.


--
Chrashing

Regards,
Ken ... I say it's a great exercise. They say it's a mid-life thing.
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Thanks for all the advice. I can hop up curbs easily but hopping uses up
a lot of energy. I was practicing again yesterday night and am
succeeding more often. It seems like the whole issue is to lean your
hips back right before you hit the curb. When I do succeed it just
feels so natural and easy. I am going to keep on practicing and will
update the forum when I have this skill mastered.

Unicorn


--
Unicorn

Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the pedals, and you will
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Keep note of the pedal position when you get up a curb really easily.
That's probably why you only get up every 1 in 10 tries.


--
one wheely

Why stroll...when you can roll?
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every moment of it!

BillyTheMountain wrote:
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If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem!
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Obviously I am making sure to hit the curv only when my right pedal is
between 1 and 3 O'clock. The problem is that on most of the tries the
tire just doesn't catch and it spins.

If I see that my pedal position is not going to be good then I arc a
little to one side to add the correct amount of distance before I hit
the curb.

I am pretty sure that I just have to bring my hips further back so that
I get my center of gravity right over the Wheel. I have allready
increased my success rate and I am sure that it will continue to
increase with practice. As soon as I get a 100% success rate I will
start hitting the curb with my pedals in different positions. I know
that curbs can be mastered and I will do it! Then I will try them
backwards!

Unicorn


--
Unicorn

Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the pedals, and you will
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It's the pedal position that usually gets me. Up to about a 4" curb I
can usually count on momentum to help carry me through, even if I hit
it with the pedals at 12 and 6. But a 6" curb will stop me dead in my
tracks if the pedals aren't right. If I'm in doubt or a situation
where I'll be totally embarrased, I pull up to the curb and side hop
onto it. I still haven't figured out how to gain any height on a
rolling hop. Certainly not enough to clear a 6" curb anyway (you guys
who can rolling hop onto a picnic table amaze me). Being able to ride
up curbs seems like a good skill to develop. The natural progression of
things from there is to be able to ride up stairs.


--
underdog

'I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody
tell you different' - Kurt Vonnegut
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mornish wrote:
yeah.

I made it up a 2 set yesterday on my muni.

I just rode fast.


now try a 3 set, then 4... have fun


--
thejdw

dunawan wrote:
why are koxx one unicycles so costly???
forrestunifreak wrote:
They are expensive because they use only the finest soft drink cans.




don't follow Jesus, follow me!
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I have a probably 80% success rate with this, and I use the momentum
method. I don't go all that fast (ever--if you've ridden with me, you
know the truth of that statement!), but put my hips back just before
hitting the curb, and let the curb stop me. When the momentum tosses me
forward, I just keep pedaling and pull up and forward with my hips (and
with the hand on the seat handle) and the uni just follows me up and
onto the sidewalk. I haven't had grip issues, but all I ride are munis
with pretty grippy knobs.

The times I don't succeed are generally when I have my pedals too close
to vertical, but I don't really think about it too much. Sometimes I'm
surprised by a UPD instead of success, so that keeps me on my toes!


--
pkittle

*==========================
Peter Kittle * Chico, CA
"The Revolution is just a t-shirt away."
--Billy Bragg
==========================*
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