New to Coker--advice needed

To start with, I am not a real great unicyclist. I can mount, ride, turn
and sometimes idle and that is about it.

I borrowed our club's Coker for a while just to try it out.

Surprisingly enough, I was able to mount without a lot of problems, but
as soon as I took a couple of pedals, it came out from under me. I made
several attempts with the same results. For whatever reason, I couldn't
keep the wheel under me (or keep myself on top of the wheel).

Obviously, I need practice, but is there any other helpful advice you
can give me?


--
Jethro - Pliny's Dolphin

©¿© Bill Hugo
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You can use a wall to get used to the large moment of the wheel and
pedal around a bit like that, but I think you should just keep at it and
you shouldn't have much trouble riding it. Have fun! :0


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Bob22b - MCL Tearer :d
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Hi Jethro. Have fun!
Yes, keep at it. A difference between a coker and a smaller uni:

You take a smaller uni for a ride: a coker takes you.

Don't fight the big wheel. Roll with it. If you argue, it will win; it
has too much inertia.

What surface are you riding on? make certain it's smooth and level.
Great that you;re freemounting already!

B


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podzol - Bogophile
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podzol wrote:

What surface are you riding on?


I am riding on the street in front of my house.


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Jethro - Pliny's Dolphin

©¿© Bill Hugo
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Jethro, just never give up!!!!

I think I had the same experience. I was used to keeping my balance on
a 24, by pedaling back and forth. Once you get a Coker moving, you can
not exert enough pressure to balance by pedaling backwards. You can
slow down, but you can not continuously ride by making the pedals go
back and forth, or if you could you would not be able to for long. You
need to start off slowly and RESIST the temptation to go too fast. I
only rode a 24 for about 3 months. I was not really good. I could ride
4 or 5 miles, turn but that was all. Then I got my Coker. Within about
2 hours, I was riding around the block. I always wanted to speed up,
but that gets really scarry at first. Remember, Helmet, kneepads and
wristgaurds are mandatory for a Coker.

That was about March this year. Now I ride my Coker exclusively. I
have 850 miles on it so far this summer. I love it. I go anywhere from
15-40 miles in a day. I very rarely fall. When you do fall, remember,
you are going fast, and you need to RUN LIKE HE!!, otherwise you will be
doing a faceplant.

Good Luck
b


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n9jcv
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You can't pedal slow when you start out. Get he pedals moving, and once
you have momentum, enjoy the ride.


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bugman - Proud member of the UALW
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Thanks for all the encouragement and advice. I will be giving it another
try this afternoon.


--
Jethro - Pliny's Dolphin

©¿© Bill Hugo
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On little unis you can jam some pressure on a pedal and get some
immediate and dramatic response from the machine. Not so with the Coker.
Jamming your foot on a Coker pedal and you'll walk right off the
thing.

The cruising speed is faster than on little unis.

Get up on the beast and get her going about 5 mph. Maintain steady
speed.

Changing speed is a gradual thing.

Build up speed gradually...come to a stop veeeery gradually. Turn
gradually.

Its a Mac Truck not a Spitfire.

Initially you have to persuade and coax the beast into doing what you
want. You shouldn't try to be the boss just yet. Today the beast is the
boss. You should be nice to the beast. Be thankfull for every ride that
the beast doesn't kill you. Be respectful of the brute.

With experience, the two of you should come to a mutually agreeable
understanding.


--
Memphis Mud - Student of GrandMaster 2T

"winter in peanut butter comes turquoise" -Greg Harper
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n9jcv wrote:
*Remember, Helmet, kneepads and wristgaurds are mandatory for a Coker.


*


Wise words.

Wise words indeed.

http://tinyurl.com/c683l



T.


--
DarkTom - fork riding a sugar unicycle

-\"just eat less pies, and then the loads on your seatpost will be
less.\" - johnhimsworth

\"i am a girl\" - amanda.gallacher
-
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Jethro wrote:
*Obviously, I need practice, but -*


No buts! You have answered your own question.

I guess what I experienced with my first rides on a Coker is that simply
rolling along the path is not a problem, but every maneuver requires
about four times as much muscle, space, and time as on a smaller uni.
The main problem that you have right now is that the control inputs that
you've become used to using to keep your little uni underneath you
aren't having much effect on the giant one. You just have to keep doing
it until your body figures out what it needs to do to manage the thing,
just like it did with the smaller one. It really is a quite different
ride. It took me a while to feel comfortable turning, but eventually I
got used to it, and I can maneuver pretty well now. I still need the 6"
cranks in order to idle confidently, though.


--
weeble - .

======================
To avoid danger of suffocation
keep away from babies
and small children
======================

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