"Leading with left shoulder while riding!

I know there have been similar threads about "listing" to one side while
riding, with no real solution to that problem, asserting that the
probelm could be with the rider and not the uni, or maybe a psi/sadle
height related problem, or "dishing",etc. My problem seems related, but
when I ride muni, whether on level, or uneven, high left, high right
side, I always seem to be "Leading" withmy left shoulder! It's like I'm
trying to compensate for a left-pull of the uni. So I experimented with
seat height, and tried adjusting the seat a little left, then a little
right, but still no real improvement. Then I noticed when I took off my
back pack, the shoulder leading almost disappeared, but it was still
there. No, my backpack is equally weighted, with no extra weight on one
side. One thing I haven't tried, is "building up" the seat on one
side,to help" shift my weight to a more balance position. Am I correct
in thinking that if my left shoulder is Jutting forward as I ride, that
I should build up the RIGHT, to force my left shoulder BACK even withmy
right? Does anyone think this might help, or solve the problem? I don't
know what else to try, but I HATE the extra work involved just to stay
on a straight course!


--
terrybigwheel

Impotence: Nature's Way Of Saying "No Hard Feelings".

Uni is just a cycle I'm going through.

You -can- "Tune a fish". You simply adjust their "scales"!
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TheObieOne3226 wrote:
The problem is either mental or you need to get used to your unicycle at
its current setting. I often found when I made a change in tire
pressure or seat hieght (or a number of other things) I had the same
problem, and the more I noticed it the worse it got. My solution was to
hop on the uni and ride it hard and fast until my legs were a little
tired (but loosened up) and then hop back on the uni. More often than
not it solved the problem.

Of course, inspect your unicycle before doing this to make sure your
wheel isn't off center. Also check your pedals, sometimes when your
grip on the pedals isn't strong it leads to changes in the way you
ride.



I just thought that instead of building up the seat with foam under the
cover, I could "shim" or add washers under one side of the seat where
it bolts on.


--
terrybigwheel

Impotence: Nature's Way Of Saying "No Hard Feelings".

Uni is just a cycle I'm going through.

You -can- "Tune a fish". You simply adjust their "scales"!
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It may be that, as your riding develops, your musculature and technique
are becoming asymmetric. Consider taking active steps to balance your
riding style by idling with each leg, one-foot riding with each leg,
working on figure 8s, hopping with each foot forward, and even holding
the saddle with either hand.


--
U-Turn

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.
'LiveWire Unicycles' (http://www.livewireunicycles.com)
'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)
'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)
'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)
-- Dave Stockton
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i may have a some-what related problem. when i'm going up steepish hills
i tend to have my left shoulder way out in front and in most cases my
left shoulder is level with or further to the right than my seat. Is
this a big problem?


--
iridemymuni

In theory, there is no difference between practice and theory, in
practice, there is.
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when i ride across a sloped surface i tend to move my right shoulder
forward a lot more just to stay up right. i got a new tire for my uni
and it pretty much stopped when i did that.

cheers, keep it wheel.


--
tomtrevor

wanna see wacked bikes at their best visit www.mediahug.com/bikes
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Well I just finished adding extra washers onder the right under side
where the seat bolts on. I noticed BEFORE I did this that the seat was
high on the left side when the bolts were even. I think I just
compressed that side down more during riding. So I will see if this has
any effect and fixes the problem. Thanks everybody!


--
terrybigwheel

Impotence: Nature's Way Of Saying "No Hard Feelings".

Uni is just a cycle I'm going through.

You -can- "Tune a fish". You simply adjust their "scales"!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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I have come to my own conclusion that leading with one shoulder or the
other is a means for controlling front-to-back balance.

I get into an awkward position such as a left or right slanting road
surface, I slow down and the next thing that happens is one shoulder
starts leading the way. One shoulder goes forward and so of course the
other goes back. Then instead of using my arms to control side-to-side
balance my arms are controlling front-to-back balance.

Slanted surfaces and steeply curved road crown (especially while riding
my 29er) still give me a lot of trouble. It is better than it used to
be but still feels really awkward.

I don't think it is your equipment unless something is really
mis-aligned. The problem is with the rider.

My 2 cents.


--
Wheel Rider

A man can fail many times but he isn't a failure until he begins to
blame someone else. - Waite Phillips
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Wheel Rider wrote:
I have come to my own conclusion that leading with one shoulder or the
other is a means for controlling front-to-back balance.

The problem is with the rider.

My 2 cents.



You shouldn't have to "think" about that stuff when you ride; it should
all be totally natural and flowing, like riding a bike.You don't think
about balance, you just ride and react naturally. It really takes the
fun out of riding when you're constantly readjusting and compensating
to simply stay on a straight path.It's taxing and saps my stamina over
a long 3 hour ride. When I pull my backpack way over to the right,it
seems to straighten me out, but it's evenly weighted. So it seems that
I need more weight on my right side in order to balance me out. maybe I
can situate my water bladder over to the right side, so Idon't have to
add extra weight.


--
terrybigwheel

Impotence: Nature's Way Of Saying "No Hard Feelings".

Uni is just a cycle I'm going through.

You -can- "Tune a fish". You simply adjust their "scales"!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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TheObieOne3226 wrote:
The problem is either mental or you need to get used to your unicycle at
its current setting. I often found when I made a change in tire
pressure or seat hieght (or a number of other things) I had the same
problem, and the more I noticed it the worse it got. My solution was to
hop on the uni and ride it hard and fast until my legs were a little
tired (but loosened up) and then hop back on the uni. More often than
not it solved the problem.

Of course, inspect your unicycle before doing this to make sure your
wheel isn't off center. Also check your pedals, sometimes when your
grip on the pedals isn't strong it leads to changes in the way you
ride.




I've found this to be right. When I upped the pressure on my Coker
tire, this happened, and I eventually just got used to it and it went
away.


--
loosejello
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loosejello wrote:
I've found this to be right. When I upped the pressure on my Coker tire,
this happened, and I eventually just got used to it and it went away.



You found "what" to be right? When you upped the pressure what exactly
happened?


--
terrybigwheel

Impotence: Nature's Way Of Saying "No Hard Feelings".

Uni is just a cycle I'm going through.

You -can- "Tune a fish". You simply adjust their "scales"!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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