I've been trying to improve my hopping. I've zeroed in on that aspect in
various videos. I've read some threads. I've watch my compatriots
closely. Here recently, I found an article on
'Muniac Manor' (http://www.muniac.com) (a site which should be on
everyone's "favorites" list).
Included on this site is an article by Kris Holm. Instead of using the
popular pre-hop, Mr. Holm says start with a still-stand...compress and
go. The still-stand only needs to be 1 second or less in duration. With
this in mind, I was able to hop up a flight of 21 steps on the third
attempt. (personal best). First attempt I made it 17 steps. Memphis is
situated on some tall bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. The city
has recently constructed several sets of stairs going up the bluffs. I'm
guessing there must be over 100 steps on a couple of them...
And I credit these forums for another point that has made a HUGE
difference. I had been exhausting myself because of shoddy technique.
Expending too much energy. Pulling hard on the seat. Coming off the
pedals. But there has recently been a thread on tire pressure where our
resident brainiacs explained the rhythm of the bouncing tire. High
psi...the tire returns to orig shape quickly. Low psi...tire returns
slowly, allowing the rider time to perform. I got my rhythm matched up
to the tire pressure (I chose a pressure just higher than bottoming out)
and did the still-stand technique and ba-da-bing, I was on the next step
up with surprisingly little effort.
To sum up: Relax, still-stand momentarily, find that rhythm relative to
pressure, (i.e. don't rush the hop) and zingo-bingo.
Going up, I like the balls of the feet on the pedals. Going down I
prefer the arch of the foot on the pedals. But that's a physics problem
for an future thread. (anyone ever heard of an atlatl?)
--
Memphis Mud - Student of GrandMaster 2T
Mantra: Avoid Hitting Tailbone...Avoid Hitting Tailbone...
"do not think, just ride"...muniracer
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View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/32153