indoor riding on rollers, myth or fact?

Proper traditional rollers, with two rollers for the back wheel (of a
bicycle) and one for the front, all connected by a belt?

I've ridden a bicycle on those. It requires huge concentration, or you
hit the ground running...

I'd be surprised if it could be done on a unicycle, because there is no
facility for moving the contact patch (centre of support) forwards and
backwards relative to the centre of mass. On the other hand, most
things in unicycling suprise me.

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When we were doing demos at the Australian Bike Show, Dan Cowling tried
this...there was nowhere near enough resistance to give even your well
above average rider enough control forwards and backwards.

Andrew

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Even with plenty of resistance, you still don't have anyplace for the
wheel to go, so balance will remain a problem. What you need is a
powered treadmill. 🙂

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yeah, without a moving center of balance, it'd be slightly easier (i
think) than doing a still stand.good luck. if you try, post videos.

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It would be the same as a stillstand in terms of front-back balance, but
alot easier for side to side balance due to the gyroscopic effect of
the spinning wheel. Unfortunately, for-aft blance is what is difficult
about unicycling, so it's going to be pretty tough if not impossible,
unless you have an amazing stillstand.

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kington99

Dave

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kington99 said:

It would be the same as a stillstand in terms of front-back balance, but
alot easier for side to side balance due to the gyroscopic effect of
the spinning wheel.

Actually I think it would be quite a bit harder than a stillstand, due
to the pedaling motion screwing up your fine balance. This is where
resistance might come in; using the resistance of some heavily
counterweighted rollers as something to push against. But it still
wouldn't be easy.

Side to side balance is not an issue because you can roll from side to
side to correct. But that leads toward the other problem of a uni on
rollers. A bike tends to track straight. A unicycle tends to wobble
unless you're going really slow. Wobble too much and your wheel will
slip down between the rollers! :eek:

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I tried to ride rollers last Winter in preperation for a distance ride I
did last Spring. John your correct. The downward gravitational force
tends to force the wheel to turn one way or the other and fall between
the two rollers. No matter how hard you try to keep the wheel straight
once it starts to turn your fighting a losing battle to correct the
turn and continue to ride.

When riding rollers with a bicycle it's the front wheel which is
perched dead center atop of the one roller that allows you to turn
easily and control the bicycle. If unicycle roller riding were
possible I think it would have to be done in similar fashion to the
front wheel of a bicycle and...well...if you know anyone that can ride
their unicycle perched atop on one roller, I would sure like to see it.

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If a unicyclist on a flat road begins to fall to the front, he (she)
applies more force to the front pedal. Traditionally this is thought of
as having the objective to put the wheel back under the centre of mass,
thereby restoring balance. There is a second effect however: the wheel
resists acceleration (rotational inertia, but also mass intertia
because the unicycle + rider has to be accelerated). That means that
the unicyclist pushes himself upright by exerting force on the front
pedal. In normal riding the two effects work together.

The first effect (wheel moving forward) is not present when riding on
rollers, but the second (pushing upright) still is. Even when the
rollers would have no resistance (which is theoretically impossible),
there would still be the rotational inertia of the wheel.

All this means that riding a unicycle on (two) rollers is possible, at
least theoretically.

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I guess the question still is has anybody done it and also can you ride
on a treadmill? I just booked a trip to CA, so I will pack my uni and
get some riding in. I will be in LA 1/10 thru 1/14 or longer for work.

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I've tried riding on a powered treadmill...its very hard. I think its
because when you're riding forward on a unicycle normally, you're
falling forwards and pedalling to keep your lower body up with your
upper body. but since you're not actually moving while you're on a
treadmill, if you try to balance normally, you will fall forwards. so
its like doing a stillstand while pedalling...its very weird.

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I don't understand what this thread is about. What are these rollers,
like horizontal escalators (since someone mentioned treadmills..)?

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dinmamma said:

What are these rollers, like horizontal escalators (since someone
mentioned treadmills..)?

Try typing "cycling on rollers" or similar into Google. You'll be
amazed at the detailed answers you can get that way, without having to
wait, rather than someone who never used them (like most of us here)
giving you a rough and possibly inaccurate description.

Compared to rollers, a powered treadmill should be a piece of cake.
I've done it before, but it was very briefly as I was prepared to be
kicked out at any second. It's not particularly difficult once you get
going, but there is the constant danger of rolling off the back or
sides. Ouch!

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During the Winter months I cycle (bicycle) an average of 500 miles on
rollers. It's much more stimulating than riding a trainer or
exer-cycle due to the fact that you have to balance yourself as you
ride. My brother, who has been riding a unicycle for about 35 years an
is now addicted to cycling, probably averages 40 - 50 miles per day on
rollers during the Winter months.

I wouldn't say that riding a unicycle on rollers is impossible. I've
tried to ride my unicycle on rollers and I was unable to sustain myself
on them for any length of time. I could continue to try but while I
think it would be a cool thing to do I don't care enough about it to
commit to practicing it. However, there are guys and gals doing things
on unicycles today that I would never thought possible several years
ago. What I'm trying to say is that if someone out there practices
rideing their unicycle on rollers long enough, I'm sure they'll someday
be able to do it.

All I'll ask is to please post the video!

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