Jumpin' Sam Flash

PopeSamXVI said:

*So I would like to learn to jump. I can do minature hops that are
downright laughable. I understand it has something to do with keeping
the pedals horizontal, but the acursed inertia keeps that from
happening. Basically I'm just wondering how it's done. *

I'm not very clear about technique - I'm quite a woolly jumper - but
this is how I see it:

To jump, you need a firm platform, and room to bend and straighten your
legs. That means cranks horizontal. I find it much easier if my strong
foor is forwards. (I freemount generally with lleft foot down/back, I
prefer to idle left foot down, I prefer to hop/jump left foot back.)

So, ride along, slow down, stop, with cranks horizontal. Stand up on
the pedals to raise your centre of mass. That means the unicycle will
tip more slowly. Hold the front of the seat. Now, try a few small hops.
Try to be in sympathy with the unicycle. The tyre will have a natural
"period" of bounce, depending on how fat it is and what pressure it
holds.

If you let a bit of air out, you will find that the tyre is squidgier,
and you can time your jump to make the most of this to get a bit more
altitude.

Now remember your Newton's Laws. You need a bit of equal and opposite
reaction. The whole idea of jumpping on a unicycle is to get the
unicycle up off the floor. Part of this is getting your own mass good
and high, and then pulling the unicycle up. As you pull the unicycle
up, you will need to bend your legs. Your body mass is much more than
the mass of your unicycle, so as you pull the uni up, your body will
hardly move down.

After that, I guess it's just practice. I've managed to hop on the spot
about 10 - 12 inches , and I can move forwards or a little bit sideways.
However, I've never really worked at hopping onto, over or off things.
In fact, the few timnes that I've tried, I've usually hurt myself.

Good luck.

--
Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling

Well, it all depends on what you mean by "semantics".
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sadfhlh

--
gerblefranklin - Trials Unicyclist

Don't you think it's a cruel irony that acting like a G.I. Joe in the
army can get you a Medal, while playing with one can get you thrown out?
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Sorry, I wanted to see if the picture I wanted to attach would work and
I accidentally hit "submit reply" instead of "preview reply".

Anyways, you may want to stop along a fence and hold on, and then get
used to getting your pedals level. Then, you can try to hop as you hold
on.

--
gerblefranklin - Trials Unicyclist

Don't you think it's a cruel irony that acting like a G.I. Joe in the
army can get you a Medal, while playing with one can get you thrown out?
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you say you can do miniature hops? practice hopping in place for as
long as you can. most likely you will not be able to do it that long.
once you can hop constantly until you decide to stop, or get tired, work
on hopping with little pauses in between each jump. increase the the
time of the pause. sooner than you think you will be hopping much
better!!

--
muniracer - Hell On Wheel

The Hell on Wheel Unicycle Gang owns you!!

http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albuq25
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How do I pull the unicycle up? It's only an inch or two from my crotch
when I stand.

--
PopeSamXVI - Resident Hogwasher/Hornswaggler

Karol Jozef Wojtyla Forever!

I really am the president of my own fan club. www.samhunterfanclub.tk
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i learned by miniature hops.. just keep doing them and you'll figure it
out

edit: i also learned that tips while useful, are often minimally useful.
you should have someone to turn to for instruction but learning tricks
is at least 80% doing it over and over and over and over.....

--
zach_jucha - Smilemaker

-Don't ask me why I said it, because I already forgot.-

- Homestar

-I think I see way more penises then I should.-

- Dan Heaton

-God didn't give him brains but he sure gave him talent.-

- Kris Holm's friend Chris as Kris did a huge drop
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That's good to know, but if I don't even know where to start tips are
most helpful.

--
PopeSamXVI - Resident Hogwasher/Hornswaggler

Karol Jozef Wojtyla Forever!

I really am the president of my own fan club. www.samhunterfanclub.tk
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