Alright, I'll do this one... First, it would be helpful to know if you
hop to the left or right, right foot back or left, and if you do it seat
out or seat in and if you hold with your right or left hand. I hop to my
left, hold the seat with my right hand seat out, with my right foot
back. With that in mind, there are two kinds of pedalgrabs I know how to
do. The first kind is normal, like how Ryan Atkins does it, and the
second is a crankflip, like how Mike Middleton does it. I will describe
the first kind.
Background: It should be mentioned that it took me over 3 months to
learn to crankgrab, and it took me about 3 to learn to pedalgrab, but
just due to lack of practice. I learned crankgrabs on a cement ledge
with sand on one side and concrete on the other. The ledge was about 20"
off the concrete and 6" off the sand, and was about 11" wide. I
practiced pedalgrabs on a box that was 2' off the ground and had a top
that was 2'x2.5'. I landed my first ever pedalgrab on a concrete ledge
that was 16" high and had a top surface of abot 8'x30'.
Now onto technique: Here I assume you can already crankgrab. If you
can't, learn. Also, I assume you prefer to hop seat out. If you don't,
all is not lost, but things may be a little bit harder. Find a large
ledge, preferrably about 10'x10' or bigger. This is for the mental
aspect. If you never feel nervous, ignore this. The ledge should be
relatively low to the ground, so no matter how you fall (which you
will), it's a light, easy fall. Now, ignore the first part of the
pedalgrab, where you get up to pedal. You should already know this from
crankgrabs. There was a time for me where I'd land on the pedal and then
go to crank and then rubber, like muniracer.
Climb onto the object and place your pedal on it, so that when you hold
the seat and let the uni hang by the pedal, the crank just barely
doesn't touch the ledge. Now, put your foot on the pedal, and put all
your weight on it. Move the seat back and forth so that the wheel begins
to swing back and forth along the pedal's axis of rotation. Now, stop
the wheel from moving when the cranks are in the orientation that you
would normally hop with. Here comes the hard parts. Put your outside
foot on the pedal, trying not to look, as this may throw off you balance
on the pedal.
Once your foot is comfortably on the pedal (doesn't need to have any
pressure), pull up on the seat so that your rear pedal is a bit higher
up than your front pedal. Now for the hardest part. In one movement,
pull in and lift up on the seat, so you end up jumping up off of the
outside part of your pedal. Your pedals may approach vertical, and once
you've gotten them as close to vertical as you dare, shift your weight
onto both pedals and push back on the back pedal so you rotate the
pedals back to horizontal. You may land on the object before this motion
is complete. If so, treat it like a high seat out hop and just hop
forward to adjust. You have completed a pedalgrab.
The proccess is extremely difficult to explain, and the best advice I
can give is to do what feel right. I still can't do a pedalgrab like
what Kris does in U1. I just lifted the wheel a bit and went for it on
the ledge. It was a low-stress move because of the size of the object,
so I had no reservations. I landed it on my second try. Don't be
surprised if it takes you a while to land it. Common problems I have is
that I end up landing with vert. pedals, or goofy footed. Just getting
used and accustomed to the move is good. Eventually your on a ride and
you just feel like you can do it, and if your already accustomed to
trying the move, you'll land it, I guarantee. Within a week of landing
my first pedalgrab I had pedalgrabbed onto a column 32" off the ground
that had a kinda crowned top. Three days later I pedalgrabbed over a
chain link fence. Basically, once you can pedalgrab, a whole new world
of obstacles opens up.
Good Luck.
I'll try to answer more questions later. I may have missed some
concepts, or be inaccurate on some stuff, so feel free to correct me.
P.S. thinuniking: Thanks for the punctuation! It's infinitely easier to
read.
--
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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!!! Like, grab the fence a little bit up, then jump and grab