uni with training wheels, best learner?

I've never actually tried one, but I don't really see how you can
develop balance etc. when the training thing does it all for you. It
might help to build confidence, but not much else. Probably best just
to learn the normal way - by falling off a bit. 🙂

--
milk

Just 1 pint of blood can save up to 3 lives.
I guess it's kind of unfortunate that I'm spilling mine on the
pavement.

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My thoughts are don't waste your money. Buying that unicycle is
probably a bad idea for the following reasons

- training wheels are not a significant help in learning to ride. If
those wheels pictured cannot pivot you are essentially riding a
glorified trike and learning to ride it will not put you very far down
the path towards riding a normal unicycle. If the back wheels *can*
pivot this may be a difficult contraption to ride full stop. You may
as well learn to ride a normal unicycle.

- in the case of an unplanned dismount those training wheels are likely
to increase your chances of injury (there is more to get tangled up
in)

- judging from the picture it is a relatively poor quality unicycle and
will be fairly easy to damage

--
peter.bier

-Peter Bier
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skilewis74 said:

I have read a lot of posts about wisecracks about training wheels and
the ideal learner, but never both at the same time.

I've seen 'this ' (http://tinyurl.com/nptmz)20" uni on e-bay for $65 a
couple of times. I didn't get it partly because I was woried about
build quality. What are your thoughts on this being the ideal
learner?
[image:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Unicycle-20-inch-with-Training-Wheels_W0QQitemZ120012118975QQihZ002QQcategoryZ2904QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting]
:o

It's not an effective training aid.
For the moment there isn't any device on the market that would reduce
the learning curve.
For now get yourself a Torker LX and do some searching on the forum for
tips on learning how to ride.
There is a wealth of knowledge right here at your fingertips.

Adam

--
JustOneWheel

There is no better way to have Fun and Exercise. "UNICYCLE"
Every one should have "FUN ON ONE"
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Because of my club, I bought one of those (actually, it was a tad
different, but basically the exact same principle and design). It
sucked, then broke.

But to address another point: To me, unicycling is more about
coordination than balance. Anything that can help teach someone about
the necessary coordination of uni'ing is a great tool. This one just
happens to have a lot of flaws in the design.

--
David_Stone

Dictator for Life,
NYUC

Check out my blog (or else):
http://newyorkunicycle.blogspot.com/
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One word... NO.

pete.bier already explained why.

--
dudewithasock

'My Unicycling Journal'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44950)
officially ended.
😎

forget_your_life said:

not really,there were many more suppers since Jesus didnt acually die
but was taken down off the cross and smuggled over to Europe.

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um.... LOL!!!! itsays deluxe padded seat.:eek: It looks like that
seat could make me bleed:eek:

also, I think it's a stupid way of learning. the actuall unicycle is
tilted far to the back, so it's not like your really riding it, just
pedaling.

--
mornish

Quoted message said:

<>UNICYCLING FOR MYSLELF TOO<><

trials_uni said:

Where did you hear that Bedford unis are not strong? They are the best
thing since sliced bread!!

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training wheels on a unicycle y not just a bike its pretty much the same
thing.

--
The Bruiser

lvl 3 unicyclist, move out the way haha
Muni
MUni
ni
i
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I think training wheels on a bike is pretty stupid too, but thats just
me.

--
mornish

Quoted message said:

<>UNICYCLING FOR MYSLELF TOO<><

trials_uni said:

Where did you hear that Bedford unis are not strong? They are the best
thing since sliced bread!!

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mornish said:

I think it's a stupid way of learning. the actuall unicycle is tilted
far to the back, so it's not like your really riding it, just pedaling.

I have always been on the side of people saying whatever they want on
here, and not on the side of the jerks that tell them to shut up
because they don't have the "correct" knowledge to speak. However, on
this one, I think I'm going to have to flop. With the exception of the
one guy that's tried something "like it", you all give VERY strong
reasons why you THINK it would suck, but you've never tried one, and
you have abosultely NO idea if it would suck, or maybe be quite
helpful.

I personally learned in less than two hours without holding on to
anything at all from start to finish. So, this is in the realm of most
of you out there that held on to walls or railings to start. This is
the same concept, except that you don't have to be near a wall with
your hand out throwing off you balance and making your learning take
twice as long, which to me seems like the STUPID way to learn.

The reason I quoted Miles' reply, was that I think you all are missing
what this thing does, and Mile's stated it 100% backwards (sorry,
usually I agree with you and stick up for you 🙂 ) The mono is leaning
so far backwards because it's standing on the rear wheels for the
picture. As you're learning to ride, you would be UP AND OFF OF THOSE
WHEELS. Only when you start to lose balance whould you tilt back a
little and then use the wheels to regain balance. Get how they work,
like how bicycle training wheels aren't level with the bottom of the
bike tire, but are up, so that they don't touch unless you lean to far
to the side, then they let you regain your balance.

So, without ever using this thing either, I'm going to give my idea on
it, but at least my responce has a little more thought than "this'll
suck, take four months to learn like I did". I personally think that
this would work fairly well. I would like to have one to teach my wife,
and one in the future to teach my daughter, and I'd also make use of it
to steady myself for learning new tricks.

All of you are the same people that think that people shouldn't talk
without knowing what they're talking about, and yet you all do...kinda
stupid, dontcha think?

X

--
AscenXion
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oh, sorry. I just think it won't work which is a pretty negative thing
to say too a goodish idea.

-miles

--
mornish

Quoted message said:

<>UNICYCLING FOR MYSLELF TOO<><

trials_uni said:

Where did you hear that Bedford unis are not strong? They are the best
thing since sliced bread!!

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oh yeah!

i like a good commentary!

i'm glad i'm not the only one who dislikes it when others are insulted
due to their inexperience or lack of knowledge.

just because everyone on here already knows how to 325.10 crankflip
retro-uni-clip-grab, they are so quick to cut down others, who are not
hip to their scene...

it's not fair to people trying to learn.
we should look out for one another.

AscenXion,
i'm glad you felt strong enough about it to stick up for others...
thanks...

oct.

--
october
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Apparently its by far their best seller.

--
TheObieOne3226

'SWAT Gallery' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/SWAT)
'SWAT webpage' (singlewheeledattackteam.1hwy.com)
'Arrow Racing' (http://www.arrowracing.com/)
'Sixsixone' (http://www.sixsixone.com)

\"obie is definately a trend setter, i got in to unicycling because of
him, and came here because of him\" - kj-52

\"try not to annoy the great obie, for he is better than us.\" - murde
mental

*disclaimer: the above message was not intended to offend anyone. if
you are offended i can take no responsibility for my actions because i
don't feel like it. also you are reading an internet newsgroup where
not everyone will share your same views and beliefs, be able to take
criticism and post/read threads at your own risk.*
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When I decided that I wanted to learn to ride a unicycle, I went out and
bought a unicycle. I wanted to learn ON a traditional unicycle, not
on some idealised (or otherwise) trainer. To have done so would have
spoiled the experience for me.

Nao

--
Naomi

Convince me I am wrong about that? But *of course *you might convince
me I am wrong about that. But try an easier one first. Convince me
that 2 and 2 doesn't make 4.
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does it really help with keeping your balance? i think you would take
longer to learn to ride doing it that way. therefore i think it is
pointless.

--
tomtrevor

I was doing a wheelie on my bike and figured why not buy a unicycle.
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don't waste your money

--
Ricky W

Unicycle For Christ
my unicyclist.com names:lucky_8 and Ricky W
"I dress like a unicyclist"-litldude2
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I'm still learning to ride now and I would never use something like
that. It looks like would get in the way when you needed to bail. I
can just see that thing wacking me in the back of the head.

I've thought about training aids and the best training aid out there
is a really long wall along a flat surface... maybe something like a
tennis court

Plus these training wheels are VERY cheaply built. I'm sure the wheels
would break/bend/crack in the first couple of tries.

--
StaggerLee
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AscenXion said:

With the exception of the one guy that's tried something "like it", you
all give VERY strong reasons why you THINK it would suck, but you've
never tried one, and you have abosultely NO idea if it would suck, or
maybe be quite helpful.

X

You should always give more weight to the opinion of people who have
tried the actual equipment (especially when it is David Stone).

I also have a little bit of an idea why it might suck :-) But you
probably don't know me from a bar of soap.

My thoughts were based on 10+ years of riding unicycles of all sorts of
shapes and sizes, including various unicycle like devices (which have
more wheels touching the ground) I have played around on a few things
that use similar concepts to the contraption shown and also
talked/lived with people who have ridden similar vehicles. Plus I also
teach mathematical modelling and have a reasonable knowledge of
physics.

It is always difficult to evaluate what advice is worth listening to
from the forums when you have no idea about the background of the
giver.

When in doubt it is a safe bet to listen to the likes of John Foss,
Greg Harper, Roger Davies and Gilby.

Regarding the vehicle in question, if you don't mind throwing away
money on a potential lemon it might be fun to get one for novelty value
(assuming you can already ride). It should not prove too difficult to
actually ride, although it may end up being slightly harder to use than
a normal unicycle. If you are part of a club it could be worth getting
for a bit of entertainment. Have a "who can do the most interesting
trick with this" evening.

--
peter.bier

-Peter Bier
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I thought about it but didn't buy it. I was afraid it would break from
a fall or just riding it soon after I basically learned how to ride. I
did buy a 24" DX and spent 2 months riding allong a 90 ft long, 4 ft
high rail.

It looked like a great idea though. If you were falling to the left,
right, or back the training wheels would catch you. Also just leaning
back would save you from a fall. And as you improved you could rais
the wheels (if your seat height limited this you could bend the wheels
up). The only problem is you'd be riding around with this frame and
wheels hanging off the back, which would mess up with your ballance.

This seamed like the Ideal trainer (or for learning tricks like 1 ft.
riding, ww, coasting, still stand,etc) especially if you didn't have a
rail to support you with. I know a coulple of people who tried
learning and quit, but if they had something like this I think they
would have stuck with it long enough to learn to ride. I think neither
person had any instruction or tried to ride along a rail, fence, or
wall though.

When I learned to ride a b*ke I was about 6 (now I'm 31) and I rode
around for 4 months before I had the courage to take the training
wheels off.

--
skilewis74
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What I think might be a good idea is to sell just the training wheel
contraption by itself, without the cheap uni. The contraption itself
may or may not work, but it seems better that they sell the training
wheels and you can attach them to a nicer unicycle that you are able to
pick out yourself. That may be worthwhile, but seeing as it comes with
a uni of questionable quality, I would avoid it.

--
onelesscar

mmm...i love my qu-ax...
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