sif hops

[redvers]

i can hop with my seat in but not out in front ...is there like a trick to doing sif hops or is it just practice?

[Beaver1]

The main difference between the two is weight distribution: SI hopping allows sloppy weight distribution between your two pedals, for the unicycle will not tilt (it is presumably jammed between your legs). SIF hopping and riding requires near perfect weight distribution between pedals, for the unicycle can indeed tilt and will collapse underneath you. I highly recommend practicing.

[isaac steiner]

just try practicing on flat ground and then start up on some lines. Its not hard once you get it...And its amazing how many less prehops you can do..And height...I did 38cm once SI and it felt really hard....And then a few days later and i learned SIF and did 44cm...And now I can do 54cm. Just practice.

[unired]

thanks o much

by the way this is redvers

[Magixause]

I feel wayyy more comfortable when I jump SIF while holding on with two hands rather than one. Will holding on with one make that much of a difference with hight cause I have good stability with two hands, but one hand just feels wierd.

[sp4rky-m4rky]

If you need two hands to hold the saddle then your probably better off getting more compftable SI. Riding and hopping SI helps increace your control and ability to maintain even pressure on both pedals which is what is required to be able to hop SIF. Apart from making you look like a retard :) using two hands instead of one does have its disadvantages (obviously otherwise everyone would do it) with both hands holding the saddle you have no free hand to ballance and obviously ballace is key to riding a unicycle and key to jumping high. It also helps add hight to your hops, by moving your arm its weight makes a difference to the hight you jump. You will probably be better off getting eficient at SI trials but keep trying SIF on accations (with one hand), gradualy you will find it more natural and find you will be able to hop higher and with more control when SIF.

[Jedimind]

I'm having a problem with SIF hops as well.

I can do them, but not well(about half a foot). But it seems really hard to get any better because when I'm doing SIF hops I just get really tired. Is this something to do with my technique? I can hop around for a while SI without any problems, but after about 5 minutes of SIF hopping the wind is knocked right out of me.

This happen to anyone else?

[Ducttape]

I'm having a problem with SIF hops as well.

I can do them, but not well(about half a foot). But it seems really hard to get any better because when I'm doing SIF hops I just get really tired. Is this something to do with my technique? I can hop around for a while SI without any problems, but after about 5 minutes of SIF hopping the wind is knocked right out of me.

This happen to anyone else?
I think it's probably technique, I have the same SI height as SIF and find SI more comfortable because I don't get as tired mainly because I've perfected my SI hopping technique and am less sloppy SI than SIF. I'm working on SIF though and do find my hop accuracy goes up when SIF but line completion rate goes down because I don't practice enough. the key thing here is practice....

[Beaver1]

I used to find SIF hopping really difficult, as well as SI for that matter, and I think I have come to a conclusion why.
I used to bunny-hop constantly between my jumps, (I was unable to stand still), and therefore was constantly flexing my body and bouncing on my trials lines.
Now, stand up, no really stand up, and just try bouncing on your toes for a few minutes. After that, between pants and gasps for breath, just stand still. Which is easier? Similarly to unicycling, standing still is 500% easier, and therefore less tiring. Learning to stand still on a unicycle was probably the single most beneficial skill I have learned so far, and has increased the time I can spend riding tremendously.
-Hope this helps.

[mouse]

while someone is on the subject, I have my KH24" setup with a low seatpost and 150mm cranks to do most of my trials stuff right now and find SIF hopping very difficult when it comes to hopping up to things. Is this (in someone's opinion) something that will be worth working on with the 24" and get easier over time or does the bigger 24" wheel just not cut it?

[Det-riot]

while someone is on the subject, I have my KH24" setup with a low seatpost and 150mm cranks to do most of my trials stuff right now and find SIF hopping very difficult when it comes to hopping up to things. Is this (in someone's opinion) something that will be worth working on with the 24" and get easier over time or does the bigger 24" wheel just not cut it?
just keep practicing, i could hardly do SIF a week ago, now i can do it 5" higher than SI

[dudewithasock]

A lot of good tips have been said about hopping SIF, but I just wanna reinforce the idea that you should get very comfortable with stable seat-in hopping before you move to SIF. Even weight distribution between the two pedals is extremely important for successful SIF, as the uni can easily start wobbling like crazy, especially when you get to the point where you need to tuck a lot for higher jumps since your thighs can't provide that extra support.

I'm a big proponent of learning with only one hand holding the seat - I personally hold with the hand corresponding to my rear pedal. The direction you jump, in general, is also the arm you should hold out for extra balance and weight management. This just came naturally for me, knowing how to use my free arm to increase my height and stability.

Good luck!

[UniDudeDX]

is it better to have your seat up higher or lower...?

[torkerdx]

is it better to have your seat up higher or lower...?
well it depends on your style
if you are from europe and ride trials low seat
if you are from the us and ride trials high seat

[UniDudeDX]

they are just 2 dif styles or what?

[torkerdx]

they are just 2 dif styles or what?
most european ride low seat for sif trials
most americans and canadians ride high seat for sif trials
why?
cause thats how we (america) roll.
yeah it is a personal feel.

[dudewithasock]

well it depends on your style
if you are from europe and ride trials low seat
if you are from the us and ride trials high seat

I've never heard that before.

As far as seat height, lower is generally better. Easier to tuck, as well as pull out/in more easily.

[mouse]

I'm american and ride with a pretty low seat...then again maybe its because I started on a 24" for trials before moving to a 20"

[UniDudeDX]

I'm american and ride with a pretty low seat...then again maybe its because I started on a 24" for trials before moving to a 20"
so did i!

[maestro8]

As far as seat height, lower is generally better. Easier to tuck, as well as pull out/in more easily.
Dude, what? Hell no!

With a lower seat you're going to have to hunch over to hold the seat when doing SIF. You'll also be using lots of back muscle when you pull up / out on the seat during hops. This is going to kill your back after riding a while.

Great SIF riders like Atkins and Baldwin ride with their seats very high. Tucking isn't an issue when you learn to move the seat away from you when doing large hops... watch some videos from Atkins or Baldwin for illustration.

As for pulling in and out more easily, good SIF riding includes a minimum amount of this motion... so it's also a non-issue.

Of course, style and comfort varies from rider to rider, feel free to do what works for you... I'm just tellin' it like the "big boys" do it... and it works well for me too.

As always, keep on practicing! I promise you, one day your SIF hops will easily dwarf your SI hops... and you'll feel just as stable...

[mouse]

just for fun UniDudeDX, I'd like to mention that I enjoy trials riding on a 20" torker DX much much more than the 24" 07 Kris Holm...I just cant handle that much wheel with little margin for error.

[Danni]

I rode 2 years everything seat in (mind you I had only really getting serious about a year later). I had come to a stand still at around 26 inches. I then met another rider that convinced me to go SIF. From there, I drastically improved my sidehop hight.

My advise is to get comfortable doing SI, then move on to SIF. The change should not be a big one.

[dudewithasock]

Dude, what? Hell no!

With a lower seat you're going to have to hunch over to hold the seat when doing SIF. You'll also be using lots of back muscle when you pull up / out on the seat during hops. This is going to kill your back after riding a while.

Great SIF riders like Atkins and Baldwin ride with their seats very high. Tucking isn't an issue when you learn to move the seat away from you when doing large hops... watch some videos from Atkins or Baldwin for illustration.

As for pulling in and out more easily, good SIF riding includes a minimum amount of this motion... so it's also a non-issue.

Of course, style and comfort varies from rider to rider, feel free to do what works for you... I'm just tellin' it like the "big boys" do it... and it works well for me too.

As always, keep on practicing! I promise you, one day your SIF hops will easily dwarf your SI hops... and you'll feel just as stable...

To each his own. I find it a lot easier to ride SIF with the seat lower.

[mouse]

To each his own.

+1

I ride with a low seat and have started to do a reasonable amount of SIF. I think its all based on personal preference for this one.

[skilewis74]

Dude, what? Hell no!

With a lower seat you're going to have to hunch over to hold the seat when doing SIF. You'll also be using lots of back muscle when you pull up / out on the seat during hops. This is going to kill your back after riding a while.

Great SIF riders like Atkins and Baldwin ride with their seats very high. Tucking isn't an issue when you learn to move the seat away from you when doing large hops... watch some videos from Atkins or Baldwin for illustration.

As for pulling in and out more easily, good SIF riding includes a minimum amount of this motion... so it's also a non-issue.

Of course, style and comfort varies from rider to rider, feel free to do what works for you... I'm just tellin' it like the "big boys" do it... and it works well for me too.

As always, keep on practicing! I promise you, one day your SIF hops will easily dwarf your SI hops... and you'll feel just as stable...
Tom Peck and Joe Hodges are two Huge hoppers that have really low seats and are both European, and RA & ZB are both North American, so hmmmm...

I suck hardcore at hops, but it seems there is an equilibrium, for me this seems to be 1" below ideal riding seat hight. Having my seat lower feels really akward, like you said, but I can see when hopping REALLY high, like those mentioned, the seat seems to get in the way.

Try different hights and use which works best for you.

I also feel like I'm using a lot of strength/energy hopping SIF, because I can't bounce like a pogo stick as easilly, but I can tell I'm wasting a lot of energy w/ poor pulling technique/timing SIF.

[hungry4uni@unicyclist.com]

i just recently learned SIF, what is this i hear of pre-hop

[hungry4uni]

your so cool dude

[Jerrick]

i just recently learned SIF, what is this i hear of pre-hop


Pre-hop, is a hop right before getting up a ledge or a gap or whatever.

Basically, instead of just using one jump to get up something, you do one jump before the ledge, and once the tire hits the ground and compresses, you use that movement to jump higher.

Watch a few trials videos, and you see some good examples of pre-hops.

[manon1wheel]

Seat hight answer:

after expirementing for hours ive come to this conclusion.

Seat higher:
pros: while riding with your seat high you can stillstand longer and have more leverage over your wheel. it also helps you riding smoother and straighter. you also dont have to use your back so much in your hops.

cons: it in some ways can take away from your arm strength/pull of the seat. it messes up my prehop, and often i feel squirly.( but thas just me)

seat low:
pros:stronger arm position and increased prehop power. tuck hight increases(in my case)

cons:sore back at first, but youll get stronger. less accuracy (skinnies, rails, ect.)

hope that answers some of your questions.

p.s. these are my personal experiences, everyone is different.

-Riley

[hungry4uni]

Before, mouse posted about trials on a 24", I do trials 24" inch too. I have a torker cx 20", it stinks, but I just can't ride 20". That is why I do everything 24."
Weirdest of all, I'm 5' 4."