Complete N00b Sez Hi....

[uncommitted]

Just went through your thread, very encouraging!

My first uni should arrive this Friday. Seeing you were able to get into the mile range in under a month is very good news.

Curious if you hurt yourself at all during the process?

[aracer]

Originally Posted by YooNeeNoob

From watching other riders' videos, I see alot of handle-grabbing, especially when people are climbing. Presumably this is done for leverage. Now that my riding is getting alot more comfortable and I'm not flailing at all, I've been experimenting with handle grabbing, which at this point doesn't seem to help much, apart from possibly giving you a place to rest one arm. I haven't really tried any massive hills yet, so I'm guessing that the benefit of using the handle for leverage will become apparent as my climbs get longer / steeper. Thoughts?

I'm only just now getting to the point where holding the handle on climbs is useful - that's after 10 months of riding and 8 months of muni and recently making big gains in my muni ability (though to be fair I think some people get it a lot quicker). Only really so when it gets steep and you're cranking hard though - it enables you to stand up on the pedals and keep control of the uni by pulling up on the handle to hold yourself on. On shallower slopes I'll still keep both hands free for balance - it's also bearing in mind that as you get better the slopes become shallower - climbs I used to find really hard work I now cruise up.

Is quite a strange feeling using the handle to climb - you can have a very slow pedalling rate, pretty much doing a still stand each half pedal rev, and twisting the uni from side to side a lot.

[YooNeeNoob]

Originally Posted by uncommitted

Curious if you hurt yourself at all during the process?

I tend to be sort of casual about sports safety, but one thing you absolutely must not fail to do is protect your shins during your freemount practice! Especially the one on the leg that you jump with. I still have a nasty scrape on my right shin from slipping off the pedal and having those little metal pins gouge two perfectly straight, three-inch long trenches out of my skin--yipe!
I don't think you need those bulky "body armor" jobs--at least not in the early stages. I went down to the local soccer store and got a pair of cheap but sturdy plastic inserts and shin socks. They work great!
Also, whenever I'm on public roads or anywhere there are other people / cars, I wear the helmet. Good luck, and if you get even half the fun out of learning that I've had so far, you'll be hooked for life!

ARACER: Thanks for the great comments re: my handle question....very helpful as always!

--cheers