Tips on learning horizontal idling

[DSchmitt]

Hahaha, I'm stoked my vid was linked up there.

But..I really wish I was part of the pic you (pinoclean) just posted. That's incredible.

As far as doing stillstands...weight on seat. Practice riding along rails too. Arms out far. Once you get good you can rest an arm occasionally. Definitely boring to watch, but I love it.

[Acrorebel]

Originally Posted by elpuebloUNIdo

I am trying to wrap my brain around the difference in physics between the vertical and horizontal idle. The traditional vertical idle seems to lend itself to riding an arc during each pedal stroke. This arc has the same purpose as "turning into the fall" on a bicycle. Trying to emulate those physics during the horizontal idle seemed nearly impossible. I'm speculating, but for regular idling, the 6:00/12:00 position is some kind of "point of inflection", and that point doesn't seem to exist in the horizontal idle.

I always appreciate your insights! I've also been practicing horizontal idling and it's a struggle. It really is different enough from vertical idling that knowing how to vertical idle doesn't help much with horizontal idling. I think I should move my hips a little more while horizontal idling.

[slamdance]

Try that technique. Since, your pedals don't rotate more than 45 deg you need to buck your hips back/forth to create the rocking motion. Get into a door frame and give it a try.

[finnspin]

Tried horizontal idling today. Wasn't all that difficult for me, I did about a quarter revolution overall forward and back (so moving 1/8 of a rev forward and backwards from horizontal). You can get into a rythm, but the movement doesn't feel as "right" as normal idling.

Won't get into my repertoire of skills to teach (but to me the main purpose of idling is to teach one foot idling and then one foot riding), and because it's relatively easy to learn at the same time-ish as freemounts. When I need to stand in almost the same place on a uni I do either some stillstand, riding forward and backwards stuff or dismount, very rarely would I do a "proper" idle.

Won't hurt to learn though, and it's kinda similar to what you do when you mess up a stillstand on flat ground but try to get back into it without riding.

[johnfoss]

Originally Posted by elpuebloUNIdo

I have no skill in horizontal idling. I am not able to extend a still stand a significantly longer time by adding horizontal idles.

This reminds me of one of the places where I do horizontal idles; when I'm trying to set up for a stillstand. Stillstands get a positive audience response when I do them in a parade on my Big Wheel (45"). People can tell when the wheel has stopped, that I'm obviously exerting some effort, and generally make some reaction when I finally ride out of it (after not that long). They also look good on a Giraffe if you can do them, and the fun part about those is being able to control the start of the fall at the end, and then swoop out of it, toward the crowd.

I am trying to wrap my brain around the difference in physics between the vertical and horizontal idle. The traditional vertical idle seems to lend itself to riding an arc during each pedal stroke.

Originally Posted by Garp

My take on this is that vertical idles oscillating around the power position, long ones are not a problem since they go from power position to power position.
For horizontal idles, it's the other way around. Unless one has a way of getting easily and reliably unstuck from the dead position, they are necessarily short.

Exactly. For regular idling, as long as you push past the "dead spot" at bottom dead center, it is a natural movement to keep rolling the wheel back and forth, with something to push against at each end. In a horizontal idle. you are pedaling toward the dead spot; the farther you go, the more sketchy it is to switch directions. Not fun, and generally not functional.

Originally Posted by finnspin

What I described is also why I don't see "super idling" (riding forward and backward a revolution continously) as a way to learn idling.

Agreed. It's more of a building skill for learning to stop, and learning to ride backward. Also made more interesting by doing it on a large wheel...