Wheel rocks side to side going fast.

utemplarbond · 2007-07-04, 02:56 AM

I have been riding for about three months.
It took me about 30 minutes to learn to go straight for about 200 feet, about 2 weeks to learn to go a mile, and about another month to really start to free mount consistently.
However, when I try to ride my 24" Torker fast, the wheel rocks from side to side, I try to relax but it doesn't help much. I went out at night and rode short distances with my eyes closed to try and feel what is going on, but I'm not getting it? What's the deal.

I'm up to about 3 miles off road, and feel quite comfortable, I can hop turn in place and sideways hop of curbs, but I feel like I am wasting too much energy on road.

Thanks.

skrobo · 2007-07-04, 02:59 AM

make sure the bearing caps are snug (NOT TIGHT!!!!)

if you mean the side to side movement that you cause, don't worry about it, it will go away as you get better.

utemplarbond · 2007-07-04, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skrobo

make sure the bearing caps are snug (NOT TIGHT!!!!)

if you mean the side to side movement that you cause, don't worry about it, it will go away as you get better.

Yea, it's me.

skilewis74 · 2007-07-04, 03:02 AM

Welcome

Quote:

Originally Posted by utemplarbond

I'm up to about 3 miles off road, and feel quite comfortable, I can hop turn in place and sideways hop of curbs, but I feel like I am wasting too much energy on road.

Thanks.

Make sure you have most of your weight on the seat, off road too except when going over buomps. Also try to pedal very smoothly.

johnfoss · 2007-07-04, 04:27 AM

If you are describing a side-to-side motion, it's what we call wobble, and it's fairly normal. Some people do it more than others, but if you spin the unicycle with nobody on it, you'll see that the unicycle does it all by itself. The weight of the pedals makes the wheel not want to go in a straight line. Add to that the weight of your feet and legs, and the wobble gets more pronounced. This is why some racers try to minimize Q-factor, the left-to-right width between your pedals. Shorter cranks and more practice will help to smooth your pedal stroke.

Some of the fastest riders have pretty bad wobble, so it's not really a problem for speed.

utemplarbond · 2007-07-05, 02:30 AM

Thanks y'all, great 4th.

2007-07-04, 02:56 AM	#1
utemplarbond Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Age: 51 Posts: 36	Wheel rocks side to side going fast. I have been riding for about three months. It took me about 30 minutes to learn to go straight for about 200 feet, about 2 weeks to learn to go a mile, and about another month to really start to free mount consistently. However, when I try to ride my 24" Torker fast, the wheel rocks from side to side, I try to relax but it doesn't help much. I went out at night and rode short distances with my eyes closed to try and feel what is going on, but I'm not getting it? What's the deal. I'm up to about 3 miles off road, and feel quite comfortable, I can hop turn in place and sideways hop of curbs, but I feel like I am wasting too much energy on road. Thanks.

2007-07-04, 02:59 AM	#2
skrobo jumps stuff Join Date: May 2006 Location: Corpus Christi TX Age: 24 Posts: 4,426	make sure the bearing caps are snug (NOT TIGHT!!!!) if you mean the side to side movement that you cause, don't worry about it, it will go away as you get better. __________________ ><> Unicycle For Christ <>< MY VIDEOS World Record 94cm Highest Hop (rolling) 308cm Longest Hop (10 feet) 210cm Static Flat Gap

2007-07-04, 04:27 AM	#5
johnfoss North Shore ridin' Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Carmichael, CA Posts: 14,929	If you are describing a side-to-side motion, it's what we call wobble, and it's fairly normal. Some people do it more than others, but if you spin the unicycle with nobody on it, you'll see that the unicycle does it all by itself. The weight of the pedals makes the wheel not want to go in a straight line. Add to that the weight of your feet and legs, and the wobble gets more pronounced. This is why some racers try to minimize Q-factor, the left-to-right width between your pedals. Shorter cranks and more practice will help to smooth your pedal stroke. Some of the fastest riders have pretty bad wobble, so it's not really a problem for speed. __________________ John Foss "jfoss" at "unicycling.com" www.unicycling.com "Unicycling is a way of looking at the world, making a choice to slow down, finish what you start, doing things not because they're easy, but because they're a challenge." -- Nurse Ben

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2007-07-05, 02:30 AM	#6
utemplarbond Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Age: 51 Posts: 36	Thanks y'all, great 4th.

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