your city can affect your riding style ?

[picado]

Hey guys i as thinking about the design of the cities around the world and how it can affect your style of riding or not.

I think my city Sao Paulo is most of it stairs sets and rails , its really hard to find trials spots that you can do lines on it, mostly they are just something to jump on and go down.
ive seen that iam increasing very fast my street and flat skils but my trials are stuck on the same level, and i really enjoy trials

When i go to another city like Belo Horizonte its all trials and downhill.

How is your city ? and how it afect your riding style ?

[Rubix]

Mine is flat and touristy. I'm getting better at dodging people, cars, and horses. I have to go out of my way to find something worth my time learning (ie speed bumbs and curbs). I don't mind, though. I enjoy the challenge of something different when i travel, like muni in Memphis. Had a blast, can't wait to get back and try it again.

Sometimes, that's just how things work out. Now to go out and ride over some speed bumps and curbs.

[The UniSLAB]

I didn't think that different cities could affect your riding style, mainly because I though every city would have stairs,parks,ect. I don't want to sound mean or anything but I bet if you looked around you would find some really good trials stuff, you just have to get out there and look. For example office buildings or dowtown areas are great spots for trials, so are parks. But then again you live there and I don't so your the best judge of that. I also don't know the level of your skill when it comes to trials, that could definatley affect what you view as possible and what you might view as rediculoso.

But anyways I live in texas and have no problem with finding all types of riding, although everyone knows trials and muni is where its at.

[peter.bier]

Originally Posted by The UniSLAB

I didn't think that different cities could affect your riding style, mainly because I though every city would have stairs,parks,ect.

Maybe, but how many and how easy they are to find can vary hugely. For example some cities in NZ are built on flat plains. There simply isn't much need for stairs so they are relatively rare. Other cities are carved into very hilly country and you can hardly go down a street without tripping over several stair sets.

What is easy and accessible will have an effect on what you practice. For example if you have an awesome skate park right outside your house, chances are high you will spend a lot of time there and will get a lot of practice at skate park trials lines.

If you live in Minneapolis where temperatures are subzero for a lot of the winter, then working on freestyle unicycling inside a heated gym is going to be way more accessible than offroad Muni. You can do Muni in Minnesota but you have to combat the weather plus the land around the twin cities is so flat that you need to travel a fair way to get to interesting and challenging tracks.

I think it highly likely that one of the factors in Kris Holm being excellent at trials and Muni is the fact that a stones throw from his house you can be riding in the forest and a short unicycle ride away there are heaps of interesting trials lines along the beach.

[The UniSLAB]

Originally Posted by peter.bier

Maybe, but how many and how easy they are to find can vary hugely. For example some cities in NZ are built on flat plains. There simply isn't much need for stairs so they are relatively rare. Other cities are carved into very hilly country and you can hardly go down a street without tripping over several stair sets.

Yeah I understand what your saying, but I live in texas which is flat as a pancake, and I have no problem finding lots of stairs. Just because the geography of a certain area is flat doesn't mean there can't be any steep stairstets. I mean it's not like the arcitech's are like "hmm, since this area is flat and all we should have nice gentle sloping stairs". Think about it. I'm sure California has lots of gentle sloped stairs.

Saying that a place can't have stairsets is pretty ignorant considering they usually place buildings and houses on a raised pad or slab when they build them thus requiring stairs or one of those handicap slopes to get to.

[tholub]

Originally Posted by The UniSLAB

Saying that a place can't have stairsets is pretty ignorant considering they usually place buildings and houses on a raised pad or slab when they build them thus requiring stairs or one of those handicap slopes to get to.

Speaking of ignorance, have you been to Sao Paolo, Brazil? Architecture can be very different in different cities.

[unifreak7]

This idea makes sense. Riders such as Kelly Hickman and myself, are left to the same areas to ride day after day, which could cause a fake appeal to viewers about our "style". Me personally, I think the word "style" can't be described and is much to loose of word to use when describing people's riding. Style breaks down (to me) into how they do their tricks (which, one or two tricks should not break a person's style ie. my backcrankflips) and how they look while they're riding (smoothness, and also down to the clothes they wear while riding, don't lie). Instead of saying I like their "style" just say what you actually think. I think some don't like watching my vids since I don't have a lot of commercial stair sets (visual appeal = "style"), I have to use res. stair sets. This may affect what people think of my "style".

-Shaun Johanneson

[picado]

hehehe its a little dumb you send me find some trials spots here in sao paulo.
i try this everyday

ive seen in videos some city mutch like sao paulo, luke colalto city in australia is really like here, a lot of stairs and rails.
and others cities like ryan atkins have plenty of trials Lines.

some citys around the world, and if iam not wrong in sydney australia the govern put some iron things on the ledges and rails to people dont grind on it.
Things like this can destroy your griding skills and change a lot your riding style.

Look if you are a street rider and like to do a lot of grinds and some day you wake and all the rails are with some pins on it .


another thing that i saw in videos.

in a lot of places the trashcans are stucked on grounds, here the trashcans are high on the lightposts so we cant jump on them too

[johnfoss]

Originally Posted by picado

some citys around the world, and if iam not wrong in sydney australia the govern put some iron things on the ledges and rails to people dont grind on it.
Things like this can destroy your griding skills and change a lot your riding style.

I think those governments see it differently. People grinding on *their* rails can destroy the rails, or at least make them ugly and scratchy. Hmm, interesting when you look at things from other points of view?

Yes, certainly a hilly city will provide a much different riding environment than a flat one. And a city with cold winters is better for riding indoors during those winters *if* someone has put together a unicycle practice place. Notice how you probably aren't allowed to grind the handrails in the unicycle practice place? Unless it's a skate park.

Maybe instead of blaming your city for "not providing you with a good Trials environment" you should make one yourself? This is easier if you have a group of riders to share the work, but then you can build exactly what you want, and change it as your skills improve.

[picado]

oh jhon iam not blaming my city
i love my city

my city is all about street riding but i dont care i like street

my point of view is that how your city architeture can affect your riding, i know that in some cities around the world you can have trials, street, flat and the winter is not that hard.

for example, i never did a muni trail because to find a good trail around here i have to travel like 2 hours.

[brendan]

Originally Posted by johnfoss

I think those governments see it differently. People grinding on *their* rails can destroy the rails, or at least make them ugly and scratchy.

actually their rails damage our pedals/cranks frames and spokes.....

ahaha ivybridge was pretty crap for riding, plymouth was ok but abit far to go very often so didnt ride there that much. Cambridge was utter rubbish. Finding a stair case was hard! there was hardly anything to do a few skateparks but they were real slippy.

And bristol is so awesome! stairsets everywhere (it is built on like a mountain - or it feels like it), and loads of benches everywhere with funky armrests - palets behind stores and real nice fountain type thins to climb for trials. I LOVE IT

and cities definately change ur style. In cambridge i sucked - there was ntohign to do. Bristol i rock (or i think i do..)

[ChangingLINKS.com]

Originally Posted by The UniSLAB

Yeah I understand what your saying, but I live in texas which is flat as a pancake, and I have no problem finding lots of stairs.

Incorrect.
Please come to Cedar Park and show me the stairs.
Sure there is a 3 3 3 set by the police station, or the
steep set IN the new apartment building . . .

Austin has more stairs, but that is a 25-40 minute drive.

The original post IS correct. The city affects the riding style.
Notice how the california muni riders are great at downhill?
Compare Houston & Austin & San Antonio & Dallas:

For Muni:
Austin/San Antonio > Dallas > Houston
(I think San Antonio is more extreme, but it seems like they may have less trail and variety).

For Trials:
Houston > Austin > San Antonio > Dallas

Try Ocala FL, Try CA, then go to Atlanta.

Environment matters.
As much as equipment.
Try trials on a Coker.

Drew

[johnfoss]

I'd say your environment in general will affect your riding style. Definitely bike racers need mountains to train, and Trials unicyclists need various types of obstacles to learn their skills. If you don't have a car, you're limited to what's within riding distance. Hot and cold can be factors as well. It takes me more than half an hour by car to reach the nearest decent MUni trails. I'm glad I have a car!

[torkerdx]

Originally Posted by picado

Hey guys i as thinking about the design of the cities around the world and how it can affect your style of riding or not.

I think my city Sao Paulo is most of it stairs sets and rails , its really hard to find trials spots that you can do lines on it, mostly they are just something to jump on and go down.
ive seen that iam increasing very fast my street and flat skils but my trials are stuck on the same level, and i really enjoy trials

When i go to another city like Belo Horizonte its all trials and downhill.

How is your city ? and how it afect your riding style ?

get some good trials rider out riding with you because for me i grew up on the areas i now ride so i have seen it all. and when i started riding i looked for what was in my ability and not what was way above it. i better trials rider than i was came out and started hitting stuff i had never thought of as lines.
now, when i am in the middle of nowhere i spot these amazing looking lines i could do.

[oneisenough]

i don't really have a city ! I make what i ride or ride natural stuff around my house. If i do get a ride into my town i just ride stoping barriers, garden planters and small like 6 sets at the school. So i think my "city" has made me a good builder!!