Learning to Ride

Want to learn how to ride a unicycle? Then you’ve come to the right place!

Watch more videos here.

First of all, lets just get this straight. It’s not as difficult as you think it is!

Though it looks hard, the average time to learn how to ride a unicycle is only 10-15 hours. That’s only an hour a day over two weeks! And just like riding a bike – once you learn, you’ll never forget.

What You’ll Need

A unicycle: we’ve put together a Buying Guide here to help you pick the right one for you.

Safety gear: you will fall off, at least at first. A helmet, wrist guards and shin/knee pads are a must.

Somewhere to ride: A long corridor with a smooth floor would be the best place, but anywhere flat will do. Any pebbles or uneven surfaces will knock you off in the beginning, so try and make it as easy for yourself as possible. Tennis courts and school grounds are generally good.

Setting up

Seat height is important, and getting it right from the start will help you a lot. You want to be able to reach the bottom pedal with just a small crook in your knee.

Mounting your unicycle

 To mount, get comfy on the seat with the wheel held in front of you then manipulate the wheel until one pedal is close to the ground. Put nearly all your weight on the lower pedal whilst holding onto something or someone (if you try to sit on the seat with the uni upright whilst mounting the wheel will move from underneath you). Then push the upper pedal downwards as you bring the unicycle upright.

 

Going somewhere?

Once you have mounted your unicycle, if you pause with one pedal up and one pedal down you will often go backwards! This often happens when you are ‘creeping’ forwards prior to launching off.

 

DON’T CREEP GO FOR IT!

When you are practising don’t hang on to a wall or fence as it is not needed and it is a distraction. Looking at something in front of you and riding towards it helps focus your thoughts and give you a goal. We recommend setting yourself a goal of 50 attempts rather than a time limit as this way you will be less likely to hang onto something and waste your practice time.

Turning

To turn, turn your upper body and the unicycle will follow.

Bunny hopping

Bunny hopping is a fairly easy thing to master, lock your knees, hold the seat and bounce. After 10 attempts you’ll be doing it.

Sitting comfortably?

Whilst you are sitting on your saddle, if your leg is at full stretch whilst the pedal is down this is the ideal saddle height for your uni.

Giraffes? Are we going to the zoo?

Giraffes are taller than standard unicycles and are actually easier to ride as the added height gives you a longer reaction time when you start to wobble. However the ex
tra height also means you have to be more confident as you have further to fall!

Wheel sizes

So why are there different wheel sizes then? Smaller wheels are slower and ideally suited to performing or practising in a confined space. Larger wheels are better for riding around streets, mounting kerbs and ramp jumping. They also give more speed and power and are better for fast spins and wheel walking (where the uni is propelled by either one or both of your hands or feet directly on the wheel).

If you are still having trouble or need any more advice, drop us an e-mail and we’ll be more than glad to try to help.

 

Still interested? Check out our Buying Guide.

And don’t forget to stay safe! Check out our Safety Gear Buying Guide.