I want to learn to ride the unicycle but my wife won’t let me because she thinks it's too dangerous.
Well, if I may ease your wife's fears, learning to ride a unicycle is no more dangerous than learning to ride a bicycle. In fact, it's probably less dangerous because you can't go nearly as fast on a unicycle. In my booklet I have a section dedicated to unicycle safety that you'll find useful. By using my booklet people from the age of 8 to well over 60 have learned to ride and I have yet to receive a report of anyone getting injured.

I wanted to get your take on giraffes: 5' or 6'? Why are there two sizes so close together? Is there a significant difference in terms of level of difficulty riding?
While a 5' and a 6' giraffe may seem to be close in size, they're really not. The extra 12" makes a big difference, especially when you are trying to mount it or you fall off. The level of riding difficulty doesn't really increase much between the two. If you can ride a 5', you can certainly ride the 6'. I'm 5' 7" tall and I can mount a 5' giraffe two different ways, one being easier than the other. I can only mount the 6' giraffe one way which is identical to the more difficult of the 5' mounts.

Is a 28” unicycle too big to learn on?
While the 28" unicycle may be more difficult to learn on than the 24" it's not impossible. If your desire is to do some distance riding once you learn you may want to keep the 28". However, if your desire is to just have fun and ride I'd recommend the 24".

I'm seeing an interesting phenomenon happening in the unicycle industry and that's the availability of larger wheel unicycles. A few years ago your only choice was a 20" or a 24". A 20" unicycle was commonly used for recreational riding while the 24" was used for slightly longer distance and faster rides. Today unicycles are available in 12, 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, 28 and 36" wheels.

Last year I purchased a 36" unicycle commonly referred to as a "Coker" named after the Coker Tire Company who mass produced the first 36" unicycle. The 36'er has quickly become my most favorite unicycle out of the 10 or 12 that I own. It is my favorite because now that I'm no longer a "Spring Chicken" I'm doing much more Muni and long distance road rides instead of trials and tricks. My longest ride to date is 40 miles.

Another precaution that you can take is to start learning to ride on the grass. This will provide a softer cushion should you fall. When you’re confident that you're able to break your fall with your hands with no problem, you can move your practice to a paved surface. If you choose to do this I recommend using a stepper as a platform instead of a curb. If you remember, steppers were popular several years ago for doing aerobics on and many people have one hidden in their basements collecting dust.

As you practice, make it a point to listen to your body. Your body's ability or inability to handle falling and picking yourself up to try again will be huge factors in determining if you should continue to learn or not.

Learning to ride the unicycle is no harder than learning to ride a bicycle. Falling off a unicycle, however, is much easier than falling off a bicycle. You must understand that during the learning process you will fall and many times you will not land on your feet. After you learn to ride you may still fall but 99 out of 100 times you will land on your feet.

What should I do if I don’t have curbs in my neighborhood?
If you don't have access to a curb you can build a small platform or if you have one of those exercise steppers or know someone who does, I've found the top section excellent to use while learning to ride. Your can find one pretty reasonable on Ebay under keyword "stepper" or "aerobic stepper".

Can I buy your book in e-book format?
Ride The Unicycle - A Crash Course! second edition is now available in e-book format. I've removed much of the white space and formatted it for 8 1/2 x 11 page so more info fits on each page. I've also optimized all the photographs to help decrease the downloadable file size. The e-book contains exactly the same amount of information as the hard copy but is only 30 pages as opposed to 84 pages. Those who purchase the e-book can receive it via email or save it off my website. The file size of the e-book is 504 kilobytes.

Is it o.k. to lean against a wall while I learn to ride?
Probably one of the longest running unicycle debates is whether the "curb method" or the "wall method" is best to learn to ride. Being an avid supporter or the "curb method" I recently had to defend my position. The following is what I wrote:

I think learning to ride with the assistance of a wall is a fine idea; however, what I’ve found over the years is that many beginners don’t have easy access to a “good” wall to use while learning. Obviously, a “good” wall is one that has a paved surface adjacent to it.

As you know the key to learning to ride the unicycle as quickly as possible is practice. I’ve also found that if a student has to travel down the street, across town or wherever to get to that “good” wall, practice no longer is convenient. The student’s practice often becomes too infrequent. This hinders his/her ability to learn quickly which often equates to the student giving up and not learning at all. This becomes even more of a problem when the student is a youngster who needs his mom or dad to transport him to that place of practice.

I’ve found that to learn as quickly as possible the student really needs to spend approximately 30 minutes per day practicing. For most students this is only possible when practice is convenient. When the student only needs a curb or platform and his/her unicycle they can almost always go right out their front door and do it. There are no excuses! I believe this is one of the reasons the method I prescribe in my booklet, the “ride away from the curb” method, has been as successful as it has in getting so many students riding and enjoying this wonderful sport as quickly as possible.

I also like the “ride away from the curb” method because it helps the student transition to free mounting much more quickly. When using a wall, the student will learn to ride the unicycle but the wall does not teach them to mount the unicycle, which the curb method does. One of the frustrations I see with most students, even with the curb method, comes when they reach a point when they can ride 50 feet or more. Every time they fall off they have to walk back to the curb, platform or wall to re-mount. This problem is amplified when the student is riding several hundred feet. It is for this reason; I like my students to learn free mounting as quickly as possible. The wall method does not help them in this area.

When a student of mine progresses to the point where he/she is riding a good distance I immediately start the transition to free mounting. I’ll have the student keep a small, quarter sized rock in their pocket. When a student has a good ride of 50 feet or more, I have them turn around, place the rock behind the wheel of their unicycle to keep the unicycle from rolling backwards as they mount it, then “rock” free mount and ride back towards their curb or platform. The student is able to perform this “rock” free mount almost immediately which is enormous in boosting confidence and allowing more riding time and less walking time which helps the student learn even quicker.

Once the student is riding well, I’ll have them practice normal free mounting, which, as you can imagine, is picked up almost immediately. The student is then free to ride anywhere his/her heart desires; true liberation for a beginning unicyclist.

Up hill vs. Down hill - Does it matter when learning?
While learning to ride it is easiest to learn on a level surface. Once you learn on that level surface the hills both up and down are much easier to conquer. Some people have an easier time riding uphill while others find downhill easier. The reason for this could be speed or intimidation or a number of other factors.

VERY often, I will get on, lean forward, and do everything the book says, and one time, I will go 10 feet and the other times, when the cranks are completely vertical, the wheel stalls, and I fall forward. This is becoming frustrating because even if I hold on to say - a fence to just warm up and roll a while, I do it then too. Almost as if I don’t know how to pedal. Would toe clips help me with my pedaling?
Stalling is very common for students especially when the pedals are in the 6 and 12 o'clock positions. At this position you leverage is virtually zero. As you continue to practice your speed will increase to the point where the inertia of your forward movement will carry you through the 6 and 12 o'clock positions. The main reason for stalling is the result of too slow a forward speed, however, the main reason for too slow a forward speed is the result of not leaning forwards enough. If you’re riding 10 or more feet, you're forward lean is good to that point. At or a bit prior to the 10 foot mark is where you're starting to lean back and causing your stall. The fact that you're falling backwards is also an indicator that you're not leaning forward enough. You should never fall backwards.

Using toe clips on a unicycle has been open for debate for sometime now, however, at your stage in the learning process I highly recommend not doing it. I've been riding for over 32 years with much of my riding 30 - 40 miles in an outing. Even with my vast experience I'm still only contemplating trying clip less pedals on my unicycle.

Any advice on a well built helmet? Or will a regular bike helmet do?
Your regular cycling helmet is sufficient provided it's of good quality and good shape. You may want to invest in a pair of wrist guards like the ones rollerbladers use. Elbow pads are a good idea as well.

Your book says to sit up straight, and lean forward, and I’m pretty literal person, and that has been keeping me from learning. Tonight, Instead of leaning at the hips, I leaned forward with my lower back, as if to pick something up, instead of staying rigid and pivoting at the wheel of the uni. Will this "Crouching" keep me from progressing later?
If leaning forward help you progress then, by all means, lean forward. My son learned the same way. He leaned so far forward I thought his nose would scrape the tire. Once he was able to ride and became comfortable with riding he sat up straight with no difficulty.

I noticed a swiveling motion as I rode equated to too much pedal pressure. Do you agree?
The swiveling is quite normal. Due to the forces generated by pedaling and the fact that you're only on one wheel, the unicycle tends to oscillate back and forth. When you're more proficient at riding you'll be able to remedy this if you desire. If not, it's no big deal. Many unicyclists accept the oscillations as a part of unicycling.

I don’t seem to get much more than 10 feet. One guy told me to try to go fast, but fast seems to result in serious oscillations and going too slow causes me to stall and fall forward. So, what is a decent speed?
Going fast only increases your fear and your chance of getting hurt. Don't try to go fast. Your rate of speed should be dictated by how much you lean forward. If you lean too far forward you'll have to pedal real fast to stay on the unicycle. If you pedal too slowly you’ll stall. Go back to the walking exercise in the book. Walking is leaning forward with each step preventing us from falling on our face. Unicycling is the same thing. When you start, lean forward. If you pedaling too fast, lean back a little. If you stalling, lean forward a little. This is riding. Even though I've been riding over 32 years I don't ride any differently. The only difference is that leaning has become automatic for me. When this occurs, riding the unicycle becomes as much second nature as walking.

Is it normal to be SO nervous when learning these things?
Different people experience different degrees of nervousness when learning to ride. The question is what is making you nervous? My guess is it's the fear of falling and getting hurt so I'll discuss this.

There is nothing wrong with this nervousness. In fact it's one of the defense mechanisms that prevent us from experiencing serious injury. However, if you're wearing all the proper safety equipment (i.e. helmet, elbow and knee pads and wrist guards) you should feel less nervous since you've pretty much protected your self from serious injury.

I had one student who had sort of the same problem. He wasn't nervous but after weeks of practice he was only able to ride 10 to 20 feet. When I watched him practice I noticed that on every ride when he reached the 10 foot mark or so, he stopped and got off the unicycle. When asked why he stopped his reply was that he felt like he was going to fall. I asked him to try again but don't stop but rather try to continue to ride past that feeling of falling. Needless to say, his next ride was over 70 feet and in just a couple days he was riding.

If you can't get past your fear of falling and injuring yourself there is two other options. Learn to ride on a flat grassy field or the infield of a baseball diamond. The fear of falling is alleviated significantly because you intuitively know that grass and dirt is softer than a road. It will be a bit bumpier to ride on but you will overcome that. The other option is to use the “wall method” of learning.

How many times per day is constructive practice?
I recommend one 30 minute session per day for most people. If you desire to learn more quickly then you can add a second 30 minute session.

How long (in months) does it NORMALLY take a 34 yr old to learn to ride?
In all my years of teaching unicycling I've had students who’ve taken months to learn to ride. I've had others who have learned in a few weeks. And there were those who've learned in as little as a few days. I’ve even had a few students who learned in just a few hours on a sunny Saturday. Were any of these students any better than another, more agile, or more physically fit? Possibly, but the one indisputable factor that we can attribute to how quickly or how slowly each student learned to ride is the level of desire to learn and the amount of time spent practicing. The student who took a few months to learn wasn't very motivated and might have practiced a few minutes a couple times each week. On the other hand the student who learned in one day was so motivated he wasn't going to bed that night until he learned to ride that unicycle. So how quickly you learn will be in direct proportion to how motivated you are and the amount of time you commit to practice.

How do you get the unicycle to turn?
Turning is instituted by simply getting the unicycle to tilt in the direction of your turn. The manner in which you can do this is entirely up to you. The goal is to get the unicycle to turn not to do it exactly the way I prescribe. If you can get the unicycle to turn by shifting your body weight from the waist down it's easier to control the turn and recover from it. If you do a whole body lean to get the unicycle to turn it's harder to control and takes more real estate to recover. For now I would do whatever it takes to try to control your turns. As you get better and better every aspect of your riding will "clean itself up".

Most of the time when I am riding it looks like I am out of control. Does this eventually go away?
In the beginning stages of riding feeling and looking like you’re out of control is very normal. As you continue to practice and get more proficient at riding you will gain more control. Before long you'll acquire absolute control over the unicycle.

Does a sideways grade cause the unicycle to pull to the downside of the grade? or is it all in my head?
Absolutely! Just like a rolling ball will always follow the fall line of a mountain a unicycle/unicyclist will do the same. It's that pesky thing called gravity. I say pesky because at time I curse at it. There have been times when I've been out on a distance ride and 15 - 20 miles into it I find myself riding as if I'd just polished off a bottle of Jack Daniels or something. It took me a while to figure out that the camber of the road had changed. Not realizing the change, I'd fight the gravitational pull towards the shoulder, sometimes for several miles.

Does a tire with less pressure TRULY give you more control?
Less pressure in the tire causes the unicycle to be less responsive and vice-versa. During the learning stages, when movements are less than graceful, a lower tire pressure will help you feel more in control. In a few months when you’re trying to learn some spins and other tricks, you'll want the tire pressure to be higher to make turning much more effortless. Also, when you get your Coker and are riding some distance you'll want a higher tire pressure to lower riding resistance.

During my longer rides, I find myself "bobbing" or bouncing up and down. Is this because my seat is too low, or is it more like a bicycle and I'm not "spinning" and I'm doing more "pumping" because I'm not really relaxed?
It's hard to tell with out watching you but my guess is your bouncing is due to stress. Now that your riding several hundred feet the beginning of each ride is almost stress free because it's no great loss if you only ride 10, 20 or 30 feet. However, as you get closer and closer to a new personal best (P.B.) the stress to go further than your P.B. gets greater and greater which may be causing you to tense up and bounce. There are only a few things more stressful than having a really nice ride going only to fall off one or two feet short of your P.B.

I'm wondering whether you address in your book the fear of falling, which is, I think, my biggest problem with learning?
Fear is probably the number two reason for failing to learn to ride the unicycle. The number one reason is probably a lack of motivation to practice 1/2 hour each day until you learn.

I'm sorry to say but there's no magic potion to help one overcome fear altogether but there are ways to help manage the fear. I do include this info in my book but I'll pass it along to you free of charge.

The first "fear fighter" is to learn on a 20" unicycle instead of a larger wheel. A 20" unicycle situates the student closer to the ground, is more maneuverable (easier to ride) and not as fast as a larger wheel unicycle. This equates to less fear for the student.

The next "fear fighter" is to always wear the proper safety equipment. You seem to be set in this area already.

The third "fear fighter" is to always fall forward. This is easier said than done but if you follow the method of learning I prescribe in my book, you should have no problem with this. The human body has a very poor defense mechanism to combat falling backwards. When you fall backwards, risk of injury is much greater than when one falls forward. I find it amazing how even my 16 month old son, who started walking just a few months
ago, always lands on his hands when he falls forward. It's an instinctive reaction that we may not be born with but develop shortly thereafter. There is a catch to always falling forward though that injects a little more fear into the process. You have to lean forward when you ride. I illustrate this fact with a simple rule; "If you’re falling backwards when you try to ride, it means you're not leaning forward enough."

Finally, over the years instructing folks how to ride, I've come to the conclusion that there are those who cannot overcome the fear associated with learning to ride. In light of this, I recommend one of two options; give up or try to learn using the wall method.

The wall method, which I don't discuss in the first book but have included in the second edition, utilizes a wall or some other stationary structure to assist you while you learn. Basically, you sit on the unicycle with the assistance of a wall and "get comfortable." While holding the wall, you pedal forward a bit and back a bit to try to get used to the feel of being on one wheel. When you’re ready you can try to ride away from the wall. After you fall, you go back to the wall and start the process over. I don't like the wall method but I recommend it to certain students as a last resort.

My crotch is killing me! Every time I get about 10 or 15 minutes to practice, I come back with nasty crotch burn from the seat. Is there anything I can do to remedy this? And my nuts don't seem to be comfortable sitting on the seat in any position. How is a saddle-like seat supposed to fit your nuts?
As for your seat discomfort; Unicycle seats are not known for their comfort-ability. However, you should not be experiencing as much pain as you are. I'm not sure which brand of unicycle you purchased but some are fitted with more comfortable seats than others. Also, you want to make sure your seat height is adjusted properly, as I've outlined in the book. In addition, when you position yourself on the unicycle, you want to get into the practice of positioning "the boys" in the most comfortable configuration. Naturally, you don't want to sit on "the boys" but rather, have them situated forward and as out-of-the-way as possible. In time you should get more proficient at this and riding will become less painful. That is, of course, you don't have a set of "boys" that would make King-Kong envious.

Who shouldn’t learn to ride the unicycle?
While it may be true that anyone can learn to ride a unicycle, it is this author’s opinion that not everyone should try. And while learning to ride a unicycle may not be much more difficult than learning to ride a bicycle, it does require a certain level of agility that some may not possess, or may no longer possess due to physical, medical, or other reasons.

In my opinion, those individuals who are prone to accidents or excessively overweight or suffer from heart disease or another medically debilitating disease should re-consider learning to ride the unicycle or at least consult with their physician or primary care provider.

At what age can a child start to learn to ride the unicycle?
While learning to ride the unicycle is a skill which can be learned, balance itself is a part of child development which doesn’t occur at the same age for all children. If a particular child has not developed the degree of balance necessary to ride the unicycle, he will not, in most cases, be able to learn to ride the unicycle at this time.

There are always exceptions and occasionally, a child who has not yet developed a sufficient degree of balance will develop it while trying to learn. In actuality, trying to learn to ride the unicycle may help a child develop the skill sooner than they would naturally.

In my experience with teaching children to ride, most children who try to learn prior to having developed a sufficient degree of balance often become discouraged and frustrated and learning to ride is not an enjoyable experience. The child almost always loses the desire to practice and has to be “forced” to practice. In my opinion it is better to wait 3 – 6 months and try again when the child has developed further. If the child is still not ready wait another 3 – 6 months.

With this having been said, there have been times when I have “forced” children to practice because their lack of desire to practice was due to laziness, or a lack of motivation or discouragement and not due to developmental reasons.

In my experience I have found that age 7 - 8 is a good age for most children to try to learn how to ride. At age 7 or 8 most children have developed the degree of balance necessary to learn to ride. At this age they also understand and can appreciate that if they desire to learn to ride it’s going to take some time and practice.

What size unicycle is right for me?
For the beginning unicyclist the correct size unicycle is paramount. It is so important that it could quite possibly make the difference between learning and not learning to ride the unicycle. Fortunately, figuring out the correct size is not rocket science and consists of nothing more than matching the length of the rider’s inseam (measured from the rider’s crotch to the floor when wearing sneakers) to the correct size unicycle. The chart below illustrates the relationship of inseam length to unicycle wheel size.

For those of you whose inseam is 30” and greater, even though the chart recommends you ride a 24” unicycle, I personally recommend that you learn on a 20” unicycle provided the seat post is long enough so that the unicycle fits you properly. As illustrated in the section on seat adjustment, the rider should have a slight bend in his/her knee when sitting on the unicycle with one pedal at its full extension. If you are over 6 feet tall then you may consider a 24” unicycle but also consider that it may take you longer to learn how to ride.

I recommend a 20” unicycle over the 24” and larger wheels for several reasons. First, the 20” unicycle situates the rider closer to the ground, which lessens the fear of falling. Second, a 20” unicycle is more maneuverable making it easier to turn and control. And third, a 20” unicycle is not as fast as the larger wheel unicycles, which also helps to lessen the fear of falling.

If your inseam is 30” or greater and you desire to learn to ride as quickly as possible, then it is in your best interest to learn on a 20” unicycle.

In regards to seat height, what exactly does a “slight bend” actually mean?
What exactly is a "slight" bend in the knee? It's subjective! However, while standing upright. If you place one hand on a wall or a table for support, lift up one leg (bending it at the knee) just enough so the foot comes off the floor you'll experience the "slight" bend that I recommend.