carousell app for selling of used unicycle and other items..

There is a mobile phone app to do that. If you enjoy shopping on your mobile phone,
u can get the app at
https://carousell.co/

or visit the facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/thecarousell

Unicycle on sale display at Marina Square

Saw this on 15 November 2014.

At Marina Square "fourskin" store.

How to kick unicycle addiction

I discover this by chance. The weather had been very hot for the past few months. There is huge forest fire in the neighboring country which make the situation worse. The fire churn out smoke which turn the whole region into a hazy and blurry wonderland.

The high temperature made all outdoor activities terrible.  The haze created breathing problem. As a result I avoid unicycling and choose other indoor activities: squash, karaoke and window shopping. The air-conditioning and cleaner air are really nice alternative.

I didn't realize I could kick unicycling addiction but now I know I can. The world become larger again.

Psss.. do not watch any unicycling video...

(Sometime in my dream, I will be riding my unicycle and having fun .. this thing is fun ..  i admit ..)

How to make your unicycle ride less tiring... for people with limited stamina.

:)

My usual bicycle rides is about 6 hours. It is a typical leisure ride with many rest stops. I lack stamina but cycling has the benefits of multiple gears and coasting capability. I can pace myself through coasting and paddling thus avoiding using too much strength. I can ride half the island on each ride!

But I get tired quickly when riding the unicycle. My typical unicycle ride is only about 2 hours. Can't ride too far.

In order to ride longer on my unicycle, I have to find ways to make riding less tiring.

Here are a few methods that I personally find effective and practical.

1. Sit in a relax manner and put most of your body weight on the seats/paddle while riding. In the past when I was learning to ride, I will tend to 'stand' on the paddle (to try to balance the body) and put most of my body weight on my legs, as a result my thighs will get tired quickly. So, try to shift your body weight from your legs to your bum.
2. Adjust your seat heights so that you can extend your legs fully while paddling. I learn this from my bicycle rides.
3. Pump your tyre to near max. psi indicated on your tyre. If the tyre is flat, the unicycle tyre will feel heavy and unwilling to roll and very tiring to ride. If you pump to max. the tyre will roll easily and you need lots of stamina to keep up with the increase in speed. I prefer to pump to about 80% of the max psi so that the tyre roll easily but the speed is not at its max. I can't handle high speed :)
4. Do lots of warm-up and stretching before your ride.
5. If your legs started to feel a burning sensation (building up of lactic acid) during your rides, take a rest so that the lactic acid can dispersed and won't build up and accumulate. But if you want to train for endurance, then ride on ...
6. Drink isotonic / alkaline-based drink to counter the acid.
7. Choose a flat land and avoid too much uphill.
8. Avoid riding in the hot afternoon sun.
9. If you are riding on pavement, use a thinner & smoother road tyre instead of fat, bulky off-roud, studded tyre.
10. Switch to a bigger tyre e.g. from 20" to 24" to 100"
11. Use a shorter crank.
12. Take creatine drinks to increase stamina.
13. Ride with attractive people from the opposite sex. They have the power to distract you from your body pain. And you will be motivated to impress them.

The ultimate solution - https://www.facebook.com/focusdesignsinc

Cool electric unicycle

Rolling (not riding) downhill .. equally fun but crazier ..

I enjoy riding down the gentle hill at the nearby park. Usually people only jog or cycle on the track. So the grassy slope is all mine. I thought I am the only nuts utilizing the grassy hill.

But I just found out that at another hill at a nearby reservoir, many old people had been practicing a rather unusual morning exercise for several years: Rolling Downhill.

Check out their video: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=663373440401193

***   ***   ***
Actually this other hill is higher than the one at the park. I tried to ride my bicycle up the hill but failed. Maybe you might want to challenge yourself to ride your unicycle up this hill???

Bait and Switch, unethical sales tactic by some sales people.

Would you like mocca (coffee) or cappuccino (flavored cigarettes) with your breakfast?

When a unicycle sales person brag about how high tech and wonderful their brand of unicycles are, and how lousy and cheapo are other brands of unicycle, the buyer (being a newcomer to this sports) should be made aware that the prices for "high-tech" unicycles are higher by 2 times, 3 times or even more.

Such comparison is not fair.

In many cases, the sales person would also sell low-tech and cheapo unicycle of the same brand.

....................................................................................

When a sales person entice a buyer (again, being a newcomer to this sports) to buy their particular brand of  unicycle in order to receive help (in learning to ride unicycle) by the community, this is another fallacy aka lies.

The sales person is subconsciously threatening the buyer that the opposite will happen if the buyer don't buy their brand of unicycle. The opposite being: everyone in the community will NOT help the buyer to learn unicycling if the buyer don't buy that specific brand of unicycle.

That is very unfair to the Singapore unicycle community. The community definitely does not discriminate riders due to the brand of the unicycle that a rider own.

Such indirect high-pressure sales tactic based on lies is purely unethical.

I find that the community is generally very welcoming of newcomers. They unconditionally share their experience with newcomers.

Unicyclist like uncle Chow, Tony, Larry, Wong, Faisal, Alice, Rachelle, Yi Hao, Serge, Robinson, Marvin, Jamie, Kee, GC, Kailun and many more are very willing to teach newcomers. So, be free to choose the unicycle that suit you and your budget, whatever brand it is. Don't be fooled by lies.

Curse or charm: unicycle has a magical way to attract people's attention

I saw a small, red unicycle in a window display. It caught my attention from a distance.

Did a witch put a curse on the unicycle during its creation so that it will be in the spotlight forever?

Singapore unicycle community facebook page

Singapore unicycle community facebook (official?) page
was formerly at https://www.facebook.com/groups/172712250620/

Some interesting numbers to ponder upon...

---------------
Meetup.com
---------------
From July 2013 to April 2014 (10 month periods), there are 27 new members in http://www.meetup.com/Singapore-Unicycle-Hockey-Unicycle-Meetup/

About 9 of the 27 members managed to learn to ride unicycle.
The pick-up rate is not too bad.

However, the facebook page which had been around as early as 2009, has only 19 members, as at 25 April 2014 (more than 4 year periods).

Why is the group not growing?

What are the push factors in the existing group which are repelling new riders away?

What pull factors are lacking there?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I want to stay politically correct ... let's just say ... unicycling is a pain at the crotch ...

(The membership has a sudden rapid increase to 26, by 25 May 2014. Did my blog accidentally promote the facebook page???)

I am unable to view this facebook page since 28 May 2014, I wonder what has happened. It is growing rapidly in the last 4 weeks, I hope nothing bad happened.

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

A local I.T.E. college has a unicycle club.  The facebook page
is https://www.facebook.com/groups/566663056712535/

As at 29 April 2014, its facebook membership is at 27, surpassing the former Singapore unicyclist facebook membership!!!

Nice brightly-colored unicycles in the photos. Hope this site remain independent and uncorrupted by commercial influence and pressure.

:)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)

Here is another Singapore facebook page - West Unicyclist Singapore

I have no idea why it is not part of the above-mentioned Singapore Unicyclist facebook members .

https://www.facebook.com/west.unicyclistsingapore

?????????????????????????????????

In June I discover another "official" Singapore unicyclist facebook page. It was started in 30 May 2014. I guess it has replaced the previous facebook page which is experiencing stunt growth in the past 4 years or so.

This facebook page started with 1 simple posting.

From 30 May to 1 June (3 days period), this single posting has caused the facebook page to receive 42 "Likes".

The creation of this new facebook page is never discussed in the Singapore unicycle community forum .

How do you explain a 4 years old webpage that managed to only attract 19 members can be replaced overnight by another webpage that attract 42 supporter within 3 days with a single posting?

Is it that a gigantic obstacle that was formerly obstructing its growth had been lifted? Who is that obstacle?

This new facebook page leads to another older Singapore Unicyclist web site which only promote 1 local supplier (the supplier of "team-uni" brand* of unicycle and Qu-Ax unicycle) in Singapore.

*Isn't this private brand own by only 1 person?

You can obtain unicycle from other local sources too:
http://how-to-unicycle.blogspot.com/2014/01/buy-sell-unicycle-shop-in-singapore.html

Better option is to borrow for free while learning (in Singapore):
http://how-to-unicycle.blogspot.com/2014/04/buy-unicycle-beginners-option-b-c-d.html

The Singapore unicycle community forum had been around for a long time and provide richer resources than the facebook page.

Hope the new facebook page can focus on the joy of unicycling instead of becoming another tool to sell "team-uni" private brand of unicycle again.

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

http://how-to-unicycle.blogspot.com/2014/05/bait-and-switch-unethical-sales-tactic.html

Singapore and Taiwan unicycle video

Singapore scene
============
Muni
http://www.youtube.com/user/eagle88889999/videos

Freestyle
http://www.youtube.com/user/makrich7/videos

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOJ9PSs2sIrLW6NZBG2K0Jg/videos

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx5f-nVpRu849WJ5GuZRWlw/videos

Street busker
http://www.youtube.com/user/UniJolyon/videos



Taiwan scene
==========
see 4:40 mark in this video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEUF2lD3K80

http://www.youtube.com/user/colbuoret/videos

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Taroka+Muni

Terry's informative video on proper Protective riding gear

Different riding environment pose different kind of risk. You need different gears to protect different parts of your body. There are many good stuffs out there. You don't have to buy/wear all of them but at least be aware that they are available.

Terry's video will show you how you can protect yourself while unicycling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4ZBzQwbZac

For myself, I will wear high cut trekking shoe for ankle protection, knee guard, padded cycling shorts and baseball hat to prevent sweat/rain from going into my eyes (and to block sun glare). I will usually carry a pair of bikes gloves and soccer shin guard(the fear of pedal strike, once bitten twice shy) in my bag in case I need them. I don't wear helmet coz I am riding rather slowly and mostly at the neighborhood park.

~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

How time flies ... nowadays when I am fooling around on my unicycle at the store, I wear ... sandal ... and no protective gear. Lazy ... lazy ...

Where to buy new tyre for your unicycle?

I got this from the Singapore unicyclist forum. Thanks to Jia Hui ( sales rep from "team-uni" brand of unicycle.)

http://sgmtb.wordpress.com/tyres/

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
wow ... the BMX bikes are so attractive ...
http://sgbmx.wordpress.com/
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
You can also enquire at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Everythingbikezcom/282436625227758
Tel 6348 9727
 

Where to Sell (and buy) used unicycle on the internet

For unicyclist living in Singapore,
your best chance is to post your ads at the
Singapore unicyclist community forum at
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/singaporeunicyclists

You can also post a free ads at http://singapore.gumtree.sg

You may consider selling your used unicycle at "Cash Converter" stores. There is one near Bedok MRT / bus interchange.  There is another one near Jurong East MRT / bus interchange.

Other avenue ...

Look for the "Trading Post" thread at:
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/

and ebay website.

For beginners who bought expensive beginner's unicycle, I wish you good luck.

Do you ride a cheapo uni?

Question: "Who is the brother of cheapo uni?"
Answer: "Zippo uni"

I skate, ride bicycle and racing bikes, play ping pong and used to practice Muay Thai kick-boxing. I derived joy from the act of doing these sports, not from owning expensive equipments.

I think a unicyclist who mocked fellow unicyclists for buying "cheapo uni" probably has serious inferiority complex and thus the need to buy expensive uni to cover up such weakness.

Please be kind to new unicyclist, especially the younger ones. They just want to experience the joy of riding a unicycle.

To new riders: if someone mocked your uni as cheapo uni, probably that person is trying to pressure you to buy a new, expensive uni from her/him. That person probably has sales target to meet. Let's just assume that she/he meant no harm.

.......................................
Sales people are genuinely helpful people?

Surprise, surprise .. the so-called "cheapo uni" can also be used for riding tough off-road and uphill. See the video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlZg4FSZ4bk

at 5:34 mark

You can get similar unicycle from:
EverythingBikez bicycle shop

Riding unicycle at the beach last weekend

I had an enjoyable ride with some friends from the Singapore unicycling community. Thanks to Rachelle (blue T-shirt) for organizing the trip.

Buy unicycle? Beginner's option A, B, C, D

Generally, the bigger the tyre of a unicycle, the harder it is to ride it. Thus a beginner's unicycle is typically small-wheeled, 20" or smaller. And a very basic one.

I often ride at a nearby park and a reservoir near that park. I rode a 24" unicycle. But the big, fat tyre turn it into a 26". The ride is relaxing and comfortable.

I once tried riding a 20" uni at the park. The amount of pedaling is unbelievable. A lot of pedaling. The ride is a pain. Even the ride from the park to my house was damn tiring.

So my opinion for people who want to learn unicycling (residing in Singapore) is:

Option A
=======
If you want to do tricks and stunts on a unicycle in the future, and have no interest to ride long distance at the park, then go ahead and buy a nice, new "Trial" unicycle. Learn to ride on it and later on learn whatever tricks that you fancy. You can find inspiration from youtube.

Option B
=======
Don't buy unicycle. The Bedok South group has many spare unicycles for beginners to use for free. Use them to learn riding weekly. When you can ride around the hockey court comfortably, then consider buying a 24" or bigger unicycle (used/new).

Option C
=======
If you feel that practicing once a week is not enough and hope to practice more often, or to practice at a more convenient location or during weekends. Then consider buying a used beginner's unicycle. Ask around at the forum. Many will sell them at very low price. Don't worry about the quality of the unicycle. Most of the time, beginners can't even pedal a full rotation. Even after the beginner can ride a few metres, the speed will be slow. Beginners simply lack the strength to destroy a unicycle. So don't worry too much about the durability of the unicycle.
After you can comfortably ride the unicycle, then consider buying bigger wheel unicycle (used/new).

Option D
=======
You want to play hockey with a 20" unicycle. You have plenty of storage space at home. You have lots of spare cash. You are a sentimental person who wish to keep your first unicycle. You feel that new unicycle is more hygienic. You wish to pass on the unicycle to your sibling, children, grand-children etc... By all means, buy a new 20" unicycle that please you. And get a bigger unicycle for the ride at the park or beach.
But just be aware that you will have to give a Big discount if you are going to sell it in future.

https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/singaporeunicyclists

See my other post that list out the shops and suppliers in Singapore.

How not to catch a cold if you wish to ride on a windy day.

Ride on another day when it is not windy. Gotcha ...

Otherwise what I do is wear a quick-dry sports T-shirt as inner wear and wear a cotton T-shirt as outer wear. No more sneezing while riding and I get to enjoy the wind too :)

My unicycle wear branded clothing while traveling .. just kidding ;)

This is how I clothes my unicycle when I am traveling between Singapore and Batam. I worry that my unicycle will catch a cold otherwise.

I removed the seat post and the pedals and cover it with XXL T-shirt. The strap is from a guitar bag. I later discover that it is more sturdy when the crank is tied to the frame with a string.

The width of the fat wheel is 21" and it is 2.5" thick, only a huge T-shirt can accommodate the wheel.

Maybe I should buy a used unicycle. I am going to check out the forum for some cheap used unicycle that might be on offer from time to time.

Attending a circus school in Batam?

My brother-in-law and my niece visited me last weekend. My brother-in-law was bragging about his successful business... and when my niece saw my unicycle, he ask me if i am attending the circus school.

Btw, I am the best unicyclist in Batam... errr... I mean I am the only unicyclist on the island. So, I can describe myself in anyway that I like :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a time when a young girl described my unicycle as a tricycle. And another time when a neighborhood kid whistle out the circus tune and make funny faces at me. And another occasion when a boy asked me if I know how to juggle like a clown. And the recent one where I was asked if I had lost a wheel.

When I played ping pong, I don't experienced getting interesting comments from strangers.

But I am not alone ... read this thread:

http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38668

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you are interested in juggling or circus stuffs, there is a juggling group in Singapore.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bccig/

Good unicyclist out there

Here is a list of amazing and popular unicyclist.

Other great unicyclist include:
Shaun Johanneson
Mike Padial
Cody Williams
Tim Desmet

Chris Huriwai

Lutz Eichholz

Jakub Jojak Nowak

Spencer DeGrandpre

Linus Henriksson

Adam Franzen

Pau Suria

Rocco Schulz

Axel Ahlman

Mike Taylor

and many more...

And not forgetting the experienced and helpful people from the Singapore unicyclist community.
You can chat with them and ask all the beginners' question about unicycling in Singapore.
The forum is at https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/singaporeunicyclists

I stopped the traffic ... again

I went for a unicycle ride at the park on a Wednesday afternoon last week, hoping to avoid any crowd and catching unwanted attention.

But still I get some incidental spectators whom included 4 cyclist, 3 park workers, a group of tourists and a group of students.

One of the cyclist asked if I had lost a wheel. Quite nice when stranger care to strike a conversation.

The 3 park workers were watching me practising free-mounting technique. They were standing at about a metre away from. Too close for my comfort. I offered them to try my unicycle but they did not take up the offer. No play during working hour for them???

I have no idea why the tourists visited the park. Maybe they are well-dressed local? But why are they taking pictures at the park?

The students were from a neighborhood school. They watched me ride down the hill, fall 3 times and climb back up 3 times, and when I finally ride up the hill on the other side, they clapped their hands and cheer me on. Very encouraging moment.

I am still not used to getting the attention from strangers but I am slowly beginning to feel comfortable entertaining the crowd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I can still remember the time when I would fall whenever I ride over the road humps at the park. After weeks and weeks of riding, I overcame this obstacle!

At one time there was a park worker who screamed at me as I was approaching the road hump, hoping to give me a good scare and causing a big fall... and a good laugh after that.

But like what I have said, I have overcome this obstacle and thus deny that idiot a good laugh.

Not all unicycle free-mount techniques are made equal, and they have different name too.

When I am riding my 24" unicycle, I will use static mount most of the time. But if I became very tired from riding and there is a lamp post or sign post a few steps away, I will use it to mount the unicycle.

When I am using my 19" unicycle, I prefer the rollback mount which I find easier. I have tried to use rollback mount on the 24" unicycle but I couldn't do it successfully. The success rate on the 19" is pretty high (100 % hehehe....)

I discover that the success rate is the highest when the ground is down-sloping. I find it impossible to mount on an uphill.

And it seemed easier to mount when the path is wider (psychological??).

For my static mount, the success rate had increased after I got a tip from Geoffrey Tay. He told me to try to freeze for a moment after mounting the unicycle instead of trying to ride off immediately. That really helps to regain balance and improve stability.

I remember spending several weeks to learn to free-mount without success. It was very frustrating.

But after watching this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eah8y8uzNf0

the magic was revealed at 2:15 mark. I tried that technique and within half hour, I managed to freemount successfully for the first time. And the rest is history :)

Pöham brothers have not yet read my unicycle blog.

The Pöham brothers amazed me with their magical unicycling tricks.

They have produced lots of amazing youtube videos.

Check out the Pöham brothers

Terry Peterson read my unicycle blog ...i am overjoyed ...

Terry Peterson in Ford Fiesta ads

I enjoy watching Terry Peterson's unicycling video. He has produced hundreds of mountain unicycling videos. He is a great inspiration to me.

Here is a video where he appeared in Ford Fiesta commercial ads:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SOrQPaRApo&feature=player_embedded

No wonder I drive a Ford Fiesta too.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Btw, while I am out riding my unicycle, I will avoid riding uphill and will get off (dismount) from my unicycle and push it up the hill. But this 57 years old grand-daddy, Mr. Terry Peterson, have the habit of riding his unicycle uphill and even challenged the steep uphill! Maybe I should start doing that too in order to improve my legs' strength.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

I like the green Nimbus unicycle that Terry owned.

Can someone who is good at riding bicycle automatically know how to ride a unicycle?

Personally I am good at riding bicycle. I can ride the bike hands-free while cruising/coasting (not pedaling) and turning.

I don't know about other riders. But for the first time (and second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth ... time) when I tried to ride the unicycle, I simply failed. Can't even sit on the saddle and relax and ride a few meters without falling down...

Riding unicycle require a complete set of new skills which are unique, though unicycle looks like half-bike!

While a tennis player can transfer some of his/her skill when learning to play badminton, a biker has to learn a completely new set of unique skill.

When a person is learning how to bowl, the skill can be divided into holding the ball, making a few steps forward, throwing the ball. These steps can be practice separately. But a unicyclist has to learn moving forward, turning and slowing down while balancing on a moving unicycle ALL at the same time.

Learning a whole set of new and unique skills will simply require a longer period of time.

So, is it difficult to learn to ride a unicycle?

Yes.
From day 1, I use the word "impossible" to describe every single skill that is required to ride on this dead horse. I continue to learn riding because I have nothing better to do during my free time.

No.
My body somehow learn those skills on its own without me realizing it. Quite mysterious. I guess the human body is pre-built with unicycling skill. All I need to do is bring myself to sit on the unicycle. The body can adapt and learn to balance on the unicycle on its own.

..........~*~..........

To be fair, I don't quite believe that all unicyclist can ride their bikes hands-free. And I am still quite lousy in doing wheelie on my bike. They require different skill set, so let's not mock each other and co-exist peacefully.

How to learn turning direction while riding a unicyle?

I learn to ride the unicycle at a street soccer court, a basketball court or a small multi-purpose court while outdoor.

Initially my plan is to:

(1) learn to ride (whatever distance or direction) and try my best to stay on the unicycle without falling off for as long as possible, then 

(2)learn to ride in a straight line, and after that 

(3)learn to turn direction.

While practicing (1) at the small multi-purpose court I tried to stay within the court. I can't control the direction of my riding since I was still at the very beginning stage. But whenever I was about to ride out of the court, I would try whatever to turn direction and stay within the court. Most of the time I would fall. 

A few sessions later, I "suddenly" realized that I had been successfully turning right and left in order to stay within the court. My conscious mind is not aware that I am able to turn direction. I had not consciously and purposely tried to learn to turn direction.

My conclusion is that the body can learn new skill and adapt to a new situation (for survival?) without the conscious mind knowing it. 

So, I don't have many tips in this area other than stretching out your arm fully and imagine you are hugging a big KFC bucket while riding. If you want to turn left, then turn your shoulder to the left and imagine that you are going to carry the giant KFC bucket to the left. 

Continue riding and don't slow down. Maintain a reasonable speed before you enter the turn and during the turn. Don't slow down coz u will lose your momentum and fall.

There might be better learning methods out there but I really don't know coz I never intentionally practice on how to turn direction.

You might want to do some research at http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/index.php

Have fun and stay safe!

How long does it take to learn to ride a unicycle?

Someone had done a poll on this. See http://klaasbil.home.xs4all.nl/agelearn_short.htm

Based on the chart shown on the web page, it is quite safe to say that typically it is very possible to learn riding in less than 30 hours.

I spent more hours than the average people to learn. I believe it is due to the following reasons:

• While learning to ride (practicing in the house), I was leaning to the wall, cupboard etc. Instead of learning to balance and center myself on the unicycle, I am tilting towards the side due to fear of falling. It would be wonderful if there was a coach or friend to hold on to while he/she walk alongside me, then I wouldn't be leaning to one side.
• While practicing at the basketball court, the furthest distance that I could travel is the width of the court. I would fall if I tried to turn and ride the length of the court. My mind had the impression that I was unable to travel longer distance. But the fact is that I haven't master the skill of turning. I discover this when I went to practice at the park. Suddenly I could ride very long distance in a straight line without falling. I only fell when trying to make a turn!
• The seats on my unicycle is hard as a brick, after less than half an hour on it, I would feel soreness. My mobility/flexibility became affected as I tried to avoid more pain to the crotch area. Talk about poor learning quality.

I believe if the above 3 problems were to be avoided, it is achievable for anyone to learn riding within 10 hours!

Painful crotch (family jewel)??? Yes, No, Nooooo

Causes of painful crotch:
-You are riding a beginner's unicycle with a saddle(seats) made of brick.
-You are not wearing padded cycling shorts.
-You do not know how to ride and accidentally rammed your crotch against the saddle.

Solution:
-Buy a better quality unicycle or just replace the saddle(*see below) with a better quality one.
-Wear a padded cycling shorts(**see below) and adjust your crotch to the front. Wear a tight cycling shorts so that the crotch won't slip back down. Since there is little padding on the front part of the cycling shorts, you might consider wearing the shorts front-side back. This offer maximum protection.
-Be careful when you are riding over obstacle, or hopping on the unicycle.

For the first 3 months when I was learning to ride, my crotch felt uncomfortable and I couldn't practice beyond 1 hour.

After I am able to ride, I bought cycling shorts and better quality unicycle. I could ride leisurely for longer hours (with breaks in between) and there is little trace of crotch discomfort.

I refuse to ride if I am not wearing a cycling shorts.

*Saddle with thicker, softer cushion is available at about $30 from:
EverythingBikez bicycle shop

**Buy at lower price from http://qoo10.sg/
 (I've told you that online store sell things cheaper ... )


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saddle modification ... I've never tried that ... but looks interesting though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cJQ4j5KOis



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interesting post from https://www.facebook.com/groups/bccig/

??? If you want to NOT feel any discomfort down there, endure all the pain and ride on ... after a few years you will lose sensitivity to that area down there ...make sense ???

Or would you consider Trial Bike? Avoiding problematic crotch discomfort...
See action in Singapore http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsZ6496hH30

Desperate to be able to free-mount your unicycle and ride off immediately

There are 2 non-conventional methods that work but which I won't recommend to you.

1.) Carry a retractable light-weight aluminum trekking pole (or walking stick or umbrella or ski pole). Use it to assist you to mount your unicycle anywhere and ride off. You can also use it to regain your balance while riding.

2.) A normal free mount except that you place the toe of your dominant foot on the crank HUB. By doing so, the rear pedal (and the crank) become like a step on the stairs. You don't have to step on the 'air' anymore!

Wear a shin guard, high-cut boots, knee pad, gloves and helmet when learning to free-mount!

It is less painful to fall on grass than tarmac or cement.

Have fun :)

You are the reason

Seriously giving u a reason why u should learn riding while u still can -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpLXx8Jogzs


otherwise ...

To be fair, there are actually many interesting things to try in Singapore.

For example join a group of friends for a session of night time kite flying where you will be flying a remote-control kite that is decorated with beautiful LED lights. Check out http://www.goflykite.com/

Or perhaps go skate and savor food with people from http://www.meetup.com/Urban-Inline-Skating/
Their cool inline skates: http://skatewlights.blogspot.sg/

Or join the group that perform choreographed stunt kite flying weekly at East Coast Park and Marina Bay Sand. (I don't know their web link)

There is another interesting group which I find interesting. Check them out at
https://www.facebook.com/thewheelies

Find something that suit your current health condition!

Unicycle ride at East Coast Park, Singapore with "Terry Peterson"

Last Sunday I went riding with a group of unicyclist from the Singapore unicyclist Google group ( https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/singaporeunicyclists )

They are really friendly people and at this session, many senior riders turn up. They are like the Singapore version of Terry “UniGeezer” Peterson:“Over 50…and not ‘2′ Tired! “

These senior warrior actually can out-ride me with ease! I am literally the slowest rider in the pack. I felt so embarrassed :P

If you want to see the youtube videos of some of the rides organized by the group, check out this site: http://www.youtube.com/user/eagle88889999/videos

Btw there are many youngster in the group too.

A young guy turn up with a Self Balancing Unicycle (electric) on that Sunday morning. It is relaxing and fun to ride on the SBU. I feel that SBU is a totally different sports from pedal unicycling. Both are nice in a different way. They can co-exist and form a bigger family.

 

https://www.facebook.com/focusdesignsinc

It turn out that the sports of riding unicycle is active in Singapore and it is also a wonderful social sports.

You can't ride ride a unicycle? Sure?

"Riding a unicycle" can have several meaning.

1. Able to free-mount a unicycle (climb onto and sit on the unicycle without any assistance) and then ride off.
2. [Unable to free-mount] Riding the unicycle after mounting a unicycle with the assistance of the wall/fence/rail/lamp-post/tree/friend.

If you can't free-mount and your freedom to roam the park is limited, then try the "wheel-grab" mounting which is fairly easy to learn.

You can search youtube for instructional video. Read this thread which discuss on it:
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78310

The ability to mount without assistance and ride off will give you the freedom to explore and ride anywhere!

Beginner-unicycling-related info.

Here are 2 forum threads that I enjoy reading:

Learning Journal - http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86016
and
Progress diary - http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91495

I will encourage you to write your progress report there because you will get lots of useful tips and encouragement from the community.

I discover them only AFTER I have learned how to ride my unicycle. It was too late for me to write down my learning progress on that forum :(

I notice that beginner unicyclist face similar difficulties. Quite a nice read. Inspiring and motivational.

Here is a blog that try to guide beginner with How-to-unicycle videos.

============================================

Join the Singapore unicycle FORUM

============================================

Why choose unicycle, why not other sports?

I love to play ping pong a.k.a table tennis. I used to have 3 ping pong buddies and we play weekly games. But one by one, they can't commit to the game anymore after their new born babies arrived. So I began searching the Internet for new buddies. I joined a ping pong group at meetup.com

After several weeks, a new group of players who lived near my place was formed. There were several attempts to meet up for a weekly game. But it was always unsuccessful due to the lack of facility. The tables at the nearby community club are always fully booked. We couldn't get a table to play. This went on for months. It was frustrating.

Since I couldn't play ping pong, I would just go for the alternative favorite sports: cycling. I use the park connector to cycle to many different locations with nice scenery. It is enjoyable. I could cycle for 6 to 7 hours (with many breaks to enjoy the scenery) and it is a good way to kill time and keep fit. I cycle so much that I become good at cycling. I can cycle hands-free and cruise (ride without pedaling) on my bicycle. I get many praise from kids who saw that. Often they would say something like "wow, look, hands-free" (actually it should be hands-free and legs-free).

At around August 2013, while checking out my ping pong group at at meetup.com , I came across the Singapore unicycle group. 

In my mind I was thinking ... since I can ride my bicycle without the use of the handle bar, I might as well progress into riding a unicycle. Instantly I decided to join the unicycle group.

There are several advantages for choosing unicycling. 

- I can ride unicycle anywhere. I don't have to book/pay any facility e.g. badminton court, ping pong table

- I can ride indoor or at void deck when it is raining outside

- I can ride in the rain if I am in the mood :)

- I can ride on the road at the park, and off the road at dirt track.

- I can ride alone if my friends are not free (not possible with badminton & ping pong)
- There is no handle-bar. If you fall forward, most of the time you will land on both feet instead of falling down on the floor.

picture from https://www.facebook.com/UniGeezer

- It is low maintenance, very little wear and tear. (don't have to constantly buy shuttle cock, tennis ball etc)

- It is physically demanding (riding bicycle is too relaxing, don't even feel out of breath)

- It is low impact, does not hurt the knee and ankle (i love jogging but it damages the knee & ankle)

- It is not boring, unlike jogging, yet it pump the heart and give a good workout

- It is portable, I can carry my small unicycle onto the bus and MRT and even the ferry to Batam

- It burnt out my beer belly & love handle. Now I have a six pack, and my calf is toned too

- There are many levels of skills and new tricks to pick up.

- I like inline skating but this is better coz I can simply carry my uni into mall and coffee shop

- This is better than skate-boarding coz i can sit on it

- It has the "wow" effect like those when I ride my bicycle hands-free
- There is an active unicycle community
- Most of the unicyclist will not discriminate you by the brand of the unicycle that you own.
- Its beauty is in its slowness. Its like drinking tea or wine. Have to do it slowly to appreciate its beauty.

I got the photo from https://www.facebook.com/UniGeezer

Disadvantages:
- It is slow-moving compared to bicycle!
- Very limited local supplier of unicycle (you can forget about variety, range, brand, design)
- Limited supplies of unicycle-specific spare parts (you are on your own!)
- If you want to buy fanciful, branded or low-price unicycles, you will have to go through the hassle of ordering online.
- If you go to the Singapore unicycle community forum to ask for info on online purchase, most likely there will not be any reply except those from the sales people from "team-uni" brand of unicycle trying to sell you their generic brand of unicycle. I do not understand why the silence from the rest of the community.
- If you want to dig for info from people who go online to purchase all kinds and brands of unicycles(yes, there are people doing that), you can try your luck by going to the weekly unicycle sessions to personally talk to them. Good luck.
- The sales people from "team-uni" brand of unicycle described cheap Taiwanese unicycle that are sold from http://www.unicycle.com.tw/ as "cheapo uni". So, do not be caught by surprise if you are being mocked for buying or riding a "cheapo uni". Anyway "team-uni" brand of unicycle are also from Taiwan. Case of the kettle calling the pot black?
- Enemy of the half-pipe at all the skate parks

- Unicycle take up more storage space than ping pong or badminton, but half the size of bicycle

- Only 2 places to learn unicycling but self-learning anywhere is possible too

- Steep learning curve, very difficult for the first 10 to 20 hours of learning. Easy after that

- Psychologically you might feel impossible at every learning stage and eventually give up

- Your body will not tell you that it can evolve to learn balancing on unicycle by itself
- Discomfort at the crotch area, literally speaking

- There are regular rides but these rides are not beginner-friendly most of the time. They are mostly targeted at experienced unicyclist with ultra huge wheel for long distance or technical off-road terrain riding.
[Update: Some of the kind unicyclists have started organizing beginners-friendly rides. For example the October 2014 Deepavali ride at Marina Bay and East Coast Park. It is a leisure ride on the pedestrian pavement, there is option to ride a shorter distance, it is a late noon/evening ride, starting at a convenient meeting location near MRT train station, with nice Marina Bay scenery suitable for lifestyle rides. It is a very encouraging development that opens up option for leisure lifestyle city riders. Please join their google mailing list to get updates on their rides.]

 late noon/evening ride

Deepavali ride, Oct 2014

- At the beginning stage, you will look like a clown and people might mock you

- When you become a good unicyclist, you will still continue to catch people's attention/stare.

- Few/No air-conditioned indoor facility like air-con badminton/ping-pong/squash courts or gym.

Sudoku: addictive & played indoor in air-con comfort :-)

This sport is not suitable for people who do not like to attract others' attention. You simply cannot avoid catching people's attention. Not just silent attention... expect comment & mockery too.

This sport is also not suitable for people who pursue the latest technology for their sports equipment or enjoy customizing and perfecting their sports equipment. Unless they have the patience and money to purchase them online from different countries, and also has the skill to set up the unicycle.

If you are in this category, perhaps riding a trial bike or BMX might be less of a headache for you. It is equally cool and you won't suffer from crotch pain and name-calling like being call a clown ;p
A very cool Trial Bike video
Another cool Trial Bike video

If you like the Air time that you can get from the half-pipe at the skate park, then go for trial bikes!!!
Last temptation for you

In my opinion, the progress of unicycling is like this:

clown -------->   cool ------>  crazy

bruised ego -->  big ego -->   bloated ego --> burst ego :D

A well-known unicyclist by the name of Terry Peterson describe himself as "B.C." aka Beyond Crazy.

Personally I have passed the 'clown' stage and is now at the 'cool' stage and enjoying it. There are many good unicyclist in Singapore who do crazy stuffs like off-road or downhill unicycling or unicycle hockey!

You can try unicycling for free at the weekly session, why not give it a try. In the beginning it is like balancing and walking on a tight rope, very exciting and scary. Later on, it is like flying, the feeling of freedom.

Most of the time you will fall and land on both feet without injury. But you will be falling a few hundreds time and 1 of them could be *nasty*. So, you make your own decision.

Terry's video on protective gears (from head to toe!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4ZBzQwbZac

~~ Wear a helmet, or else don't tell your parents that you are learning unicycling ~~

 Sep 2014

!! Beginners please be patient and do thing slowly and carefully !!

!! Get a friend or neighbor to supervise you whenever possible !!

Where to learn to ride unicycle?

Another most common question being asked is: Where is the place to go to learn unicycling?

I found the one and only unicycle group in Singapore from meetup.com website:
http://www.meetup.com/Singapore-Unicycle-Hockey-Unicycle-Meetup/

Mr Kee Xu Yuan is the person-in-charge there. He is quite a nice chap, so hurry down and join the meetup.com unicycle group for beginners!

Another good place to ask beginners' questions is at their forum

They practice at

• Thursday night. 57B New Upper Changi Rd Singapore 463057, Singapore
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goI0eGC8l8k
  

  
  

• Wednesday night. Kallang CC. Boon Keng MRT nearby (limited spare unicycles, check before you go down).

If you drive or live near Bedok, go meet up with the group. They have many spare unicycles for you to try. In another words you don't have to buy a unicycle. Another plus point is that you don't have to bring/carry your own unicycle there if u own one.

If the place is too inconvenient for you or you are a shy person or you are a highly confident self-learner, then your next best choice is to buy a used beginner's unicycle and practice on your own until you are successful.

Consider buying a USED one coz the dropout rate (give-up learning halfway) is rather HIGH.

=====================================================
There is a unicycling club at a ITE college https://www.facebook.com/groups/566663056712535/

There is a club at the Japanese school and there used to be one at the Singapore Polytechnic.
=====================================================

You might find this forum helpful:
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/

There are many How-to-unicycle videos at youtube.com
I like this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdH0fV4Uxvk


~~~Spend more time riding your unicycle, instead of reading about riding a unicycle~~~


in case ... just in case ...  that you hurt your bum while trying to ride a unicycle ... do consider another sports which is closely similar, yet hardly cause any harm to your bum. check out the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShbC5yVqOdI

some action in Singapore http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdUCQksxTPI

Buy, sell unicycle shop in Singapore

I ride unicycle. Many people on the street often ask me where are the shops that sell unicycle. At the moment (May 2014), I know a few shops that sell unicycle: 

[Please note that all the suppliers shown below carry limited stock and may face out-of-stock situation from time-to-time. Contact them before you make a visit.]

* Everything Bikez at 299 Joo Chiat Road, Tel 6348 9727
     next to Hotel 81 and Giant supermarket. Bus No. 16 (near Joo Chiat Community Centre).

I got this info after reading a blog written by a pretty lady unicyclist. Her blog is at dancesingirl.blogspot.com/2014/02/unicycles-are-unique.html

This store also supply tyre, unicycle stand, spare parts and comfy unicycle seats. Delivery may be available for a fee.

Eugene at Everything Bikez provide good customer service and is surprisingly not bossy!
This is a nice store. Tel 6348 9727

*
Sports Elements:
Leisure Park. Tel: 6342 1198
Harbor Front Ctr. Tel: 6274 0095
West Coast Plaza. Tel: 6776 2685

*
Exxe:
Novena Square. Tel: 6259 4036
Orchard Central. Tel: 6509 9008
Square 2. Tel: 6255 6439

*Unicycle comes in Blue, Red or Silver and include free unicycle stand

There is also an online store that sell "Team-Uni" Brand of unicycle, which is a private brand own by 1 person. It cleverly disguised itself as a "team of unicyclist" and got me confused.
* www.team-uni.com


There is a Singapore unicyclist Google group where used unicycle might be available for sale (at a big discount) if you asked around. No harm asking!

*The Official Singapore Unicyclists Mailing List -
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/singaporeunicyclists

* You can try your luck at Gumtree ads. I had seen some ads in the past.
http://singapore.gumtree.sg/


Read my observation for beginner here:
http://how-to-unicycle.blogspot.com/2014/04/buy-unicycle-beginners-option-b-c-d.html

The good, the bad and the ugly...
http://how-to-unicycle.blogspot.com/2014/01/why-choose-unicycle-why-not-other-sports.html

You might also want to read this:
http://how-to-unicycle.blogspot.com/2014/05/bait-and-switch-unethical-sales-tactic.html


Before you hand over your hard-earned cash to those seller, here is an interesting post from https://www.facebook.com/groups/bccig/

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(Not in operation) Gee Hin Chan bicycle shop

Note: The staff at Gee Hin Chan told me that the shop will close down at the end of April 2014. Better contact them before you go down to the store.

Picture from http://unfoldandcycle.com/tag/tokyobikes/

Gee Hin Chan's old address is at Blk 261 Waterloo St #01-06/07 Waterloo Centre, about 5 minutes walk from Brass Basah MRT.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I bought my first unicycle from Gee Hin Chan bicycle shop. It is a beginner unicycle. There are several choices on display there. They also sell spare parts. The customer service is excellent. It is quite cheap at only $140.

So it is fair to expect online store to offer lower price than brick and mortar store.

After I had learned how to ride a unicycle (several months later), I planned to buy a stronger and more durable unicycle. I sold my fist unicycle at the above-mentioned google group's forum.

I bought my next unicycle from "team-uni". The expensive unicycles are good (ISIS crank/hub) but there isn't much customer service.

Exxe / Sports Element sell Blue, Red or Silver frame unicycles which I find the most attractive among the local suppliers, and rather cheap at about $160. They are giving away the free unicycle stand as well.

If you intend to buy the really good ones, the lowest shipment cost from online stores around Asia might be that from (Korea) http://www.unicycle.kr/index.php

A helpful tip from the seller of 'team-uni' private brand of unicycle:
"Generally, UDC Korea is a bit pricier BEFORE SHIPPING than the other UDC branches. In my opinion, the only unicycles worth ordering from them are the Kris Holm and Impact Unicycles. Sometimes, UDC UK or Germany has offers on old stocks and they can come up to cheaper because you can discount VAT from the price.  

Shipping isn't terribly expensive. I think it is usually <$100. Expect an extra 7% GST when you receive it in Singapore because of local laws. "

[I was told by a long time unicyclist that if the price of the unicycle that you purchased online, excluding the shipping cost, is less than $400, it won't be taxed GST, so you save on the 7%.]

Or you may want to try a Taiwan online store. Sea shipment is less than $25 (info from Singapore unicyclist forum, Mr. John Wu).

Product review by Mr John Wu. Product: Taroka TK-20T, 20" Various color unicycle, Taiwan made.
"I am also a newbie of unicycle from last September. And use this brand's unicycle (of course not pink) for my beginning lesson.

From my person previous experience, my unicycle dropped on ground more than couple thousand times in two, three weeks, before I can non-stop reach 100 meter distance on my own unicycle. 

So I think its quality is robust enough for a beginner to learn the mounting, idling, backward and low hop."

I appreciate John's honesty for revealing that he had trashed his Taroka unicycle MANY times. I couldn't break his record though. I only managed to trashed the unicycle that I bought from Gee Hin Chan bicycle shop a few hundreds time. (yet still unable to destroy it) My unicycle still looks new and shiny by the time I sell it away.

There is a thread at the Singapore unicyclist forum that is discussing about online buying of 36" Unicycle from http://www.unicycle.com.tw/
Go to the forum thread entitled [ 36" Uni ] and read about it.

"Just got update from Taroka, the delivery fee of @36" will between SGD 40 and 50 by sea, lead time is around 1 month."  -- John Wu

Thanks John, the info is very helpful for the unicycling community.

Don't read this --- >  I sold my used Gee Hin Chan's unicycle at BIG discount ;)

Your next step:

Join http://www.meetup.com/Singapore-Unicycle-Hockey-Unicycle-Meetup/
Attend their weekly FREE beginners session.


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Become a Happy Unicyclist soon! ~~~~~~~~~~~~


If u did not become a Happy Unicyclist, don't fret. Trial bike and unicycle can do the same trick. But Trial Bike gives you something additional ... speed, fluidity and elegance!

Watch these clips:
Street trick
Cool Off-road


Update on 18 April 2015:
==================
After informing readers for about 2 years that some unicycle suppliers are giving away free unicycle stand with the unicycle purchase, one more supplier had decided to also give away free unicycle stand. This is good news and beneficial for the unicyclist community.

Don't forget to bring home your free unicycle stand :)


Update on 27 July 2015:
==================
Last week I saw these at J Cube at Jurong. Not sure if they come with free stand.

It's the holiday season again, are u on a tight budget?Then go Batam