Riding backwards... Can't seem to crack it...

[Jdestef]

Tips plz.

[Tishawn Fahie]

i cant do either but I know it can be done. One of my very good friends doing it with no problems. Search on youtube for speedyfeet.uk i believe they have a tutorial on how to do it.

[dpong]

Turn your brain around.  Very tough. 

[Gimlet]

Just practice stop starting without putting a foot down, then once you can do that try going back on each stop, just a few centemeters to start with but gradually increase it.

[dmethvin]

I have been practicing on and off for a while and still haven't mastered this. Your advice sounds like these instructions for getting to the moon:

1. Jump
2. Jump a little higher
3. Repeat until you're on the moon

[Gimlet]

It's a matter of taking it in small stages. Who knows? You may make it to the moon!

[MrBump]

It's a matter of taking it in small stages. Who knows? You may make it to the moon!

I agree with Gimlet - best to start by coming to a stop, keep braking past the point where you normally would and just slightly resist the urge to jump off.  Just make sure at first that you know your surroundings so that you won't need to look behind you.

[Bwuce Wee]

riding backwards is just unnatural, just going backwards is ok but if you start leaning towards a place it just gets scary

[drmrw]

there is a video by the speedyfeet fellow. I just got it the other day. Couple things you can do.

1) "Snap it back" ride forward slowly and brake extra hard, suddenly.

2) (this worked better for me) use a rail or a wall for balance, then just go backwards from standing still. A hallway is actually perfect because you can brace yourself for balance with either wall. once rolling backwards, snap it forward. I personally found that rolling back wards even a couple feet then snapping it forward by leaning hard worked better for me than rolling forward first and snapping backwards because the unit would tend to turn to much. Keep at it and you'll get it. Some other tips. Learn to ride very slowly, forward, first! that helps with your balance tremendously.

[Cloud]

Make sure feet are symmetrical on the foot  rests. I suggest hugging foot rest with your feet, not because its easier to ride when your feet are closer to the center, but because when you are huddung the wheel its easier to keep them symmetrical ( as you have a reference point- the wheel). Symmetry is important so you avoid constantly turning to one side when going backwards. If you are farther away from center, next time you get off and on, the foot position will be different and your " muscle memory" will not be of any help. Also, of course make them symmetrical in the other direction too, and maybe let your heels overhang a bit more than when you ride forwards.

use a rail first, gi a few feet back and catch on to the rail. repeat several times. On e you can go 10 pr so feet, then try without the rail. Go until you stop feeling comfortable then step off. Repeat several times. 

A great excercise is going forward, then braking and going backward without stepping off. It wont work every time but try several times until it works. Even if you dont master going backwards this way, it will help you i prove going forwards slow or astopping in one spot for a second or two. After i oracticed going wpforward, braking and then backwards, and the forward again, i started being able to stop and stand in one spot for much longer and be able to go much much slower and make slow zero radius turns in any direction - its a gret excercise.

[Paulandjacquelyn]

Gotta learn this this week. Thanks for great tips

[DangerousDick]

Yep, I got to 'play' in an office corridor and it seemed like I'd never get there - up and down, down and up, always losing it and grabbing for the wall / partition etc.

Then, all of a sudden, the other day I managed a good 50 feet without falling off - must be fluke right went around the block a few times, came back and tried again - another full stretch of the small corridor section.

Outside in big open spaces I have managed to stay on it moving forward, then stopping, backward, stopping then forward again.  BUT not really consistent yet (as much as I'd like to be anyhow).  Stick at it and all of a sudden your body will be moving / leaning the right way and you'll think to yourself 'why did it take so long, it's easy now!'.  I'm even starting to turn around corners gently although I don't think I'm ready for the 180 'flip' just yet?

Like many things, I don't think I'll ever get enough practice (or as much as I think I need) to be able to confidently 'hop on' and go which ever way I want - and look cool doing it! - but I'm certainly enjoying the journey to that goal

[BPINE]

I found it easier to push off on something to get going backwards, I still can't transfer from backwards to forward consistently as of yet but I just learned backwards a few days ago so I think that will improve. It seems like my cheap Airwheel just can't make that transition fast enough and I lose balance.

[Villac]

Been working on backwards a while! I can make some progress while leaning on something, but it doesn't feel like progress. It seems more useful when I get a surprise successful backwards roll for 10 feet, then reverse it and go forward again. However most of my backwards attempts end with a dismount. If only work didn't get in the way of practice...

[SlowMo]

I also wanted to learn and have been looking at videos of people performing the skill. The fear of falling on cement is always stopping me. Maybe we should find some soft grass to practice the skill which would give some assurance of soft landing in case of falling backwards. My search found @vee73's earlier video showing his expertise in riding backwards on very slippery snow covered tracks.

 

[Cranium]

Here is a very good video made by forum member @logos122:  https://youtu.be/zMDQtFic83Y on riding backwards and on one leg.

This was from another thread started yesterday: http://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/1807-one-foot-riding-any-tips-on-getting-started/

 

[Tyred]

On 17-11-2015 at 8:36 PM, Cranium said:

Here is a very good video made by forum member @logos122:  https://youtu.be/zMDQtFic83Y on riding backwards and on one leg.

This was from another thread started yesterday: http://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/1807-one-foot-riding-any-tips-on-getting-started/

 

I can't watch the first video, says it's private? Sounds interesting though.

[Paulandjacquelyn]

Go wrong way on one way road ...should be quick learning process

[ninebot one p]

I tried the stop and snap but found slowing to a almost stop, at a very slow rate of speed, then lean back with you heal. Still can not go more than 50 feet. It took almost a month to learn to do that but each time I go a little further and have no problem going forward after going backwards. At first when I was trying the stop and snap back I kept over heating my Ninebot E+. I spent week of only going a few inches back before I started to get.

Good Luck and where a helmet and wrist guards.

[Henrik Olsen]

Here is my contribution 

 

[Jonathan Tolhurst]

I would recommend learning to ride backwards (fakie) in an flat open area (with a smooth sealed surface) at least the size of a basketball court. 
Use of appropriate safety gear is obviously recommended.
Having people watch you going through the frustrations of learning something new can be off putting so try practising when it's quiet.

I used the snapback method to learn. I drew a start line in chalk and placed a marker for my best "record" attempt for the distance I managed to ride going backwards. I just kept trying and trying and eventually managed to do the full length of the practice area.

Once you can "go backwards" you need to keep practising to get "control when going backwards" - learning the fine control can take a lot of practice. 

Practice Exercises to Improve control when going backwards

• Purchase a set of 12 training cones. Snaking around the cones (spaced 2 paces apart) whilst riding fakie (and doing a figure of 8 loop at the end) is great practice.
• Create a "cone tunnel" - 6 cones either side of a gap that is just wider then your electric unicycle (start with a larger gap and decrease as you get better). Increase the length and speed of riding fakie through the tunnel.
• Create a course made up of cone gates in your practice area and navigate around this course. Increase the difficulty as your skills develop.
• Go to your local basketball/sports court and trace the markings whilst riding fakie on your EUC (the aim is to stay on the lines).
• Try circling in as smaller circle as possible going backwards. You should practice clockwise/anticlockwise.

Advanced Practice Exercises

• Practice jumping up on to a raised curb or box, stopping and then fakie off. Once you get good at this there are several trick variations that you can learn.
• At a skateboard park you can practice on the slopes and ramps (Forward up, fakie back down).

One thing that feeds my addiction to electric unicycling is that at first something can seem almost impossible but with practice, you suddenly "get it" and then it becomes almost automatic. That "get it" moment is always puzzling (as to why it just happens) but also very rewarding/pleasurable.

 

[Henrik Olsen]

Getting there ;-)

 

[DS]

On 4/9/2016 at 8:03 AM, Jonathan Tolhurst said:

One thing that feeds my addiction to electric unicycling is that at first something can seem almost impossible but with practice, you suddenly "get it" and then it becomes almost automatic. That "get it" moment is always puzzling (as to why it just happens) but also very rewarding/pleasurable.

That's exactly what I'm enjoying in the unicycling

Here is my backwards riding - some circles, eight figures, zig-zags, going back in a line, sharp turns and some more...

 

[DS]

Here is the same footage with original sounds (no added music)...just in case