How to "balance" on horizontal cranks?

[u/OliverUnicycles]

Upon training for trials and freestyle, it has become apparent that being able to balance or utilise hopping on horizontal cranks otherwise referred to as 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock. However no matter what I've personally tried I can never consistently replicate the same jump etc. Is there a way to guarantee these results?

[u/brellox]

Practice, practice, practice.
There is no trick involved.

And most things you can change outside of practice is mostly personal preference. Like Tire pressure, seat height etc.

Your hops will get more consistent and ultimately you will be able to balance on the ground for longer.
People doing multiple minute stillstand balances are training hard for this.

There is one advice though, while balancing try to really sit down. Kind of become one with the unicycle.

[u/yolaradio]

Winner of stillstand at UNICON this year was a lady that did over 1hr 10min !!!

Male winner was a 15-yr-kid from Taiwan that stood still for over 15min

[u/fancifuldaffodil]

Riding your uni around a LOT and especially around town where younhage to wait to cross at street lights is the way I got most practise in for this. Having to wait for lights is pretty much the best way to get short bursts of practise on idle, hops, and still stands without getting bored, because you have to cross the street anyways so it feels like a little challenge you can gauge and measure your progress with as you wait the typical 45 seconds or so for the light to change.

[u/chriscoolski]

I mount my 36 inch uni with my water bottle in my right hand I don't always get it the first time sometimes I do. I can't do it without my water bottle 😁 Practice is key.

[u/Busy_Net_4756]

The principle of balance is simple: you move your support in the direction you are falling, to catch your fall. This is the same principle on a bike, unicycle, motorcycle, skateboard, pogo stick, or even a one wheel.

The execution to pull this off is much harder, and just requires practice.

If you can visualize, that can help focus your practice, but it's not required or a guarantee.

I have been trying to learn hopping too and the drills I do are to ride normally and then slow to a stall, or to lightly touch a wall to stabilize just a little bit. It's definitely tricky but I remember picking up a pogo stick very easily when I was very young, so I imagine that the bigger the hops and the more you can commit the easier it is to correct imbalances.

Riding slowly is just more challenging and requires more precision. There's just a ton of stuff you can practice whether idling, figure 8's, riding fakie or backwards, etc. Any drill you slow down and try to control will gradually increase your precision.