D i c K (ie) Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 Hi everybody. I am new here in the forum and I want to introduce myself. I am a 33-year-old and live in Belgium. In the search of a hoverboard for my girlfriend i came across the electric unicycles. I remember that after the first youtube movie I saw with an EUC I immediately knew that I wanted one. Instead of only buying a hoverboard, we ended up with a hoverboard and a Ninebot One E+. (Picture from before first use. Now it is already seriously scratched... ) We searched for an empty parking lot to learn how to ride our new toys. I had seen quite a few movies of people who start learning the EUC balance dance. I had the impression that the learning goes faster if you immediately try to get on without the help of training wheels or a wall to hold on too. In a few minutes my girlfriend was riding her hoverboard. At the same time I already received some serious kicks against my ankles from the pedals of my new E+. After 15 minutes I managed to keep on it for 2 meters. After one hour struggling gravity, I was able to somehow controlling the E+. Here is a short movie my girlfriend took with her iPhone. When we came home i saw my right ankle was seriously swollen because it was hit multiple times by the pedals. After one day rest (and after buying a pair of these) I went back out to train my balance during short turns. Today, one week later, I have the feeling i have good control over the wheel. I am able to step up the euc first time right and ride off and on the sidewalk curb (, not on big ones where I need to jump). I already have the feeling I would like to go a bit faster. Now the tilt back comes in around 24km/h. Normally in a straight line my speed is 22km/h because i don't think it's a good idea to ignore the tilt back and try to find the limits of the wheel. I can not compare the Ninebot One E+ with other wheels, but it is a very good wheel to start learning the euc riding skills. It turns very fluidly and the tilt back doesn't scare me at all, but warns me if I try to search the top speeds. I don't think I will need a bigger battery. After a few hours of riding the E+ still had 50% of battery and my feet were completely numb... I already have tried a few times to go backwards, but it scares the hell out of me... I think first i need to improve my reflexes going forward that it becomes a second nature before trying to jump on curves and riding backwards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US69 Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 @D i c K (ie) Welcome to the Forum and the world of EUC's :-) I can assure you: The "completly numb" Feeling will go away after a while...you will get used to it and dont feel any week on your feet! Also you will later not Need shinguards any more, you even do not have to touch the sidepads on normal riding, if you do not want .....this all Comes with more experience! Before trying to ride backwards i would give advice to become perfect in straight and curve riding, breaking and slow riding....when you have done this, it will be natural, without thinking of what you are doing and then you can try backward which is 10times harder than Forward :-) Have Fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEC Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 Welcome to the forums @D i c K (ie) and congrats on impressive progress. The (literally) painful beginnings are shared with waste majority of the EUC riders here and in a couple of weeks it will be just a mild reminder of your early times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 One hour? Wow you are crazy good! I cut my teeth on a generic 14" wheel, and it was no easy task. I didn't get the swollen ankles, but I did have sore shins. I still haven't gotten down one leg riding or backwards riding... I am progressing on stepping off and stepping back on at intersections. I think I skipped the important basics too quickly as the mount and dismounting are pretty critical during the progress. I think I was so happy to get riding, I usually hop on and don't step off for any reason which in hindsight isn't the greatest practice. Better to master getting on and off as well as pausing before getting too far down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEC Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 4 minutes ago, HunkaHunkaBurningLove said: I think I skipped the important basics too quickly as the mount and dismounting are pretty critical during the progress. I think I was so happy to get riding, I usually hop on and don't step off for any reason which in hindsight isn't the greatest practice. Better to master getting on and off as well as pausing before getting too far down the road. Ha ha - I've rode over 1500 Km before I've managed to do my first free standing mount! Exactly as you I was enjoying the riding way too much to spoil it by some "details" like mounts Even now I use most of the time the "assisted" mount (aka grabbing to lamp post, traffic sign etc.) instead of improving the regular mounting skill ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 I guess I was "lucky", since I practiced at the small road in front of my house, and there's nothing near the road to use for assistance during mounting. So I just kept on hopping on and off the wheel until I managed to start getting going... Still took some days to get the mounting "right" (ie. hit the correct foot position), and later on I did still practice just mounting & dismounting on purpose for some hours... EDIT: Also, it seems that riding an EUC is similar to bicycling in the sense that once you've "got it", you can remember it. I didn't ride for over half a year in-between before getting my friends' KS16 on loan, and I pretty much just hopped on it, rode a few small laps to get the "feel" of the wheel and then I was off to a longer route. No problem there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 14 hours ago, HEC said: Ha ha - I've rode over 1500 Km before I've managed to do my first free standing mount! Exactly as you I was enjoying the riding way too much to spoil it by some "details" like mounts Even now I use most of the time the "assisted" mount (aka grabbing to lamp post, traffic sign etc.) instead of improving the regular mounting skill ... I was like Tom Hanks in that "Forrest Gump" movie, but in my case it was more like "Roll Forrest Roll!" and I kept rolling... It's true once you get rolling you just don't wanna stop! Esaj - you gotta get that mega pack Firewheel back online. Re-route those wires and figure out that controller board issue. 6 months is way too long not to be rolling especially in the summer time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxLinux Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 17 hours ago, esaj said: I didn't ride for over half a year in-between before getting my friends' KS16 on loan Why did you stop riding for such a long time? 7 hours ago, HunkaHunkaBurningLove said: 6 months is way too long not to be rolling especially in the summer time! I hate it if I have to miss one day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 3 hours ago, MaxLinux said: Why did you stop riding for such a long time? Winter, and my wheel's still in pieces... I've had lots of trouble with a custom battery-project, and haven't been able to find another suitable wheel (because I'm picky and cheapskate , well not only that...). Plus I got hooked on electronics over the winter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TremF Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Welcome to the wonderful no FANTASTIC world of EUC's I did the same as you. I was looking at getting something for myself because I have mobility issues and was getting seriously depressed not being able to get out after being active all my life. I used to walk / cycle 100+ miles per week but am no longer able to. After a little searching I found Ian @ Speedyfeet's video's on You Tube and they convinced me to get a Ninebot One E+ and instantly the freedom it gave made me feel fantastic - even with pain still. The E+ quickly became not enough and after 9 months I moved to the Gotway ACM for many more liles per charge and a cruise speed that's the top speed for the E+ lol In the early days I wore football shin pads on the inside of my legs rather than on the front of the shin and they worked wonders. It wasn't long until I got used to the feel on the E+ and was able to ride without. I do use a sturdy set of boots though. It is a little more comfortable, for me, and makes acceleration easier - especially on my ACM! I find if I am cruising along casually my feet don't ache and it's quite relaxing (though the ACM cruises at the E+'s top speed lol) my feet only ache if I am zooming along. You'll get used to it soon and love it as much as the rest of us Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 18 hours ago, esaj said: Plus I got hooked on electronics over the winter I saw one of your videos where you took a long ride down a recreational trail and you were getting beeps constantly on the Firewheel. I guess after awhile you master one thing, then it is time for something new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 8 hours ago, steve454 said: I saw one of your videos where you took a long ride down a recreational trail and you were getting beeps constantly on the Firewheel. I guess after awhile you master one thing, then it is time for something new. I really wouldn't mind having a running wheel, but the Firewheel shells have given me too many traumas already when it comes to working with them... I've got some loose ends on other stuff, but I'll see if I start putting the custom frame back together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 You should get one of those Makerbot clones like @MattJ did and print out a new wheel out with some @Lz Lee Microworks components. I think you would give Matt and @electric_vehicle_lover a run for the money. I'm tempted to get one, but I have no workspace left for one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattJ Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 3 hours ago, HunkaHunkaBurningLove said: You should get one of those Makerbot clones like @MattJ did and print out a new wheel out with some @Lz Lee Microworks components. I think you would give Matt and @electric_vehicle_lover a run for the money. I'm tempted to get one, but I have no workspace left for one. It´s addicting. I´ll probably order two sets from Microworks next week. Will build one more for myself (because I want one with horizontal controller and fat tire) and another one for a friend. Hopefully it will reduce freight costs, which are almost half of the cost when ordering just one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxLinux Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 On 8/5/2016 at 7:54 PM, steve454 said: I saw one of your videos where you took a long ride down a recreational trail and you were getting beeps constantly on the Firewheel. I love the constant Firewheel beeping in this ride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 It sure is beeping a lot, and it was following a Ninebot. He must have the speed warning set pretty low, I thought Firewheel was a faster than Ninebot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 On 7.8.2016 at 1:26 PM, steve454 said: It sure is beeping a lot, and it was following a Ninebot. He must have the speed warning set pretty low, I thought Firewheel was a faster than Ninebot? The first warning (that beeping) starts around 18km/h, second warning (a voice message saying something like "you are speeding") starts somewhere around 24-25km/h and the last warning ("take care!") starts at 28km/h, after which at least the older mainboards with unshunted batteries would cut-out unless you slowed down. On a shunted wheel, I've personally gone up to something like 31-32km/h at best, and hobby16 has gone over 35km/h. We're both fairly light weight. The warning speeds on Firewheel are not adjustable and the warnings cannot be disabled (unless you cut the wires to or remove the speaker ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D i c K (ie) Posted August 10, 2016 Author Share Posted August 10, 2016 Thank you all for the welcome messages! I will follow the advise to wait with jumps and backward riding until the One E+ feels like riding a bike. I already feel the speed limit on the One E+ is a bit too low for my liking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxLinux Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 On 8/7/2016 at 6:26 AM, steve454 said: I thought Firewheel was a faster than Ninebot? What happened to Firewheel? The company died, apparently, but I cannot find out any details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planetpapi Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 They showed promise with different motors in the beginning but again dropped dead or we don't know. It's hard for mom and pop companies to survive unless they have vested interest in innovation. If the premise is to "put together" some available parts and ride on the wave, they may not survive the second chance. May be they don't want to, and move onto next "hot" gadget trend what ever that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timram Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Fascinating thread. I went thru the same riding process you described. I'm happy with the speed of my E+, but the kids want to go faster. But 2016 was the first year in my 55 years that I didn't ride my bike. That speaks volumes of the enjoyment from the EUC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 On 1/23/2017 at 10:26 PM, MaxLinux said: What happened to Firewheel? Now I know what happened. The name is not good. It suggests connotations of fire. After the hoverboard fires, maybe they changed the name or went out of business. IPS seems a good name, after you research it. Intelligent something something. That is my problem with IPS. I can never remember what all the letters stand for! They seem to make good wheels, but geez. Gotway seems good at first glance. As does Kingsong. Ninebot sounds futuristic, but is ambiguous. Inmotion is a good name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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