RooEUC Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I enjoy the Mini Pro and it can take me to a lot more places on a lot more types of terrain than my electric skateboards. But some pathways can be incredibly difficult or bumpy to ride on and I end up not going much faster than walking speed. Forrest trails are very hard work with the tree roots and uneven surface. And loose gravel can be challenging too. Do unicycles handle terrain like this much more easily because you only have to deal with vertical bumping rather than also having to handle side to side bumping because of being on two wheels? There are some scenarios which I feel the MiniPro is actually much better equipped to handle than unicycles, such as walking/running my dog. When my dog pulls me sideways, it does not change my direction or pull me off, because being on two side-by-side wheels I have a lot of horizontal stability and it's very safe. I don't know if I will be able to walk my dog at all on a unicycle and that is one of the main things I use these vehicles for. But I think the unicycle will be able to ride through forest trails much more easily. As for gravel paths, I don't know. So what I'm asking is if anyone who has owned both can give me some pros and cons of moving from two wheels to one and which you feel is ultimately better? UPDATE: After 2 weeks of EUC ownership my comparison of both is on page 2, with advantages of each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duf Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Yep I sure did, check my YouTube channel for the progression. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBts3-JZFinO5kb5_a1i70g The MiniPro is fun but EUC riding is simply more fun, faster, more flexible, and offers more range/power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 @Xelvic also started with MiniPros before going to EUCs. But he's selling his MiniPros now on Craigslist, which I probably tells you his position on your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjtripp Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I started with the minipro but pretty much immediately was looking for a EUC. Now that Ive become pretty comfortable with the EUC, i barely ride the minipro. I find the EUC much for satisfying to ride and also more versatile in regards to terrain. I still ride the minipro for certain reasons (filming, pushing the kid around, etc.), but I dont really joyride the minipro like I do with the EUC. They both are great and have their place. If you can have both, i say do it. Have your friends borrow the minipro while you ride the EUC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasenutty Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I, like many others, sort of randomly got a mini pro and ended up in the forums and wandered over to the EUC section. I knew I had to have one, and I got one. Tomorrow will be the two week mark on my EUC and I'm already getting all around on it. I have only rode the mini once since then and it was mostly because I felt guilty for not giving it any attention anymore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RooEUC Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 What about looking behind you on an EUC? Is it hard to get a good look at what's behind without unintentionally steering your EUC in that direction? And does anyone walk their dog with an EUC? Both of these are no problem on the MiniPro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 17 minutes ago, RooMiniPro said: What about looking behind you on an EUC? Is it hard to get a good look at what's behind without unintentionally steering your EUC in that direction? And does anyone walk their dog with an EUC? Both of these are no problem on the MiniPro. Never tried walking the dog (but others have). I have to cross the street with no pedestrian "zebra" crossing to get to my home street when coming back, so I had to learn to slightly turn with my waist and look over my shoulder (full-face motorcycle helmet, so it partially blocks my view sideways), almost 180 degrees, without changing my trajectory. I never really tried to learn it, at start it caused me to lean sligthly to the direction I was looking at, but pretty soon it was no problem. Probably it also affects that I did commute with a bicycle for years and had to do the same thing at the same place... The point is, it's doable and I wouldn't call it hard. That's the crossing, the white "zig zag/chess" -patterns are the speed bump I once fell over with my noname-generic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 I find it difficult to impossible to look directly behind me, but I find an s-weave or a roll forward and backward (dunno what you call that) adequate. I see some people using a mirror on their helmet which I'm tempted to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasenutty Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 You have to learn to turn your head and shoulders without turning anything under your waist. Or at least that worked for me. Another thing is when you're just starting, once you get up and going there is a tendency to not want to stop and have to remount. I found this was causing me to make reckless decisions in regards to traffic. When in doubt, dismount and look around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US69 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 42 minutes ago, RooMiniPro said: What about looking behind you on an EUC? Is it hard to get a good look at what's behind without unintentionally steering your EUC in that direction? And does anyone walk their dog with an EUC? Both of these are no problem on the MiniPro. Looking behind on an EUc? No prob....with enough experience you learn not to twist your hips....and then it works... yes, my dog loves my Eucs and me just more since I have them :-) but I have to say that my dog runs 99% without line/lane..... mini Pro? That was my start into Personal transportation devices....but I have to say...after 30minutes i know this Mini pro version was boring (for me!) then the Eucs came with unbelievable Fun ;-) and the mini pro was sold very fast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpong Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Gravel is not much trouble on a EUC. Walking a dog, to me might be a challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 What about going the other way, from EUC to minipro? It's exhausting to constantly move, rather like a shark that if he stops moving he asphyxiates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RooEUC Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Yeah one thing the MiniPro wins at is stopping and standing still. I don't like owning too many things, so I would rather stick with one or the other. It's just such a tough choice for me. They both offer advantages that I strongly desire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasenutty Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 i like owning too many things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 2 hours ago, RooMiniPro said: What about looking behind you on an EUC? Is it hard to get a good look at what's behind without unintentionally steering your EUC in that direction? Yes, I find it hard, but not impossible, I guess depending on your personal abilities/flexibility. I can't focus 180º behind me if I don't turn the hips. I never do it at full speed anyways. So far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 9 minutes ago, Mono said: Yes, I find it hard, but not impossible, I guess depending on your personal abilities. I can't focus 180º behind me if I don't turn the hips. I never do it at full speed anyways. So far. That would be a great trick, riding fast and twisting the wheel 180 degrees and maintaining speed while riding backwards. Not full speed, but say 5-10 mph. Red Bull energy drink would pay money for that. I think @Jonathan Tolhurst or @Sidestreet Reny or @Hirsute maybe could do this. It would take superhuman balance and skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 22 minutes ago, steve454 said: That would be a great trick, riding fast and twisting the wheel 180 degrees and maintaining speed while riding backwards. Not full speed, but say 5-10 mph. I can do it with about 8km/h speed on gravel surface and have others seen doing it on vids, I believe recently one with a KS16 S for testing. What's funny is that I find it more difficult to twist from backwards to forward. All a matter of practicing, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 8 minutes ago, Mono said: I can do it with about 8km/h speed on gravel surface and have others seen doing it on vids, I believe recently one with a KS16 S for testing. What's funny is that I find it more difficult to twist from backwards to forward. All a matter of practicing, I guess. That would be the next great trick, doing it again back to forwards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RooEUC Posted April 22, 2017 Author Share Posted April 22, 2017 41 minutes ago, steve454 said: That would be a great trick, riding fast and twisting the wheel 180 degrees and maintaining speed while riding backwards. Not full speed, but say 5-10 mph. Red Bull energy drink would pay money for that. I think @Jonathan Tolhurst or @Sidestreet Reny or @Hirsute maybe could do this. It would take superhuman balance and skill. It would also require the wheel to be able to rapidly stop and spin up in the opposite direction to the speed of your current momentum wouldn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 1 minute ago, RooMiniPro said: It would also require the wheel to be able to rapidly stop and spin up in the opposite direction to the speed of your current momentum wouldn't it? Yes, but I think they can probably do that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RooEUC Posted April 22, 2017 Author Share Posted April 22, 2017 Just now, steve454 said: Yes, but I think they can probably do that At very low speed I have seen it done yes, but at say 8mph+ I think it would be difficult for the wheel to instantly reverse its rotation and get up to speed before the rider falls over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 9 hours ago, RooMiniPro said: At very low speed I have seen it done yes, but at say 8mph+ I think it would be difficult for the wheel to instantly reverse its rotation and get up to speed before the rider falls over. Right, it can be done such that the speed of the rider only changes marginally. So we could actually compute how much time the wheel has to change from +8km/h to -8km/h (I am still stuck at 8km/h, not yet 8mph) and from this how much torque would be needed. 8km/h = 2.2m/s, so without much slowing down the wheel only has about 1/10 seconds which is 22cm travel distance of the rider. Now I understand why it seems difficult to increase speed on this exercise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 5 hours ago, Mono said: Right, it can be done such that the speed of the rider only changes marginally. So we could actually compute how much time the wheel has to change from +8km/h to -8km/h (I am still stuck at 8km/h, not yet 8mph) and from this how much torque would be needed. 8km/h = 2.2m/s, so without much slowing down the wheel only has about 1/10 seconds which is 22cm travel distance of the rider. Now I understand why it seems difficult to increase speed on this exercise I think I saw a video where @Jonathan Tolhurst or @Sidestreet Reny were riding at a slow speed, jumped up and spun the wheel 180 degrees, landed back on the pedals, and continued rolling in the same direction, however the wheel had to almost instantly rotate in the opposite direction. Probably can only be done at a fairly low speed or it would overpower the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidestreet Reny Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 On 4/22/2017 at 8:20 AM, steve454 said: I think I saw a video where @Jonathan Tolhurst or @Sidestreet Reny were riding at a slow speed, jumped up and spun the wheel 180 degrees, landed back on the pedals, and continued rolling in the same direction, however the wheel had to almost instantly rotate in the opposite direction. Probably can only be done at a fairly low speed or it would overpower the wheel. I am not sure what exactly y'all are talking about but If it is in reference to the shove-it while rolling...it can only be done up to a certain speed, science dictates that the momentum/speed will be decreased almost instantly due to the rubber tires (even on ice...I tried) Also the wheel is just too heavy to get off the ground while it does the 180° spin like on a skateboard. However if I am off base and you mean 180° body varial aka Hop 180° reverse landing or a 180° hop reverse landing, well, you can do those at almost any speed. Btw I have never gotten the over power warning during such tricks, only on slopes. I believe you can find the reference to all of 'em in this video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RooEUC Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 @Sidestreet Reny You have some skills, dude. Thanks for sharing the vid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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