Jump to content

63 old guinea pig


novazeus

Recommended Posts

to me this learning the wheel is so similar to learning anything. like in golf, everybody wants to grab a driver and go whack balls. but when u take lessons from me, u start with a nine iron with half swings. ho do u expect to control the clubface on a 43” club whenu can’t find the sweet spot with a 36” stick with half a swing?

i’d recommend the 2x4’s and sawhorses for experienced riders practicing mounting or one leg gliding. i’m pretty sure i’ll be ready to cut loose on the soccer field this week. kinda wanna practice falling/running off with the little 9bot and ks-16s.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Replies 311
  • Created
  • Last Reply

so i wake up this morning and my right shin is a little sore just a little above my ankle. not sure if it came from me playing with the batman wheel or not. time has been limited but i’ve been pretty cnsistent about getting a little practice in right before dark between the rails. going slow between the 2x4’s without touching requires me to do some serious hip twisting. i feel like chubby checkers. it is fun when u make a couple of clean runs in a row, and i’ve got the tires pumped to the max to make it more difficult.

the rails so far are great because i don’t need protective gear, although if u were real clutzy, u could knock over everything. i feel like i could give it a go in the grass and i’m sure it will be soon, but if i figure out this small bruise is from the wheels, i could definitely see shin guards in my future. any easy on, easy off suggestions would be appreciated?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
18 hours ago, novazeus said:

My little euc army suited up for this beginner.

20180115_173418_resized.jpg

You only need to pad up one, maybe two, wheels max.

This is the equivalent of a person buying five bicycles, and putting training wheels on all five, when the effort is better spent on learning to ride.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

You only need to pad up one, maybe two, wheels max.

This is the equivalent of a person buying five bicycles, and putting training wheels on all five, when the effort is better spent on learning to ride.

just a little experiment to kill time and curiosity, since i own them, which of these to a rank beginner feels, to me at least, the easiest to learn on. they all feel a little different to me. different padding, different pedals, etc. no real winner yet. i love my mcguyver shin pads. i feel like my legs are getting conditioned for the wheel. definitely different muscles than from walking or carry 50 pound sacks of feed. i’m going slow and being smart about it, for me. i’ll need to work cattle by myself and sell off who’s ever ready for the next two mondays, at least. so i’m lugging at least a dozen 50# feed bags into the cowpens daily at least until i reduce the herd size. after that, any kind of hobbling injury won’t be easy but not impossible like screwing with the cows. Bob’s leash training is moving along about as fast as my euc training, maybe better than me. i was gonna practice on grass at the dog park/park but Bob picked up fleas, so no more dog park, plus not a big fan of humans. so i decided last night to put poles up on the edge of my driveway and space them apart diagonally at different distances. i like @Hirsute instructional videos, and even though i don’t speak french, i seem to do better emulating his posture. i’m kinda a monkey see kind of learner. maybe @Jason McNeil will do a demostration event in tampa soon. trust me, juggling canping out at the ranch, raising Bob and all the things related to running a 325 acre ranch not to mention the often realestate stuff relating to 3 companies i’m running and the heat in florida, this is my window for learning this. i had a nice session yesterday afternoon and it was hot inside my harley jacket. and on the padding, really easy to do and since nobody but y’all will ever see them, i like it for comfort now, learning and since my accomodations are a bit primitive, to help eliminate hangar rash.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, LanghamP said:

You only need to pad up one, maybe two, wheels max.

This is the equivalent of a person buying five bicycles, and putting training wheels on all five, when the effort is better spent on learning to ride.

from left to right, batman, mr stay puft, finn and tron. i named them last night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you have a Hoverboard or a Ninebot mini Pro? My observation is that having some experience in a two-wheeled self balancing vehicle greatly accelerated the learning of an EUC, as you only need to learn the steering instead of both the steering and the forward-backward throttle/balance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, LanghamP said:

Do you have a Hoverboard or a Ninebot mini Pro? My observation is that having some experience in a two-wheeled self balancing vehicle greatly accelerated the learning of an EUC, as you only need to learn the steering instead of both the steering and the forward-backward throttle/balance.

no i missed the whole hoverboard thing. i had another good session between the 2x4’s tonight(nice because i don’t have to put on protective gear)after feeding the cows. i’m coming along. i can let go and ride to the end without touching the boards pretty much all the time. i’m learning braking and reverse simultaneously. hard to practice mounting inside the boards because i feel like i don’t have the room. i’m amazed how far forward my feet are on the pedals of the 9bot1s2. my shoe heel is flush with the rear of the pedal. seems like most of my weight is in the center of the ball of my heels and the front balls of my feet are hanging over the front applying variable downward pressure(size 12+ shoes). i can see how some people can have heel pain, might not be plantar fascilitis, just a bone spur type of thing that a heel cushion would help. i’m definitely getting a taste of how fun and addictive this activity can be. it’s too bad that the prudent thing to do is to wrap urself up in protective gear, in case of mechanical failure. i scraped an area clean on my driveway where i had an apron put in, and there’s already a fence and a couple of posts there, so maybe tmrw i’ll be able to suit up and go outside the boards. idk tho, suppose to be 29 degrees f. tmrw night so i’ll probably be cutting firewood for the pit next to the container. it helps take the edge of if u can keep some big logs burning. time to try out my logsplitter.i’m having fun. i’ll try to shoot a video for my first tries outside the boards for y’alls amusement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, radial said:

Hey man, you're doing fine.  Everybody moves at their own pace in this hobby.  It's not a competition.  People do this for fun, not to win prizes.  

I agree with @radial Just move at your own pace and surely you will enjoy every bit of it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, radial said:

Hey man, you're doing fine.  Everybody moves at their own pace in this hobby.  It's not a competition.  People do this for fun, not to win prizes.  

yesterday i even went outside the boards for 50 feet or more.could have gone further but only had gloves on. reading about all these bad accidents from mechanical failures has me cautious about not being protected when riding. i as thinking about all the protective gear for riding wheels as i was using my big ass chainsaw and tractor while cutting up this humongous downed limb. no safety glasses, no chaps, no gloves etc. but i know the dangers of those tools. at least i feel i’m progressing, not sure about Bob’s leash training. just an observation but when i see experienced riders with no protection and others suited up more than when i rode street motorcycles, and i wore a lot, it’s confusing. it’s 2018 and my urologist gave me 3 months to live in 2014 because of my very bad prostate cancer. so, yeah, learning how to ride these things is my only fun diversion that doesn’t involve Bob. the only reason i’m doing this, is so i can exercise Bob. i filled all the tires on all my wheels to max pressure figuring it would be good to get them seated correctly and began on really hard tires. now after how ever long it’s been, a week or two, i’m sure with this cold weather the psi has gone down. i think that helps psycologically because it’s definitely easier on a squishy tire so u think ur improving but really it’s just lower tire pressure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well it got to be real late after going to the feed store for cow feed and feeding the cows and i had moved my sawhorses so i couldn’t practice between the boards so i just did some unprotected gliding between my truck and jeep. about 40’. did pretty good. managed about a half dozen clean passes. dropped the 9b1s2 a couple of times. impressed how it just flops over like a dead duck. used my new reebok tactical boots. the soles do make a huge difference in grip over the reebok bb high tops.

6B26DAFA-BE2B-4043-BC79-97EB7F73B7FF.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok, so here was the plan, maybe still is. i was thinking by getting these 100% cotton dickies coveralls (lg/reg) i could sew/attach knee pads, elbow pads and maybe even wrist guards. u would still have to strap then down but they’d be right there once u slipped in to the wheel suit. so anyway, ordered these and some heavier weight 10oz cotton ones that work great also as a bite suit playing with Bob. normally i prefer being naked at the ranch but i’m not gonna go skidding down my road naked. this is the next best thing. i’m 200 pounds and six feet tall and these fit me perfectly. very comfy. Bob loves them.

0C513179-63CC-48B6-A4E8-07F18EE7D1FF.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seems a little like overkill but did .feel safe. I think riding is definitely the easier of mounting. That glide on one foot thing is ridiculous, even with my make shift ankle and shin protection.  These tactical boots grip sooo much better. So I played in the boards for a minute or two and then went down the road. Went about 50 or so feet and got messed up and just skipped off the wheel. Kinda practicing that. Second time went all the way around my curve about 200 feet and I was afraid I'd get into my sandy yard so I stepped off while still holding the wheel. Then Bob insisted we go on a walk so I'll try again tmrw. But yeah, a parking lot would be the best.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

if the 9bot1s2 had the accessory pads, it would definitely be the best 9bot. nothing wrong with the s1, at $299 definitely gonna bring in a bunch of new riders, with the pads definitely the most locked in feeling with my new boots. i’m gonna order some for the s2 also. the boot grip isn’t as good on the 9bot1e+. thought it was gonna be the easiest to ride but it got squirrely and i dropped it and scratched it a little where the stick on foam wasn’t, oh well, had to pop my cherry eventually. better i bang up that 16 inch wheel at $359 instead of my ks-16s. i was going back and forth about 50’ between my truck and jeep. rode all the 9bots today, no kingsong, maybe tmrw. the solar shorts worked great on the s1, especially with the pads.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

first, i’d like to thank the 2x4’s stretched between two sawhorses, my new boots and my mcguyver ankle/shin wraps. whee! made it to my gate without falling(which is close to a half a mile),fell otw back but that forced me to have to do an unassisted mount, on the 9b1s1. love the accessory pads. great learning wheel. then a little later tried a road run with the 9b1e+ with about the same results. no injuries yet, knock on wood. not using a strap and i thought maybe i was getting better because the tires were getting squishy but both the 14” were still over 45 psi and the 16” was at 40 psi.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, novazeus said:

made it to my gate without falling(which is close to a half a mile),

Congratulations! Your making great progress!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, novazeus said:

made it to my gate without falling(which is close to a half a mile),fell otw back but that forced me to have to do an unassisted mount,

That's great, that's a long distance.  Congratulations!  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Rehab1 @steve454 thanks. yeah i’m all excited now. with the coveralls, which Bob loves, the boots, the neoprene ankle/shin wrap and just gloves and wrist protection, for now i feel pretty safe on my road. doing the 2x4’s was definitely the best way for me to get started. the neoprene solar shorts make a perfect protective wrap for the 14” 9bots with the accessory pads. the weather’s nice so i should make good progress the next few weeks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

had to update my android phones to get the android kingsong app to work. aargh. took forever. no wifi at the ranch. finally got on the ks-16s. speed reduced to basically 12 mph until 5 km with the new software. my impressions between the ks and 9bot. here’s my beginner’s riding rank so far. 1st place, 9b1s2, then 9b1s1, then 9b1e+ and last ks-16s. this is just riding. mounting the ks16s might win. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

went to my gate and back on my 9b1e+, then my 9b1s1 and lastly, still my favorite so far, 9b1s2. pretty windy and my road does have some smallish hills, so real easy to get warnings, tiltback, if i’m not really paying attention on the e+ and s1. all of this comes with falling off or running off. i’ve yet to fall down but did slam into my jeep so hard, the little plastic brace in my cheapo wrist braces popped out. i can at least turn good enough to make the curves on my road and usually can stop decent. i need to start working on @Hirsute 4th lesson. i have a tendency to try and ride out my wheels when they get squirrelly instead of just stepping off and holding with one foot because there’s no crutch to lean on to mount and i hate free mounting. so i run off and the wheel falls over. poor 9b1e+ did an endover today and nicked it’s pretty handle. oh well. i knew i’d sacrifice the wheel instead of me, that’s why they are all padded up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/26/2018 at 5:02 PM, novazeus said:

went to my gate and back on my 9b1e+, then my 9b1s1 and lastly, still my favorite so far, 9b1s2. pretty windy and my road does have some smallish hills, so real easy to get warnings, tiltback, if i’m not really paying attention on the e+ and s1. all of this comes with falling off or running off. i’ve yet to fall down but did slam into my jeep so hard, the little plastic brace in my cheapo wrist braces popped out. i can at least turn good enough to make the curves on my road and usually can stop decent. i need to start working on @Hirsute 4th lesson. i have a tendency to try and ride out my wheels when they get squirrelly instead of just stepping off and holding with one foot because there’s no crutch to lean on to mount and i hate free mounting. so i run off and the wheel falls over. poor 9b1e+ did an endover today and nicked it’s pretty handle. oh well. i knew i’d sacrifice the wheel instead of me, that’s why they are all padded up.

Free mounting takes longer to learn than riding, that's for sure.  Sounds like good progress being made.  The S2 seems like a good wheel to start on, good power, smooth, light and easy to turn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, steve454 said:

Free mounting takes longer to learn than riding, that's for sure.  Sounds like good progress being made.  The S2 seems like a good wheel to start on, good power, smooth, light and easy to turn.

i think in my stable of wheels, the s2 will be a keeper as i advance. the s1’s and e+ will be training wheels. at least one of the s1’s. for flat hard surface with pedestrian traffic, maybe an s1 for that. really easy to get tilt back in winds, curves and downhill. they’re all fun and slightly different. my legs did wanna wobble on the third one, so i guess that’s euc leg muscles quivering.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...