The Flying Finn, Dismason

[Carl Svanfelt]

Hello
My name is Carl Irjala and I live here in the city of Kotka, which is near the Russian border. If you allow, I wish to start writing to you about my experiences as a brand new electric unicyclist. I'm a soaring pilot with several hundred landings behind me. So when I saw a video on YouTube that told that riding an EUC feels like flying I became instantly interested about it.

So my first topic is about the experience of buying my first EUC and the learning process.
The EUC brand is here in Finland so new that I had to search abroad to get reasonable information about it. My mother tongue is Swedish and Finnish. In those languages there is not enough information that would make me to buy an EUC. Luckily, I found this forum and the members' YouTube videos. Lots of sellers at the Internet do not communicates in English, so I was totaly dependent on the information you provide in this forum.
Another matter that affected the choice of my first EUC was transport and tax costs. I have bought a lot of products directly from America and China, but sometimes the goods come with a shipping / duty surcharge that can be up to one hundred percent of the value of the product and sometimes not. So this makes the purchase a little risky. I found only one seller who provided clear information about shipping and taxation charges to Finland.
After payment, it only took five days to get home the product from Poland (see image files). So in full, the whole process was quite easy.
My next post will be a video about learning to ride the EUC. In that video you will see a whole new method how to do it. So, stay tuned on this topic.
Kind regards
Carl

 

[D i c K (ie)]

Looking forward to read the rest of your euc starting adventure!! Have fun!

[Keith]

@dismason, cannot wait to hear how you get on ?.

I guess the biggest difference between soaring and riding an EUC in Finland is that instead of riding the thermals you will be riding in thermals ?.

Do not forget to pad your nice shiny new wheel - in case you have any bumpy landings - and the best of luck.

[Carl Svanfelt]

Thanks for your replies @D i c K (ie)  and @Keith ! I shall try to avoid hard landings. 

[Carl Svanfelt]

Yesterday I could not hold back, so I tested my new wheel in our basement corridors. The building is quite tall and one of our neighbors came and asked: "Why do you measuring our basement?" It's snowing and raining outside for the moment so I decided to make the first test indoors.
The first impression of the 16 inch wheel is that it feels stable. The hardest thing is to learn to relax, the exercise feels in the body already.
I downloaded the KingSong app from the App Store and it turned up only in the Chinese language. I couldn't find pictures here on the forum what to press to change it to English. Luckily a Chinese family was visiting our neighbors, so now is this issue fixed.
So far so good. 

[meepmeepmayer]

Hi! There's a surprising overlap between pilots and wheelers, there are at least 5 pilots here. Maybe it is indeed the sensation of flying that connects both.

And as with planes, there's only "perfect" or "plummeting to your fiery death" (faceplant for EUCs), not much in between. So I always recommend wrist guards as the minimum gear you should ALWAYS wear while riding. (Knee guards and helmet are the next tier. Then comes everything else)

Enjoy, and keep us updated!

[Carl Svanfelt]

19 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

So I always recommend wrist guards as the minimum gear you should ALWAYS wear while riding (Knee guards and helmet are the next tier. Then comes everything else).

Thank you for your comment! You're so right, the security first and then the fun.
About the safety equipments, I was surprised over the large number of protection what is available to children, and to adults almost nothing.

Fortunately, the world has become small place with the Internet and I bought my safety gears from Denmark.
The visor for the helmet have I purchased from a motorcycle store (fixed mounting).
Regards
Carl

[Carl Svanfelt]

Tomorrow I will start training on my new wheel. It has now stopped raining and snowing so it seems to be a good day on Sunday.
Today, I bought the last gears to protect me while riding, and I also tried to register my wheel with the KingSong's app to be able to adjust the settings on the wheel.

Everything went well and I received the verification code as a text message.

However . . . the app tell me that I have a wrong number.

I'm using iPhone5, iOS version 10.3.3 and KingSong's newest app, version 7.1
I saw at the KingSong's Facebook profile that they apologize for a unstable app.

They also tell on Facebook that they have made an agreement with a new company to make it work.

So far so good ? Have a nice weekend!

[Keith]

On 4/22/2018 at 4:57 PM, dismason said:

Yesterday I could not hold back, so I tested my new wheel in our basement corridors. It's snowing and raining outside for the moment so I decided to make the first test indoors.

When I purchased my wheel Sod’s Law dictated that it would rain heavily for days. There was no way I could just let it sit there doing nothing so I spent those days rolling up and down my hallway using the two walls to help my balance.

It was the best thing I could have done; by the time I was actually able to take it outside I already had fairly good balance and was ready to start working on turns. A loosely held strap (so you don’t try to balance by pulling on it) helped enormously as, at learning speed, during falls you usually land on your feet and the wheel goes charging off or spins VERY painfully into your ankles, the strap allows you to simply lift it off the ground until it shuts down, and prevents a lot of potential damage to you, it and other property.

Oh and plus 1 for @meepmeepmayer, the first time I faceplanted, at around 20kph, I had full protective gear...... in my backpack...... I hadn’t got around to putting it on! The scratches and grazes I got healed quite quickly but for weeks and weeks both my wrists were agony if I used my hands (that’s when you REALLY find out who your friends are ?) and they were still weak 6 months later. I learned two things, to ALWAYS use wrist guards and, at 60 you don’t heal like you did at 20!

Edited April 29, 2018 by Keith

[Carl Svanfelt]

2 hours ago, Keith said:

When I purchased my wheel Sod’s Law dictated that it would rain heavily for days. There was no way I could just let it sit there doing nothing so I spent those days rolling up and down my hallway using the two walls to help my balance.

It was the best thing I could have done; by the time I was actually able to take it outside I already had fairly good balance and was ready to start working on turns. A loosely held strap (so you don’t try to balance by pulling on it) helped enormously as, at learning speed, during falls you usually land on your feet and the wheel goes charging off or spins VERY painfully into your ankles, the strap allows you to simply lift it off the ground until it shuts down, and prevents a lot of potential damage to you, it and other property.

Oh and plus 1 for @meepmeepmayer, the first time I faceplanted, at around 20kph, I had full protective gear...... in my backpack...... I hadn’t got around to putting it on! The scratches and grazes I got healed quite quickly but for weeks and weeks both my wrists were agony if I used my hands (that’s when you REALLY find out who your friends are ?) and they were still weak 6 months later. I learned two things, to ALWAYS use wrist guards and, at 60 you don’t heal like you did at 20!

Thank you very much Keith for your comment, I will learn alot from your experience ?.
Regards
Carl

[mrelwood]

Onnea uuden, mahottoman hauskan ja addiktoivan harrastuksen parissa, Carl!

Jos ei jo osunut silmään niin tuossa ketju jossa jutellaan mm. paikallisista tapaamisista:

 

[Carl Svanfelt]

7 hours ago, mrelwood said:

Onnea uuden, mahottoman hauskan ja addiktoivan harrastuksen parissa, Carl!

Jos ei jo osunut silmään niin tuossa ketju jossa jutellaan mm. paikallisista tapaamisista:

 

Moi!

Kyllä, kiitos kommentistasi, olen seurannut sitä, mitä teette pääkaupunkiseudulla. Tulen varmasti olemaan mukana toiminnassa lähitulevaisuudessa. Suunnittelen myös luonnonkauniin reitin, jota voitte kokeilla täällä Kotkassa. Nähdään!

In English: Yes, thanks for your comment, I've followed what you do in the Helsinki area. Will certainly be with you in the near future. I will also come up with a scenic route that you can try here in Kotka as well. See you!

[Carl Svanfelt]

Your SECURITY, HOW MUCH?
How much money have you spent for your safety?
It's not just to buy a wheel and thats it. How much lighter made the security my wallet? In the picture you can see the equipments I have chosen for safe riding. The cycle helmet + visor to a cost of 70 EUR together. The kevlar-reinforced jacket with the shoulders, elbows and back protection, 119 EUR. My kevlar-reinforced jeans with knee protection I got for a cost of 166 EUR (+ some other protection gears). 

All gears together 455 EUR (26.5.2018 worth: 531 USD, 398 GBP and 4640 SEK).
Was it worth this? Yes absolutely! Especially my new jeans feels so comfortable that I use them alot.

[Electroman]

On 4/22/2018 at 5:57 PM, dismason said:

Yesterday I could not hold back, so I tested my new wheel in our basement corridors. The building is quite tall and one of our neighbors came and asked: "Why do you measuring our basement?" It's snowing and raining outside for the moment so I decided to make the first test indoors.
The first impression of the 16 inch wheel is that it feels stable. The hardest thing is to learn to relax, the exercise feels in the body already.
I downloaded the KingSong app from the App Store and it turned up only in the Chinese language. I couldn't find pictures here on the forum what to press to change it to English. Luckily a Chinese family was visiting our neighbors, so now is this issue fixed.
So far so good. 

Me too live in apartment and I suppose basement corridors all look more or l less the same, at least in the countries here up north Europe.

That's a good thing when I learned to ride my wheel, I also had neighbors wondering what I am doing in the basement and questions to that affect when started rolling on the wheel, personally I think I much prefer it to using these weird support wheels I have seen and perfect space between walls to just stretch out a hand towards a wall when balance start to go. Spend my first couple of hours standing still on the wheel in the apartment, then down to basement for some forward movement for yet an hour and by then it was night already so took it straight out and rode a bit in the dark where not too many could see me should I suddenly stand on my nose?

 

Thanks for deciding to do some documenting learning to ride it, will likely help someone and interesting to follow.

[Carl Svanfelt]

1 hour ago, Electroman said:

Me too live in apartment and I suppose basement corridors all look more or l less the same, at least in the countries here up north Europe.

That's a good thing when I learned to ride my wheel, I also had neighbors wondering what I am doing in the basement and questions to that affect when started rolling on the wheel, personally I think I much prefer it to using these weird support wheels I have seen and perfect space between walls to just stretch out a hand towards a wall when balance start to go. Spend my first couple of hours standing still on the wheel in the apartment, then down to basement for some forward movement for yet an hour and by then it was night already so took it straight out and rode a bit in the dark where not too many could see me should I suddenly stand on my nose?

 

Thanks for deciding to do some documenting learning to ride it, will likely help someone and interesting to follow.

Hi and thanks for your nice comment ?
The neighbors have been a bit thoughtful about this and for a few days ago an elderly woman asked what I am measuring in our basement. "The length of the walls," I replied. "Well, that's really interesting," she answered, and then went out.
Now I have made a new speed record (world record) in our basement: 15 km / h (9.32 mph). The exercise continues now outdoors, but the practising in the basement gave me stronger legs and some kind of secure feeling. The wheel is still free from scratches! 
Next week shall I start to edit my first EUC video.
Kind regards
Carl

[Carl Svanfelt]

This week I have begun to travel with my KS16 wheels to work, 19km (12mi) / day. This is the first time people can see an EUC here in the city, so I have been stopped a dozen times every day to explain to them what kind of a machine I am riding on. The t-shirt also gets a lot of attention 

This is so fun, but there are a few things that I will put out for your attention: The given mileage per charge is seemingly exaggerated and the KingSong app works badly. The tire is not symmetrical and causes strong vibration at a low speed of 10km (6mi) / h (I have now ordered a new tire from Sweden).
My conclusion is that the manufacturer has released a semi-finished product on the market. My next wheel will propebly be an other interesting brand.

But I have a lot of fun with this wheel and after each adventure I look forward to the next one 

[Electroman]

On 6/2/2018 at 8:00 PM, dismason said:

Hi and thanks for your nice comment ?
The neighbors have been a bit thoughtful about this and for a few days ago an elderly woman asked what I am measuring in our basement. "The length of the walls," I replied. "Well, that's really interesting," she answered, and then went out.
Now I have made a new speed record (world record) in our basement: 15 km / h (9.32 mph). The exercise continues now outdoors, but the practising in the basement gave me stronger legs and some kind of secure feeling. The wheel is still free from scratches! 
Next week shall I start to edit my first EUC video.
Kind regards
Carl

??

44 minutes ago, dismason said:

This week I have begun to travel with my KS16 wheels to work, 19km (12mi) / day. This is the first time people can see an EUC here in the city, so I have been stopped a dozen times every day to explain to them what kind of a machine I am riding on. The t-shirt also gets a lot of attention 

This is so fun, but there are a few things that I will put out for your attention: The given mileage per charge is seemingly exaggerated and the KingSong app works badly. The tire is not symmetrical and causes strong vibration at a low speed of 10km (6mi) / h (I have now ordered a new tire from Sweden).
My conclusion is that the manufacturer has released a semi-finished product on the market. My next wheel will propebly be an other interesting brand.

But I have a lot of fun with this wheel and after each adventure I look forward to the next one 

Sorry about somewhat late reply. must have missed it somehow but got your comment below it and found my way here again.

Absolutely amazing Carl, hahaha, that made my day, measuring the walls. ?

Yes I hear you, I have the 820Wh version of Gotway ACM and for sure I would like more battery, it's not that I must have more range (although does not hurt either) but the way I change my wheel now is not good in the long run and even force me to not ride too much less than I want to.  I charged at 45-50% earlier, then at 50-55%, now today I think I charge at 60% already or even closer to full, but also I charge it to 100% which I don't want to keep doing over and over again cause i want batteries in tip top shape, best possible and should I decide to sell my ACM of course I also want to sell a product in truly good shape. Riding at lower battery levels is not enjoyable to me and only create irritation but try to extend it if I can and of course get further per chagre if I'm riding softer.

I will buy a new one anytime now so ok, possibly even Friday already if I can push economy hard enough to cover what I want. But charging to 90% or even 80% is preferable for long time battery health if I understand it correctly, dedicated charger for this, charge doctor or even a timer and math could accomplish this just need more battery to play with. Also the 84v variants should be more powerful, a harder pedal mode, better...  In the beginning I had no problems but now I ride more aggressively.

Sorry to hear, are you sure it is the tire, have you checked the rim itself that it is straight? I assume you have, just double check. Yeah while a few wheels in Stockholm it is not a everyday sight where I am located in the outskirts of the city, nice T shirt I like it! Yes you will get better in no time, progression went much faster than I anticipated and become like some extended part of your anatomy, no longer a bi pedal creature, you evolved hehe.

Edited June 16, 2018 by Electroman

[mrelwood]

On 6/16/2018 at 8:16 PM, dismason said:

The given mileage per charge is seemingly exaggerated

All manufacturers report the absolute maximum range under optimal conditions. In real-life a very harsh estimate is to divide it by 3.

On 6/16/2018 at 8:16 PM, dismason said:

and the KingSong app works badly.

They have finally listened to users on the horrid piece of horror, and are currently making a new one with a new developer.

On 6/16/2018 at 8:16 PM, dismason said:

The tire is not symmetrical and causes strong vibration at a low speed of 10km (6mi) / h

I have examined this phenomenon quite a bit, and in most cases the tire can be simply reseated to minimize vibration. Deflate, center by hand, two pumps, center, two pumps, center, and so on. If not sufficient, balancing the tire with weights will make it smooth enough not to notice.

The problem with separately bought tires is that they are squeezed for transport like there was no tomorrow. Making them straight again is almost a hobby of it’s own...

On 6/16/2018 at 8:16 PM, dismason said:

My conclusion is that the manufacturer has released a semi-finished product on the market.

Unfortunately that should read ”The hobby is so new that it requires usage of semi-finished products”... KingSong is close to the top in making reliable and finished products. Unfortunately you ended up getting quite an old model, and every manufacturer has taken big leaps since then. KingSong included.

 

[Carl Svanfelt]

2 hours ago, mrelwood said:

All manufacturers report the absolute maximum range under optimal conditions. In real-life a very harsh estimate is to divide it by 3.

They have finally listened to users on the horrid piece of horror, and are currently making a new one with a new developer.

I have examined this phenomenon quite a bit, and in most cases the tire can be simply reseated to minimize vibration. Deflate, center by hand, two pumps, center, two pumps, center, and so on. If not sufficient, balancing the tire with weights will make it smooth enough not to notice.

The problem with separately bought tires is that they are squeezed for transport like there was no tomorrow. Making them straight again is almost a hobby of it’s own...

Unfortunately that should read ”The hobby is so new that it requires usage of semi-finished products”... KingSong is close to the top in making reliable and finished products. Unfortunately you ended up getting quite an old model, and every manufacturer has taken big leaps since then. KingSong included.

 

Thank you for your good answers Electroman and mrelwood. On the tyre that came with the KingSong is a mark telling that the maximum allowable load on the tyre is 70kg. So this means in practice that I drive it overloaded when I am riding it. My weight with all equipment is 69kg. I will test your suggestion (and center the tyre) for a more stable riding today. 

[mrelwood]

I wish there was a handbook for new riders, ’cos there really are many things about the wheels that doesn’t make that much sense at first!

The tires can continuously take several times the load and a lot higher pressure that is printed on the sidewall. This has been confirmed by a person working with tires daily. The reason for the too-low-to-us load rating is to have reasonable values for the air pressure recommendations for the intended use of the tire. In this case the intended use is probably childrens bicycle, where the load is designed to be shared between two tires. So for 70kg per tire on a bicycle, comfortable air pressure would be in the range of what is printed on the sidewall.

Then there is the direction of rotation. It is common that the tire is installed the ”wrong” way. But the reason for the direction is to be able to direct water out of the grooves when riding into a puddle at highway speeds. For an EUC riding at 30km/h, there should be no difference whatsoever.

[Carl Svanfelt]

3 hours ago, mrelwood said:

I wish there was a handbook for new riders, ’cos there really are many things about the wheels that doesn’t make that much sense at first!

That's why I'm so glad I've found this society. The wheel's manual tells you what is not allowed, no much more. So thank you for all the good advice here on the forum!

I measured the wheel and it is centered. The width of the sidewalls, however, varies quite a bit. So I tried following changes: Mounted an extra support for the upper part of my legs on the sides of the wheel. Reduced air pressure in the tyre 10%. Downloaded the new update on the app (1.27). Changed the angle of the pedals 2 degrees backwards. I also found a good video how to do this on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgtBZziWJD0&index=3&list=LLNmDmj9pRhiv1_o69zlPTnw&t=0s  

All changes together made the wheel much more stable. The extra sense of security feels very good 

[Keith]

On 6/16/2018 at 6:16 PM, dismason said:

My conclusion is that the manufacturer has released a semi-finished product on the market. My next wheel will propebly be an other interesting brand.

I did have to laugh at this comment! Unfortunately, in reality it pretty much sums up nearly every wheel on the market. 

We are still (IMHO) at that early stage where the majority of riders are “Early Adopters” (or should that be Guinea Pigs!). In Aviation terms of relative development I guess we have now just about left the Blériots, and Wright Flyers behind and are reaching the Curtiss Jenny or maybe Tiger Moth era. In fact  @Marty Backe  even manages to look like one of those pioneering mail pilots of the roaring 20’s ?.

Thankfully we have one or two really good retailers who have the the foresight to realise that they need to help drive the development and build a future with the manufacturers and not just make a quick buck and get out while the going is good. As a result the wheels are getting better all the time and feedback from this forum really seems to reach the right ears a lot of the time.

Now we just need the Military to find a role for them and development will REALLY accelerate ?

Edited June 18, 2018 by Keith

[mrelwood]

4 hours ago, dismason said:

I measured the wheel and it is centered. The width of the sidewalls, however, varies quite a bit. 

I don’t know in which direction you measured the tire, but I know my explanation was severely lacking... It’s exactly the sidewall height that changes if the tire is seated improperly.

In this high definition photograph you can first see a badly seated tire from the side. The tire is taller at one end, more shallow at one end:

If you lay the EUC on it’s side and put a vertically straight bottle (or other straight object) next to the tire, by slowly rotating the wheel with your hand you can see if the distance between the tire and the bottle changes a lot. I’d consider 4mm to be quite a lot. That means the tire doesn’t sit centered on the rim.

To re-seat the tire: Deflate tire until you can push and pull the tire towards and away from the EUC by hand, then rotate the tire next to a bottle. Push and pull the tire to get the distance between the tire and the bottle to change as little as possible when you rotate the wheel. Pump just a little more air, and again rotate next to a bottle. Push-pull, pump, rotate. Deflate a bit if you need to but can no longer push or pull the tire by hand. Repeat until the tire is perfectly centered and the distance to the bottle changes only vey little. Now pump to 3 bars or whatever fills your fancy and go have a test ride!

[Carl Svanfelt]

13 hours ago, mrelwood said:

I don’t know in which direction you measured the tire, but I know my explanation was severely lacking... It’s exactly the sidewall height that changes if the tire is seated improperly.

In this high definition photograph you can first see a badly seated tire from the side. The tire is taller at one end, more shallow at one end:

If you lay the EUC on it’s side and put a vertically straight bottle (or other straight object) next to the tire, by slowly rotating the wheel with your hand you can see if the distance between the tire and the bottle changes a lot. I’d consider 4mm to be quite a lot. That means the tire doesn’t sit centered on the rim.

To re-seat the tire: Deflate tire until you can push and pull the tire towards and away from the EUC by hand, then rotate the tire next to a bottle. Push and pull the tire to get the distance between the tire and the bottle to change as little as possible when you rotate the wheel. Pump just a little more air, and again rotate next to a bottle. Push-pull, pump, rotate. Deflate a bit if you need to but can no longer push or pull the tire by hand. Repeat until the tire is perfectly centered and the distance to the bottle changes only vey little. Now pump to 3 bars or whatever fills your fancy and go have a test ride!

Yes, I did as you described it and from the picture I can see that I understood you correctly.
But I did not have such a nice tools as in your drawing ?. I was only unlucky to get a bad quality tire as a first installation on my machine.
Regards
Carl

[esaj]

Using a little bit of soap water between the tire and the rim might help with reseating. I once reseated the Firewheel tire and it became much more stable after that, although very small vibration was still there.