SAS Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 I just started learning to ride an EUC on my Glide 3. It's the first EUC I have owned. Today, I took it to a parking lot for the first time to practice (previously I had been fooling around in the house and in the yard), and at a speed that I estimate was about 8-10 mph, the wheel started to wobble badly. Has anyone else had this experience? Any ideas on how to correct it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Type "wobble" in the upper right corner search box and you'll learn everything you need to know. No, it's not the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Or type "site:electricunicycle.org wobble" into Google. In doubt their search seems to be better Sideways wobble is always the rider, it can't be the wheel for technical reasons (there's nothing that could do the wobbling). Goes away with experience. If it happens, just brake. Much has been said about it, so just read that https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aelectricunicycle.org+wobble Essentially, when your body is unrelaxed (new rider, stressed, gusty wind, ...), some tiny thing will cause the wheel to move a little, then you counter but oversteer, then you have to counter that and oversteer more, and so on, so it's a feedback loop that amplifies itself. When you're relaxed, you can just relaxedly dampen an imbalance with your feet instead of oversteering, and it goes away. At higher speeds wobbles start easier because they happen faster (tire spins faster), that's why you don't notice at low speeds, you just automatically compensate such imbalances without oversteering. At least that's the (my) theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 2 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said: Or type "site:electricunicycle.org wobble" into Google. In doubt their search seems to be better Sideways wobble is always the rider, it can't be the wheel for technical reasons (there's nothing that could do the wobbling). Goes away with experience. If it happens, just brake. Much has been said about it, so just read that https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aelectricunicycle.org+wobble Essentially, when your body is unrelaxed (new rider, stressed, gusty wind, ...), some tiny thing will cause the wheel to move a little, then you counter but oversteer, then you have to counter that and oversteer more, and so on, so it's a feedback loop that amplifies itself. When you're relaxed, you can just relaxedly dampen an imbalance with your feet instead of oversteering, and it goes away. At higher speeds wobbles start easier because they happen faster (tire spins faster), that's why you don't notice at low speeds, you just automatically compensate such imbalances without oversteering. At least that's the (my) theory. Sometimes I get tired of saying the same thing over, and over, and over, etc. Trying to encourage the use of search. You started down that direction, but then proceeded to type away I know, depends on what mood you (and me) are in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 And how much time/nothing better to do one has Search is kind of hard because 90% of info is dispersed in random threads with titles unrelated to that because of the general offtopicness of this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 31 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said: And how much time/nothing better to do one has Search is kind of hard because 90% of info is dispersed in random threads with titles unrelated to that because of the general offtopicness of this forum. I'll let you answer all the repeat newbie questions then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 12 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said: Sideways wobble is always the rider, it can't be the wheel for technical reasons (there's nothing that could do the wobbling). The wheel can wobble without a rider. The wheel can have an asymmetric or unbalanced shape or weight distribution that leads to wobbling (with or without the rider). I had a wobble caused by a defective tire once. However usually, I agree, wobbling is a resonance frequency problem. In this case the wheel gives the energy to stimulate an accumulating resonance of the system. Then, body or leg posture or tension can change the resonance frequency of the wheel-leg-system such that the wobble disappears. This comes usually unconsciously simply with experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRK Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 This was super helpful information. And actually came up on the search for wobble itself! Haha. Thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAS Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 After two months of riding, I am finally close to eliminating the wobble, but I have also limited my speed to 12 mph. Early on, I found that it was very helpful to glue a piece of 1-inch thick foam to each side of the wheel near the top, allowing me to grip the wheel better with my calves. (I recycled the foam from an unused bleacher cushion.) I think development of balance and some muscles that were never used before has also helped. I now plan to boost the top end speed little by little until I can reach the factory maximum. I also have ordered a second set of stick-on pads from Solowheel, which I will use to replace the temporary (and ugly) foam pads that I am currently using. Once in awhile, I still feel the wobble coming on, particularly after I have been on the wheel for 40-60 minutes, which tells me that the wobble has a lot to do with weak, tired muscles (I am 72 years old, BTW), but I just tilt back and slow down a little and the wobble goes away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hearsey Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 11 hours ago, SAS said: After two months of riding, I am finally close to eliminating the wobble, but I have also limited my speed to 12 mph. Early on, I found that it was very helpful to glue a piece of 1-inch thick foam to each side of the wheel near the top, allowing me to grip the wheel better with my calves. (I recycled the foam from an unused bleacher cushion.) I think development of balance and some muscles that were never used before has also helped. I now plan to boost the top end speed little by little until I can reach the factory maximum. I also have ordered a second set of stick-on pads from Solowheel, which I will use to replace the temporary (and ugly) foam pads that I am currently using. Once in awhile, I still feel the wobble coming on, particularly after I have been on the wheel for 40-60 minutes, which tells me that the wobble has a lot to do with weak, tired muscles (I am 72 years old, BTW), but I just tilt back and slow down a little and the wobble goes away. From another old dude who just recently started riding (I am 73) I can assure you the wobble will go away. I have now ridden over 400 miles on my KS 14S. I often ride for hours at speeds of 15 mph+ and the wobble is pretty much gone now. Early on I had my share of wobble at even speeds below 10 mph so hang in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.