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So it begins...first foray into EUC oddness


Planemo

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Yea I get what you are saying, I have a Ninebot One E+ as well and I've gotten a chance to try the Mten3 and the KingSong 18L. The Mten3 gave me the same feeling as the V5F.....I felt a lot of the bumps and irregularities of what I rode on but both felt like an extension of my legs since they were so quick, light, and agile.

The Ninebot and the Kingsong felt much smoother and tank-like. I definitely felt like I was riding something or standing on a secure self-balancing platform instead of it being a part of me and weightless feeling. 

Both of these feelings have their ups and down which is why I don't regret getting the NB1e+ either. One thing I really love about Inmotion/Solowheel's programming is how the pedals flatten or tilt back a bit when it senses you are going for tight turns. That coupled with the high rounded pedals pretty always ensures you never scrape. It's lovely and I hope to find that in other wheels (maybe Gotway or another smaller KingSong).

I'm currently trying to decide b/n a KS16S, MCM5, or Tesla....I'm leaning more toward a 16 inch wheel since I like the smoothness but it's still kind of agile (as the NB1 has shown me.)

Edited by tenofnine
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Awesome footage, not poor at all especially considering it's from a mobile on a bike. I'm glad to see people on here getting their children into these things. It's such a worthwhile fun skill to learn and it's bringing up the future generation on these efficient clean transports. Yea it's probably not the safest PEV, but for what it is I'm still impressed how few accidents I see or actual hardware failures I've encountered (none with Inmotion only seen small handful with Gotway and Ninebot).

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Meep, yep her left turns are coming along nicely, her rights not so good. Same as me! We just need to keep riding and practising. The problem with her is that because lefts are comfortable for her, thats the side she always tends to go which isnt helping her rights at all. I feel that we need to keep pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone otherwise I can see problems down the line. Easier said than done though, I find I have to tell myself 'go right!' otherwise I could probably spend 80% going left! That said, she has just started slipping into carving (which she enjoys and doesnt consider as practice so its bonus wheel time!) so thats probably having a side effect of helping her rights. All good!

Tenofnine, thanks for you comments. Yes the actual image quality isnt so bad out of the S9 but the camera angles and production leaves something to be desired! Still, its fun and Ashleigh loves seeing how she is doing from another perspective. As you say, its great fun for kids, I think some might not be so happy given the lack of effort compared to a bicycle, but I have to say that especially when learning, it certainly feels like it gives me a work out! My legs are a bit wobbly and my feet ache after a couple of miles! I need to relax more I think.

As for accidents, I would feel really bad if she came off and scraped herself up. The problem with kids is that they just have a natural tendency to push the envelope. I may slide the limiter to 10mph until she is fully kitted up.

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Another short little vid of Ashleigh riding around the lake just before we left the amazing Netherlands. She has started to learn carving which she loves as it breaks up the monotony of going in a straight line! My Z6 has sat in my shed for the last 10 days feeling totally unloved but I am back on it now - started the 3M carbon wrap, will spray the pedals to smarten them up and I am going to replace all the allen head bolts as they are looking a bit tired. I am also looking to cut down the stock mudguard (I think it looks 'unfinished' without it but I don't want to cover up the whole wheel) and will probably wrap that too. Can't wait to get on it then we can ride together :)

 

 

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I can already tell she's addicted just like me. I find any reason to go on a trip with my EUC, my car is boring and my bike is feels lame now :eff02518bb: oh no! I even love riding in the rain and windy conditions.

One of my favorite things is to pump into deep carves, brake then accelerate into each carve. I finally realize that you can ride these things pretty well fully crouched (it becomes stable when you bend your knees all the way) and that allows you to touch the ground as you carve. Brings me that same feeling I get long-boarding but I can do it on flat or uphill.

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She is indeed very addicted to the 'magical wheel' as she calls it! It makes me so happy to see her happy. Anything away from the house and digital devices is good in my book.

I can't even imagine carving hard enough to touch the ground! I have seen longboarders do it but they are only an inch off the ground. TBH I struggle to bend my knees much beyond about 20 deg on my wheel at the moment. Any more and I wobble around like crazy. I can get just enough bend to get some suspension for bumps but that's about it. Likewise I am amazed when  people can ride sitting on their EUC's...I would feel totally lost without having the ability to alter feet weight using hips and knees, and instead use just body leaning. Scares the hell out of me just thinking about it!

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23 minutes ago, Planemo said:

She is indeed very addicted to the 'magical wheel' as she calls it! It makes me so happy to see her happy. Anything away from the house and digital devices is good in my book.

I can't even imagine carving hard enough to touch the ground! I have seen longboarders do it but they are only an inch off the ground. TBH I struggle to bend my knees much beyond about 20 deg on my wheel at the moment. Any more and I wobble around like crazy. I can get just enough bend to get some suspension for bumps but that's about it. Likewise I am amazed when  people can ride sitting on their EUC's...I would feel totally lost without having the ability to alter feet weight using hips and knees, and instead use just body leaning. Scares the hell out of me just thinking about it!

Oh I still struggle when bending my knees beyond the same amount, but once you are crouched pretty far the wobbles stop and you become as stable as when you are fully standing. I think the key is to put your knees inward a bit to grip the sides of the wheel until you are fully crouched so you get no wobble during any amount of bending.

It's weird at first but then you adapt, it's actually kind of important on my daily commute because I have a few low hanging trees I have to ride under almost fully crouched.

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I pass under a few low bridges regularly.  One is actually sign posted at 4' 9", but it's still no where near close to sitting.  I'll experiment going lower using this "grip with the knees" technique.

Speaking of bent knees. @Planemo I've seen Ashleigh go over two speed bumps and both times her legs seem to be locked straight.  There are two safety issues here; one is locked straight is not a good habit because it causes trouble when an unexpected disturbance presents its self (and an unexpected disturbance will ALWAYS present its self, eventually), and secondly, that's a massive power spike to put on the wheel, lifting the entire rider's body weight almost vertically in a fraction of a second. On a lower capacity battery like yours, and a lowered state of charge, that can lead to an instant motor switch off.  I know Ashleigh is light but this just means she is safe from this over a wider spectrum, but combine any of: too fast, too big a bump, too low a battery and it will happen.  Ideally the torso should remain more or less level over a speed bump, as the legs compress to accommodate the bump.  It's difficult to get it 100% correct, just as long as the body weight is de-coupled somewhat from the wheel for that moment, is enough to smooth out the power demand to a safer level. And if you ever hit a speed bump you didn't see (I've done it more than once; did it Friday actually:D) you will be really glad for bent knees.

Edited by Smoother
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I know mate, thanks for pointing it out though. I did mention in one of my posts that I am keeping on at her to bend her knees for obstacles. Hopefully it will sink in before she succumbs to a cut out.

In the meantime I will continue to over emphasise my own knee bends for every tiny obstacle and hope she copies me.

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47 minutes ago, Planemo said:

I know mate, thanks for pointing it out though. I did mention in one of my posts that I am keeping on at her to bend her knees for obstacles. Hopefully it will sink in before she succumbs to a cut out.

In the meantime I will continue to over emphasise my own knee bends for every tiny obstacle and hope she copies me.

Get her on some off road paths, where there is a bump every few inches.  She'll soon learn value of bent knees. Or show her some chooch or @Demargon videos.  She may not relate to your adivce because you are old like me, but these dudes are young and so therefor cool.:)

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Yeah I think I will do that. Actually, I think she had taken it unto herself to watch a couple of @RoberAce videos on youtube without my knowledge when I wasn't looking. The only things she usually watches on YouTube are crafting videos or My Little Pony. Out of nowhere she said to me 'theres this crazy guy who was driving around Madrid on a wheel like your new one. He was nuts - so fast! And he looked good too!"

I will introduce her to Chooch's off-road vids too :)

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37 minutes ago, Smoother said:

Get her on some off road paths, where there is a bump every few inches.  She'll soon learn value of bent knees. Or show her some chooch or @Demargon videos.  She may not relate to your adivce because you are old like me, but these dudes are young and so therefor cool.:)

Definitely this. I just survived my first offroad practice yesterday.

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Just got back from a 2.5hr ride, my first outing on the Z6 and had Ashleigh with me on the V5F - our first ride together!

To say it was awesome is an understatement! We both enjoyed every single minute, so much so that I didnt even think about filming us, maybe next time. Ashleigh was really apprehensive about going out - we were going to drive to the park but I felt she was able to ride from the house. She wasn't keen - the ride would be a large mixture of obstacles and terrain, navigating the high street, numerous drop kerbs, crossings, descents and climbs and of course people/shop entrances. I knew she had the ability, she just didnt have the confidence. I managed to persuade her and we had no issues. She was chuffed to say the least!

The park was a mix of tarmac paths, lots of grassy areas of various lengths, wooded areas with dips and plenty of sticks on the ground. We went everywhere, covering the whole park. On the way back she was confident now, and did it no problem. So thats two car trips that we saved already, plus if we go again we know we dont need the car. And of course, the improvment in confidence for both of us was worth its weight in gold.

She came back with around 35%, I had 55% so I am getting what I hoped for - I just wanted the Z6 to be able to match the V5 with Ashleigh on it so thats good news.

Sooo looking foward to our next outing, we will try to get to a bigger park but unfortunately thats definately a drive away. A seafront would be nice too, maybe we will hit Southend and take a picnic.

Impressions on the Z...well it deffo tramlines like crazy and needs care on cambers but then thats no news to me after all I have read. Currently on 20psi (90kg) and dont really want to raise it as its quite a choppy ride as it is. I love it to bits though, getting the hang of its quirks and finding that I am just leaving the wheel to do its thing under me when its comes across some dodgy terrain. I wont be letting myself get complacent though. Very happy with the platform, feels a nicer place to be than the tippy V5 and I think I will be keeping the Z for quite some time :)

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