andrew900nyc Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 As a new rider with only about 4km so far, I’m curious about the typical cruising speed of my fellow MTen3 owners. So here are my questions: 1) What is your normal cruising speed when riding on roads with all the usual characteristics of city streets, such as bumps, cracks, and irregularities in the surface in some areas? 2) What is your typical cruising speed when riding on a nicely paved bike path? 3) What was the intended use of your MTen3 when you decided to buy it? Learning wheel? For commuting or last mile transportation? For indoor use? For tricks? For some other purposes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulz Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 I use my MTen3 for commuting short distances (usually about 1km) through Downtown, between 1 and 3 round trips per day. I ride slowly on the sidewalk when people are around, then fast when there are no people and when the path is smooth. By "fast", I mean at least 15mph. On terrain that is memorized, I can go faster. I'm very happy with my Mten3, if it broke, I'd order another immediately. I also have a V10F that I use for longer rides. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 I just use mine for messing about on - not for serious travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew900nyc Posted June 5, 2019 Author Share Posted June 5, 2019 4 hours ago, paulz said: I use my MTen3 for commuting short distances (usually about 1km) through Downtown, between 1 and 3 round trips per day. I ride slowly on the sidewalk when people are around, then fast when there are no people and when the path is smooth. By "fast", I mean at least 15mph. On terrain that is memorized, I can go faster. I'm very happy with my Mten3, if it broke, I'd order another immediately. I also have a V10F that I use for longer rides. Thanks for the feedback. As I get more and more comfortable with my MTen3, it's nice to know how other people utilize theirs. Do you ever need to carry anything during your commutes? If so, do you just hold it or do you use a backpack in those situations? The biggest obstacle preventing me from getting more wheel time right now is the foot pain I'm experiencing when riding. I'm not sure if this has to do with (1) my being somewhat out of shape at the moment, (2) wearing the wrong type of sneakers, (3) not having the larger pedals, or perhaps (4) my muscles haven't yet acclimated. It could be a combination of all four factors, I suppose. I'm going to try different (flatter) sneakers to see if that helps at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew900nyc Posted June 5, 2019 Author Share Posted June 5, 2019 3 hours ago, Scully said: I just use mine for messing about on - not for serious travel. Seems like a great little wheel for messing about! How long have you had yours? Do you have a bigger wheel that you use for serious travel or do you simply utilize other modes of transportation when going places? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulz Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 On 6/5/2019 at 5:46 PM, andrew900nyc said: Thanks for the feedback. As I get more and more comfortable with my MTen3, it's nice to know how other people utilize theirs. Do you ever need to carry anything during your commutes? If so, do you just hold it or do you use a backpack in those situations? The biggest obstacle preventing me from getting more wheel time right now is the foot pain I'm experiencing when riding. I'm not sure if this has to do with (1) my being somewhat out of shape at the moment, (2) wearing the wrong type of sneakers, (3) not having the larger pedals, or perhaps (4) my muscles haven't yet acclimated. It could be a combination of all four factors, I suppose. I'm going to try different (flatter) sneakers to see if that helps at all. The foot pain will pass. At first, I mitigated the foot pain with hard sole shoes. Now I wear soft-soled Florshiem Revas. Now If I ride with hard-soled dress shoes I feel less connected to the vehicle, so I wear the Florshiems and switch to my hard-soled leather shoes once I get to work. I carry things all the time. Groceries, a gallon of milk, I once carried a folded up double-stroller across downtown. Once I carried my MTen3 across downtown while riding my V10F! I also push my two kids in the double stroller on the MTen3, something not easy on the larger wheel. The MTen3 is probably not the fastest wheel, but it might be the slowest. I can easily go a sub-walking speed when necessary. I can stop faster, accelerate faster, and do 180 turns in a 1 ft radius. The foot pain is just a phase. The other thing that you acclimate to is carrying it around. When I first got it, I was ready to set it down by the time I carried it to my desk. Now, I can carry it for extended periods without being bothered by the weight. The human body (like the MTen3) is amazing in what it can do. Enjoy your MTen3! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew900nyc Posted June 10, 2019 Author Share Posted June 10, 2019 (edited) On 6/7/2019 at 5:51 PM, paulz said: The foot pain will pass. At first, I mitigated the foot pain with hard sole shoes. Now I wear soft-soled Florshiem Revas. Now If I ride with hard-soled dress shoes I feel less connected to the vehicle, so I wear the Florshiems and switch to my hard-soled leather shoes once I get to work. I carry things all the time. Groceries, a gallon of milk, I once carried a folded up double-stroller across downtown. Once I carried my MTen3 across downtown while riding my V10F! I also push my two kids in the double stroller on the MTen3, something not easy on the larger wheel. The MTen3 is probably not the fastest wheel, but it might be the slowest. I can easily go a sub-walking speed when necessary. I can stop faster, accelerate faster, and do 180 turns in a 1 ft radius. The foot pain is just a phase. The other thing that you acclimate to is carrying it around. When I first got it, I was ready to set it down by the time I carried it to my desk. Now, I can carry it for extended periods without being bothered by the weight. The human body (like the MTen3) is amazing in what it can do. Enjoy your MTen3! Thanks for all the information! I'm glad to hear the foot pain seems to be a normal part of getting acclimated to riding these things and will eventually subside. Haha, that's awesome! When I used to ride my 36" pedal unicycle all over the place, I would take it grocery shopping and ride home with a bunch of bags in each hand and one time I carried quite a large box on my shoulder for about a mile. The reactions were priceless! Great to hear about how versatile the MTen3 is for you. As my first wheel, I didn't realize that the very slow speed capability is unique to the MTen3. I enjoy riding it real slow at times and maneuvering at slow speeds. I can see how the MTen3's excellent slow speed capabilities combined with it's agility could make the it a real nice wheel to have in certain situations. Thanks! I'll have my MSX real soon, so hopefully I'll enjoy both wheels and will appreciate the different capabilities they offer. Your response has given me more confidence that I made a smart decision with the MTen3. I think the MTen3 and MSX will serve my needs well. Edited June 10, 2019 by andrew900nyc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucasD Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 The only problem I see with Mten3, that at speed (also the same for slalom ski) it may want turn at slightest irregularities in road. On slalom ski you counter by doing mini slalom turns, on Mten3 not sure it helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulz Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 The most idiosyncratic behavior I've experienced with my MTen3 is the severe disruption that happens when one rides inside of a sidewalk crack. Not crossing it perpendicularly, but actually being in the seam. I always make it a point to cross concrete seams at a significant angle, rather than just drifting across them. It can't be the width of the tire as I don't have this problem in my V10F; I suspect it is the flatness of the tire. @andrew900nyc I was an 'analog' unicyclist also; never ran any errands though...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoisDeFruit Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 I was able to overcome the feet pain almost immediately by changing the position of my feet on the pedals. When I was initially learning, the feet were placed right in the middle of the pedals. Now that I shift the feet forward (i.e. more of the front part of the foot is staying in the air), the feet pain is almost eliminated. But shoes are also important, I bought Fila shoes with a large soft cushion, so they act as an additional shock absorber. As for the scenarios of use, it's just a means to have fun. For any serious commute usage, you have to get a handle (which I'm going to, by the way). For now, I stay away from tiled pavements, I just don't like the constant vibration and the instability they impose. The area where I live has lots of those, and this is the only reason I've been thinking of getting a larger wheel. But every time I look at their size (compared to Mten3) I just don't have this desire to shell out $1500+ for something which is worse in almost every aspect to what I already have (aside from riding comfort on tiled surfaces). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulz Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Tile is a bummer. Especially when it is wet and inclined. The flat tire of the MTen3 makes riding tangential to an incline feel uncomfortable as the wheel will try to stay perpendicular to the slanted pavement; your body, however, wants to be totally vertical. As a result of this thread, I've paid close attention to my foot placement on the MTen3. I like to have the leading edge of the pedal right at joint of my toes. Through my soft-soled shoes, I can feel my toes curling around the edge of the pedal. I have size 9 feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew900nyc Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 Thanks for the very helpful feedback, @LucasD, @paulz, and @BoisDeFruit. I will be sure to pay extra attention to irregularities in the road, concrete seems and cracks, and my foot position. I can now ride for longer periods of time until the foot pain sets in, which is a step in the right direction. I'm really looking forward to the day when I can ride for hours at a time without any foot pain. I'm going to try adjusting my foot position on the platforms, as per your suggestions. I sure am having fun on this zippy little wheel! The more I ride it and the better I get, the more fun I have! I suspect that trend will continue for some time . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucasD Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 For Mten3 changing pedals may be the way to go. I will try NIkola pedals (still waiting for them) they should fit, as somebody already tried MSX pedals... They should improve both comfort as well control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew900nyc Posted June 20, 2019 Author Share Posted June 20, 2019 On 6/17/2019 at 1:22 PM, LucasD said: For Mten3 changing pedals may be the way to go. I will try NIkola pedals (still waiting for them) they should fit, as somebody already tried MSX pedals... They should improve both comfort as well control Thanks for the suggestion, @LucasD. I will probably give that a try at some point. I hope to hear about how you like your Nikola pedals, once you've had some time to zip around on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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