EUC is EASY to Learn: Cruising in 90 Minutes

[nickj2009]

Hello all. I know this post has a very immodest title, but I hope it helps someone. I've been thinking about getting an EUC for two weeks but couldn't pull the trigger because everything I've read about how difficult it is to learn. I have three little kids and a busy job, so I can't afford to be practicing two hours a day for four weeks before I start getting wind on my face. I knew that if I can't learn it in four days and start using it to get milk, I'd probably get rid of it. I also have no skating / skiing / rollerblading experience of any sort, so it will be a gamble. 

I finally bought a used InMotion V8 from one of you fantastic people here Monday night and got around to riding it at 12:30 am Tuesday (yes, midnight -- I'm on paternity leave :). I was going to watch a how-to video but it was getting too late so I just winged it. The first twenty minutes was ridiculously hard but I just kept going. I tried using the wall for support per the instruction manual but I gave up on it after ten minutes. I switched to  pushing forward a bit and standing without support and just kept doing that. I was huffing and puffing, flailing my arms around, making all types of groans and have beats of sweat all over my face -- it was a ridiculous sight but unluckily only a few people witnessed it (I live in NYC so there are always people walking about). 

After twenty or so minutes, I made a break through. I was able to go forward for about three seconds, enough to feel wind on my face. I kept building on it and took multiple rests to catch my breath. My arms and body was flailing and twitching but I was able to stay on the wheel for 2 meters, then , then 20, then 100. I kept practicing until I felt more at ease, and then I started tackling corners. It took maybe 10 tries but then I got my first corner. Soon I did a city block. Then I rode it to a local park, went around the park, and went back home with only a couple of stumbles. 

By the time I got home, it was 2 am, so I practiced for around 90 minutes before I felt like "I got this". I have a ton of fun and a hell of a workout. If anyone is hesitant about getting an EUC because they are "hard to learn", just give it a shot and see how you do! Everybody is different. 

I'll add that thanks for my wife, I took maybe 30 yoga classes and thanks to my daughter, I took 6 months of Taekwondo classes. If you can hold a tree pose and transition to a half moon (I'm that guy who is trying desperation not to fall over), or if you can execute a clean spinning back kick, or if you have decent balance from other activities, it shouldn't be too difficult to pick up riding. Also, if you have decent focus from your studies, work or meditation, learning should be easier too because a lot of it is focusing on the body,  making dynamic adjustments, and remaining calm as you fall down over and over again. 

Tips

1. Don't be afraid to fall. The used EUC I bought only had two scratches on it in 6 months of ownership, and I added about 15 more to it in 90 minutes. But I also learned how to ride in 90 minutes. You have to take measured risk to learn. 
2. Stay low at first and use your entire lower leg to control the EUC rather than just your feet. 
3. Use your arms liberally. You'll look like a crazy person at first but you'll use them less and less as you get a handle on riding. 
4. Have fun -- that's what will get you going. Although I think it would be very difficult not to have a blast on an EUC. 

[null]

Congratulations, it is indeed not that difficult. Too bad for the general public who go for e-kickscooters because the slightest effort scares them off. They don’t know what they are missing. At least we have a (mostly) nice little club of people who care.

 

[LanghamP]

I've observed the primary difficulty of EUCs is mounting the damned thing, which is an entirely new and difficult skill very very closely related to riding one-legged.

Riding the EUC is something all bicycle riders can do, they just don't know it yet, and they can be easily shown how (I hesitate to use the word "teach") by riding a bicycle or another EUC alongside them while you hold them up. The great advantage of riding an EUC before learning to mount is simply foot position; only after riding an EUC for a few minutes doors one grasp about where the feet should go.

Typically, your solo learner starts off by learning to mount, and after a few hours they've incidentally learned to ride one-legged because they've hopped around so much trying to mount, and then they finally transition to riding an EUC.

Don't be that guy (I'm that guy).

You can learn to ride within minutes, and the difficult process of mounting can then be learned at leisure.

My personal experience is straightforward.

1. Tell them it's like sitting on the handlebars of a bicycle, and nothing more (they figure out the twisting motion on their own).

2. Get them mounted, then hold them up, then go. It's important to remain utterly silent; they don't need you gabbing in their ear taking up precious brain cells. Typically they wobble back and forth (not side to side), and you just prop them up, and within seconds they're riding.

3. Keep holding their hand until they accelerate on their own away from you. I used to let go of them prematurely; don't do this. They will eventually be brave baby birds and let go of your hand on their own, and if you let go of them prematurely then they'll coast to a stop.

[Lillian]

Awesome, nickj2009! I'm glad you like the wheel and have already picked up some skills. That's brave. I didn't go outdoors for months. Rock on!  

[Lillian]

3 hours ago, LanghamP said:

I've observed the primary difficulty of EUCs is mounting the damned thing, which is an entirely new and difficult skill very very closely related to riding one-legged.

That's me. If I don't ride for a few days, when I go to mount, I'm wobbly for the first few mounts. Then muscle memory or something kicks in and I'm back to mounting better. I gather experience will ease that issue. 

[Gundars Balodis]

yep, mounting and dismounting smootly, sharp turns (90° and more), wobling at high speed or pretty hard breaking, those are thing that need to resolved, riding for 4 days now, well mounting, it's a problem, especially when somebody is looking, and hier, in Germany, everybody is looking, everybody turns a head and stops talking to each other to look at you 

[nickj2009]

I rode the EUC to pick up my daughter at school and all the elementary school boys dropped everything and pointed  

1 hour ago, Gundars Balodis said:

 it's a problem, especially when somebody is looking, and hier, in Germany, everybody is looking, everybody turns a head and stops talking to each other to look at you 

 

[GothamMike]

I’m struggling. 

[meepmeepmayer]

39 minutes ago, GothamMike said:

I’m struggling. 

Would you like to elaborate?

[GothamMike]

Falling a lot to the side

[Singletrack]

Patience and practice 

[Mono]

2 hours ago, GothamMike said:

Falling a lot to the side

Swiveling might be the magic move then.

Edited September 19, 2019 by Mono

[winterwheel]

I've taught quite a few people to ride this year, most are riding unaided within about half an hour, but they have the benefit of our walker and being coached through it in a safe space. I think most of the difficulty people experience comes from trying to learn it on their own.

 

[M640x]

I've been riding for 2 weeks.  Just clocked over 35 miles on the KS-14S today so I'm new as well.   My problem has been going straight.  Can hold it for approx. 50 yards and then I usually

lose it.  Started using a staggered stance today which helped a lot but it's a slow go.  I can turn on a dime and starting and stopping is effortless.  Got a big boost in performance today.

My Gotway mten3 arrived.  It's so easy to maneuver on this thing.  I should have started on that instead of my KS-14S.  It's so easy to right myself when I get out of sorts and I still get out of

sorts a lot.  Oh well, I'll keep at it.  Good luck and congrats.

[Gaz Bon]

8 hours ago, GothamMike said:

Falling a lot to the side

Sober up and try again 😁

[davewood1982]

11 hours ago, Senior Coffee said:

I've been riding for 2 weeks.  Just clocked over 35 miles on the KS-14S today so I'm new as well.   My problem has been going straight.  Can hold it for approx. 50 yards and then I usually

lose it.  Started using a staggered stance today which helped a lot but it's a slow go.  I can turn on a dime and starting and stopping is effortless.  Got a big boost in performance today.

My Gotway mten3 arrived.  It's so easy to maneuver on this thing.  I should have started on that instead of my KS-14S.  It's so easy to right myself when I get out of sorts and I still get out of

sorts a lot.  Oh well, I'll keep at it.  Good luck and congrats.

 this has been kinda my problem aswell, clocked about 100 miles on my v10, im fine with anything within a 100 yards but anything further and any little bump seems to knock me off balance

[Planemo]

On 6/25/2019 at 4:36 PM, LanghamP said:

 

Typically, your solo learner starts off by learning to mount, and after a few hours they've incidentally learned to ride one-legged because they've hopped around so much trying to mount, and then they finally transition to riding an EUC.

Don't be that guy (I'm that guy).

FWIW, I would always advise the opposite. When my daughter and I started together as newbies I made a point that we would learn to mount and dismount before we ventured any further than the garden. IMO its the best way and at the time it seemed like the most sensible thing to do. I still do.

I have a friend who has been riding an MSX for a few months. He loves it. Got caught up in just wanting to ride. And he does. All he wants to do is get the thrill of riding (dont we all), but even now he still cant mount and dismount unaided. Its a PITA and slows our group rides down, and he needs to lean on others (if there are no lamp posts etc around) when we have to stop. Jeez I wish he would just give the riding a rest and focus on the basics. It becomes tiresome.

[winterwheel]

We demonstrate how to mount, but then give people a feel for riding around the rink so they don't get too frustrated before learning how fun it is.

 

[M640x]

For me it was the wheel.  I've been riding an mten3 for only a couple hours.  Bought it and received it yesterday.  Problem with riding straight gone. I'm doing figure eights in the street.  Step on and off is easy.  Love this thing.  Learning was accelerated tenfold.

[LanghamP]

5 hours ago, Planemo said:

FWIW, I would always advise the opposite. When my daughter and I started together as newbies I made a point that we would learn to mount and dismount before we ventured any further than the garden. IMO its the best way and at the time it seemed like the most sensible thing to do. I still do.

I have a friend who has been riding an MSX for a few months. He loves it. Got caught up in just wanting to ride. And he does. All he wants to do is get the thrill of riding (dont we all), but even now he still cant mount and dismount unaided. Its a PITA and slows our group rides down, and he needs to lean on others (if there are no lamp posts etc around) when we have to stop. Jeez I wish he would just give the riding a rest and focus on the basics. It becomes tiresome.

People will typically have their foot too far back when first learning, but telling them so doesn't work. They have to ride the EUC for some time before they understand why we have our ankle bone through the center of the wheel. It must all be quite counterintuitive.

Your friend does have to bite the bullet and and get the single foot mounting over with. It took a good 45 minutes for me to learn to mount, bouncing around and even falling, which was many times longer than just learning to ride. So mounting is a fairly advanced EUC skill.