Hard edge of wheel body causes pain

[Ancient Wheeler]

Just got my first wheel (at age 69), a Uniway SML 174.  I find that the hard upper edge of the wheel body cuts into the side of my leg, quite painfully when I'm trying to mount or dismount.  Any suggestions?  Posture, foot positioning, bad choice of wheel, deformed legs ... I'm open to any ideas that may help to explain or alleviate.

[mrelwood]

3 hours ago, Ancient Wheeler said:

Just got my first wheel (at age 69), a Uniway SML 174.  I find that the hard upper edge of the wheel body cuts into the side of my leg, quite painfully when I'm trying to mount or dismount.  Any suggestions?  Posture, foot positioning, bad choice of wheel, deformed legs ... I'm open to any ideas that may help to explain or alleviate.

I’ve never heard of that model, and even Google didn’t find a single image of an EUC. But in general, all that you mention may apply. It is somewhat common for riders to modify or add closed cell foam as a larger or better shaped sidepads. A standard yoga matt could do wonders in your case as well.

Just out of curiosity, could you share a photo or two of the device?

[Seba]

48 minutes ago, mrelwood said:

I’ve never heard of that model, and even Google didn’t find a single image of an EUC. But in general, all that you mention may apply. It is somewhat common for riders to modify or add closed cell foam as a larger or better shaped sidepads. A standard yoga matt could do wonders in your case as well.

Just out of curiosity, could you share a photo or two of the device?

I found something like this:

[Mono]

6 hours ago, Ancient Wheeler said:

I'm open to any ideas that may help to explain or alleviate.

That's unfortunately the normal reality, the wheel body is hard and hurts. For most people, soft foam padding seems to do the job. I used 2cm thick foam but had to additionally use hard soccer shin guards turned inwards on my legs to learn riding. Of course you can try to prevent to apply pressure, but it is difficult to prevent all the time.

Edited November 29, 2019 by Mono

[MBIKER_SURFER]

This just a common 'beginner problem'. Just continue riding - pain will disappear - for sure 

[Mono]

1 hour ago, MBIKER_SURFER said:

This just a common 'beginner problem'. Just continue riding - pain will disappear - for sure 

The pain never disappeared for me. I still cannot ride an unpadded old-style wheel after so many years.

Edited November 29, 2019 by Mono

[mrelwood]

41 minutes ago, Mono said:

It never disappeared for me. I still cannot ride an unpadded old-style wheel after so many years.

For me neither. Even the 16S is low and wide enough to cause pain after a few mounts & dismounts.

[Seba]

24 minutes ago, mrelwood said:

For me neither. Even the 16S is low and wide enough to cause pain after a few mounts & dismounts.

I ride with my feet spaced wide apart, so I don't touch the unicycle body at all, except for tight bends. However, the KS-18XL has a slim design and doesn't require the calves to be pressed against the side pads. However, when I tested the KS-16X, it required me to press my calf against the shell to make turn at higher speeds and indeed I felt pain, as the side pad is too low in this EUC in my case and edge was a point of contact.

[Mono]

42 minutes ago, Seba said:

I ride with my feet spaced wide apart, so I don't touch the unicycle body at all

How do you mount the wheel without touching (I would even say pressing) its body sideways?

[Seba]

28 minutes ago, Mono said:

How do you mount the wheel without touching (I would even say pressing) its body sideways?

I don't. For the very short time of mounting/unmounting my calf press the side pad, but this doesn't cause any pain. When mounted, I don't touch side pads except of tight turns, jumping onto curb or hard braking.

[RockyTop]

I remember the pain. I remember thinking," How can people do this? I am normally very pain tolerant!"  

OK .... So I had to get my wheel out to figure out what had changed.  I think I know.. At least for me. When mounting the wheel, right foot on first, my body is turned slightly to the right so that the back side of my calf is turned slightly to the side of the wheel. Padded muscle is touching the wheel instead of skin covered bone.  (body styles may very) 

As you get better at moving around on your wheel you can shift your body in ways that no longer affect the motion of the wheel. This also allows you to mount your wheel out of riding form in a more comfortable way. 

That said, The wheel pictured above might cause additional pains given the size and shape. 

Edited November 29, 2019 by RockyTop

[Mono]

3 hours ago, Seba said:

For the very short time of mounting/unmounting my calf press the side pad, but this doesn't cause any pain.

I understand that this doesn't cause any pain to you and on the wheels you tried. To me it does though, I find it still unbearable on an old-style wheel and probably even on a V8 without any padding (which I didn't try lately).

[Seba]

12 minutes ago, Mono said:

I understand that this doesn't cause any pain to you and on the wheels you tried. To me it does though, I find it still unbearable on an old-style wheel and probably even on a V8 without any padding (which I didn't try lately).

How long does it take for you to get mounted? A second? Two? And how long do you ride after you get mounted? I fully understand that it may be a painful experience to ride with calves pressing sharp edges of wheel for prolonged time. But if mounting alone would cause a long-lasting pain, I wouldn't be here. And I assume many other riders also. If mounting your wheel is a source of significant pain, you should consider padding it with some soft material like the one used to soundproof car interior, like closed-cell adhesive foam or something similar. Some wheels are more comfy than others. But usually OP's problem is linked to lack of experience. I still remember the pain I felt after my first tries of riding EUC. I think this is unavoidable. We all experienced it at the beginning of our EUC adventure

[Ancient Wheeler]

Many thanks to all who responded. Good to get a variety of opinions.

Re pain disappearing with practice:  I take your point, but for me it is bad enough to put me off ever learning to ride.

I had wondered about padding, but all the online pics I had seen showed no pads. So now I have a pair of custom-made sheepskin leather pads!  Otherwise known as a pair of wife's old mittens, thumbs cut off, stuffed with layers of bubble wrap. Maybe not the coolest, but then one of the few benefits of being old is that you don't need to look cool any more.  

I have before and after pics, but cannot see how to attach them -- possibly I'm too new to have that privilege.

 

[mrelwood]

 

52 minutes ago, Ancient Wheeler said:

now I have a pair of custom-made sheepskin leather pads!  Otherwise known as a pair of wife's old mittens, thumbs cut off, stuffed with layers of bubble wrap. Maybe not the coolest

Actually, compared with the ordinary foam strips most of us use, your’s just might be the coolest! 

52 minutes ago, Ancient Wheeler said:

I have before and after pics, but cannot see how to attach them -- possibly I'm too new to have that privilege.

You are correct. The space is very limited anyway, so most of us use images linking to a separate host service like imgbb, imgur etc. Many of them don’t even require an account.

[RockyTop]

55 minutes ago, Ancient Wheeler said:

Many thanks to all who responded. Good to get a variety of opinions.

Re pain disappearing with practice:  I take your point, but for me it is bad enough to put me off ever learning to ride.

I had wondered about padding, but all the online pics I had seen showed no pads. So now I have a pair of custom-made sheepskin leather pads!  Otherwise known as a pair of wife's old mittens, thumbs cut off, stuffed with layers of bubble wrap. Maybe not the coolest, but then one of the few benefits of being old is that you don't need to look cool any more.  

I have before and after pics, but cannot see how to attach them -- possibly I'm too new to have that privilege.

 

Also.  I have heard of people wearing shin pads and turning them to the side to reduce the single point pressure. 

[Ancient Wheeler]

39 minutes ago, mrelwood said:

Actually, compared with the ordinary foam strips most of us use, yours just might be the coolest! 

Judge for yourself ...

Quote

.. most of us use images linking to a separate host service like imgbb, imgur etc. Many of them don’t even require an account.

Thanks for that tip.  Here's me pix:  https://postimg.cc/gallery/3go839e00/

[mrelwood]

Haha! Even cooler than I expected!

Here’s one of the photo links embedded:

[Ancient Wheeler]

1 hour ago, mrelwood said:

Haha! Even cooler than I expected!

Yes, sadly, it just looks like a mitten stuck on a wheel.  But it does the job, mounting is now painless!  

[Mono]

17 hours ago, Seba said:

How long does it take for you to get mounted? A second? Two?

Right, mounting takes maybe even less than a second. But how long does it take to get punched in the face or to hit the ground? The amount of impact time is generally rather inversely related to the induced pain, because it is difficult to create a mechanical setup that can apply a large sustained force. Usually, though not always, painful forces are by their nature short impacts.

17 hours ago, Seba said:

And how long do you ride after you get mounted?

Minutes.

17 hours ago, Seba said:

I fully understand that it may be a painful experience to ride with calves pressing sharp edges of wheel for prolonged time.

It's quite difficult and exhausting to apply side pressure to the shell with both feet on the pedals, unless one releases weight on one leg, and even more so for a long time. While mounting one almost necessarily applies significant pressure by the mechanics of the process without particular muscle effort.

17 hours ago, Seba said:

If mounting your wheel is a source of significant pain, you should consider padding it with some soft material

exactly right

17 hours ago, Seba said:

Some wheels are more comfy than others. But usually OP's problem is linked to lack of experience.

Which implies they should struggle through it instead of use padding?

[Ancient Wheeler]

7 hours ago, Mono said:

Which implies they should struggle through it instead of use padding?

The question is pretty well moot now, since I have applied padding, and it works. I would probably not have been keen to learn otherwise. If or when I learn to ride well enough, I may try removing it; will post here if I remember.

[mrelwood]

8 hours ago, Ancient Wheeler said:

The question is pretty well moot now, since I have applied padding, and it works. I would probably not have been keen to learn otherwise.

Exactly! Many wheels lack in ergonomic comfort, and the solution is indeed this simple.

8 hours ago, Ancient Wheeler said:

If or when I learn to ride well enough, I may try removing it; will post here if I remember.

No need to remove them, unless they are thick enough to disturb a natural stance, or if the bubble wrap wears out. I’ve been riding for over 20000km and I still use additional padding on both wheels I own.

[Ancient Wheeler]

Update: the wheel covers that my pads were glued to seem to be silicone rubber, noted for its non-stick properties, so I wasn't too amazed when my pads fell off.   :(

Decided to make new ones from three sheets of foam glued together, and attached with the traditional gaffer tape.  Not very sexy, but does the job even better, and I can now wheel in comfort. Even beginning to feel that I'm making progress in learning how not to fall off so often.   :)

The new look:  https://ibb.co/FXfFtrR  https://ibb.co/3CpgS6G

 

[Tazarinho]

On 11/29/2019 at 6:26 PM, Mono said:

I understand that this doesn't cause any pain to you and on the wheels you tried. To me it does though, I find it still unbearable on an old-style wheel and probably even on a V8 without any padding (which I didn't try lately).

I seem to be really fortunate. I never installed the padding on the V8, and didn't add anything to the 16X and never felt any pain on shins, calves, ankles or other parts of my leg. Except maybe when riding one-legged for a longer while.  Feet is a different story though, in the beginning I couldn't go for more than 15 minutes without dismounting and letting them rest a bit!

[LanghamP]

On 11/28/2019 at 10:28 PM, Ancient Wheeler said:

Just got my first wheel (at age 69), a Uniway SML 174.  I find that the hard upper edge of the wheel body cuts into the side of my leg, quite painfully when I'm trying to mount or dismount.  Any suggestions?  Posture, foot positioning, bad choice of wheel, deformed legs ... I'm open to any ideas that may help to explain or alleviate.

Make the wheel adapt or make the rider adapt? I usually recommend the first, while also understanding the later may also be more flexible as when you have multiple wheels.

So your shins hurt? Harden then by taking a bamboo pole and very gently tapping them, up and down,for several minutes each day, several times a day. In about two weeks, you will be able to exert considerable pressure with no discomfort.

Like this. Cause you're a badass.