Popular Post Acturbo Posted June 7, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted June 7, 2017 This thread is a wealth of knowledge. I too am a new user and have found my beginnings to be quite difficult. I started by taking my wheel to the local best buy parking lot(out of business) and riding along the walls so I could start without mounting. After about a half hour got to the point that I could go back and forth across the parking lot(maybe the length of a football field) and very shakily make a super wide wobbly turn and return to the starting point. The next day the board blew up on my MCM4 and this totally stopped me from doing anything. Took a week to get the board back and installed. After this back to the road(or driveway in this case). Started circling around the cars in the driveway and just trying to perfect speeding up and slowing down. Got to where I thought I was pretty good and the next day proceeded to the street. I could successfully mount(very shakily) and go a short way down the street(very shakily as well). Got a little too confident and started increasing my speed(not recommended). Anyways did a full face plant on concrete after losing control going down a slight hill. No major injury from this except my ego and my wrists have been sore for a week from catching myself. Following that was going slightly uphill and lost control again. No face plant but stepped off the wheel wrong and must have pulled something in my right calf. I couldn't walk for a day and have had soreness and pain ever since, so I took a week off. Now ready to get on again(I'm sure I forgot everything by now lol) and it rains every day =(. Here's to figuring this thing out without breaking my leg first! Thanks to all who have helped in this thread. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fat Unicyclist Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 3 hours ago, Acturbo said: Here's to figuring this thing out without breaking my leg first! Thanks to all who have helped in this thread. Glad we could help! There's a great thread here somewhere on ski jumping too, in case you're bored over winter... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acturbo Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 18 hours ago, The Fat Unicyclist said: Glad we could help! There's a great thread here somewhere on ski jumping too, in case you're bored over winter... Awesome thanks, need a little winter thrill too. Who needs to walk anyways right? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acturbo Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 On 4/26/2017 at 4:00 PM, HermanTheGerman said: My view is that the wobbling which is experienced by beginners comes mainly from standing too far on the rear side of the footpads. From my experience nearly all beginners make this mistake. The feet should be placed on the footpads in a way that the middle of the lower leg crosses the axis of the wheel. When one stands too far behind, the wheel wobbles at forward driving, when one stands too far in front, the wheel wobbles at backward driving (the latter is not recognized by a beginner, because he doesn't try it ). Seems like good advise to me Herman. Tried what you said and made sure my ankle bone was aligned with the center axis of the wheel. Whether it was just third times the charm or this works doesn't matter. I successfully made it around my neighborhood a few times and put about 4 miles on the beast. Your tip seemed to help me a great deal. Still a little shaky of course but I've gotten much better at correcting myself on the fly when it happens. Being able to start from a stop without assistance is also a huge help. My record distance prior to this attempt I think I made it about 100 yards in a straight line. Thanks for the tip, seemed to work for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HermanTheGerman Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 4 hours ago, Acturbo said: Seems like good advise to me Herman. Tried what you said and made sure my ankle bone was aligned with the center axis of the wheel. Whether it was just third times the charm or this works doesn't matter. I successfully made it around my neighborhood a few times and put about 4 miles on the beast. Your tip seemed to help me a great deal. Still a little shaky of course but I've gotten much better at correcting myself on the fly when it happens. Being able to start from a stop without assistance is also a huge help. My record distance prior to this attempt I think I made it about 100 yards in a straight line. Thanks for the tip, seemed to work for me. You're welcome. When I started a year ago, I made the same mistake, and somebody told me to change my feet placement. Also when the feet are placed correctly, it may happen that the wheel starts to wobble a little bit, especially when driving steeply downhill. This can be easily stopped by shortly pressing the legs together, or by putting the weight mainly on one foot, so that the wheel leans against that leg. However, this kind of wobbling is never as strong as the wobbling I experienced as a beginner, when I stood way to much on the back side of the pedals. Happy riding ! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewnyer Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 (edited) I just started learning last week on a ACM 1600 and I'm pretty sure if I hadn't read through this thread with everyone's experience I would have quit by now for sure ! You definitely have to be "in it to win it"https://imgur.com/gallery/HCwnt Edited June 11, 2017 by andrewnyer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 There is no correct placement on EUC's that have too small pedals. When I place my feet correctly on either the KS14c or VF5, the balls of my feet hang entirely over the front of the pedals, and therefore forward lean results in a step off. This is completely ubsurd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 (edited) I have shoe size 45" (29cm foot length) and pedal length 212mm (InMotion V8/V5). If I place my feet "correctly", I can feel the rear edge of the pedal with the rear edge of my heel (given the sole allows to feel anything). The ball area remains (entirely) supported by the pedal, while the toes stick out in front completely. For climbs with more than 25% (i.e. more than 14º), the supported area in the front becomes pretty edgy. I think with a payload of 80kg, the climbing angle of the V8 is limited by its pedal length and not by its motor power. With a pedal length of 170mm (old "standard" EUC pedals like on the Gotway MCM2), the ball area lacks support to a large extend and I can't ride comfortably without a (very) stiff sole. Edited June 11, 2017 by Mono Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 During the week it took my wheel to arrive I watched this video. It helped me the most over any other training video; a lot of times we are shown what to do but there's more knowledge to be gained in showing what NOT to do. You'll notice how he injured himself from stepping off forward, and how he moved the upper part of his body at first before learning to rotate his lower. While my experience was very similar to his, I had a rough idea of what should be, and so I was good within a few tries and never injured myself. Except for mounting lol! Mounting at first seems ridiculously impossible. I do all sorts of things to avoid remounting which isn't helping me. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) On 2017-6-12 at 8:06 PM, LanghamP said: You'll notice how he injured himself from stepping off forward It was the rather common hit from the wheel pedals to the lower legs and in this case pretty harmless. Stepping off forward the wheel is quite unavoidable from time to time. The trick is to always leave enough distance between yourself and the wheel in this case, i.e. avoid the wheel hitting the legs. Edited July 2, 2017 by Mono Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 15 hours ago, LanghamP said: During the week it took my wheel to arrive I watched this video. It helped me the most over any other training video; a lot of times we are shown what to do but there's more knowledge to be gained in showing what NOT to do. I watched the video as well. His perseverance throughout the learning curve was a great motivator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acturbo Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 15 hours ago, Rehab1 said: I watched the video as well. His perseverance throughout the learning curve was a great motivator. The wife in the video was super helpful. Faster, Faster! As he's barely staying up lol. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 15 hours ago, Acturbo said: The wife in the video was super helpful. Faster, Faster! As he's barely staying up lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kour Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 (edited) I noticed that as I tried to slow down going down hills, say, from 20mph, I would start wobbling like crazy. I realized after riding more and testing it out it was because I was trying to do everything with my legs rather than shifting my center of gravity Edited June 16, 2017 by kour 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DaveThomasPilot Posted June 18, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted June 18, 2017 (edited) I just went back and reread this thread from start to finish. Lots of great stuff! Three big "jewels" for me. One was the "triangle method" for mounting. But, I was confused by the guy in the video saying to "lock your knee", when he clearly wasn't locking his knee. I think the language translation was bad. I think what he meant was to lock the wheel against your lower leg calf. I hadn't realized how important this was for easily mounting the wheel. That's what keeps the wheel from flopping toward the foot you have on the pedal. I guess that's a "DUH!", but I just didn't pick that up until I saw the triangle video and thought about what he was trying to say. Also, centering the calf of the lower leg over the axle (versus trying to minimize the amount of your foot that overhangs the pedal). This makes it MUCH easier to hold the wheel against the calf of the leg while mounting and dismounting! Also, just today I discovered the merit of lots of short practice sessions, versus long cruises for improving riding skill. It was a bit of a hassle to get ready to ride. All the safety equipment to put on and lacing up my high top boots. Then, it wasn't easy to mount the wheel (though I started "cheating" and using a retaining wall to get on). So, once I got ready to go, I wanted to ride a while! Today I'm doing some processing of some very large files. This means that I have to launch a process on a PC, then wait five or ten minutes before I can do the next step. So, I'm keeping my boots on! I've been doing this for a few hours, but while waiting for the processing to finish, I've been going out in the driveway to practice mounting and figure eights. I've made more progress in five or six five minute sessions than I do in several half hour cruises! And, I'm having as much fun doing fast and tight figure eights as I did being a little scared while cruising along at higher speeds. Thanks for all the great posts! I love this forum! Edited June 18, 2017 by DaveThomasPilot 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxLinux Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 On 6/6/2017 at 8:53 PM, Acturbo said: After about a half hour got to the point that I could go back and forth across the parking lot(maybe the length of a football field) and very shakily make a super wide wobbly turn and return to the starting point. The next day the board blew up on my MCM4 and this totally stopped me from doing anything. Unbelievable! At this point in the development of EUCs, shouldn't problems like this have been conquered long ago? How are boards still blowing up under trivial conditions when the user isn't even stressing the wheel?? People generally think MCM4 is a good wheel. Maybe not!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acturbo Posted June 20, 2017 Share Posted June 20, 2017 22 hours ago, MaxLinux said: Unbelievable! At this point in the development of EUCs, shouldn't problems like this have been conquered long ago? How are boards still blowing up under trivial conditions when the user isn't even stressing the wheel?? People generally think MCM4 is a good wheel. Maybe not!! I may have been partially to blame. I was starting on grass to limit damage to myself and the EUC. I am told starting on non solid ground could have been a contributing factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos E Rodriguez Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 On 6/19/2017 at 7:07 PM, Acturbo said: I may have been partially to blame. I was starting on grass to limit damage to myself and the EUC. I am told starting on non solid ground could have been a contributing factor. Grass puts a lot of demand on the wheel. As much as going up hill. Put regardless it should not blow. Just possibly poor workmanship or inferior black market components. The MOSFET ARE RATED for 120 amps but that is just a perfect design. So say 50 amps for sustained should never blow. I push 30 amps on uphill which I consider stremely steep. Hope you get it fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acturbo Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 55 minutes ago, Carlos E Rodriguez said: Grass puts a lot of demand on the wheel. As much as going up hill. Put regardless it should not blow. Just possibly poor workmanship or inferior black market components. The MOSFET ARE RATED for 120 amps but that is just a perfect design. So say 50 amps for sustained should never blow. I push 30 amps on uphill which I consider stremely steep. Hope you get it fixed. Got it fixed no problems. Seller sent me a new control board within a week and I installed it and have been fine riding for the past 40-50 miles or so. Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxLinux Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 17 hours ago, Acturbo said: Got it fixed no problems. Seller sent me a new control board within a week and I installed it and have been fine riding for the past 40-50 miles or so. Yay! I'm glad you got a quick solution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert08 Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Hi everyone, I too am a new learner, and would like to start with a question, before adding my point on what helped me. I feel comfortable putting my feet a little bit more in the front of the pedals than where it feels natural to me. In this way my weight is slightly in the front of the wheel and it helps me mounting and starting to ride, as the UC accelerates and allows me to have more balance thanks to the speed. Before finding this out I had a hard time starting because the UC struggled to give power and with low speed I was drifting in every direction instead of going forward or even worse stumbling altogether off the pedals. Is there any downside in riding with the feet a little bit ahead? Because once i mounted and started I'm not able to move them back in the center without wobbling and eventually falling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 No downside! Being relaxed is literally the most important thing that decides how long and comfortable you can ride, how well you are in control of the wheel, everything. It makes the difference between a wobbly ride and feet cramping after 5 minutes, or a wonderful ride with perfect control where you can go seemingly forever. And 99% of that is foot stance and foot comfort. So always choose the foot stance that feels best, maybe even experiment without looking and see what the result is. Unless your stance is so strange that you obviously would slip from the pedals or something like this, any stance that feels best will be best. You can check if the perceived "forward" stance still lets you brake well enough, but that's the only thing I can imagine that would speak against being "too far" forward. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert08 Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 I think I've been lucky about the muscles hurting. From day 1 I have never experienced any pain, even after 2 hours of practice. I can assure you instead that my inner legs got quite rash with all the pressing against the shell in my mounting attempts. Like I was saying, if I don't look at where I'm putting my first foot I tend to put it well centered, but this doesn't help me to start. I also have no problems braking with the position I use now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 2 hours ago, Bert08 said: Is there any downside in riding with the feet a little bit ahead? What makes you think they are too far forward in the first place? One of the things that makes it difficult for beginners is the assumption their feet should be in the middle of the peddles. Feet stick out more at the front than the back and it is your centre of gravity - not the centre of your feet - that needs to be over the centre of the wheel I.e. You have to have more of your foot sticking over the front of the peddle than over the back. 1 hour ago, meepmeepmayer said: You can check if the perceived "forward" stance still lets you brake well enough, but that's the only thing I can imagine that would speak against being "too far" forward. @meepmeepmayer is spot on. If you do stand too far forward then accelerating is no effort at all, braking on the other hand could be very difficult and you REALLY do not want to discover you cannot brake when a car turns onto its drive right in front of you. So practice accelerating and braking. If both seem to take about the same amount of effort or lean then your feet are in the correct place for your riding style. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bert08 Posted July 6, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted July 6, 2017 I'd like to share some beginner-to-beginner thoughts on what I found useful to take big steps forward in my learning process. Skip indoors as soon as possible: The first night I received the wheel it was raining outside so I moved my first steps inside my living room. I spent 2+ hours just trying to find balance hopping from object to object but falling quite often and getting discouraged. I later found out, comparing indoors with outdoors, that all the objects that you can use to help keep your balance are also obstacles to your trial and error muscle-memory learning. There's no room for uncertainty and you rather often find yourself hitting walls or forniture hence stopping your little rides. Practice on grass: My next session took place in a large grass field behind my house with a pretty beat up mood due to the prior night. But with my huge surprise in just a few hours I got very ahead in my learning. I think that's because on that kind of surface I had zero fear of falling and zero fear of scratching my unit and so my mind was free and only focused on mastering the wheel. Aspects that one may find negative about grass: UC being slower to pick up speed and bumpy surface. Although these made it a bit harder at the beginning I found it useful as I went on because it taught me to master the UC's instability in an harder way than concrete. Get someone to help you: My father was curious about this kind of ride so he stayed with me in my first hour of apprentice. Instead of obstacles to lean against I used his shoulder. This is much better than walls or posts because you can experiment with speed and direction and your sustain will follow you everywhere even if you make mistakes or your going to fall. I progressively let his shoulder and slowly tried to go sustain-less in fair short time. It's also fun if the two of you take turns and learn to ride together helping each other. Looking at other people trial and error is also a good way to learn some things. Mounting using the 'triangle': I have to admit I didn't know about this technique and it took me a huge amount of failures before getting it right. If only I had seen it before!. Essentially do not keep your feet close together or at strange angles between each other. Put one feet well on the pedal and the other on the ground, fairly distant and parallel to the other, so the weight is all on the feet on the ground. Let the wheel lean on one side (the side on where your weight is) and don't force it to be straight up. Now put your lower feet on the other pedal and you're good to go. Don't forget to accelerate, it greatly helps your balance. On a still wheel is impossibile to keep balance. As mentioned before, I find useful to start with my first foot a little bit more forward on the pedal than where I think it should go. In this way when I mount the other feet my weight is already a bit leaned forward and the acceleration comes natural. Now I start with no issues and I don't need a "moving start" (skateboard-style). If you feel like you're falling steer in that direction: This was one of the most useful tips I've found in this thread and allowed me to quickly improve my solo rides (without any help). Usually when we walk if we get unbalanced our instinct is to lean on the other side to restore balance. Doing so on an UC will translate into a fall. That's because our feet are locked in position and when we feel ourselves leaning in one direction, moving our upper body to the other side brings our center of gravity (about at our belly button height) far out the same direction. The trick is counter-intuitive but it works. If you feel an unbalance in one direction rotate your hips (lower body) in that same direction. Doing so will immediately restore your balance and can be used to go even at the smallest speed (the harder to be stable). Learn to brake: Even before learning to avoid real-world dangers with an effective breaking I found it a immediate useful alternative of escaping tricky situations. In the first hours of learning I used the "fuck it" mindset. Whenever there was a problem I would jump off of the wheel with it spinning like crazy or going steady forward without me on top for a couple dozens of meters. This can damage your UC and be tiring for you for all the stopping, re-preparing and restarting. If you learn to brake you can stop at your command if you feel you're losing control too much and using the 'triangle' technique you can dismount cleanly and restart immediately without having to run after your possessed wheel. Don't look down: I've found a couple of similarities in riding an unicycle and skiing and this is one of them. I presume this is a more personal one, but it helps me looking forward and not an inch beyond my feet. In this way it feels like it's the eyes that guide the body on where to go. I hope this will help some fellow learner! This is what helped me improving quite fast. I'm way far from being confident going in traffic but I feel I'm mastering the principles quite well. Of course these are personal tips and may be "wrong" if compared to standard techniques. Feel free to correct me! 2 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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