Popular Post playdad Posted January 8, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted January 8, 2016 (edited) The problem I have with these vids is that while they show great basics... it's a lot different than understanding how to actually balance yourself! They obviously can't show you the actual mechanics. This is some of the basic feel I have been getting trying to learn to ride the EUC and slowly but finally getting somewhere. I am posting them here (copied from other thread) because most riders forget how to express the learning process once they have it naturalized! So I will keep it here for someone else as I am figuring out learning to ride. (maybe I should start a new thread LOL) 1. Try not to use a wall or railing too much. You become dependent on it and your confidence (without the wall) is critical for learning quickly! Let me illustrate this clearly to you using myself as example. When I ride with the right side of my body nearer the wall, I ride better... can do 5-10 meters before having to stop. BUT when I ride with the wall on the left side of my body.. I often am forced to stop after 3-5m due to losing balance. Can you guess why? It's simple.. I am a right-hander and have more confidence in catching myself with the right hand. As a result, I am more confident when riding with the wall on right side and hence can ride better!! This is so obvious its not funny! Our psychology is very powerful and your confidence can affect how well you do and how quickly you learn. I suggest relying on the wall minimally. Once you can start moving.. try to stay away from the walls as much as possible! You will need it initially but stay away as much as you can once you get the VERY basic level of balancing. (able to move straight 5 meters) 2. Balancing isn't as simple as OK, let's just shift body weight. Unlike on the bicycle where your weight is on the seat and hence body-tilt is key to balancing, you stand instead on an EUC and so it's really your feet/legs doing the balancing. This may not come out sounding right but you can actually affect your balance by actively pushing on the footrest. Yes, its actually your body weight still but you control it via your feet/legs. So don't just stand on it and try to shift your weight around using the upper-body... but actually use your feet to push the footrest! You will wobble as you struggle to maintain balance by pushing both foot-rests in turn over and over but that's just part of learning. Eventually you will have better control of the force used so that it becomes fine-tuned to be just enough. Edited January 8, 2016 by playdad 4 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post johrhoj Posted January 13, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted January 13, 2016 It is always good to read tips about how to learn to ride. I have read quite a lot of them and took from it what worked for me. There are a lot of instruction video's around that handle the basics, but you have to put it into practice yourself. What helped me in learning to ride may or may not be helpful to you. I assume you viewed videos and practiced an got the technical stuff down. Then here are some extra tips that helped me become a confident and experienced rider. 1) The bicycle analogy. In many ways the problems of riding an euc are the same as riding a bicycle. When you see kids learning to ride their bike, they have the same troubles. Corners are difficult, riding at low speed is quirky and getting on and of is awkward. It only becomes better with practice. Patience! 2) Trust. You have to trust your wheel. This sounds hollow, but the wheel has to perform key tasks. It is a natural scare seeing a slope down (steeper slopes scare more). Do not lean back! Just trust your wheel to handle the powerdifference needed and stay balanced upright. Just let it happen. The same holds for upslopes of course and for (small) bumps in the road. The better the wheel, the better it will take it, but always let the wheel do it for you. 3) Corners / steer. Simply the easiest/best way to take turns is bending the right knee to go left and bending the left knee to go left. This of course combined with the right amount of 'leaning into the turn'. The leaning you already learned to do on your bicycle. When done right (it becomes second nature) you can take any turn at any speed (as long as there is enough grip). You will feel that your weight is channeled right through your feet to your wheel to the road. As it should be at all times. 4) Keep attention in your feet. All awareness about how you fare on your wheel is told you by your feet. Keep your attention centered in your feet. Once you get this, you know it, and you will forget it again as it becomes second nature. When you are flinging you upper body around for balance, you are not doing it. When you wheel wobbles between your legs, you are not doing it. When you ARE doing it, you feel like you are standing firm again, no matter what speed/turn you are going. Standing with confidence. I think everybody that can learn to ride a 'bi'cycle can learn to ride the electric 'mono'cycle as well. I hope the reader can take something useful from this text. If this is not the way you feel/learn no problem. Share your way as well because for somebody it may be useful. 5 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmusser Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 If the key to remaining stable is to steer into a fall, do training wheels teach the wrong skill? They encourage balancing by shifting to the other side. I got a euc a couple of days ago and tried it without the training wheels at first, but, frustrated with my lack of progress, put them on. Was that a mistake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skylightica Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) 1 hour ago, gmusser said: If the key to remaining stable is to steer into a fall, do training wheels teach the wrong skill? They encourage balancing by shifting to the other side. I got a euc a couple of days ago and tried it without the training wheels at first, but, frustrated with my lack of progress, put them on. Was that a mistake? The training wheels can help you get used to the feeling of controlling the motor in that first 10-40 minutes, but you won't get any better with them on because they don't let the wheel tilt. When you first practice, you'll learn how to use big movements to recover your balance when your wheel wobbles by constantly using wide turns to catch yourself when you're about to fall. Allowing your wheel to tilt steeply is actually an advantage to learning because it gives you more time to adjust your balance. Gradually, you can make those balance adjusting movements smaller as you get more precise. With that said, the fastest way to learn is to holding on to a friend's hand or shoulder as you travel at a fast walking speed. Alternatively, the safer and slightly less quick way to learn is to practice in a hallway where you can touch the walls on both sides. You don't have to think too hard about balancing. Just take off those training wheels and put in time. Your brain will automatically figure it out! Edited January 19, 2016 by Skylightica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmusser Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 How long does it typically take? I've had the thing for several days and still can't go than a few meters at a stretch, whereas in all the videos, people are riding down the sidewalk within the hour. It's depressing and zero fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloud Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 4 minutes ago, gmusser said: How long does it typically take? I've had the thing for several days and still can't go than a few meters at a stretch, whereas in all the videos, people are riding down the sidewalk within the hour. It's depressing and zero fun. Dont practice at home - go outside. You need space to balance side to side - dont practice in confined spaces Start by practicing next to some railing. Or in between two rows of railing. Push your limits - if you cant stay balanced, jump off the wheel but dont be afraid to go forward and accelerate a bit Gear up and fall a few times - you cant avoid falling forever. Embrace it and you will learn faster. good luck 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skylightica Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 2 hours ago, gmusser said: How long does it typically take? I've had the thing for several days and still can't go than a few meters at a stretch, whereas in all the videos, people are riding down the sidewalk within the hour. It's depressing and zero fun. If someone gets the EUC quickly, it's because they have spent countless hours falling off something else. It's not really fair to compare your learning time with people who did other balance sports. A week or two to learn to ride straight is very normal. It takes even more time to get comfortable with turning and obstacles. Also, check out the ages of the riders here! There are all ages! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) 3 hours ago, gmusser said: How long does it typically take? I've had the thing for several days and still can't go than a few meters at a stretch, whereas in all the videos, people are riding down the sidewalk within the hour. It's depressing and zero fun. Accidents that occured when I was still learning: I fell on my knees after rolling for about 10 meters. Luckily, I have kneepads so I'm. OK. I fell on my butt and hurt my wrists when trying to go down a slippery slope and it happened when I didn't wear my wrist pads. I landed and twisted my right foot when I panicked and dismounted because I think I was about to fall. I stretched a lower rib on my left side because I was trying to catch my EUC during a sudden dismount on a street corner. Incidents that occurred after my learning phase: A minor pedal scrape while trying to do tight slaloms and turns. I advice you to have somebody hold your hand to maintain you balance and roll and not to let go until you feel you can manage by your own which will depend upon your confidence level. You will soon get the feel of it and it will be just as natural as riding a bike. It took me 2 weeks learning alone. My wife and daughter learned for about 2 hours with the hand assisted technique and they themselves bravely asked me to let go. Edited January 20, 2016 by SlowMo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paco Gorina Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 4 hours ago, gmusser said: How long does it typically take? I've had the thing for several days and still can't go than a few meters at a stretch, whereas in all the videos, people are riding down the sidewalk within the hour. It's depressing and zero fun. I suppose everyone is different. It is 20 days I have a Ninebot One E+ and have not been training everyday but quite frequently. Sometimes I Amber able to ride 200/300 m but others I fail miserably to start or do more than 10m. Main problem is I have a tendency to turn left. But it has been better last days and sometimes I am able to "relax" while riding. One of the things important is having lots of space around so you are not worried about obstacles. Also being in a flat surface also helps but I find it is more difficult than it seems. Patience... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmusser Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 This is all great advice. Thanks, everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Simon Lovell Posted January 25, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted January 25, 2016 Well I don't think I am typical at 63 as I scate boarded from 14 to 35 years old and surfed and I Windsurf still competivly....so it was relatively easy to grab the basics even though my inside legs ended up rather bruised........10 mins on trainer wheels and 15 minutes in total before I was wobbling off and falling off now and then.......so that does not help you very much! However after a few weeks I decided to learn to ride backwards. Which I practiced out of hours at a nearby school on a shallow ramp in between two hand rails.......I did about 9 or 10 ten minute sessions on different days and each time I came back, I was a little better. Last weekend I managed the length of a tennis court and this weekend I was able to go about 300 yards including two corners in our local park. The point of all this is that I trained little and often and my muscle memory was then able to keep up with me. I think this is the secret.....Little and often and keep trying. The hand rails were another great help and allowed me to get in lots of practice without lots of down time!! Good luck. 3 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kells Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Initially I went through the "I give up" and "this is impossible" phase, in fact I exhausted myself the first day trying to just go 2 feet. I did not use the training wheels or strap because of what I read bout it hindering your learning so it was HARD! I learned that you have to lean into your falls and trust the wheel to catch up, also going faster makes it easier to balance.. after a few days I was able to ride circles around my car on a 16" IPS wheel, then after a week I was able to ride long distances and after 3 weeks I was able to hop up and down curbs! Here is where I regressed... Any input is appreciated. I realized the limitations of the 16" wheel and 340wh battery so I "upgraded" to a 18" Msuper2 680wh... I felt like I am learning all over again... I am having trouble turning, and can't imagine going up a curb! I realized that on the smaller wheel I was able to manipulate the wheel more with my feet, by turning and angling it with ease... now with the bigger wheel I am having trouble turning. The Wheel body presses against my calves and I cannot tilt it like I used to... what the heck? I'm going to go out today and practice more, but without the freedom to manipulate the wheel with the feet I feel that I have to learn all over again. Very strange and I did not expect this, but I'm sure i'll figure it out, and I always welcome the challenges Any feedback on the tougher transition from 16" to 18"? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankman Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 (edited) @Kells I only have experience of riding a 14 inch wheel, but I think is important to understand that there are at least three ways to make turns with an EU. Those ways are clearly explained in this video by Simon Tay. Hope it helps. Edited February 27, 2016 by Frankman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kells Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 (edited) @Frankman that 2nd turning style where you bend your leg is EXACTLY how I am used to turning... now that with the MSuper there is no room between my calf and the body of the EUC I cannot allow the unit to tilt which makes perfect sense now that I can actually SEE what I was doing! So I will try to ride with my feet halfway on the pedals which is NOT ideal, but It should give me the "play" I need between my calves and the body of the EUC... Thanks for posting that link, it's exactly what I needed to see!! Edited February 27, 2016 by Kells Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcooper Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Newbie comments after riding for 1 hour: I am a physicist and a skier...so I tried to use both these skills to get started. I have a 14" Mohoo with all sides now covered by foam. Held onto a stack of roof tiles that was 4 feet high beside the house. Without the trainer wheels I could not step up on 2nd petal. I literally leaned over the right petal to the ground and stepped up on left side sticking high up in the air and pushed it down until it was level. This allowed me to move forward and backward and stand still to practice balance. But always one ankle would buckle and that foot would go to the ground as I moved forward and back about 5 feet. My trainer wheels swivel 360 degrees and allow 5 degree lean to both sides. Then with the training wheels on, I could "hop on" the 2nd petal after some practice. Within 30 minutes I was out on the street going for several blocks at a time. I was always "touching down" on the trainer wheels as I leaned from side to side. Turning was combo of swinging shoulders and bending knee. Rocking backwards, and forwards, and standing still became a piece of cake. Skiing told me that to do parallel turns I had to lean forward and point my torso in the direction of the turn. This has turned out to be my best technique for unicycle. At 1 hour of practice I can do 8-10 mph and turn whenever I need to. But I have a big problem. With the training wheels off, I cannot regularly hop up on the 2nd petal. I have seen the "triangle diagram" and tried it, but with right foot on petal and I step up with left foot I almost always fall over on my right side. I just saw the video about "triangle method" and to "lock the knee". I have not done this. I will try it this week. All the videos make the step up of the 2nd foot as effortless and no wobble. I just don't seem to have enough time to get the 2nd foot in position and be leaned ever so slightly forward. Would appreciate any suggestions on how to make the "hop up" smooth without trainer wheels. Observations: 1) placement of feet forward/backward on petals is absolutely critical. My toes have to be 3-4" beyond end of petal to allow good forward and backward balance practice. 2) to adjust a foot position on a petal, you must come to almost a complete stop. If you do it at 5 mph I loose balance and wobble badly. 3) must have foam padding on side of unicycle where the legs touch. My Mohoo arrived with no padding. Really hurt ankles and calves. With thick padding it is now comfortable to ride for 20 minutes with no pain or abrasion. 4) Mohoo has good Bluetooth on unit. It is amazing how listening to music with a good base beat makes you turn more regularly and forget about falling. It sets your mind into "going with the flow". 5) strap is essential for 1st 30 minutes for upright balance and so that you don't let the unicycle run away. But after that you let the strap hang loose so that you can use both arms for balance and shoulder rotation. 6) always wear the safety gear. Two falls have shown me that "hard-bar" wrist pads are absolutely needed. tjcooper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 6 minutes ago, tjcooper said: I just saw the video about "triangle method" and to "lock the knee". I have not done this. I will try it this week. All the videos make the step up of the 2nd foot as effortless and no wobble. I just don't seem to have enough time to get the 2nd foot in position and be leaned ever so slightly forward. Would appreciate any suggestions on how to make the "hop up" smooth without trainer wheels. Have a look at this video. It shows a simple hop of the left foot with the pivot foot holding the wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael de Gans Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 (edited) Here's a video where we give 2 programmers a crash course to get through the learning curve in less than 2 hours! All you need is the safety belt and perseverance: NO WALL AND NO PHYSICAL HELP. YOU WILL DEPENT ON IT AND IT WILL TAKE YOU LONGER TO RIDE INDEPENDENTLY. Edited March 16, 2016 by Michael David de Gans 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jag_Rip Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Human help is still the best if that person knows how to support and gives tips. A Safetybelt btw has the same issue, people depend on it while learning and need to re-train later to ride without. But to each their own ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael de Gans Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 1 hour ago, Jag_Rip said: Human help is still the best if that person knows how to support and gives tips. A Safetybelt btw has the same issue, people depend on it while learning and need to re-train later to ride without. But to each their own ;-) When we started learning people through our courses we helped them physically but we quickly switched to safety belts without physical help. Of course tips and technique explanations always speed up the proces. But we discovered relying on a persons assistance compared to relying on yourself holding the belt is a whole different experience in terms of letting go and having the confidence in yourself. To each his own, but in our experiences teaching the person to rely on himself early on helps to speed things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverH Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Using the safety belt limits you learning the balance faster. You've not the perfect position (balance on the wheel. You're focused on the area in front of the wheel and it's quite important to fix a level point far away. Look on the videos from France and the Paris tours. People use them way to long and then tow them to the waist belt (is that the correct word for the belt you've on a pair of trousers/ a pant?). People must feel the balance point or they never learn to ride well. No fear try it Get the people on the wheel, walk beside and if the balance point is under control ride beside them and put them at their hand. Riding beside each other will get the beginner a faster secure feeling. That's my experience. In the next step the beginner should drive circles, a 8, step on and off. If you show them what to do they can learn to stand on the wheel in good manner in 3-4 hours (can be faster depending on the balance feeling). Not perfect enough to ride on street but the basics are there. People used to ride a mechanical unicycle, do dancing, ride a snowboard, do surfing have a big advantage. I've seen people riding stable alone/ by self after 10-15 min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mich Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 On 3/14/2016 at 7:58 AM, tjcooper said: I just saw the video about "triangle method" and to "lock the knee". I have not done this. I will try it this week. All the videos make the step up of the 2nd foot as effortless and no wobble. I just don't seem to have enough time to get the 2nd foot in position ... Triangle method is useless, because it doesn't work, unless you already know how to keep low speed balance. And once you figure out how to keep balance at low speeds, you don't need any special method how to hop on EUC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael de Gans Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 (edited) 27 minutes ago, mich said: Triangle method is useless, because it doesn't work, unless you already know how to keep low speed balance. And once you figure out how to keep balance at low speeds, you don't need any special method how to hop on EUC. I have to disagree, but of course to each their own. The triangle method is essential to make sure you can control the euc with one foot on it so you won't kick the wheel away when stopping/getting off or (what many do before controlling their unit) quickly jump on with the other foot and hope it'll be allright when moving forward. Control your forward/backward movement of the wheel with one leg through the triangle technique by locking your shin/knee to the wheel and getting off and on will be easier and less catastrophic voor things/people around you. (and I'm not just saying that because we made that video...) Beginner tutorial videos: http://futurewheels.nl/videos/ Edited March 16, 2016 by Michael David de Gans 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jag_Rip Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 18 hours ago, Michael David de Gans said: When we started learning people through our courses we helped them physically but we quickly switched to safety belts without physical help. Of course tips and technique explanations always speed up the proces. But we discovered relying on a persons assistance compared to relying on yourself holding the belt is a whole different experience in terms of letting go and having the confidence in yourself. In courses I can see why you use a belt, usually there are less trainers than learners. Also the better they get the faster you run as trainer next to them which gets exhausting fast. I dont to trainings professionally but I helped about 15 people to do their fist meters on a EUC and those picking up the techniques the fastest were clearly those that I walked next to them. I was also paying attention that my pupils didnt just lean on me, I wasnt their "wall" to hang on to, so if they lost balance I didnt support them too much so they had to do the most work, I helped when they overcompensated their balancing and start to wave with their arms. After a few meters of rolling I would deny them most of my stability so they depend on my help as little as possible. As soon as they were rolling mostly on their own, all they got was a finger or a shoulder to put their hand on. Many ways lead to rome, I guess there isnt THE perfect way to learn a EUC. Good job on providing trainings nonetheless! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mich Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 (edited) 18 hours ago, Michael David de Gans said: I have to disagree, but of course to each their own. The triangle method is essential to make sure you can control the euc with one foot ... Beginner tutorial videos: http://futurewheels.nl/videos/ You are correct sir, triangle method is important for all the reasons you stated. Only the tutorial videos for beginners explaining triangle method are useless and very much unhelpful. They make it seem like the difficult part is how to put your feet on pedals. In reality that's easy, difficult part comes after, that is how to keep the balance and not to fall immediately. I've received my EUC last week, and I've the same experience as tjcooper above. After about an hour of practice on parking place, it was impossible for me to hop on EUC without support. Edited March 17, 2016 by mich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcooper Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 I really worked hard today on the "triangle method". I made some good progress on getting up without the training wheels. The key thing I learned today is that you must put 1st foot at exactly the right "forward-back spacing" on the petal otherwise the unit will slide out in front of you or behind you. The 2nd thing is that you must have a fairly steep angle of the 1st foot tilting the unicycle over towards the 2nd foot. It also seemed very helpful to really jamb your calf against the upright of the unicycle. That is what gave me the time to get the 2nd foot onto the petal during the "hop". REAL PROBLEM: 3 times I experienced "unexpected stop" of unit while moving forward today. See that thread: "Poll: Have you experienced an unexpected shut-off while riding?" In it I tell my story. Battery at 3 bars and just moving slowly. The last time I was going like 5 mph and the stop launched me 5 feet through the air in front of the unit. I am now afraid to ride it again. It happens randomly when nothing special is happening. Thank God for good knee pads and wrist protectors. Does anyone else have this problem with the H3 Huanxi or MoHoo units? tjcooper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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