Damn, this is effing hard... lol

[.....]

32 minutes ago, Albatross said:

It's Dirk Diggler on a wheel...  That old GoPro surprised me though, $25 bucks and still doing it's thing.  But I am having fun with these videos, I understand why so many make them.  Adds an additional fun factor to the hobby.  I will look into getting a better camera eventually.  For now, I am working on selling some more of my hobby stuff, like some tools and a few vintage watches that I did work on to go towards a more powerful wheel in the next few months.  I am riding around my development and been venturing out to the neighborhood and my top speed is always around 20mph.  At this point, I am not sure that I want to go over 30 mph ever, but I am worried of overpowering the v8f and made a decision that my next wheel should have top speed not less then 30 mph.  Since budgeting is always an issue, I am seriously considering a new Tesla, unless I get lucky and get a used one for a good price. 

 

You have the sickness now, its too late. When you start eyeballing stuff to sell, to afford another wheel, you have reached past the point of no return! 20mph is still a great cruise speed for me as well. Even tho Im enjoying being able to do 30mph and i feel safer on my roads at higher speeds, 20mph just seems to be the right combo of centrifugal force but not so much you can't carve and stop quickly. I dont care much about safety, and 20mph is enough to bust your ass. 30mph is really nice on smooth terrain, but i think the difference in the two, makes it harder to keep your feet from jumping when hitting a bump at speed. Maybe I'll feel differently when I get a suspension under me, and 30mph becomes the new 20mph. Of course when I say 20/30mph Kingsong is more like 16/26 or something. Bolo for prices to drop on new and used wheels this year. With everyone 'upgrading'  and succumbing to 'the grass is greener' syndrome, there will be deals to be found. Cmon battery tech! I want a LONG range wheel, but Im not riding an impossibly heavy suitcase for it.  *I still have a hero3 that has had its ass KICKED its entire life. The GP sure do allow you to get your money worth. Not a HUGE fan of the Gopro MAx built in mount fingers, they tend to let the camera flop around. But, the Hero7 is a damn fine bang for buck camera. Of the 2, I prefer the hero7 quality, didnt think I would. When camera shopping, be VERY mindful of stabilization, its a game changer!

Edited May 29, 2020 by ShanesPlanet

[Albatross]

Went riding today. Went out of my neighborhood crossed over from Huntingdon Valley into Philadelphia. Rode around a quiet neighborhood. Made a loop and crossed over back to my town, HV.  Wiped out twice. Once, the road was a mess, filled with potholes and uneven pavement. Went through, tried to avoid obstacles, tensed up, wheel went everywhere and I jumped off.  Second time was on a road without sidewalk or shoulder, some cars passed me and I lost control. Luckily there was a thorny bush to catch me. Over all damage just some scratches on my arm from the bush and a bite on the ankle from a pedal. The wheel is alright as well. The trip was just over 4 miles. My feet started killing me half way through it. Both times I crashed, I thought to my self, if I had stopped to rest for a minute I would of probably made it through without crashing. 
 

After getting back and resting I went out to my street and tried practicing figure eights.  That was a disaster. I keep scraping the pedals and lost control of the wheel a few times. Also, I still have an issue stopping more then 50% of the time. Some times a perfect stop, but most of the time I either get off with the wrong foot or almost jump off the wheel. It feels like the wheel doesn’t respond as fast to me leaning back for stops. What I did notice and is positive is that I don’t have to hop pay left foot on anymore. It amazed me today that I could keep the wheel more or less stable today and take more time to lift my left foot on the pedal. Don’t know my top speed today, but I don’t think it was over 18-19mph.  There was also a lot of wobbling. 

[PennBruce]

2 hours ago, Albatross said:

 Luckily there was a thorny bush to catch me.

LOL

3 hours ago, Albatross said:

 Went through, tried to avoid obstacles, tensed up, wheel went everywhere and I jumped off.  

Try to stay with the wheel.  It's tempting to jump off the wheel because you're concerned about losing control and getting injured.  However, you can frequently recover control by going with the wheel.

2 hours ago, Albatross said:

Some times a perfect stop, but most of the time I either get off with the wrong foot....

There shouldn't be a wrong foot.  You should practice mounting/dismounting with either foot.

Keep at it!

Bruce

[Albatross]

So, I want to change the title of this post to its effing Amazing and so easy...

Been our riding around the neighborhood for a few minutes here as there for a few days. Had a hard day today. Came home, put the kids to sleep and had a glass of wine. Got my gear on and went riding my .5 mile circle around my development. Rode for awhile. About 9 miles. Max speed 22mph. Carving all the way. What f@&ing fun!!!  I got this and it is so satisfying!!! Thank you everyone on this thread that gave me pointers. I appreciate every one of you!  Oh and I did all the riding in the dark today. Neighborhood is very fond of the lights of the v8f. Keep getting positive comments from neighbors. This weekend going to hit bike trails I’m ready!

[.....]

Don't forget to take the wine! Happy to hear you're getting along with it.

[Scottie]

22 hours ago, Albatross said:

So, I want to change the title of this post to its effing Amazing and so easy...

Been our riding around the neighborhood for a few minutes here as there for a few days. Had a hard day today. Came home, put the kids to sleep and had a glass of wine. Got my gear on and went riding my .5 mile circle around my development. Rode for awhile. About 9 miles. Max speed 22mph. Carving all the way. What f@&ing fun!!!  I got this and it is so satisfying!!! Thank you everyone on this thread that gave me pointers. I appreciate every one of you!  Oh and I did all the riding in the dark today. Neighborhood is very fond of the lights of the v8f. Keep getting positive comments from neighbors. This weekend going to hit bike trails I’m ready!

Yep, we all knew this was going to happen for you! .... because you were so effing determined!

[Albatross]

Had my first “real” ride out of my neighborhood.  Rode the Pennypack trail. Very cool scenery through a Forrest, some gravel and bumps on the way. Rode 5.5 miles one way, took a 10 minute break on a bench and rode the same distance back. My legs and feet are killing me. This is the longest continuous ride I’ve had so far and not on a paved street like my neighborhood.  It was freaking AWESOME!!!

Top speed was 20.6 mph. My feet went numb and there was a lot of wobbling by the end.  But, it was f$&king glorious   

 

[Albatross]

My new baby is ready to hit the trails this weekend!!!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kBoZsxeXPB1EQZ3y8

 

[null]

Nice to hear about your progress, it'll just get easier and more comfy as you go   (congrats with new wheel)

[Zulix]

I started with a Tesla for my first wheel.  Came in July 1st and like you, for the first couple days I thought I was getting nowhere.  Hyperextended my finger in my first fall on day two and it swelled up like it was a banana.  Two days later on the 4th, I managed to do a loop around the parking lot I had been practicing in, and that was my longest run by far at the time.  I also fell and sprained my shoulder (would have been much worse without my gear, put a crack in my helmet and scraped the hell out of my wristguards and elbow pad).  It's now the 11th - I have a new helmet and my shoulder still is recovering, but I just got back from my first 5-mile bike path ride.  Had to stop and rest for about 5 minutes twice along the ride to rest my feet and my thighs, but man, so fun.  I haven't had the nerve to try riding in the streets yet, aside from the low-traffic streets of my own neighborhood.  Haven't raised my tiltback above 20mph yet either, so been riding at mostly 15-16mph.  So still learning, but looking back and realizing it's only been 10 days, and I thought I was never going to get it.  Looking forward to seeing how much better I get as I go.

[Albatross]

4 minutes ago, Zulix said:

I started with a Tesla for my first wheel.  Came in July 1st and like you, for the first couple days I thought I was getting nowhere.  Hyperextended my finger in my first fall on day two and it swelled up like it was a banana.  Two days later on the 4th, I managed to do a loop around the parking lot I had been practicing in, and that was my longest run by far at the time.  I also fell and sprained my shoulder (would have been much worse without my gear, put a crack in my helmet and scraped the hell out of my wristguards and elbow pad).  It's now the 11th - I have a new helmet and my shoulder still is recovering, but I just got back from my first 5-mile bike path ride.  Had to stop and rest for about 5 minutes twice along the ride to rest my feet and my thighs, but man, so fun.  I haven't had the nerve to try riding in the streets yet, aside from the low-traffic streets of my own neighborhood.  Haven't raised my tiltback above 20mph yet either, so been riding at mostly 15-16mph.  So still learning, but looking back and realizing it's only been 10 days, and I thought I was never going to get it.  Looking forward to seeing how much better I get as I go.

Great Job!!! It will only become easier and more fun. 
 

I would suggest setting your limits on the wheel to the max and just enjoy it. The speed is only going to be increasing. 

[UniMe]

On 7/11/2020 at 7:21 AM, Zulix said:

I started with a Tesla for my first wheel.  Came in July 1st and like you, for the first couple days I thought I was getting nowhere.  Hyperextended my finger in my first fall on day two and it swelled up like it was a banana.  Two days later on the 4th, I managed to do a loop around the parking lot I had been practicing in, and that was my longest run by far at the time.  I also fell and sprained my shoulder (would have been much worse without my gear, put a crack in my helmet and scraped the hell out of my wristguards and elbow pad).  It's now the 11th - I have a new helmet and my shoulder still is recovering, but I just got back from my first 5-mile bike path ride.  Had to stop and rest for about 5 minutes twice along the ride to rest my feet and my thighs, but man, so fun.  I haven't had the nerve to try riding in the streets yet, aside from the low-traffic streets of my own neighborhood.  Haven't raised my tiltback above 20mph yet either, so been riding at mostly 15-16mph.  So still learning, but looking back and realizing it's only been 10 days, and I thought I was never going to get it.  Looking forward to seeing how much better I get as I go.

Dang! You took some bumps on the way! sounds like it was worth it though and that you're up and running now.

My first EUC is on the way, thanks for the reminder of how important safety gear is. I was fully intending to purchase gear but didn't intend to go full motocross with the shoulder pads etc. I might decide to rethink that. Sadly, I had a full set of upper body armor that I tossed in the trash a couple years back after finally ditching my dual sport motorcycle.

[Fenland Ranger]

Hi all. Read through a lot of these posts on this topic and as someone who is also new and approaching 50 can I add my comments.

Tarmac/path is definitely better to learn on at first as their tend to be fences/wall to hang on near by. Grass is softer but requires more power momentum to keep upright, or so I find. For the first week I just went back and forth along the fence as I figured balance was priority and also a sense of accomplishment. Half moons I cant do at all and gave up for now. Though after a month I can now scoot along on my V8 around the estate paths at a leisurely pace and have done 3km without issue as long as there is a post to aim for if I need to dismount. Dismounting is my biggest fail as I can not control the wheel yet once planting my foot down. Thankfully, I haven't had any cases where this procedure has been  a danger and generally guide it into a hedge.

How are others finding this step of dismounting any pointers please.

Cheers

[StuartL]

To practise dismounting I'd do the following:

• Start as normal, one foot on the wheel and one foot on the ground.
• Jump up, ride the minimum distance you can and keep stable.
• Slow to a complete stop without putting your feet down.
• Put one foot down.
• Repeat

It's obviously steps 3 and 4 that are hard but those are what you're practising.  The more you do it the easier it'll get.  Also: Practise starting on different feet and practise putting a different foot down each time.  This will help your confidence significantly because you'll know that you can mount or dismount whichever side your balance is naturally on.

[meepmeepmayer]

I think the important part about dismounting (for beginners) is to do it quickly in one dynamic movement. Not slooooooowly getting slower and giving yourself ample time and opportunity to lose balance. Just do a nice strong brake and then step off in one sporty move (just don't step off to early, before you came to a halt).

[Albatross]

My take on this is that one has to stop overthinking it and just do it.  I had difficulties stopping and dismounting when I started as well, but after riding for 4 months it is no longer an issue.  The point is, the more you ride, the better you get. 

I cannot believe how difficult riding seemed to me when I started.  Just looking over this post, man if I knew then what I know now... lol.

[Scottie]

44 minutes ago, Albatross said:

I cannot believe how difficult riding seemed to me when I started.

You are not alone there. I think more than half of us had to work really hard to get up and going. I am in that group that got there like you, through shear effing determination, stubbornness, and so on.

[Toad]

6 hours ago, Fenland Ranger said:

... without issue as long as there is a post to aim for if I need to dismount. Dismounting is my biggest fail as I can not control the wheel yet once planting my foot down. Thankfully, I haven't had any cases where this procedure has been  a danger and generally guide it into a hedge.

How are others finding this step of dismounting any pointers please.

Ha ha, I wound up flat on my back in front of a crowd of increasingly concerned women when I was learning this.  If the wheel keeps going forward after you've put one foot down, it means you're pressing down with the ball or toes your (still mounted) foot.  This is a natural reflex, which would work perfectly to stop a non-motorized wheel. 

[null]

Your ground leg is probably too far back, stand with legs well appart and on the same line. The wheel has the angle of the leg and will turn so you can do the compas with it. That helps learning to keep it from going outwards.

Edited August 17, 2020 by null

[Fenland Ranger]

On ‎8‎/‎17‎/‎2020 at 10:33 PM, Toad said:

Ha ha, I wound up flat on my back in front of a crowd of increasingly concerned women when I was learning this.  If the wheel keeps going forward after you've put one foot down, it means you're pressing down with the ball or toes your (still mounted) foot.  This is a natural reflex, which would work perfectly to stop a non-motorized wheel. 

Not fallen over as such, I get caught out by low hanging branches, try to bend under them and the sudden shift in core left me unstable and I came off, wheel bounced and ended up in hedge. That was just moments after I glided passed the local playground and some children thought I was out of Back to the Future! Ego trip when you catch people watching you, Just cant turn head and acknowledge them due to potential loss of focus.

Will try to practice the stopping and dismounting though as don't want to be a danger to others.