Graciously stepping off - Help!

[JFP9]

I see the youtube videos of EUC riders graciously, eloquently, or how every you want to put it, stepping off their wheels, with the wheel obediently holding at their foot.  I have been practicing that, and the closest I can come is slowing down and nearly going in reverse and dropping one foot, barely keeping my balance while the wheel either tips over or skips forward as I grab it before it hits the pavement.  

So I have a few questions for the experts out there....

1) When you step off do you keep your dominant foot on the pad or step down with it? 

2) When you are ready to dismount, do you "break" and then just start to begin to go backwards so the wheel doesn't keep rolling forward? (so it is more of 1: slow down, 2: start rolling backwards, and then 3: step down on one foot)

3)  When you "got it" was there an "A HA!" moment you'd like to share.    [For me, I was just slowing down jumping off with one foot and then grab the wheel, then I tried the slow down, start going backwards, and then grab the wheel and this was somewhat of my "A HA!" moment...am I headed in the right direction? (pun intended)]

I spent an hour doing nothing but starting and stopping and I still feel like stopping the EUC is more of a jump off sport before it scoots away, than an eloquent dismount. 

Suggestions?

Cheers,

Jim

[SirGeraint]

1)  I leave my dominant foot on the pedal.

2)  I do not go backward.   But since I am stopping my EU isn't likely going to go forward without some change in my foot pressure on the pedal.

The only other thing I can think to add is that once you put your foot down you have to be extra careful to keep the right amount of pressure on the foot on the pedal.  Too much or too little pressure and the EU will flip to one side.  You don't want to put pressure to make it go forward either.

I would think that you could practice the correct foot pressure by doing that learning exercise where you stand on one 'pivot' foot and use your other foot to go forward and backward in a semi-circle (arc).

If you can post a video showing your attempts someone might be able to tell you what you need to correct.

[SlowMo]

For me, dismounting is just the opposite of the mounting routine. When I mount, my dominant foot for is locked in place with my shin at the padding. I apply same procedure on dismount which means when I slow down, I step my other foot down with my dominant foot remaining on the same position as when I was mounting. That keeps hold of my EUC.

[gp]

Just practice one-foot-riding, also at slower speeds. If you can do that without effort, there's no problem to dismount as graciously as you wish. ;)

[JFP9]

Thank you for all the suggestions. 

Hadn't thought about the video idea, definitely going to give it a try... 

Right now, one-foot riding is way beyond my balance skills, but it is something to work towards.

Cheers,

Jim

[Jag_Rip]

you can gradually train it by shifting your weight onto one foot while riding up to the point where you actually lift it off. Rebalance with both feet as soon as you think you went too far or when you arent riding straight anymore. I bend my knee slightly to step off, gives me more control of the bot on one foot.

[ToniG123]

For me, stepping off easily came very easy, naturally and surprisingly soon in my learning. I can really step off nicely and the Ninebot will stand still at my foot.

Now, stepping on gracefully, that is another thing. That is proving much more difficult, I still don't get it smoothly all the time and I'm still working on it.

 

 

[gp]

Yep, on-foot is the "secret", stepping on or off. How comfortable it is, depends very much on wheel dimensions and shell profile also - the higher the contact-point vs pedal, the easier it is. SW Xtrme, for instance, being one of the most comfortable ones, as it is relatively thin (leg is closer to center) and high.  

[Mono]

1) one foot/leg stays always on the wheel, can be either, left of right, while the lower leg / calf is (must be) in contact with the wheel

2) usually I step down slightly before speed is zero, but I found it a good exercise to get to zero speed before stepping down or even roll a little backwards. I also found it a useful exercise to step down with the tip of the foot first (which only works with zero speed or rolling backwards), though it is not an easy exercise at first.  

3) no aha moment, just small improvements adding up

A basic exercise is to move the wheel around with one foot/leg while standing on the ground with the other foot/leg. If you can't control the wheel with one free leg, you probably will always have troubles to step down. For this, you need to remain in contact with the inner side of the lower leg. For example, I can stand on one leg and let the wheel make circles around me without loosing it. Then you can also start to make small steps with the ground foot which also gives a smooth transition to riding on one leg. When I am standing on one leg (e.g. waiting for a traffic light, talking to people,...), I often play a little with the wheel, just to get used to control it better. 

[Citi Wheel]

On 11/19/2015, 2:44:52, JFP9 said:

I see the youtube videos of EUC riders graciously, eloquently, or how every you want to put it, stepping off their wheels, with the wheel obediently holding at their foot.  I have been practicing that, and the closest I can come is slowing down and nearly going in reverse and dropping one foot, barely keeping my balance while the wheel either tips over or skips forward as I grab it before it hits the pavement.  

So I have a few questions for the experts out there....

1) When you step off do you keep your dominant foot on the pad or step down with it? 

2) When you are ready to dismount, do you "break" and then just start to begin to go backwards so the wheel doesn't keep rolling forward? (so it is more of 1: slow down, 2: start rolling backwards, and then 3: step down on one foot)

3)  When you "got it" was there an "A HA!" moment you'd like to share.    [For me, I was just slowing down jumping off with one foot and then grab the wheel, then I tried the slow down, start going backwards, and then grab the wheel and this was somewhat of my "A HA!" moment...am I headed in the right direction? (pun intended)]

I spent an hour doing nothing but starting and stopping and I still feel like stopping the EUC is more of a jump off sport before it scoots away, than an eloquent dismount. 

Suggestions?

Cheers,

Jim

Learning to ride with one foot and smoothly getting off involve basically the same technic. Practice riding with one foot and you will get good at getting off graciously.

 

I made a video of riding with one foot and backwards a few weeks ago. Check it out if you like:

https://youtu.be/zMDQtFic83Y

[SuperSport]

One thing I noticed is that I could never hold on to it with one foot.  I assume that's partly due to the TG F3 being so wide, but also, the pads were SOOO slippery that my shoes would not grip.  I tried different shoes, but nothing helped.  I would even slide forward during long rides and would continually have to move my feet back.

I went to my local AutoZone and got some Grip Tape, and Voila!  Now I can hold on very well without any slip and I can continue to practice getting on/off.  I need a LOT of practice still.

Grip Tape at AutoZone - $7.99 and enough for a few unicycles.

[SlowMo]

18 minutes ago, SuperSport said:

One thing I noticed is that I could never hold on to it with one foot.  I assume that's partly due to the TG F3 being so wide, but also, the pads were SOOO slippery that my shoes would not grip.  I tried different shoes, but nothing helped.  I would even slide forward during long rides and would continually have to move my feet back.

I went to my local AutoZone and got some Grip Tape, and Voila!  Now I can hold on very well without any slip and I can continue to practice getting on/off.  I need a LOT of practice still.

Grip Tape at AutoZone - $7.99 and enough for a few unicycles.

 

That's a lot of grip tape. It will be hard to dismount. Better to place some only near the ends of the pedals.

[SuperSport]

19 minutes ago, SlowMo said:

That's a lot of grip tape. It will be hard to dismount. Better to place some only near the ends of the pedals.

I was not sure about it when I installed.  Have not ridden it much since.  Thank you for the advice.  I would hate to struggle extra while learning if it's not necessary.

EDIT:  One other thing.  For the inside of the leg where it gets bruised easily, I wrapped Gauze Bandages (wrap thicker where needed) around the lower leg, and while it looks silly, it works VERY well!  Also does not show if you put pants over it.  Unless you have two Right Feet like this guy...    Or you ride nekkid like I do on holidays. 

Disclaimer: These are not my legs, they are a Leg Model's legs.

[SlowMo]

17 minutes ago, SuperSport said:

I was not sure about it when I installed.  Have not ridden it much since.  Thank you for the advice.  I would hate to struggle extra while learning if it's not necessary.

EDIT:  One other thing.  For the inside of the leg where it gets bruised easily, I wrapped Gauze Bandages around and while it looks silly, it works VERY well!  Also does not show if you put pants over it.  Unless you have two Right Feet like this guy...  

These are not my legs, they are a Leg Model's legs, but you get the idea.

Our forum instructors suggest soft volleyball knee pads with the padding positioned at the shin area. They will still be very useful as normal knee pads once you become an expert and they are very comfortable.

[Jurgen]

try 'stepping':

inside of the lower leg (dominant leg, f.ex. right leg) blocked against the EUC tilting the EUC to the 'stepping' side, try to take a step with the weak leg (left leg) while keeping a straight line.

This way you'll be riding 0.5meter each time on one leg, keeping the EUC tilted toward the stepping leg;

When you manage to take a 1m step like this (and if you like, getting on the EUC), the opposite will also work: you'll be able to ride for one meter bearing your weight only on the dominant leg while slowing down, and you'll have more than enough time to put your weak leg on the ground gracefully.