Age

[Bruce55]

I’m new here and I’m getting really curious about these wheels . My problem is age ... I’m 65 and just wondering if one of these wheels are going to be easy enough for me to learn to ride without killing myself . Other then age I have some arthritis in the left knee (right knee is dominate ... I just want to ride some paved trails and bike lanes ... ( I rode a motorcycle for years ... still have my balance ..golf and bowl_) Tell me what you think Please!

[MetricUSA]

A lot of 50+ here with wheels, as long as you can still stand and keep your knees bent, should be ok...who doesn't have arthritis...

[Dgar]

I'll be 60 in a couple of months. I had two knee surgeries with some mild arthritis in one of them. While I was learning I definitely felt it but once I was comfortable it wasn't really an issue for me. As a matter of fact I have found that it has strengthened my knees and ankles and have actually helped over all.

[GoGeorgeGo]

Your ability to balance and control yourself in micro movements is all that really matters.  If you can balance, you can ride!!

[Tasku]

I am 40s but I we have 2 retired person in the local area riding EUCs. They key to learning is to have patience and give time for the learning. It seems to be quite invidual process. Another person can help the process to be shorter to get basics covered. Not all of us remember how hard it was to learn bicycling but the thing is, as you go you get better. Age is not problem what people have proven to me so far.

Hope you stay safe and use that motorcycle gear to protect yourself @Bruce55. I am currently looking jackets to protect my shoulders with em pads.

Edited October 8, 2020 by Tasku

[RockyTop]

I have a huge amount of respect for the older among us that ride EUC’s. I see it as a bit of a gamble. It is actually kind of a catch 22. If you lean to ride you will develop muscles that you have not used in many years. This makes your bones and joints stronger making you feel 10 years younger. It builds your core and makes you less likely to get hurt. And it is a very fun way to achieve such youth.  It is like exercising without having to exercise. The catch is in the learning process. While learning you are likely to take a fall and the least capable to withstandIng the fall. 65 is still quite young for some people so a fall might not be too bad? 
Regardless of age I believe that just 15 minutes a day will get you on your way. Learning to ride is a lower brain function and is sorted out while you sleep. Most people do there best to over think the learning process and sabotage their lower brain. 
1) Foot position- front of shin, center of wheel, 2) look forward not down.
3) safety gear .... and (assume that the wheel wants to spin around and bash your shin when you only have one foot on it) 

[Bruce55]

Thanks all its food for thought ... one of my biggest huddles will be mama!! I have to do a lot of sweet talking or just go out and buy and have some silence for a couple of weeks ... Hmmmm 

[Wig]

I was 66 when I began riding. My first wheel was a Kingsong 16s. It took me awhile, some bumps, bruises and black and blue ankles but eventually things started to click. I’ve only fallen once since then while rounding a curve on a dirt road and hit a patch of fine sand, only thing hurt was my pride. Wear all the safety gear(wrist, elbow, knee pads and helmet) quit when tired and be patient. Improvements come incrementally. If it’s something you really want to do then go for it.

[.....]

5 hours ago, Bruce55 said:

Thanks all its food for thought ... one of my biggest huddles will be mama!! I have to do a lot of sweet talking or just go out and buy and have some silence for a couple of weeks ... Hmmmm 

First step... you're old enough, its time to retrieve your nuts and put them back in your sack. Don't worry, surely she's found some other hobbies to keep her distracted and silence is golden After that, the question becomes... can you fall down and survive it? I dont mean out of a car, but can you likely take a non moving tumble and not be hospitalized for months? Its a serious question, as some people get older and they just simply dont have the ability to fall down and get up.

Since you are considering an euc and likely know that it MAY cause you to fall once or twice, I'm betting you arent a VERY old 65.  So, with your nuts back in your possession, do like @RockyTop mentioned and just gear up how you need and take it nice and easy. Plenty of mature people here that start riding at your age. Im sure theres a few that also decided it wasnt for them. Either way, you have to try. If you followed step#1, the real victory is already over anyhow. Best of luck, dont buy cheap and browse the pages here. Youll find that rider ages and styles range from one extreme to the other. Me, i help represent the calm, responsible, mature and conservative side of the group.

Edited October 9, 2020 by ShanesPlanet

[AlaskanAlain]

I am getting up there in age and had a bad fall a few months ago, all is good now.  It was just painful for over a month riding over bumps on the trail with two broken ribs.  At 65 you are probably tougher than most anyway.  I would say to get it, at 75 you may just have to ride a bit slower, it's still fun going 15mph.  IMO this is the hover-round of the future.

[Ubute]

Hi, I'm 71 and expecting my first wheel, a V8F, to arrive next week. I've done my research, I've weighed up the risks and I've decided to give it a go. I don't like falling and I'm slow to get up again, but I think I can take the odd slow speed tumble. The legs and knees aren't as strong as they used to be and I'm conscious of the possibility this might turn out to be too hard. But I'm going to take it slowly - I'm patient and persistent - practice all the drills and stop if I get tired or frustrated.

Hopefully also arriving soon, a light weight full face helmet, gloves with built in wrist guards, knee-shin guards, elbow-forearm guards, padded shorts (bumsavers). I already have a motorcycle jacket. After reading here about black and blue ankles when learning I've just ordered some Ennui Ankle Guards.

I'm going to be like a medieval knight in armour as I tootle around the playing fields at walking pace! But the purpose is fun, not reckless excitement, and the belief that the best way to beat back old age is to learn new things.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[RockyTop]

45 minutes ago, Ubute said:

Hi, I'm 71 and expecting my first wheel, a V8F, to arrive next week. I've done my research, I've weighed up the risks and I've decided to give it a go. I don't like falling and I'm slow to get up again, but I think I can take the odd slow speed tumble. The legs and knees aren't as strong as they used to be and I'm conscious of the possibility this might turn out to be too hard. But I'm going to take it slowly - I'm patient and persistent - practice all the drills and stop if I get tired or frustrated.

Hopefully also arriving soon, a light weight full face helmet, gloves with built in wrist guards, knee-shin guards, elbow-forearm guards, padded shorts (bumsavers). I already have a motorcycle jacket. After reading here about black and blue ankles when learning I've just ordered some Ennui Ankle Guards.

I'm going to be like a medieval knight in armour as I tootle around the playing fields at walking pace! But the purpose is fun, not reckless excitement, and the belief that the best way to beat back old age is to learn new things.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Try not to get discouraged the first time on the wheel. I remember my first attempt. My thoughts were " There's No Way!" Then ten minutes later I could get from post to post in a parking garage. Anyone can do it. It just takes time. It took my wife about three months before she could ride down a trail. Now she is too much of a speed daemon. She has no regrets. On the flip side she likes the idea that she is among a small list of people that can ride these things. 

[redsnapper]

If you can stand and walk, you can do EUC! Go slow and use a spotter when you are trying to learn and this will speed your progress. There are many threads on how to learn! Stay positive and have fun while learning. YOu're gonna luv it!

[DanCar]

I'm older than I care to admit.  I've been an athlete all my life.  I thought it would be a piece of cake to ride one of these things since these types of things come easy to me.  Took me a week to learn.  Was very frustrating.  Turned out my wheel had low tire pressure that made it difficult.  Once I got the tire pressure up, it was a piece of cake.  Still took 4 months before I was very comfortable.  Lots of fun, you will enjoy learning and the sense of flying.

Edited October 10, 2020 by DanCar

[Scubadragonsan]

We are a 61 and 68 couple. have been riding for 3 years. Fun like hell! Have explore a lot of the trails in the beautiful country. Wheeling opens up a new level of experience in its own right that you don't find either in walking or biking or driving. Like some say...just glide...float in the air...rock...dance...!

[redsnapper]

9 minutes ago, DanCar said:

I'm older than I care to admit.  I've been an athlete all my life.  I thought it would be a piece of cake to ride one of these things since these types of things come easy to me.  Took me a week to learn.  Was very frustrating.  Turned out my wheel had low tire pressure that made it difficult.  Once I got the tire pressure up, it was a piece of cake.  Still took 4 months before I was very comfortable.  Lots of fun, you will enjoy learning and the sense of flying.

I hv acquired 2 wheels at low $$ because original owners were trying to learn on wheels with too low unrideable psi from the factory. I get wheel and wtf. Thing is even 5psi on a small tire feels sufficient to the touch so u can easily be fooled!

[Bobby]

On 10/8/2020 at 2:20 AM, Bruce55 said:

I’m new here and I’m getting really curious about these wheels . My problem is age ... I’m 65 and just wondering if one of these wheels are going to be easy enough for me to learn to ride without killing myself . Other then age I have some arthritis in the left knee (right knee is dominate ... I just want to ride some paved trails and bike lanes ... ( I rode a motorcycle for years ... still have my balance ..golf and bowl_) Tell me what you think Please!

Bruce, I'm 70 in December and have been riding for 10 years. Four weeks ago I got my new King Song S18 suspension wheel to replace my ageing Gotway. It is awesome, being agile fast and comfortable! You might consider a suspension wheel (3 choices now) to take the shock out of your dodgy knee?

[Dr Crinkle]

On 10/10/2020 at 4:38 PM, DanCar said:

I'm older than I care to admit.  I've been an athlete all my life.  I thought it would be a piece of cake to ride one of these things since these types of things come easy to me.  Took me a week to learn.  Was very frustrating.  Turned out my wheel had low tire pressure that made it difficult.  Once I got the tire pressure up, it was a piece of cake.  Still took 4 months before I was very comfortable.  Lots of fun, you will enjoy learning and the sense of flying.

Yeah! I’ve been learning 1 hour a day for a week. Today was the first time I got WORSE rather than better. Couldn’t get my balance, found it hard to get going, wobbled like crazy. Only had 5psi in my Ninebot One E +. I’ll try again tomorrow with 30psi. I’m 190lbs so let’s see. 

[null]

I’d wobble with 5psi  

[Scottie888]

I too suffer from a bump left knee courtesy of a torn meniscus & removal surgery. Not everything aggravates its it but wheeling is sadly one of those. 

Luckily the advent of suspension alleviates a lot of the aggravations of road imperfections, rough terrains & jumps. Despite all of its birthing issues, my S18 has turned my riding from zero to hero as I traverse grassy knolls at speed, crush ft high curbs & handle offroad transitions like a boss.

Ofcos learning how to ride & adjusting your personal riding technique/style to least affect the knee while wearing a knee brace of sorts, helps. Regardless, suspension is the greatest thing to happen for us with bump knees.

[Nostris]

Ok, so I’m 67 years old.  I got seduced by YouTube, in particular Nonstop Neal’s European tour videos. Recently got a V8f from Myewheels in Bulgaria. Fortunately, I have a nice little paddock to learn in. After a couple of sessions of learning the feel of the wheel, getting the lean angle to start off, doing the rocking back and forth with my hand on the wall etc, I went up the paddock and gave it a go. Much to my surprise, within 10 minutes I was able to mount and wobble my way across the field...the first half an hour is hard work, until it suddenly clicks, and you start to relax. The thing I found to be the key was that...your feet need to be further forward on the pedals than I thought..my heels do not overhang the back edge of the pedal...If your stance is too far back, you can’t get the speed to get going..and a bit of speed is the key. The following day, I started off without any big problems and started to get the hang of steering the thing. So, never mind your age, never mind that others will think you a mad old b@*#rd...buy one and enjoy...it’s a blast. 

[Ubute]

This afternoon my V8F has finally arrived. Woohoo! The only dealer who apparently had one in stock turned out to be an eBay scammer who took my money and did nothing. After a few weeks I demanded my wheel and he immediately refunded me. I suppose the idea is to keep people's money as long as possible. Anyway I was refunded through Paypal and ordered again from a proper dealer, eRiderz. I'm glad I now have warranty back-up.

While I've waited I've read on this forum the experiences of other older riders, their safety gear and their accidents. I've agonised over my choice of helmet and other gear. Then last week I had a nasty fall on a very steep part of our property. Stupid me, I was wearing the wrong shoes and strayed onto the slope to look at a flowering shrub I planted a few years ago. I slipped and fell heavily on my side, my kidney area taking the full force of the fall. Luckily it missed the ribs and the hips but I still have limited movement after five days and coughing and sneezing are agony. It's an area completely unprotected by my unicycle gear, but I'm not going to get a full suit of armour. I look too much like Darth Vader in my full face helmet as it is. Anyway, I managed to mow the lawn yesterday but I'm strongly reminded how much a fall can hurt at 71.

It's dented my confidence a bit but not my enthusiasm. Tomorrow I shall start practicing but will have to take it slowly.

So far I haven't managed to get the InMotion App to work. It can't find my V8F and won't let me log in. Darkness Bot found my wheel instantly, even when it was charging up.  It says my new V8F has done 24 miles. Can that be right? I need to get the InMotion App working to play around with the settings. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Ubute]

If this all gets too hard I'm getting one of these!

I might get one anyway!

[Wig]

Hey Ubute,

Welcome, the reading could be meters and that could possibly happen just rolling the wheel around. Age wise I’m not far behind you. I too am very aware of falling. As far as learning to ride, take it slow, quit when tired, wear the gear(a full face helmet probably isn’t necessary at first) and don’t get discouraged. I know this sounds counterintuitive but having a beer actually helps(1 beer). Good luck there are a lot of good tips on the forum to help you along.

[Wig]

Just realized I had already commented on this thread. See, I told you I was getting old. 😕