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My First Wheel: Veteran Sherman


Benjaminjhobbs

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You'll be fine, i don't think thereĀ much difference between this and something smaller. I usually have the same trail of thought, why buy cheap and twice.Ā 

In the meantime, start looking for some safety gear as when you get comfortable on this thing, you going need it, unless ofcourse you don't get bitten by the EUC bugĀ :lol:

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3 hours ago, NickNonsense said:

In the meantime, start looking for some safety gear as when you get comfortable on this thing, you going need it, unless ofcourse you don't get bitten by the EUC bugĀ :lol:

Thankfully I used to ride a motorcycle year round as my first mode of transportation so I have a nice four season jacket with pads and a helmet. Probably will just use a bicycle helmet as I initially will have the top speed set to like 10mph until I get really good at low speeds. I also of course will have knee pads, wrist guards, and elbow (although the elbow doesnā€™t make as much sense to me as the knee and wrist).Ā 

I am so curious to see how long it will take me to learn! I will keep everyone updated on my daily progress. I learned to ride a bicycle without training heels when I was two! Obviously this isnā€™t a bike but it is illustrative of how I stick at something until I learn it. I can stay up on a bicycle without moving and would consider myself good with balance but... the more I talk the more I inevitably set myself up for first day burnout lol. We will see! I have a whole step by step process ready once I get the wheel.Ā 

1. Start out with one food circles, with dominant foot on the wheelĀ 

2.Ā Mount next to a wall and get used to going forward and backward (a few inches)

3. Practice dominant foot on wheel and pushing forward (like when you mount but without actually placing my non-dominant foot on pedal)

4. Practice mounting and dismounting continuously this time with both feet on wheel

5. Just go for it! LolĀ 

If you have any suggestions to my first day training regime, let me know. I am implementing essentially the training seen here but with some slight variation on my #1 and #2.Ā 

Ā 

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9 hours ago, Benjaminjhobbs said:

Welp.. some might think me crazy but I decided to jump right into the deep end. The way I see it, why waste money on a wheel I will outgrow. I know it is HEAVY but I am one of those Rubix cube solving, stick at it until I get it type of people.
Ā 

I will keep you all updated with my progress and my inevitable first day regret šŸ˜‚ but I know a week or two later it will disappear. It is shipping soon and I canā€™t wait!Ā 
Ā 

Wish me luck! I am going to needĀ it LOL

You'll be fine... I started with a MSX and have a Sherman too and as long you have a sense of self preservation and some common sense, like don't try to see how fast it will go in the beginning. I used a mix of Kuji rolls and U-Stride videos and I was up and going in a couple of hours on my own.Ā  Wear shoes that protect your ankles, all all of the other gear too, and try not to look down and remember that wherever you look is where you'll go and have fun.Ā Ā 

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1 hour ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Don't forget to pad the wheel up like there's no tomorrow. Or you will have an excellent but very scratched up wheel after the first day;)

So... I have thought about this (: I think I might put a strap between the two bars and hold onto it to keep the wheel from falling (of course not using it for balance while riding). I would much rather pad it up. IĀ know it will look silly at first but I should only need it for a day or two. I can also try to practice in aĀ grass field albeit not the best surface to learn on. Any other ideas? I donā€™t know how I would go about padding it up.Ā 

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A strap will be distracting during learning. Not being worried about the wheel falling over and just letting it fall while running off relaxedly is the best way in my opinion.

Grass is a terrible surface to learn on. Pavement is much better.

You can use anything for padding, maybe just a lot of cardboard and duct tape (gorilla tape), or those foam pieces (yoga mat is a great idea)... anything really. Do not forget the underside of the pedals, that can get scratched and dented pretty badly, too. After two weeks or so, the padding can go.

Too bad there's no EUC bodyguard for the Sherman (yet), it would be perfect.

You got a great wheel, and the very first ride attempt outside will be the most dangerous forĀ it. So be prepared:)

Edited by meepmeepmayer
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3 hours ago, null said:

You could probably do a pretty good padding with a yoga mat and some tape. Congrats with the wheel, its great pleasure.

Ooo a yoga mat is a good idea. Just found a black one on Facebook Market for like five bucks.Ā 

I am so excited. I literally sold my car for it!Ā :facepalm::roflmao:

Ā 

3 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

A strap will be distracting during learning. Not being worried about the wheel falling over and just letting it fall while running off relaxedly is the best way in my opinion.

Grass is a terrible surface to learn on. Pavement is much better.

You can use anything for padding, maybe just a lot of cardboard and duct tape (gorilla tape), or those foam pieces (yoga mat is a great idea)... anything really. Do not forget the underside of the pedals, that can get scratched and dented pretty badly, too. After two weeks or so, the padding can go.

Too bad there's no EUC bodyguard for the Sherman (yet), it would be perfect.

You got a great wheel, and the very first ride attempt outside will be the most dangerous forĀ it. So be prepared:)

I could definitely see how a strap will be distracting. I think I will go for the yogamat idea, just found a super cheap one. A body guard would probably be too expensive anyways.Ā 

I am so absolutely excited! Definitely first day will be interesting. I am new to the forum. Should I continue this thread with updates on each day or start a new one?Ā 

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7 hours ago, Benjaminjhobbs said:

1. Start out with one food circles, with dominant foot on the wheelĀ 

2.Ā Mount next to a wall and get used to going forward and backward (a few inches)

3. Practice dominant foot on wheel and pushing forward (like when you mount but without actually placing my non-dominant foot on pedal)

4. Practice mounting and dismounting continuously this time with both feet on wheel

5. Just go for it! LolĀ 

That's spot on! It's how I did it. Drill, sleep and let muscle memory do it's job, repeat. :)

And gear up + pad up the wheel. Wrapping the tubing with a non-adhesive bandage or something similar might not be a bad idea ;)

7 hours ago, Willy510 said:

as long you have a sense of self preservation and some common sense

THAT šŸ‘†šŸ‘†šŸ‘†

Ā 

Ā 

Ā 

Ā 

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20 minutes ago, Benjaminjhobbs said:

am so absolutely excited! Definitely first day will be interesting. I am new to the forum. Should I continue this thread with updates on each day or start a new one?Ā 

I'd continue with this thread. Looking forward to seeing your progress! :)

BTW, one body part that tends to get bashed up when learning that many overlooked when learning (or at least, that was my case) are shins. A pair of cheap soccer shin-guards might not be a bad idea (in addition to the usual EUC gear: wrist guards + knee & elbow pads + helmet)

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31 minutes ago, travsformation said:

I'd continue with this thread. Looking forward to seeing your progress! :)

BTW, one body part that tends to get bashed up when learning that many overlooked when learning (or at least, that was my case) are shins. A pair of cheap soccer shin-guards might not be a bad idea (in addition to the usual EUC gear: wrist guards + knee & elbow pads + helmet)

I will definitely continue with this thread. It will be fun for me to see my progress day one. I might be too confident so I think I will either pick it up quickly or rash and burnĀ :laughbounce2:

Ooo good tip. I will definitely look into a cheap pair of shin guards.Ā 

Ā 

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2 minutes ago, Benjaminjhobbs said:

I will definitely continue with this thread. It will be fun for me to see my progress day one. I might be too confident so I think I will either pick it up quickly or rash and burnĀ :laughbounce2:

Ooo good tip. I will definitely look into a cheap pair of shin guards.Ā 

Ā 

And being as heavy as it it, I'd advise wearing footwear with hard tips so you don't crush your toes if the wheel lands on them šŸ˜œ

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31 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Looking forward to see your description of your very first thoughts when you lift the Sherman out of its box:D

I am sure they will be along the lines of...Ā 

What the heck!? This thing is way bigger and heavier than I had expected. It is going to be a monster to get control of. I canā€™t even hold it up with one foot to mount!? What in the world did I get myself into. I sold my car for this??? My wife is inevitably going to be saying, I told you so. Oh boy. Does anyone want to buy a new Sherman with a couple of dings and nicks from a few slight falls?Ā 

Lol. I truly canā€™t wait though. I will be recording all of my initial thoughts and reactions in my personal notes and then I will transfer them over to here as soon as I can.Ā 

Hopefully it will come soon!!! Jason at eWheels said they are hoping to get it shippedĀ mid/end of November. I already have my yoga mat ready to be duck taped on like a noob so I donā€™t scratch I all up ;)

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  • 3 weeks later...

So... any vote on if I should record it or not? I havenā€™t done any recording so it would probably be a hideous video but it might be fun to see my first attempt or soĀ :roflmao:

Jason at eWheels said they were delayed coming in the LA imports but he is hoping still sometime this week or next (shipping to me should take about two days) so it is any time nowĀ :w00t2:

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Looking forward to hearing from your progress, recorded or not :)Ā 
MaybeĀ don't add stress by hassling with more gear, just have fun training.
Depends if you want to (over?) analyse or let it build upĀ organically maybe..
(just the two cent from someone who never recorded anything)

Ā 

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  • 1 month later...

Congragts on the new wheel. THose sliders look like they would enjoy finding purchase inaĀ  backside :). The only reasons people say its not the perfect beginner wheel is

1) costs as much as a car

2)Heavier than some of us can safely lift

3)Fast enough to become part of vehicular homicide case

4)unproven design still in evolution

Even so, its a damn good wheel and if none of those things bothers you, its a GREAT learner wheel. Give yourself some time to settle into the sickness and youll have some other wheels to make comparisons with. I enjoy mine as its nice to know I have a long range weapon in my arsenal. Most times I'm not looking for 35mph+ or great distances, and thats when OTHER wheels come in handy. See, Im already giving you excuses to tell your wife and why you need more than one.

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I feel lucky to have had a place to take lessons usingĀ their wheel before I rode my shiny new 16x, dropped their wheel probably 15 times at least before I could navigate around the big room we were in, I felt like a newborn calf learning to stand up and walk...

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21 minutes ago, RetroThruster said:

I feel lucky to have had a place to take lessons usingĀ their wheel before I rode my shiny new 16x, dropped their wheel probably 15 times at least before I could navigate around the big room we were in, I felt like a newborn calf learning to stand up and walk..

Lol that is hilarious. I wish I had such a luxury. Thankfully I actually havenā€™t dropped it yet but I know it is a matter of time. But now I am over the initial learning curve and can ride it around the block and comfortably steer and such, I will take of the yoga mat wrap lol.Ā 

18 hours ago, Tawpie said:

I hope those sliders don't stab you if the Sherman crashes into you, wheelsĀ tend to follow you when you go down. You might think about something a little blunter, baby bumpers protect well.

They already have šŸ˜‚ I had to change the angle of them while I was learning because it was hitting my leg of I had to bail strange and catch the wheel. Now that I am acquainted enough I probably will keep them on still... I canā€™t help to imagine it getting all scratched up. By the time I am experienced enough to be going 30mph+ I will definitely take them off. They are at such an angle because when combined with the back it protects the front, back, AND sides from hitting the ground.Ā 

19 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Congragts on the new wheel. THose sliders look like they would enjoy finding purchase inaĀ  backside :). The only reasons people say its not the perfect beginner wheel is

1) costs as much as a car

2)Heavier than some of us can safely lift

3)Fast enough to become part of vehicular homicide case

4)unproven design still in evolution

Even so, its a damn good wheel and if none of those things bothers you, its a GREAT learner wheel. Give yourself some time to settle into the sickness and youll have some other wheels to make comparisons with. I enjoy mine as its nice to know I have a long range weapon in my arsenal. Most times I'm not looking for 35mph+ or great distances, and thats when OTHER wheels come in handy. See, Im already giving you excuses to tell your wife and why you need more than one.

Lol I know they make my Sherman look like a bull but I canā€™t help but keep it protected. I will probably take them off eventually when I am more comfortable but I am already cursing around the block! Have about 15 miles under my belt from the first two days. As far as the wheel, I totally agree with the cost and the weight** for lifting. Outside of lifting, I think the weight and speed are plusā€™s points. For me, though it can go 50mph+ the fact you can set your beeps and tilt back at anything, say 14 like I have it now, makes it so versatile. I can keep it at 14 until I ride about 100 miles which is my plan, and then bump it up 5mph/10mph every 100miles. That way a few hundred miles down the road I donā€™t outgrow the wheel, just change the settings. As far as the weight, it definitely made my dominant right foot very sore and took a while to learn how to keep it up right, but it has undoubtedly contributed to my quick learning. It makes it so planted that mounting doesnā€™t alter the wheels angle even if I have my balance off a bit. So much so that I am already starting to learn how to mount with my non-dominant foot. I think the wheel is so heavy that it takes it a bit to throw it off center and make for an improper mount (if that makes sense). That combined with the super fat wheel and I wouldnā€™t be surprised if most beginners are rolling down the parking lot in 10 minutes or so like myself. My wifeĀ read this with me and rightfully rolled her eyes lol. It was bad enough I already sold my only commuter car for the Sherman let alone buying more! We will see šŸ˜‚ I definitely have already begun getting sick....Ā 

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35 minutes ago, Tawpie said:

Not too loudly I hope, the general public already views us with a bit of suspicion.

What do you mean by loudly? Definitely not fast as of yet (tilt back at 14mph for now) and definitely not with blaring music or any other hooligan business. That is honestly one of my biggest concerns with the EUC community. U-Stride has talked about it well. We have the opportunity right now to keep this an unregulated hobby. But if we, as a community, donā€™t stay out of the public eye or are known for shooting down a walkway with people going 45mph, that will quickly change. I definitely wonā€™t be contributingĀ for to the problem I will tell you that much. The more people donā€™t know of us the better. Donā€™t get me wrong, I enjoy sharing with others the joy and fun of the EUC but I think you know what I mean.Ā 

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