New to EUCs and my brand new S18!

[WI_Hedgehog]

I like your bike! (and am again out of "likes"/up votes for the day) 

I built the first chopper similar to that one (named "Flossy," a "blackout" with the same tricoat blue), lost her in a "divorce." Good mate Alex did most of the work on this one (in chrome instead of black) and handed me the key.

You owned ~12 bikes! I'm in good company. 

[DWOTR]

Well... Another gowheel in YYC. I just took delivery of an RS torque. I considered the S-18. But for my weight, hills, and range, I decided on the RS. I was out pretty regular last season on the V-8 along the bow river pathway departing from Max Bell arena. But I'm open to meet just about any place.

 

Part of the draw of the Torque for me was the idea that I would like to have the ability to go off road as well. I fried a fuse on the V-8 going up a pretty steep hill last year. Fortunately, it was easy to replace. But earlier in the week I leaned hard to get across the street when traffic stopped for me. I felt the machine starting to tilt forward and damn near did a face plant. I don't want to be that guy that goes viral on a dash cam due to an under powered wheel. So the torque arrived yesterday.

 

If I decide to get a second wheel (need to prove to myself that I will use it enough to justify it) I would absolutely be leaning towards a S-18 for the suspension and range. I almost went that way due to age as I realize that I am not 18 and am not aging in reverse...

 

Anyhow, it's nice to see some YYC riders. I look forward to meeting a few this year.

 

[Unipsycho]

26 minutes ago, DWOTR said:

Anyhow, it's nice to see some YYC riders. I look forward to meeting a few this year.

Right on DWOTR, ya the RS-torque was my other consideration but I didn't want the extra weight as I like technical riding so agility and suspension made the most sense, although more range would be awesome.  Always tradesoff I guess when you only have one wheel.  That's OK, I'll use mine to get out further into the forests, then hike at the end of my turn back range.  Saves me having to hike or bike as fall for some of my hiking trips.  A good camouflaged tarp and voila, forest garage, haha.

[Scottie888]

@DWOTR Awesome! Turns out I take the Nose Creek & Bow River Pathways all the time for my rides so it would be easy to hook up. FWIW I'm in the nearby Highland Park area. Even though we got a dash of the white stuff last night, the weekend's forecast is low teens & sunshine so it should be hunky dory for a ride or 2.

Offroad trails might be still be mucky though but the pathways will be good. Maybe we can test out your RS's wet worthiness😅

[DWOTR]

26 minutes ago, Unipsycho said:

Right on DWOTR, ya the RS-torque was my other consideration but I didn't want the extra weight as I like technical riding so agility and suspension made the most sense, although more range would be awesome.  Always tradesoff I guess when you only have one wheel.  That's OK, I'll use mine to get out further into the forests, then hike at the end of my turn back range.  Saves me having to hike or bike as fall for some of my hiking trips.  A good camouflaged tarp and voila, forest garage, haha.

I had considered booting up the trail at some point this summer to get closer to the ice caves. It has been a few years since I was up there. I hadn't considered a tarp- just a lock and a short hike off trail. But nothing wrong with putting it in a forest garage (particularly when it is in a high usage area...)

[DWOTR]

@Scottie888 One of the days this weekend I'll be in Red Deer. But I should be good to get out. I also work near the airport with a pretty flexible schedule (at least in the summer) and can free myself up most nights for Nose Creek. I have yet to to out there. For some reason I just seemed to have done the paths along the bow with almost no deviation. Time to expand my horizons?

[Scottie888]

20 minutes ago, DWOTR said:

@Scottie888 One of the days this weekend I'll be in Red Deer. But I should be good to get out. I also work near the airport with a pretty flexible schedule (at least in the summer) and can free myself up most nights for Nose Creek. I have yet to to out there. For some reason I just seemed to have done the paths along the bow with almost no deviation. Time to expand my horizons?

You bet. If we're not gonna do trails (or more likely can't for now), I can take out the Tesla 1480 instead of the S18 for a straight pathway ride. It should be able to match the range of your RS so we can go for a nice 60-80km ride if you want. We go all way down to Fish Creek or up all the way to Symons Valley or west along the bow. Its all good to me as I just wanna find a reason to be out in the sun & fresh air without wearing a f*^#%kin mask🤠

[DWOTR]

Hold on. You won't be wearing a mask? Is that safe when outdoors?

 

J/K. But 80 KM is going to be taxing. I think that the most I had the V8 out for was just under 30? (I had it limited to 20Kmph due to my weight) and by the time I got back, I had to walk it up the hill to the parking lot. That said, I kind of look forward to a "real" ride.

 

 

[mrelwood]

6 hours ago, Unipsycho said:

Thanks for the tip on not doing hard idling either, or at least to check the heat generated.  It is literally freezing temps here right now, so probably not heating too much, but I'm pretty balanced already idling, it doesn't seem to strain the wheel's motor much as its a very subtle forward/back, but I will start looking at the temp to get a sense of normal/high temperatures, especially once I start riding up some of the mountain trails.

The speed that the temps go up when idling is not very logical, so looking at the temps while doing it is a good idea to learn what’s going on.

 It’s the changing of direction that creates/requires a power spike. If you only change direction every three seconds and slowly ride back or forth in between, there won’t be any issues. But if you for example try to stay in a small area and quickly change direction every second or faster, followed by a short but relatively strong acceleration, you’ll heat up the control board in no time.

These new wheels can climb your seemingly light weight up very steep hills without issues though. While still heating up, it doesn’t happen in an instant, and it quite logically follows the steepness * duration * speed * acceleration formula.

 Another thing to look out for is a stuck tire. If you get a large enough branch, pine cone etc to prevent the tire from turning, or even if you just try to launch from behind an obstacle, the board can burn a fuse or even fry in an instant.

 All wheels have overheat protection though, so if the wheel overheats during riding, it should just beep and tilt you back until you step off to let it cool down. It’s the idling and getting the wheel stuck that can do damage before the alarm gets to kick in.

 

I remember vividly how my world opened up when I started to ride, and then again when starting to go off-road! I’m sure you’re also having loads of fun learning the EUC. 😊

 

Edited March 26, 2021 by mrelwood

[Scottie888]

22 minutes ago, DWOTR said:

Hold on. You won't be wearing a mask? Is that safe when outdoors

Yup no f*^$#@%kin mask! Better covid Scottie than typhoid Scottie. At least ppl have a greater chance of dying from typhoid & I don't think we're >80yrs in a retirement home on a ventilator so we're good😜

25 minutes ago, DWOTR said:

Hold on. You won't be wearing a mask? Is that safe when outdoors?

 

But 80 KM is going to be taxing. I think that the most I had the V8 out for was just under 30? (I had it limited to 20Kmph due to my weight) and by the time I got back, I had to walk it up the hill to the parking lot. That said, I kind of look forward to a "real" ride.

That's cos you were on a kiddie wheel before. Now you're playing with a big boy toy so you can have speed or range or perhaps even both. Either of the 3 options will kick the V8 outta park. You'll get use to longer rides esp with pit stops along the way. 

We've peeps here on Sherms & Mpro that'll do 150klicks per shot. Now that's taxing😳

[DWOTR]

Is this the right place to say that the battery was 12% when I got back- and my legs were probably at around 7%?

[Unipsycho]

Dwotr, haha!  nice one. Sounds like fun. I'm going to get down to fish creek tomorrow about 1pm and try out some trails, my yard and gravel road have plenty of tire tracks on it, so time to get out to explore some new stuff...  I'm just riding with a friend with an ebike, but want to test out some of that area. 

[Scottie888]

32 minutes ago, DWOTR said:

Is this the right place to say that the battery was 12% when I got back- and my legs were probably at around 7%?

LOLs for those scratching their heads as to WTF is @DWOTR saying, let me prefaced it that we hooked up for a 60km (66km for me) ride. Sun was out, bike paths are dry & it was somewhat warm (low teens). We rode, adventured & discovered some new paths to nowhere (I think) but scenery was good & we got lots of Vit D. 

Amusingly my 1480wh Tesla still had 22% but my legs was at 5% (as witnessed by @DWOTR when I kinda had to do a triple take on mounting my wheel when we split up). Regardless it was a good day.

31 minutes ago, Unipsycho said:

Dwotr, haha!  nice one. Sounds like fun. I'm going to get down to fish creek tomorrow about 1pm and try out some trails, my yard and gravel road have plenty of tire tracks on it, so time to get out to explore some new stuff...  I'm just riding with a friend with an ebike, but want to test out some of that area. 

We gotta round you up for a grp ride soon. @DWOTR is also in for a grp Kananaskis deep forest adventure so we're counting on you to give us the $0.99 tour. Far's tomorrow goes, let me know if you guys might wanna come up further midtown as I'd love to join in. 

[Unipsycho]

Ya Scottie nice long ride you guys had, I won't be getting those on my S18, nor will I be doing many paved bike trails (just not my style) however, any dirt trails and mild offroad is where I'll start and unfortunately, kananaskis is no where near ready yet, all ice and mud still, which I'll be riding on my pedal uni first anyway, I trust my grip on it the most!  lol  Anyway, I'll get my first decent ride tomorrow on some trails and see how it goes. (starting at macleod tr

/fish creek in the south)

Edited March 28, 2021 by Unipsycho

[Scottie888]

26 minutes ago, Unipsycho said:

Ya Scottie nice long ride you guys had, I won't be getting those on my S18, nor will I be doing many paved bike trails (just not my style) however, any dirt trails and mild offroad is where I'll start and unfortunately, kananaskis is no where near ready yet, all ice and mud still, which I'll be riding on my pedal uni first anyway, I trust my grip on it the most!  lol  Anyway, I'll get my first decent ride tomorrow on some trails and see how it goes. (starting at macleod tr

/fish creek in the south)

Careful on the trails as it might still be a bit wet & muddy. Stock S18 tire's decent on asphalt & no so bad on dry dirt/grass but horrid on mud. There'll be more places to ride in the city once its dried up some. Nose Hill is a very big playground with easy access. Nothing too technical but lots of room to play.

[DWOTR]

On 3/27/2021 at 8:34 PM, Unipsycho said:

Ya Scottie nice long ride you guys had, I won't be getting those on my S18, nor will I be doing many paved bike trails (just not my style) however, any dirt trails and mild offroad is where I'll start and unfortunately, kananaskis is no where near ready yet, all ice and mud still, which I'll be riding on my pedal uni first anyway, I trust my grip on it the most!  lol  Anyway, I'll get my first decent ride tomorrow on some trails and see how it goes. (starting at macleod tr

/fish creek in the south)

I decided to take "Quary trail" this weekend (bow river and Crowchild.) It looked on the map like it was a nice little switchback and paved (or at least gravel.) Instead it was mud and ice. I probably would have turned back, but I didn't have and alternate route planned and had an actual destination. I can honestly say that I have some admiration for @winterwheel . Ice, slush and snow is not as much fun as I had hoped... I can only imagine Kananaskis.

 

Oh, and it left a really nice streak up my back despite staying under 20 Kmph. A fender might be more or a requirement than a luxury.

[winterwheel]

 

3 hours ago, DWOTR said:

I decided to take "Quary trail" this weekend (bow river and Crowchild.) It looked on the map like it was a nice little switchback and paved (or at least gravel.) Instead it was mud and ice. I probably would have turned back, but I didn't have and alternate route planned and had an actual destination. I can honestly say that I have some admiration for @winterwheel . Ice, slush and snow is not as much fun as I had hoped... I can only imagine Kananaskis.

The in-between time can be the worst time of year actually. Straight up winter is good because one is equipped and ready to handle fairly consistent conditions -- mostly snow. Late fall and early spring you have to be careful because of the melt/freeze cycle is happening and can lead to some truly treacherous conditions.

A couple of weeks ago a group of four of us thought we had picked a clear run up a ravine only to discover we were in a similar situation. The last kilometer was uphill and had become a frozen, pristine river of melting ice. I thought for sure at least one or two of us would lose it, but we we all made it a couple of hundred meters up to a bail-out path.  Honestly it was my proudest moment thus far in wheeling. Even these last couple of months reputable people have been putting out vids intimating wheels and ice are a disastrous combination. Here were four of us encountering unexpected level-nine ice conditions, we kept it steady, and made it through no problems. 

Yeah, rear-mudguards are definitely required. I ruined three expensive leather jackets my first year not realizing just how badly I was were getting sprayed from behind.

 

 

[DWOTR]

20 hours ago, winterwheel said:

 

The in-between time can be the worst time of year actually. Straight up winter is good because one is equipped and ready to handle fairly consistent conditions -- mostly snow. Late fall and early spring you have to be careful because of the melt/freeze cycle is happening and can lead to some truly treacherous conditions.

A couple of weeks ago a group of four of us thought we had picked a clear run up a ravine only to discover we were in a similar situation. The last kilometer was uphill and had become a frozen, pristine river of melting ice. I thought for sure at least one or two of us would lose it, but we we all made it a couple of hundred meters up to a bail-out path.  Honestly it was my proudest moment thus far in wheeling. Even these last couple of months reputable people have been putting out vids intimating wheels and ice are a disastrous combination. Here were four of us encountering unexpected level-nine ice conditions, we kept it steady, and made it through no problems. 

Yeah, rear-mudguards are definitely required. I ruined three expensive leather jackets my first year not realizing just how badly I was were getting sprayed from behind.

 

 

4 riders? Seems like a nice little community up there. I rode to visit a friends mother last weekend for a BBQ, and she mentioned seeing another unicycle earlier in the day. To be fair, her house backs onto a very popular path / dog park. But she did confirm it was a EUC not not one of the other variants. I'm sure they will never rival a scooter for popularity- but it would be nice to run across the occasional other rider.

 

I'm pretty certain that I am going to be looking for a fender as well as another stand (or two.) the stand that I have came from YEG with the V-8 purchase and is an amazon guitar stand. It works- but probably not ideal...

[VikB]

3 hours ago, DWOTR said:

as well as another stand (or two.) the stand that I have came from YEG with the V-8 purchase and is an amazon guitar stand. It works- but probably not ideal...

Someone on the site pointed me to a photo of a PVC stand and I built one for my V10F. It's dead easy to make and works well.

[DWOTR]

3 hours ago, VikB said:

Someone on the site pointed me to a photo of a PVC stand and I built one for my V10F. It's dead easy to make and works well.

Perfect. I even have some leftover pcv fittings at work. I know what todays project is going to be. Thanks.

Edited April 5, 2021 by DWOTR

[null]

You can also make one in wood with whatever small beam you find.
Benefit compared to planks is that they interlock and makes rigidity at the joint.

Edited April 5, 2021 by null

[VikB]

1 hour ago, DWOTR said:

Perfect. I even have some leftover pcv fittings at work. I know what todays project is going to be. Thanks.

FWIW - I didn't glue the stand together and it's been 100% solid. That way it can easily be adjusted if I want to tweak it down the road.

[winterwheel]

9 hours ago, DWOTR said:

4 riders? Seems like a nice little community up there. I rode to visit a friends mother last weekend for a BBQ, and she mentioned seeing another unicycle earlier in the day. To be fair, her house backs onto a very popular path / dog park. But she did confirm it was a EUC not not one of the other variants. I'm sure they will never rival a scooter for popularity- but it would be nice to run across the occasional other rider.

We've had 10 out for group rides on occasion last year, we even a couple of family units that ride together on weekends.

I find the primary obstacle to getting people riding is they believe they won't be able to do it. Once the general population come to accept that anyone can do it with a couple of hours of practice, it'll really start to  take off.

[DWOTR]

So I ended up with an actual unicycle (19"and older) that I will get a new seat for and send off to my nieces (they have expressed interest in the past- but I question if it will just be a passing "fad".) I decided to try it. "How hard can it be? I mean, I'm seated, and I have pretty good balance."

 

Granted, it was only a 5 minute experiment after midnight- but I have to say that seems like it would take a lot longer to learn than the euc...

Edited April 16, 2021 by DWOTR

[Unipilot69]

On 4/16/2021 at 2:18 AM, DWOTR said:

So I ended up with an actual unicycle (19"and older) that I will get a new seat for and send off to my nieces (they have expressed interest in the past- but I question if it will just be a passing "fad".) I decided to try it. "How hard can it be? I mean, I'm seated, and I have pretty good balance."

 

Granted, it was only a 5 minute experiment after midnight- but I have to say that seems like it would take a lot longer to learn than the euc...

Depends on how determined you are to learn. The dynamics of the two are similar. Just with the regular unicycle your legs provide the propulsion and fore/aft balance. Your legs will be very sore at first. They're a lot of great instruction videos out on learning the regular unicycle. I've been at it for 40 years. It's also a great cardio workout. Just stick to learning the skill. When it clicks riding becomes natural like the euc.