Any regrets? Taking the leap?

[mhpr262]

I started riding on a cheap, used, generic 16 cell, 14'' wheel, for just $170 or so. It was hard to learn on that for a big guy like me, but I did learn how to balance so I knew I could do it before getting my V10F.

[Surfling]

I took the leap, too and my only regret is not starting sooner than I did.

My first few minutes was just gently, rocking the back and fort with both hands on the wall in the hallway - just to get a feel of the wheel. Yoga block under one pedal for easy mounting. Then "half-moon" drills with the forward foot. These initial practices were done indoors with lotsa silent cursing.

Then outdoors (empty handball court) 20-30 minutes twice a week. I gave myself 20 attempts to practice mounting then call it a day. Shins would hurt by then but later, fixed by using my mtb knee/shin guards. 

Eventually came up w/ this practice checklist: project energy forwards on the mount - aim for a spot ahead and maintain a good speed for stability - lean back and push the wheel in front to stop and dismount. Deep breaths and try again. 

Luckily, I never had a fall while learning. I took it casually and would let the wheel go instead of fighting control. Wrapped it with a lot of protective foam so I don't have to baby the ride and get hurt in the process. Honestly, I find the wheel easier to learn because it stops when you lean backwards. Do the same on a skateboard or rollerblades and you'll get whip-lashed to the ground - been there, done that. Protective gear matters.

The 18XL looks like a great choice with enough features to make learning easier. My first wheel - Ninebot One C - wasn't as friendly. 1.95" narrow tire, no lift switch, wheel keeps spinning when it drops and the handle wasn't easy to grab on a miss. 

In your learning trials, just keep in mind that all of us here & all the YT riders that you watched had to overcome the same learning struggle as well.

The day will come. 'hope that helps....

 

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by Surfling

[Circuitmage]

My main regret is that I did not listen to the people that said go big for my first EUC. I started on a small 14" , then 16" now my 18" feels right.

But...see .sig.

 

[EUC Sharkman]

Nope. Just one step closer in my dream to becoming a robot. More than anything else, the EUC feels like a bionic extension of my legs to achieve a sensation of running faster and farther than I normally could, without ever getting tired.

 

In all seriousness though, in starting from my first electric scooter in 2017, my more powerful, suspension scooter in 2018, my OneWheel in 2019, my Ninebot One E+ in Dec 2020, my Tesla v2 in February 2021, and then my daughter’s MTen3 this month, it’s just been one step after another. It would have been really nice to just have skipped right to the Tesla v2 and saved some money but eh, life’s a journey. The rest of my family ride all those other PEVs anyway.

 

Will I tire of EUCs? Only if they come up with a real life flying hoverboard, or I dunno...jet packs or winged suits a la The Falcon.

[WI_Hedgehog]

6 hours ago, TheSlyGiraffEV said:

Nope. Just one step closer in my dream to becoming a robot. More than anything else, the EUC feels like a bionic extension of my legs to achieve a sensation of running faster and farther than I normally could, without ever getting tired.

You are a robot, your job was to become more human. 

[TDK]

I bought a second wheel before the first one arrived. I have never touched the EUC before. First, I bought a 14-inch Inmotion V5F on Gearbest. Two weeks later, when the first wheel was on its way to Europe, I bought a V10 because there was a good deal on Gearbest. I know that there was someone else on the forum who bought the same two wheels that he was waiting for later.

[Flying W]

Once you can ride where ever you want to go confidently the only real risk aside from getting hit if in bike lane I'd the one thing that can't be planned for and a failure of any kind. There is not safety net for equipment failure. But when your riding is just as second nature as the bicycle of motorcycle and you stay well within your skill range falling off won't really happen. 

Beyond just riding these things lies a fun journey of all kinds of skills though. @pico is great inspiration for kind of control one can learn, and there is no shortage of performance riding on YT where the chance of falling is much higher. 

I've stepped off a lot trying slow speed balance stuff, and I've crashed one time crossing the center of a two track. The soft sandy center of the lane just turned the wheel 90 degrees and I kept going forward. That was 3 weeks into this and I was over confident from not falling yet. 

Now 7k miles later I don't even think about crashing unless I'm going to be riding foolishly, but in those cases I wear the same great I'd wear on a dirt bike ride. 

My first wheel was a cheap freeman with a 350w motor and a whopping 174wh battery. I used to park half a mile away from work so I bought it to be lazy and not walk. I also wanted to learn after watching chooch....it sparked a mid life crisis moment when I realized you could ride them off road quickly. I love riding off road.

My dad soon followed suit, he's to be 70 soon. He's had at least 3 hard falls from not seeing speed bumps and just getting ejected at 20mph. Oddly he doesn't break anything (he is a good faller of there is such a thing) but he bleeds easy and it's hard to stop (70yrs only will do that). He also doesn't wear anything more than wrist guards. I got him to wear knee and elbow pads once it's not his thing. I know he can really hurt one of these days but he's always been that way. I like a shorter recovery period so I gear up but everyone has their own safety threshold. 

I guess what I'm rambling about is this, wheels are like a lot higher risk activities like riding a motorcycle or mnt biking, or even sky diving. They are as safe is the operator, accept for the fact that is electricity stops growing through board your going down in a surprise moment. The good news is that is very very rare with modern wheels.

If you want to site see amd cruise wheels can that, if you want to play in are the size of basketball court practicing one legged riding, riding in reverse amd doing all kinds of balance related things wheels can do that. Amd if you want to ride over 30mph in the dirt flying off the ground over rises wheels can do that too. 

Once you can ride where ever you want to go confidently the only real risk aside from getting hit if in bike lane I'd the one thing that can't be planned for and a failure of any kind. There is not safety net for equipment failure. But when your riding is just as second nature as the bicycle of motorcycle and you stay well within your skill range falling off won't really happen. 

Beyond just riding these things lies a fun journey of all kinds of skills though. @pico is great inspiration for kind of control one can learn, and there is no shortage of performance riding on YT where the chance of falling is much higher. 

I've stepped off a lot trying slow speed balance stuff, and I've crashed one time crossing the center of a two track. The soft sandy center of the lane just turned the wheel 90 degrees and I kept going forward. That was 3 weeks into this and I was over confident from not falling yet. 

Now 7k miles later I don't even think about crashing unless I'm going to be riding foolishly, but in those cases I wear the same great I'd wear on a dirt bike ride. 

My first wheel was a cheap freeman with a 350w motor and a whopping 174wh battery. I used to park half a mile away from work so I bought it to be lazy and not walk. I also wanted to learn after watching chooch....it sparked a mid life crisis moment when I realized you could ride them off road quickly. I love riding off road.

My dad soon followed suit, he's to be 70 soon. He's had at least 3 hard falls from not seeing speed bumps and just getting ejected at 20mph. Oddly he doesn't break anything (he is a good faller of there is such a thing) but he bleeds easy and it's hard to stop (70yrs only will do that). He also doesn't wear anything more than wrist guards. I got him to wear knee and elbow pads once it's not his thing. I know he can really hurt one of these days but he's always been that way. I like a shorter recovery period so I gear up but everyone has their own safety threshold. 

I guess what I'm rambling about is this, wheels are like a lot higher risk activities like riding a motorcycle or mnt biking, or even sky diving. They are as safe is the operator, accept for the fact that is electricity stops growing through board your going down in a surprise moment. The good news is that is very very rare with modern wheels.

If you want to site see amd cruise wheels can that, if you want to play in are the size of basketball court practicing one legged riding, riding in reverse amd doing all kinds of balance related things wheels can do that. Amd if you want to ride over 30mph in the dirt flying off the ground over rises wheels can do that too.