Kingsong S18 correct ridding position for this weird design?

[vd853]

Anyone know what is the correct posture, like how much my leg should be bent or how it should fit with the wheel's body? I come from the V8 so I stand almost straight and very close to the wheel. The design of the S18 looks like I need to stand with a very bent legs or stand a bit far from the wheel to avoid the pressure points. There are pressure points near my ankle and near my knees. I put some padding, but it only helps so much.

[Dominic Winsor]

Hi there. I'm not sure there is a 'correct' way to ride the wheel, only a way to ride in a way that feels right to you. I have a few wheels, these are some thoughts:

• Some bend in the legs is necessary with any wheel. The S18 is no exception. More bend = more faster (for me anyway)
• The pads on the s18 are rubbish for me. Taller rider (6'4) means they just dig into my calves.
• Duck feet sort of helps. Toes out, heels close.
• Listen to your body, Weird leg angles = muscle issues. Tightness in your knees, calves, hamstrings etc… — this is the current thing I'm pondering. I see a lot of riders who have the most unnatural looking positions and personally have experienced some nasty tightness from this so I'm trying different positions to see what works best for me.
• I like to allow the wheels to move around a bit under me. I'm not dead tight but let the wheel find its own path to a point. I learned this on a z10 and the S18 seems to like to wander a bit in the same way. Loosey goosey = good.

[Purplecycle]

I am also having some issues with the riding position. My pedal base is at the top setting, so I can get maximum clearance pedals-ground. The problem is that with this setting, my feet cannot rest evenly on the pedals without the pads digging into my calves. I even thinned down the pads, which made things better, but I still cannot ride comfortably even after 1500+ km.

One solution I thought of is wider pedals (similar to those of KS18XL); however, there aren't any on the market, as far as I know. Either that, or installing an extended plate over the existing pedals...

[misterdalto]

On 4/8/2021 at 3:51 AM, Dominic Winsor said:

 

• Some bend in the legs is necessary with any wheel. The S18 is no exception. More bend = more faster (for me anyway)
• The pads on the s18 are rubbish for me. Taller rider (6'4) means they just dig into my calves.
• Duck feet sort of helps. Toes out, heels close.
• Listen to your body, Weird leg angles = muscle issues. Tightness in your knees, calves, hamstrings etc… — this is the current thing I'm pondering. I see a lot of riders who have the most unnatural looking positions and personally have experienced some nasty tightness from this so I'm trying different positions to see what works best for me.
• I like to allow the wheels to move around a bit under me. I'm not dead tight but let the wheel find its own path to a point. I learned this on a z10 and the S18 seems to like to wander a bit in the same way. Loosey goosey = good.

preach 🙏 you get it! its been hard for me to describe but this is perfect!

I tend to bend my legs to a point where i lower my center of gravity closer to the top of my s18, and the control I get over it, is out of this world. I find tight technical moves and tight carving, and tight turns are so very in-sync - I can feel the wheel move with the roll my hips and just becomes so fluid.  

*to this point, i have not used any pads (~1,079 mi)

Edited June 26, 2021 by misterdalto