Michael Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Hey everyone! I'm pretty new to this forum, but I just received my unicycle last week and I really want to share my experience and hopefully find out a few things from you. Basically, I've been seeing the wheel for a while now - the office where I work is located close to the office of the guys from Project42 (really cool and friendly people) and I really wanted one cause that looked absolutely amazing. Eventually, I treated myself with one as a birthday gift last week. It took a while to get hang of it, but now I feel more or less comfortable. The biggest issue was (and still kinda is) the bruses on calfs - I could only ride it for 30-40 minutes in the first two days. That brings the first question. What do you guys do about it? My girlfriend really wants to learn as well, but after she saw my bruises I need to find a solution Otherwise I really like the wheel, I got the black one and it looks a bit like Dart Vader. I find the lights helpful as well, I want to ride in the evening and other producers, like Airwheel, don't offer it. I've never tried other wheels but Surf feels very nice. Other thing I wanted to ask, do you know if there are any bags for the wheels on sale? I thought it would be a cool to have some kind of backpack where I can put it. As it is not super heavy - around 9 kilos, it should be pretty easy to carry it that way. Thanks in advance for answering above questions! I will write some more posts about my Firstwheel experience soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planetpapi Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Michael, Welcome to the group. I'm also a newbie. For the calves, they sell something called "shin guards" that may help a little bit. They come in all sizes and shapes as you can see it here in this link. http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=3418401 Generally you get used to all the muscle pains eventually! Other members may suggest better solutions. In the mean time can you tell us more about your brand of wheel, your location ( cold or hot climate) etc? Also if you have time can you cast your vote on the poll ( about wanted features) we have in the General section please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MvM Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Welcome to this forum. Always nice to see other people who have made the jump and started trying to use the EU. As for the calfs, I never had any issues with it, no matter what I did. I do know that many EU's have a very hard case and the pads are hardly any pads at all. I have a Solowheel which has pretty soft pads in comparison to other models. That might account for the difference. Other than that, it is also something you simply get used to I think. So don't worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Did you put any extra padding on your unicycle? That can help with the bruises. Also, the more you ride the less you get bruised. http://m.banggood.com/Airwheel-Electric-Unicycle-Bumper-Strip-Wheelbarrow-Protective-Strip-p-957046.html There are some backpacks available that can carry a wheel, here are a few links but do a search as well: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/x/2028864610.html http://www.aliexpress.com/item/x/32282080600.html http://www.aliexpress.com/item/x/32213716143.html http://www.aliexpress.com/item/x/1075016116.html http://www.dhgate.com/product/x/231136291.html http://www.dhgate.com/product/x/215948562.html Keep on rolling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 The bruises are a learning thing due to the wheel banging against your leg as you get on and off. You don't tend to suffer from them once you're confident and can mount and dismount easily. Padding the wheel will reduce it a little but depending on how you attach the padding it can be a pain to remove neatly. The better answer is shin pads worn on the inside of your legs and you'll find that after a week or two you won't need them. The few people who have written about trying the back packs have said that they don't work very well and are uncomfortable on your back so I haven't bothered to try one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shady Tools Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I have decided to just take the pain. I don't want to buy shin pads just for a week or so - I may be being over-optimistic but I think I've watched enough videos & read enough comments, to know that I have to stay relaxed, don't try to accelerate with my toes, keep my knees bent & go with the flow. I'm hoping I can hop it up big kerbs as I've never been able to jump a bicycle or skateboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 You may get away without too many bruises on the M18 as it has fairly high smooth sides which reduces the leverage/pressure on your leg and the large wheel make it a bit less wobbly for beginners. We taught one at the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shady Tools Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I was a bit worried about this 'lever effect' that people keep going on about but I was 17 stone (107.954 kg) at the start of this year & now I'm 14 stone (88.904kg) so I'm hoping I will be able to keep acceleration going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I find it difficult to get enough forward pressure on the front of the pedals on the steepest hills but there's no problem most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shady Tools Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 The steepest hill I can think of (other than offroad at the Lickey Hills) is a main road that isn't as steep as a lot of the videos I've seen the wheels handling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerpentineGX Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hi Michael, Welcome to the forum. I'm a newb too. Regarding the calves and the oh so unbearable pain that stings like a mo-fo every time you ride, it goes away. For me it took about a week. Fight through the pain! That's great your girlfriend wants to get involved. Yes, her calves will hurt. Yes, she may fall. That's the growing pains. But, the reward of cruising, exploring, and challenging each other in new places would be awesome! I'm finding different paths, on my wheel, that I never notices while driving. It's like another world so to speak. Hope it works out for you guys. Happy belated birthday, you got yourself cool present. Maybe get one for her birthday? ...just throwing it out there. lol Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuts Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Also from Banggoods are the following you might buy http://www.banggood.com/Unicycle-Shin-Pads-Unicycle-Practice-Protection-Tools-Protective-Pads-p-965724.html http://www.banggood.com/Unicycle-Shin-Pads-Unicycle-Practice-Protection-Tools-Protective-Pads-p-972932.html I ordered some protective strips from them but the delivery took so frikken long that I ended up being able to ride my wheel without any pain even before I received my order. Once you develop your leg and calves muscles to a point like working out at a gym your pain threshold increases to the point that it doesn't feel sore anymore. For your own DIY solution why not wear a few pairs of thick socks for your ankles and maybe ductape a couple of old folded tshirts to the side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladmarks Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Also from Banggoods are the following you might buy http://www.banggood.com/Unicycle-Shin-Pads-Unicycle-Practice-Protection-Tools-Protective-Pads-p-965724.html http://www.banggood.com/Unicycle-Shin-Pads-Unicycle-Practice-Protection-Tools-Protective-Pads-p-972932.html I ordered some protective strips from them but the delivery took so frikken long that I ended up being able to ride my wheel without any pain even before I received my order. Once you develop your leg and calves muscles to a point like working out at a gym your pain threshold increases to the point that it doesn't feel sore anymore. For your own DIY solution why not wear a few pairs of thick socks for your ankles and maybe ductape a couple of old folded tshirts to the side. I thought I wasn't the only one riding a unicycle withouth any pads, are those of any help to the advanced riders? I learned without it and now it feels like I have ridges on my calves just to fit the edges, but my legs still get tired time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Why wear a pad on the leg when you can put the pad on the euc? However, as an experienced rider, the pads aren't necessary at all except for maybe that split second you mount it to ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I have to admit that I've gone back to using shin pads, but only on my new M10 because it makes contact so much lower on my calves and exerts a lot more pressure. I'm sure I'll eventually adapt my mounting and dismounting technique but for now I'm wearing them to protect the bruises I got on the first day it arrived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Mten definitely needs padding for easier mounting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetricUSA Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Instead of hard shinpads, I use a single soft knee pads but wear them on the inner shin. If not wearing them on shin, they can go and protect the knees again for those unexpected falls.... Work well for either case... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antberz Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 The problem here is when the side of the uni where the inside makes contact is a hard edge- if you stick/ glue on a small, thick (maybe 1inch) foam rubber pad here (only needs to be about 3 inches wide and an inch or two high, the problem is 90% solved and should be comfortable enough to not be an issue. Remember not to grip the casing with the shins when riding- also a common fault when learning there should be a small space between the padded casing and the inside of your shins when riding.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planetpapi Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 About those foam rubber pads, I found the shoe inserts ( the plain flat variety, not the orthotics) works best. They are easy to cut and dead cheap for under $3 bucks from Walmart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinchy Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 The best ankle pad I have found is on some hightop basketball shoes I already owned. These are older vans style (flat unpadded footbed, flexible uppers, padded collar). The collar sits right on my ankle bone, and that makes a perfect narrow, and always there pad point. The flat soles are good for control, the pad good for comfort. When you learn how to control the wheel the pain mostly goes away anyway, but if you have any hightops laying about give them a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 The thing with padding your legs rather than the wheel is that the wheel still looks good and you know that you have the padding in the right place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperator Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Did you put any extra padding on your unicycle? That can help with the bruises. Also, the more you ride the less you get bruised.http://m.banggood.com/Airwheel-Electric-Unicycle-Bumper-Strip-Wheelbarrow-Protective-Strip-p-957046.html There are some backpacks available that can carry a wheel, here are a few links but do a search as well:http://www.aliexpress.com/item/x/2028864610.htmlhttp://www.aliexpress.com/item/x/32282080600.htmlhttp://www.aliexpress.com/item/x/32213716143.htmlhttp://www.aliexpress.com/item/x/1075016116.htmlhttp://www.dhgate.com/product/x/231136291.htmlhttp://www.dhgate.com/product/x/215948562.html Keep on rolling! Would these bags work with an IPS 132? I notice the bags are demonstrated with a wheel that has no handle at the top like the 132. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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