Oldish member long time lurker

[Baynzmaster]

Greetings fellow wheelers.

 

I'm a long time lurker who has finally gotten round to introducing myself.

 

 

I first saw these wonderfull gadets when I was reading about the top ten gadets to get for christmas. After spending an entire weekend doing nothing but reading about all the varieties of Electric unicycles and watching pretty much every eu video on youtube I was smitten.

 

I eventually settled on an IPS 111 132 from Wheelgo after a  recommendation from another member of the forum and lots of research and thought "Hurray, finally, my own wheel, this is going to be easy"

 

I have never been more wrong in my life

 

The first problem I encountered, I could not for the life of me find anywhere large enough, secluded enough or flat enough to learn how to ride it. I say secluded as I am not one happy to repeatedly fail to "get it" in front of loads of people, I'm way happier and comfortable learning in private.

 

 

I eventually found the carpark of a nearby supermarket which I went to at 5 am on a Sunday morning and tried using a shopping trolley as a support till I learned how to balance. At which point I discovered two more things

 

  My sense of balance SUCKS.

  I'm so unfit it is unbelivable. I weigh 100kg and my God trying to balance on that thing was hard work. I ached all over the  following day. Ouch!!

 

Anyway, after just ten minutes of trying I was worn out and with no progress made, the urge to continue utterly dissapeared so I trudged off home with my tail between my legs and sulked to videos of other people being experts at wheeling

 

I tried again the followwing week and realised that the ground  where I was practicing slopes downward which was constantly causing me to drift over to one side (once again using the shopping trolley for balance) and provided enough of an excuse for my unfit self to say "sod this, I'm going home" after just 20 minutes of trying and feeling like a bum

 

 

I  have recently discovered a masssive underground carpark not too far away that appears to have  flat ground and  shopping trolleys ( its the car park for another supermarket) and plan to go practice there in the early hours of the weekend as this will be the only time that it will be relatively empty ( except for the night staff) 

 

So this Saturday and Sunday morning I shall be off to the supermarket carpark to try again.

 

Despite the fact that I will probably only spend 10 minutes trying before giving up, I am determined to make this my mode of transport for getting to and from work

 

 

 

[Planetpapi]

Welcome to the group! Please don't give up. I was like you few weeks ago wanted to quit because it wasn't easy. It wasn't easy learning to ride the bicycle either when we were kids. So don't give up. 

Did your unit come with a strap and training wheels? If they did, use them. Ditch the shopping cart method. Put the training wheels first. Use the strap to hook to your waist belt. Use a fence or sidewall for support for first few days. You will get it. Trust me. We all went through this. Some people get it fast some don't. Who cares? At the end we all get it. Don't give up. 

[dmethvin]

Yeah, believe me I am one of those people who took a while to get it. It was several days before I could move forward and keep my balance. I had to fall off a few dozen times before it started to make sense. Making turns and getting started without a wall or post were difficult too until recently. Don't get frustrated. Especially at first your balance can be thrown off by the smallest things and just knowing someone was watching gave me the "balance nerves".

 

I've had my wheel for 4 months now and haven't really been able to ride it much for half that time because of ice and snow around here. (That won't stop someone like vee73 but that guy is crazy and built his own studded tires!  ) The last few weeks I've been able to ride almost every day and it's becoming very natural. Practice is the key!

[SerpentineGX]

Don't give up. You'll enjoy your wheel soon. You gotta practice more than 10-20 minutes though. It takes time and patience. Don't get discouraged too easily. Try standing on it next to a wall and just rock back and forth. Don't go past a foot. It'll help you find out how sensitive your wheel is and help you with peddle control. Finesse it, learn it, and respect it. I'm sure each wheel is different and each rider has his/her own style of riding. Find yours Nd enjoy. The journey is the reward.

Cheers!

[MvM]

First of all, happy to see you here

Second, as said above, don't give up.

Like you, I practised in a nearly empty parking garage with a very smooth concrete surface and lot's of room.

After the first hour I thought I would never learn it. But by the second hour, I was zooming around the parking garage at 15 km/h having lots of fun.

Wasn't able to go slow then, nor could I take turns the way I wanted or even get on and off without support but at least I was moving.

 

Two days later, I took it out on the street for the first time. That was a totally new experience. Today, that is 318 days and 2400 km ago and especially now the weather is turning nice and Sunny again, I am finding excuses to go out and just ride around having fun

[Chuts]

Learning takes time and very much a workout because you are heavily using muscles you have not likely used before. 

 

It was really hard going for me too, and this is coming from a guy who goes to the gym on quite a regular basis.  I picked up riding and shallow turning around my 5th hour.  Some people think that was fast but in order to do so I had to also fall spectacularly twice and suffer the scrapes and bruises that came with it. 

 

No doubt there are members on here that have picked it up even faster than I have.  As everyone has their own learning curve.  Once you have picked it up the rewards are great.

[MetricUSA]

It took me a week to master, I bought mine two months ago, winter time, only place I had was a little larger 3x3 meter empty spear room. Going around and around slowly left then right then figure eight then backwards. In order to do figure 8s in a 3x3 room I had to use physical cones/balls as focal points because without them I kept doing too big of a turn.... But then I started with a dually unicycle. I highly suggest anyone with less balance or want more stable and 'fat' wheel to buy them! And low tire pressure also helped with learning...

[Baynzmaster]

Thank you every one for your words of encouragement. I think one of the tings that I will need to get over is my fear of falling. As some have said I may need to fall properly once or twice to remove that fear I will be heading out on Saturday and Sunday morning and aim to show that wheel who is boss

[Picot Floyd]

I had it for a week and never succeeded on a unicycle (pedal one) before. two weeks I just walked out the door and rolled to the bus stop (5 blocks away) and figured I would do 10 feet at a time and be stared at by everyone along the whole way. I did short bits for 2 blocks, then a whole block, then curbs and people watching and slow short again. (that was monday!) now I go nowhere without it. it is awesome. keep trying. even on that first trip to work I was hitting the speed limiter. (beeps and tipping up the front of the pedals)

[Kroy]

When you get it, you pretty much get it - some people master it VERY quickly, others take time.  It took me about 3 X 1 hour over a period of 3 weeks & I have still fallen off a number of times since through over confidence, lack of concentration or just general flipancy.

 

My belief is that it is exactly the same as learning to ride a bicycle, it can take time but all humans are able to master it satisfactorily.

 

It sounds like you are in the UK if you bought from Wheelgo??

 

Ensure you go out with reasonable protection/padding, don't allow yourself to go too fast & go with the flow.

[adi]

Keep going.

 

If you have training wheels, ditch them. They are only useful for 10 minutes to give you an idea of how much you should lean fwd or backwards to gain speed or break; after those 10 minutes put them away.

 

Don't use the strap; it's distracting and you are going to scratch your unicycle anyways, plus you are going slowly  so nothing major should happen. Just remember your ankles are waaay more important than 1-2 extra scratches. Walls were not helpful as well, as I find it distracting and balance-disruptive to use them as support. 

 

Persist. The major point in learning is that the faster you go on unicycle the more stable you are. BUT it is counterintuitive to lean forward on a device that is perceived as unstable; you have to overcome this and lean fwd moderately as you step on your EU. I got mad I couldnt do it as fast as I wanted, so it took me about 1 hr in which I did not think, I just continuously - and quite furiously lol - tried to step on and lean fwd until my breakthrough came.

 

One of the major points to get right is the stepping foot position as probably you'll be rushing to step on initially; it affects balance and comfort tremendously. It is hard to adjust foot while driving, wouldn't advice in beginning. Just give it time.

 

You'll make it, then it'll become second nature. Just don't give up and don't think too much, let your body use its natural tools to get you balanced.

[Kroy]

That is brilliant advice from adi, pretty much spot on.

 

However, I found the strap was quite useful for a while early on - I used to pull it tight when I started turning & also when I went on bumpier ground.

Alternatively, I think it can get in the way of natural balance if you're unable to hold your arms out when you feel yourself going.

[John Eucist]

Strap is good for knowing that if you lose balance it won't tumble away make a lot of noise and damage itself or injure bystanders.  With that confidence (when I was learning) I was able to learn very quickly compared to the hour before without a strap.  After another few hours of improvement the strap will no longer be necessary.  Just don't have too much slack on the strap so that it might get sucked into the wheel.  I've heard of it happening before.

[loulong]

I'm a newbie to this group as well and have had mine for just a few days so far. I tried the training wheels which were really helpful to get a sense of how to ride it but I took them off after about 30 mins as they were too much of a crutch and not helping me learn how to balance on my own. I've fallen at least four or five times so far, but nothing too spectacular yet. I did find that when I had a friend run along side me to help keep my balance was SUPER helpful. I have a long way to go but can hardly wait to finally master it. 

[Kroy]

I have a long way to go but can hardly wait to finally master it. 

You will, as long as you believe it.

Belief is the only thing you need in this game....

[Planetpapi]

About that strap thing. If you must use, have it hooked to your waist belt. That way you are not holding it. If you are not holding it means, you have free hands to balance yourself. Believe me there is a difference between holding it vs. free hands.