Ah, Youth

[JMartin]

Hi,

My son is visiting with his mten3. I go out once or twice a day, and at the age of 68 am trying to learn to ride it. After 2-3 weeks I can slalom between pop cans but am still pretty wobbly. My 6 year old grandson came to visit and couldn't quit trying to ride it for maybe three days. Today they came back for another visit and he's riding it everywhere:  4 laps around the 1 mile park behind our house, turns around in the width of a sidewalk, and slaloms between trees on a grassy hillside. Both my son who owns the mten3 and I are just shaking our heads. Ah, to be young.

I have ordered a MCM5 v2 for myself as my first wheel.

Jay

Denver, CO USA

[meepmeepmayer]

11 hours ago, JMartin said:

My son is visiting with his mten3.

11 hours ago, JMartin said:

I have ordered a MCM5 v2 for myself as my first wheel.

One day you never heard of electric unicycles, next day you're addicted.

[mhpr262]

I wonder what range he gets on that Mten. Must be massive for a kid weighing like 40, 50lbs. I cant imagine what it would feel like to be a kid and have access to such a small, fast, long range, high performance micro vehicle. Must be the coolest thing ever.

And props to you learning it at 68. I tried learning it at 40, and I had a pretty hard time of it. One not so minor injury too (a really badly rolled ankle), which made me quit learning to ride for almost four years. Been riding for a little over a year now, with well over 2.000 miles behind me and now I feel pretty proficient and relaxed on the wheel. Wear gear, always - helmet, wrist guards, heavy boots with ankle support, and ideally elbow and knee protectors too.

[AtlasP]

On 7/28/2021 at 5:23 PM, JMartin said:

Hi,

My son is visiting with his mten3. I go out once or twice a day, and at the age of 68 am trying to learn to ride it. After 2-3 weeks I can slalom between pop cans but am still pretty wobbly. My 6 year old grandson came to visit and couldn't quit trying to ride it for maybe three days. Today they came back for another visit and he's riding it everywhere:  4 laps around the 1 mile park behind our house, turns around in the width of a sidewalk, and slaloms between trees on a grassy hillside. Both my son who owns the mten3 and I are just shaking our heads. Ah, to be young.

I have ordered a MCM5 v2 for myself as my first wheel.

Jay

Denver, CO USA

Hi Jay,

Welcome. :-) I'm also in Denver and would be happy to provide some assistance towards improving your learning time if you're interested in any help--just drop me a PM. (My profession is actually as an internationally accomplished dance instructor, which has proven to serve me well in teaching other kinesthetic/proprioceptive skills such as riding EUCs.) Although if you're already up and about, even if wobbly, it's only a matter of time with or without help. Either way, enjoy your new wheel.

Cheers-

Edited August 1, 2021 by AtlasP

[JMartin]

On 7/31/2021 at 12:42 PM, mhpr262 said:

...And props to you learning it at 68....Wear gear, always...

Thanks. I am feeling more and more comfortable and confident each day. I get in about 20 minutes of riding, much of it still drills:  figure eights and slalom between crushed pop cans. I am also incorporating longer rides of a couple miles to build up muscles. For some reason my left foot aches pretty quickly. My goal is to be able to ride 9 miles to my gym, stash the wheel in a locker, work out, and then ride home. I won't try that with the mten though but will wait for my bigger wheel to arrive.

As to gear, I'm wearing a trials bike helmet and wrist protectors. I also have knee pads and elbow pads, but haven't felt the need for those at these slow speeds. However as I get faster, I can see why one would get fully suited up. Once our weather gets cooler, I have a motorcycle touring jacket and pants, both with ballistics built into them. I'll wear those.

It's great to be finally getting a bit relaxed on the wheel; I feel like I'm getting there.

Thanks again,

Jay

[JMartin]

On 7/31/2021 at 3:29 PM, AtlasP said:

Hi Jay,

Welcome. :-) I'm also in Denver and would be happy to provide some assistance towards improving your learning time if you're interested in any help--just drop me a PM. (My profession is actually as an internationally accomplished dance instructor, which has proven to serve me well in teaching other kinesthetic/proprioceptive skills such as riding EUCs.) Although if you're already up and about, even if wobbly, it's only a matter of time with or without help. Either way, enjoy your new wheel.

Cheers-

Hi and thanks for the offer to help. I am getting there and enjoying the process. My personal trainer at the gym says, "Don't let an old man get in your body." I'm hoping the wheel contributes to that goal. I live near Cherry Creek High School; if you are nearby perhaps we can connect.

Thanks again,

Jay

[Tawpie]

4 hours ago, JMartin said:

My personal trainer at the gym says, "Don't let an old man get in your body." I'm hoping the wheel contributes to that goal.

It will contribute, guaranteed. Partly because doing something like learning to ride an electric unicycle keeps the old man out of your head. I was pretty minimally padded to start, but got tangled up in the wheel (at zero speed) and took a tumble so out came Mr. Visa and I am covered in Level 2. Always. Several falls since (including a going too dang fast cutout on my MTen) and no ill effects... it's well worth it. As @Paulo Mesquitasays: At our ages, what gets broke, stays broke.

Congratulations on your new chapter! It's a blast. I hear there's lots of great trail riding in your area—give it a go, nothing improves your skill faster.

Edited August 7, 2021 by Tawpie

[JMartin]

16 hours ago, Tawpie said:

...trail riding in your area—give it a go, nothing improves your skill faster.

The park right behind my house has a mountain bike skills course. However, I still cannot get going on the MTen without holding on to something. So one tip over and I would be done. Interestingly, my 6 year old grandson preferred going on those dirt trails to the paved bike paths and had no problem getting back on. I do agree it will be a great skill builder for me once I either learn to mount the MTen or my wheel comes (which I'm told will be easier to mount).

Jay

[Unbihexium]

On 8/6/2021 at 6:13 PM, JMartin said:

Thanks. I am feeling more and more comfortable and confident each day. I get in about 20 minutes of riding, much of it still drills:  figure eights and slalom between crushed pop cans. I am also incorporating longer rides of a couple miles to build up muscles. For some reason my left foot aches pretty quickly. My goal is to be able to ride 9 miles to my gym, stash the wheel in a locker, work out, and then ride home. I won't try that with the mten though but will wait for my bigger wheel to arrive.

As to gear, I'm wearing a trials bike helmet and wrist protectors. I also have knee pads and elbow pads, but haven't felt the need for those at these slow speeds. However as I get faster, I can see why one would get fully suited up. Once our weather gets cooler, I have a motorcycle touring jacket and pants, both with ballistics built into them. I'll wear those.

It's great to be finally getting a bit relaxed on the wheel; I feel like I'm getting there.

Thanks again,

Jay

I would recommend the knee pads at least from personal experience. Knees are a very convenient and likely place to fall on, especially at low speeds. In my experience, I typically find myself landing on hands and knees so knee pads have been a godsend, especially when I was just starting out. 

Elbow pads are also a nice addition if you go fast enough to have a risk of sliding because even if your wristguards do their job perfectly, you can still slide on them and skin your elbows badly. 

Then again I always wear level 2 CE armored motorcycle gear, a full face helmet and flexmeter wrist guards because this getup has absolutely saved me from multiple bone fractures as a result of a 30mph crash leaving me only with a cracked bone in my arm and a dislocated hip. I always lean on the side of paranoia now, no matter how sweaty I get riding in the summer 

[mhpr262]

On 8/7/2021 at 12:13 AM, JMartin said:

For some reason my left foot aches pretty quickly.

Have you looked at the position of your feet on the pedals? If one foot (the right one on your case) is just a little bit further towards the outside of the pedal it will require you to put MUCH more weight on your other foot to keep the wheel upright, because of the short lever arms and relatively great weight involved.

I used to always end up standing weirdly twisted and cramped on the wheel after riding for some time and it took me a long time to figure out that that was the cause.

[JMartin]

Thanks for the suggestions on gear and foot position. I had a flat on the Mten so converted it to tubeless yesterday evening. Took the weekend to find and obtain the TR412 valve stem. Added 2oz of Stans. So I'll be back at it today.

[Guest d0n]

jmartin do it while you can but wear all the gear you can buy. Us older guys don't heal so quickly!