First riding experiences

[Dogmaticjoe]

I just got the KS18XL as my first wheel and I started out by doing all the fist ride setup steps 1:charge up to 100% to let battery balance 2: put in tire slime 3: pump up to appropriate pressure for my weight 4:calibrate the wheel. Next up was my first ride was with my father letting me use his shoulder to help me with my balance, but it was pretty ruff since we were in a big grassy field with a lot of lumps and bumpy ground, but I can tell it wouldn't be as hard as I thought it would be. Next was in my front yard which was still pretty difficult because of slightly long grass, but neither of those attempts were very long as it was 90+ degree outside and I felt like I was gonna die in the heat with a helmet on and no airflow since I wasn't fast enough for one. I waited for later in the day and went out when it was a bit cooler and put on some knee and elbow pads wrist guards and my full face helmet and finally went out on a smooth asphalt parking lot. I am still a bit shaky but I am now able to mount the wheel without a post and I am decent at going in a straight line and was even able to do a couple laps of the parking lot in a loop I even hit the point where the wheel was telling me to decelerate although it is only like 11-12 mph because of the first restriction. I got ok at breaking but am still struggling with turning, even on big corners I feel like I am leaning into it to far and bringing the pedals too close to the ground and can only do wide smooth corners right now though. At one point of the ride on the asphalt I was going maybe 8 mph and the wheel wobbled and threw me into the ground and gave me a little bruise on my ankle and made my foot tingle for like 5 min but then it was fine( glad I had my gear on, the plastic on my wristguards is already kinda scuffed up). Overall I feel like being able to freemount and do some laps around a parking lot without any help is pretty good for a total of maybe 1 hr of time on my first day of having the wheel, I got it down from 100% to 95%. Just wanted to share my first riding experience.

[ebizu]

Congrats on what sounds like a very successful series of riding sessions. Like you, I had a harder time learning to turn, primarily because my brain didn’t like the initial idea of leaning the wheel to one side. Eventually I got the hang of it by doing figure eights in a smoothly paved area of my local school. You’ll probably incorporate the same exercise with your turning practice sessions. 

[The Fat Unicyclist]

At very slow speeds, the 18XL can be leaned over until the pedal brushes the ground, allowing for a very tight turning circle. But doing this requires the rider to hold the wheel at the correct angle on their calf, while maintaining balance through the turn. Doing this is not easy and takes practice. 

At higher speeds, turning can also be achieved with the wheel almost upright and the rider shifting their weight sideways into the turn. 

In general, it is a bit of both... For me, as a heavier rider, I prefer to lean me less and the wheel more.  

@Dogmaticjoe - if you are leaning the wheel over quite a way, but not turning much, then I would expect it is because you are leaning against it (to try to stay upright) and this is interfering with your turn.  For example, leaning the wheel left (for a left turn) but shifting your weight right (because your brain wants to keep you balanced).

Just like you need your weight forward to accelerate, you also need it (slightly) left or right for turning. 

I hope this makes sense and may even help...

[Dogmaticjoe]

2 hours ago, The Fat Unicyclist said:

At very slow speeds, the 18XL can be leaned over until the pedal brushes the ground, allowing for a very tight turning circle. But doing this requires the rider to hold the wheel at the correct angle on their calf, while maintaining balance through the turn. Doing this is not easy and takes practice. 

At higher speeds, turning can also be achieved with the wheel almost upright and the rider shifting their weight sideways into the turn. 

In general, it is a bit of both... For me, as a heavier rider, I prefer to lean me less and the wheel more.  

@Dogmaticjoe - if you are leaning the wheel over quite a way, but not turning much, then I would expect it is because you are leaning against it (to try to stay upright) and this is interfering with your turn.  For example, leaning the wheel left (for a left turn) but shifting your weight right (because your brain wants to keep you balanced).

 

yea one other problem is getting my feet just right on the pedals because while they may be the largest XL pedals I also have size 14 shoes so they hang off both the front and back of the pedals.

[littlebigmac]

Congrats on your new wheel! I’m in the same boat you are having done my first ride on the ks16x yesterday! Your experience sounds pretty similar to my own so far, but the one thing that really surprised me with regards to turning was that when people say “you’ll go where you look” it is not an exaggeration! I was able to manage a few pretty controlled turns just by swiveling my head/torso in kind of an exaggerated manner to look directly at where I wanted to turn towards, and like magic it sort of forced me into a bit of a lean and the wheel just followed.

Now I’m definitely not at the point where I can do super tight aggressive turns yet, but wide sweeping 6-8’ radius turns felt pretty natural using the head/torso swivel technique.

On 8/21/2021 at 12:25 AM, Dogmaticjoe said:

it was 90+ degree outside and I felt like I was gonna die in the heat with a helmet on and no airflow

Haha dang, I was practicing in 70 degree overcast and I was drenched in sweat after just 10 minutes from all the stumbling around! I can’t even imagine going through that in serious heat, though us pacific northwesterners are kinda wimps when it comes to anything resembling a warm summer day 

[peddiparth]

Congratulations on getting your new 18XL.

I am learning to ride the borrowed ACM v2 while waiting for RS19 HT. I watched a bunch of videos and tried different things in parallel.

I noticed that practice improves riding ease. I am sure you will learn to ride quickly with a little practice.

My trials and tribulations are recorded for posterity here to get feedback from other experienced riders. 

 

[Dogmaticjoe]

Just wanted to let people know Me and my brother are apparently genetic freaks because I read stories of people having trouble being able to ride without help or be able to freemount for a week or so, and I thought that was how I was gonna be considering that I have never skated, rollerbladed, or any balance related sports. Me and my brother were seeing who could get around the block faster and we were both hitting 25mph and turning just fine. We still have a bit of trouble with low speed really tight turns though and I do get some speed wobbles getting to 25mph but I just slow down a bit and grip the wheel tighter. I have only had the wheel for 3 days and I didn't ride it the first day cause it was charging up from 13% for quite a while. I think I will enjoy this wheel quite a lot in the future.

[Tawpie]

Well then. Let it be known that I hate you, your brother, and all of the freaks that can somehow hop on and go. It's not natural. Should be banned. Is there no justice? My wish for you and your kind is that wheel disease hits hard and without mercy. I pray that "must possess multiple-wheels" syndrome smite you with vengeance (there is no known cure BTW).

On second thought, never mind me, I'm just an old coot, and I'm insanely jealous. 

Have FUN!

Edited August 23, 2021 by Tawpie

[littlebigmac]

1 hour ago, Dogmaticjoe said:

Me and my brother were seeing who could get around the block faster and we were both hitting 25mph and turning just fine.

Haha are you me!? I’m blown away at how similar our learning curves over the past 2 days have been! I also was expecting and preparing for weeks of misery but have been pleasantly surprised at how things just clicked after the initial “wtf am I doing” phase.

I wonder if our wheels were in the same container together (did you order from ewheels?) 

[Dogmaticjoe]

1 hour ago, littlebigmac said:

 

I wonder if our wheels were in the same container together (did you order from ewheels?) 

yep, If it was the container that said it would arrive by Aug. 2 but actually got released to ewheels on the 17th then it was probably the same container as well.

[EUCandME]

Congrats on your new wheel! I also received my first wheel on Saturday (granted a very basic wheel compared to others)! I spent most of Saturday falling and falling and falling.... Sunday I managed to travel around 50m at a time and then something must of clicked. I can now ride for long periods of time without falling off although my feet do start to hurt. I have now racked up 90km on my wheel and I am out every night either on bike paths or through light gravel tracks.

[Dogmaticjoe]

Ok so ive been riding recently and I am now able to turn in a pretty tight circle and can go a decent speed but I've run into a problem, I hear people say that the KS18XL is a good wheel to cruise around 20mph but every time I get to around 20mph or about 18mph the wheel will start wobbling quite a bit even if i am quite strongly gripping the wheel with my legs and the only way to stop it is to slow down. I don't imagine that that is normal considering people cruise around 20-25mph quite often but the wobble is stopping me. Is it my tire pressure maybe? I weigh about 240lbs and I have my tire pressure set to about 44psi. Should I lower the psi since I don't really go off road and I don't plan for now at least to go off or up curbs, but I am still worried about denting my rim so I don't know what pressure would be good or if this would even fix my problem?

[Dogmaticjoe]

I have also noticed my feet get a little numb after riding for about 30 min straight but I have seen that being said by a lot of people and that eventually the muscles in your feet will get used to it. When my feet hurt I just got off and sat down for like 5 min and I was good to ride again.

[.....]

The wobble is more than likely you and not the wheel. I ride my 18xl around max all the time and its fine(same as the 2 previos 18l's I've owned). I do wobble a bit when I stop from those speeds. Im getting better tho, so this is also just simple riding error. The higher the pressure, the faster your feet will tire out. Softer tires absorb a lot of the vibrations and over time it adds up.  also found that medium mode seemed less tiring on my feet/knees than hard mode.  I rode around 30-35psi, but i am only 130lbs. It doesnt sound to me like you are overinflating the tire. I check my pressure by the simple hop test. Ride slowly and act like tigger on the wheel. If it seems to bottom out or get too close to the rim, add pressure. If it bounces like crazy, reduce it.  Didnt everyone learn how this works with bicycles and basketballs? Kids don't carry tire gauges....

I'd put $20 on it, that most of your problems are simply from inexperience. If you do have a tire that isnt seated just right, it can cause a little hop. You will notice it hop faster as you go faster. Around 20-25mph, any decent hop will be noticeable, but wont neccessarily be why you begin to wobble. Riding an euc is a lot of muscle memory and conditioning. New riders typically have neither. You can't THINK your way thru it. Overtime, wobbles go away, you quit trying to think so hard, and you just simply do it. Grabbing the wheel to stop wobbles is typically the WRONG thing to do. Try to ride loose. Most new riders think that grabbing the wheel is the answer. Reality is, ridning loose and learning simple balance shift IS the solution. I only grab my wheels when Im hard accel, jumping, about to bounce off, or hard braking. Resist grabbing as you wobble, it typically just causes the wobble to include MORE mass (you entire body). Loosen up and weight shift while slowing a tad. THIS will typically stop the wobbles.

Congrats on the best general purpose wheel out atm, imho. 25mph IS the smoothest cruise speed on the 18xl for me. Be leery of overconfidence, as itll teach you REAL quick. Anything over 10-12mph and you may not be running it off.

Edited August 31, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[Dogmaticjoe]

53 minutes ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Try to ride loose. Most new riders think that grabbing the wheel is the answer. Reality is, ridning loose and learning simple balance shift IS the solution. I only grab my wheels when Im hard accel, jumping, about to bounce off, or hard braking. Resist grabbing as you wobble, it typically just causes the wobble to include MORE mass (you entire body). Loosen up and weight shift while slowing a tad. THIS will typically stop the wobbles.

Congrats on the best general purpose wheel out atm, imho. 25mph IS the smoothest cruise speed on the 18xl for me. Be leery of overconfidence, as itll teach you REAL quick. Anything over 10-12mph and you may not be running it off.

Yea I did notice that at speeds where it would start to wobble it would wobble less if I started to kind of carve left to right. and about the speeds above 12mph yea I'm still being careful wearing all my gear, full face helmet, knee/elbow pads, and wrist guards. luckily my family rides dirtbikes so the only thing I had to buy were the wrist guards and helmet since a normal dirtbike helmet weighs like 5lbs and the bmx one I got is only 2lbs.

[That Guy]

I found it very important to learn how to deal with wobbles. Most of the times my wobbles happened when I was breaking. So, I decided to practice emergency stopping. I went to an empty large car park and learn to drop the speed as fast as I comfortably could from the top speed. I had a lot of wobbles in the beginning but then gradually learnt how to deal with it. It is surprising how much 5-10 half-an-hour sessions of practice in safe environment can improve your ride! It is all about the muscle memory and different parts of your legs will eventually learn to work together to get you out of trouble. 

[lwood]

Congratulations on the new 18XL!  Great choice - I just bought one as well and I am a new rider to the sport.

I have been trying the old process of trying to learn to get up on the unit in my basement - using the stud walls for support.   Not a great way to do it - but the weather has not been in my favor.  Have learned to get up on the wheel and move a bit back and forth - and also found that when you put on metal wrist guards - it is almost impossible to grab wooden beams for support.   So, it is either get rid of the protection and grab beams, or move out of the basement.

Plan on meeting a "trainer" this weekend and learn first in grass (if you can ride in grass, you can definitely ride on pavement); and grass has less abrasiveness when you fall. Then move to a track or paved surface.  I have all the gear from motorcycle riding and have added knee/shin guards and elbow guards for when I can eventually pare down to helmet, pads and shorts.  

I agree with the jokingly negative comments about people being able to just get up and go on the EUC.  It is not right - or they need to be doing it for a living.  Every new balance sport has a learning curve.

Keep riding and reporting on your successes!

[rcgldr]

You didn't mention how you are steering the EUC. There are 3 main methods as mentioned in this video, body twisting into the turn (except in the video, the EUC is clearly being tilted also), tilt (foot) steering, and yaw steering (flail arms left to steer right and vice versa, an impulse steering that doesn't require tilting the EUC to turn). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xARhopySrtk

Yaw steering is mostly used for low speeds. Here is a video of rider nearly stopped and|or going backwards:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro3o8U9uZeU&t=57s

Tilt steering is done by moving the inner foot down and the outer foot up to lean the EUC, which will then steer due to camber effect. A good example of this is the rider in this video, that is nearly motionless (no arm flailing or body twisting) other than leaning and tilting the EUC, leaning with the body more than tilting the EUC due to the speeds and radius of the turns in the video. What may not be clear is when initiating a lean, the rider momentarily pushes down with the outer foot, which counter-steers the EUC outwards to initiate the lean, which the rider may not even be aware of, then tilts the EUC inwards. This can be seen at 2:15 into the video, a side view where you can see the left foot going down to initiate a right lean.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hWMwK3Cfs0

If using tilt steering to recover from a fall, there is no counter-steering, since you are already leaning due to imbalance, and you just tilt the EUC into the direction of the fall to steer into the fall to regain balance. Tilt steering can be done at low speed, but as seen in this video, pedal scrape is an issue, (in this case the rider catches his foot on the pavement and walks off the EUC):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83gEm6MzODw

Body twisting is my least preferred method, since it initially counter-steers, which is an issue if trying to regain balance due to a left or right imbalanced lean, since the initial reaction will be to increase the unwanted lean, and even when balanced, with body twisting, the EUC ends up being tilted once the steering actually starts.

I'm a new rider with about a month and 60 miles on a V8F. I left the max speed setting at its default 15 mph, apparently not fast enough to get a speed wobble. My first day was in a tennis court, using yaw steering at slow speed, but on the second day, after a session on the tennis court, I switched to a location with a long straight where I felt comfortable going faster, which was much more stable, and I worked on speed control and tilt steering. Currently I'm consciously tilt steering, but eventually it should become reflexive. For any new riders reading this, in my case, I followed Kuji Roll's advice for beginners, learn how to ride first using wall mount and launch, then learn how to free mount, which will be easier, since you already know how to ride. The other tip was the more obvious steer into a fall to regain balance.

Edited September 2, 2021 by rcgldr

[AngryJackPCB]

On 8/21/2021 at 6:59 PM, Dogmaticjoe said:

yea one other problem is getting my feet just right on the pedals because while they may be the largest XL pedals I also have size 14 shoes so they hang off both the front and back of the pedals.

I have size 12 and my toes hang off the front. I use to have equal amounts of toe and heel but after watching this video, I have all toe and no heel.

 

Thanks The Blade Of Hades!

 

 

[aerobit]

On 9/1/2021 at 12:44 AM, ShanesPlanet said:

The wobble is more than likely you and not the wheel.
... most of your problems are simply from inexperience.
Riding an euc is a lot of muscle memory and conditioning. New riders typically have neither. You can't THINK your way thru it. Overtime, wobbles go away, you quit trying to think so hard, and you just simply do it. Grabbing the wheel to stop wobbles is typically the WRONG thing to do. Try to ride loose.

All very true. Loosen your ride. If necessary, go slower. Stay in your comfort zone (where you don't get wobbles.) Build up your muscle memory and increase your speed gradually. Also, try lower tire pressure. I'm 95 kg (210 lbs?) without gear. I had ridden whole summer without paying attention to the tire, so it was down to 20-25 psi probably (18x2,5). Today I pumped it to to 40-42 psi and all of a sudden my wheel was very nervous. It was too responsive. Nothing wrong with that but the change was too big, so my wheel was wobbly and shaky, not enough control and stability. So I went 30 psi and got my old wheel back. I'm saying you should try lower pressure. At least for me 30 feels much more stable than 40 psi.

When your feet go numb, do not sit down. You better walk, jog or exercise. Numb means insufficient blood circulation in legs. By simply walking you will recover much faster than just sitting.

Edited September 8, 2021 by aerobit
typo

[aerobit]

On 8/23/2021 at 2:49 AM, peddiparth said:

My trials and tribulations are recorded for posterity here to get feedback...

 

By know you have probably made some progress? Looking at your first trials ...  I would suggest this approach: