Total Newb Needs Advice

[Fuzz954]

I recently stumbled across EUCs and I'm intrigued. I want to take the plunge but I have no idea what make/model to buy.  I've got joint issues that make it difficult to stand for long periods without shifting my weight around so I really like the idea of the sit-on design EUCs (super ride s1000 is my current front runner). At the very least I want something with a yoke/handle so I can use my upper body to compensate. To further complicate matters I'm 6'3" and 275 lbs which seems to exceed or challenge the weight limit of most designs. 

I've been considering the super ride s1000 but I'm at the edge of the weight limit. I also found the Kahuna Kiwano k01 but I'm well over the limit on that. Everything else I can find is the briefcase style with no seat or yoke and I'm just not confident that style will work for me. 

What kind of products are out there for a rider like myself?

 

 

[Chriull]

1 hour ago, Fuzz954 said:

What kind of products are out there for a rider like myself?

I fear not too much - these kind of sit & handle eucs are not to common.

Your front runner has specs like "ancient" eucs, price performance ratio is very bad.

But afair there were some others over time? Too not really with better specs...

Eucs are a niche product, eucs with handle even more.

1 hour ago, Fuzz954 said:

At the very least I want something with a yoke/handle so I can use my upper body to compensate

Sorry - i do not fully sure if i understand what you want to compensate with the handle? However i fear (have no personal experience) that one cannot "put weight" on the handle but can "delicately" control the wheel?! 

[mike_bike_kite]

Maybe something like the FreeGo WC-01? I'm not sure what the weight limit is though. Maybe you could get someone to fix a high seat and handle bars to a Veteran Sherman? Other than something like that, I'm afraid your next best bet is the nuclear option of dieting and exercise - swimming might be good and wouldn't stress your joints.

[yoos]

I would suggest to look at a Kingsong 16X or Inmotion V11. Both have a standard seat accessory (bought separately). The V11 has suspension, which is great for joints.

Luckily, controlling an EUC is accomplished by literally shifting your weight, so this might be encouraging to your joints. Nevertheless riding can be taxing, especially during learning. However, you will soon learn to move your feet around while riding and perhaps riding on one leg for short periods to relax and rest your joints. A seat will take your options to the next level, of course. Finally, you can take as many breaks as you wish, mounting and dismounting is really fast and easy (once learnt) -- easier and smoother than on a bicycle I would say.

If your joint problems are really severe and you insist on a handlebar to put some of your weight on it then it is probably better to look a two-wheeled devices. Edit: as @Chriull rightly notices, you cannot put your weight on a handle bar in front of the wheel: your center of mass has to be above the wheel to maintain constant speed.

In any case I advise against EUC with handlebar -- these species belong to yesteryears cyberpunk fantasies. A handlebar on an EUC makes it heavier and bulkier, more difficult to park or bring indoors, dangerous in the event of a crash. Basically, it negates many of the advantages the EUC has over many-wheeled vehicles. Yet you still have all the drawbacks of a one-wheeled vehicle -- possibility of overpowering by the rider or cutout due to electronics failure (which is rare nowadays). The s1000 in particular is definitely underpowered for your weight. It has also a very small battery and range which betrays it is rather a gimmick than a potent means of transportation. Hilariously, it also has a breaking lever on the handlebar, which is also against how EUCs normally operate (by shifting weight). If you mechanically break on a one-wheeled device without seriously shifting your weight back to an appropriate degree, you will just faceplant.

Edited September 22, 2021 by yoos

[Fuzz954]

The thought with a handlebar was more to compensate if I need to shift my weight around. It seems as though during typical riding you only have 2 points of contact with the EUC (your 2 feet). If I need to pick up 1 foot that's only 1 point of contact/control which makes me nervous as someone who is far less fleet of foot than I once was. I figured some sort of handlebar or yoke would give me another point of contact while shuffling my weight around to help avoid a crash.

it's possible I'm overthinking this and it's less of an issue while actually riding. I've logged a lot of time on scooters, bikes, motorcycles, and boards but I've got no frame of reference for an EUC. 

 

Thanks for the note about the king song 16x seat situation. I'll have to read up on that and see if it looks promising. 

[meepmeepmayer]

• I would look at a EUC with suspension. Inmotion V11, King Song S18 or S20 (upcoming). These are also big/powerful EUCs, suited for your size/weight. If anything helps with standing, it's probably a suspension (right?).
• Or maybe a really big wheel like the upcoming Veteran Abrams, to easily sit on?
• Also look at the custom seat mods people did on various wheels. These might be great options.
• Among the "real", competitive, powerful (and therefore safe) electric unicycles, there are none with a handlebar of any kind. They are all suitcase style. These other handlebar type models are a joke in comparison, with small batteries and weak motors (which really makes them unsafe and they aren't really taken serious as EUCs, they are more of a curiosity or old weak things from the past).
  Handlebars are an outdated concept on electric unicycles, really. They are a remnant from Segways (so people feel better when they have something to grab on), but on a EUC they don't really do anything you couldn't do better by just shifting your center of gravity by leaning. And you can not really expect to put any significant weight on them, as that would shift your center of gravity and be an input!
  Seats on the other hand seem to work well for those who ride seated (takes some skill).
• Sad to say it, but maybe a EUC just isn't the right ride for you. No point in ruining your joints if that is a danger. In the end, you do stand on the elctric unicycle and move relatively little, so if you have problems standing for longer times...
  You have to know if/how/what would work for you. If scooters etc. worked for you, there's no reason why an electric unicycle would be a problem. You just stand one way or the other. But the bigger tires of EUCs and a possible suspension will be more comfortable and cushioned than small scooter tires e.g.

I would try a cheap learner wheel or a suspension wheel (a V11 with seat mod seems to be the obvious candidate currently) to see if everything works for you (I hope it does - welcome to your future addiction). Used unicycles sell like hotcakes, so there's no danger of you being stuck with one if you don't like it. Just expect some depreciation.

Edited September 22, 2021 by meepmeepmayer

[Menace]

4 minutes ago, Fuzz954 said:

The thought with a handlebar was more to compensate if I need to shift my weight around. It seems as though during typical riding you only have 2 points of contact with the EUC (your 2 feet). If I need to pick up 1 foot that's only 1 point of contact/control which makes me nervous as someone who is far less fleet of foot than I once was. I figured some sort of handlebar or yoke would give me another point of contact while shuffling my weight around to help avoid a crash.

it's possible I'm overthinking this and it's less of an issue while actually riding. I've logged a lot of time on scooters, bikes, motorcycles, and boards but I've got no frame of reference for an EUC. 

 

Thanks for the note about the king song 16x seat situation. I'll have to read up on that and see if it looks promising. 

You don't need a handle bar. You can shift your feet without it. Seated riding is a more advanced skill, you would start off with standing. Those super ride s1000 type eucs are completely different from the EUCs you typically see. They are slow, weak, and clunky. 

[meepmeepmayer]

To get started with an overview of the "real" market (as opposed to handlebar novelties) and what's available, check out ewheels.com/shop e.g.

[yoos]

1 hour ago, Fuzz954 said:

it's possible I'm overthinking this and it's less of an issue while actually riding. I've logged a lot of time on scooters, bikes, motorcycles, and boards but I've got no frame of reference for an EUC. 

It's difficult to predict your experience on the EUC since it works like nothing you rode previously. Still, your scooter/mc/bike/board experience is the perfect background to enter EUCs (the only background that is even better is mastery of the old-school mechanical pedal unicycle, these guys usually take off in a matter of minutes). 

Regarding points of contact -- apart from your feet you also have your shins in contact with the wheel. If you lift one foot the opposing shin becomes a key point of contact. Many people use powerpads, which further improve control over the wheel, give extra leverage to lean the EUC and prevent slipping off. However, normal relaxed riding is perfectly fine without pads.

Regarding seats -- many modern EUCs can be equipped with a seat, some seats are made by EUC manufacturers, others by modding shops (which also sell aftermarket pedals, trolley handles, powerpads etc). You can even DIY a seat (usually using a bicycle seat) if you are so inclined. However, as mentioned above, seated riding is considerably more difficult than standing. It's a general thing: the more freedom you have to throw your body around, the easier it is to balance. That's why riding seated and holding handlebars seems particularly problematic -- you can barely shift any weight. You also might have to sit quite awkwardly to maintain forward-backward balance if your body geometry/weight configuration does not fit the geometry of the handlebar-seat EUC. This could probably be helped the old-school way by hanging sacks of sand to either the handlebar or the rear of the seat to balance out your body :D. 

 

Edited September 22, 2021 by yoos

[div]

1 hour ago, yoos said:

This could probably be helped the old-school way by hanging sacks of sand to either the handlebar or the rear of the seat to balance out your body :D. 

Apparently some of the larger handle bar mono wheel « motos » have a throttle to manually ad breaking or acceleration. This could be by dosing yourself or by having it tilt front / back shifting your body weight.

Anyway: EUCs should be way more controllable than those handle bar things.

[Fuzz954]

Well, I'm nearly convinced to take the plunge to full unicycle (no handle or seat).  It certainly looks fun and I'd love to enjoy that style of riding.  

The Veteran Sherman or Abrams seem very promising but the price tag is intimidating.  I'm hesitant to drop that kind of scratch on something totally new to me without any idea if I would stick to it.  The ks18XL also looks promising but I get the sense the Veteran products are more durable.  Any thoughts on the Begode products that are comparable to the Veteran?  

 

Also, any word on when prices might go down a bit?  It seems as though there's a premium right now due to increased battery cell costs.  

[.....]

Begode<Sherman<Older Ks wheels, in terms of quality and durability. I wouldnt suggest a $3-4K 80lb beast of a wheel for a newbie, but different strokes I guess. Being a heavy person, you are kind of looking towards the bigger wheels tho. At 276lbs, perhaps the sherman or likes IS a good choice. I'd suggest taking time learning and keeping a good sense of self preservation while you do. I dont foresee prices going down much. Once a company justifies a price hike, they rarely back down. Availability may increase but i dont think price will magically go low again.

Edited September 24, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[meepmeepmayer]

What do you think about the Inmotion V11 (or V12 if you don't care about a suspension)? Less intimidating price tag but really nice wheels.

[RayRay]

Here in Southern California, we have a rider "Sitting Jim"; so called because of how he rides. (Also, not to be confused with "Standing Jim".)

As with all Jims, he's a big guy who rides a big wheel; plus he's mastered seated riding. (His joints suck too and EUC's aid his mobility.)

Of course, it takes a while to master (regular and seated riding); and most of us benefited by learning on smaller wheels and graduating to larger ones.

Starting on the largest wheel available isn't generally recommended, as it makes learning much more difficult. (e.g. Sherman, Monster Pro, etc.)

Meanwhile, the V11 (hardly a small wheel) has suspension and seat options; but also an unusual ride height... (not ideal for someone so tall).

You're special considerations make it difficult to recommend a wheel, but others with similar conditions have made the transition (over time).

You're first wheel requires some oomph in your case, but our dirty secret is that almost all of us (despite cost) upgraded at some point.

 

Edited September 25, 2021 by RayRay

[Lillerskates]

Keeping in mind I've no frame of reference having just the one EUC for a few months now, perhaps an mTen3 isn't a bad option considering how easily it handles with the slightest motion of the feet.

Also funnily enough you can place a cane or I suppose even one on each side, on the outer part of the foot plates, outside of where your feet stand against the EUC, and offload pressure to the cane and even place deliberate carving or turning/tilting pressure with the cane pressing down with your hand/arm. This is pretty niche I'd say, don't think I've seen anyone mention anything like this and I've just been playing around with it a bit this last couple weeks due to a foot injury on the mend. With that pressure on you can then shift around a little more without even effecting direction etcetera but be on guard because if the cane foot slips you want to be reflexively familiar with EUC and not thrown off as your foot takes full precedent once more. Your skill with kick scooters reactions may help in this regard.\

Edit: nevermind mTen3 might not be the best for your weight if I understand it right, but the cane idea might still be something interesting to share. Shifting your feet around almost helps though, with carving sort of motions and getting to where the wheel feels like an extension of you, shimmying my feet around can often make me feel more fluently integrated with the wheel motions and a second nature part of adjusting while staying centered not sliding forward or back like during bumpy off-roading for example

Edited September 28, 2021 by Lillerskates