Learning to ride on a V11

[Hellkitten]

Thank you everyone for the replies! The general consensus seems to be riding experience. Makes sense. I’ll enjoy getting that! I may try moving my foot position as well. 

To be clear, I’m not going faster then 15-20mph, in a large empty parking lot. I was only getting them infrequently and even when I did they weren’t overly concerning. I just wanted to understand why they were happening and how to deal with them as I slowly increase any speed training. I’m going to get comfortable at various stages of learning before moving on to more advanced skills. 

I’d love to try some off roading and trail riding, but I live in downtown Toronto. I don’t have a car and I don’t want to risk riding any route to get there without being safe on the streets. I’ve been cycling most of my life and for years in this city. I’ve never had any serious accidents and understand traffic flow well. But I’m not at a point where I feel fully confident on a wheel yet to be riding like I can on my bike. I do have some long alleyways close by that I’ll likely take advantage of and learn some carving. 

I’ve watched a few videos about wobbles and my instinct on how to react seems to be correct. I’m not clamping down or panicking, mostly dropping my weight back and slowing down. I’ve experienced wobbles on a skateboard in the past as well and the best way to stop those is to carve. 

 

[Hellkitten]

Just got back from a walk and spotted a Sherman on the Danforth. Nice to spot a local rider out there. I wonder if they’re a member here........? 

[Hellkitten]

Day 10- This ride was a lot of fun...... Started off trying different boots and a slightly duck foot placement. The new foot wear took getting used to, I think the duck foot enables more leverage for tighter cornering. 

I began at the school yard I’ve mostly been learning in. After getting comfortable with the boots I left for a nearby park. I took a few quiet back streets and alleyways to get there. No busy roads for me yet. There is a mix of concrete pathways and dirt trails there. I got a chance to mix it up on both. A onewheel rider and I passed like ships in the night during one of my trips around the park. It was cool to see another PEV out there.  I did a few laps around then headed up another quiet street. A ton of the roads here are awful and full of potholes, cracks and holes. I hit a ton of those and I have to say for the most part was fine, the suspension really knocked the edge off of em. I did have two semi sketchy moments when I hit lumps with the side edge of my wheel and those really shifted my balance. I almost bailed both times, but managed to get my wheel back under control. I was out for about an hour of solid riding. I mostly came back because I was getting cold. I’m at a point now where this hobby is pleasurable and not as much of a struggle. I’m seeing improvements with each session and can see how this is an ever expanding learning curve. 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Hellkitten

[Paul A]

Wind, wobbles.

Video of building design.

Substitute buildings in video to EUC, would be similarly applicable, albeit probably with lower wind speeds at ground level.

 

 

[Hellkitten]

@Paul A My buddy is an engineer he has his ring from the Tacoma bridge. Natural frequency is a crazy thing. 

I guess the rider would be the equivalent of the damper in a building. I am enjoying the counter lean and feeling where you need to be over the wheel to maintain balance. 

[BongoFlip]

One thing I noticed that helped with my riding stability was new shoes. Today was my second day riding from my house to the office with a new pair of hightop shoes, and the ankle support they gave helped me stabilize a lot better at higher speeds. I feel like ankle support plays a big factor in stability on an EUC, but that could just be me. Although I do see a lot of gear recommendation lists for EUCs, and more often than not they include hightop shoes.

[Paul A]

Yes,

Youtube has videos with high speed photography showing the incredible flexing of wine glasses at their natural frequencies.

A speaker is then used to play sound at the same frequency that breaks the wine glass, to demonstrate the effects of sound waves when synchronized/resonating.

 

London's Millennium Bridge in 2000.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2152834-a-magic-number-of-people-walking-across-a-bridge-makes-it-sway/

Igor Belykh at Georgia State University in Atlanta says the Millennium Bridge’s swaying steel was a result of the footfalls of pedestrians lining up with the bridge’s natural frequency, the rate at which it must be subjected to force to start moving. Every bridge has a natural frequency based on its length, width, and the material it is made of, and Belykh has created a model that shows just how many people would need to cross any bridge to send it wobbling.

The same is true for people stepping left and right on a bridge at a certain pace. If a crowd’s footfalls match the bridge’s frequency, it’ll start to sway, too.

Once the crowd reaches a critical size, the bridge beneath them will wobble.

Before you hit that crucial threshold, any wobbles on the bridge – say, from wind – would be too small to feel. But when the right number of people are walking across a bridge at the same time, there’s a noticeable jump in swaying.

And once this jump happens, the fact that we all move similarly to stabilize ourselves can make a bridge sway even more. Belykh says people will adjust their natural gait to counteract the motion and stay upright.

 

_________________________________

 

Similar thing may be happening with an EUC when a wobble begins.

A rider trying to stabilize the wheel may actually make it wobble even more, because they are trying to counteract the motion and stay upright.

[Hellkitten]

22 minutes ago, BongoFlip said:

One thing I noticed that helped with my riding stability was new shoes. Today was my second day riding from my house to the office with a new pair of hightop shoes, and the ankle support they gave helped me stabilize a lot better at higher speeds. I feel like ankle support plays a big factor in stability on an EUC, but that could just be me. Although I do see a lot of gear recommendation lists for EUCs, and more often than not they include hightop shoes.

Yeah, possibly. The boots I switched to are tighter fitting high topped. They have a bit of a heel which was kinda strange coming from flat bottomed sneakers. I could feel more of the pedals with the shoes on, but after a bit of practice the stiffer boots were decent too. I’m still not sure what I prefer. I have a different pair of boots I may try today. I’m considering getting a new pair of high top runners. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Hellkitten]

Day 11- I rode until I hit “go home” mode. That’s like being out at a bar all night then the bouncer flipping the house lights on and telling everyone to get the hell out. I began with about 50% charge. 

I started by removing the lower half of my pads. The foot section and tried heavier leather boots this time. It had been raining most of the evening and the ground was still wet. I hit the school yard I’ve been practicing in to get accustomed to the changes. It didn’t take too long before I was ready to move on. I went to the park I was at the night before and did a few loops through the orange leaves. One of the concrete paths I found had tree roots growing under it and was full of lumps and cracks, I made sure to ride that strip a few times to get in some terrain practice. Then I did some long stretches down some side streets and alleys. I ended up at another park that has some short, but steep hills. I’ve never ridden on a slope before. On my first trip down the wheel started correcting and tilting me back and level. Wigged me out at first. I wasn’t somehow expecting that. I got chucked off a few times trying to transition between the sidewalk and some soft mud. Nothing serious or high speed. 

 We have a ton of st car tracks across the city and I made sure to hit them at an obtuse angle, I obviously don’t want to get stuck in one. I did however get caught on a few join lines of concrete where different sections of the street meet up. I never bailed, but I could see that being a problem to look out for. There was no traffic around and I had a lot of space to manage and get unstuck. 

Autumn is my favourite time of year and I’m really glad to be able to enjoy this activity before the snow comes. 🍁🎃❄️⛄️

 

 

[Hellkitten]

Day 12- I ended up going for close to a four hour ride! I did a lot of meandering, but eventually ended up on a path called the belt line. It extends across most of Toronto and is wide packed earth paths. There were a lot of roots, divots, gravel, mud, beautiful trees. The only time I fell off was in some mud. It’s a difficult transition from hard ground to soft. I struggled with my shoulder checks. I did some street riding and almost bailed trying to check for traffic. I’ve been doing that for years on a bike, but the difference in balance threw me. I managed to stabilize both times, but I got terrible wobbles. I did get better at it, but they need a ton of work...... As does my free mounting still. I did go up my first curb! Mind you it was the shortest one I’ve ever seen, but i stayed on!  

One thing about the V11 light, I wish you could physically reposition the throw from it. The brightness is great, jus fixed in place kinda sucks. 

[Paul A]

Helmet mirror helps a lot if haven't already installed one.

Hand held LED torches are incredibly bright, much better than EUC light.

Self adhesive LED strip light on helmet increases visibility dramatically.  Settings of quick or slow flashing, or continuous light.  Assorted colours, very easy to install, quite inexpensive.

Available on Amazon, eBay etc.

Great to hear such progress.

[yoos]

4 hours ago, Hellkitten said:

I’ve been doing that for years on a bike, but the difference in balance threw me.

When looking over your shoulder you have to compensate this move to keep the wheel rolling straight, e.g. swing your left arm forward when looking over your left shoulder, as discussed here.

 

[Hellkitten]

Day 13- Fantastic ride tonight. I had a fully charged wheel and I wanted to see what it could do. In Toronto there is a long pathway down the lakeshore then, it turns up the Don Valley River. I rode the whole way across town and back. It’s a route I’m familiar with, I used to commute on it in about an hour via mountain bike. Then I headed back up to the beltway that I was at last night. Tootled around a local park then was down past the second bar  on my battery reader and decided to head home. All on all, I did a massive J loop over a section of the city tonight. I got caught in a few rain showers throughout my ride. Man, I hope my bearings are good. 🙏 Practiced shoulder checks and I think I’ve worked out my balance with that. Saw a decent amount of improvements in being able to manage obstacles and my turning abilities. I’m feeling more and more like a part of the wheel. I did get a lot of technical work in as well. A lot of uneven ground, potholes, speed bumps, crevices, bridges, train tracks were crossed. 

I adjusted the angle of my pedals to -1% so the headlight is at a better position. 👍I also have an extremely bright led light attached to my helmet for the darker parts of the trails I was on. 

I saw at least two dozen rabbits leaping about in front of me while I was on the don river. And almost hit 3-4. I also rode past a huge pile of 🐎💩 (our lovely police department at work). Which leads me to question people here........... have any of you ever hit something or ran over anything?! 🤕

Edited November 12, 2021 by Hellkitten

[Paul A]

Don't let free 🐎💩 go to waste...

 

 

[OldFartRides]

I just about bit it last night misjudging the dip next to a drain that I am completely aware of while making a left hander.

Complacency kills.

 

edit: Of course that was on the 16s, not the s18.

Edited November 12, 2021 by OldFartRides

[Tawpie]

7 hours ago, Hellkitten said:

I saw at least two dozen rabbits leaping about in front of me while I was on the don river

the bunnies... they're a definite hazard. I haven't hit one but one of our locals did. Bunny was stunned but did run away. Legend has it that if your handheld/helmet light is bluer (more daylight, 3000K or bluer) the bunnies don't seem to jump in front as much. This is unverified, but is an excuse to get another flashlight—not that I need any reason good or otherwise to get more flashlights!)

Edited November 12, 2021 by Tawpie

[Hellkitten]

One of the unforeseen benefits of this activity is I’m taking less direct routes. When on a bike you’re exerting all the energy to move, so I was almost always taking efficient paths. I’m finding a ton of nooks and crannies around town that I missed before. 

[Hellkitten]

I threw together this “back off” whistle today. It’s less air horn more hey watch out kinda sound. Lol. 

[Paul A]

Electric bells are great.

Small, compact, slips/straps onto finger, simple one thumb button operation, hands free, waterproof, rechargeable.

Loud 120db, will penetrate through enclosed cabin of car, over traffic/engine noise, distance.

Amazon, eBay, about $8.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124902028312?hash=item1d14bdb418:g:kz4AAOSwEmxhQdUY

[Paul A]

Helmet LED strip lights for high visibility.

Assorted colours.  Might be better not to have blue colour that resembles police lights.

Easy installation, three light settings.

Can just Velcro tape the control/battery box onto helmet.

Around $15.

 

 

[Hellkitten]

I’ve got a 20 lumen red flashing light on the back of my helmet. I do like that horn though....... I just threw that horn together with things I had around. Thanks for the links! 

[Paul A]

Helmet strip light has advantage of all round 360 degree visibility to all cars, especially at night, not just from behind.

Conditions of poor visibility like dusk, fog, mist, haze, rain, traffic, ineffective wipers on cars, inattention......more illumination in all directions might be good.

The higher height of head position, left/right side illumination, flashing, is more noticeable, beneficial.

Reflective vests are good too, reliant on others having lights though.  Pedestrians, cyclists usually don't have very good lights, if at all.

 

[Hellkitten]

3 hours ago, Paul A said:

Helmet strip light has advantage of all round 360 degree visibility to all cars, especially at night, not just from behind.

Conditions of poor visibility like dusk, fog, mist, haze, rain, traffic, ineffective wipers on cars, inattention......more illumination in all directions might be good.

The higher height of head position, left/right side illumination, flashing, is more noticeable, beneficial.

Reflective vests are good too, reliant on others having lights though.  Pedestrians, cyclists usually don't have very good lights, if at all.

 

Oh I’m fairly decked out in all the disco gear. Flashing red light on the back of the head, another red flasher on my left wrist, bright orange safety vest, front and rear lights on the V11 and a helmet mounted light. I’ve been a urban cyclist for decades. I don’t skimp on the visuals.........

[Hellkitten]

Day 14- I rode mostly along the cycling path that runs beside Lake Ontario. The winds off of the lake hit me from the side in gusts and made for some interesting counter corrections. It was cold too. I hit a raised manhole cover fairly hard at one point, I don’t know how anybody rides with no suspension. I would have gone down for sure without it. Saw some more rabbits and almost got skunked twice. Man that would suck in the middle of a  ride. I’m starting to play around with some of the forces while moving. I’ve been covering about 3-4 times the distance I’d normally do on a bike ride. These things are crazy fun. Do hate the foot fatigue though. I’m wearing inserts in all my footwear, but man they eventually numb out. Had my first person comment at me, some girl yelled out of a car window “that looks fun”! I have her a thumbs up. 

Edited November 13, 2021 by Hellkitten

[kiitick]

That foot fatigue was really common for me until the last 3 or 4 rides. I've started to have enough balance/experience to be able to move my feet around as I ride. Last night I was even able to ride with my left foot completely off the pedal for about 20 seconds, really reducing that fatigue. It does get better.