Seated Riding By the Ignoramus

[gon2fast]

I am a tall guy. I have been trying to ride seated since I received my Sherman and it really did not seem like a reality for my frame/body type. A year later it finally makes sense.

There were two big things I had to incorporate to get going-

1. Wilderness Dump Stance - very compacted with your bottom pointing down clear of your heels and preferably on the balls of your feet. Translates to a very compacted sitting position.

2.  Feet Over the Front of the Pedals - the biggest factor working against me in the past was the position of my feet. I assumed that my feet should be flat on the pedals the same as if I was standing. Nope, my legs are too long for that. Hanging my feet off the front of the pedals to start off fixed that.

Other Details

* Shoulders/Arms/Head/Torso control acceleration and braking

* Feet control most of steering

* Visibility is negatively affected

* Best to use the balance of your body to mount versus holding the roll bar

* Stock seat works fine (for my needs)

 

 

[Bumblebees]

I like to add a tidbit on riding seated over bumpy surfaces.  I post both my hands, palms facing down, on the wheel and push my body up slightly whenever I encounter a speed bump.  This takes the pressure of the bump away from your body when seated and keeps it from going airborne.

[gon2fast]

On 11/8/2021 at 11:33 AM, Bumblebees said:

This takes the pressure of the bump away from your body when seated and keeps it from going airborne

Interesting. I have been applying pressure to my thighs with my forearms to stop the oscillations associated with the short seat (and lack of skill). I have been a bit concerned about the lack of suspension in seated position so good to know.

[Daley1]

We need a taller seat for the Sherman ! Marty is gonna put a how to do up soon i think.The original is just so small and low 

[gon2fast]

Original fits me fine and I am somewhat tall (6'3"). I did ride BMX well into my 30's so I may be a bit more comfortable while riding scrunched up LOL. I am going to order the V11 seat which will be higher, hopefully that will not spoil the Sherman seat for me.

 

 

 

 

[Daley1]

v11 seat fits the Sherman?

[gon2fast]

No, I have a V11 to put it on.

[.....]

Seated riding is fun, but i simply get stuck in that position. After a few miles, my taint starts to complain. I tried it on my 18xl w/o a seat and Im still looking for my left testicle (4 weeks later). On my sherm, I tend to use the bars on front and rear, to help lift me for bumps and road dips. I'm a flexible guy, but that doesnt translate into being able to stand up after being a pretzel. All this seated riding talk just reminds me to tag my supermoto sometime this decade. I must admit tho, once you finally just settle in to a seated position, its much easier to simply ride than you would think. Aside from being so close of view to the ground, it didnt seem much more difficult than standing. I think its really neat you guys like to ride around seated. I also think it should be completely allowable that I make monkey jokes about you too. Can we strike a deal? You call me a toothpick and I call you a seated monkey? Meh, I dont need a deal, I still think its makes you look funny. Add a big a** warm coat and a seated rider looks like a tribble....

*cue the organ grinder

Edited November 14, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[gon2fast]

No worries, my wife and son had a big laugh the first time they saw me fly by seated. "It looks you are taking a stressful dump while going 25mph"... yeah, I guess so. I like being able to cut down on the wind resistance on some my longer stretches, but it is not something that I personally feel is safe amongst pedestrians and cars.

[Planemo]

2 hours ago, gon2fast said:

No worries, my wife and son had a big laugh the first time they saw me fly by seated. "It looks you are taking a stressful dump while going 25mph"... yeah, I guess so.

The first time I ever saw someone riding an EUC seated my immediate thought was 'that just looks utterly and completely ridiculous. Laughable. What a dick.'

I slowly succumbed to giving it a go myself and don't mind the odd bit of seated. I do indeed feel like a dick though. If I thought it, most other passers by will as well

I'm the same as Shane though - I struggle to get back up sometimes, especially as I only usually do it when my legs are getting knackered in the first place.

I find my foot position front/rear and toe in/out on the pedals doesn't change whether seated or standing - all that happens is that when seated my heels are off the pedal. And yeah, bumps are a problem. I just tend to take my ass a little off the seat with leg power alone which is a bit of a killer. Maybe I should try using my hands also like you guys.

I don't know how people ride with the stock seat - way too far back IMO. With my home made one I tend to be sitting right in the middle of the wheel. If I slide back to where I would be sitting on the stock seat I have to move my upper body so far forward my chest is nearly on my legs 

[UniBlab]

In my unending quest to master the euc, I've learned to ride seated just so I can say I can.  And truth be told I enjoy it - except I don't recommend it on an S18. Just doesn't make sense on that platform.  It's just ergonomically uncomfortable - unless you have some sort of seat or a fat ass.

Edited November 15, 2021 by UniBlab

[Tawpie]

I got a seat for my 16x and enjoy sitting down every now and then. Mostly to give the knees a break, but I stand for the most part. Haven't tried to sit on the S18, the target for the butt is awfully small and plopping down too far back seems "unwise". Besides, the top of that thing is hard.

[MexicanBatman]

4 hours ago, Tawpie said:

I got a seat for my 16x and enjoy sitting down every now and then. Mostly to give the knees a break, but I stand for the most part. Haven't tried to sit on the S18, the target for the butt is awfully small and plopping down too far back seems "unwise". Besides, the top of that thing is hard.

easy to sit on the S18

 

ill say my V12 is even easier again, without a seat that is, actually almost comfortable 🙃

[RamonatheCat]

I had a lot of fun practicing seated riding today. It seems like a good option for really long rides. Riding seated on the road felt sketchy as I did not feel very visible and also I take about twice as long to brake. It also felt somewhat ridiculous to ride seated but maybe that goes away with time? 

[360rumors]

Seated riding question - i tried it yesterday on the v11 with inmotion seat.  The hardest part for me was that sometimes i intend to go straight but it would veer to the left or right and when i correct, then it turns the other way even harder.   This happens more often when i try to keep my upper body upright while letting my lower body move independently. If I fix my upper body to the same position as the lower body, it is less likely to happen, but it can still happen.

Each turn becomes progressively harder to correct, like a wobble going out of control.  With a wobble, i can tame it by slowing down.  When i do that to a seated "wobble", the wobble / oscillation continues to get worse.  Any suggestions?  What causes it and what's the best way to stop it?

On a normal wobble, i know one way to deal with it is to carve or to weigh one side.  This one can still happen when i lean my body to one side.

Edited June 20, 2022 by 360rumors

[Tawpie]

I am (still and probably will be forever) "practicing" seated riding... I tried to steer by just gently tipping my upper body side to side. Works, but sketch as heck. Now I'm trying to keep the upper body basically centered but push on the pedals with my feet—more like I do when standing. It's a bit better, but clearly I need to do both. Control the turn with foot pressure but keep the body center of mass 'in line' with the wheel-to-road angle. I do believe counter steering is another key to success but haven't gotten that far!

Refreshingly, speed wobbles just don't happen to me when seated!

Edited June 20, 2022 by Tawpie

[Mayhem]

On 6/20/2022 at 2:36 PM, 360rumors said:

Seated riding question - i tried it yesterday on the v11 with inmotion seat.  The hardest part for me was that sometimes i intend to go straight but it would veer to the left or right and when i correct, then it turns the other way even harder.   This happens more often when i try to keep my upper body upright while letting my lower body move independently. If I fix my upper body to the same position as the lower body, it is less likely to happen, but it can still happen.

Each turn becomes progressively harder to correct, like a wobble going out of control.  With a wobble, i can tame it by slowing down.  When i do that to a seated "wobble", the wobble / oscillation continues to get worse.  Any suggestions?  What causes it and what's the best way to stop it?

On a normal wobble, i know one way to deal with it is to carve or to weigh one side.  This one can still happen when i lean my body to one side.

Seated riding gets rid of speed wobbles since your center of gravity is lower on the wheel…. 
 

the wobbles your getting while learning to ride seated sounds more like you just don’t have enough momentum to stay upright and your fighting to balance but don’t have enough speed to do so. 
 

the slower you go (12mph or slower) the harder it is to stay up right. Practice going in a straight line and maintaining your speed. Once you can keep your speed and momentum then add in turning. To turn just look where you want to go, keep your upper body relaxed & upright. Your lower body will automatically shift some weight as your hips turn and you will do a basic turn. 
 

High speed / sharper turns you counter balance with your arms with a slight upright lean. 
 

hope this helps if it’s still something your working on. 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Mayhem

[360rumors]

8 hours ago, Mayhem said:

Seated riding gets rid of speed wobbles since your center of gravity is lower on the wheel…. 
 

the wobbles your getting while learning to ride seated sounds more like you just don’t have enough momentum to stay upright and your fighting to balance but don’t have enough speed to do so. 
 

the slower you go (12mph or slower) the harder it is to stay up right. Practice going in a straight line and maintaining your speed. Once you can keep your speed and momentum then add in turning. To turn just look where you want to go, keep your upper body relaxed & upright. Your lower body will automatically shift some weight as your hips turn and you will do a basic turn. 
 

High speed / sharper turns you counter balance with your arms with a slight upright lean. 
 

hope this helps if it’s still something your working on. 

Thanks! I've since learned to be able to go reasonably straight when seated.  I think it's riding at a faster speed and also time on the Mten3 which I think improved my ankle control significantly.

[Mayhem]

18 hours ago, 360rumors said:

Thanks! I've since learned to be able to go reasonably straight when seated.  I think it's riding at a faster speed and also time on the Mten3 which I think improved my ankle control significantly.

No problem, riding seated at a starting speed above 15 mph helps tremendously as you already have a good head of steam and the wobbling portion has been removed from the equation for the most part. 
 

key notes to remember is

- stay relaxed as if your sitting on the toilet at home lol. If you tense up you can’t shift your weight for the small inputs needed to ride. 

- small inputs go a long way

- if you see something that looks like a bump / hump in the road avoid or simply stand up to go over hazard then sit back down. 

Edited August 2, 2022 by Mayhem

[360rumors]

28 minutes ago, Mayhem said:

No problem, riding seated at a starting speed above 15 mph helps tremendously as you already have a good head of steam and the wobbling portion has been removed from the equation for the most part. 
 

key notes to remember is

- stay relaxed as if your siting on the toilet at home lol. If you tense up you can’t shift your weight for the small inputs needed to ride. 

- small inputs go a long way

- if you see something that looks like a bump / hump in the road avoid or simply stand up to go over hazard then sit back down. 

I haven’t tried sitting from standing or vice versa yet. It’s on my list! 😁

[Tawpie]

18 minutes ago, 360rumors said:

I haven’t tried sitting from standing or vice versa yet. It’s on my list! 😁

When I go from standing to sitting... I have to commit. No carefully getting lower and lower and lower until my butt gently touches down, I have to start down and sit right down. With authority. At least for me, it's the only way not to get wobbles on the way to the seat. For standing up, I put my hands lightly on the front/top of the wheel as I start to stand. Somehow it makes everything very smooth.

Edited August 2, 2022 by Tawpie

[Mayhem]

2 hours ago, 360rumors said:

I haven’t tried sitting from standing or vice versa yet. It’s on my list! 😁

lol gotcha, well the standing is the easier of the two. When you first start out.
 

You just just have to commit to the action wether it’s up or down. Keep your upper body up right for standing and just stand up as if you would normally in any other seated situation. 
 

For sitting place one hand on the front of the seat or wheel and just lower your butt down to the seat. As stated before commit to it. Don’t hesitate as your shifty weight while moving could end in tears. The first few times are a bit nerve racking but after that you’ll do it without even thinking about it. 

[Mayhem]

Some buddies of mine going through a tutorial 

 

 

[Mayhem]

@360rumors how goes the seated riding? 

[gon2fast]

Anyone else trail riding while seated? Mostly flat tracking right now, but when the ex30 comes out I am going to try seated climbing.