Seated Riding By the Ignoramus

[Daley1]

I,m still waiting for a height adjustable seat for the Sherman? Surely a nerd has has come up with one and that has some suspension on it?

[BillyKo]

  

[Freeforester]

On 11/11/2021 at 8:41 AM, Daley1 said:

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 

The ‘Black Russian’ is quite comfy, and a little more elevated. 

[Daley1]

21 hours ago, Freeforester said:

The ‘Black Russian’ is quite comfy, and a little more elevated. 

Hard to contact or buy anything Russian at the moment?Is there a local seller or link?

Many thx

[Freeforester]

Idk, sorry. Bought before Ukraine.

[dignome]

Just figured it out on the v13.  I've owned several wheels but none were tall enough till now - 6'5" and 260lbs geared.

At first I was grabbing onto the front handle bar with both hands to go straight in an awkward manner.  The trick for me was to use the initial tips from OP and also to use my hips to swivel my arms to counterbalance and control the wheel.  No longer having to grab the front handle bar unless I'm braking.  Still not good at turning but at least I can go straight now lol.

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by dignome

[gon2fast]

Ironically, this week I learned to transition into seated position at speed on my S22. Most likely not happening with my stock Sherman seat LOL. Foot position is key and this never would have worked at first since I learned to ride seated by hanging my feet over the front of the pedal. I also learned how to do pedal-less starts utilizing the front handle on both wheels. It is kind of funny because I tend to have my feet up in the air behind the pedals to get going.

[Cerbera]

What's really screwing me up with the seated riding, and the transitioning to it is my MC boots and my Grizzla Flow pads, which seem incompatible with such an exercise even though I have seen other people with them doing it just fine, but I find the pads to be most obstructive for riding seated, such that at the moment I can't feel safe doing it. To get my shins out from the pads and into the tippy-toe position we need for sitting down requires a sort of gymnastics I can't complete without seriously compromising wheel control. I will keep trying, because the pads, positioned as they are, are perfectly placed for standing rides.

Edited February 20, 2023 by Cerbera

[gon2fast]

I don't run full pads, with the exception of the stock solution that came with the OG Sherman. When I tried to run the stock S22 pads I about killed myself by getting blocked while trying to stand up. I learned how to bow my legs out and slide past the pads, but it was a crash waiting to happen (plus the stock S22 pads suck) so the stock pads were gone in favor of some small hooks that do the same job. Transitions from both positions are very easy with the hooks, S22 at least. The last time that I attempted to transition from standing to seated on my Sherman I overshot the seat and dumped myself off of the back of the wheel....  certified professional here LOL.

As a result of that crash I installed a hook on the back of the seat to notify me when I have gone to far.

[Tawpie]

On 2/19/2023 at 10:08 PM, Cerbera said:

What's really screwing me up with the seated riding, and the transitioning to it is my MC boots

Yeah, the big boots. I have big boots too, and they're so thick that I took the top S22 pads, turned them upside down and use them as "jump" pads... the gap is wide enough for my boot to fit—magically they catch my heel and my 'toe'. But catching the heel makes the transition to seated really different. I'm working on a foot forward pigeon toed start, which of course means my shins don't want to clear the push pads (Shanespads v2). I'm gradually getting it, but have to sit so far forward it's kind of strange... my wheel has a decided backward tendency in soft mode and that doesn't help at all. I need to get that sorted, it wasn't as bad in medium or hard mode so probably gonna have to go back there.

It's something that's taking a bit of fiddling to get. I did put some 8USD foam knee pads on the seat so it's a little less hard and not as slippery so that's helping. I think I'll try EUC Custom Power Pads' jump blocks, but will probably experiment with something strange like hockey pucks or door stops first, those jump blocks ain't cheap.

[sffish]

Any tricks to braking better while seated? I grab the front of the euc while braking, but still can't come close to the braking performance I get standing. In general I only ride seated at slow speeds to take a break and then go back to standing. It's amazing to me how fast some people go while seated.

[gon2fast]

14 hours ago, sffish said:

Any tricks to braking better while seated?

I try to keep my spine as straight as possible which has made braking more responsive when shifting my torso backwards. I also found throwing my shoulders back when braking helped early on. Comfort comes with miles. The more you ride seated the less effort you will have to put into it! 

14 hours ago, sffish said:

I grab the front of the euc while braking

Ironically I use the front roll bar/handle to take off versus my feet. Sometimes I hotdog and take off without my feet on the pedals, but once again, I rarely do it knowing the risk of crashing while acting like an a-hole LOL.

[gon2fast]

For the life of me, I don't know how anyone rides any vehicle in high MC boots. I had a pair for my dirtbike that were used once and promptly thrown out. I transitioned to the 3/4 high Thor MC boots for my dirtbike and never looked back. I need to be able to move my ankles around and I have large calves so high boots just do not work, but more power to those who can because of the added protection.

[Tawpie]

15 minutes ago, gon2fast said:

For the life of me, I don't know how anyone rides any vehicle in high MC boots. I had a pair for my dirtbike that were used once and promptly thrown out. I transitioned to the 3/4 high Thor MC boots for my dirtbike and never looked back. I need to be able to move my ankles around and I have large calves so high boots just do not work, but more power to those who can because of the added protection.

my boots are thic, but they're "lows". Ankle movement is restricted (kind of most of the point for me) but sufficient!

[gon2fast]

17 hours ago, Tawpie said:

my boots are thic, but they're "lows". Ankle movement is restricted (kind of most of the point for me) but sufficient!

I think that my issue with high boots had to do with the fact that when I started riding dirt bikes I wore tennis shoes. After having the kickstarter punch through the bottom of my shoe I learned that tennis shoes were not adequate, but I was past the point of transitioning to high/stiff boots. User error.  

[sffish]

You guys that ride in motorcycle boots, do you find that it helps in controlling the vehicle? Or is it just for safety reasons? I remember one youtuber said that moto boots help with wobbles. I do know that moto boots improved feedback while on a motorcycle. Thanks.

[Cerbera]

1 hour ago, sffish said:

You guys that ride in motorcycle boots, do you find that it helps in controlling the vehicle?

That's difficult to quantify. I love my touring MC boots because they are weatherproof, robust, thoroughly protect my feet, ankles and lower shins, are warm in the Winter, and very comfortable at all points where my legs touch the wheel. They make prolonged contact with power pads more stable and firm feeling without being fatiguing as long riding can be without them...

However it is very important that we understand the difference between Touring MC boots and MX (Motorcross) boots. The former are excellent for us, because they flex at the front, meaning it is easy to bend from the ankle, and the grips on the soles are just severe enough to sit very securely on studded pedals.

MX boots, on the other hand, like the Leatt GPX 5.5s I am struggling to sell now, are not helpful for EUCers for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, there is an iron bar running through the sole, which makes them unnecessarily heavy and cumbersome, and is great if it's sitting on a foot peg on a bike, but actually blocks all pedal feel to your foot on an EUC. Secondly, MX boots provide such rock solid ankle support that you can't usefully lean in them; the boots simply support your leg too much ! Next up, the grips on MX boots are insanely deep and rutty, which is terrible for use with studded pedals - there is simply no repositioning of feet once they are planted, which is a deal-breaker for me.

They are also unstable whilst walking, and their massive bulk results in them actually limiting forward and backward authority to the wheel as your leg moves inside the boot rather than the boot moving against the pads. The one crash I have had on my Master was directly attributable to those boots fucking up my communication with the wheel resulting in me literally falling over the front of it in a 'planking-gone wrong' type accident !

So in summary, Touring MC boots yes, MX boots no !

Edited March 3, 2023 by Cerbera

[Tawpie]

5 hours ago, sffish said:

You guys that ride in motorcycle boots, do you find that it helps in controlling the vehicle? Or is it just for safety reasons? I remember one youtuber said that moto boots help with wobbles. I do know that moto boots improved feedback while on a motorcycle. Thanks.

I didn't notice much of a change from hiking boots honestly. I never rode in soft shoes so the only pedal 'feel' I know is through relatively thick/solid soles, changing from something like Vans to the hard boots would have been a chore.

I wear boots solely for safety, as @Cerbera mentioned they're big, clunky, goofy looking enough to blend nicely with the rest of the costume, and really expensive. And you have to get the right ones—I tried another pair of Formas and they had a subtle tilt-forward feel to them standing on the ground. I didn't like that at all. Mine probably have the steel shank in the sole, they're "adventure" boots meant for standing on pegs for hours on end… but because they're lower cut they have enough stretch/flex to allow dorsiflexion. (apologies, I think that word is neat and there aren't many places I get to use it)

Edited March 3, 2023 by Tawpie

[Cerbera]

2 minutes ago, Tawpie said:

dorsiflexion

Oh that's excellent  That has replaced dithyrambic as my new favourite.

[Mantraguy]

Yesterday I made my first ever attempts at riding an EUC (Begode EX20S) seated. I've got close to 20,000km of riding (standing upright) under my belt but never bothered to learn to ride seated. In actuality, I found it surprisingly easy to learn! The first 10 minutes or so were spent just sitting on the wheel and trying to start, ride, and stop. I found my hips were getting a little sore so I stood for a while, and practiced lowering my butt a bit farther each time until I found I was touching the seat. So, the obvious thing to do at that point was just stay seated once I dropped down, and practice transitioning between seated and standing. All tolled, I only spent about an hour on the field. I'm by no means stable and comfortable yet, but with a bit of practice I'm sure I'll be there in no time.

 

 

[Scubadragonsan]

Since I've learned to ride seated, I'd not consider a EUC without a seat option. I consider an essential to be able to sit down when legs get fatigued on long trips. It's another kind of joy riding seated!

[Mantraguy]

23 hours ago, Scubadragonsan said:

Since I've learned to ride seated, I'd not consider a EUC without a seat option. I consider an essential to be able to sit down when legs get fatigued on long trips. It's another kind of joy riding seated!

To be honest, I'm less concerned about that aspect of seated riding. I've done rides up to 200km (~120 miles) without sitting at all, and am planning a ride later this week of potentially 150 miles (~240km) which won't include any seated riding (I'm not quite there yet in handling the wheel on public roads etc. while seated).

[Cerbera]

Glad you made it work !

I have given up trying for now, despite the fact that Dawn was nice enough to make me a whole video on how she does it ! The fact of the matter here is that with big MC boots and Grizzla pads arranged how I want them for standing riding it is impossible to move to a seated position and still keep my feet on the pedals properly. The shape and size of the boots / pads simply won't allow it unless I move feet right out to the side of the pedals so they are merely touching the edges, which is not enough control there for me to consider it safe. So I consider further attempts rather futile until I change either the pads or footwear, but I like my nice protective comfortable boots too much !

[The Brahan Seer]

37 minutes ago, Cerbera said:

which is not enough control there for me to consider it safe

I don't really use my feet in seated riding so you could get away with it. I control using the waist and mid core. Its a great workout for the abs.

[gon2fast]

Got bounced off my S22 while riding seated earlier this week. I was cruising down a paved walking path around 10mph with a bag of groceries in one hand and came upon a section of the path that was damaged by the tree roots. Seemed manageable until I got within a few feet of the ruts LOL. The ruts were far larger than I thought so I tried to stand up as I was hitting the first one. Not sure what happened when I was raising up, but I ended up on my feet on the pavement. I paused for a second to try and figure out what had happened (and why I was not laid out on the path). Came to after a few seconds and realized that my S22 was still rolling down the path without me LOL. I went into a full speed sprint and was able to catch the wheel by the seat before it hit the ground. Pretty sure I looked like a bumbling idiot through it all, but I will happily take an embarrassing situation that results with no injuries or damage to the wheel anyday.