Noob intro

[KiltandWheel]

Greetings!!!

My name is John and I hail from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I just recently procured my first wheel and things are going better than I anticipated. I do have a few questions and I'm hoping there are some seasoned riders out there that can help me out. 

Firstly! Wheel wobble. I get this at all the time and I am going no faster than 20 kph. It's usually when I crouch to go under something or when I brake too hard. So what am I doing wrong? I have only about 3 hours of practise time so far, due to the weather here, so maybe I am asking this too soon. Any input helps. 

Second, the battery. Sometimes I go riding for a short time and lose one bar on the meter. Is there any harm in topping it up at this level? I have been riding e-scooters for the past few years and from what I have read so far, EUC's can be a little more finicky in every way. That aside, I'm having a blast riding this thing. 

Finally, if there are any riders here in Calgary, I would like to hear from and possibly meet you for a ride....(and maybe some tips). 

Glad to be part of the forum, later!

[litewave]

Welcome to the wonderful world of EUCs!

Everybody experiences wheel wobble in the beginning, and it can occur for different reasons. In your case it is most likely happening due to sub-optimal foot position and your inexperience and lack of body control to mitigate it.

For now, pay careful attention to your foot position:

- ensure your feet are placed exactly the same on both pedals. You can hold onto something to mount at first until you learn to adjust your feet safely while riding.

- place your feet such that more of your foot hangs off the front pedal than the rear. It will depend on your shoe size, of course, but I suggest only about 1/2-3/4" of your heel should extend off the rear of the pedal.

- place your feet close to the shell body and hug the wheel gently while learning. You can squeeze when braking or accelerating hard.

As for battery, I personally think there are too many people who overthink charging and riding and go way over the top. Just charge the wheel all the way before you leave to go for a ride, as you will soon enough start riding further and further and will run of battery. Also, you will probably upgrade to a faster/larger wheel before the battery every fails or goes into significant decline.

Edited April 24, 2022 by litewave

[Robse]

Welcome  

Some other advice:  As long as you are not completely familiar with the wheel, remember to avoid "sudden rapid" movements with your arms.
If you just come up with the idea of wanting to scratch your nose while driving 20 kmph, or wave to somebody you know,  and do a fast move of one arm
from holding it down along the side of your body and then up to your head,  can easily bring you into so much imbalance that you can crash... 
Take it easy, and do a lot of miles, and suddenly you will no longer experience wobbles ( but you cant tell why ) 

 

Edited April 24, 2022 by Robse

[pico]

Check tire pressure. Full pedal sensitivity and high psi(above 32) will make it more difficult for a beginner.

This is a nervous little wheel... 

[Funky]

Lack of skill.. I personally stopped wobbling at 30kph after 300km ridden. Scary shit when wobble starts happening at that speed.  

To high tire pressure = riding on "knife edge" feeling. I'm 127kg heavy and ride at 30psi.

Also check if your tire is "centered" you could do these tests > "Free spin" test while holding you wheel. If it shakes at speed, then it's not really centered. And how to check is it's really centered.

Free spin test: His wheel isn't shaking left/right = centered tire.

How to check if tire is "centered"

 

As for battery - i charge mine once a week or so.. When wheel is at 40-50% i normally charge it then. One day it's 90% next day 80% next, next day it's 70%.. so on. 

If you don't ride for long time 30days++ It's best to keep the wheel around 50% of battery. Also keeping wheel 100% all the time when NOT RIDING can hurt batteries little bit..

Edited April 24, 2022 by Funky

[.....]

Ride for a while, wobbles go away. You are simply expecting too much too quickly. Sometimes assuming the sh*t squat position, helps in stopping. I still wobble after a few yrs, sometimes during stopping, especially from high speeds downhill. Its not a big deal as it's minor and I cope with it. Or at least, its not a big deal until IT IS....

 

My batteries sag during rides. I end rides with lower voltage and it jumps back up and levels out while it rests. I try to keep my wheels full for every ride, depending on how small a wheel and how hard I ride it. My sherman gets by with starting out lower for rides %80 or so, but I nearly ALWAYS make sure my mtens are slap ass full. Its overhead that I concern myself with, not distance. As you progress as a rider, you will easily be asking more from your batteries. NOT in distance alone, but in power demands. A less charged battery has less reserve to meet instant power demands. A lesser charged wheel also has less reserve to keep you from going boom, during times when you sag the battery from speed or continued distance.

FInd an app to use and have fun logging your rides a little. If you look over the power data, yuo can get an idea of how hard you are pushing the wheel, in relation to how much it has to offer. The power and amp numbers arent something to obsess over, they are merely a point of reference to each other.

Welcome and have fun for sure!

[KiltandWheel]

Many thanks, some good advice there. 

And yes, I learned the hard way, no sudden arm movements. Strange how a simple act can have big effects on the wheel. Regardless, I'm loving this thing. 

Edited April 25, 2022 by KiltandWheel
spelling

[.....]

30 minutes ago, KiltandWheel said:

Many thanks, some good advice there. 

And yes, I learned the hard way, no sudden arm movements. Strange how a simple act can have big effects on the wheel. Regardless, I'm loving this thing. 

Heres a fun exercise... FInd a 10lb object to carry while on an euc. Once you think you have the hang of it, try to throw it  really far, while slowly riding along. It works best when its being filmed...

[goatman]

another fun exercise

go to Walmart on a windy day and buy an Exersaucer

use your keys to cut a hand hold in the box so you can carry it with one hand

then ride home

[KiltandWheel]

On 4/24/2022 at 9:32 PM, goatman said:

another fun exercise

go to Walmart on a windy day and buy an Exersaucer

use your keys to cut a hand hold in the box so you can carry it with one hand

then ride home

Thanks, but I think I will pass on this. 

[FlyingWigs]

As others have said, foot placement will come with practice, also gripping the sides with your legs when it starts or carving will both help. 

Congrats on the new hobby, stay safe! 😁

[VikB]

Congrats on getting an EUC. In terms of the battery there is nothing special about EUC batteries in general vs. e-scooters. I wouldn't top up a nearly full battery after a short ride unless I was expecting a big ride where I needed 100% of my range. Otherwise I would just use the wheel for short rides and then wait to charge it until it gets down to say 30%.  These days most of my rides are short so I can get quite a few days of use out of my wheel before needing to charge it.

For the wobble definitely check there is nothing wrong with your wheel/motor/tire. Check tire pressure. Assuming all that is good then it's just riding technique. The more you ride the less it will happen.

Edited April 30, 2022 by VikB

[KiltandWheel]

I discovered one problem; the tire comes grossly under-inflated from the dealer....around 20 psi. Increasing it to 35 psi helped a lot, especially in the tight turns. 

[M640x]

On 4/24/2022 at 10:55 AM, KiltandWheel said:

Greetings!!!

My name is John and I hail from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I just recently procured my first wheel and things are going better than I anticipated. I do have a few questions and I'm hoping there are some seasoned riders out there that can help me out. 

Firstly! Wheel wobble. I get this at all the time and I am going no faster than 20 kph. It's usually when I crouch to go under something or when I brake too hard. So what am I doing wrong? I have only about 3 hours of practise time so far, due to the weather here, so maybe I am asking this too soon. Any input helps. 

Second, the battery. Sometimes I go riding for a short time and lose one bar on the meter. Is there any harm in topping it up at this level? I have been riding e-scooters for the past few years and from what I have read so far, EUC's can be a little more finicky in every way. That aside, I'm having a blast riding this thing. 

Finally, if there are any riders here in Calgary, I would like to hear from and possibly meet you for a ride....(and maybe some tips). 

Glad to be part of the forum, later!

I've been riding for almost 4 years and I still get the wobbles when I crouch under stuff.  I just don't do it much.  On the other hand, I used to get wobbles when stopping hard but don't any more.  My solution, I did them more often.  As I mentioned to my friend Will who just started riding EUC's, it all comes with time on the wheel and time spent practicing/perfecting certain techniques/skills.  With 3 hours of practice, my opinion here, I wouldn't even be concerned with wobbles, you basically just started.  Hell with almost 4 years in I don't even care if I get wobbles.  They can be caused by so many things that I really don't pay attention.  Fatigue, tire psi, long periods of not riding, cosmic rays...... lol.  Just trying to be funny.  Relax and get the miles in.  Crouch more often and do more hard stops.  I started learning how to ride backwards and idle in October this past year.  I can now ride backwards and idle whenever I please but I've put many backward miles and months into learning it.  Relax and have fun.  Avoid the cosmic rays at all costs.  : p

Edited June 6, 2022 by M640