List of Intermediate skills?

[360rumors]

Hi all. I'm a newbie and I'm trying to find out what other skills a beginner should learn next.  Here are some.  Can you list others, preferably in order of priority?  Thanks!

- Riding slowly (pedestrian pace)

- Tight turns

- Free mounting on a steep incline

- Riding on one leg

- Riding backward

- Pendulum

- 180 degree transition (front to back, back to front)

[Tawpie]

Yes: slow riding, tight turns, free mounting on up and down inclines, one legged

Maybe but probably not: backward, pendulum, jump 180 (these are convenience skills)

Add: emergency brake while turning both directions, free mount with both legs, bumps at speed and while turning, up and down a curb (not stairs), loose surfaces, small/bump/bunny hop jumps (jump a root small), full body turn to look back, blind mount (not looking forward)

[Funky]

Falling.

You also need to learn "right" way to fall. If you do it "wrong" way.. You can end up in hospital. (Was meant as a joke at start, but there is some truth in it.)

Some examples: not falling with straight hands.. Little bit bent in hands are better. Try to roll if you fall, or front roll.. Because if the movement continues = less hard blow or something like that. One hard faceplant VS rolling out - Guess which one will hurt more.

Off topic: I just read all these.. And funny thing i can already do most of them, not even learning. Only problem that still gives me are backwards riding  And emergency brake while turning both directions. As i never had really "hard break.." (Aka: living in a ghost town and i look far ahead what's happening.) Also jumping 180 degree. (2 fat 2 jump. )

Can also add 1 leg on ground 1 leg on euc turn. - You can do very fast, very tight 180 turns like that. (If you don't like scraping pedals..)

Ps you can check Youtube for falling tips. xD

Edited May 20, 2022 by Funky
Youtube - HOW TO CORRECTLY FALL xD

[.....]

NOT falling off....

Knowing how to put an euc in the car....

Knowing when/how to charge it....

[Funky]

Just now, ShanesPlanet said:

NOT falling off....

Knowing how to put an euc in the car....

Knowing when/how to charge it....

That's 101 for dummy's  

Don't forget you can't put it in shower - to clean it.

[.....]

Up/Down curbs...

Anticipating traffic patterns...

Hand assisted e-braking....

[UniBlab]

Intermediate Skill #42 - 

The ability to convince your SO that you need another wheel.  This is a delicate skill, requiring the utmost subtlety and the knack for quickly "thinking on your feet" .

[360rumors]

3 hours ago, Tawpie said:

bumps at speed and while turning, ... full body turn to look back, blind mount (not looking forward)

Re bumps at speed -- is there any particular technique for it or you just gotta get used to it?

Re full body turn to look back - do you mean doing a turn and looking back while turning?  Or do you mean looking back to see if there's a car behind you?

blind mount - you mean mount without looking down at the pedals?

[360rumors]

10 minutes ago, UniBlab said:

Intermediate Skill #42 - 

The ability to convince your SO that you need another wheel.  This is a delicate skill, requiring the utmost subtlety and the knack for quickly "thinking on your feet" .

I see from your profile that you have evidently mastered this skill!

[Tawpie]

36 minutes ago, 360rumors said:

Re bumps at speed -- is there any particular technique for it or you just gotta get used to it?

Sort of training your mind to watch for bumps 'far ahead' so you can loosen up in advance. When you're going rapidly, they obviously arrive quicker than you expect. Unexpected smallish bumps tend to degenerate into speed wobbles really quickly. Big bumps…

37 minutes ago, 360rumors said:

Re full body turn to look back - do you mean doing a turn and looking back while turning?  Or do you mean looking back to see if there's a car behind you?

This is more "while riding straight, instead of just doing a shoulder check, crank your body around so you get a good look behind you—and keep going straight" Sometimes things need a better look than the quick shoulder check, like trying to figure out where that kid went during the group ride cuz they were riding like a nutcase. Or traffic. Or—shoot... dropped the camera.

41 minutes ago, 360rumors said:

blind mount - you mean mount without looking down at the pedals?

Mounting when you're not looking where you're going. This one is for when you're playing with cars. I never trust that someone at a light isn't going to decide to dart in front and cut me off so I like to watch them as I launch. I'm launching forward but looking back at the car and giving them the stink eye… I am going to go straight even though I'm looking backwards. On trails, the bikers can appear out of nowhere so I like to keep an eye behind me as I rejoin the trail. I usually hoot or ring my bear bells if I'm re-entering at a blind spot, but I still look backwards.

I consider blind mounting and the full body turn 'intermediate' because they require you to break the natural "you go where you're looking" thing—it requires you to be able to disconnect your view and body position from the direction of travel. And I need to practice them, just like I practice emergency braking, because my body forgets.

[UniBlab]

4 hours ago, 360rumors said:

I see from your profile that you have evidently mastered this skill!

<Heavy sigh>

Sometimes I get the feeling she just likes it when I'm gone...... See ya!!!!! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

[pico]

I am very surprised. No one mentioned "deep carve" or carve. 

An very essential skill IMHO. 

[360rumors]

5 hours ago, pico said:

I am very surprised. No one mentioned "deep carve" or carve. 

An very essential skill IMHO. 

Hi pico.  What do you mean by deep carve, as opposed to just turning?  Does it mean slalom or turning at high speed or something else?  And, regardless, how do you deep carve?

[pico]

This is taken from one of Vee's videos.

https://youtu.be/0wQh0mSIluE

Kids on huge EUC's pick it up rapidly.

Speed is not important. More important is how far you can deport your CG from your path.

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by pico

[pico]

Just so that I don't get misquoted. This is a nice skill to HAVE.

Like any skill there is a time and place to display it. 

The middle of the road with no protection is NOT the time NOR the place.

[FlyingWigs]

I'd love to learn backwards riding, but I don't see much practical use for it other than pendulum, which I don't think I'd do as it's hard on the controller and motor. 

Loose surfaces is still something I'm working on, I'd like to go over some mountain trails but know that I am not ready for the loose gravel and dust yet. There's a sidewalk on my way home that is COVERED in gravel over the concrete and I fell on it once already, I usually try to go on the road to avoid it. 

I actually turned off my speed alarms as I've gotten a good sense of my speed by using my smartwatch to monitor and learn. They were malfunctioning between the begode app and euc world so I disabled all of them and am very conscious about checking my watch when I'm going high speed. 

I think total I have about 700 miles between my 2 wheels, a little over a years worth of riding. 

[yoos]

Important intermediate skills (mostly offroad inspired but also crucial in the city):

1. Hopping onto intermediate curbs and over obstacles.

2. Recovering from lost traction due to sand/gravel/ice

3. Recovering after slightly clipping something with pedal or body

4. Recovering after scary pedal dip (or recovering after genuine cutout on a shutdown wheel -- a grandmaster skill)

5. Recovering after temporary loss of contact with pedals due to an unexpected jump (when riding without jump pads and power pads)

Cool and handy intermediate skills:

1. Lifting your EUC without engaging lift switch and still balancing it perfectly so it won't spin.

2. Smooth transitioning between trolleying and riding

3. Riding on top of a log or other narrow object (required if you want to go up narrow ramps or ramp-like things)

4. Ducking and doing up your shoelaces or picking up stuff from the ground (while riding) 

5. Eating a full meal without stopping

 

 

 

[Funky]

36 minutes ago, FlyingWigs said:

I'd love to learn backwards riding, but I don't see much practical use for it other than pendulum, which I don't think I'd do as it's hard on the controller and motor. 

Loose surfaces is still something I'm working on, I'd like to go over some mountain trails but know that I am not ready for the loose gravel and dust yet. There's a sidewalk on my way home that is COVERED in gravel over the concrete and I fell on it once already, I usually try to go on the road to avoid it. 

I actually turned off my speed alarms as I've gotten a good sense of my speed by using my smartwatch to monitor and learn. They were malfunctioning between the begode app and euc world so I disabled all of them and am very conscious about checking my watch when I'm going high speed. 

I think total I have about 700 miles between my 2 wheels, a little over a years worth of riding. 

Talking about gravel - i still remember the first day i rode my 18xl (I learned on my dads ks16s) i was riding gravel road at 10mph? Or so.. I didn't see a pretty big rock (around apple/lemon size) Didn't notice it, till it was to late - whole euc went sideways. For my wonders i did not fall.. That amazed me, shit my pants almost. I did Michael Jackson pose only sideways.  

Edited June 1, 2022 by Funky

[360rumors]

1 hour ago, yoos said:

Cool and handy intermediate skills:

Wow I didn't even know it was possible to lift an EUC without the lift switch but no spinning.  And how do you tie your shoe laces while riding....?!?

[yoos]

8 hours ago, 360rumors said:

Wow I didn't even know it was possible to lift an EUC without the lift switch but no spinning

Kingsongs 16S,16X,18L,XL share a clever lift sensor which is both convenient and fragile. It grows prone to phantom actuations (e.g. you stop at an intersection and suddenly it goes limp and requires rebooting) or fails to notice you picked it up. Thus many people turn it off for good. In this case it's useful to know where to hold your EUC so that it will stay level once lifted. With practice comes perfection! I had a crazed lift sensor on mine too but once I replaced the trolley sticks with new ones the problem went away because I accidentally broke the "click actuator" in the process . So now I am mastering the skill of lifting while holding level - it's useful on short lifts when you don't want to bother with turning off and on again.

8 hours ago, 360rumors said:

And how do you tie your shoe laces while riding....?!?

It starts small: first you forget to turn on the light so you bow down to press the button. Then, you want to drag up your kneepads that keep sliding down. Next you are removing branches caught in your pedals during a forest ride and finally you are doing your laces and shining your shoes...

[Paul A]

The KS lift sensor to deactivate the motor for lifting.

Need to gently pull up on the handle, without lifting the wheel off the ground, and it wait for it to beep to indicate that the motor has been deactivated.

Then lift the wheel up off the ground.

[Paul A]

One skill is that a rider can make use of 'other road users' eyes'.

Other cars, bicycles, PEV riders, etc, are seeing things that you cannot see.

They could be in the next lane, up ahead, behind, at an intersection, wherever.

Their actions and behaviour can give you fore warning of hazards.

 

Why did the car in the next lane ahead slow down?

Why is the car in the intersection not turning when the lights have changed?

Why is the car ahead making a quick lane change?

Why is the car behind making a quick lane change?

Why is the car in front pulling over quickly?

Why is that road user not doing what they should be doing?

Why is that person standing still on a bike path, looking towards a bush?

Sudden quick changes are also a warning.

 

Edited June 2, 2022 by Paul A

[360rumors]

1 hour ago, Paul A said:

One skill is that a rider can make use of 'other road users' eyes'.

 

I agree. The other day the car ahead of me weaved and it turned out that it was because he was dodging an object that fell on the freeway. (I was in my car, not on euc)

And on a 2 lane road, if there is a truck or suv that stops on one lane, I slow down and take a peek in case it’s because a pedestrian is crossing. 

Edited June 2, 2022 by 360rumors

[Paul A]

Watching YouTube videos of dash cam footage is one method of accumulating observations.

Quite a few incidents become repetitive and easily foreseeable.

Complacency is always lurking though.

[yoos]

To add to @Paul A's very valid traffic interpretation skills, a mantra that one should internalize by the intermediate level is: what will happen if everybody starts doing their worst? If that dog starts running straight left and that bicyclist stops suddenly, and that car starts changing lanes and this door opens and people jump out? Ideally, you should drive defensively enough to safely manage even the worst-case scenario (of course it should still be a reasonably realistic scenario. No need to plan for a sudden SWAT attack). I was reminded of that just today when a slow bicycle in front of me suddenly started meandering. I was going too fast and didn't manage to brake quickly enough and crashed into her. Luckily I slowed down enough so she didn't even lose balance (as far as I remember), while I fell and did a small roll (bruised my hip a little bit, otherwise no damage). She said it was just a minor scrape and rode away, but she didn't smile, so I fear she might be in a bit of a shock from the sudden rear-end bump. It was obviously my fault and dangerous driving (I was going around 35kph on a bike path where most go 20-25kph).