How long did it take you to get over the “this sucks” stage?

[360rumors]

When I first learned EUC I thought this is not fun at all. I dreaded 90 degree turns on sidewalks. I felt like every ride was mildly stressful and like a chore.

The point where things changed was when I forced myself to learn to do a figure eight within 2 parking spaces. Only then did riding become fun and since then I’ve been riding as much as I can instead of driving a car.

it took me 3 weeks to reach that point. How long did it take you? I think we should let beginners know that they *might* go through a stage like that. 

Edited June 10, 2022 by 360rumors

[mike_bike_kite]

It took me 2 hours until I could ride round a tennis court - arms waving around like crazy. It took me about 2 weeks practising on a tennis court until I felt I was ready for the quieter suburban roads near where I live (unfortunately people all drive like they're in GTA here). It took about a month till I was as safe actually moderately safe on the roads. Shortly after I got my larger wheel they made all PEVs completely illegal on UK roads which meant I only road quiet roads and rarely going far. 2 years later and petrol prices have now reach £8 a gallon so I'm back to using my wheel for all my city trips. 

I do envy those in other countries where they can ride without fear of prosecution. At tennis today I was given a very disapproving stare from a friend who's also a magistrate, she told me she often has to fine people on e-scooters and the like.

[360rumors]

Just now, mike_bike_kite said:

It took me 2 hours until I could ride round a tennis court - arms waving around like crazy. It took me about 2 weeks practising on a tennis court until I felt I was ready for the quieter suburban roads near where I live (unfortunately people all drive like they're in GTA here). It took about a month till I was as safe actually moderately safe on the roads. Shortly after I got my larger wheel they made all PEVs completely illegal on UK roads which meant I only road quiet roads and rarely going far. 2 years later and petrol prices have now reach £8 a gallon so I'm back to using my wheel for all my city trips. 

Wow even now, there is no pushback against those prohibitions?  PEV riders are helping to reduce the demand for petrol...

[Tawpie]

First day, it didn't suck as much as that nagging feeling that I'd just blown $1500 on a really stupid idea.

Second day the nagging feeling changed to "yeah ya fool, you'll be lucky if you can get $1200 for this—try not to smash it up anymore".

Third day I got tangled up in the wheel at zero meters per hour, fell, and understood that now I was into unrecoverable purchases—proper motorcycle gear with real padding.

Days 4, 5, and 6 were being reminded that I don't heal up very quickly anymore as I hobbled about the house. That sucked on several levels.

Somewhere during the course of the second week it was apparent I would actually be able to learn how to do this if I could just make the brain shut up and "trust my feelings" and about 2 months in I congratulated myself for achieving the "not especially dangerous to self or others" milestone. Still looked the fool getting on and off, still feared getting too close to anything, but was having an absolute blast.

Then I tried riding in snow.

 

 

And the rest as they say, is documented by my Visa bills.

[mike_bike_kite]

2 hours ago, 360rumors said:

Wow even now, there is no pushback against those prohibitions?  PEV riders are helping to reduce the demand for petrol...

The media always tends to show PEV riders in a bad light (idiots riding at speed on the footpath or on fast roads where they're just a danger to themselves). It doesn't help that some folk video themselves riding like idiots on youtube. In reality it's mostly just ordinary folk going about their daily lives and trying to avoid using a car. For the police I suppose it's an easy arrest. They tend to set up road blocks and stop commuters on PEVs. I guess the extra arrests makes it look like they're fighting crime. 

[.....]

My standards are low. I was able to hit the pavement after about 3-5 days of 15 minute sessions. I passed the 'this sucks' stage at 30minutes. I couldnt ride AT ALL, but i was beginning to understand the general idea. It never occurred to me that I couldnt learn it. It was about a month before I could stop and start somewhat safely. Of course within a month, I had already ridden a couple hundred miles. I mean, who really cares if you can stop? Ride baby ride!

Edited June 11, 2022 by ShanesPlanet

[rcgldr]

I never had a "this sucks" stage, but there is no need for tight turns at the locations I ride at. I did a 15 minute or so session using a rail on a narrow pathway getting advice to steer left | right for balance instead of trying to balance while going straight. The pathway was too narrow to steer much and temperature was over 90 degrees, which is why I was only there for 15 minutes. Later that day when it cooled off, I went to a tennis court with a screened fence (essentially a wall) that I used to mount, do the rock back and forth drills, and riding short distances for about 5 minutes. I then ventured away from the fence, arms extended to arm flail | yaw steer (flail left to steer right and vice versa) for balance and direction, and was able to do laps at around 3 to 5 mph around the tennis court on my first attempt. After a second session the next day at the tennis court, I moved to a fairly long (over 500 foot) outdoor single street parking lot, using trash bin enclosures for supported mount and launch, where I found my V8F became stable at 6 to 8 mph and I didn't have to focus on balance (nothing had "clicked", instead I was just going fast enough for the V8F to be mostly self-stable). Leaning forwards | backwards to accelerate | brake wasn't an issue. I then tried tilt steering (inner foot down, outer foot up), first to see how the V8F would respond, then a mild weave, then large radius turns. Two days later I attempted free mount, my only time on grass, and got it on my third attempt, leaning forward enough to compensate for the grass.

Learning proper tilt steering based on speed and turning radius took the longest to do well, about 3 months of steady improvement where steering with my feet became as natural as riding a bike. I moved to a long wide pathway with a large radius half circle path on one side at a park. I did drills where I would lean, then tilt the V8F inwards enough to straighten me back up for balance, or tilt the V8F inwards just enough to hold a lean for turning, learning to coordinate how much to body lean versus how much to tilt the V8F depending on speed and turning radius. I found out there was a bike trail close to my home, and started riding there and also at the private streets near my home. 

For me, slow speed tight turns was a separate skill to learn, and I only did this every now and then. I used parking lots or basketball courts to practice these, starting off with 12 foot circles at the center ring of a basketball court, reducing this down to 8 foot circles and one location where I could practice doing 90 degree turns at a sidewalk intersection that doesn't lead to anywhere I ride. To u-turn, I dismount, turn the V8F around and remount. 

Edited June 11, 2022 by rcgldr

[LanghamP]

After the initial month and a half learning to mount, I rode nearly every day about 3-4 miles to work through some very challenging urban environments that included pedestrian bridges and footpaths, 180 degree handicap ramps, a few drops and hops, and a super-steep hill for a few years, putting in some absurd quality miles. However, I did move and then rarely used my EUCs, preferring instead to bicycle. And so my EUC skills deteriorated quite quickly.

Because of that, I don't think riding an EUC is like riding a bicycle. EUCs is more akin to rollerblading or skateboarding; you're always a bit uncomfortable and clumsy (especially mounting), and I've noticed almost all riders including me end up with a pretty irregular riding style at higher speeds. We can't just ride down the road in a perfectly straight line at a perfectly consistent speed. We just sort of let the wheel and ourselves do its own thing, and gather ourselves back every few seconds. EUCs lean more towards difficult than easy, despite what transportation enthusiasts like to say, and that's even reflected in how often we crash in the first year, which is basically a lot.

[VikB]

I was pretty lucky I didn't really have a "this sucks" stage. I got riding pretty quick. That said I think it's problematic trying to get too much into giving newbs a timeline. The results people have are so varied that if you tell them it's going to take you X days or Y weeks you'll end up with a bunch of disappointed people who take longer than average and who might get discouraged and give it up.

Bottom line if you stick with it and see some progress happening you'll get good at riding an EUC with enough time. Nobody can tell you if that'll mean days, weeks or months before you get to a solid level of proficiency. 

The other thing I would add is it really helps if you can enjoy the learning process. If you look at it like a hassle/burden to get past as soon as possible then the time you spend will seem longer than it needs to. If you can get stoked about getting familiar with your wheel and learning to ride it than you can have a blast right out of the gate and achieving a specific level of skill isn't so important. 

[KiwiMark]

If you are going to spend a heap of money on a EUC then you really need to commit yourself to taking the time to learn to ride it for as long as it takes you to do it.  I think that riding an EUC is pretty easy, but there is an initial very steep learning curve that takes some real commitment to get over.

For me, my first practice session was really tough and I was sweating profusely from the effort, within an hour I went from not being able to ride it to being able to mount and wobble around and then fall off.  My second practice session for another hour let me make progress, but I really felt like my control of where I was going was vague and I wouldn't be able to precisely follow a line (or stay on a path).  My third session was where things turned, I picked lines to follow and was able to make a decent enough job of it, riding between the doubles & singles lines on a tennis court and managing to stay between those lines consistently.  Day 4 I went out on paths & roads and around schools and it was OK, but my starts & stops were pretty dodgy.  Day 5 I went to a local school and rode around doing figure 8s and did a whole bunch of stops & starts to practice - it was after this that my ability to go out for a nice ride and explore somewhere really improved.

After these 5 hours of practice, even though I was far from an expert, I was able to use my EUC to have enjoyable rides in interesting places.  I still benefit from more practice and on most rides I feel better about how well I'm riding after 10 minutes than when I first start going - but I enjoy getting out and riding.  I don't think I ever felt "this sucks!", I understood before I spent the money that I would need to learn a new skill.  When I started riding and found anything hard to do, I kept thinking "I need more practice".  I didn't think that riding an EUC sucked, I thought that I needed to improve my abilities and confidence by practicing more (and I still do).

[Funky]

I learned on my dads ks16s. Each weekend we where driving to swim (Family time..) Each week i tried for around 15-20mins, over 4 weekends.

So generally speaking it was 4 days, each day 15-20min trying.. First 3 times i could not even ride a feet. As soon i stepped on - i stepped off, or fall off. I also got the ankle kiss from the wheel. Whole part under ankle was blue next day, but funny it didn't hurt. It was simply dark blue.

(Wasn't leaning forwards enough. Also could not control the euc with one leg.. Wasn't pressing euc against mine leg the right way, while stepping on/off.)

I simply thought "HOW THE HELL you ride this dam thing. WTF!!!" I learned on sand/grass (Forest) surface.. I didn't do the one leg hops, i didn't hold on to something. - I was just trying to get on with both legs and GO, GO, GO!!!

At 4th time i simply stepped on and was going.. Was doing circles left/right no problem. It was like my brain simply clicked.. Next weekend i tried again - no problems at all, could step on/off with ease. Could slow down to full stop and then step off without holding the wheel. Same for stepping on.. Then some weeks later i bought mine ks18xl. First ride didn't have any problems.

Won't forget my first ride on ks18xl.. Was riding on gravel rode.. And went over a "apple" size rock.(Saw it 2 late..) Whole wheel went sideways. Luckily i didn't fall - was oh shit moment for sure.

Also i didn't really have a "practice place" When i bought 18xl, i simply was riding my town paths.. Around people.. < Because of that i learned somewhat "faster" maybe?

At 300km i tried going on forest dirt road for the first time. - You know those bumpy forest dirt roads. Was going 12-15mph, was kinda fun, legs go up/down all the time. Could feel all those bumps.. Yeah 18xl is not a offroad wheel for sure.  It looked something like this >

Now it feels like regular bike. - Kinda boring.  I didn't catch that "euc" sickness.. Doh 100% more fun than electric scooter. < Was thinking getting that, before i learned to ride.

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Funky

[Funky]

On 6/11/2022 at 11:02 AM, rcgldr said:

To u-turn, I dismount, turn the V8F around and remount. 

Or you could do the "one leg on ground, one leg on euc" 180 turn. I love doing those. (Also you don't scrape the pedals that way, because of to "tight" turn.)

You simply put one leg on ground and turn around. The faster the euc goes - the faster is the turn.  (Doh you are riding on one leg, while turning/putting leg on ground..)

Edited June 13, 2022 by Funky

[Paul A]

HOW TO RIDE AN EUC IN UNDER 2 MINUTES - Easiest Way To Teach Your friends

13,397 views

Jan 17, 2021

Carter Mason

 

[Funky]

14 minutes ago, Paul A said:

HOW TO RIDE AN EUC IN UNDER 2 MINUTES - Easiest Way To Teach Your friends

13,397 views

Jan 17, 2021

Carter Mason

 

About the "dominant leg" - That's wrong(At least in my case..) I keep my dominant leg on euc.. "Non-dominant" on ground.

It's much more easy to simply stand vs controlling the euc. So... Would it not be more correct the way i do it?  

Hey - He is doing the 180 U-turn at 1:00 min mark.  One leg on ground - one on euc.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Funky

[Paul A]

1 hour ago, Funky said:

"one leg on ground, one leg on euc"

 

Yes, simple way to start.

_____________________________________

How to ride an Electric Unicycle!

27,419 views

Nov 1, 2017

King Song International

3.87K subscribers

 

 

[tudordewolf]

I think it's important to consider what people are hoping to get out of it when they first get into it - I didn't get into it with a particular need in mind, and that let me learn at my own pace because I wanted to learn, not because I'd built a plan around commuting on it and thus considered the purchase a necessity that had to pay off. It has paid off, many times over, but that came after I was comfortable on a wheel.

There is a distinct "flip" where it goes from sucking to being fun when you can "fly" with relative confidence in the wheel's limits, which can only come with experiencing failure at the various edges of its parameters.

I thought it was "fun" right off the bat, which is why I'd gotten into it in the first place- it looked fun. I got a super-basic $220, unbranded 14" wheel with a 130wh battery, with very stiff cogging and hard corners that dug into your calves. I had bruises like I owed money to the mafia for weeks. It was at least 2 weeks before I could even ride it down the block and back, I kept at it because I _wanted_ to glide around. Frankly, I can't really imagine purchasing an expensive wheel and learning on it, given how many times I dropped my first one. It completely paid off as a beater/learner model, and it survived several of my friend's learning processes as well, though ironically most of the people I taught picked it up quicker than I had.

It did suck at first, even when I was first commuting on it. There's a gradual increase in comfort maybe for the whole first year or more as you become more and more natural on it.

It places demands on an unusual group of muscles relative to most activities, you'll be sore at first, and even by the time you're taking multi-mile rides you'll have to build up a sort of endurance to the fatigue a wheel imparts. I take for granted that I can ride it for half an hour comfortably, but that's after years of daily commute, and 45+ minutes in a single trip will still start to tire me.

Edited June 13, 2022 by tudordewolf
grammar

[Silverfish]

Although I would never say it sucked It took me forever to be somewhat confident, an embarrassingly long time - weeks. Although I think that was hampered by high tire pressure, cuz things got better fast once I finally lowered it. Also, I never lowered the pedals on my V12 and I don't know if things would have been easier otherwise. But, there wasn't one aha moment for me. There were stages.

- comfortable riding indefinitely

- comfortable mounting

- comfortable sharing paths with people and bikes

- comfortable going uphill

- comfortable coexisting with cars (non busy streets only for me)

- comfortable taking tight corners

- comfortable going downhill

[rcgldr]

Follow up - although some riders don't have an issue learning to free mount before learning to ride, Kuji Roll's and Wrong Way (Adam) recommend learning to ride first using support to mount and launch first. Once a rider can ride at slower speeds, then free mounting is just a matter of pushing the EUC and stepping on. In Wrong Way's how to ride video, his girlfriend Monokat (Kate) had ridden 60 to 80 km using support to mount and launch before attempting free mount in the video. She gets it on her second attempt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW-y5RiecMc&t=634s

In Kuji Roll's how to ride video, the girl he's teaching to ride on a V8 never free mounts in the video. Kuji shows some one foot drills, but this is mostly to learn how to dismount while keeping one foot on the V8 so it doesn't run off into a car in the parking lot. Note the 25 psi he recommends on the V8 is due to the light weight of the girl. I'm about 86 kg, and started at 35 psi on a V8F, and running at 40 psi now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6o8ZMlo5ko

One thing missing from most of these how to ride videos is how to steer. For slow speed, arm flailing | yaw steering (flail arms left to steer wheel right and vice versa) works well, such as this 3 year old kid:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/z9YiHu5HJ6o

At sufficient speed, a wheel will become stable, where the rider doesn't have to focus on balance (within reason). On my V8F, this is at 6 to 8 mph (or faster). Once at a stable speed, a rider can focus speed control and tilt steering. The main issue when a wheel is tilted at some specific angle, it will tend to turn at a fixed cornering radius independent of speed (within reason), since the turning is due to camber effect. This requires a rider to coordinate how much to body lean with how much to tilt a wheel depending on speed and turning radius. For an example of this, I looked for a video of a rider that riding Marty Backe style (almost motionless, just body lean and wheel tilt to turn), but with a lot of turns, and found this video of a girl riding on an S18. Due to the speed and turning radius, she leans more than she tilts the S18:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hWMwK3Cfs0

As I posted before, while riding on a long and wide pathway, I did tilt steering drills, body lean then tilt my V8F inwards enough to return to vertical for balance, or just enough to hold a lean for coordinated turning. At first I had to concentrate to turn well depending on speed and turning radius, but it started to feel natural during 1 to 3 months of riding, by which time it seemed as natural as riding a bike.

Edited June 14, 2022 by rcgldr

[Silverfish]

2 minutes ago, rcgldr said:

Follow up - although some riders don't have an issue learning to free mount before learning to ride, Kuji Roll's and Wrong Way (Adam) recommend learning to ride first using support to mount and launch first.

I tried learning to free mount first, and all it meant was burning legs and sweating from repeated mounting attempts. 

[rcgldr]

12 minutes ago, rcgldr said:

Follow up - although some riders don't have an issue learning to free mount before learning to ride, Kuji Roll's and Wrong Way (Adam) recommend learning to ride first using support to mount and launch first.

 

8 minutes ago, Silverfish said:

I tried learning to free mount first, and all it meant was burning legs and sweating from repeated mounting attempts. 

That's the issue. While learning, every time you bail, you have to remount again, and this can get tiring. Learning to ride using support first, means you don't need to do all the one foot drills or gliding on one foot. One rider that gave me some advice has been commuting on several different wheels for over 2 years, and he's never attempted one foot glide, since he uses his wheels to commute, not for doing tricks.

If using support to mount, you can position your feet perfectly, rather than dealing with stepping on a bit off. To launch, you look straight ahead (not down) rock back to lean forwards, and release from the support (do not push, that will upset balance) to launch. The girl in Kuji Roll's video is taught this. I'm not sure about the face planting into a wall as a goal though, even if it is slow speed.

Edited June 14, 2022 by rcgldr

[OldFartRides]

I cheated. First four or five sessions I pushed a shopping cart around the lonely end of W.M. parking lot. One night got  the cops called on me. They were amused by the old fart on the thingy majig. 
Then I  was off and riding.

[The Brahan Seer]

7 hours ago, rcgldr said:

he's never attempted one foot glide, since he uses his wheels to commute, not for doing tricks.

I think learning to ride one legged is very beneficial. It helps to strengthen your leg muscles more (possibly more quickly too). Our legs are an extension of or is the suspension so strong legs independent of each other makes for better handling and safer riding. I have seen myself saving a fall purely by having the strength to mitigate the situation. 

[Forwardnbak]

1 hour ago, The Brahan Seer said:

I think learning to ride one legged is very beneficial. It helps to strengthen your leg muscles more (possibly more quickly too). Our legs are an extension of or is the suspension so strong legs independent of each other makes for better handling and safer riding. I have seen myself saving a fall purely by having the strength to mitigate the situation. 

I think one leg really helps me, i practice it often and it’s got me out of a few odd bumps having strength to hold it on one leg. 

I never had a this sux stage, i didn’t really put pressure on myself and I knew it wouldn’t be straight away. If i’d spent that much i’d already committed and just enjoyed the whole thing. 

Just down doing backwards prac again and enjoying the whole process again in reverse. 

[Funky]

Also one leg riding helps "replacing" the feet on pedals.. Also after longer ride, you can move your feet around - less cramping and soreness. (No need to jump off and walk ~20 feet and hop back on..)

[BigWilly]

2-3 hours should do the trick. Practicing everyday is important; helps build the necessary muscles for controls the wheel under your feet and between your legs. 

Took me 10 minutes to ride around in circles in my tennis court. 2 hours to ride laps around my neighborhood. And 6 weeks to feel confident riding alongside cars in the bike lane.

Keep it up and don't give up!

Post your process as you progress