Popular Post Jkay Posted February 10, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted February 10, 2023 I started with good quality sneakers, and as I work my way through the myriad of settings on short rides (1 or 2 laps around our park’s walkway) I had one day that I used some mid ankle hiking boots. All the difference in the world! Sneakers out, hiking boots in! I thought I was beyond whacking my ankle on the pedal on launch, nope but with the boots it is a non event. I do want to thank everyone for all the advice and choices. In rural southern Mississippi I am a…. Well suffice it to say a novelty to the other 70 year old geezers, it has definitely been a learn by doing event. But unscheduled departures is minimal lately! Best to all! Jay 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa_Jay Posted February 21, 2023 Author Share Posted February 21, 2023 (edited) Hi All! This weather !!! The rest of the week we are supposed to have 50 to 70mph wind gusts! The cold and wind have been keeping me inside. I am still trying to spend at least 20 minutes a day on the wheel - even if inside. Today, I went outside for a few minutes! This is day ONE of not dropping my wheel!! (I am forcing myself to have SEVEN consecutive days without dropping the wheel before I can put the cover, pads, and chrome pedals on!!) Today, I used a tether (a dog leash really) and though I still need LOTS of practice dismounting and turning, I did NOT drop the wheel! This is the first time I can say that. Still wobbles terribly if I go over 10mph, but as long as I stay under 10mph all goes well and I can keep going until I need to turn around Progress... Edited February 21, 2023 by Grandpa_Jay 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punxatawneyjoe Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 3 minutes ago, Grandpa_Jay said: Still wobbles terribly if I go over 10mph, Great to hear no drop from you this time. Not sure what tire pressure you are running but if you keep it low when learning it might help the wobbles a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crab Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 On 2/9/2023 at 6:00 PM, Jkay said: I started with good quality sneakers, and as I work my way through the myriad of settings on short rides (1 or 2 laps around our park’s walkway) I had one day that I used some mid ankle hiking boots. All the difference in the world! Sneakers out, hiking boots in! I thought I was beyond whacking my ankle on the pedal on launch, nope but with the boots it is a non event. I do want to thank everyone for all the advice and choices. In rural southern Mississippi I am a…. Well suffice it to say a novelty to the other 70 year old geezers, it has definitely been a learn by doing event. But unscheduled departures is minimal lately! Best to all! Jay My s22 got me in the calf last week while trolling it, it spun around and bit me good… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul A Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Trolleying S22 in reverse might be easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcgldr Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 (edited) Once the weather is nicer, it would help if you could have someone take a video of you riding to see if there are any issues members here can help you with. I started with a V8F back in August 2021 when I was 69 1/2 years old. After 15 minutes or so of the typical beginner stuff, (with support, rock back and forth to get used to how V8F reacted, some short runs near a screened fence at a tennis court, I ventured away using arm flailing | yaw (twist) steering, flail arms left to steer right and vice versa, for balance and direction, at 3 to 5 mph, able to do a lap around the tennis court on my first attempt, later multiple laps. This method of steering benefits from the light weight (35 lbs) of the V8F. My wife took a video of me on the second day before I moved to a long parking lot. After seeing I was hunched over in the video, I corrected that afterwards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPyy84EThmM On the second day after a short session at the tennis court, I moved to this long outdoor parking lot, over 550 feet between trash bin enclosures I could use for supported mount and launch, good enough for 40+ second runs at 8 mph to 10 mph. https://rcgldr.net/euc/euc_pklt.jpg It was at that parking lot that I discovered my V8F became stable and self-balancing at around 8 mph if riding in a straight line, allowing me to relax my arms. This is where I learned to tilt steer (inner foot down, outer foot up), just small tilts at first to see how V8F would respond, then mild weaving, and then large radius turns. I was doing 30 minutes a day and on day 5, I moved to a large park where I did my first free mounts (no support) between soccer fields, my only time on grass, but since I could already ride it wasn't an issue. My wife took a video of my on day 10 on a large pathway at that same park. From the headlight beam, you can see how stable the V8F becomes at around 8 mph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keDvRMScO1g Most beginners start off using extended arms for balance, but not as much as I was doing and at such slow speeds. Generally the idea is to increase speed a bit more where an EUC transitions into being stable, such as a girl being taught to ride on a V8 by Kuji Rolls. Other than stepping off trying ride over a speed bump, she doesn't have any issues. At 8:06 into the video, she's going fast enough for the V8 to be stable and tilt steering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6o8ZMlo5ko&t=414s Edited February 21, 2023 by rcgldr 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa_Jay Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 On 2/20/2023 at 8:03 PM, Punxatawneyjoe said: Great to hear no drop from you this time. Not sure what tire pressure you are running but if you keep it low when learning it might help the wobbles a bit. I checked to be sure it was still 26psi... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punxatawneyjoe Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 28 minutes ago, Grandpa_Jay said: I checked to be sure it was still 26psi... TBH , I'm not even sure what mine are at. I give them the old squeeze test. I just know that when i was learning, keeping a low tire pressure help with stability tremendously. If your standing on it you want the contact with the ground to be a flat spot, removing the crown of the tire. As long as you aren't hitting huge pot holes or jumping curbs, you really don't have to worry about rim damage. I'm not sure it will help but it only takes a few seconds to try lowering/raising it and trying it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 Well after riding around in our local park, I am/was feeling pretty good about my fledgling abilities, I was riding 10 miles at a time around little foot paths, up and down hills, cool! Fun, then I took my first solo cross country, 12 miles, fun but I felt like I was just standing around, till tonight! Apparently straight and level riding uses totally different muscles than turns and stuff like that! Must be using all new muscles! An eye opener! Us old guys must have 2 sets of muscles! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Grandpa_Jay Posted March 10, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 10, 2023 Still wobbling over 10mph, but I am riding! About 3 miles today and it was all on the wheel, not walking it! Some mention needing another video to critique... My Garmin & EUC World App have different data from the same ride! https://youtu.be/a1DYD5NYv-8 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crab Posted March 10, 2023 Share Posted March 10, 2023 The garmin is looking at gps data and will probably always be less, EUC world is looking at controller data from wheel rotation and thus higher. Glad to see your getting some distance now, before you know it 10 mile rides will get easy! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul A Posted March 10, 2023 Share Posted March 10, 2023 EUC world might also be using GPS to measure speed and distance. Turn EUC world on, and go for a drive in the car. It still measures speed and distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcgldr Posted March 10, 2023 Share Posted March 10, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, Grandpa_Jay said: Still wobbling over 10mph, but I am riding! About 3 miles today and it was all on the wheel, not walking it! Some mention needing another video to critique... I looked at the video. You're going fast enough, about 8 mph, that when riding in a straight line, you should not have to be moving your arms so much or so quickly, the S18 should be pretty much self-balancing left+right at that speed. You also mention getting wobbles at around 10 mph. Check the suspension for side to side play: with the S18 on, hold it at the top by the handle with one hand, and with the other hand try pushing the bottom of the shell to the side to see if there is any play. Turn it around and repeat to check for play in the other direction. In my case on a V8F, I was arm flailing to twist | yaw steer the EUC for balance and direction at 3 to 5 mph, doing laps around a tennis court. I moved to a long straight, where I increased speed to about 8 mph, and to my surprise, I no longer had to make any balance corrections, and I immediately lowered and relaxed my arms. I literally could stand motionless on the pedals if going in a straight line at 8 mph or faster. It was obvious to me that nothing had "clicked", (I had no idea how to tilt steer yet) but instead I was just going fast enough for my V8F to become self-stable. This is why I'm puzzled about your video. S18's will occasionally wiggle a bit for some riders. I used this video of a girl on an S18 because she rides Marty Backe | Duf style, almost motionless other than tilt the EUC and lean. The S18 occasionally wanders | wiggles a bit, but she just ignores it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hWMwK3Cfs0 Turning is another issue, as you have to coordinate how much you tilt the EUC versus how much you lean which depends on speed and turning radius. This because the tilt determines radius, almost independent of speed, but how much you lean does depend on speed (speed squared divided by radius). In that video of the girl on the S18, due to the speed and turning radius, she tilts the S18 less than she leans. In your video, when trying to do a right u-turn on the road, you tilt in a bit too much at the start, causing you to straighten up and go straight, before you correct, start to turn right again, but run out of room and step off. That road would be a good place to do the drill I did when learning to tilt steer (inner foot down, outer foot up). On the straight part of the road, lean a bit to one side, then tilt the S18 towards that side enough to straighten you back up. Alternate doing this left and right so that you're weaving side to side, while going straight. Do this at a constant speed so that you don't have to adjust for speed. Once you feel comfortable doing this, extended each weave by tilting inwards just a bit less so that you don't straighten up so quickly, or hold a lean angle for a brief moment before tilting more inwards to straighten back up. Keep in mind that you need to tilt inwards more in order to lean less. Next would be trying the same thing at different speeds. If there is a large empty or near empty parking lot close by, you could practice turning in circles there, starting off with large radius turns, probably leaning and straightening up at first until you coordinate the tilt and lean so that you can do constant smooth circles. In my case, I started to get dizzy at 10 circles in a row, so I cut back to 5 or 6 circles in a row before going straight for a bit, then doing circles in the other direction. If turning one way is more difficult than the other, do more circles in the more difficult direction. Edited March 10, 2023 by rcgldr 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiMark Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 11 hours ago, Paul A said: EUC world might also be using GPS to measure speed and distance. Turn EUC world on, and go for a drive in the car. It still measures speed and distance. If it connects to a wheel by BT then it defaults to using the wheel data, if it can't connect to a wheel then it will use GPS data. If it connects to a wheel and displays wheel data, you can still swipe up/down to change between wheel data & GPS data. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul A Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 Then maybe disable BT, and see if EUC world matches Garmin after a ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiMark Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 2 minutes ago, Paul A said: Then maybe disable BT, and see if EUC world matches Garmin after a ride. You don't need to disable BT, just swipe up/down on the screen to freely switch between wheel data and GPS data. You can do this while riding to see wheel speed or GPS speed and compare them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Tawpie Posted March 11, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted March 11, 2023 21 hours ago, Grandpa_Jay said: Still wobbling over 10mph, but I am riding! About 3 miles today and it was all on the wheel, not walking it! Some mention needing another video to critique... My Garmin & EUC World App have different data from the same ride! https://youtu.be/a1DYD5NYv-8 Awww heck, you're doing fantastic. All you need now is more miles. I'd highly recommend spending a portion of your time on dirt walking paths—it advances your riding skill at about a 10x pace, and honestly, off-road has become far and away my favorite thing about riding... seeing places I wouldn't ever bother hiking to etc. Exploring neighborhoods is great fun too, but I have more fun in the woods. EUCWorld allows you to input a correction factor so that in EUC mode (the mode that you're in, indicated by the green circle and EUC) speed and distance more closely match GPS. I think the correction I used is about 6-7% but it depends on your tire and its inflation pressure since the wheel is just counting revolutions and doing the arithmetic for an assumed tire diameter. The only 'bad' thing is that the total mileage your wheel report will be higher than it really should be. But since the discrepancy isn't huge, and some people are aware, and wheels really don't wear out before you get tired of them, it's more "good for the ego" than anything. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpong Posted May 15, 2023 Share Posted May 15, 2023 (edited) just keep riding !!! and try to ride as far as you can, ... this will strengthen and condition your legs on your euc. i started at 60 too, and i learned how to ride on a high school soccer field. and as for falling, simply fall, ... you better familiarize yourself to that motion as well cause it will happen. better it happens while you are still learninig to ride, and riding on a grassy field too. i would ditch the statistics and just ride for enjoyment. i mean you must already be highly motivated to get this far !!! there will be lots of time later for statistics... just keep riding and experiencing your euc and its capabilities...and discovering more of your physical capabilities too !!! best of luck to ya, and always wear your safety gear !!! i bet you by the end of this riding season, you will probably be wanting a more powerful, and faster euc too !!! bpong PS, since someone commented on footwear choices, here is my 2cents on choice of footwear: - initially i used Vans high tops with the nice crepe rubber soles. they work well but i found the lack of cushioning in the sole was hard on my old feet - then i switched over to nike runners and they worked well for me. the constant jarring from riding on a non suspended wheel became more bearable and they are simply more comfortable to ride with than the Vans, IMO... - i have also tried my winter boots out of curiosity and surprisingly, they worked quite well too but they are abit cumbersome cause of their bulkiness. Edited May 15, 2023 by bpong wanted to comment on footwear... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jkay Posted June 29, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted June 29, 2023 Just checking to see how y’all old geezers are doing on mastering the fine art of EUGage. I just passed the 300 mile mark on my V12 and feeling pretty confident that the largest hump of the learners curve has passed. Been about 250 miles since an unscheduled departure. At 70 I am not interested in pain so my riding is probably rather sedate but really enjoying it. AGAT takes some commitment now, the temps reaching 95-100 daily the ground is so hot I would self cauterize if I fell now anyway! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 5 minutes ago, Jkay said: AGAT takes some commitment now, the temps reaching 95-100 daily the ground is so hot I would self cauterize if I fell now anyway! Certainly feel ya there ! In the hotter months it can be almost ride-ruining how hot and humid we can get. But at least we can make some safe-ish compromises in the gear department (less under-layers, open visors, lighter trousers etc etc), and try and plan our rides for the least hot parts of the day. Our recent mini-heatwave (which was hardly dramatic or that extreme in the low 30s) is over for now, but even so I still find myself doing early morning or late evening rides, taking advantage of the longer days to minimize the heat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rcgldr Posted June 30, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted June 30, 2023 (edited) On 6/29/2023 at 10:14 AM, Jkay said: Just checking to see how y’all old geezers are doing on mastering the fine art of EUG age. I'm 71 years old now, still riding my V8F that I received in August 2021, with 1200 miles on it now, so about 50 miles per month. I mostly do short rides at 12 to 15 mph. I wear helmet, wrist guards, and knee guards. Still looking for elbow guards, and in the meantime, I wear a light leather jacket if it is not too hot. If it wasn't for maintenance and issues, I might consider an S18. An 18L would be a bit smoother than my V8F, and allow for more acceleration, even if I continue to ride at 12 to 15 mph, but I don't know if any vendors actually sell new versions of the 18L. 18XL increases cell count from 80 to 120 cells, more weight and range that I don't need. So I will stick with my V8F for now and wait for some new or updated 18 inch EUC. Edited June 30, 2023 by rcgldr 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Bjerke Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 Its a balance not an age thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrelwood Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 35 minutes ago, Finn Bjerke said: Its a balance not an age thing Isn’t balance a bit of an age thing though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techyiam Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 42 minutes ago, Finn Bjerke said: Its a balance not an age thing 6 minutes ago, mrelwood said: Isn’t balance a bit of an age thing though? Isn't it both. I remember watching an ad that showcased a retired figure skater being able to do some fancy jump in his senior years. Reflexes, muscle strength, and conditions of joints count. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFartRides Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 Definitely feel like I’m on the downhill slide at 63. But I’m going to ride these for as long as I am able. I think riding has improved my overall balance. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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