So the box with my 9B1E+ arrived today...

[One Swede]

...to my office and of course I spent the latter part of the day unpacking it and got to see it for the first time.

Thankfully the office was empty so I could try to stand on the pads without anyone sniggering behind my back. Once was enough...

A quick click on the red button and I realised that my ... hmm ... center of gravity, shall we say, was a little bit off. No need to go into details.

 

First impression: It is heavy! Much more so than I suspected from the clips from youtube.

My initial expectation of 1 - 2 days to learn how to ride it was scrapped pretty quickly, but it is saturday soon so I can start testing it in the wild.

Needless to say I had to try it when I eventually got it back home on the tram, and I think I'm starting to grasp the balance issue. Its not that easy for me though, and I keep on gripping the walls, not able to trust myself yet.

Well, I got a month vacation coming up in a few weeks so the timing is pretty perfect. More later maybe.

[One Swede]

The reasons

Commuting to work was the main reason. I got about 4 miles, mostly uphill, to the office so I felt I needed a wheel with a reasonably high capacity battery along with a strong motor. A good design was also a plus. I usually ride a recumbent (HP Velotechnik Scorpion FX) on my spare time and have had plans to use it as a mean of transportation to work, but it is pretty cumbersome, since my office is on the second floor, and leaving it out on the street is not recommended if I want to keep it so carrying it upstairs is a must. However, the door is quite narrow so there is need for much fiddling to get it inside. Plus the weight is 20 kg.

I had never tried a EU before, nor a non electric unicycle for that matter, but I had seen videos of course, and I have tried Segways. I figured that they were in the same family and as such, should perform in the same way. Oh, boy...

The research

I’m not really impatient so a few days research on the web comparing different designs, I realised the Ninebot had a nice setup. I immediately fell in love with the futuristic design and its sleek lines, the performance looked appealing and the videos running on Youtube deceivingly seductive.

Initially the 14 kg looked pretty light; I usually carry twice the amount when I go camping. Since then I have thought of it as pretty sturdy, not overly so, but I wouldn’t call it light anymore.

The money

I really didn’t have a clue what it really would cost me, but I figured 800 GBP would do. Eventually I realised the shipping had to been taken into account, and in the end the bill rose to a neat 1000 GBP.

Shipping was fast and door to door delivery was flawless, even though Speedy had said they needed three week for delivery I think I got it in two.

The box

The day came and I was working so when the company who shipped it called me, I quickly changed the delivery to my office. It arrived during lunch hour.

The box was the standard setup: Wheel, padding, instructions and a charger brick with Swedish and Chinese plug.

Quite a few business cards (think it was eight) from Ian at Speed feet had been slipped in the box as well; he wrote me earlier and told me he’d been upgraded the software to the latest and pumped the tire to 55 PSI prior to delivery.

Do Not Activate thy Red Button!

As I have explained I am really new to EU’s so my story is somewhat similar to SerpentineGX.

But the first impression was weight. It’s kind of like a safe. Unpacking it took some effort.

The second, dragging it along the office floor with the power off, was very unsettling. It felt horrendously unstable and I thought: how the hell am I going to keep the balance?

Pushing the power button made a huge difference, though. It immediately went into full spin since I was lifting it and probably tilting it too. The gyro effect was noticeable, but as soon as I levelled the wheel it calmed down treacherously, as a snake ready to strike at a moment’s notice, hissing slightly, or was that me?. Aha, I thought, that’s your game, eh?

Next: the balancing act on the floor.

I had just managed to put one foot on the left stand and for some ungodly reason it rolled away. It went into a spin so I took it off the floor. While beeping and blinking, I put it out of its misery by switching it off and on again.

New foot, now on the other side but with the same result. Maybe my balance was off?

Quickly realising the office floor was concave and fluctuating at the same time, I heroically tried to stabilise the snakelike entity several times but it refused to cooperate. Clearly I got a defected wheel, I decided, and promptly turned it off.

Slightly mad at myself for spending 1000 pounds on a poorly designed vehicle, I started to ponder if I was focusing on the problem in the wrong way. I decided that’s not the case but also not to give up.

It was leaning at the furthermost wall, smiling smugly with its circular row of diodes off. I knew what it thought, but I would not have any of that. Smile now, if you will, but you will be tamed! Silently, leaning as always, it didn’t make a sound.

I focused on the Ninedroid-app instead. Lots of fun things and nothing to balance. After hooking it up to my li’l monster, I could change the color on the diodes, speed settings (of which I do not understand a thing) and a lot more. Fun stuff but not an inch closer to be able to ride the wheel.

No matter; it was late and I quickly packed the wheel up in the box and went home. Another productive day ended.

Finally there I reversed the packing process and tried with a lot of help from the walls, sink and cupboards in the kitchen, to stand upright, engines on. I noticed a slight success. I am not able to zoom in and out of the rooms yet, but I do not feel like a total failure either. The circular monsters resistance is dwindling...

I am almost able to grasp the concept but something is missing. I think it is the courage to let go of the walls. Every time I try to ride in a straight line I end up leaning too much. Maybe I should try to attach a leash as others have done. I think I will try that after work. Hzz, you say? Oh you would like that, wouldn´t you...

Maybe a handlebar like the Ninebot Elite would be an effective training tool. I might try to attach that if I cannot make it comply.

More later...

[esaj]

Love your way of "story-telling" the first times with the wheel! Yeah, at first it is going to feel like there's no way anyone could actually ride one without falling all the time. What usually seems to happen to most people (me included) is that after some time (which can vary a lot from person to person), you get a little bit better after each try and suddenly something just "clicks" and you're off... 

Riding at slow speed is a lot harder than fast (balance-wise), but is a necessary skill to have before riding among other people, as you will many times need to crawl behind pedestrians, as well as stopping the wheel without it getting anywhere from you and hard braking. You'll get there, just take your time. 

Also, I'm always advocating for everyone to wear safety gear (I'd suggest at least a biking helmet and wrist guards, personally I always ride with a full-face motorcycle helmet, long knee/shin + elbow/forearm -pads and sturdy double-splinted wrist guards) to prevent injuries in case of falling or crashing, but that's everyone's own choice. Just watch out, even though the speeds don't seem that high, the fall can be very sudden (especially when you're not yet used to the way the wheel behaves in different situations), and people have broken bones, ribs, jaws, teeth etc. with these things and just rollerskating.

[Jason McNeil]

Thanks for sharing. For others in Sweden (or other Scandinavian countries), I can offer the Ninebot E, dispatched tomorrow for £695 inclusive of shipping. www.wheelgo.com

[One Swede]

Day 2

Friday, 6pm. Sun is still up and the weather is warm.

The field we rested on were green, just as green as your neighbour’s yard. Slightly greener than you own, isn’t it? I bet the damned bastard use prohibited fertilizers. He’s just the type. And the roses, oh the roses. Looks plastic to me.

I stood up, legs firmly attached to my feet, solidly planted on the ground below me, slightly apart. My legs, not the ground. Anyway…

 

You just laid there. Smug and round. In fact, the opposite of me except for the smug part. And round.

It annoyed me so I gave it a kick. No reaction. I kicked again. Still nothing.

I took you gently by the handle and lifted you upright. You let a small whizzing sound slip out. So, there’s life in you after all. Your white shrouding was almost sparkling and I got an overwhelming desire to touch you. Glistening dew, lingering on the white sheathe around your rotund body, slowly slipped down the front, teasing me while it hang at the very edge until it finally dropped on the grass.

I sighed.

I couldn’t help myself any longer so I pushed all the right buttons and suddenly you stiffend. Oh, yea. Now we’ll see who’s wearing the inappropriate black trousers and smart jacket, not at all practical for excursions such as this. I’ll give you a hint; it’s me.

You’ll be gentle with me, won’t you? I said quietly. Except for a low humming “mmm” from your centre you didn’t respond, as usual. I was use to that now. I did the talking and you listened. Mostly.

Placing my legs on both of your sides and with a firm grip on your body I lifted my feet while nervously leaning forward and I got an immediate response. Forward motion, like a thrust, and I quickly pulled back, but now the reaction was even more expressive. I released my grip while my pulse rose so I could feel my heart pounding.

You fell over, from pure exasperation I would imagine.

I wanted to say something, but “Was it good for you too?” felt to cheesy and quite frankly, it didn’t felt right to me either. For a while now I had been looking forward to this day, to touch and ride you like a cheap pogo-stick, even though you clearly wasn’t. Some might say you were high maintenance, although I haven’t been seeing you long enough to really tell. But something was not right, even though I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what.

Was it me? Maybe I’m too inept, too expressive. I don’t know.

I sat down. You were clearly disappointed, as was I. Should it really be that hard? We had been trying for nearly two days now, and it seems impossible to get anywhere, you more prone to fell over every time I tried something new, and I unable to even stand up straight in your presence.

Frankly it was disconcerting, but as you kept telling me (in my mind at least), “Relax, darling. We’ll do wonderful magic together when we know each other better.”

Yes, practice makes perfect, I told myself. Well get there, we’ll get there.