sickswan Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Hey so I just got my first wheel it's a generic one. This one is called a zip wheel by eightball, there is a few on ebay starting at around 270 quid. I got mine second hand from there for £165.50 delivered to my door with training wheels, charger and safety strap. There's a few scuffs here and there but just makes me feel better about scuffing it up my self lol.First impressions are that it looks fairly sturdy and not too badly built (time will indeed tell)...So I've strapped on the training wheels and strap and had a quick lean backwards an forwards against a wall... My first impressions are how the hell does anyone manage to ride one of these things haha.So any beginner tips welcome! I'm taking it round a mates in a couple of hours were he has a bigger garden full of flat grass as mine is a bit choppy an it's took me 10 years after a crazy night with a bonfire to get my grass to look anything like grass again so don't wana be ripping that up haha... so I figure I'll go dig his garden up (shh don't tell him I said that) lol. I will update this later tonight after I've shed some skin and twisted a few joints.. seriously tho I figure this could be a good start to a thread about do's sand don'ts and all other manner of wisdom when first starting..Looking forward to all your input will try an get a few videos and snaps to show you where I'm at so ya can point out what I'm doing wrong..Cheers Luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorents Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Congratulations on your new generic wheel I think the fastest way to learn riding an EU is to take off the learning wheels and have a friend walk with you while you ride your wheel.Hold one hand on his/hers shoulder and the other hand on your strap.Try keeping your body straight and dont lean on your helper.Keep your eyes straight ahead and look where you want to go.The wheel is much easier to balance when you have some speed, so dont drive too slow. Oh, and check out a couple of the 60 second videos by "Ninebot UK" on youtube. Especially the "How to get on" video.Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickswan Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 Cheers dude will give that a try.. I read somewhere to let the tyre down a little to help stability.. I know this works with motocross/enduro/trials bikes ( I used to run around 4 psi in my trials bike) sound about right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickswan Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 Any tips on mounting the wheel without stabilisers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorents Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Yes, check the "Ninebot UK" youtube video "How to get on". He also have a video on tire pressure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mengke Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Click here to see how to animation . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkoMarjamaa Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 The most important tip:Don't try to learn on grassThe best place to learn is smooth surface like a parking lot. Otherwise every crack&bump on the surface will make you lose your balance at first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickswan Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 Aha yh we found this out (grass) the hard way lol.. got some good vids of my mate he took to it like a duck to water.. don't think I'm such a natural tho lol getting there tho.. I'll upload vids later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaleOsaurusRex Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Get on without using your hands. The fester you get moving the easier it is to balance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Ingram Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Throw away the training wheels firstly. There a gimic to aid sales Then use the skate board method of starting, ie. Place left foot lightly on left plate and sort of hop your right foot say twice like your pushing a skate board the step on. This way the wheel is moving forward so you have momentum. Best at advise is to look forward not down at your feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaleOsaurusRex Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I'm gonna try that out Douglas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickswan Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 Ok guys first days over and I don't think I did soo bad in the end vids are uploading to youtube as I type. Managed to get going without much control but I was going even managed a ride back from the park with a fair few dismount and I managed to get down a curb too wahoo will link vids when there done uploading.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickswan Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 if anyone wants to check out my youtube channel with the vids on its sickswan61https://www.youtube.com/user/sickswan61/videos will put them on here when I figure out how to.. also check out mountain bike fail on my channel its a friend at Sherwood pines jump park in the wet its funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 @sickswan: Not bad at all, considering you're riding on soft ground with training wheels. Get some protection and try it on hard surface (asphalt or such), then after you feel you can ride it without the wheels, try without the them or with one training wheel only. It will take some learning to get going without the training wheels, but after you get that, the rest is "just" learning braking, stopping and turning, and then you've got the basics down.To get going, I myself lean the wheel against my stronger legs' shin (right foot on pedal, wheel leaning to shin), then sort of "hop" my other feet on the other pedal and immediately start leaning (slightly!) forwards to get going (so I'm actually stationary for a split second). To me, that seems easier than the "skate board"-kick start, to others, the other way around. See which one works for you better.You can get rid of the strap once you learn to stop the wheel without it going anywhere, it will be easier to balance then with your both hands free, but I wouldn't suggest leaving the strap until you got controlled stopping figured. Basically, for me, it's just the opposite of getting going, braking to stop, then lifting my left foot to ground, holding my right foot on the pedal so I can keep the wheel stationary and prevent it from falling over."Normal" braking (slowing down) happens just by leaning backwards, but in case you need to stop faster, I have done it by bending my knees a little bit, leaning slightly back and pushing the wheel forwards from myself. Just be careful, if the battery is low and there isn't much torque, it might not be able to handle this, and you could accidentally kick the wheel from under you, until you've learned how it behaves and get the "feel" how far and how fast you can push it.Turning in faster speed happens simply by leaning, in slow/crawl speed you sort of tilt the wheel by pushing the other pedal down and lifting your opposite foot a bit (so you're standing upstraight, but the wheel is tilted to the direction you want to turn). With the 14" generic, I can do very small continuous circles this way, with the 16" Firewheel, not that small, but narrow bicycle lane is enough for me to do 180-degree turns on with it too.Have fun! Edit: Oops, just noticed there were more videos, where you already ride on asphalt without training wheels... You should probably start learning to ride at walk/crawl speeds soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickswan Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Thanks for all the input guna have a day off today.. I've lost all the hair on my legs on the inside above the ankles and there bruised to buggary had a quick go round at a mates today with his crosser boots on seems better while learning less rubbage/ankle clanging lol so guna dig mine out for tomo it's just too nicer day not to drink beer in the garden today haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickswan Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Any tips on what to use for padding on the parts my legs and ankles rub? I'm thinking gaffs tape and sponges...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickswan Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 just finished with the gaffa tape and sponges I had lying around seems to help a lot with comfort for now but looks like an abortion haha ah well practical over pretty hey. don't think I could take another ankle clang getting on haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Use the type of material found in yoga/exercise mats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickswan Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 Thanks John have seen that screw fix have the inserts for knee pads so might try a pair of them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDL Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Or get one of those cheap blue foam camping mats. I cut one up and taped it all over at first, including to my ankles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 On 6/11/2015 at 11:17 PM, sickswan said: Any tips on what to use for padding on the parts my legs and ankles rub? I'm thinking gaffs tape and sponges...? simple shinbads as worn by football players, turned to the inside by about 90 degrees, these cost around 5 bugs a pair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Thanks John have seen that screw fix have the inserts for knee pads so might try a pair of them...Actually I misread. I thought you meant to pad the euc itself and not on your body. Why not just pad the euc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickswan Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 I was referring to padding the euc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickswan Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 New vids up on my youtube channel even got me doing some tricks... (lame ones but hey everyone starts somewhere) haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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