Commuting with Ninebot One E+

[aggamarcel]

Hi All,

Here in Ireland I am having a lot of troubles going by bus, I am thinking of  buying Ninebot One E+ in order to commute from home to work, which is around 7 miles (I would be able to charge it once at work)

I have never tried it and, most of people I am asking do not think that this would be possible, that at some moment I will get tired and get back to the bus. It is going to be a huge investment so I want to make sure I am doing the right decision:

1. can you please let me know if this would be too tiring or it can be possible to do this in a daily basis?

2. How difficult is to learn how to ride it? Should this be a problem?

3. In Ireland it rains quite often, but it is not heavy rain, would that be a problem?

Many thanks

 

 

[SuperSport]

If you don't mind riding a bicycle in the rain, it's no different.  The wheel can handle the rain just fine.

At the beginning, while learning, you will get very tired, unless you are one of the lucky ones and learn it very quickly.  Some people learn in minutes, and some in weeks.  But after you are comfortable riding, it's not an issue to ride 14 miles daily, especially if you break it into two 7 mile rides.

If you are one that needs a couple weeks to learn to ride, then you might plan to alternate riding the wheel and bus at the beginning.  Your legs will need conditioning before they stop hurting.  Also, I would suggest you don't ride around traffic until you master being able to start and stop, and turn comfortably.  Especially emergency stops.  You don't have any protection from cars, so you don't want to fall off around them, or get hit.

The wheel, if taken care of, will likely last you thousands of miles with no issues, thus saving bus fare etc...

1.  Once you learn, no problem

2.  Everyone is different.  Watch @Duf's videos to get an idea:  

3.  No problem for the wheel.  Only if you don't like getting that wet.  Wear a poncho and no problem.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

[Planetpapi]

SuperSport covered all the points. I will add a few more.

1. You should wear full protection including knee pads until you are confident and comfortable. Helmet stays on though.

2. Have  a tether to your belt from the wheel in case if wheel goes off, it won't run into oncoming traffic.

3. It will be tiring in the beginning for sure. 

4. I would get a wheel with trolley handle (personal choice) or buy a trolley handle for Ninebot. The wheel is heavy to carry.

5. Riding in the park confidently and riding on the real world streets are not the same. People, uneven surfaces are all obstacles. Keep the bicycle bell to warn people you are behind them.

6. Take it step by step.

7. Just have confidence and never give up while learning. It will "click" for you at some point.

Good luck!

[aggamarcel]

Thanks SuperSport and Planetpapi for the answer, I am happy to say that I will get it next month then, will follow your advices and take care at the beginning, I ll post something more once I start to feel confidence and commute with it. 

 

 

[Mono]

On 04/01/2017 at 5:56 PM, aggamarcel said:

Hi All,

Here in Ireland I am having a lot of troubles going by bus, I am thinking of  buying Ninebot One E+ in order to commute from home to work, which is around 7 miles (I would be able to charge it once at work)

I have never tried it and, most of people I am asking do not think that this would be possible, that at some moment I will get tired and get back to the bus. It is going to be a huge investment so I want to make sure I am doing the right decision:

1. can you please let me know if this would be too tiring or it can be possible to do this in a daily basis?

If it is only for this trip, I would consider getting a bicycle with electric support. 

Quote

2. How difficult is to learn how to ride it? Should this be a problem?

About as difficult as learning cycling. It might take a few hours to be able to successfully mount, it might take a few months to be somewhat confident. I am in for +300h and still feel remarkably more competent on a bicycle on which I spent thousands of hours. Some people learn much faster than others though. 

Quote

3. In Ireland it rains quite often, but it is not heavy rain, would that be a problem?

No problem, I guess it depends on the model as well. 

If you don't like the idea of learning how to ride this or of learning a new skill, think twice about it. 

 

[Gormash]

Good advice you've gotten here. And I want jo add to point about the trolley handle. I have one on my own NB1E+ and it is really nice to have. It may look  a bit weird, but it's really useful. I have mine attached to the back, and after some practicing it's really easy to stop, put one foot down and grab the handle and extend it in a single, fluid motion.

Another point I'd like to make about being tired...
I've ridden the wheel for hours on end and not getting tired. What I -DO- have is pains under my feet. Particularly at the beginning, when I was learning, i'd start getting crapus under my feet, at the inner middle of them. I recommend training several times daily for 10-20 minutes at a time to reduce this.
As you get comfortable riding this fill continue, but not as much. Correct foot placement and good shoes/boots can help a lot with this. But not with all pains. Our feet are not designed to be stood upon for hours at a time while pressing them down. They need to be moved occat6ionally to let blood flow. As you get proficient riding you should make it a habit of occationally (every 10 minutes or so) lifting the heel of one foot a bit, then putting it down and lifting the toes a little bit. Then repeat for the other foot. Be sure to slow down while doing this. This will relieve your feet and prolong the time you can ride without a pause, which is a really useful skill to learn when you're starting out.

That said, the ONLY regret I have about my NB1E+ purchace is that the battery is a little too small... Which will be remedied tomorrow when my extra batteries from 1rattwerkstatt will be delivered and double it's range.

[Shinji78]

It may be a bit late to reply but I am a Ninebot One C commuter

It is a big investment at first, but daily return train tickets costs me £1.70 and given that I've riding my Ninebot since 2 years ago, I've saved around £800 in 2 years. 

It is enough to buy the Ninebot + 2 chargers (one at home and one at work), so from this 3rd year onward I will only be a matter of saving money.

As said, I've got a Ninebot One C, which is 'worst' than current models in terms of range and speed, so it should be some sort of warranty for you if you get an E+, S2, etc.

I live in Scotland and weather here is identical to Ireland. No problems with heavy rain and strong winds (apart from being careful to not to lose my balance). When it gets 0 Celsius or less (maybe twice a week on winter) I rather like to go back to the train just for safety. Falling off due to a slippery soil isn't a good morning experience :-)

It took me around 1 week / 20 minutes a day to learn until I started to feel confident, but it depends on everyone.

One last thing is that it's not just about a long term money saver or to avoid long boring wasted times waiting for the train (or bus in your case). It's also making commuting way funnier. It's a cheap, clean, reliable and fun way to commute.

[steve454]

On 2/1/2017 at 8:12 AM, Mono said:

If it is only for this trip, I would consider getting a bicycle with electric support. 

I agree, it takes too long to get comfortable on the wheel.  Get an electric bike for commuting, get a wheel for fun, then, after many hours of riding the wheel, and you get confident riding it on the route to work, sell the bike and take the wheel to work.