Wind

[Paddylaz]

So we talk all the time about hills/surfaces/rain etc,

but does anyone else find that wind is the ultimate 'kryptonite' for eucs? 

I guess it's obvious really, given the physics of it all. I find myself religiously checking my weather app when I'm thinking of taking my v5f to the park, for instance.

Anything above 13-15mph.... I just don't bother.

Edited April 15, 2017 by Paddylaz

[Pingouin]

Hi,

I had to ride a few times with winds blowing from 25 to 55kph ! (15-34mph) Riding an EUC in these conditions is possible, I have done it with the Gotway MCM2s & ACM. When I was learning to ride it was very hard to compensate for the wind and I could loose balance easily, but now it's quite natural, I wouldn't say it's easy, but like on a bicycle it's possible, I would just say you need to keep your speed quite low because the higher you go the less you will see (because of the speed tears), unless you are riding with the wind.

I guess it's just a matter of habit.

What I always check is if it's gonna rain or not, because that scares me a whole lot more than the wind.

[Keith]

First time it got fairly windy (25MPH+)I took my wheel to my local park which has a pretty much square path around its parameter. it is quite open so I didn't have to counter much gusting but the only uncomfortable bit was going into wind where it very noticeably had the wheel beeping at much lower speed and the lean forward felt an awful lot. Sideways on the lean into wind was certainly odd but kind of fun after a while. 

The main surprise to me was that it seemed easier to handle the wind on an EUC than on a bike. I wonder if less side area and twice as much weight through the one wheel instead of two made it grip better but I'm sure I would have been pushed around a lot more in gusts on a bike. Like @Pingouin I would be a lot more worried about rain on my not at all waterproof KS-14C 

[Paddylaz]

21 minutes ago, Keith said:

First time it got fairly windy (25MPH+)I took my wheel to my local park which has a pretty much square path around its parameter. it is quite open so I didn't have to counter much gusting but the only uncomfortable bit was going into wind where it very noticeably had the wheel beeping at much lower speed and the lean forward felt an awful lot. Sideways on the lean into wind was certainly odd but kind of fun after a while. 

The main surprise to me was that it seemed easier to handle the wind on an EUC than on a bike. I wonder if less side area and twice as much weight through the one wheel instead of two made it grip better but I'm sure I would have been pushed around a lot more in gusts on a bike. Like @Pingouin I would be a lot more worried about rain on my not at all waterproof KS-14C 

You sticking with the KS, Keith? Or you planning an upgrade anytime soon?

The v5f has served me spectacularly well but I'm getting itchy feet.......the v8 is calling... (my wallet isn't) 

[Pingouin]

The v8 has a bigger windage than the V5f, it may be harder to ride in the wind lol

I think for now the kryptonite of EUC is steep climbs with a heavy rider

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Here's some EUC math that I had a lesson on:

(Wind + Rain) ^ Umbrella Opening = Sudden forces in different direction * Air Braking = Close Call / Sudden Death .

[Keith]

55 minutes ago, Paddylaz said:

You sticking with the KS, Keith? Or you planning an upgrade anytime soon?

A 16" wheel is certainly on my want list and the Inmotion V8 would be top of that list, but I've retired now so money is a bit tight and I'm not doing the mileage to justify it.

The KS-14C is doing everything I need really, the only problem I do have is that the range is going down now preventing me being some of the longer trips I did last year. I'm aiming to put 4 off 4 cell LiPo batteries in the empty battery compartment on one side, if only Hobbyking ever get the cheap ones I want back in stock.

[Jason McNeil]

14 hours ago, Pingouin said:

The v8 has a bigger windage than the V5f, it may be harder to ride in the wind lol

There's a section of my commute in Miami, which runs along several 20+ story condo buildings. You can be riding along quite merrily, then be blasted by a downward gust reaching up to +40MPH. The Wheel's profile is unquestionably important. KS18 is the most challenging, to bleed some of the side wind, I occasionally have to adopt zigzag forward motion—to the bemusement of bystanders & dogs.

Edited April 16, 2017 by Jason McNeil

[Pingouin]

2 minutes ago, Jason McNeil said:

There's a section of my commute in Miami, which runs along several 20+ story condo buildings. You can be riding along quite merrily, then be blasted by a downward gust reaching over +40MPH. The Wheel's profile is unquestionably important. KS18 is the most challenging, to bleed some of the side wind, I occasionally have to adopt zigzag forward motion—to the bemusement of bystanders & dogs.

40+mph, it it's coming from your side, then I guess it could blow you off ! The KS18 has about the same windage as the Monster despite being lighter, but then I guess the weight of the rider has to be taken into account (+ his skills), I am a light rider I would probably be blown away like a feather ^^

In these conditions, one should not ride slow or fast, perfect speed depends on several factor but I think 16kph is a good speed for most situations where wind is an issue. I'll have to ride just before a storm this summer to confirm it

Netherless gusty winds are not fun for riding, unless the temperature is extremely high.

[Demargon]

I have few occasions for ride on strong wind. All of them I have the need of lower my body to sit down, that improves a lot the aerodynamic but make me do more effort and don't allow me to see and be seeing appropriately, is fun but very risky

Edited April 16, 2017 by Demargon

[Pingouin]

1 minute ago, Demargon said:

I have few occasions for ride on strong wind. All of them I have the need of lower my body to sit down, that improves a lot the aerodynamic but make me do more effort and don't allow me to see and be seeing appropriately, is fun but very risky

What EUC do you have ? Because sitting on a Monster or KS18 can be done without too much efforts, but if you're taking sitting on a Gotway Luffy then the efforts must me humungous ! (even worse on the rare Gotway pocket 5)

[Rehab1]

If anyone is interested riding their EUC in various wind conditions A2wt.com will test any type of vehicle in their wind tunnel for $495.00 usd. 

 

Edited April 16, 2017 by Rehab1

[Demargon]

Yea @Pingouin what I do is really crouching to slightly touch in the rear of euc top with my ass. There are no seat here and I can't relax at all. I must improve my v5f with a small seat soon.

This is how I looks like when riding crowch in my 14" wheel

 

Edited April 16, 2017 by Demargon

[Pingouin]

10 minutes ago, Demargon said:

Yea @Pingouin what I do is really crouching to slightly touch in the rear of euc top with my ass. There are no seat here and I can't relax at all. I must improve my v5f with a small seat soon.

This is how I look riding crowch in my 14" wheel

 

Well the good thing is that you're doing some physical training at the same time, plus the feeling of speed is greater if closer to the ground

I used to sit sometimes on my MCM4, but I felt quite ridiculous, and I couldn't hold the position for very long, on the Monster it's a very comfortable position (on the KS18 too)

What seat do you intend to use on the V5f ?

[Demargon]

My best choice would be a unicycle seat 

But there is no easy way to fit it without making holes in the shell and chassis of the euc, that isn't my intention for the moment. 

I gonna try to make something like the detachable seat of ks 18 for my v5f.

While it was done is easy to put a bicycle one instead.

Edited April 16, 2017 by Demargon

[MaxLinux]

18 hours ago, Paddylaz said:

does anyone else find that wind is the ultimate 'kryptonite' for eucs?

Wind can vary from unpleasant/annoying to scary. The riding position, standing upright, presents a high profile, big body area to catch the wind. Sometimes going into a headwind, the EUC almost cannot go forward! Being pushed around and/or slowed down by wind makes riding much less fun for me. Wind is easiest to handle when it is relatively constant. I can adjust my position/how hard I'm leaning for relatively stable balance. Gusty wind scares me, especially strong gusts. I have to be very alert between gusts, ready to react when the next gust comes. Numerous times I have nearly been blown over. When conditions are so bad that I feel in danger of being blown over, I abort the ride.

Like Demargon, I crouch down in strong wind so my body does not catch the wind as much.

Edited April 16, 2017 by MaxLinux

[dpong]

I have a silly little technique that I use when riding into a head-wind.  Realizing that my arms out to the side broadens my 'sail' of wind resistance, I will sometimes place my hands together in a 'praying' position but with the fingertips facing forward.  It makes my body more aerodynamic.  It seems that this would not provide much improvement, but instead I can actually feel that it does indeed. 

Edited April 16, 2017 by dpong

[RooEUC]

1 hour ago, dpong said:

I have a silly little technique that I use when riding into a head-wind.  Realizing that my arms out to the side broadens my 'sail' of wind resistance, I will sometimes place my hands together in a 'praying' position but with the fingertips facing forward.  It makes my body more aerodynamic.  It seems that this would not provide much improvement, but instead I can actually feel that it does indeed. 

I do the same thing on my MiniPro and it makes quite a big difference in 30kph+ winds. 

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

That's exactly how I ride even if it isn't windy!   You also might hear me quietly praying "Please God don't let me die, no faceplants today, let there be no weak cells in my battery pack..."    Here's a selfie of me rolling through the woods demonstrating my technique:

Edited April 16, 2017 by Hunka Hunka Burning Love

[Rehab1]

42 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

 

That's exactly how I ride even if it isn't windy!   You also might hear me quietly praying "Please God don't let me die, no faceplants today, let there be no weak cells in my battery pack..."    Here's a selfie of me rolling through the woods demonstrating my technique:

Hopefully there is a Ninebot God? Gotway Gods are not fond of non-believers! Nice Getty Image of you on Easter!

[LanghamP]

I was surprised at how difficult it is to ride a unicycle in any wind, especially if one is carrying a stadium umbrella. My wheel would be leaned way over on one side, then a gust would come and the wheel had to be flopped completely over onto the other side.

I found some difficulties with an umbrella. One has to go slow enough to get coverage but the slower one goes the less leverage the wheel has against gusts. Above a certain speed I find the gyroscope inertia to be great enough to make the wheel fairly stable but then I'm not staying dry.

Riding in wind is pretty hard, it requires really fast and correct reactions.

[dpong]

In the beginning, I was struggling with my own sense of balance, and any wind tended to confuse my sense of balance.  It is like I couldn't tell the difference between the wind and my own balance.  I no longer have this problem as my sense of balance developed.  I don't, however, ride the the rain, ever. 

[Jonathan Tolhurst]

Riding in strong and/or gusty wind can be challenging but also great fun! I'll often take a circular ride around my local park when it's windy and practice riding downwind, into a headwind and dealing with different cross winds - all of which require different techniques. One of my offices is literally right under the Shard (London's tallest building) and you get very strong gusts along the street - that can be really challenging sometimes.

From a trick perspective, spinning on the wheel in the wind can be awesome as if you position your body right you can spin really really fast in a strong wind (like a mobile) - i'll do a video of one at some point. 

 

[Joker10]

I twist my body while going into a strong head wind and trying to conserve battery. I twist so that my upper body is more bladed into the wind.  Not sure if it works but it makes sense that it would, so I do it.  

[fryman]

Yesterday I went on my first 10 mile ride at a local park and it was windy in areas. I had to go up a path against the wind and it was like pushing against a wall. I came upon a open area and a gust hit me from the side and I lost control and tumbled in the grass.  That was awesome!