My first EUC! MSuper 3

[Dingfelder]

10 minutes ago, dpong said:

As your elder (barely), I recommend that at first it is better to learn to ride slow than fast.  To ride slowly is to demonstrate a great deal of control.  It is very challenging, as it is far easier to ride fast at first.  Until 'it' happens.  To ride slow is to gain control and be in charge.  I ride so slow sometimes that it seems as if I have almost stopped.  Almost.  These are very fulfilling moments.  Imagine stopping (almost) on a thingie such as this.  Control. 

Interesting to think about.  I need to learn well pretty much everything, ,I think, and make a real study of it rather than just hope to pick things up eventually.

I was thinking about practicing turns around some sort of cone-like markers for quite a while, because I can see myself having to maneuver between people and dogs and such in my town.  I will need to get fluid and controlled.  I think I'll do a lot of trail riding once I get decent, too, and because of the threat of tree roots and overhanging branches and such, I'll need to be very good at varying speed, braking, all the complicated stuff.  Plus we have hills everywhere and I'm sure that will be it's own thing too.

I was happy to read and see from videos from Ian of speedyfeet and others that the MSuper is very controllable for its size.  I love seeing the sharp maneuvers that people with little wheels can do, but mostly I want to learn how to not run over people's feet or crash into unpredictable children or wild and silly dogs, of which our neighborhood has plenty. Especially as potentially the first EUC rider in my town, I may set either a good or bad example that really sticks in people's minds.  So I'd better be extra cautious and polite, and keep a strong awareness of everything around me whenever I ride.

[Dingfelder]

1 hour ago, Marty Backe said:

I bought this from Amazon: http://a.co/6228sN4 and put 4 ounces in my MSuper. 3oz in my ACM and 14C, and 8oz in my Monster.

I also bought this for removing and reinstalling the valve stem: http://a.co/0DPFdjK   The Slime bottle cap has a built in tool, but it's plastic and I prefer to have a dedicated metal tool. This one is perfect.

And finally, I have an air compressor for filling my tires. If you have a Harbor Freight near you, they sell a great tire inflator with a very accurate gauge and valve attachment that works on all of my wheels. Can't beat the price. https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-chuck-tire-inflator-with-dial-gauge-63049.html

Only three ounces?  Wow, okay.  Is it better or worse to put more or less into the tube?

I think the bottle I was looking at came with a cheap tool for taking the valve stem off.

That thing from Harbor Freight looks like an unattached hose?  Do you fit it onto a standard air compressor pump or something?  

[meepmeepmayer]

You're certainly excited I've seen that ewheels will get new msupers beginning of June, will you get yours earlier or will it be an agonizing wait (been through that, even just for a week, I wanted the thing!!!)?

About the fast vs slow thing, fast is easier so going fast-ish in a straight line naturally comes before slow riding and turning.

[Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer"]

4 minutes ago, Dingfelder said:

Only three ounces?  Wow, okay.  Is it better or worse to put more or less into the tube?

I think the bottle I was looking at came with a cheap tool for taking the valve stem off.

That thing from Harbor Freight looks like an unattached hose?  Do you fit it onto a standard air compressor pump or something?  

Three ounces in an 18" tire is fine.The key is to make sure you shake the bottle well before insertion.Slime is the sh*t! I turned @Marty Backe on to it when we first met.You wont need the Harbor Freight attachment since you bought the bicycle pump.The Harbor Freight thing is for attachment to a compressor hose.

[Dingfelder]

1 minute ago, meepmeepmayer said:

You're certainly excited I've seen that ewheels will get new msupers beginning of June, will you get yours earlier or will it be an agonizing wait (been through that, even just for a week, I wanted the thing!!!)?

About the fast vs slow thing, fast is easier so going fast-ish in a straight line naturally comes before slow riding and turning.

Yeah I am.  I don't usually buy myself toys, and when I do, they're cheap, so this feels like something very unusual and special.  Exotic, even.  Actually I've never bought myself such an expensive toy before.  

Jason told me he was getting a big new shipment in June, so I will have to wait just like everybody else.  

Hope we don't have our typical 100 degree summer heat by then.  If so I won't be riding unless it's at the crack of dawn or right before sunset.  Right now the weather is just perfect, but that can only last so long ...

Really I anticipate riding mostly in fall and spring, when it sometimes gets very rainy, but often the weather is nice and cool.  Our winters are often mild here too.  Sometimes we don't even get any snow.  

[Dingfelder]

4 minutes ago, jrkline said:

Three ounces in an 18" tire is fine.The key is to make sure you shake the bottle well before insertion.Slime is the sh*t! I turned @Marty Backe on to it when we first met.You wont need the Harbor Freight attachment since you bought the bicycle pump.The Harbor Freight thing is for attachment to a compressor hose.

K cool thanks.  I'll just buy the very smallest bottle then.  I think I saw a four ouncer.

[Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer"]

1 minute ago, Dingfelder said:

K cool thanks.  I'll just buy the very smallest bottle then.  I think I saw a four ouncer.

One more thought.If my name contained "Ding" and I was learning to ride an EUC,foam tape would be my new best friend!

[Dingfelder]

1 minute ago, jrkline said:

One more thought.If my name contained "Ding" and I was learning to ride an EUC,foam tape would be my new best friend!

Heh, yes.  That was just asking for trouble, wasn't it?  I guess I will have to feld my way even more vigorously than usual.

[Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer"]

1 minute ago, Dingfelder said:

Heh, yes.  That was just asking for trouble, wasn't it?  I guess I will have to feld my way even more vigorously than usual.

"Feldinger"?

[meepmeepmayer]

2 hours ago, Dingfelder said:

There's not even much in the way of walls or fences to grab onto here, since our walls have furniture up against them and everything else outside is just the random shapes of nature with no fences to speak of.

Hold on to the furniture then for the first few indoor test runs and pendulums. And you can always use another person.

 

2 hours ago, Dingfelder said:

I will be learning on grass, which may be a big help or may be too bumpy ... I'll have to wait and find out.  

You can, but I don't think it's a good idea for the very start. The flatter, the better. EUCs are much more comfortable on super smooth pavement than rough pavement than non-pavement. I'd also be worried about "locking" the tire in grass if you're really unlucky, especially if you start from speed 0 in grass. Not really a realistic danger, but why stress your new wheel unnecessarily. So pavement or another smooth, possibly softer, low resistance (hard) surface (like a basketball court or such) is best.

[meepmeepmayer]

32 minutes ago, Dingfelder said:

Hope we don't have our typical 100 degree summer heat by then.  If so I won't be riding unless it's at the crack of dawn or right before sunset.  Right now the weather is just perfect, but that can only last so long ...

Really I anticipate riding mostly in fall and spring, when it sometimes gets very rainy, but often the weather is nice and cool.  Our winters are often mild here too.  Sometimes we don't even get any snow.  

You might be surprised how cold the wind from riding can make seemingly moderate temperatures feel; and how much it will cool you down when you think it's too hot to ride. Just beware of sunburn

[Marty Backe]

47 minutes ago, Dingfelder said:

Only three ounces?  Wow, okay.  Is it better or worse to put more or less into the tube?

I think the bottle I was looking at came with a cheap tool for taking the valve stem off.

That thing from Harbor Freight looks like an unattached hose?  Do you fit it onto a standard air compressor pump or something?  

I actually said 4 ounces for the MSuper. 3 ounces was for my ACM and KS14C.

I amended my original comment (so you probably didn't see it). Slime comes with a built-in stem remover in the cap, but it's plastic and a little bulky I prefer a dedicated solid metal tool, and for $6 that's what I went for.

@jrkline addressed the Harbor Freight item. Sometimes I add additional information for other people that may read these threads now or later.

[Marty Backe]

12 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Hold on to the furniture then for the first few indoor test runs and pendulums. And you can always use another person.

 

You can, but I don't think it's a good idea for the very start. The flatter, the better. EUCs are much more comfortable on super smooth pavement than rough pavement than non-pavement. I'd also be worried about "locking" the tire in grass if you're really unlucky, especially if you start from speed 0 in grass. Not really a realistic danger, but why stress your new wheel unnecessarily. So pavement or another smooth, possibly softer, low resistance (hard) surface (like a basketball court or such) is best.

Agreed. I like to think of myself as a competent rider, and I still don't particularly enjoy riding on grass. Besides the unevenness of the ground it can be slippery as hell sometimes. YMMV, but it could be much more difficult to learn. Falling will be easier on your equipment and body, but you may be doing a lot more falling then necessary 

[Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer"]

2 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Sometimes I add additional information for other people that may read these threads now or later.

The nature of a good Engineer.Are you ready for another go @ Cogswell?

[Marty Backe]

Just now, jrkline said:

The nature of a good Engineer.Are you ready for another go @ Cogswell?

  Not yet. If you want to do the safe pleasant out-and-back ride (25+ miles roundtrip) I'm game, but I need more time before attempting the loop. And my wife needs time for her memory to fade 

[Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer"]

5 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

  Not yet. If you want to do the safe pleasant out-and-back ride (25+ miles roundtrip) I'm game, but I need more time before attempting the loop. And my wife needs time for her memory to fade 

Whittier? 5/20?

[LanghamP]

I have two wheels (other members chime in on your perspective) and one is a toy and one is not a toy. The Inmotion V5 is an actual transportation device that saves you time and maybe even money in the year after buying and using it.

Cost of driving a car is about 50 cents per mile. You only need to ride a $900 wheel 2000 actual (not play) miles before you completely break even, and then every mile beyond that is money not spent.

In my case I ride in good weather about 10 (actually around 12-15 but let's make the math easier) miles per day; these are miles I must do in order to keep my standard of living. That's only 200 days of riding, probably not even a year and half of ownership.

Now you could buy a cheaper bicycle which is why so many poor people own one, and that's probably the best bang for your buck. Indeed that's why so many divorced fathers do the RV + bicycle route; that's just about the cheapest form of living outside of actually being homeless.

The Msuper is difficult and strenuous to move around when not riding it which is why I treat it like a toy. It's painfully cumbersome to trolley it.

I calculated this before buying my V5 and since I want some utility I never considered the MSuper until one accidentally showed up on my doorstep. I don't regret having one as it is a perspective different from my work a day wheel.

And coming full circle, maybe that's why buying a wheel should be and should not be practical. It is my intent to eventually have a 14, 16, and 18 inch wheel, along with maybe a minipro or an Iota.

I suspect most other forum members are the same with their stable of wheels. How many of us have more than one wheel?

[Marty Backe]

55 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

<snip>

The Msuper is difficult and strenuous to move around when not riding it which is why I treat it like a toy. It's painfully cumbersome to trolley it.

<snip>

I certainly can't deny your experience. But when I use my MSuper it's not strenuous to move around and the trolley is a joy to used. At least once a week I travel to the grocery store with it and use the trolley while in the store. Fantastic.

I just wanted to offer another perspective for other readers.

[Dingfelder]

A whole lot of you, it sounds like.  It sounds like it can rapidly become an expensive hobby.  

If it pays for itself, then maybe it's not so expensive, however, and not even fair to call it a hobby, anymore than driving your car is a hobby.  For me, though, I don't anticipate it being more than a toy.   I live on the outskirts of my small city, and on the way in there are steep ditches by the sides of narrow roads with no sidewalks, full of blind curves, obscuring dips and rises, and too many meth heads driving around.  Not many bicycle paths. There are some roads i will try eventually, but the thought that if I fall or get hit, I go right into a steep ditch is one that makes me very hesitant about using most of the roads into town.  Once in town, they're better ... but then, how to get to town?  Yup, driving ... and if I'm driving already ... why bring the EUC?  

So I anticipate riding in parks and on trails for the most part, and in quiet suburbs just for fun.

I hope I find using the MSuper trolley more comfortable than you do, though there is no particular reason to suppose I would.  Your ability to get along with the V5 suggests you weigh a lot less than I do, so we probably have pretty different body types.  I'm not sure that will matter, but I guess I will find out. 

 

[Marty Backe]

1 hour ago, jrkline said:

Whittier? 5/20?

Unfortunately I'm busy this Saturday, but I could do the 21st. Or the next week. Haven't been to Whittier since last year - it'll be nice to hit those hills again. I know you have found memories 

[Carlos E Rodriguez]

Maybe you should do like gotway does. Fill the tire with hot glue and silicon bathtub caulk. They use it in every component. LOL

[Marty Backe]

Just now, Carlos E Rodriguez said:

Maybe you should do like gotway does. Fill the tire with hot glue and silicon bathtub caulk. They use it in every component. LOL

You're really ripping Gotway today 

[Scully]

9 hours ago, kasenutty said:

Would you even want to tether that flimsy looking handle? Maybe some Msuper owners can chime in, but most of those handles are zip tied and duct taped from what I've seen. A fragile case for sure. 

Sorry but I completely disagree. So much so, I've given out my 1st ever 'neg' 
 

[Scully]

2 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

I certainly can't deny your experience. But when I use my MSuper it's not strenuous to move around and the trolley is a joy to used. At least once a week I travel to the grocery store with it and use the trolley while in the store. Fantastic.

I just wanted to offer another perspective for other readers.

I can ride one MSuper whilst trolleying the other - My wife on the other hand, can't use the trolley. 
I think she needs more practice. 

[LanghamP]

Throwing the V5 into the car for destination use is life-changing convenient, so much so that I occasionally misplace my car after parking it. Now I weigh 215 pounds so probably 230 all up and except for range these wheels don't have any obviously protests.

You can't really buy any bad wheels these days, and unlike motorcycles where, according to insurance companies, bigger = more crashes. I think unless there's a component failure a bigger more powerful wheel is probably a safer wheel because bigger wheels don't notice the bumps that take out the smaller wheels. Most of my crashes are from such situations.