Jump to content

Bought a Ninebot One? Things to do before riding.


Bwuce Wee

Recommended Posts

I did start to use aids in staying on the bot for day one but I eventually felt like they weren't allowing me to actually learn what my body needs to do.  I have a Ninebot Minipro so I was familiar with a device managing my front to back balance.  Somehow I thought that experience would help me in getting comfortable on the E+.  So far it hasn't.  I mildly sprained my ankle during one fall so I am giving it a day or so to rest before getting back on.  I think my strategy this time will be to do a number of short ons and offs so I get better at both.  On Sunday I was trying to go as long as I could with no exit plan and it wound up doing a lot of damage to both me and the bot unfortunately.   I hope to get some grass time in soon although the uneven surface gives me additional challenges.  Thanks for the advice!!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 213
  • Created
  • Last Reply

It looks like you're making great progress, but in the beginning it looked like you were looking down a fair bit.  It's difficult to place your trust in a single wheeled vehicle, but just concentrating on leaning forwards slightly to get moving and looking ahead helps a lot.  Gosh I remember those wobbly days so well with my generic wheel.  Remember to practice twisting your legs in the direction of your fall when going at slow speeds.  Imagine on a bicycle how if you go slowly, you have to turn the front wheel a bit to prevent tipping over.  With the EUC you use your legs to give it a little twist.

If you have four chairs, set two up back to back and the other pair the same away about 10 feet away.  Practice getting your balance while holding onto the chairs.  Do slight forwards and backwards motions like they do in luge starts.  Then roll forwards towards the other pair.  Turn around and repeat several times.  Slowly increase the distance and then remove one chair from each side.  Another option is to grab a grocery cart and ride the bot behind it.  Once you find your balance, let go at intervals.   This video helped me a lot:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Duf said:

If anyone wants to watch my video to offer pointers it would be most welcome.

Saw your video, and the most important thing I saw is that you've got to "commit" to it. I can understand why you want to go slow when you're learning, but it makes it harder to maintain your side-to-side balance if you go slow. When you get on, lean forward and let the Ninebot One "come up underneath you" to maintain your forward balance. 

Your whole body and brain are screaming, "Are you nuts? Don't do that!" But in reality, you need to do something unnatural: be slightly off-balance, "falling forward." You must "trust the machine." Until you can put your faith in the ability of the EUC to do most of the work balancing you forward/back, the side-to-side will continue to be an enormous challenge.

To sum up: Put about $850 worth of trust in that fancy computer/electric motor gizmo thing. You can do it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having watched both videos, I think you are doing it right learning as you are. 

It is, unfortunately, hard at first. Legs will bruise and feet will hurt, and all of a sudden, it clicks. Then, practicing starts and stops will be important. 

Yes, grass is hard with the unevenness of some lawns. But it's easier on the wheel and your bones and skin. 

Good luck, it looks like it won't be too many more hours and you'll be able to go around a block. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What helped me tremendously as well is to tape some padding around the EUC.  Not to protect it but to protect you!  I had some pieces of foam carpet underlay, and I cut some pieces and basically wrapped packing tape around to secure it.  Looks really stupid, but it feels so good on the legs especially when you are learning.  The side pads on the Ninebot aren't really pads so extra cushions will make a huge difference.  With the carpet underlay I used, it's also grippy so I could hold the EUC better in between the legs.  It also avoids those awful plastic/metal scraping sounds when you crash.  Get some of that SuperSportTM carbon fibre automotive strips to protect the undersides of the pedals as well.

Maybe secure that battery with velcro tape.  You can get a roll of industrial strength sticky Velcro to keep the battery from ejecting.  I'm surprised it actually came out, but it mght be good while it's out to secure it and pad it.

NB:  Remember to reset the bot after a crash by turning it off and back on - it looks like it's beeping a warning and not self-balancing at 2:50 in the second Part 1 video.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When you apply the tape to the pedals, you only need to apply to the outer edge.  The inner pieces I put on have never been touched.  I think it will look better with only the outer strip.

IMG_2033.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, SuperSport said:

When you apply the tape to the pedals, you only need to apply to the outer edge.  The inner pieces I put on have never been touched.  I think it will look better with only the outer strip.

IMG_2033.JPG

Ah ok thanks for the tip, I was going to apply it over the entire pedal but it makes sense to just do the edges.

Training Day 3

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nicely done!  I do notice that your foot position is slightly far back.  Usually I have my ankles/calves closer to the back half of the side boxes.  With your position you can see your leg is way behind the grey side pads.  Try starting with your feet more forwards on the pedals with some slight toe overhang and maybe your heel just slightly overhanging the back of the pedal.  What tire pressure are you running at?  Maybe try letting some air out of the tire so it's just a little softer as that will make it easier to balance as well when starting out.  If you do wrap the outside with foam, you'll find it easier to grip onto the body of the wheel with your lower legs so it probably won't feel as wobbly.

This video isn't in English, but check their leg positioning.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Duf I agree with the others that your feet are way too far back.  I was wondering why you would start turning uncontrollably, and it's because the center of gravity is off.  By the way, you have no problem jumping up on the wheel and taking off,  maybe hang on to something while positioning your feet and and try different amounts of front overhang to find the most controllable foot position, then do the step ups some more to get the ground foot to the same position as the dominant foot.  I noticed that you are left footed, me too, I tried the right foot up left foot down but too hard for me to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah ok I will look at adjusting my foot position.  I have big size 13 feet so I guess I didn't want to have too much hanging off the front.  This would also explain why the front of my shins are so beat up.  Here is the latest, best rides so far.  I am technically right footed but for whatever reason starting off this way feels more natural.  I have some crossed wires in my brain.  I write right handed but throw left handed.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Duf said:

Ah ok I will look at adjusting my foot position.  I have big size 13 feet so I guess I didn't want to have too much hanging off the front.  This would also explain why the front of my shins are so beat up.  Here is the latest, best rides so far.  I am technically right footed but for whatever reason starting off this way feels more natural.  I have some crossed wires in my brain.  I write right handed but throw left handed.

hey duf,
I am also in the initial state like you,
I follow you like what you are experiencing,
I'm happy to humiliate believe that there are people who help you in your business,
and actually help to me too,
do not give up ,
Doc further,
I support you have
sorry for the translation.

greetings from belgium

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm impressed that you can start / stop without holding on to anything... you just need to get your confidence up a bit more. 
Try standing up straighter, focus on pushing your feet forward/down for acceleration. 

Nice work!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've just bought me a camping and sport mat,
as well as double-sided tape,
I'm going to pack something,
but it will not be a gift,
After packing myself as a Mumie but I still decided that the 9bott1 the victim. (I hope).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Duf said:

  I write right handed but throw left handed.  @Duf me too, I think it's because my left eye is dominant.  I shoot, throw, and kick left but write, bat and hit golf balls righthanded.  My feet are size 14 and it feels a little weird to have them hanging off so far forward, but try it.  Also in your last video, you have got it, now just need to ride more and over time you'll get smoother and smoother. A weird thing for me is, even after riding at close to top speed the day before, each time I start a ride it takes me 5 or 10 minutes to get back up to speed the next day.  Always have to get reacustomed to the speed for some reason.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

as I have been told, it is indeed recommended indeed in learning to reduce the tires a little tension, this gives you an easier sense of balance, turning here is indeed something more difficult, but that is in the second row, which call I for gevordener.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Session 5 had more success and some failure.  Turning seems very dangerous.  I did shift my feet forward on the pedals and noticed a difference.  I still have the wobbles on most rides.  After reviewing the video I think that may be because I am bow legged which translates into my lower legs not being firmly seated against the bot, leaving slop that translates into wiggle.  I  will have to see what I can do about it.

 

 

2 hours ago, steve454 said:

 

Glad I am not the only weird one. :)  I throw left handed, kick right footed, bat left handed, write right handed and play racquet sports right handed. :)  Yea I am definitely getting better, still a very long way to go.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<HIGH FIVE!>  :D  Things are progressing tremendously!  Seriously though - add some pieces of foam padding on the sides of the bot making it so you can hold the wheel better in between the lower legs.  It's makes a huge difference in helping stability and your lower legs will thank you for it.  It also helps protect the wheel as well.  I just taped two pieces on, wrapped a bunch of packing tape around it, and gosh it was night and day. Here's a photo of the beast (it's a generic I learned on):

IMG_1406.jpg

Yeah looks really dumb, but that foam underlay was like heaven to the inner sides of my lower legs.  I actually rode with it for quite some time until I removed it later on.  I still have some smaller rectangular pieces that I have taped onto the side boxes.  It allows me to grip the wheel a bit and lean against it without pain.  With your legs, a few layers or thicker foam would help prevent the wobbles you're experiencing.  You can remove them later on once you've gotten used to the balance.

One tip to dismount is to brake (lean back and dig heels in) to make the wheel come to a complete stop before lowering one foot off.  You'll find it likely easier to have the wheel come to a stop.  You then have to figure out which side you're tipping to and lower that foot off while keeping the other foot on and level.  With the foot on the bot level, it prevents the unit from wanting to move as long as you're keeping some level pressure on it.  I'm still working on my dismounts as they aren't that smooth, but it's getting there.

For turns, try this - in a wider area like a basketball court, try moving forwards and then just turn your upper body to look in the direction you want to go.  That will magically start turning you.  I would try that first then add in a slight lean to the corner.  Imagine you have a square laying flat around you.  If you want to turn to the left, lean to the upper left corner of the square as if you are a joystick.  You have to lean forwards a little to maintain your speed, but it only takes a little lean to get turning.  Combining those two methods will improve your turns I think.

PS: Remember to mention that "Elvis" gave you some tips in your next video.  B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Duf said:

Session 5 had more success and some failure.  Turning seems very dangerous.  I did shift my feet forward on the pedals and noticed a difference.  I still have the wobbles on most rides.  After reviewing the video I think that may be because I am bow legged which translates into my lower legs not being firmly seated against the bot, leaving slop that translates into wiggle.  I  will have to see what I can do about it.

 

 

You look just like I did in the beginning (and most others too I suspect). It can be a difficult thing to learn when there is no one (local) to be a mentor, and just a bunch of YouTube videos to reference. 

Stick with it - it just takes a bit more practice. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're making great progress! Just keep practicing, and in no time you'll forget going through this "awkward phase."  Well you won't forget, but you'll wonder why it seemed so hard!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haha yea the foam would probably help fill the gap.  My only hesitation is I worry that if I learn with the extra padding I will struggle if I remove it.  My bot is so beat up, the foam definitely would have saved a lot of abuse.  I'll try some and see what it feels like.  Yes I need to head back to the parking lot where I had the bad wipeout last weekend to practice turns where I have more open asphalt.  I still catch myself looking down at times, looking forward and towards your intended direction definitely is key.  Thanks all for the encouragement and tips.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Duf I've read that some people use shin guard turned in 90 degrees to fill in the gap and protect their legs at the same time.  You can even wear them under your pants.  I almost tried that at first but luckily got past the pain point soon enough that didn't do it, but I did put some padding on the sides.  Now I don't need any padding, after enough riding it won't matter that your legs don't touch the sides.  But it did take me a long time to strengthen the muscles needed to be able to twist the wheel at slow speed's into the direction I was falling.  You"re learning a lot faster than I did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...