Winter Is Coming

[buffs]

It won't be as bad as it looks on GOT, but it will still reduce the fun-factor in riding. Until today, it's been very nice in Colorado most afternoons, but now that low temps and snow are here I don't think I'll be riding much for a while. I've been out in temperatures in the mid 40's F and even when wearing a jacket, hat and gloves it's just not as much fun for me. Once the threat of snow and ice is present, it seems even less fun and potentially dangerous. I'm definitely a fair-weather rider.

Since I probably won't be riding much (at all?) until spring, I was thinking about what to do with the wheel until then. What do those of you that don't ride in winter do with your EUC to "winterize" it? Mine is kept in the garage for now, but should I bring it inside? Should the wheel be stored with a full battery charge or low charge or does it matter? Do I leave the tire fully pressurized or should I remove some air? Should i take it out for a quick spin every few weeks just to keep everything loosened up? I'd appreciate some tips from the pro's on the best way to take care of my wheel until it's time to ride again.

[GarrettWP]

Lucky you were able to ride. I got into the EUC game late (a few weeks ago) here in Pennsylvania and picked up a Ninebot One S1 for cheap. I'm itching to learn ride and with temperatures in the 20's does not help. I plan on keeping mine charged and trying to figure out what I can do to learn in doors until warmer weather comes. I was thinking of learning getting on and off.

- Garrett

[Keith]

11 minutes ago, buffs said:

Since I probably won't be riding much (at all?) until spring, I was thinking about what to do with the wheel until then. What do those of you that don't ride in winter do with your EUC to "winterize" it? Mine is kept in the garage for now, but should I bring it inside? Should the wheel be stored with a full battery charge or low charge or does it matter? Do I leave the tire fully pressurized or should I remove some air? Should i take it out for a quick spin every few weeks just to keep everything loosened up? I'd appreciate some tips from the pro's on the best way to take care of my wheel until it's time to ride again.

As ever the best source of advice is battery university: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_store_batteries 

Bottom line is for storage (not use) cold is good so garage is better than the house. Fully charged is bad, even in cooler conditions. Best storage level is a 40% charge but you don’t need to be anal about it, somewhere around half charged will be fine. 

Check every month or so (if you remember to!) that battery voltage hasn’t dropped significantly. It should not do so if stored in cool conditions but put enough charge into it to bring it back to around 50% if it has got low. Obviously, you do not want it to be in damp conditions as that may damage the electronics but if it is sub zero where you are the air should be fairly dry.

Tyre pressure, should not matter and bearings should be sealed but it certainly will do no harm to briefly ride it occasionally.

[Smoother]

5 minutes ago, GarrettWP said:

Lucky you were able to ride. I got into the EUC game late (a few weeks ago) here in Pennsylvania and picked up a Ninebot One S1 for cheap. I'm itching to learn ride and with temperatures in the 20's does not help. I plan on keeping mine charged and trying to figure out what I can do to learn in doors until warmer weather comes. I was thinking of learning getting on and off.

- Garrett

Find a multi-story car park, or underground car park. Go when usage is historically low. If there's more than one to choose from, mix it up.  You don' want to make a pest of yourself to security.  Better yet, get to know the security people and they will probably be cool.

Let us know how you're doing, yes, we really want to know.

Find some training/learning threads and get some tips. Three tips: wrist guards, leash, knee and elbow pads, helmet ( ok that was 5)

[LanghamP]

I have been riding in 20 degree weather with little discomfort, you do need to dress sensibly. 

A full face motorcycle helmet does wonders in keeping you warm. 

An infinity scarf. It does not have to be heavy. 

Thinsulate ski gloves. 

A down feathered knee length parka. Can be modern Thinsulate. 

Winter boots and thermal underwear. 

A pocket warmer. I just turn mine on high and leave it in my chest pocket. 

One layer of a thicker Merino wool sweater or one of those thick winter hoodies but not both. 

I mean, most of this stuff you'd need to wear anyway. I do think the helmet is probably the keystone because without the enclosed visor and helmet the cold wind just sucks the heat out of you. 

[steve454]

1 hour ago, GarrettWP said:

Lucky you were able to ride. I got into the EUC game late (a few weeks ago) here in Pennsylvania and picked up a Ninebot One S1 for cheap. I'm itching to learn ride and with temperatures in the 20's does not help. I plan on keeping mine charged and trying to figure out what I can do to learn in doors until warmer weather comes. I was thinking of learning getting on and off.

- Garrett

Did you get the S1 from Amazon for $299?  I just ordered one yesterday.  Year end sale and apparently there have been a few that arrived with bad batteries.  Ninebot recommends charging at least every three months.

If you have a hallway, you can learn there.

 

[LanghamP]

33 minutes ago, steve454 said:

Did you get the S1 from Amazon for $299?  I just ordered one yesterday.  Year end sale and apparently there have been a few that arrived with bad batteries.  Ninebot recommends charging at least every three months.

If you have a hallway, you can learn there.

 

A lot of S1's reviewed on Amazon have this problem. 

 

[CaptainKBLS]

I've never worn a long john before until I became an EUC rider.  

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006SRTGC2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Boxer + long john + sweat pant = nice and warm!

I thought it would be uncomfortable with two layers of pants but that thermal pant is very snug and cozy....happy to still be able to ride.

[Rehab1]

You would be surprised just how fast you can improve your riding skills by practicing in small indoor areas. If you have a garage, basement, hallway, workshop that is relatively clear of obstacles you can practice slow riding maneuvers that will rapidly enhance your sense of balance. This form of training is actually quite fun. I ride around my shop on cold rainy days all of the time just to maintain my skill level. Nothing better than running into an anvil. 

 

[Marty Backe]

3 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

You would be surprised just how fast you can improve your riding skills by practicing in small indoor areas. If you have a garage, basement, hallway, workshop that is relatively clear of obstacles you can practice slow riding maneuvers that will rapidly enhance your sense of balance. This form of training is actually quite fun. I ride around my shop on cold rainy days all of the time just to maintain my skill level. Nothing better than running into an anvil. 

 

I remember this video from last year, when it was way beyond my skill level to imagine doing this 

[The Fat Unicyclist]

For the benefit of you all, I am now offering an "off-season" riding service. 

All you need to pay for is the shipping cost of your wheel(s), both ways. And we will spend the southern summer / northern winter riding around New Zealand on your behalf and cycling your batteries.

The standard package includes weekly reports detailing how much fun your wheel has had. And for a nominal extra fee, we will include photos of your very own wheel at a variety of exotic New Zealand locations...

 IPS191 Lhotz, in front of New Zealand Native flax, overlooking Wellington Harbour.

[Rehab1]

5 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

I remember this video from last year, when it was way beyond my skill level to imagine doing this 

And I remember you going out and installing an ominous pointed anvil in your shop to improve your riding skills. Now look at you Top Gun Marty!  (You can thank me later) 

[Shailingford]

Yeah, winter is already come in. And we are enjoying a lot. Though there are cold weather around the environment. The most important thing is a date juice. Which is available in the morning the winter gift. 

[LanghamP]

Also, do not be foolish and do what I did, whereby I left my MSuper overnight in my car because I didn't want to carry it upstairs. The below freezing temperature dramatically reduced the performance of the wheel.

[Marty Backe]

3 hours ago, LanghamP said:

Also, do not be foolish and do what I did, whereby I left my MSuper overnight in my car because I didn't want to carry it upstairs. The below freezing temperature dramatically reduced the performance of the wheel.

Forever?

[LanghamP]

47 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Forever?

After a four hour thaw my wheel seemed fine. 

My suspicion is at the gyros only partially work in addition for the batteries being quite weak. Maybe.

The wheel kept rearing up like it was going to do a tilt-back, then canceled it halfway through.

Those problems disappeared and did not come back.

 

[GarrettWP]

19 hours ago, steve454 said:

Did you get the S1 from Amazon for $299?  I just ordered one yesterday.  Year end sale and apparently there have been a few that arrived with bad batteries.  Ninebot recommends charging at least every three months.

If you have a hallway, you can learn there.

 

Yes I ordered it on the 5th of December. Have not had the time to really get on it except for practicing for about 10 minutes getting on and off it. I may practice a little in the hallway. Mine did arrive with the batteries dead, but it charged with no issue. So I lucked out with mine.

- Garrett

[steve454]

On 12/22/2017 at 2:39 PM, GarrettWP said:

Yes I ordered it on the 5th of December. Have not had the time to really get on it except for practicing for about 10 minutes getting on and off it. I may practice a little in the hallway. Mine did arrive with the batteries dead, but it charged with no issue. So I lucked out with mine.

- Garrett

Thanks, good to know yours charged up fine.

Edit: Mine got here at 2:00 today Saturday, ordered on last Wednesday, so very quick shipping.  The website said to expect it Dec29 to Jan3, I was surprised to check the tracking this morning and found out it would be here today.  It wouldn't turn on so I put it on charge, it seems to be charging fine, just now hit the power button and it beeped (very loud beep compared to the E+) and it shows all light green on the wheel which according to the manual means 50-100% but the charger is still red light so will charge it up to full, don't know how low the batteries were because it wouldn't turn on.  

I checked how warm the charger was every half hour or so, with the back of my fingers, it got warm but not hot, and about the time the charger light started turning yellow, the charger also started cooling down noticeably.  So maybe it was already going into balancing mode.

Noticed that the power button requires a quick push and release to turn on or off, I was holding it down too long the first times I tried turning it on, it might have turned on the first time if I had done a quicker release, I'll never know.  After turning it on and off a few more times, the power button seems inconsistent, maybe I just need to get used to it.  But the E+ power button works flawlessly.

Really nice looking wheel.  Oh, the tire was completely flat, pumped it up to 45PSI, then saw the manual says 35PSI.  Oh well, I am going to leave it with 45 until I ride it tomorrow.

2nd edit:  I kept checking the charger every so often, at about 5:25 the light started to show some yellow with the red, at about 5:38 it was fully green so I unplugged it. I'll ride it tomorrow, and next time I charge, I'll let it stay charging after it turns green for about an extra hour to balance the cells.  So 3 hours and 18 minutes, it must have been fairly low but not too low, the manual states a 4 hour charge if the battery is really low, so that makes me feel pretty good about the batteries.  The E+ charger goes from full red to full green instantly, also the S1 charger is  about 20% smaller and only charges to 59.5 volts.

So I turned on the app and the wheel, it wanted me to activate it, all the while it was beeping every few seconds, I already had the app installed for the E+, but it asked for my real name, put that in, then it wanted me to upgrade the firmware and bluetooth version, so I did that, it went from mainboard version v1.0,6 to v.1.0.8, then I had to go through the tutorial, one foot on the wheel going back and forth for 5 meters, scrolling through the tutorial, then it said the wheel is activated, but for rider safety the speed is limited to I think 7.5 kmh until I ride 1km.  Whew!  So I'm good to go, tomorrow I'll do that 1km ride, turn off the speed limiter, and see what this wheel is all about!

The app shows differently than for the E+.  It shows both batteries separately on different screens, and both my batteries are very close in terms of charge, so that is great, no bad cells

Got on the wheel holding on to a chair, went back and forth a few times to check the balancing, making a kind of grr noise when changing direction.  Feels different than the E+ for sure, can't wait to ride it tomorrow.

[Shailingford]

10 hours ago, LanghamP said:

Also, do not be foolish and do what I did, whereby I left my MSuper overnight in my car because I didn't want to carry it upstairs. The below freezing temperature dramatically reduced the performance of the wheel.

Yeah this can be happen because of cold weather around. 

 

[mezzanine]

Picked up a pair of Dragon X2 goggles to add to my winter riding gear.  I've only been using the low-light lens, but appreciate how their oversized design blocks the wind over the upper half of my face.  I could get a balaclava, but it isn't something I'm finding is necessary yet, at least down to maybe -15 celcius.  I believe I could fully zip the parka I wear and achieve something similar. 

 

As long as your upper body is warm with the right jacket, you can get away with less investment in gloves/pants.  I wear dollar store gloves over my wrist guards, which incidentally I'm starting to hate for their lack of genuine Velcro, and although I have expensive ski pants, I'm finding they're not as critical as I'd imagined they be.   

[mezzanine]

One thing I didn't fully anticipate is how quickly I would start sweating profusely when doing errand-running in winter.  I was just out in significant snowfall and while I was comfortable on my journey to the grocery store, I have about two minutes once indoors (even with my jacket undone) before I start overheating. 

[Smoother]

I bought some goggles too, recently. Snowboard or ski type. Very useful in a cold headwind. Really stops those tearing eyes.

i was running around Brighton seafront today in a 15 mph wind, laced with drizzle. No problem.  

Insulated trousers are nice. 

Double socks. Thin nylon ones next to your skin, to wick away moisture, thick wool ones on top. 

And my go to coat right now is a thick, long, heavy,  vintage, wool overcoat. Keeps the wind off my thighs. That plus a long white scarf makes me the most dapper EUCer on the beach. Ok. I was the only EUCer on the beach. But it still counts.