How to learn riding an electric unicycle

This is the best way to learn

Where to start when you want to ride an EUC

It is never easy to decide to buy an EUC as you don't know if you will be able to actually ride it. Despite the many videos and tutorials you can find, there is always something in the back of your head that tells you "will I be able to do it?". We have decided to break it down in a few easy step.

Protect the wheel

Your EUC will fall, and iyou have to be prepared for it. This is part of the learning process. In order to limit the damage (scratches and small breakage), it is a great (and simple idea) to protect your wheel with foam. You can buy some cheap protective foam from any hardware store. The ideal type is the one string enough to resist a fall on the side. The best way to find where to protect the wheel is to put thee EUC on the side and see what parts are touching the ground. That's where you want most of the protection. A rule of thumb is to really protect the sides and screen. Overtime, you will probably remove the protections. Don't be shy, add enough and don't worry about how it looks. It is better to have a protected wheel than a broken one!

Learn about your wheel

Make sure you fully charge your wheel, you will need as much battery as possible

Inflate the tyre according to your manufacturer's recommendations. In case you don't have them with you, have a look on the tyre itself, the maximum pressure will be shown.
It is recommended to avoid having your tyre inflated to the max when starting, as it makes the wheel very responsive and harder to control.
A good guide is that if the maximum pressure if 45 psi, only inflate to 35 psi to 40 psi at the beginning.
You can inflate the tyre more once you know how to ride, this will make the ride more comfortable and limit punctures.

Connect your wheel to the manufacturer's app. This will give you an idea if everything is ok with the wheel (e.g. temperature, charge..)
You can get access to other apps, but to limit the confusion and connection issues, start with their app. Turn on Bluetooth on your phone, start the wheel by long pressing the button, and then select the wheel model in the manufacturer app. Refer to the manual for more details.

Once the wheel is on it should stay upright. If it doesn’t, that means it is not on! then press the power button again.

Now that the wheel is on you power it off...yes, you won't need it for now

Practice the position

The most important is to bend the knees and 'hug' the wheel. Imagine that you are skiing, this is a very similar position. Practice an up and down movement to bend the knees (this is what helps you control the wheel, especially when there are bumps.) Make sure to get your knees to go inward, this is the position on the wheel.

The brick trick!

The biggest mistake people make when learning to ride an EUC is to jump on the wheel straight away! You can, but this will not help you learn quicker, quite the opposite in fact.

Get a brick, a piece of timber or if you don't have one...use a street curb to exercise.

What you want to do is learn where to put your weight on the pedals and asn easy trick is to use a brick for it

Select what is your strong leg. Ask yourself which one of your leg you feel more comfortable on (there is always one)

Make sure the brick or piece of timber does not more and can trip you. Using your strong leg, place the centre of your foot on the side of the brick. Try to hop on the brick but putting your weight in the middle of your foot. Repeat as many times as possible (at least 30 times) so that when you hope on...all your weight is going through the middle of your foot. The reason why you want to do this is that if your weight is at the front or the back...the wheel will move! (not great when you want to get on) Once you are comfortable with the 'feeling' then you are ready to the next step. Now, try to stay on the brick for a few seconds to balance yourself on it. The idea is to be comfortable balancing on one leg (this skill is crucial for the next step)

Gear up and protect yourself

No matter how slow or fast you are going, always wear protective gear! When learning to ride, the bare minimum is a helmet and gloves, you will probably fall so be ready. To learn, you are probably ok with a bike helmet as you will stay at low speed, this is crucial to protect your head. Any gloves that can sustain friction and scratches will be ok at the beginning. (also, gloves are good when picking up the wheel when it falls and you don't know where to catch the wheel.) Another good (and recommended) accessory is shinpads. The helmet and gloves are easy to understand, but shinpads not so much. The reason why you want to wear them is that at low speed, the wheel can turn quickly in your shins, and that is quite painful. It will also save you if you fall on your knees. The rule of thumb in EUC: it doesn't hurt to wear them, it will if you don't! You can also wear elbow pads as well, less likely you fall on them at the very beginning but again, it doesn't hurt to wear them. Wear a pair of jeans or cargo pants that can sustain frictions, they will get dirty at one stage. Shoes: the smaller the wheel the higher the shoes you want to protect your ankles. Indeed, as a smaller wheel doesn't allow you to control it much with your knees, you will control it more with your ankles. This is where the friction will happen and a good cushiony type of protection near you ankle will help a lot. Basketball shoes or workwear shoes are quite good. Avoid runners, and they won't resist too much (this is obviously very subjective, some riders love their runners as they feel it gives them more movement) Last advice, you will probably sweat a lot and get tired, so make sure to get a small towel to wipe down the seat from your forehead. (and of course a good water bottle!)

Feel for the wheel, use a wall for help

Put your protective gear on, this will save you from trouble!

The next step is to get a feel for how the wheel moves (fast or not) and what your reactions should be!

Power on the wheel and place the foot from your strong leg on pedal, but don't put any weight on it yet. What you want to go is get a feel from the movement of the wheel.

Try to do some semi-circles back and forth with the wheel, as if you were trying to draw a moon crescent. Put your weight slightly at the front of the foot to go forward and slightly at the back to go backwards. You don't need to do big movement, what you want is to feel the speed and responsiveness of the wheel.

Once you can move the wheel back and forth, you can now try to get on using the wall. To do so, place yourself with your strong leg on the opposite side of the wall. Place your foot on the pedal, (the one with your strong leg) and use the wall to stabilise yourself. Place your weight in the middle of the pedal and get on the second pedal slowly. If all successful, you will be stable on both pedals holding the wall. Take your time to feel the wheel. Slowly move back and forth using small movements. The aim is to feel how much weight you should put forward or backwards to move the wheel. Do not try to go forward! You need to learn to get on and off the wheel first

Hop on the EUC with one leg...don't try with both!

Be in an open area, with lots of space so you have enough space to evolve. Place your strong foot on the pedal, then slowly try to move forward while hoping on one foot. Do not try to use both feet at this stage! The aim is to be able to hop on for a few meters and get confident with the movement of the wheel. You will notice that as time goes by, you will hope for longer distance. Don't forget to rest, this is a very tiring exercise when learning to ride the wheel. One you feel confident that you can hop for a few meters, you are ready to use both feet!

Time to hop on both feet

Make sure you hope on the wheel but putting your weight in the middle of the pedal. Slowly try to hope on both pedal and move forward slowly...you will fail the first times, this is normal. The aim is to find a point where you can balance yourself on both feet. Your ankles and your calves will be very sore, so please rest from time to time. This will also train you to get off the wheel safely. This will take some time and don't worry if the wheel falls, that’s not going to be the first time. You can use a wall to help you if you really want to feel safer, but it is better if struggle at the beginning, this is how you learn. Once you feel comfortable being on the wheel, you can now try to go left or right.

Time to go left or right

In order to go left or right you need to use your head! The wheel will go where you look, this is simple as that. If you want to go right, look on the right and lean your shoulder towards the right. If you want to go left, look on the left and lean your shoulder towards the left. You will notice that lift slightly on of your feet might help to turn (some people think it works for them, other don't. You will need to find your style.) Depending on the wheel (the size) you might need to use your knees as well.

Time to go a bit further

You can ride the wheel, now time to venture further. Choose an open space like a sports field to practice. A great way to progress is to force yourself to do short turn, long turns, quick stops, and lots of start and stops. You can also practice going in circle slowly. One you feel confident you can do some kind of path; you are ready to go in the wild.

Learn to ride up or down a curb

This is not as hard as you think, but you will need to believe in yourself!

The trick is do practice and up and down movement. You push down the EUC to then go up, like you would jump.

Learn to ride backwards

This is not as easy as learning to ride forward, but you can do it! The trick is to be confident enough to go backwards and hold the wheel. It is easier to actually slightly go on the left or ride at the beginning. Make sure you go slowly, and it will come. The hardest part is also to stop without falling, it can be quite disconcerting and un-natural to stop while going backwards. find the side you are more comfortable to look backwards and do it again and again!

Summary of what you will need

Learn to ride downstairs

This is next level and can be quite intimidating. Riding stairs is NOT for the beginners, and we do not recommend you try

Disclaimer

Please note that all advice and tips given must be done safely and at your own risk. These are just to help you learn faster, but you should never underestimate the risks of riding a wheel.