Have you seen occasionally people riding on an electronic unicycle on the road? I saw some on the road and came across some mention in blog and forum and end up locating Singapore local Unicycle Community that is called, The Wheelie. They have a facebook
page and a
blog which you can follow them on. They are many others .e.g Solowheel, Airwheel, etc. Some will cost you a bomb.
I decide to get from them as they are like a start up community with common interest individuals. There are many sources your can get this, but most are out to do commercial sale with you or you can even order from Taobao, but no one is going to teach you Also if you hit problem with your unicycle you will want someone you can get attention from. No matter who you get it from make sure you have some kind of warranty coverage.
They are picking up popularity that they were featured in Ch5 and Ch8 programs. I happen to met up with one of the founder who 1) I won a selfie stick from their Christmas contest and 2) I bought my first electric Uni-Cycle on Valentine's Day!
So I met up with Colin who came with my unicycle and the handle that can be fitted with the Wheelie at a multistorey carpark as he is going to give an hour of training on it. Yes they do delivery to you and teach you at places near you.
Here it is the box is look big.
The power adapter in here and safety strap which is not shown here.
The Wheelie is right underneath with the learning wheels.
They even have their decal sticker on it. But it looks good better than a plain white wheelie.
To learn this unicycle, you would need the safety strap for safety not for learning. As you will wear out your calf when trying to first learn it, they actually throw in a free calf support so as to reduce the bruises you might get learning. How thoughtful!
As I bought the model known as R8, you looks pretty but the material of the plastic is of a more towards what you see on phones vs the lower end model where its like industrial plastic. In such, it is best to cover some of the parts where you lightly crash you wheelie. Every set you purchase some with a pack of rubber stickers for you to wrap your unicycle.
Colin just gave me some left overs as well.
I am not a artistic person so here is my attempt to doll it up with protection.
It's not looking good perfectly but its better than crashing up my unicycle right. This R8 is not light so I purchase the handle bar as well. Just in case I need to carry around much easier.
Since my unicycle is new, and was without any protection, Colin was nice to lend me his to teach me throughout the one hour. Do note it is very tiring and exhausting if you are someone who seldom exercise, you might just end up stopping after 30 minutes that what Colin share with me.
During the session, I was able to mount on and ride a short distance. However everyone learning period is different I am not going to give you hope that during the first time you will be able to do it. Perhaps my experience with roller blading and ice skating do help here.
Yes I dent a few spots on the wheelie. Sad but well its comes with the first few try but its not obvious as I have all the bumper cushioning it.
The Wheelies do hold weekly meet up if you are keen to try it out by referring to their
Facebook page.
Update 8th Mar 2015
Today is the first time I joined The Wheelies for a group session. Thanks for my fiancee who allows me some times off to join this. It was a fun group of people. This was my 3rd time testing out my Wheelie, 1) when I bought it, 2) I brought it to test run myself for an hour trying to learn, 3) this group outing. I also get to see the amazing kid who was able to do all stunts.
There were a few people who came up to us to enquire of the unicycle. They get to try a bit. Hope to see more people around.
Waiting for the everyone to catch up for a phototaking.
Look at the different Wheelies from all the users. Majority are
purchased from The Wheelies while there are some who bought themselves from some other sources. the community does not stop you where you get it from to join the fun!
One photo taking pit stop.
Another stop.
As I am new, some of them accompanied me but slowly but surely you will pick up your speed to learn. Of course safety is very important and I experience it the hard way. I fell due to speeding and losing control of the wheel when it try to slow me down. So be WARNED! Do not speed with it unless you are full protected and even if you are, its advisable not too unless you are eager to pay "road tax". Here is what I pay for:
I am considered a fast learner able to wheel using just 3 tries. That does not mean everyone can do that. You will need to practice. It might be my roller blading background that helps me.
Wheel safe.
A short video while on my wheelie. Do not try this till you are confident of it. I am just been too eager to do it :)
