Jeff, the accidental Wheelian

In our third feature of our members, we have the chance to speak to Jeffrey, who is also one of the co-owner of The Wheelies and the go to man with regards to issues on EU.

[TWT] So can you tell your audience what's your age and occupation
[Jeffrey] I am 39 years old and I worked as an Engineer in a MNC

[TWT] How did you start on the EU and how long have you been wheeling? 
[Jeffrey] My best friend introduced EU to me in August 2013. I felt that it was a very cool gadget and couldn't stopped being amazed to see him balance on a single wheel to move around. I have been always wanting to buy one. However, before I could, my wife sprang a Xmas surprise on me by buying it as a gift. I guess I am one of the few lucky Wheelians that need not pay for a wheel.

Since then I pick up the skill on how to ride an EU with the help of Boss Heng. I have been riding for 2.5yrs mainly for leisure but also participated in Wheelies performance in Singapore Night Festival and Chingay 2016.

[TWT] How did you find out about Wheelies?

[Jeffrey] I got to know The Wheelies through my secondary friend Thomas. He is also the guy who founded The Wheelies in Singapore

[TWT] Why do you like wheeling?
[Jeffrey] I love to wheel and would take every opportunity to wheel. For example, even though the distance from my home to the multi storey carpark is approximately 150m, I will still use my wheel to go there. Talking about making good use of my investments and pleasing my wife that I am using her gift daily :)

I do enjoy too the long distance rides The Wheelies organises. Part of those trips involved zipping around in town or exploring rural parts of Singapore. Without the EU, I don't even know some of these places exist. For example, I never knew the beauty of St John's and Lazarus Island till one of our Wheelies outing there. Riding through Green Corridor was an eye opener to me too given its a ride through heritage.

[TWT] What is the most difficult trick you have done? 

[Jeffrey] I mastered how to ride comfortably on EU but me being me, my legs get itchy and is always trying to do more with the EU. I started to learn tricks on EU like reversing, riding down the steps, jumping over obstacles, balancing one single leg and many more.  The most difficult trick in my case is to mirror those moves I did on my right leg on my left leg. Till now, I cannot seem to nail down any tricks using my left leg yet but I hope to be able to succeed soon.

Slalom

Having fun with my daughters

Practising for Night Festival

My Daughter

[TWT] Challenges for Wheelers in Singapore
I see majority of people in Singapore still afraid when seeing someone riding an EU near them. They seems to be afraid that we might knocked into them. Thanks to the Wheelies and their outings, most of us has great control of the wheel and such accidents are totally unheard of.

I do also hope that more people will pick up ride an EU, so when it becomes ubiquitous, people will not treat EU riders with fear. I also look forward to the day where our government can relax the ruling on using an EU in Singapore.

[TWT] Any last words for your readers before we sign off?

[Jeffrey] I love wheeling with my wife and daughter. Do join us to wheel too so you can enjoy what I love doing with my family: quality time wheeling with family, exploring Singapore and great fun.

Thank you once again Jeffrey for sharing your thoughts with us. 

iWheel4Fun Prelude

iWheel4Fun extravaganza is going to be held on 24 April at the open-space of the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and The Wheelies is proud to be an official partner for iWheel 4 Fun event organized by Singapore Cruise Centre. The obstacle course set up for PMDs is the first of its kind in Singapore. There are basically five obstacles to clear:

• Knock no cones (Slalom Obstacles)
• Adrenaline Rush (Ramp)
• Humpty Dumpty No More (Balancing Obstacles)
• Right on the Dot (Brake Check)
• Drifting (Sharp Turn Obstacles)

As part of the promotion for the inaugural event, The Wheelies was invited to be part of the 3 days road show at HarbourFront from 18 - 20th March. Below are some pictures with regards to the road show.

An Apple a day....

In our second weekly feature of our members, we have the chance to speak to the charismatic Edmund, who is known affectionately to the members as Apple. Because of his passion for IPS EUs, he is also sometimes called the IPS Man.

[TWT] So can you tell your audience what's your age and occupation
[Edmund] My name is Edmund but you can call me Apple or Appmund haha. I’m hitting the big 40 this year and I’m doing regional sales in the Semiconductor industry.

[TWT] How did you start on the EU and how long have you been wheeling? 
[Edmund] Let’s see. I think the year was 2013 when I happened to chance upon a EU one night around my neighbourhood. A little girl was riding it and being the tech gadget freak that I am, I was so intrigued by it that I just had to find out more. I told myself I have to have it! So I went home and starting searching for it online and came across a few brands. There were not many companies manufacturing EUs at that time and when I came across one that is within my budget, I ordered it straightaway! 

When the EU arrived, I was very excited but at the same time worried. I did not know how to ride it at all! But I told myself that since I already made the investment, do or die I must learn how to ride it. I started searching for instructional videos on Youtube and learned the steps from there. It was not easy at all but through perseverance and a lot of perspirations, the end result was so rewarding. Riding an EU is an earned experience. It’s not something that you can just ride it the moment you got it. It’s definitely way cooler riding an EU as compared to other mode of PEVs too!

Time really flies and I’ve been wheeling for almost 3 years and still loving every minute of it!

[TWT] How did you find out about Wheelies?
[Edmund] It was on a Sunday morning and I happened to go to Popeye’s at Punggol Promenade for breakfast with my family. And it was there that I met Thomas Hoon and his group of friends (Colin, Kheng Fatt, Cubie). We had a chat and that’s where I found out from Thomas that they have a Facebook group and he invited me to join them in their weekly activities.

I visited their Facebook group page “The Wheelies” and saw that they have quite a number of wheeling activities going on. It took me awhile before I joined them as I wanted to be more proficient in my wheeling and not to embarrass myself…haha.

Initially the group wasn’t big and there were only a handful of us but we have grown in numbers. We have been invited to appear on Channel 5 The Five Show, interviewed by Razor TV, Channel 8, NUS…etc. We have done events with People’s Association and most recently participated in Chingay 2016. All these events participation is our way of promoting this sport to the masses as EU is still a relatively new thing in town.

[TWT] Why do you like wheeling?
[Edmund] When I’m wheeling, it gives me a sense of freedom. It helps me to de-stress and I feel very relaxed. It gives you a good workout too if you wheel for long distances. It keeps you alert, exercise your core muscles and burn calories. EU is small and compact. It gets you to places where it’s too far to walk and too near to drive. You don’t need to find a parking lot, pay ERP charges or COE. It helps to reduce my carbon footprint as it is a green and environmentally friendly. Running errands around my neighbourhood is such a joy now that at times, I find excuses to go out of the house just so I can wheel!

Through The Wheelies, I’ve found more people who share the same passion as me in using the EU. I’ve been to many places and made many new friends along the way. I always look forward to The Wheelies Sunday wheeling sessions. I’ve been to places like Pulau Ubin, St. John and Lazarus Island, Sentosa and many many more with The Wheelies.

When you’re riding an EU, you get to see more things as compared to driving. You go to places whereby cars can’t take you and it’s a long journey to walk. You get to appreciate the sceneries in more details. Ultimately, it’s just so much fun to wheel. Period!

But the best thing that happened to me about wheeling is the greater bonding that I have with my son, Ethan. Doing regional sales took a toll on our father and son relationship as I was hardly around when he was younger so he wasn’t that close to me. We hardly talk much at home as he was always on his computer games. When I started wheeling, he got interested. He started to ask me about how the EU works and how to ride it. 

Thinking that teaching him wheeling might be a good thing as it will help to cut down on his “screen” time, I decided to teach him. Kids do learn things fast! Ethan took about under 30 minutes to be able to ride the EU where it took me like one and a half days. After both of us were able to wheel, I bought another EU so that we can wheel together. And it was such a great feeling every time I wheel with Ethan. He started to chat with me more and our relationship became closer. So not only did wheeling help to cut down on his computer playing time, it did more for me by bringing us closer together. I’m very very thankful for that! 

[TWT] What is the most difficult trick you have done? Video if possible
[ Edmund] So far I’ve mastered wheeling with one leg, reverse wheeling and some tricks combined with my son, Ethan but the most difficult trick I’ve ever done thus far will have to be jumping over obstacles with the EU. I’m still trying to improve on my skills as often as I could. You never stop learning and there’s always room for improvements.

[TWT] Challenges for Wheelers in Singapore
[Edmund] The biggest challenge that wheelers have in Singapore is the restrictions of using PEVs. Authorities find that anything that is motorised is always dangerous. I tend to differ as I find that it boils down to the user and not the device being used.

Singapore is working towards a car light society. They are pushing to reduce the number of cars on our roads, reducing carbon footprint and go green. What better way then to use an EU to provide that last mile solution? I have many friends that uses the EU on a daily basis to go to and from work and we are doing every bit we can to help push towards that goal of a car light society.

Besides the authorities, the perception of the general public must change too. We must learn to share the pathways. Pedestrians and PEV users must learn to have mutual respect for each other. PEV users must ride safe and always keep a lookout for pedestrians. PEV users must learn to slow down where human traffic is high. Pedestrians must also learn to lookout for their surroundings. They must also learn not to hog the whole width of the pathway but walk keeping to one side. Showing courtesy and consideration for one another will definitely go a long way!

[TWT] Any last words for your readers before we sign off?

[Edmund] Come join us soon and have lots of fun with us! You'll Never Wheel Alone!

An Apple a day will keep the Doctor's away but I am sure wheeling will do that for you too. Thank you Edmund for your time.

Children.. hope you had fun with the Wheelies rides

KidsFiesta Funtasy Adventure is an annual event organised by MediaCorp for the children of the world. Held at the Marina Float between 12th to 13th March, the event offered lot of activities for children to participate in. The Wheelies is proud to be invited by MediaCorp to be part of this event to provide personal electric mobility rides for children who signed up for KidsFiesta. This is also possibility the first of such a Personal Mobility Kiddy rides to be held at Marina Float.

A sample of the Fun Pass

Themed as The Wheelies Fun Rides, a circuit has been set up specifically for this event. The Wheelies are there to provide the mobility devices in the form of Hoverboard, Electric Unicycle, Dual wheel Electric Unicycle and mini Segway. The Wheelies friendly instructors are also to provide the guidance with regards to the usage of the mobility devices for the children..

Below are some pictures taken during the event.

Our rides

Opening for Business

Check out the queue

Unforgiving weather

It's still raining but the show must go on

Probably the youngest rider at 3 years old

Say I handsome then i tompang u

It was an exhausting two days for #TeamWheelies given the overwhelming response for our rides. The extreme weather for two days where we saw the extreme heat and torrential rain didn't make it any easier for the volunteers too. But saying that, we were glad to be part this event of creating the joy for all the children that participated in the mobility devices rides.

#TeamWheelies enjoying their ice-cream after the event

@Photo credits: Kirby Ong

Electric Unicycle? It never gets boring

You have bought your unicycle for a while but you need see anybody else on it but you. Bored of just wheeling around alone. These are some suggestions of things you can do with your unicycle.

Join up with the Wheelies

Last Man standing

Reverse all the way to your destination

Doing a split with two wheels

or even better, four wheels

Bringing it to an off road trail

Provide a merry go around for your friend

Mod your wheel

Push your car around on your wheel

Listen to music on your electric unicycle

Sign up for an electric unicycle obstacle course

and many more. Do try out what we suggested. With so much things you can do with your electric unicycle, you will never get bored. 

The lovable Bear!!

This is the first of our weekly feature regarding our members. As part of the interview, we will ask our members a series of questions with regards to wheeling. First stop, I have the honour of speaking with Mr. Kua, who is a more popularly known as Bear.

[TWT] : Firstly will need your age and occupation?

[BEAR] My name is Kua Sin Siong and my age is a secret. You can call me Siong or Bear and I work in a foreign bank in Central Business District.

[TWT] How did you start on the EU and how long you've been wheeling? [BEAR] I am not a sporty person but i do like to workout whenever I have the time. I go to the gym very often during lunch time until my slipped disc in 2014 forced me to stop all my training. A few months after the operation, I bought a kick scooter thinking that I can use it for short distance travel. However, the kicking movement caused great discomfort to my back and I decided to give up.

I tried to look for other alternatives on the internet and managed to find out about electric scooter and electric unicycle (EUc). I didn't consider electric scooter as I noted that the electric scooter with a seat was banned a few years back and it doesn't look cool. However, when I saw a Youtube video of EUc, it was love at first sight. I did once encountered someone wheeling near my house and was envy of him. I tried to buy it off the internet but I found the wheel from USA too expensive for me to start off with at US$3000. 

When I was about to give up my hope of owning this "toy", my friend told me that there is a place selling EUc at a quarter of the price. I was delighted upon hearing this news and went to the shop with him immediately. EUc is definitely not easy to ride but I found the idea of riding it cool and being someone who like to be different, I bought it without thinking much.

When I first tried on it, it was so difficult that I can't even mount. Continuous trying resulted in "non-stop" perspirations and bruises on my leg. Contrary to my predicament, those riders in Youtube videos seems to make it so easy. I began to loose interest thinking that I will not be able to learn. However, I told myself that since I had already spent the money, I should not give up so easily. After numerous attempts and not to count the number of bruises I had, , I can finally mount on the wheel and move a few metres. You will not understand how I felt that moment. The feeling is awesome and it serves as a morale booster to encourage to try even harder.

After studying all the different Youtube videos and putting them to practical use, I can finally wheel a longer distance. I used to train at my void deck holding on to the pillars but switched to a nearby basketball court after it became apparent its too small for me to move around. The change did benefited my learning as I began to wheel longer distance and learnt how to turn left and right turn. I would normally trained about an hour a night after my kids went to bed.

[TWT] How did you find out about Wheelies?
[BEAR] My skills are improving daily and I can finally wheel confidently on the pavement. My first trip was wheeling from my house to nearby Sembawang Park and it was a huge success personally. While it is satisfying for me, I began to feel bored wheeling alone. I went online to look for people with the same interest and that is when I found The Wheelies. 

The Wheelies is a interest group which organised Sunday wheeling outings for their members. I did not join them initially because I do not want to slow them down just because I am still not proficient with the wheel. So I decided to train even more before I finally had the confidence to call Thomas Hoon and asked if I can join the. Thomas is the founders of The Wheelies and he is much friendlier than I thought. My maiden trip with The Wheelies was an outing in Sentosa.

We have many regular outings and my skills improved with their advices. The people in the Wheelies are all very friendly and I have made many new friends with common interest. I do admit that I am not an outgoing person but with this group of new friends, I really enjoyed myself in every outing.

[TWT] Why do you like wheeling?
[BEAR] I get to go to many palces e.g. Pulau Ubin, Green Corridor and trust me on this, it is a totally different kind of experience when you wheel than travel by car, buses or walking.

Wheeling is fun, you can go places that is inconvenient for car or too far for walking. A good example will be Marina Barrage. 

Now wheeling is a way of life for me. I use it to go to work as well as running errands. I can go anywhere and buy anything that my family members want to eat. I owned a car but my car is used only during family outing. I personally prefer to wheel and take public transport. I wheel to watch movie and even attending wedding dinner. I love the conveniences of a wheel and I get to many places faster without breaking a sweat.

[TWT] What is your most proud achievement of wheeling?

[BEAR]  The Wheelies has taken part in the Chingay 2016 where many of the international groups performed and this was telecasted live to many countries. They have also taken part in the Night Fest organised by the Singapore Art Museum and many other performances around Singapore. I am proud to be a core member of the performing team for the Wheelies.

Part of the joy of wheeling is able to do tricks with it. Do check some of my videos below.

[TWT] Challenges for Wheelers in Singapore

[BEAR] The challenges for people who wheel like myself is to convince the government that EUC is not a dangerous mode of transport. Even though it is new and different from those traditional modes of transportation that we know, controlling it is intuitive.

It reacts to the body movement similar how we walk. When we walk, we take a step out and lean forward and this translate to forward wheeling if we are on the wheel. When we are about to knock on something while we walk, our natural reaction is to be leaning backwards and this action will able us to stop on wheel. By understanding this logic, it is much safer than other forms personal transportation in term of reactions as well as speed. EUc is not fast in nature and we can travel as slow as a walking pedestrian.

[TWT] Any last words before we sign off?

[BEAR] Do join us if you can or if you have happen to see us along the way, do wave and  say Hello!

Thank you Bear for joining us in this interview.

Monster wheel

I just came back from a 10 days trip to China yesterday night. It was really a fantastic trip personally especially given the exhaustion of Chingay 2016. It has been a non stop wheeling and EUc factories visits for this trip. While many of the factories were a total waste of time given the crap products they churned out,  one of the visits to Dong Guan captured my attention. The factory made good products and one the product they manufactured is a 26 inch monster unicycle which they called M1. The wheel looked exactly like Ryno Motors of the United States which had it's first prototype in 2008 but the sales didn't really take off for the company.

Specs of M1

• Batteries Genuine: Panasonic Lithium-ion, 340WH 67.2V 
• Range per charge: 25-30 km (Depends on weight of driver & road condition) 
• Max speed: 40 km/h 
• Max climb capability: 18° Motor: 1200W 
• Charging time: 120-180 min 
• Charging voltage: AC 90-240V, 50-60Hz Working temperature: -15~45°C 
• Max Load: 125 kg G.W./N.W.: 60/46 kg 
• Tyre size: 26" with Headlight and horn

M1 looks like a motorcycle cut into half but the controlling the wheel is very much the same as your unicycle. It comes with a handle and a seat for the rider but there are basically no acceleration throttle on the handle or brake levers except the on / off button on the handle.

While I have more than 3 years of electric unicycling experience under my belt, M1 was a totally different beast for me. I struggled to have any momentum with the wheel for the first five minutes as it is not really easy to balance. You really need to use the hips to balance and I am sure manual unicyclist would do better here. 

From the video, you can see I struggled to keep my balance or go to the intended direction. I also had difficulties braking too, resulting in me almost hitting the guard post.

After 10 minutes of trial and error, I managed to get used to riding the wheel. While its not perfect, I am glad to be able to use the wheel with a short learning curve.

Likes

• Macho factor
• Stable Wheel
• Unique look like a half motorcycle

Dislikes

• Hard to control
• Difficult to brake
• Too huge to be used on pavements in Singapore
• Heavy at 46 kg
• Probably going to be the first unicycle that get ban in Singapore

iWheel4Fun!

Calling all kick scooter, electric scooter and electric unicycle enthusiasts. Don’t miss the exciting inaugural one-day iWheel4Fun extravaganza on Sunday 24 April at the open-space of the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. The Wheelies is proud to be an official partner for iWheel 4 Fun event organized by Singapore Cruise Centre.
If you are an electric uncyclist, you have a chance now to challenge yourself on a time trials obstacle course for e-unicycle. I was honored to be given the opportunity by the organizers to try out the course first hand. There are basically five obstacles to clear:

1. Knock no cones (Slalom Obstacles)
2. Adrenaline Rush (Ramp)
3. Humpty Dumpty No More (Balancing Obstacles)
4. Right on the Dot (Brake Check)
5. Drifting (Sharp Turn Obstacles)

While the course is relatively easy for any experienced electric unicyclist, it does emphasize of the importance of having close control of your unicycle at all times and the obstacles does provide ample test on your skills to see if you are up to the mark. e.g. Drifting simulates the daily obstacles we face when we use our electric unicycle as a last mile transportation or running our errands. Braking on a dot is an important skill as we need to be alert at all times to perform an emergency brake. The whole obstacles is even made more exciting with time trial as well as penalty for not doing the obstacle correctly.

ABOUT THE COURSE

The moment participants step into the circuit and ready to go, they will be timed individually from the assigned bibs. Participants are required to overcome five kinds of obstacles within the circuit. Umpires are assigned to each obstacle to ensure participants have performed all five obstacles successfully. Extra time is added on if any obstacle is not done successfully.

Programme highlights

• Obstacles circuit challenge for kick scooter, electric scooter and electric unicycle
• Catch the exciting performance by our electric unicycle team
• Chill out and re-energise at the Red Bull energy station
• Free try out of devices and product demonstrations
• Lifestyle booths offering special promotions
• Free shuttle bus service will be provided at scheduled timing.

Come on down to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal on the 24th April. It’s a great way for the whole family to spend the day outdoors in Singapore’s idyllic East Coast learning more about personal mobility devices, how to use them safely and enjoy the thrills and spills of those who have mastered the art of riding their devices. Official iWheel 4 Fun link at www.iwheel4fun.com and stay tuned for more details coming your way!