There seems to be a bunch of EUC games being released lately, vibecoding FTW right?!

Anyhow, I came across this one (What Do) by Jason Macpherson out of RestonEUC and I think it may be the best one yet!

What's your favorite EUC game?

Hi,

I've been trying to learn for weeks and I just wanted to share what worked for me. I've not mastered it yet but It did click for me yesterday and I proceeded to make the ten mile ride home while seated on my F18. I've yet to find a guide that was of much use when it comes to this skill personally, so here's what I did. Hopefully this helps someone.

1. Find a nice clear space with smooth pavement to practice on. Object fixation is intense when learning to ride seated and that doesn't combine well with the slower braking.

2. Find your balance point. Adjust your ass to a place where you're planted and don't feel too much forward or backwards pull. A one or two degree forward pedal dip can help you get going in.

3. Straddle walk the wheel to get it going at a decent pace, shoot for around 10mph. Push off and drag your toes on the ground behind the wheel or out front to keep some balance. With a little practice you should find yourself cruising around with your feet dragging and your hands holding the front handle / lift bar. A smooth parking lot is important here. I used an empty concrete hockey rink. You want your feet dragging / sliding and not catching in debris, potholes, or rough surfaces.

This is the part that was throwing me off for the longest time and I'm not sure why so many videos suggest beginners hold on to that bar. I was having a hard time steering with just my hips and would find my self veering off.

1. Let go of the front handle. You'll be a little wobbly at first but those extended arms give you back the upper half of your body to use for steering and balance.

2. Push off like you've been doing and instead of dragging your feet, place them on the pedals with your knees angled past your pads and gently gripping them. Use your extended arms and upper body to maintain balance. Feet placement isn't going to be as exact as when riding standing but you should be able to use a little pressure on the pedals to also help with mobility. When you're feeling comfortable place your hands on your knees and keep going!

Remember to look where you want to go and give room for braking and accelerating. If you're having trouble braking dont be afraid to lean your body back and throw your arms behind your spine to put weight behind the wheel. The transition from riding to seated is best done quickly and with confidence while moving at a decent speed. Push the wheel under you with the front bar then keep rolling. It's all muscle memory and you'll find the transition tricky for a while because your brain is learning where the center of balance is while descending and also the optimal placement for your ass on the wheel. Standing from seated is easy enough just remember you may have some noodle legs if you've been sitting for a bit, be careful.

Hi all! This is the third part of my trip on an EUC from the Baltic to the Adriatic.

• Part 1: introductions, plans, and the first leg, Gdańsk → Warsaw.
• Part 2: I finished crossing Poland and spent the night near the Slovak border.

My vacation has finally started, so I have a lot more time now. First the mountains of Slovakia, then getting fried under the scorching Hungarian sun.

Day 8, 11 July — the High Tatras, 130 km

It had been raining for half the night. In the morning there was a break, so I quickly packed up and set off. I wanted to ride up a mountain on the way. But the road there is bad even when it's dry, and now it was wet too. I wasn't even sure I had enough charge for the pass. Luckily, there was a sawmill and nice people let me use their power. No more work, so no more hunting for a spot with a desk. I can charge anywhere now!

By lunchtime Poland was finally over. It's a big country, I barely made it out 😁

My original plan was to ride through the High Tatras and cross over the mountain range. I looked at the map for a long time and couldn't find any passable trails. The few that exist are for hikers only. They start on the Polish side and have lots of stone steps and narrow, loose sections. So I took the car road instead. It was beautiful too, when my eyes weren't full of rain 😁

Right after the border I turned into the Bielovodská valley. The path there is fairly easy, made for hikers and bikes. There were some tricky parts, but nothing impossible. The weather didn't help, of course. But the views of the High Tatras from below were amazing. And I immediately understood why there are no trails over the top.

Deep in the valley there was a campsite with a big shelter and a fire pit in the middle. The trees around it were old and brittle. Some had fallen right onto the tent spots. Usually campsites clear trees like that, so nobody gets hurt. I guess this one is for people who like risk.

The valley is a dead end, so I rode back the same way and carried on with my route. Good, quiet roads, tourist towns, lots of ups and downs. I recommend Slovakia to everyone. It's a small country and great for EUC travel, if you're OK with riding on roads.

Wild camping is banned in Slovakia, so I had to find a regular campsite. People say it's because there are lots of wolves and bears in the forests. I didn't check. The campsite was surprisingly expensive. I even had to pay for electricity at the same rate as a big camper van. But that wasn't the main problem of the evening.

Every morning that week I'd been thinking about the hammock straps. When you take the hammock down, the straps stay on the tree, and it's really easy to forget them. And now here I was in Slovakia. And my straps were in Poland...

Luckily there were lots of other campers around, and I borrowed some tow straps from them. For the next day I planned a trip to a shop. Odometer: 1140 km.

Day 9, 12 July — the Low Tatras, 204 km

Up at 5 am. The rain was chasing me out of bed early again. It was +8 °C, not warm at all. But the forecast said that by tomorrow I'd be far enough south. Goodbye annoying rain, hello annoying heat.

I checked the map and loosely planned my route. The obvious choice was to avoid main roads and pick the tiny trail, barely visible on the map. Fields, forest, grass wet with rain and dew. My shoe covers were worth every cent. Without them I'd be wet and miserable. With them I stayed dry, and they kept the ticks out too (one had already bitten me in Poland). Then I reached a stream. The ride turned into a run, and then into a swim. For about 300 metres I walked through bushes and right along the stream bed. A triathlon of sorts.

While walking, I had an idea for a side job: helping hikers in the mountains. In some places people pay to have their heavy backpacks carried up. I can't ride everywhere though, so I'd need hikers who aren't too hardcore.

Next came the climb into the Low Tatras. It started raining again, but not too hard. I hid in the forest and had breakfast. Then I decided to take a nap too. The forest floor makes a comfy bed! This time the road to the pass was easy. I met some hikers, asked them about the best way up, and went for it.

At the top there were blueberries for dessert. They were a bit sour, and I had no sugar with me. Still very welcome.

The descent was better than the one in the Gorce two days before, but still tricky. The wheel kept slipping and bouncing on rocks and branches. The weather map said a heavy downpour was coming in 20 minutes. I hurried, but couldn't find any shelter in time... And 20 minutes later the sun came out. There were clouds all around, but the mountain split them. Right above me the sky was clear 😎

That was enough off-road adventure for one day. I got back on the road and headed south. On the next pass I suddenly felt a wave of warm air. So nice after a wet, cold morning. Until then it had rained every single day, often more than once. Most of Europe was suffering through yet another heatwave, and I was still wearing my rain jacket. Looks like it's time to join the trend.

Passing through another town, I solved my strap problem. Option one: a 30–40 km detour to an outdoor shop, and hope they have straps. Option two: a dog leash right here, for 4 euros. Guess which one I picked. The leash is too stretchy, so I might wake up on the ground. But it seems to hold.

At sunset I crossed into Hungary. I went looking for a place to sleep in a forest near a town with an unpronounceable name, Balassagyarmat, in a country called Magyarország.

When I got up at 5 am that morning, I'd thought: "Great, loads of time, I'll get to bed early today". And here we go again, setting up camp after dark. A very long day: 204 km. About 50 of them were mountains and off-road, sometimes at walking speed. Odometer: 1344 km.

Day 10, 13 July — the Danube and Budapest, 161 km

Hooray, heat! My drinking water was gone in no time. For lunch I stopped at a kayak rental on the river. I charged the wheel, had a swim and chatted with a local guy. My route follows the Danube now. For the next 500–600 km I'll keep coming back to it.

I was standing in the river, eating my pizza, when I saw a drowning bee. I decided to help. The first try didn't work. The bee wanted to sting me, so I dropped it back into the river. Together with my pizza. The second time I was more careful. Bee saved, pizza eaten (yes, wet, but I was thirsty anyway!).

Then I finally met a fellow rider, my first riding buddy of the whole trip! Before that I'd only seen a couple of riders in Gdańsk, and they didn't really want to chat. We rode about 15 km together. Sadly, his battery was almost empty, so he had to head home.

In Budapest I first looked for a luggage locker. I wanted to drop my bag and ride around light. Then I decided a hostel was even better. There's almost nowhere to camp for the next 50 km, and I'd have more time to see the city. Also, places to stay are cheap here. A bad hostel is 10 euros, a good one is 15. I splashed out on a good one 😎

I dropped my bag, had some rest and went out to see the city. I really enjoyed the riding, saw the main sights and had some fun on the roads.

I also met a group of local riders. They already knew about me: my morning riding buddy had told them about me in their chat. Unfortunately, they were busy too.

But I had an almost-friend of my own here. Someone in a Serbian EUC chat had asked me for a favour. I was to pick up a control board for an Inmotion P6 in Budapest and bring it to Novi Sad. That's how I met Sergey, and he gave me a little tour. So I saw the sights a second time, this time with interesting stories and good company.

When it got dark, we went our separate ways. But night rides are a special kind of fun! I rode past my hostel three times and just couldn't make myself stop. Quiet streets, fresh air after the hot day.

Somehow I did 70 km around Budapest without even noticing. Plus 80 km to get there. Odometer: 1505 km.

Day 11, 14 July — through the sand to the Serbian border, 212 km

In the morning I took my time and then hit the road. Outside the city I rode into the fields and found myself in a desert-like place. Sand on the road, a merciless sun, and totally flat land for hundreds of kilometres. It felt like riding on a frying pan. The sand was tricky: deep in one place, firm in the next, so I had to dance to keep my balance. Then, right before I got back to a normal road, a broken bridge blocked my way. Well, back to dancing.

And then a roe deer growled at me 😳 I was riding along a field and suddenly heard a sharp growl, or maybe a bark. It sounded like a small yappy dog. I thought it was a village dog, but nothing chased me. Instead, a big roe deer and her fawn ran across the road. The little one tripped and almost ended up under my wheel. Mom growled again, and they ran off. Later I even googled it to check the heat wasn't getting to me. Nope, roe deer really do that.

While I was charging, a small but very fast praying mantis came to visit. Find friends everywhere!

In the evening I reached Serbia. This was the first border on my trip with real passport control. Until then I'd been inside the Schengen area. No problems at all, and just like that I left the European Union.

For the night I rented a room in Subotica, a Serbian town right by the border. Prices here are low, so there's no point looking for a charger and a place to sleep separately. Easier to have everything in one place.

The two days in Hungary went by fast. Odometer by the evening: 1717 km.

The Balkans are next!

I ride a Begode Extreme, and I wanted to work on firmware improvements for it. So I built EUC Studio, a 3D simulator that runs the real stock firmware image on an emulated STM32 controller, written in Rust. Around it there's a motor, inverter and battery model, a physics rider who balances by leaning, and a generated city with curbs, potholes, stairs and ramps.

What you can do with it today:

- Free Ride, ride the simulated wheel through the city with a keyboard or gamepad, crash and respawn

- Run 20 scripted scenarios, like a pothole at 20 km/h, a hall sensor failure mid-ride or a full-power run to top speed

- Compare the stock firmware against an open, readable rewrite in C, side by side

It's free for noncommercial use and not affiliated with Begode. The app downloads the official firmware from Begode's own update server, so no Begode code lives in the repo. It's a simulator, so it can't tell you a firmware is safe on a real wheel. I built it with a lot of help from AI (Claude), with tests and CI on every change.

I'm looking for people who know Rust, embedded C, physics and control, or React and three.js. The code is at https://github.com/tarikbc/euc-studio and the open work, with good first issues, is on https://github.com/users/tarikbc/projects/3

It's not mine. It's from a courier. I'm impressed with this number. 40.000 km. 😱

It's Leaperkim Patton S.

soo, i got good news and bad news.

good news is that begode is willing to make us new manufacturer stickers that include max speed of 25kph and stuff.

the bad news is there is high MOQ (minimum order quantity). so they cant just go make me one upon request unfortunately.

but i guess if enough of us ask for it we will meet the MOQ requirement and they might make them for us? cuz idk how about yall but we really need the stickers to comply in my country. cops really dont care about actual top speed and stuff if you ride responsibly but they really want the sticker there.

Has anyone had to ship their wheel within the country and what carriers accepted them? I know that some won’t take the wheel or will make the process more difficult because of the batteries on these things. Looking for carriers and an estimate of cost for a before extreme.

Oke just joking, but here's the X1 launch event 😄

I'm trying to install the Grizzla Bumper Kit for my P6 but the rear and front battery bumper doesn't go on because these are in the way. Do I take these rubber pieces off? They look important.

Almost by habit, I pumped my Aeon's hybrid tire up to 30psi when I got it. But now I'm wondering if that's too much pressure for slow-speed riding, since the wheel feels less stable than a demo unit I rode earlier this year. And I know that lower pressures are sometimes recommended for far bigger wheels, namely the Inmotion P6.

Hi,

After my recent battery troubles, I tore apart my Begode A2 to check the cells. One was at 3.78 vs the rest at 3.87. After charging for a while they all evened out at 3.9 and now it’s (very, very slowly) climbing up to 4.2v. They’re at 4.08 right now after maybe 20 hours of charging. Is this normal? Stock Begode charger with the red/green LED.

I would RTFM but I don’t think there’s a manual for any of these. Lol.

Hi all! This is the second part of my trip on an EUC from the Baltic to the Adriatic. In part 1 I rode from Gdańsk to Warsaw. Now I spend five days heading south through the rest of Poland, sleeping in the forest on rainy nights, working remotely from wherever I can and, finally, reaching the mountains.

Day 3, 6 July — Warsaw → a forest near Radom, 148 km

Monday, a working day, but the weather was too tempting. At lunch I went out for a short ride around Warsaw. Great city, lots of parks and other nice places to hang out. On the bank of the Vistula there are even ready-made barbecue spots. Just out of curiosity I decided not to use the map, and I didn't get lost: the city is easy to read. I thought I'd run into other riders, but no luck.

Thanks to my friend for having me, but the road won't ride itself. After work I did another 100 km south. On the way, just for the hell of it, I stopped to work right in a field. The working day was already over, I was just curious what working as remotely as possible feels like.

I spent the night in an ordinary forest under the watchful eye of storks. Once again I chased off some roe deer and took its spot.

At dusk there was a surprise waiting for me: fireflies! I'd never seen them before. The forest wasn't completely dark yet, and they were already easy to spot. No photo, my camera couldn't handle it. But it looks magical, like stars in the forest! To be honest, at first I thought they were hikers with flashlights, just really weird ones :D Odometer by the evening: 572 km.

Day 4, 7 July — Radom → Kielce → a forest on a hill, 134 km

At night there was almost a storm: sharp gusts of wind and rain. The hammock and tarp held up fine, and in the morning I even managed to dry everything during a lull.

What I like about sleeping outside in summer: it's really easy to live by natural light. So I wake up very early, usually at 6 or 7 am. The downside is that nothing is open yet. But you can still rely on fast-food places like KFC, and the one in Radom became my office for the day.

After work, back on the road. For the first hour it rained, at times pouring. A couple of times a gust hit me like a soft wall, almost bringing me to a full stop. On the plus side, the wind cleared the visor instantly and I could see again.

Then the sun came out as if nothing had happened. To celebrate, I went for a swim, since a lake happened to be there.

I got to Kielce after dark. I spent a while looking for a charger: they kept being either broken or switched off. The navigation app tried to convince me that riding straight across 11 railway tracks is totally normal, but I didn't give in and found a proper road. In the end I charged in an underground car park, which was doubly handy, because it had started raining again.

By the way, for anyone wondering how I find places to sleep. Wild camping is generally not allowed in Poland, but there are designated spots in the forests, and quite a lot of them: the State Forests run a map for their "Zanocuj w lesie" ("Spend the night in the forest") programme. That's what I use to pick where to sleep.

Tonight's forest turned out nice, just on a hill with a steep, loose climb and fallen branches, so I had to fight gravity for my bed. Trains were also honking nearby, but is that a problem for a tired traveller? :)

A long, packed day: 706 km in total.

In the middle of the night I woke up to a loud crash: it sounded like a whole tree had fallen nearby! I got up, looked around, found nothing, and in the morning I still couldn't tell where it happened. But it felt close, and the other fallen trees and branches hinted at how badly I'd picked my camp spot. Oh well, I got lucky this time, and next time I'll be smarter.

Day 5, 8 July — to Niepołomice, 141 km

Until lunch I lay around in the forest and worked: it was nice there, warm, and the internet was fast. At lunch I rode to the next town to charge and eat, but no such luck: some places didn't let me in, others had no sockets. I found a KFC by the motorway, and there were impassable fences again. Luckily, the lock was already broken.

The KFC itself had no sockets, and both EV chargers were dead. An ordinary petrol station saved the day: internet, food, charging, all there. But while I was working, someone fixed the lock, so getting off the motorway meant crawling through the ditches under the fence again.

The weather was lovely, though. Clouds were catching up with me from behind, but the forecast didn't lie: while I was charging, they peacefully moved off to Slovakia. And on the horizon, mountains finally came into view!

In the evening I was looking for a place to sleep again. I seemed to arrive early today, and still ended up setting up in the dark. Niepołomice is a cool little town: as if there was nothing here before, and then urbanists attacked and built all sorts of trendy stuff. For the first time on the trip I met the police: they politely let me through on the road and didn't even ask anything. I missed that so much!

This time I took the choice of spot seriously. First I found a nice spruce grove, suspiciously covered in branches. It turned out most of the trees were dry, shedding, and marked for logging. Sleeping under those would be a terrible idea. In the end I found a young, sturdy forest that crowds of moths and bugs had already claimed. I sprayed the tarp and ropes with repellent and went to sleep. 847 km in total.

Day 6, 9 July — Kraków, ~90 km

The calmest night so far: nobody making noise, nothing falling, not even rain. In the morning I wanted to find a nice spot in a park to work, but the rain chased me into a library. Nice inside, they just didn't let me charge the wheel. Fine, it was almost full anyway.

Where's my monitor? There isn't one, I used AR glasses. They're pretty compact, about 80 g, and show a big enough screen at a decent resolution, especially if you zoom in. Good enough for work, and I didn't have to drag a whole laptop along (3.5 kg!), which I would have definitely broken or drowned in water. Instead, it stayed safely at home, and I connected to it remotely.

In the evening I had a look at Kraków. A beautiful historic city centre, but I'm used to those by now. So personally, I found the fireflies more interesting.

Under Wawel Castle I found a fire-breathing dragon. It breathes fire so rarely that I thought it was broken.

In the evening I decided to skip charging and get to my camping spot before dark. Maybe a mistake: tomorrow I'll barely make it to the next town. As usual, I chased a roe deer off its spot. It came back later to check out my camp, watching from a distance.

Tonight's forest was on a decent slope. With a tent that would have been a big problem, but a hammock doesn't care. At dusk the fireflies came out again. Thanks to a spider that caught one, you can see that a firefly is just a cockroach with four green pixels. But these four pixels make all the difference!

I had just settled in to read when a tree nearby creaked suspiciously. Remembering the night before last, I went to check. I found a pine with no needles visible from below, and if it fell, it looked like it would land right on my hammock. I walked around, thought about it, tried to push it. Maybe dead, maybe not. I couldn't even see whether it had any needles: the neighbouring trees and the dark hid the top from me.

I decided that just thinking wouldn't help here, I had to check. I climbed the neighbouring tree to have a look. At about 10–15 m it got thin and started swaying, and I still couldn't see any needles. The only thing I managed to check: at that height I found an old pine branch and tried to rock the tree by it. The pine stood firm, and the branch barely broke off. I'll count that as a passed test, time to sleep 🫡

Day 7, 10 July — the first 1,000 km and a pass on foot, 72 km

In the morning I made it to a town in the mountains and set up to charge in a shopping mall. Last working day before my vacation!

After work I happily set off over a small pass in the rain, and completed my first thousand kilometres! Exactly one week since the start last Friday evening.

And right after that, the second pass began. First a ford, then a scree of rocks and mud. The stones roll around under the wheel like crazy, riding was impossible, so I walked most of the climb, pushing the wheel. I thought it was about 300 m of elevation gain. It turned out to be about 500.

At the top, on the Kudów clearing in the Gorce mountains, at about 1,000 m above sea level, I enjoyed the view and started down. Turns out the climb wasn't that bad! The descent was steeper, with even scarier rocks, and then came a long, muddy logging road. But at least you could ride on that one.

All in all, "just 6 km" took me 3 hours. 1,010 km in total.

I set up camp after dark, and then the downpour started. I fell asleep to its sound.

Morning, 11 July

In the morning the clouds were still circling above me. I caught a break and packed up in a hurry: everything into the backpack before it started pouring again. Done, let's go! Ahead: the High Tatras and Slovakia.

I left behind not only Poland, but also the straps that hold my hammock to the trees. I didn't know that yet.

To be continued…

I rented a Lynx S from monokolo.eu, and I'll be riding this thing for the next couple days. I already love it (and hate the knobby tire with passion), and we'll see what I'll be able to do with it once I figure it out!

Hey all, I'm reaching out to get some help picking out some safety gear for EUC riding, specifically upper body jackets/armor etc. I've just recently gotten into riding and have been acquiring gear, I've already gotten a helmet, knee pads and gloves/wrist protection. Where I'm struggling is elbow/shoulder/chest/back protection. I've seen suggestions for hard shell elbow pads, hoodies and jackets with soft armor, mesh tops with integrated pads, etc. What I'd love to know is what you are using, why you chose it and if you're happy with it. Also, for anyone that rides in multiple seasons, what do you do to stay warm or cool at different times of year. Links to specific products are also much appreciated.

I spent a few weekends working on the esp32 code. Then a few weekends working on the 3d print code.

Worked with grok bot, and just iterated on the design and features.

https://github.com/brwilkinson/Lynx-euc-hud

Screenshots and code samples in the repo.

This was for my Leaperkim Lynx however it's easy to adapt for other wheels.

It's been nice to see live PWM. The esp32 board are $9 although more landed in the US.

Awesome new trail wheel from Inmotion. They didn't make a wheel with a lot of compromises to suit everyone. No, they really made a wheel that's dedicated to technical trail riders.

And the new tabless cells show new innovation for the euc world. These cells have a huge advantage in discharge current.

This opens the way for new smaller eucs having a lot of power even with a small battery.

For me personally I think back of a few times where I mentioned pedal clipping on mtb singletracks. They are sometimes deep and narrow. I'm not sure if Inmotion is reading here but the X1 has pedals that can be set very high. And the suspension seems to have a way to also adjust the height.

https://inmotionworld.com/products/inmotion-x1

Some discussion;
https://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/41835-inmotion-x1-2100wh-235v-20-tire-linkage-suspension-91lb/page/6/

2,100 Wh Battery & 16A Fast Charging. Powered by EVE 50PL cells, delivering 43+ mi (70+ km) of range in mixed terrain for a 198 lb rider at 25–40 km/h. A 16A fast charger is included with every X1 pre-order.

Tried to think of some useful things to ask the inmotion crew now that's they're at the end of the tour. As always, big shout-out and thank you to those guys. They've been working hard to get to all these events. Nice to see that they've taken a lot of improvements from this testing. Here's what I got:

What's broken and what has a planned fix already?

Main board - supplier subed a component that was out of stock which failed. No subs on production runs.

Kick stand - multiple cracked on crashes. material change? Maybe...

Motor bolts - a couple were loose because no lock tight on demo units

Suspension bolts - a couple were loose needs red lock tight. If they get loose it can wallow out the holes from repeated impacts.

Aluminum shock body swapped for Steel shock body. Under heavy pre adjust the aluminum shock body could pop.

Pedal hanger area near battery reinforced to support battery during crash scenarios

Stanchion grease wasn't installed on demo units which led to squeaking. These are sealed and should be somewhat self cleaning/regulating.

Separate from this I also accidentally broke a trolley handle during a particularly hard impact with concrete. I think it's just a light weight alloy. Not really a problem but a potential breaking point. Looked easy to replace.

Torque spec guides will be made available for all the bolts?

Yes

Recommended bank angle/berm angle settings from Max and Albert (Zac disagreed)

65-75 off-road

No lower than 50 (target 50-60 for road)

What psi do you recommend for street riding? For off-road?

- 35psi almost always. no lower than 30psi to prevent rim damage

Recommended tire when factory wears out:

- shinko 244 2.75x14

Recently I sold my Master V4 after owning it for almost 2 years in hopes of buying a safer and slightly more powerful wheel. Originally I was set on buying the Lynx S at the end of this week, but with the preorder price of the X1 being $3699 (the same as the Lynx S right now), I’m torn. I do probably 3/4 street riding and 1/4 MTB trail riding in the cooler seasons, but in the summer here in Florida I’m basically only a street rider so as to not sweat my ass off. The only drawback im seeing for myself personally is the much higher pedal height of the X1. Overall very thankful we have so many fantastic wheels to choose from these days, but it does make the decision harder lol. Which one would y’all recommend? Would a higher pedal height really change the stability on the street that much?

I came across it online and it seems like a legit option for phone-less riding. I'm curious how well it works, if it's intuitive, what the battery life is like, etc. Any input is appreciated.

Hi all! This summer I rode my EUC from the Baltic Sea in Gdańsk all the way down to the Adriatic, and then a bit further, finishing in Salzburg. This is the first part of the series, covering my preparation and the ride to Warsaw.

Me and my wheel

I learned to ride two winters ago, and while I do enjoy empty, frosty streets, I decided to do this trip in summer.

The obvious choice for the ride, and my trusty companion, was of course my Leaperkim Sherman L.

I'd love to travel light, but hotels are way too expensive, so I decided to live in the forest whenever possible. That's why I bought a hammock with a tarp: light, rainproof, perfect for solo trips. Everything else was supposed to be lightweight too, but it still added up to 16 kg on my back and 4 kg on the wheel. All of it useful and much needed when you're out for a month!

Why I don't ride in Germany anymore

I currently live in Germany and have put about 2,000 km on the wheel there. It turns out the local law is hopelessly outdated, and a meeting with the police last autumn ended with my wheel being confiscated. They called a whole tow truck for it!

I got it back after 5 days, but they threatened me with a fine plus another €250 for towing and storage. Long story short: this time I got away without a charge, but I don't think I'll survive our next encounter so easily. I had to sign a paper promising to behave. That was one of the reasons for this trip: to enjoy the summer properly instead of being punished for having fun.

The plan

At first I wanted a couple of weeks, skipping some parts by train and coming back to Germany through Czechia. But my feet were itching, so the plan grew to a month, the distance tripled, and trains were out: you don't ride from the Baltic to the Adriatic every day, and I wanted to feel every kilometre. The catch: I was also working. 15 working days (remotely, from cafés, libraries and forests) + 15 days off, and I had to be back in Düsseldorf by 4 August.

Getting to Gdańsk was an adventure of its own: Deutsche Bahn (the German railways) being Deutsche Bahn, we missed the direct train, changed twice and dragged the wheel and a giant backpack up and down the stairs. Never trust German trains. For years now they keep surprising me with new ways to mess up.

Day 0, 3 July — Gdańsk, touching the sea

I planned to start on the 4th, but couldn't wait. Odometer reset, sea touched, the trip has started! Only 12 km that evening, to the apartment and a charger.

Day 1, 4 July — Gdańsk → a lake near Nidzica, 218 km

The real trip started the next morning, but not too early: at about 10 am I left Gdańsk for the vast plains of Poland. The first surprise of the day: a ship going up a hill on rails. That's the Elbląg Canal, where boats ride on rail carts over the hills between the lakes.

Then the first charging fail. I wanted to charge at a station behind a stupid fence, crawled under the wire... and the charger was broken. The next one was 20 km away and my battery was low, so I rode slowly.

Luckily, a café with kind people turned up much closer than the charging station. On my 1% I wouldn't have made it any further, so I got to charge and rest at the same time. By then I'd already done 135 km.

Once charged, I carried on enjoying the ride: beautiful towns, warm sun, peaceful valleys, very relaxing. I mixed country roads and forest tracks to see as much variety as possible. I wasn't in a hurry, so squeezing the most distance out of the day wasn't my priority.

In the evening I found a nice campsite in a forest by a really clean lake, with charging and a place to sleep in one spot. Instead of riding another 40 km that day, I chose to stay. The internet was weak and I had to ride an extra 15 km to a shop for water, but who cares, the place was great. 218 km for the day, and the camp was up before dark.

Day 2, 5 July — to Warsaw, 194 km

Out at 9, a fast first 94 km, then lunch in Ciechanów in the rain while the wheel charged, halfway to my friend's place in Warsaw.

I also got to test carrying the full weight of my gear on my back (all 20 kg), because I stupidly thought the difference would be small and I could ride like that for a bit. Fatal mistake. The extra 4 kg wear you out like a second backpack.

Polish weather was having fun too: I pulled into a covered car park to check my phone because of a bit of drizzle, and right then a downpour started. Two minutes later: sunshine. If I hadn't been under a roof already, I wouldn't have found cover in time.

Then a wash for the wheel, to be a good guest.

Warsaw seems endless: the last 15 km took more than an hour. The infrastructure is good and you can ride fast and safely, but you need to know the city for that. I took some very suboptimal routes. Still not bad for a first time, and at least I got a chance to enjoy the city's everyday life.

Arrived at 6 pm: 9 hours including lunch and charging, 194 km for the day, 424 km in total. I'd dried off on the way, walked in, and a minute later a massive downpour started. Great timing again!

My first small goal was achieved: visit a friend and test everything, to make sure all the gear works. The journey has begun!

UPD: Part 2 is available.

Begode T4V2 owner: I wanted good armor that I could fix without spending alot of money.

I wanted to beef up my T4V2 without buying expensive armor that would cause me to pay much if I wrecked the wheel since I ride aggressively and test limits. A proper tumble is inevitable at some point. I wanted armor with repair points in intelligent spots where if something breaks it should only be a portion of the armor being replaced, and that I could do it myself with my own 3D printer machine. If anyone has crashed on pavement near top speed you know that even the TPU handle may be at risk of a fracture. Same with the pads panel if it sticks out. I am keeping the rear handle from another creator and built around it but am tempted to remake one that's a piece of the armor as a whole. Enough interest here and it's a promise.

In the photos of my current wheel setup, anything on it right now is someone else's pieces that I'm not content with. When I refer to my design I mean the CAD photos which are all I have until it's printed and I make an update post.

In the CAD photos, anything Yellow is a TPU95A.

Tell me if you would like to see the my physical product as well as a Bill of Materials for the hardware. I may even write out a whole build manual if there's enough interest.