User manual

Steadiseg User Manual Chris Fawcett 2013/06
Now the forward spiral: turn anti-clockwise again, by looking over your left
shoulder, and lifting the heel of your left foot while inclining slightly forwards. The
Steadiseg will spiral slowly outwards from the spot. Inclining forwards at this 45
degree angle moves your centre of gravity to the left, so you are leaning into the
turn, and you are in balance. Practice this to clockwise.
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Only when you are very comfortable with this, try the much harder backward
spiral: turn anti-clockwise again, lifting the heel of your right foot foot while inclining
slightly backwards. The Steadiseg will spiral slowly outwards from the spot. Inclining
backwards at this 45 degree angle moves your centre of gravity to the right, so
you are leaning into the turn, and you are in balance. Practice this to clockwise.
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Apply the spiral technique to slaloming on a good surface. Extend your arms, and
rotate your whole body—with the control stick—to face the direction into which
you are turning. It is imperative that your weight goes into the outside foot on any
turn; doing so will make the Steadiseg very responsive to your movements (lifting
the heel of the inside foot, as above, helps you to learn this). Try making the turns
tighter by pushing down even harder on the outside foot to whip the Steadiseg
around. If you are a skier, this will feel familiar. Engage the machine. If you lift
weight off your outside foot in a turn, the Segway will bleep petulantly (see Rider
Detect Error). When you get the hang of rotating your whole body into the turns,
relax your arms and continue. Don’t get overconfident at this stage. Corner only at
slow speeds for the present.
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4.3 Terrain
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Even in good conditions, you should ride the Steadiseg with slightly bent knees. This
is not so tiring as it sounds since the control stick lends some support. If you hit a
bump with straight legs, you are likely to be pitched off to the side. If you go down
even a slight step with straight legs, you will jar your spine. Having your legs bent
allows you to maintain level while the machine accommodates the terrain below.
On very uneven ground, tightening the rear spindle further encourages you to
crouch down—again as in skiing—and allows for the Steadiseg to buck beneath
you, yet remain under precise control. It’s exhilarating. Bumps and drops may
cause you to loose contact. To minimize this, clench the control stick between your
knees, and brace your feet outwards against the inner fenders when necessary.
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Try bumping into obstacles, gently of course, to learn how the machine reacts to
different collision scenarios. If the object is low enough to pass under the safety
fenders, the Segway will attempt to climb it. If higher, the Segway will either push
the object away, or stop against it. The Steadiseg will not attempt to climb an
object that is higher than its own clearance, so if you remain calm, it will too.
However, if you ride on sand—or any other loose or slippery surface—sufficiently
vigorously as to loose traction, the Segway is likely to fall. If unsure of the terrain,
accelerate, decelerate, and corner gently. Ascend and descend slopes with
caution. Know the limits of the machine, and learn to anticipate problems.
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