Krista - US

The Halfbike website says that there's a learning curve. No lie detected! It took me a good 20 minutes to be up and able to go relatively straight without having to jump off almost immediately. It's a new way of moving, and the body needs time to adjust! After about 40 minutes total (not the same day -- it's tiring!), I was able to make wide turns pretty reliably. (The key is looking where you want to go. Somehow, your body knows what to do to make it happen. You definitely do NOT want to look down.) I'm not sure I'll ever be comfortable enough to ride my Halfbike around a lot of people or anywhere I might have to make a tight turn, but I like to take it up to the top of a parking garage (empty on weekends) and cruise around there. It's an incredible workout. After 20 minutes, I'm sweaty and breathing hard. There's really no rest if you're moving, because you obviously cannot sit down, and if you stop pedaling, you lose speed, and then you get less stable. So you can rest for a few seconds at a time, but that's it unless you stop. Perfect! It's also easy on the body. I have problematic feet and hips, and there's no strain on them at all. Zero impact, and fun! My 11-year-old nephew was visiting me this past weekend and was drawn to the Halfbike as soon as he saw it. He asked immediately if he could try it. I was a little reluctant, because I know from experience that it's not easy at first, and I was worried he'd hurt himself or get frustrated by the learning curve. LOL, he was up and going steadily in about 2 minutes. After 4 minutes, he was turning comfortably. He LOVED it and wants one now. If you Halfbike folks aren't marketing to kids, you should! His mom loved that my nephew couldn't go as fast on the Halfbike as he could on a regular bike, so she thinks it'll be a safer ride for him (not to mention it's easier to jump off the Halfbike than a regular bike). I don't have any pictures of me on it, but here's one of my nephew. It's too bad I cannot share video, because you would be able to see that he's super-comfortable on it!