Another option for protection padding

[flvraptor]

Got my Inmotion V5F+ from wheels.com a couple of days ago. Didn't even have time to open the box until last night. It looks really nice! So, first thing I wanted to do was protect it from mistakes I'm likely to make since I'm very new to this.

The soft foam roll that Jason sent for my kids a130 left a lot to be desired. It started coming off in chunks every time there was contact with the ground.

What I decided to use for the V5F+ Is some leftover motorcycle tank protector I had lying around. They're from TechSpec. Hefty rubber pad with adhesive that is removable on the back. A bit more expensive, but it has full adhesive everywhere instead of just in strips, and I think looks better. Started with the pedals and edges. Will probably do some strips on the top side as well.

 

 

[uniler]

Nice. How thick is that and how strong is the adhesive? I'm looking for something for my wheel but the silicone battery covers are too slick for adhesive

[Bob Eisenman]

Awhile ago I saw a picture of an EUC scratch protection system. The rider used two carpet sampler squares cut appropriately to match the EUC shape when in position, turned inward so the carpet was against the machine, duck taped (outside surface) to join the two carpet halves and dropped over the EUC from the top handle. The carpet shell fit down to the pedals. It looked like the carpet shell could be lifted off to recharge the battery. Maybe it was temporarily zip tied to the handle to keep it in position.A

Alternatively you can apply Electric Unicycle bumper strip padding which comes with double side tape. I've used Scotch brand double sided tape (about 3/4 inch width) rather than the supplied narrow tape. The cool smooth look of the EUC becomes hidden behind a squishy foam surface which also pads the shins if used generously. If it comes loose you can apply clear packing tape over the foam an affix the tape directly to the body of the EUC. The cool looking EUC videos you watch with shiny new machines use 'pre-trained experienced riders' to enhance the visual aspect of riding on a good product. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Electric-Unicycle-Bumper-Strip-Protective-Strip-Accessories-/282149461296

 

[Bob Eisenman]

This is a picture of my Ninebot. The bumper padding applied to the pedals eventually frays off with short radius turns. Places where an occasional chunk tears off can be covered with clear packing tape.  At thirty pounds of mass, the in motion but dismounted EUC has a lot of free energy. Hopefully the requirement for protective EUC padding use goes down quickly with rapidly maturing EUC skills. 

The torque of the motor while partially mounted can also generate some unexpected hits on objects or the rider. I think many riders forget the potential risk they pose to both property and people in their quest to ride and look cool on the EUC.

Don't forget to pad (safety) the rider too. 

Despite a fall or three or more in the last few thousand miles on a Ninebot my finger and wrist functions are still up for fine scale motion in Blender 3D modeling. 

[flvraptor]

58 minutes ago, uniler said:

Nice. How thick is that and how strong is the adhesive? I'm looking for something for my wheel but the silicone battery covers are too slick for adhesive

It's an 1/8 of an inch thick with diamond pattern. The adhesive is pretty good since it's supposed to stick to the side or the tank and have your knee put pressure on it, but it is also "releasable". A little heat and you can peel it off.

Check out the TechSpec site: http://techspec-usa.com/product-overview.html

I have a lot of little strips left. If interested, I can mail you a little strip and you can try it out on the battery cover.

[Cerbera]

45 minutes ago, Bob Eisenman said:

Despite a fall or three or more in the last few thousand miles on a Ninebot my finger and wrist functions are still up for fine scale motion in Blender 3D modeling. 

Oh you do modelling as well do you ? I'm a C4D guru, for my sins 

CBR

 

[Bob Eisenman]

On 2/17/2017 at 7:01 PM, Cerbera said:

Oh you do modelling

Mostly from YouTube tutorials. My skills are sort of newbie. My ram allocation in 2010 limited my Mickey mouse skills. I thought I'd give it another try. I'll have to read about cd4. Blender has a smoke and fire routine. Modeling a total EUC mesh model aflame should be a snap with a mesh object.

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2017 by Bob Eisenman

[Cerbera]

7 minutes ago, Bob Eisenman said:

Mostly from YouTube tutorials. My skills are sort of newbie. My ram allocation in 2010 limited my Mickey mouse skills. I thought I'd give it another try. I'll have to read about cd4. Blender has a smoke and fire routine. Modeling a total EUC mesh model aflame should be a snap with a mesh object.

Oh cool - thanks for sharing those. Blender is very cool. Impressive that is up there with the £3000 boys for functionality yet remains free

C4D has pyrocluster for smoke and fire, but that's quite old now - Blender can probably do much better in that area. Still - I'd like to see Turbulence FD fire on an EUC - that's properly movie class fluid dynamics ! Might have to give that a go - I already modelled my MS3, so now just need to add fire 

 

Edited February 18, 2017 by Cerbera

[meepmeepmayer]

1. These are perfect for the underside of the pedals - you can easily and durably glue them to small features! Also other places with smaller features, like corners (just like you did).

2. Why are these so expensive?

Thanks for pointing these out! If you get threatening letters in the mail, that is just my wallet, ignore it, it had a bad time the last few weeks

[Bob Eisenman]

1 hour ago, Cerbera said:

I already modelled my MS3,

That's a great looking mesh.

[Cerbera]

1 hour ago, Bob Eisenman said:

That's a great looking mesh.

Thanks. The tyre was particularly fun  Had to get all my modelling chops out for that one...

 

[flvraptor]

So far, so good. I had a couple of bad offs today with the V5F+ falling completely on its side and even being dragged once. The pad prevented scratches on the protected areas and did not peel or chunk off. The only scratch visible is on the metal pedal bracket. I may try to put some padding on there.

[steve454]

29 minutes ago, flvraptor said:

I had a couple of bad offs today with the V5F+ falling completely on its side

It's recalibrating every time it falls on it's side.  Soon it will never fall over.

[Smoother]

10 hours ago, flvraptor said:

The only scratch visible is on the metal pedal bracket. I may try to put some padding on there.

God if you saw the bottom of my pedals you'd think I had been using them as a metal shop work bench. No one looks down there anyway, unless you keep laying it over on its side.  These under parts do come in contact with stuff, and when they do you're full weight is usually being applied, so anything you put there will also get damaged or ripped off. might as well get used to it.

are you using a ( loosely held) strap? That will reduce your "layovers" by a lot.

[Rehab1]

On 2/17/2017 at 9:55 PM, Cerbera said:

Thanks. The tyre was particularly fun  Had to get all my modelling chops out for that one...

 

Impressive! How much time did it take to perform that intricate modeling?

[flvraptor]

1 hour ago, Smoother said:

are you using a ( loosely held) strap? That will reduce your "layovers" by a lot.

Yes I am. More experienced people this forum highly recommend it, so I figure I better pay attention. 

[Rehab1]

2 hours ago, Smoother said:

God if you saw the bottom of my pedals you'd think I had been using them as a metal shop work bench

Yep... if you ride hard all pedals take a beating!

 

 

[Smoother]

2 minutes ago, Rehab1 said:

Yep... if you ride hard all pedals take a beating!

 

 

Or Ride stupid(ly). I didn't pick that icon by accident.  Nice thumbs up btw.beats mine ??

Edited February 19, 2017 by Smoother

[Cerbera]

3 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

Impressive! How much time did it take to perform that intricate modeling?

Quite a while - I'm not a very fast modeller - maybe a whole day on the tyre ? Whole machine took around 3 weeks, including texturing and lighting.

[Rehab1]

On 2/19/2017 at 10:53 AM, Cerbera said:

Quite a while - I'm not a very fast modeller - maybe a whole day on the tyre ? Whole machine took around 3 weeks, including texturing and lighting.

I'm sure your speed will increase as you become more adroit with the process. Curious, is it possible to use a 3D scanner to digitize the artifact before your actual modeling?

Edited February 20, 2017 by Rehab1

[Dzlchef]

On 2/19/2017 at 5:38 AM, Rehab1 said:

Yep... if you ride hard all pedals take a beating!

 

 

I’d be hesitant to put the grippy pad under my pedals. If you get close enough to scrape a pedal on a turn instead of scratching and sliding, it’ll grip and possibly take you down.  Just saying. 

[meepmeepmayer]

Good point, but I think in reality, how often do your pedal undersides scratch but the pedal edge does not get caught? Seems like a very rare situation. In curves, my overhanging shoes touch the ground before the pedal underside does.

I have the techspec stuff on my low ACM pedal undersides, and the underside scratched once at ~10kph. Wasn't that bad.

So in my experience: no problem with this yet.

[Smoother]

On 6/23/2019 at 3:34 PM, Dzlchef said:

I’d be hesitant to put the grippy pad under my pedals. If you get close enough to scrape a pedal on a turn instead of scratching and sliding, it’ll grip and possibly take you down.  Just saying. 

100% correct.  I scrape my pedals almost daily and I've never been thrown off as a result, an occasional "oh shit" at worst.  But a grippy underside would spin me down the road in a heartbeat.

[Dzlchef]

Okay, so I purchased the TechSpec XLine and was able to install it last night and rode for 24 miles today.   It's absolutely amazing, and perfect for the Nikola!   It's so thin and grippy but still has a bit of cushion so it's very comfortable.   I was getting a bit of fatigue and some pressure from the factory pads and all of that has disappeared.   I also added some padding at the ankles to help with comfort and grip for jumps.   The magnets still work to keep the pedals up but not nearly as strong as without the grip.   Totally in love with this wheel!!!