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andrew900nyc

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Everything posted by andrew900nyc

  1. Thanks @meepmeepmayer... @Marty Backe is definitely someone who's opinions I will very much want to obtain, as well as some of the other members you recommended in your message to me. I very much appreciate your taking the time to learn about my invention and marketing plan and offering to provide your honest opinion regarding this vehicle. I have sent you the information and look forward to hearing your initial reaction in the not too distant future!
  2. Thanks for your suggestions, @Smoother. They all seem like excellent choices, but I am going to reach out to @meepmeepmayer because the most important thing to me right now is unbiased feedback and since meepmeepmayer is known for calling a spade a spade, he sounds like an ideal person from whom to (hopefully) obtain some feedback. If he's receptive to learning about my invention and marketing plan. I am hoping he can rate the vehicle on a scale of 1 - 10, with 10 being super cool and 1 being about the worst electric vehicle you can imagine. Please note that this vehicle is meant to be operated on a racetrack, so it should be evaluated with that context in mind. I have already reached out to @Hsiang because after watching his videos I felt that he was knowledgeable about the industry, has good insights, and he is an enthusiastic promoter of EUC's with an excellent reputation in the community. And he's right here in New York!
  3. Thanks, Smoother, I really appreciate your good wishes! I’d like to provide some information about my thinking regarding this invention. 1) Passion is what motivates me to bring this vehicle to market. While I am confident that there is plenty of money to be made, financial reward is not the driving factor for me. Rather, it is my tremendous desire to operate this vehicle that pushes me to develop it. I need to bring this vehicle to life because of my burning desire to ride it. Although I’m biased, I think this vehicle is one of the coolest racetrack vehicles ever invented! 2) I have a very specific plan to promote this vehicle worldwide, along with certain other PEV’s. I believe that, if successful, this plan will help EUC’s and electric skateboards obtain far greater exposure, reach a much broader market and achieve significantly increased sales. This sounds like a bold claim, but once you understand my plan, I think you will consider my claim to be within the realm of possibility. If, having heard my plan, members of this forum think my claims are unreasonable or overly optimistic, I would like to know that information. 3) I would like to just reveal my invention and plan to the entire forum, but I don’t think it would be in my best interests to do that right now. Rather, I am hoping the forum members can recommend some senior members who are likely to be trusted the most by the membership of this forum to hear about my invention and my marketing plan. Then these senior members can let the membership at large know if they think I invented something really cool or if they think it’s a dud or if they think it’s just not nearly as cool as I think it is. Of course, at the right time, the invention will be publicly revealed on this forum. 4) My goal is to assemble a team of cofounders with the enthusiasm, dedication, motivation and perseverance to help bring my vehicle and vision to fruition (assuming they agree with my assessment of the vehicle and my marketing plan). Because my main motivation is not financial, I am happy to partner up with the cofounders. Furthermore, the structure I have in mind is global and set up such that other individuals can participate in this new PEV business in their local areas. So basically nearly any forum member with the qualities mentioned at the top of this paragraph can have an opportunity to be involved, if they want to be. Any recommendations for trusted forum members (who aren’t employees of any of the manufacturers) that you think would be interested in hearing about my invention and ideas would be most appreciated! I am quite eager to get some feedback.
  4. Just to clarify, I only used EUC’s as the self-balancing vehicle for this question for illustrative purposes and for the sake of keeping the question simple. I had hoped to focus the discussion on the limitations of the electronics with regard to the top speed of any one-wheeled, self-balancing vehicle (assuming there is a top speed for practical purposes). Regarding the very important issue of drag force that Ronko has brought up, I don’t think the vehicle I invented will have as much drag as a EUC, but I will defer to the professional opinion of those who are far more knowledgeable than I am to comment on this matter. I will be very interested to find out from experts if they think my vehicle has the potential to reach speeds of 100MPH (if a powerful enough motor were available). The motor I intend to use to power the prototype to a max speed of at least 45MPH is this one: http://www.customevperformance.com/p/8535643/enertrac-hub-motor-20kw-cont-40kw-peak.html It was used to power this 1993 Suzuki GSX-R 1100: http://www.evalbum.com/3931
  5. Thanks for all the excellent advice, seage. I very much appreciate it! Good to know there are lots of PEV enthusiasts in my neck of the woods (or more accurately, concrete jungle). I can see how wanting to have different size/power wheels for different usages could be very appealing. Oh no, what have I gotten myself into here... I sure hope I'm not opening up a Pandora's Box! Thanks for your input, Darrell Wesh. As a lifelong (traditional) unicyclist, I have been thinking that I'll learn the basics and achieve at least decent competency with the wheel within a few days. Perhaps I am dramatically underestimating my learning curve. Are there any members of this forum who were skilled traditional unicyclists prior to learning how to ride a EUC? If so, how long did it take you to acquire basic riding skills? By basic riding skills, I mean being able to get on the wheel, ride, and turn at slow and moderate speeds with consistency. In any case, I didn't know the low end wheels were so inexpensive. At these prices, your idea does appeal to me for the purpose of learning and then having a wheel to scoot around on (mostly for indoor use once I'm proficient) and possibly also to use to learn some tricks. So can anyone recommend a decent low-end wheel for me to consider? Also which EUC has a wheel that's closest in thickness to the Z10?
  6. Thanks a lot for all your feedback. I appreciate it tremendously! While I am very interested in this topic from a curiosity perspective alone, I also have a very practical reason for wanting to know the answer to this question. The practical reason for my interest in this topic is because I invented a new type of self-balancing vehicle that is meant to be operated on a racetrack. It is an entirely new class of vehicle and there is nothing like it currently on the market. Thanks to your feedback, I now know that the hub motor I sourced that can power an electric motorcycle to a top speed of 100MPH should hopefully be able to provide the power needed to achieve a top speed of close to 50MPH on my self-balancing race vehicle. I'm shooting for the vehicle to have a top speed of 100MPH (for the version that would be ridden by professional racers only), but you gotta start somewhere!
  7. Well the wheel that was really grabbing my attention and seemed to be calling my name is the Ninebot Z10, but after reading about the latest bad news regarding the company, I no longer feel like it is the best choice for me. From what I've researched so far, I haven't seen any other wheel that has as fat a tire as the Z10, which is quite a shame because that fat tire is one of the features I like the most. It's good to know that going top-end right away makes a lot of sense in this market. Thanks again for the valuable feedback! Let's just say... history does not support this hope But stuff can indirectly permeate to the manufacturers once in while due to some involved dealers - mostly @Jason McNeil of ewheels fame. This is how we got larger pedals and some other small improvements. Well indirect permeation is better than no permeation and I have noticed that some manufacturers have made appearances on this forum, so perhaps there's a chance that members of the community's voices are being heard (even if not frequently acted upon just yet).
  8. As a new member, I apologize if this topic has already been discussed. If that is the case, I would be most appreciative if someone could direct me to the relevant thread. Thanks! If the topic hasn’t been discussed, my specific interest is in knowing the limits of the electronics with regard to the top speed of a self-balancing vehicle. In other words, forget about (1) the limitations of the power of the motor (2) the limitations of the size of the battery that could be utilized, and (3) the ability of a rider to safely operate the vehicle at high speeds. All I’m interested in is the ability of the electronics to keep the vehicle longitudinally stable throughout the speed range capability of the vehicle. So imagine that you find yourself in a society that has developed an electric motor capable of propelling a EUC to a maximum speed of 100mph. They also developed a small, super powerful battery that can be utilized to power the motor for three hours (of average usage on mostly flat ground). So my question is: Given the current state of technology, would it be possible to build the self-balancing system needed for such a hypothetical vehicle to maintain longitudinal stability at a speed of 100mph? If the answer is no, why not and what do you think is the fastest achievable speed for a self-balancing vehicle? Of course, I am most interested in hearing from people who have the technological knowledge/expertise to answer these questions based on the relevant math/computer science/electronics. Thanks! Can’t wait to hear your answers!
  9. By the way, I very much appreciate your response. I may be an oddball, but I find your feedback and that of other members to be very interesting and helpful. And who knows, maybe one of the manufacturers will see some ideas on this forum and try testing/implementing one or more of them at some point!
  10. While I am extremely eager to get a wheel, I just started learning about these amazing machines and I want to make sure that I don't: 1) Make the mistake of purchasing a wheel that isn't right for me. I just read a thread from someone who apparently was sold the wrong size/power wheel and because of that he had four faceplants while riding at a good speed and now he doesn't even want to ride (or own) his wheel anymore and he has the stress of having a dispute with the retailer. 2) I want to make sure I'm not the poor fool who goes out and buys what he thinks is the latest, greatest wheel on the market, only to find out that a much better model is about to be released. I'd rather get a top-end wheel that I can grow into and keep for a longer period of time than to have to upgrade in the very near future. When I bought my first street bike (a long time ago), nearly everyone advised me to get the CBR600RR instead of the CBR900RR. I went with the 900RR and was very happy that I did. I gave it the respect it deserved as I grew into it and had a bike I loved for a good stretch of time. In any case, I have a curious mind whether I own and ride a EUC or not, so I'm afraid I'm likely to annoy you either way with my theoretical questions.
  11. Thanks for all the feedback. The dampening effect makes sense, as does the dreaded speed wobble. Any ideas how the technology may evolve to maintain the former and minimize the latter?
  12. Thanks for all the information! It sounds like these machines have evolved to the point where the electronics are quite reliable. If ridden according to their operating parameters with a keen eye on avoiding major surface irregularities, it seems like you can depend on these vehicles not having sudden failures. I'm real happy to find out that today's electric unicycles seem to be sophisticated, capable machines.
  13. Hi Everyone – Having never ridden an electric unicycle, I am wondering what the community’s thoughts are on the question below. In order to put this question in context, please have a look at 10:37 – 10:52 of Hsiang’s excellent video, which I’ve linked. My question is: Would stability and/or control be enhanced if the top outer left and outer right sections of the case protruded somewhat so that the rider’s legs would remain snug against the case most of the time when riding? As you can see in Hsiang’s video, the top of the wheel rocks backs and forth laterally a bit, which I assume isn’t a big deal. If the top of the case protruded a bit on both sides, thus diminishing or eliminating the lateral movement of the top of the wheel, would that (1) improve control and/or stability, (2) diminish control and/or stability, or (3) have negligible effect either way? I am very interested to hear your thoughts.
  14. Thanks for your responses and for all the helpful information, esaj, Kens, Lefteris, and travsformation. I think I’m starting to gain an appreciation for the nature of these interesting beasts! For those people who ride often and tend to approach top speeds, it sounds like UPD faceplants will inevitably occur at some point. Now I can see why comprehensive safety gear makes a lot of sense. Can’t wait to join the community of 21st century BCers!
  15. Here it's called faceplant, because that's what it eventually ends up to be. There are very few crashes where people fall backwards (or sideways, if that's even possible). In 99% of cases a crash is just the standard superman forwards. Hello meepmeepmayer and thanks for the response. Thanks! I sure hope some of my traditional unicycling skills will carry over so that I can make good progress. I should have figured that most of the UPD’s in the EUC realm would be faceplants. So even at moderate speeds at which there could be a possibility of running out a UPD (IF you were able to land on your feet), 99% of cases still wind up being superman faceplants? Is that due to the way the UPD occurs, such as getting too close to top speed and losing longitudinal stability due to limitations of the electronics or does that same outcome happen just as easily from hitting a pot hole or bump in the road? And in the case of hitting a pot hole or bump in the road, is the UPD due to a failure of the electronics to react to such a rapid change in orientation? As a pedal unicyclist, my specialty is riding the big wheel (36” rim) variety. I've also ridden an internally geared 36” unicycle that was capable of speeds at which any UPD would nearly always results in a faceplant, so I learned the importance of watching the road surface and my surroundings like a hawk and always having one or more escape options in case any unexpected obstacles (people, cyclists, cars, etc.) suddenly crossed my path. When travelling at speeds on my geared 36er that were close to the limit of being able to run out a UPD, there were some instances when I was thrown off my wheel and was able to land on my feet and run them out without falling down. On other occasions, I was only able to run them out a little bit before tumbling. I think one main reason why I could sometimes not have a UPD turn into a faceplant on my 36” unicycle was because I was fairly high off the ground, so it gave me more time and a better chance of landing on my feet. On a EUC, the rider’s feet are so close to the ground that it seems nearly impossible for a UPD not to result in a faceplant, if you’re riding at any decent speed. I’d definitely be interested in hearing from any EUC riders who were able to run out their UPD.
  16. Hi Everyone - I'm a new member and lifelong unicyclist (of the pedaling variety) who is looking forward to going electric sometime soon. I was wondering if the EUC community has any terms that carried over from the traditional unicycling community? One term that immediately comes to mind is UPD, which stands for Unplanned Dismount. The 0:57 mark on the linked video shows a classic example of a UPD.
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