HiddenPrior

Just arrived from eWheels!

I have a V8S and a Garmin Benu 3 if that is appropriate/helpful?

There actually was a lot of paint, as it was a crosswalk area. Not sure if that was it, but certainly a possibility.

That is a good point, considering the V8S is only a 1000W motor. It was about 65-70%, so not in the sub 20℅ danger zone, but it probably wasn't capable of max wattage either. The only reason I'm not sure about a cutout/overpower, is I think the wheel was on for a minute after I fell, based on where it ended up I think it did a few flips before the safety kicked in. I'm not familiar with he mechanics of cutouts or overpowering though, so maybe it was able to turn back on. That is helpful. I am pretty sure there was mud or leaves or something that were obscured from me.

So yesterday I had my first wipeout, and I'm still trying to piece together what happened. I was riding my inmotion V8S home from work after the rain had stopped. I had been pretty cautious for most of the trip, but on the second to last intersection I had to cross to get home I took it pretty fast so I could get across the crosswalk before the walk time expired. There was no bike path here so I had to go up on the sidewalk, which had a small ramp with a small puddle accumulated at its base. I tried to slow down as I approached, but this may have been my undoing since after I hit the puddle it is all a blur, but in one swift motion the wheel went right out from under me and I landed perfectly far on my back, with my backpack failing to catch any of my weight. I was wearing a helmet and wrist guards, though I'm pretty sure my head didn't even touch the ground, just my back. The wind was knocked totally out of me, and I couldn't breathe for probably about 20 seconds, though it felt much longer than that. It hurt a LOT. The wheel had flown ahead about 25-30 feet, maybe further, and the outer and inner casing on the right side was damaged. As far as I could tell though, the internals are fine and I was able to wheel it the rest of the way home using the trolley handle. I will need to inspect the batteries though before I consider seriously using it again. After I could breathe, and checked I was able to articulate my spine carefully, I slowly made my way to the wheel and picked up the pieces of broken plastic that had come off it. I was going between 15-20 mph (as 21 is the top speed on the V8S) and I ended with pretty major bruising on my back/ribs, and bleeding abrasions on my lower back and elbows. The wrist guards probably saved me from a serious wrist sprain at the least, and though the helmet actually probably made no difference, I am very glad I was wearing one. The question I am still wrestling with, and why I am here, is I'm trying to figure out what happened. I'm not a very experienced rider, as I have only been riding for about 3 weeks, but I have about 120 miles on that wheel, and another 40 on a V12 High Torque someone lent me. I ride a lot between commuting and Uber deliveries I have been doing for fun. Every other time I have run into a bump or had instability I have usually been able to recover, or worst case bail from the wheel, but what set this incident apart is that as far as I can tell it was instantaneous. I didn't have even a moment to recover or react before I was falling. My best guess as to what happened is that there was silt or mud in the puddle that caused me to lose traction while leaning back. The wheel kept going and probably spun faster trying to recover balance, which didn't help since traction was already gone. My girlfriend however has an alternate hypothesis, that I hydroplaned upon hitting the puddle, which had a similar effect. This seems unlikely to me, given the skinnyness of the V8S wheel, and my relatively low speed, but it happened quickly enough to be that way. The other hypothesis is that some sort of malfunction took place, and the wheel, maybe trying to regain traction or something, simply accelerated forward while I was leaning back. Either way, the result was some pretty gnarly damage to the wheel casing and a very painful set of bruises, it hurts to breathe still and work has been pretty miserable. Does anyone have any ideas as to why I may have lost traction so suddenly, and most importantly what I should do in the future to prevent that from happening again?

Thanks! This weekend may not work out, since I kinda crashed my wheel yesterday 😅 I was riding home from work, after the rain had stopped, but made the mistake of going through a small puddle at speed while I was trying to get across an intersection. Next thing I knew I was flat on my back. Had a helmet and wrist guards, but was going 15-20 and wasn't wearing my motorcycle jacket. My back is pretty badly bruised and I have abrasions on my lower back and elbows. That wouldn't stop me really, except the wheel went flying and part of the casing got pretty damaged, though the internals seem fine. I will need to get the outer and inner panel on the A side replaced before I can ride again. I'm still trying to figure out how I lost reaction so badly, there wasn't a moment of instability or anything like that, I think I was breaking and suddenly lost reaction. The wheel went probably 25-30 feet ahead of where I landed, and the wind was knocked totally out of me for about 10 seconds (though it felt like 10 minutes]. Fortunately I was literally across the street from my home, so I just picked up the wheel and the lost pieces and limped back. After work today I will probably swing by where it happened and see if I can figure out what happened.

@skunkmonkey Ya that is a great idea! I am getting my girlfriend into EUC's steadily, so if you give me a couple weeks I can probably bring our number to at least 3! I will hit you up if I am just doing a fun ride one of these saturday mornings too. Most Saturdays I have a class for my masters program from 9-12, but the next couple weeks I actually have off so I might be able to head down next week or the week after. Will keep you posted.

I wonder if any of the wheel manufacturers would be interested in collaborating with Helite, or something like that, to use a sensor/tether connected to the wheel board itself. I don't think it is realistic with current technology to have an airbag that anticipates a collision with a vehicle, but at least for me the main other situation I want an airbag for is if my wheel ever cuts out while I am off roading, or traveling at high speed, which maybe an AI board could detect, but what would be so much more certain is the board of the wheel itself. Imagine of one of these high end wheels like the V14 incorporated a feature like that, where if the wheel detects a cut out, a tip or fall, or if it gets a certain distance from the vest while traveling at high speed, (30-40 mph+) it signals the airbag to inflate. It still wouldn't be perfect, but it could seriously reduce compression injuries such as broken clavicles and ribs.

That is awesome! So far as I have seen, I am the only EUC rider in downtown Salt Lake. I ride to and from my work up at Huntsman every day, as well as doing some Uber deliveries for fun. Maybe we should organize a tiny wheeling event on the Murdock or Shoreline Trail haha! I ride through Lehi fairly often on my way to visit family.

Oh wow. @Jason McNeil Where could I look into putting a deposit down for that initial run? I would definitely consider it.

@Chucka Wheelie Which of those shoes have you ended up using the most? I have been looking for a casual High-Top with the characteristics you describe here. It looks like the 5.11 Norris is on sale here, so they seem pretty tempting, but at the same time the NoBull Trainers seem really nice and thick/comfortable. Any advice on choosing between the two?

I'm relatively new to EUC's, so it would be best to get input from someone experienced. That said, from what I understand purchasing from the first batch of a new wheel can carry some risks. For example, when the V11 was released originally, the bearings had an issue that made them horribly un-water resistant. Later versions fixed this issue, and after that was fixed the v11 was considered really good at water resistance. The V12 had an issue with some of them having bad boards on release as well. I think it can still be a good idea to buy a new wheel, but I highly recommend buying a first batch through a company with a really good warranty, such as ewheels or Eevees. When the s22 released with the first batch having bad motors, Eevees recalled and replaced all of their motors, which is why if I pre-order, or even just purchase the V11y early I will buy from them personally. I'm hoping that because this is an iteration, and not a totally new wheel that there won't be so many quality issues at launch that we see with other wheels, but at least for me purchasing this wheel is a somewhat significant purchase so I want to make sure I get my value. I empathize with your excitement though, for me I have outgrown my V8S I got for commuting very rapidly, and really want a good all around wheel I can trust in the rain, and the V11y seems ideal for that role. If you pre-order, I highly recommend looking into the warranty from who you purchase very carefully.

Reviews say the V14 headlight is very similar to the old V11 headlight, but a little brighter and it doesn't use a fan. My guess is they are using the same part for both wheels going forward, and the biggest benefit is probably that the new light does not need a fan which probably helps with water resistance.

I like the color scheme personally, though it seems like much combined with the carbon fiber. I am excited for the V11Y though, since it seems like one of the most versatile wheels in it's weight class, and water resistance is a big deal to me.

So excited you will work on inmotion wheels! No rush, it is just all I have for now, and wheel dash looks like a great app (not to mention the only option for Garmin Users.) I will support you on Kofi!