Why I won't be buying another Electric Unicycle.

[RockyTop]

6 minutes ago, Lutalo said:

 But, then again that's sort of all of us who ride these "death traps" as @Hunka Hunka Burning Love likes to call them. 

Canadians like Hunka are stubborn and tough as nails when pushed too far. They are also pretty smart....... I just haven’t figured out how to use use the first two qualities to trick him to get back on the wheel ......... because of his third quality. 

[Lutalo]

21 minutes ago, RockyTop said:

Canadians like Hunka are stubborn and tough as nails when pushed too far. They are also pretty smart....... I just haven’t figured out how to use use the first two qualities to trick him to get back on the wheel ......... because of his third quality. 

I have the answer. Get him drunk. 😉👍

[Adam.]

I think you are overestimating the safety of an ES2 in a crash. You'll just go flying over the handlebars. Anyway, its little tires and low power make it more likely to cut out on hills or slide out on anything but dry, smooth road. I'd rather ride my V8 on campus in the rain than one of the bird or lime scooters. 

[Circuitmage]

@Lutalo, well...we are way past the actual real hoverboard release date (according to back to the future movies), but I'm still holding out for something like that. As soon as we crack the unified field theory, start flying around in UFO's, then maybe we will have hover boards or hover shoes.

Heck, even Star Trek latched onto this at one point. I remember the good old Enterprise series (I liked that series) showed a kid playing with a hovering toy running off some kind of engine that would let it fly around. 

I dunno...I rode my EUC today...but who knows what's coming tomorrow.

[Lutalo]

47 minutes ago, Circuitmage said:

@Lutalo, well...we are way past the actual real hoverboard release date (according to back to the future movies), but I'm still holding out for something like that. As soon as we crack the unified field theory, start flying around in UFO's, then maybe we will have hover boards or hover shoes.

Heck, even Star Trek latched onto this at one point. I remember the good old Enterprise series (I liked that series) showed a kid playing with a hovering toy running off some kind of engine that would let it fly around. 

I dunno...I rode my EUC today...but who knows what's coming tomorrow.

[Lutalo]

57 minutes ago, Circuitmage said:

I dunno...I rode my EUC today...but who knows what's coming tomorrow.

I would abandon my EUCs in a heartbeat in exchange for a jet pack 👍

[Mono]

On 12/18/2018 at 4:15 AM, BlackM said:

With a bicycle or a kickscooter on the other hand, they just slow down, they become less reliable. But the brakes still work, and if the engine stalls for some reason, or the wheel locks up, you can still maintain balance. The device is going to hault, but you are not going to get hurt.

That's just not true. If the front wheel of a bicycles locks up or folds on you (which can happen for various reasons), you go flying as well. I have gone flying over a speed bump also with a bicycle (kicking the handlebar out of my hands). I have seen someone going down from a broken handlebar on a bicycle. In general, I have been going flying about once every 5000km-ish with a bicycle and I can well imagine to get to a similar rate with the EUC. The broken bone I suffered was from crashing with a bicycle (in a situation which I would probably had escaped unscaphed with an EUC), but the overall mileages are not (quite yet) comparable. Of course, this is all anecdotal and single events don't tell us much about real risks. And also kickscooters can fail in mysterious ways (nobody was hurt this time): 

 

[Adam.]

Exactly Mono, I don't know why this guy thinks that he is going to be any safer on a scooter. The only advantage scooters have is that they are easy to learn/ride.

[Elder Meat]

Depends on the scooter. They're starting to come out with ABS which is pretty neat. It isn't much farther to get full traction control.

[Mono]

2 minutes ago, Elder Meat said:

Depends on the scooter. They're starting to come out with ABS which is pretty neat. It isn't much farther to get full traction control.

How would ABS have prevented this fall?

[RockyTop]

  I get wobbles more on the scooters than the EUCs. One problem that I have with bicycles, dirt bikes and scooters is that the handle bars are too low and too close to me. I have a very long body and normal to even short legs. When I bend over to hold the steering Too much weight ends up over the front wheel. (I guess it is more of a personal problem)

[Adam.]

38 minutes ago, RockyTop said:

  I get wobbles more on the scooters than the EUCs. One problem that I have with bicycles, dirt bikes and scooters is that the handle bars are too low and too close to me. I have a very long body and normal to even short legs. When I bend over to hold the steering Too much weight ends up over the front wheel. (I guess it is more of a personal problem)

Have you ever tried an electric skateboard? I'd assume that with esk8 and EUC eliminating the issue of handlebars you have significantly more control, am i correct?

[stephen]

Dress in the appropriate Safety gear for what you are doing . Downhill biking is dangerous everyone falls so they dress up appropriate .skiing, motorbiking, skating, biking skateboarding etc , running also puts your face on the ground, going out in the snow/ice is dangerous, driving is dangerous everything we do has risks I'd rather be out having fun that just sitting in the house hoping nothing comes crashing into the front room 😁😁 you've done alot of milage without hurting so it's pretty safe tbh 

[RockyTop]

5 minutes ago, Adam. said:

Have you ever tried an electric skateboard? I'd assume that with esk8 and EUC eliminating the issue of handlebars you have significantly more control, am i correct?

Well?, back when I was a young kid I got on a skateboard and quickly hit the ground. Over the years I got into everything else including snow boards and wake boards. I have thought about revisiting the skateboard and the esk8 just makes it that more tempting. Also, don’t tell @Duf but if he can do it, I am sure I ......... might be able to?  Yep, you found my weakness. Not the skateboard but childhood memories of a death trap. I was thinking about working my way there via the one wheel like Duf.  To answer your question I do great on all the other boards.

[EUCMania]

On 12/17/2018 at 10:15 PM, BlackM said:

About three years ago I bought myself a Ninebot One, I rode the thing daily for about 2,5 years and a total of 9-10 000 km. With an average of four trips a day usually around 3,5km each. I used it in the summer, in the winter, in the rain, on snow, on ice, to go shopping, with a backpack on my back and a shopping bag in each hand. I used it when going to work and when going home, or when visiting friends and family. I used it on the road, and I used it off the road.

 

And I loved it. Yet I have absolutely no plans to buy another one. Because there is one really huge issue with EUC's which you don't really have with other electric devices such as electric bicycles or kickscooters, namely how there's just a single wheel which is surrounded by a plastic casing. And what that means is that if you get a rock inside which makes the wheel hault, even for just a split second, you fly forwards head first on to the pavement. The same goes for when it gets older if the power starts cutting out and it just starts getting a bit sketchy because you used it a lot. Or if you get a string or a piece of wood which goes in to the wheel. If any of those things or similar things happen, you are going to fly head first towards the pavement at 20-30km/h, and it's going to suck.

So in my experience, as my Ninebot One got older, as I used it more, it got increasingly dangerous. With a bicycle or a kickscooter on the other hand, they just slow down, they become less reliable. But the brakes still work, and if the engine stalls for some reason, or the wheel locks up, you can still maintain balance. The device is going to hault, but you are not going to get hurt.

 

But EUC's with their single wheel, if they stall at high speed,  you are going to fall. And as the devices get older, they eventually will. And you are very likely going to hurt yourself in the process. And because of this, I chose to buy a Ninebot ES2 this time around.

 

From what you wrote, I only find reasons for buying another EUC:

a) You rode 10k km without being hurt.

b) You enjoyed EUC very much.

c) EUCs fit with your commuting distance of 3.5km perfectly.

d) Which mode of transportation is more enjoyable than EUC?

e) Today's EUCs are much better than NB1E+: Safer in the sense that they are much less likely to cut-off,  have higher pedals, bigger and  open wheels, much more powerful motors and batteries to overcome bumps. Z10 even have some redundancy built in.

[LanghamP]

All the modern eScooters are badly designed because both the front wheel is too small and the rider has too much leverage over the steering of the front wheel. A small wheel gets caught in the smallest of potholes and the over leveraged front wheel allows the rider to create his own pothole.

All eScooters, with no exceptions, need a bigger front wheel, and not just a little bit bigger but a lot bigger. I want to see stand-up penny-farthings. That's an exaggeration but your front wheel on a scooter needs to be 20 inches or greater, and be quite hard to turn due to gyroscopic effects.

Until this matter is resolved, eScooters will be about as safe as EUCs, which is to say not at all, but I suspect EUC riders make EUCs safer due to their constant anxiety of a face plant whereas eScooter riders are the type to text with completely straight legs.

You should be considering an eBike as for any given speed eBikes are far safer than other electrics. No has ever or will ever crash a fatbike going 8 mph.

[Jerome]

On 12/17/2018 at 10:15 PM, BlackM said:

But EUC's with their single wheel, if they stall at high speed,  you are going to fall. And as the devices get older, they eventually will. And you are very likely going to hurt yourself in the process. And because of this, I chose to buy a Ninebot ES2 this time around.

I don't get the purpose of a post like this on a EUC forum. People are aware of the EUC "unique" dangers. People have face-planted/crashed at speeds much higher than Ninebot one E+ speeds. People are aware of alternative PEVs. Why would anyone care that you are giving up on EUC riding and buying s scooter. Enjoy and ride safe.

[Mono]

2 hours ago, Jerome said:

I don't get the purpose of a post like this on a EUC forum.

Kindle a lively conversation under like-minded?

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

If Marty Backe : Drug Dealer aka Wheel Enabler then this OP's post : futile proclamation attempt at stopping EUC riding cold turkey.  Does that make any sense?   

The addiction of riding a one wheeled physics defying abomination of all that is holy has been recognized by many of my riding peers as very similar to a drug addiction.  Even though the habit is dangerous, extremely expensive, very risky and possibly injurious to one's body, the user has a hard time quitting.  Just look at some people who have broken bones, had expensive surgery, and who stash away small Mten3's just to maintain their habit.  They just try to hide their addiction from loved ones who don't understand it, and they get back on the wagon.  <passes ear ointment to a certain someone >

Just admit it, @BlackM will be back on the forums proudly showing off his new KS18XL or Z10 some day not too far in the future, or he might end up in a ditch somewhere face down with a wheel beeping at his side never to be seen again...   Thus is self-denial.  Yep, I swore I wouldn't be riding again, but that itch is coming back, and I gottas scratch it!!!   I can try my best to distract myself playing Tomb Raider and buying little remote plastic droids and watching a lot of wheel-porn.    But you know if you're still on the forums you'll be back sneaking some rides in, taking a late night roll when others are sleeping, or dreaming about your next hit.   

[RockyTop]

19 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

If Marty Backe : Drug Dealer aka Wheel Enabler then this OP's post : futile proclamation attempt at stopping EUC riding cold turkey.  Does that make any sense?   

The addiction of riding a one wheeled physics defying abomination of all that is holy has been recognized by many of my riding peers as very similar to a drug addiction.  Even though the habit is dangerous, extremely expensive, very risky and possibly injurious to one's body, the user has a hard time quitting.  Just look at some people who have broken bones, had expensive surgery, and who stash away small Mten3's just to maintain their habit.  They just try to hide their addiction from loved ones who don't understand it, and they get back on the wagon.  <passes ear ointment to a certain someone >

Just admit it, @BlackM will be back on the forums proudly showing off his new KS18XL or Z10 some day not too far in the future, or he might end up in a ditch somewhere face down with a wheel beeping at his side never to be seen again...   Thus is self-denial.  Yep, I swore I wouldn't be riding again, but that itch is coming back, and I gottas scratch it!!!   I can try my best to distract myself playing Tomb Raider and buying little remote plastic droids and watching a lot of wheel-porn.    But you know if you're still on the forums you'll be back sneaking some rides in, taking a late night roll when others are sleeping, or dreaming about your next hit.   

I can quit any time I want! ..................

        I only have four wheels. One more won’t hurt anyone. Marty has 11. I am still good. Right?! ............  I could quit if I wanted to. 

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Suuure keep telling yourself that.  There is no Wheel's Anonymous here, buddy.  We're all enablers and addicts.  Just own it.  

Hello, my name is Hunka, and I'm a wheel addict.  

[Lutalo]

1 hour ago, RockyTop said:

Yep, I swore I wouldn't be riding again, but that itch is coming back, and I gottas scratch it!!! 

Thank god. You finally, woke up from that sissy nightmare. 

[meepmeepmayer]

Self-balancing devices are inherently instable and will crash in the worst way if the electronics fail for any reason, or crash the rider if the wheel hits something big/problematic enough.

If someone can't live with or enjoy riding with this risk, looking for an alternative is the exact right thing to to. Why would anybody shame them for this? Just because we are EUC enthusiasts doesn't mean we should be blindly advocating for EUCs for everyone (hmm... sounds alluring, though ).

@LanghamP has it exactly right, though, tire size matters most. These scooters have laughably small and easily-thrown-off-track tires, and let's not even speak of eboards that only work on perfect asphalt at speed.

Safety at speed needs a big tire diameter like an ebike has. Not sure if a scooter is actually safer than a EUC if you tried them both on the same obstacles. And I'd rather free-fall forwards than onto a metal steering bar.

For safety, get an ebike. And unless you have any delusions about scooter safety, if you prefer one to EUCs, by all means get a scooter instead. Whatever makes you happy

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

  No!

 tire !

[Bob Eisenman]

18 hours ago, LanghamP said:

the over leveraged front wheel allows the rider to create his own pothole.