Get a faster wheel or be content with what you have ?

[bpong]

Y’all:

yeah, I see the eyes rolling as they read the subject line.

but it is undoubtably one of the most frequently visited thought or ambition that I have on my mind after only riding for a few seasons.

my average riding speed now ranges from 35 to 48 kph and i find myself still wanting to go faster.  but my other thoughts say that this speed is about the fastest that I want to experience a crash at and have a chance to survive it.

its not a question of what I can afford (got my eye on the hispeed RS),  it’s about where does it stop,  the need to go faster ?  I simply find it a blast to ride with traffic in the street now since I can keep up with traffic.  it’s damn addictive to say the least... 

just saying, that’s all...(shaking my head)

bpong

[.....]

Both... be content with what you have AND get a faster wheel. Chances of surviving a crash a pretty great. I dont think too many people have died from euc crashes.

Edited May 4, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[mrelwood]

15 minutes ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Chances of surviving a crash a pretty great.

Question is, is one content with just surviving a crash. Personally my ambitions are a bit higher than that. As the op wrote:

25 minutes ago, bpong said:

fastest that I want to experience a crash at

 

 

15 minutes ago, ShanesPlanet said:

I dont think too many people have died from euc crashes.

Three that I remember. None of those with a faster speed than what the V10F is capable of though.

 

 Where does it stop? Well, it might not. It’s not the worst idea to find excitement from other aspects than speed as well. I don’t get much kicks riding super fast on flat pavement. The wind alone becomes easily uncomfortable beyond 50km/h. I get my kicks of riding slow off-road, and exceeding my skills at difficult forest paths, cliffs and other obstacles.

[.....]

44 minutes ago, bpong said:

the fastest that I want to experience a crash at and have a chance to survive it.

@mrelwood its funny how we both caught different parts of the same sentence.   I tend to assume I will live from a crash, even at 50mph. Altho I could be wrong...

Aw man, I didnt think anyone had died on an euc (tho Im not surprised). My statement about that was rather cold and distasteful, I do apologize. 1 is technically too many. I am also not surprised it wasnt at 'high' speeds. Unfortunate and again, apologies for that. If i happen to come to an  utimely end on an euc, please feel happy for me.

Speed is not a new or uncommon addiction. Its also not the safest.

Edited May 4, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[mrelwood]

5 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

I didnt think anyone had died on an euc

 Just a while ago someone posted a death notification of a fourth one on the Inmotion chat. Circumstances weren’t mentioned more than that she (yes, she) died in Moscow for hitting her head a bit too hard.

[Unventor]

8 minutes ago, mrelwood said:

 Just a while ago someone posted a death notification of a fourth one on the Inmotion chat. Circumstances weren’t mentioned more than that she (yes, she) died in Moscow for hitting her head a bit too hard.

And indicated in text too that she might have had a pre-accident problem too.

On the other hand no source than an English text with a picture. So hard to check facts and circumstances. 

Now the interesting part is not if you survive a crash at 50mph @ShanesPlanet, the real question what impact it has on your life if you survive. 

As an example I had a distant family member that crashed on a mc. He hit something I am not sure what, nor do I know the full circumstances but I think it was about 90kmh accident.  This was back in 1970ish. He was in a coma for months about 8 months or so. At the time none had broken that many bones in the body yet and survive in Denmark. But the coma and miniature bonefragments had caused brain damage so he never been able to work and could barely dress himself. Watching him do stuff was watching some one on a moonwalk, everything good 3x the time.

To me that is not a real life. 

[Unventor]

6 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Both... be content with what you have AND get a faster wheel. Chances of surviving a crash a pretty great. I dont think too many people have died from euc crashes.

Interesting way of wording this. Just a thought how many are okey to die before it is too many?

Or let me put this a bit different, so the limit is if people die from what they do or not?

Also a different angle, a rogue wheel bouncing hitting someone or a car swaying away from it hitting someone, do we have a limit on that before it is too many? Just thinking a sherman "dancing" down the road after sliding out on sand on asphalt in a curve. That can hit someone pretty hard. 

I can say that is on my consideration of what mayhem my wheel can cause if I am not in control of it anymore. And yet I had 2 times where I had to bail my V8 because of car drivers didn't give me any other options. 

[bpong]

after reading all the replies and comments so far,  i totally agree with ShanesPlanet:  be content with what you have and get a faster wheel.

as for the other comments, one aspect i didnt consider at all are the actions of the rider and consequent out of control riderless wheel careening across

the street... good call Unventor...

thanx to all the comments so far,  its eye opening to think of all the possibilities but at the same time, morbid too (shaking head, eyes rolling)...

carry on !!!

 

[Tawpie]

3 hours ago, Unventor said:

Just a thought how many are okey to die before it is too many?

Too many for what though? To add legislation (nanny state)? To allow the "bad people" from "not around here" to dictate what I have to do to make a living or what I am allowed to think? That's war talk.

I feel a personal responsibility for the consequences of my actions and decisions and do hope that others follow suit. Nevertheless I also accept that others will look at the situation with a different viewpoint and disagree with me about what should happen, or should have happened—this is part and parcel of sentient beings. There are those that choose to ride rocket ships, make left turns at 200+ mph, stand in line at the top of Mt. Everest, surf a 70' tall wave, ride a manual unicycle, play American football, deep fry a turkey. All these activities come with inherent risk to property, bystanders, self, loved ones, and perhaps in some poorly understood way to humanity as a whole. But so does getting out of bed... and staying in bed.

So yeah, until we're all in the Matrix i'm with @ShanesPlanet: be content, and get a faster wheel. Besides, we may already be a simulation so, why not?

Edited May 4, 2021 by Tawpie

[RagingGrandpa]

10 hours ago, bpong said:

bpong

• EUC: Glide 3, Tesla V2

You will 100% benefit from the performance and safety of an MSuper, relative to a Tesla. Even the cheap 84V MSX will be a game changer. Don't wait!

 

10 hours ago, bpong said:

where does it stop,  the need to go faster ?  

I simply find it a blast to ride with traffic in the street now since I can keep up with traffic.

My thoughts exactly!

50kph is a game-changing speed, because it makes the EUC compatible with traffic on public roads marked 25mph (40kph) typical in cities and suburbs. 50kph gets the EUC's off the sidewalks and bike paths. Once we're doing 50kph, car traffic is more predictable than pedestrians, closing speeds are low, we're not being overtaken, we pose minimal danger to the other road users... everything's better.

Then we could consider the next steps of becoming compatible with public roads marked 60kph... then 80... then 100... but I don't see the appeal. There is very little maneuvering happening (safely) at higher speeds, so you're just covering distance. Riding in a straight line gets boring. If you really need to commute 10 miles at 40mph, scooters look much safer and offer better value for money.

[.....]

3 hours ago, Unventor said:

And indicated in text too that she might have had a pre-accident problem too.

On the other hand no source than an English text with a picture. So hard to check facts and circumstances. 

Now the interesting part is not if you survive a crash at 50mph @ShanesPlanet, the real question what impact it has on your life if you survive. 

As an example I had a distant family member that crashed on a mc. He hit something I am not sure what, nor do I know the full circumstances but I think it was about 90kmh accident.  This was back in 1970ish. He was in a coma for months about 8 months or so. At the time none had broken that many bones in the body yet and survive in Denmark. But the coma and miniature bonefragments had caused brain damage so he never been able to work and could barely dress himself. Watching him do stuff was watching some one on a moonwalk, everything good 3x the time.

To me that is not a real life. 

We all have decisions to make. Some people allow the 'what if's' to hold more weight than others.  I agree, being permanenly injured is no good way to 'live' a life. I also think that living in fear is not a way to live a life.  Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I would much rather perish in a high speed crash, than barely live thru it. Unfortunately, that choice isnt mine to make. I'd say that everytime a person gets in their car, they are also weighing the same decisions. However, we are used to cars and no ammount of death statistics has slowed us from accepting that danger to ourselves and others. At least if i run someone over on an euc, I'm not in a 3,000lb steel box, talking on my cell phone. 60mph aint shit compared to the speeds of modern cars and bikes, yet we dont even think twice about it.

I bet when the first car came about, the people on horses also thought it was WAY too fast and dangerous. THEN came car racing. Age old debate... When is fast enough too fast. It seems that the answer is sometimes 'never'.

Edited May 4, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[Kristof Willen]

12 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

Chances of surviving a crash a pretty great. I dont think too many people have died from euc crashes.

Meh.  I don't think wheelchairs are that much fun either.

[GPW]

If I understand the original question correctly, you were debating the personal risk/reward of going faster. In this context, this thread actually paints a pretty cohesive story. Seems like everyone acknowledges higher speed carries higher personal risk.  Whether it is worth it to you requires a personal weighing of risk/reward. Not surprising that the extra risk is not worth it to some and very much worth it to others. So long as you make the choice without deluding yourself about potential risks, neither answer is wrong in my view. Seems like some answers touch on a separate debate about speed and safety that is more complex - a distinction can be made between increased personal risk and increased risk to others. I am not sure this can be answered without a situational overlay - 15 mph can be reckless in certain situations, 40 mph can be totally reasonable in the appropriate situations.   

[Tawpie]

6 minutes ago, GPW said:

some answers touch on a separate debate about speed and safety that is more complex - a distinction can be made between increased personal risk and increased risk to others. I am not sure this can be answered without a situational overlay

as an example, a friend's mother got a reckless driving ticket (unsafe speed for conditions, they didn't have a speed limit at the time) in Montana... she was going about 5 mph. In an absolute whiteout bizzard and crept past a patrol car parked in front of the police station. Officer hit lights and siren, got out of his car (never moved it), took her inside the station and explained that it was neither reasonable or safe to be going any speed in those conditions. And when she objected he wrote her up for reckless driving.

[Resko727]

On 5/4/2021 at 12:13 AM, bpong said:

Y’all:

yeah, I see the eyes rolling as they read the subject line.

but it is undoubtably one of the most frequently visited thought or ambition that I have on my mind after only riding for a few seasons.

my average riding speed now ranges from 35 to 48 kph and i find myself still wanting to go faster.  but my other thoughts say that this speed is about the fastest that I want to experience a crash at and have a chance to survive it.

its not a question of what I can afford (got my eye on the hispeed RS),  it’s about where does it stop,  the need to go faster ?  I simply find it a blast to ride with traffic in the street now since I can keep up with traffic.  it’s damn addictive to say the least... 

just saying, that’s all...(shaking my head)

bpong

 Listen to words of the video https://youtu.be/RQ7YE9kxtNo

We are all gambling just set your amount of risk and go from there. fastest I been on euc is 36 mph and rush is out of this world. Can you get hurt absolutely can you touch the sun and not get burnt maybe.

[alcatraz]

Only you can answer that question. Evaluate your own riding behavior as if it were someone else, like a sibling or cousin. What would you advise them to do had they asked you this question?

You don't have to worry about the 99% of all that's going on but about that 1% of behavior when you are stressed or tired, or riding with friends or in the dark etc. Are you observant at all times? Do you get no surprises even after 10kkm? If the answer is truthfully positive then upgrade to a faster wheel.

You can get injuries at 30km/h that you will carry residual pain from for the rest of your life, regardless if you're wearing motorcycle riding gear. So personally I limit my wheels to 30km/h just because I don't trust myself. I got people that rely on me, you know. I use my wheel mainly for commuting (in a densely populated city) and I'm too lazy to always wear safety gear. So low speed it is no matter how crazy it drives me.

Here's something that might not come to mind. You can upgrade your wheel without raising the max speed. My old wheel was 30km/h and my new wheel I've limited to 30km/h too. However I'm much faster and safer on the new wheel for various reasons. So an upgrade doesn't have to be max speed, to actually feel like a big upgrade and to cut a chunk of time off your commute/etc.

Edited May 6, 2021 by alcatraz