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First real crash on asphalt (mTen3)


Richardo

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Sorry to hear about the crash, but I am glad you came out of it mostly okay. Dog poo not withstanding!

If you push any machine near its limits often enough you'll eventually find them. The Mten3's capabilities mean those limits are closer than on other wheels...especially for a larger/heavier rider.  You could gear up and keep riding it aggressively with the understanding that once in a while you'll crash or you could avoid aggressive riding on a small wheel and you'd be unlikely to repeat that crash. 

No real wrong answer. Just depends how you feel about crashing.

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Ouch. Great to hear you survived without significant damage. Probably good your sweater got shredded, no worries about getting the poo off, right?

I ate it on my 67v MTen at 46% battery—overlean due to a bump at a mere 14 mph. My takeaway: MTen is for goofing around only. Picking up trash, learning backwards, @pico tricks. Don’t plan to “go anywhere” because the temptation to grab that burst of speed (MTen is fun that way from 2-10 mph) or just cruise too fast is ever present. For me, it’s difficult to resist.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/17/2021 at 8:26 PM, Richardo said:

I was wearing the expensive klim induction gloves, and my hands feel perfect despite taking the majority of the impact. 

I've fallen 4 times on my 84v mten so far. Once was obvious rider error (low battery, tried to accelerate hard up a steep driveway; I fell around 10mph I think). Once I think was loose gravel; not sure how I would have avoided. It was a dirt road, I was going about 17mph and all of a sudden the wheel spun up and I was rolling in the dirt. I think maybe I hit a spot where they filled a pothole, but nothing looked visually different. Another time was also rider error; it was night and I was viciously mugged by a trashcan. It came out of nowhere! The last time I think I hit a rock at about 18mph on otherwise clear, smooth pavement. In 3 of those 4 falls I felt my wrist guards dig into my palm and wrist, and that includes the two that falls felt like slow motion and I managed to roll out of.

Hitting the rock was weird... wheel lifted up and then I was just on the ground. That was also the least I've gotten hurt despite having 0 reaction: full leather jacket, wrist guards, full face helmet, and knee pads. My shoulder was sore a couple of days later.

Those Klim gloves look like they have some nice padding and will let you keep all the skin on your hands, but it doesn't look like they'll protect you from any broken bones. I'm quite certain without the wrist guards I probably would have broken a wrist already in one of my previous falls. I'm currently wearing gloves meant for snowboarding.

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I was wearing these ripstop fabric pants and I thought the ripstop was just a fashion type fabric, but all of my other clothes ripped to shreds, and the pants didn't even get the least bit torn, despite me putting my knee solidly into the asphalt and dragging it enough to skin it inside the clothes.

Ooh, these sound great! I recently switched from "traditional" over the pants knee pads to "bohn armor", which are basically padded long underwear you wear under your clothes. I was just thinking that the next time I fall I'll probably rip out my jeans. I might have to get some of these.

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maybe don't trust the mten3? Or I need to learn more before I trust it? Always put on the safety gear.

Always safety equipment. Lighter on the acceleration, esp if you're at lower battery (voltage = pressure; less voltage = less torque = less acceleration). Heed the beeps. Be mindful of the road and slow down a bit as you approach bumps and dips so it'll clear them. Don't hit rocks. I'm a big fan of the euc watch so I can glance at my hand to see my speed and feel speed alerts as a vibration in my glove. With that or with one of the phone apps you can set extra alarms a bit earlier than the built in alarm. If I had a more powerful wheel, I might have avoided 2 of these falls. Or I might have just had those falls going even faster.

But overall the question "should I trust the machine" is a big part of why I hate the term "cut out". I've spent my adult life riding analog unicycles, and one of the early things I learned is that if you're at max cadence (max wheel rpm), you absolutely cannot survive any bumps or dips without first slowing down. A bump or a dip requires the wheel travel slightly further than flat ground, and if you're already at your max speed, the wheel will fall behind. Once you ask it to do 101% it's literally impossible to catch up. During that 0.59s it takes your face to drop 1.7m, for every each your face drops the machine has to be able to go even faster to "catch up". These machines don't "cut out"; that sounds like they gave up and stopped trying. No, we occasionally ask it to give 101% and it faithfully gives 100% until that moment you and it are both sliding across the pavement.

Edited by bobpaul
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On 11/8/2021 at 7:10 PM, ShanesPlanet said:

Imho, the mten is a fun little pocket rocket. I also dont think its wise to try and ride it much about 10-12mph, even down hill.

Honestly, I'm a bit surprised they still make the 67v mTen3. It's only what, $150 less than the 84v, and it's so much more limited. (... Says the guy who just posted about falling several times :D)

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10 minutes ago, bobpaul said:

surprised they still make the 67v mTen3

I picked my 67v up about 9 months ago, I think somebody was using up warehouse parts or something because it's a bit of a mishmash... black body, lift button, absolutely enormous pedals that were so huge I had to replace them. I think I paid $670, it was a screaming deal. And for what it is, it's grundles of fun. (for what it's not, it's downright dangerous)

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1 hour ago, bobpaul said:

Honestly, I'm a bit surprised they still make the 67v mTen3. It's only what, $150 less than the 84v, and it's so much more limited. (... Says the guy who just posted about falling several times :D)

I paid less than $500 NEW for each of my 67v mtens. :)  Limits don't matter when the useage is under them...  I can ride 16mph on mine but just really dont like to.

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