Jump to content

Using eWheel in crowded city full of pedestrians


johnc415

Recommended Posts

Hi,

I've not yet committed to purchasing an eWheel but it has piqued my interest. I am considering purchasing one for my commute in NYC after getting off the bus, which is a distance of approx 1.5 miles. Does anyone have any experience on how difficult it is to navigate on crowded streets full of pedestrians? I would try to avoid Times Square and the unnecessarily busy streets but as it is NYC, there's no such thing as an empty street during rush hour in midtown.

Next, based on the threads I've read, it seems that the gotway 14 is a popular choice. Can anyone comment on which wheel would best suit crowded city commuting? would the GW14 be a bad idea here? Thanks!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 66
  • Created
  • Last Reply

From my experience, you can ride very slow with either fast (my 16" Firewheel) or slow (my 14" generic) wheel. Last friday, I rode through the marina with the 16" in sport-mode ("hard-mode", ie. it reacts very fast to small movements, so takes lots of control to ride slow) during a summer festival night (which I'd forgotten totally was at that night), and it was full of people and bikes. I had to crawl behind very slowly walking pedestrians and bikes, slalom slowly between them, and was nearly pushed to the lake by a bicycle that suddenly cut in from the side :D , but never needed to put my foot down. That being said, you need to practice the crawl-speed riding first (and stopping without the wheel getting anywhere, in case you need stop for traffic lights for example!), it's a lot harder than riding faster, especially when going sub-walking speed, and the harder it becomes the larger the diameter (higher center of gravity) and the heavier wheel you got.

14" or below (Gotway has 8" and 10" models, and at least Rockwheel has 12") might be a good idea for riding in crowded places, and you don't need a fast wheel with large battery (ie. GW14) unless you plan on riding longer or faster routes also (and riding fast in crowd is a no-no), so a cheap 14" generic would probably fit the bill too, but it shouldn't matter even if the wheel has higher top speed, just that it might not be useful to have a high-speed wheel if you can never ride it that fast. I can ride straight at very, very slow speeds with both wheels, but I've ridden countless hours (over 500km in total) with them both, and spent a lot of time learning the crawl-speed riding, so I'd say I can handle them pretty well at this point.

Edit: This picture might give you an idea how much people there were, of course I didn't ride from the front of the stage, but around it ;)  

1593802_.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I regularly take this pedestrian road in Bordeaux (rue Ste Catherine) : http://tanoutout.com/sites/default/files/images/IMG_0138.jpg

Bikes are tolerated there so no problem even when it's more crowded than in the picture.

And I use a Firewheel 16", a little less agile than my 14" wheels. So you'll be fine with a GW14... after some weeks of training.

The GW is quite fast, once you are addicted to it not sure you'll keep the bus ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Edit: This picture might give you an idea how much people there were, of course I didn't ride from the front of the stage, but around it ;) 

 

​lol !

Let me guess why, because it's a youngster-not-allowed festival ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

​lol !

Let me guess why, because it's a youngster-not-allowed festival ?

​Nope, but to get to the front of the stage, you need to have tickets, plus the performers were of no interest to me (Tom Jones and some Finnish artists). Didn't even remember it was being held that night, just wondered why the hell there were so many people walking around and standing in the bike lanes when getting closer to the marina...  :D  Plus, I'm 32, so I don't think it would have mattered even if there was some age restriction. But with the artists being what they were, and the tickets costing around 70€, I doubt many younger people went to see the show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My son and I rode up the busiest shopping street in Bath just before Christmas.

Pedestrians can be very unpredictable but if you can ride slowly and step off without losing control of the wheel then I'm sure you'll manage. Just don't try it until you've had a reasonable amount of practice and gained some skill and control.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone for the input! I really appreciate it!

I have a follow up question. If I were to buy a new GW14 340wh, it would cost me approx $825USD which includes shipping. On the other hand, I may be able to acquire a Solowheel classic used for approx $900-$1000USD (I would pick it up locally). Finally, there are the other cheaper brands to start off with.

Here are some factors that have me stumped:

1. Primary purpose will be for commuting approx 2.5km each way to work in midtown NYC streets after a bus ride into NY (I live outside NY in NJ)

2. Should I catch the fever everyone here seems to quickly develop, I will want more speed/power down the road

3. I'd prefer not to buy an unsightly wheel (while the Kingsong specs seem nice, I wouldn't ride it - no offense to any fans of KS, just not my style. I don't mind the plain look of GW and some other generics however)

4. While the Solowheel is slower and has less range, it has better resale value (plus I noticed Inventist is offering $1200 credit towards upgrading to their Extreme and might possibly do so again for their Orbit should it ever come out - that would be an additional 1k later but its pretty awesome that its half the weight of most wheels)

I know there's no "right" answer to anyone's needs but I'd love to know your thoughts! Based on the above, which wheel would you rec?? Thanks again for reading and commenting!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a follow up question. 

Here's my take on the points:

1. Pretty much any wheel (even 132Wh) should be able to go 5km on full charge, unless the battery pack is really crappy (ie. built from used/mix of different cells). If I were to buy a GW14, I'd still probably go with the higher battery capacity version (680Wh) from the start, even if I wouldn't need all the range it gives. Higher capacity (more parallel battery packs) does not only mean range, it also means stabler power output, including when the battery charge is getting low. Just about an hour ago, as I was riding with the Firewheel, I went up a short, steep hill after riding maybe 12km after full charge, and noticed that when I started to accelerate uphill, the wheel slightly "nodded" forwards before getting back upright and starting to accelerate, meaning that the voltage from the battery pack dropped at first when I demanded more power from it and over half of the charge was used. From what I understand, voltage pretty much equals torque, and as it drops when the charge gets lower (and during sudden peaks), more parallel battery packs would help keeping it high (sharing the "burden"). With the Firewheel, I don't notice the power loss before almost empty battery as much as with the 14" generic (after dropping to 2 leds from 4, you can really tell the torque's a lot less than when fuller), you especially notice it during powerful braking and hill climbing, but it is there with the FW also, just not as noticeable until you need full power suddenly.

2. From my experience so far, yes, if the EUC bug bites you, you'll want to upgrade fairly fast if you went with a less powerful wheel :D On the other hand, starting with a cheap no-name is a good option in the sense that you'll likely bang up and scratch your first wheel a lot during practice, and won't be as pissed about the scratches or if you totally destroy it ;)  Having cracked and scratched the shell on a $1000-2000 wheel might be a different story.

Also, you'll likely want more range/capacity, because even smaller batteries take an hour or so to charge, so half of the time will be spent charging. With large capacity (600+Wh) batteries you can charge overnight and ride plenty the next day without having to worry about recharging. I ride for about an hour or 1.5 hours with the full charge (264Wh) of the Firewheel (lately I've been pushing it a lot in terms of power demand, so I run out quicker), then it charges for 2+ hours, and I usually don't have the time to do another round on same evening, so I'd rather ride more hours/distance on one go and let it charge longer. Also the weather's been really crappy, sun shining during the day when I'm working, and then starting to rain in the evening, with an odd clear weather between. So I go to a ride, get back to charge, and when it's done, it's usually either too late (well, I've sometimes gone riding in the middle of the night :rolleyes:) or started raining again, when the weather would have been fine to ride 1-2 hours more in one go... :P

3. From the aesthetics point, my personal favorites are Firewheel and Ninebot, some IPSs look nice, and the 12" EVA, the rest don't come even close, but I didn't buy the Firewheel because of the looks, but for the power and speed. Both FW and Ninebot also have big comfortable pedals (I haven't actually tried Ninebot, but at least they look comfortable), which is a big plus if you ride longer trips in one go.

4. In my opinion, Solowheel is very expensive compared to its specs, but you're (probably) right on the resale-value. However, I have my doubts that the small battery and low top speed will quickly begin to annoy you (I know they would with me).

I can't tell you what is the "exact" right wheel for you, for crowded urban areas or tricks I'd go with 14" or smaller (or maybe 16" after you've spent a while to learn how to ride it in very slow speeds, but it still isn't as nimble as the smaller ones), but for fun riding faster 14" and up (18" might be too much for me due to its weight), so 14" could be good middle ground for both. Big batteries in both cases, even if I didn't need all the capacity, as most of the weight (70-80% usually) comes from the motor and pedal frame alone anyway, you get longer lasting power and the batteries have longer lifetime if they aren't ridden all the way to empty all the time (I recall reading somewhere that the sweet spot would be to discharge them to around 40-50% and then recharge, in terms of battery lifetime). From my own experience it's hard to recommend anything specific, as I've only got the FW and the 14" generic, but I haven't been disappointed with the speed and power of the FW (just need more range/longer lasting power, another parallel 264Wh)! Be wary though, if you'd choose to go with FW, you've probably read what needs to be done to it, before it's safe and can withstands some water (sealing, BMS-mod), unless they've started doing those changes in the factory nowadays.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@johnc415

GW has a good reputation and is easy to resell at high cost here in France (some people always prefer to buy from you instead of ordering from China).

Generic wheels are fine indeed (iezway or TG) but are rather dangerous because of their lack of power, even more if you are heavy (>70kg) so you need to be much more prudent. I happen to fall several time with my generic 14" wheel but with my powerfull Firewheel, just once, not because of lack of power, but because of the BMS failure. So power is a factor.

Solowheel is a secure wheel but its range sucks (less than 10km) !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's my take on the points:

​Thanks so much!!! I appreciate the well thought out and honest response! You've effectively swayed me away from the Solowheel trap which would've seen me dump lots of money at the slower wheel albeit it is nicely made and has great customer service. Also per your advice, I spent some time yesterday looking for a cheap wheel but was disheartened at how expensive shipping is (a $300 wheel quickly becomes $450/500 with shipping to the US). If I were to upgrade later, that would mean $300 across 2 shipments and that effectively led me to just buy a better wheel from the start. Gotway 14 MCMv2 it is!

This is one of the videos that made me sure this is the way of the future

​Thanks! I have decided to jump in after a week of thinking and rethinking! Can't wait to leave the disgusting NYC subways in the dust... unless it rains, then I'm back lol

@johnc415

GW has a good reputation and is easy to resell at high cost here in France (some people always prefer to buy from you instead of ordering from China).

​Thanks! I was strongly considering the Gotway and your insight gave me the final push I needed to go with GW. I just hope the market in the US comes along should I want to sell this wheel down the road (although I don't foresee that). Now I just have to sit and wait patiently for my package :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

​Thanks! I have decided to jump in after a week of thinking and rethinking! Can't wait to leave the disgusting NYC subways in the dust... unless it rains, then I'm back lol

​A couple of months ago that video seemed that it would take me a year to get that confidence. Now my level is that plus talking to cell phone or eating icecream at the same time.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

​From the aesthetics point, my personal favorites are Firewheel and Ninebot, some IPSs look nice, and the 12" EVA, the rest don't come even close,.

​hummm, the EVA, yummy !! Definitevely on my list of next wheels, after the dual wheel Imotion (for my wife).

I just received my GW 14" 340Wh (they call it "GW MCM 2S", it's the name to choose when you download the Android app). Weight = 10.9 kg, about 1kg more than my X3 clone and 2kg less than the Firewheel.

It's delivered only with a charger, no protection bands, no learning wheels, no holding band, no light, no air pump and not even the valve extension (without it, I don't know if it's possible to pump it up). Those accessory are redundant for me, but for a first wheeler, lacking them is really a bad point, all the more that the tire is flat (I pumped it up to 3.5 bar).

John, if it's still time, insist to have them, especially the valve extension, otherwise, you'll be superbely pissed off.

The GW is delivered configured with soft mode, which is IMHO totally inusable since the pedals are constantly wobbling and requires much more adjustment from the rider, I had to reconfigure to "madden mode" using the android app, and set the vibration alert at 22 km/h. I'll find time to ride it tomorrow and on next days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

John, if it's still time, insist to have them, especially the valve extension, otherwise, you'll be superbely pissed off.

I didn't have the extensions either, but found a cheap 12V compressor from a local shop (it runs from car cigarette lighter-contactor, and cost only 16€), that has a Schrader ("auto")-valve connector and it fits into the FW's valve under the shell (barely). It's the kind where you just turn it on and it keeps pumping more pressure until you turn it off, can't set any limits or such (and it claims to go up to 300PSI / 20bar, which I doubt, but don't need such pressures anyway). I've now used 4 bar on FW (pump it into about 4.5, as some of the air always gets out when you disconnect the connector from the valve), and that might be a bit too much. Just went for a short off road trip, and the tire's way too hard for it imo, it rolls nice on pavement, but you really feel even the slightest bumps, so probably should drop it into something like 3.5 bar.

 

The GW is delivered configured with soft mode, which is IMHO totally inusable since the pedals are constantly wobbling and requires much more adjustment from the rider, I had to reconfigure to "madden mode" using the android app, and set the vibration alert at 22 km/h. I'll find time to ride it tomorrow and on next days.

​If the soft mode in GW is similar to FW's "comfortable"-mode, it's fairly useless in my opinion too. While some softness may not be a bad thing at all times, at least on FW it's way too soft (the very first time I tried it, I thought I was going to fall into the pavement before the wheel reacted). I tried it a couple of times (although only shortly) and decided it really isn't for me, but maybe some people like it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm with esaj.. I got a cheap genetic one had loadsa fun so far with it and it's taken some right prangs wouldn't wana learn on an expensive gotway or similar(my cheap one bounces well but very scuffed).. just my two cents

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

John, if it's still time, insist to have them, especially the valve extension, otherwise, you'll be superbely pissed off.

 

​So I have a bike pump with an air pressure gauge and it also has the schrader valve hole. Will that be enough to pump up the tire or do I still need a valve extension? Copied here is what my air pump looks like 

shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcRe3S2tsGOWPY6h2BR7dshopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcTj8OoT-XAAF1EOO8U4c

​If the soft mode in GW is similar to FW's "comfortable"-mode, it's fairly useless in my opinion too. While some softness may not be a bad thing at all times, at least on FW it's way too soft (the very first time I tried it, I thought I was going to fall into the pavement before the wheel reacted). I tried it a couple of times (although only shortly) and decided it really isn't for me, but maybe some people like it.

​Does Gotway support iOS? I saw a thread for it here but noone seemed to respond - I don't own any android devices; might have to pick up a cheap android brick to use for setting up my bike

I'm with esaj.. I got a cheap genetic one had loadsa fun so far with it and it's taken some right prangs wouldn't wana learn on an expensive gotway or similar(my cheap one bounces well but very scuffed).. just my two cents

​Appreciate the input! I already put in the order for the Gotway 14! I'm hoping the protective sticker thingies do enough protecting it while I learn and crash

Link to comment
Share on other sites

​So I have a bike pump with an air pressure gauge and it also has the schrader valve hole. Will that be enough to pump up the tire or do I still need a valve extension?

Not sure on this, the Schrader-connector on that pump looks like what I've got in the cheapo-compressor, and the Firewheel has very tight shell, so I THINK it should work with GotWay (but as usual, might be wrong... :rolleyes:)

 

​Does Gotway support iOS? I saw a thread for it here but noone seemed to respond - I don't own any android devices; might have to pick up a cheap android brick to use for setting up my bike

Didn't find the app from iTunes with quick look, I don't think Apple lets you install software from outside their own App Store unless the phones been jailbroken. Just borrow an Android phone or tablet from someone for a while. Btw, does anyone know if Gotway requires Bluetooth LE (Low Energy, sometimes called "Bluetooth Smart") or works just with BT 4.0 Classic-profile? If it requires LE, the Android version must be at least 4.3 (the newest ones are 4.4.2 and 5.x I think) and have a BT-chip with LE-support. AFAIK, pretty much any fairly decent (year-two?) Android-mobile/tablet should do.

 

​Appreciate the input! I already put in the order for the Gotway 14! I'm hoping the protective sticker thingies do enough protecting it while I learn and crash

​Yeah, those help a lot, just a small hint: cut them where there are shell seams, and if possible, do not cover any screw holes. So in case you ever need to open the shell, you don't have to tear them off (I had to tear them off from the 14" generic, and the 3M-tape used to attach them does not come off easily, the adhesive is really strong, ended up having to partially tear the paddings). Here's what I did with the Firewheel:

padding.jpg

No screws covered, all pads that are on top of seams are made from two pieces.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the quality is anything like my cheapo one (which I hear it's better) I'm sure it will bounce well ;) lol. I'd recommend running a bit of rope round the handle if ya don't get a training strap with it just to start with so ya wheel does t go bouncing down the road lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Feedback from my first ride with the brand new GW14 this morning to work.

Coming home for lunch, it failed me miserably. I wish I bruised only my dignity, but not. My left palm & elbow and right knee are all blood, the shirt is dead and  the trousers is not even good for charity.

I stay home this afternoon and probably tomorrow to lick my wounds, this bloody wheel is generous enough to let my 10 fingers intact for typing and vent my anger, grrr.

The GW14 is outright dangerous, it has no speed warning, except a useless and nagging beep which makes more noise than a mega-truck in reverse gear, so much that any normal people would want a way to silence it. No pedal incline, no vibration, no nothing apart the-litteraly- bloody beeps and then it stops and let you fly (except I don't have wings). It is supposed to warn you of overspeed with 1 beep, then 2 beeps, and then bloody who knows, but in fact, it is always beeping, so it's like it's does warn you of nothing.

I was on a portion of road I take daily at much higher speed with the Firewheel so I'm quite sure the cutoff happened at lower speed than 25km/h, that sucks ! And now that I remember for reading it somewhere, the threshold speed for cutoff is... variable.

Oh, there is a vibration feature, configurable with the Android app. I set it to 22km/h, thinking I would be warned for ovespeeding. But guess what vibrates, not the wheel, buddy, but the stupid smartphone which is supposed to be with you and switched on while you are riding, only to warn you of imminent uncontrolled take-off & and catastrophic landing, so it's essentially another useless feature.

So John, be carefull, be very carefull. Be aware that the GW is susceptible of cutoff without warning and wear copious protection gears as long as you don't know where its limits are.

Apart from that, after you get some broken arms and displaced shoulder, this wheel is great.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Feedback from my first ride with the brand new GW14 this morning to work.

Coming home for lunch, it failed me miserably. I wish I bruised only my dignity, but not. My left palm & elbow and right knee are all blood, the shirt is dead and  the trousers is not even good for charity.

I stay home this afternoon and probably tomorrow to lick my wounds, this bloody wheel is generous enough to let my 10 fingers intact for typing and vent my anger, grrr.

Damn, that sucks :(  Hope you recover fast and can get back on wheeling!

The GW14 is outright dangerous, it has no speed warning, except a useless and nagging beep which makes more noise than a mega-truck in reverse gear, so much that any normal people would want a way to silence it. No pedal incline, no vibration, no nothing apart the-litteraly- bloody beeps and then it stops and let you fly (except I don't have wings). It is supposed to warn you of overspeed with 1 beep, then 2 beeps, and then bloody who knows, but in fact, it is always beeping, so it's like it's does warn you of nothing.

From what I've understood, the beeps come in different rhythm, 1 per second, 2 per second, and last 4 per second (I think), think of them like 4/4 music beat with quarter notes. Maybe the first two warnings had been silenced by default, and you only got the last one, which sounds like continuous beeping with steady rhythm? Of course I could be wrong about the warnings, as I don't have a GW myself.

I was on a portion of road I take daily at much higher speed with the Firewheel so I'm quite sure the cutoff happened at lower speed than 25km/h, that sucks ! And now that I remember for reading it somewhere, the threshold speed for cutoff is... variable.

Do you think it could be a BMS overdischarge protection issue? The voltage drops too low sooner with heavier riders etc, causing the variability? The protection could be in the main board too, if it's in the software logics, then there's not much you can do about it unless you can reverse engineer the firmware & reprogram the chip.

Oh, there is a vibration feature, configurable with the Android app. I set it to 22km/h, thinking I would be warned for ovespeeding. But guess what vibrates, not the wheel, buddy, but the stupid smartphone which is supposed to be with you and switched on while you are riding, only to warn you of imminent uncontrolled take-off & and catastrophic landing, so it's essentially another useless feature.

Umm, to me it was plain clear that the phone vibrates, not the wheel... But I guess you can misunderstand it easily.

So John, be carefull, be very carefull. Be aware that the GW is susceptible of cutoff without warning and wear copious protection gears as long as you don't know where its limits are.

Apart from that, after you get some broken arms and displaced shoulder, this wheel is great.

I wear copious amount of protection (full-face motorcycle helmet, double-splinted long wrist guards, elbow/forearm-pads, knee/shin-pads, like I've stated in many places before) every time I go for a ride, even though I'm now pretty much 100% sure that the Firewheel doesn't cut off at high speed with the BMS-mod. I'd suggest everyone do the same, it takes a few minutes to put the gear on and take it off, so not that much trouble, and with good gear, you're comfortable with them on, good full-face helmets have ventilation, even if you're a "pro"-rider, you never know what other people on the road might do or if the wheel just suddenly malfunctions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

So John, be carefull, be very carefull. Be aware that the GW is susceptible of cutoff without warning and wear copious protection gears as long as you don't know where its limits are.

 

​Oh man... wishing you a speedy recovery as well, feel better and def take your time to fully recover.

Dang, that's scary. I know I've read a number of people getting hurt on their wheels. I plan to take it slow and steady. wow, that really has me a bit scared

So if I understand the situation correctly, once you exceed your high speed warnings, these wheels (GW and others included) will just cut out on you and send you flying?? Is there a way to somehow change that feature? perhaps automatically slow you down steadily?

 

I wear copious amount of protection (full-face motorcycle helmet, double-splinted long wrist guards, elbow/forearm-pads, knee/shin-pads, like I've stated in many places before) every time I go for a ride, even though I'm now pretty much 100% sure that the Firewheel doesn't cut off at high speed with the BMS-mod. I'd suggest everyone do the same, it takes a few minutes to put the gear on and take it off, so not that much trouble, and with good gear, you're comfortable with them on, good full-face helmets have ventilation, even if you're a "pro"-rider, you never know what other people on the road might do or if the wheel just suddenly malfunctions.

​easj, how long have you been riding now? You still wear full body and head armor every time you go for a ride? is it because you tend to go fast or you just wear it all the time even if you know you'll be strolling at slower speeds? finally, do you think there'll come a time when you no longer wear all the protection?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions! i just envisioned myself not wearing anything eventually... besides clothes :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So if I understand the situation correctly, once you exceed your high speed warnings, these wheels (GW and others included) will just cut out on you and send you flying?? Is there a way to somehow change that feature? perhaps automatically slow you down steadily?

Most wheels have the tilt-back, meaning the pedals will start inclining as you approach the max speed, to force you to slow down or at least stop accelerating (it's still possible to accelerate over the top speed, but not by accident). I recall reading somewhere that Gotways should have it settable in the app in the future, don't know if it's possible right now (By default, they do not have tilt-back). Firewheel also has no tilt-back, but with the BMS-mod it doesn't cut out at top speed either (I've taken it to about 30km/h GPS-speed and kept it there, with the final warning starting at around 28km/h, and before the BMS-mod, the previous owner said it would cut-out after a couple of seconds after the last warning started). If I were to just continue accelerating, and I haven't tried it, I think that at some point the pedals would decline forwards, as the motor cannot keep turning the tire faster and faster to keep the pedals level (runs out of torque). Without the BMS-mod, it may not only cut out at max speed, but even during fast acceleration and hill climbing, or just plain cold weather, as the overdischarge protection circuit in the BMS is too sensitive for this kind of use. When the Firewheel runs out of battery (voltage drops to low enough for long enough), it does controlled deceleration, vibrates and plays back a recorded voice message (saying something like "Low power" or "Low battery"), and it's actually very noticeable and user-friendly (had it a couple of times, always on uphill).

I don't know if the GW cut out is caused by the BMS or the main board, but it (and most other wheels) will cut out at suddenly some point if you take it over the limits. @vee73 has done testing with the wheel cutouts (simply by riding over the top speed himself with bike computer and/or GPS and/or wheel app), but he wears full motocross-body armor when riding.

​easj, how long have you been riding now? You still wear full body and head armor every time you go for a ride? is it because you tend to go fast or you just wear it all the time even if you know you'll be strolling at slower speeds? finally, do you think there'll come a time when you no longer wear all the protection?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions! i just envisioned myself not wearing anything eventually... besides clothes :)

I've haven't been riding that long, for about a month and a half now, got my first generic on 5.5.2015, and the Firewheel on 2.6.2015 (a little over two weeks ago), the kilometers ridden so far are updated into my signature. You can read more about my learning curve  and the three falls I've had here: ​http://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/294-newbies-first-day-on-wheel/ . I still wear full gear when riding, I've done a couple short laps without anything but clothes when filling the tires/doing repairs and showing my friend some basics as he was testing the 14" generic and was wearing my gear. I tend to go fast with the Firewheel, yes, but I also am aware that I could fall or have an accident for any reason, any time (sudden cut out or other wheel malfunction, something unexpected done by some other person on the road, not seeing a pothole or some other obstacle in time, failing a curb jump etc.), even at slow speeds. I rather wear the gear than end up having to eat my food through a straw for a couple of months (were my jaw to break) or picking my teeth up from the road, or worse, so at least for now I haven't considered riding without the gear. The motorcycle helmet is actually pretty useful in my opinion, as there's no wind blowing in your eyes or insects hitting your face when riding fast with the visor down. My gear isn't the top-of-the-line (except for the wrist guards, as I wanted the long-kind with double splints so I wouldn't have to worry about sprained/broken wrists), and in total cost only 175€ (80€ for the helmet, 75€ for the wrist guards and 20€ for the knee/elbow -pad-set), plus they're comfortable to wear in my opinion.

EUC-riding could be likened to extreme sports (especially at high speeds), there's always the risk of getting hurt, even when you know what you're doing. Some people ride hundreds or thousands of kilometers without any accidents ever, but you never know. I haven't had but "only" three falls, out of which the two first were more severe (1st and 3rd day of riding, the 3rd day fall was caught on video and smashed my camera also :D) and due to inexperience, and the third was just me taking the generic over the top speed :rolleyes:, haven't fallen with the Firewheel yet, although I've had a few close calls. With the 14" wheel I've also had cases where I've run off the fall (ie. the wheel falls, but I stay up by hopping off and running), haven't had those with the Firewheel (yet ;)).

Many people ride without any protective gear, and the motorcycle helmet could be a bit over the top  ;) , but I'd suggest at least a bicycle helmet and some basic pads/wrist guards, the similar gear you would use when roller skating. With slower wheels, you can usually run off if the wheel tumbles, but with higher speeds that is unlikely, unless you are very good at high speed sprinting ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have nothing broken, so it's ok, I continue to ride as soon as tomorrow, for sure. What sucks is to change the bedsheet everyday for the next week or 2 because of the wounds. It is said girls like scars, but mine said nothing apart from "you're ok ?" and given the grin on her face, I'm sure it's another urban legend. <_<

Well, I was thinking to you precisely as a commuter, where it's not pratical to wear full-blown protection gears (I only have a bike helmet for everyday trips). What worrying is the cutoff speed is not fixed. Ah, it's not because of the BMS, I've have dismouted the battery and checked it yesterday, the BMS is the new model, already shunted. After the fall, I could restart and ride again sans problem. A BMS cut off would have added insult to injury by letting you bruised and wheeless. The battery is supposedly near full, with 3 leds /4 lit, so the cutoff doesn't come from the battery, just the programmer stupidity. That guy(s) should be fired, litterally, a firesquad B)

Forgot to reply to you about the valve. It's a shrader valve indeed and pumps with a flexible hose should be ok, even if it's definitively easier with a valve extension.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What worrying is the cutoff speed is not fixed. Ah, it's not because of the BMS, I've have dismouted the battery and checked it yesterday, the BMS is the new model, already shunted. After the fall, I could restart and ride again sans problem. A BMS cut off would have added insult to injury by letting you bruised and wheeless. The battery is supposedly near full, with 3 leds /4 lit, so the cutoff doesn't come from the battery, just the programmer stupidity. That guy(s) should be fired, litterally, a firesquad B)

As the cut off speed is variable and not caused by the BMS, it must be tied to either current or voltage -levels, not tire/motor RPM. I wish I could take a peek at the firmware above machine language/assembly -level, preferably the original sources (as they're likely written in C, of which I can read). I poked around the Ninebot One firmware-image, but don't know the architecture, so I couldn't disassemble it into symbolic assembly and any tools I tried couldn't figure it out either. All I could figure out was the plain text Bluetooth-protocol calls it does and found some repeating sequences which likely look like NO-OPs in most common architectures, probably for timing issues.

​Edit: I did try the linux ARM-disassembler, as it's quite common architecture in embedded systems nowadays, but it couldn't disassemble the Ninebot-image, I ran it through with full offset scan, so there isn't any extra data in front of the actual machine language code either. There's a possibility that there's something hard coded inserted in front of the image data when sending it to the wheel, I disassembled the Ninebot App into java-classes and found the part which handles the image upload, and it does SOMETHING to the data, but not sure what.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...