Javier Pereira Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Hello! I'm thinking about getting a unicycle for my daily commute and work. I'm leaning towards the Inmotion and Gotway models but not sure which one exactly. I've been wanting to try out any models from these brands but I haven't found a company that would take returns after the wheel's being used and $500 or more is high 'fee' to pay to just try out a product and see if actually works, cover my needs and if I can even ride it or not. Is there anybody in Maryland, Washington DC or Virginia that would let me try out one to get the feel of it for just a couple of minutes/hours? Thank you in advance! Javier P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 13 hours ago, Javier Pereira said: Hello! I'm thinking about getting a unicycle for my daily commute and work. I'm leaning towards the Inmotion and Gotwat I know the Chinese can drop some real clangers with their product names but I don't think even they would call a wheel a "Go twat" ??? Let us hope someone local to you can help you try one out, but i perhaps should point out that the vast majority of us on this forum did have to take that leap of faith and buy one not knowing if we would be able to ride it or not. It is quite amazing how much harder you will work to learn once you have made that sort of commitment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddylaz Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 1 minute ago, Keith said: I know the Chinese can drop some real clangers with their product names but I don't think even they would call a wheel a "Go twat" ??? ????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 @Javier Pereira I have a "beater wheel" you can borrow if you want to learn without messing up a good one. It's a cheap 14-inch generic wheel that gets about 4 miles on its 130Wh battery on a good day. However it's fine for learning if you keep the speed low -- it can only go about 8mph top speed anyway. Just PM me if you want it, I'm up in Columbia MD and can come down your way to drop it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javier Pereira Posted May 6, 2017 Author Share Posted May 6, 2017 9 hours ago, Keith said: I know the Chinese can drop some real clangers with their product names but I don't think even they would call a wheel a "Go twat" ??? Let us hope someone local to you can help you try one out, but i perhaps should point out that the vast majority of us on this forum did have to take that leap of faith and buy one not knowing if we would be able to ride it or not. It is quite amazing how much harder you will work to learn once you have made that sort of commitment! I just saw it hahaha Yeah I know you guys did that at first. I'm definitely committed to learn I can tell you that for sure. With a start up and college money is not abundant so if I'm going to spend it I'd like to be in something that I'll actually use. How would you describe it is compared to other things? It looks like its a mix of biking and skiing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javier Pereira Posted May 6, 2017 Author Share Posted May 6, 2017 @dmethvin that sounds amazing! Like I said I don't need something of the other world to test it out but with a start up and college money is not abundant so I don't mind doing it so long as its the right choice. How would you describe it is compared to other things? It looks like its a mix of biking and skiing.... What's your zip code? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 2 hours ago, Javier Pereira said: It looks like its a mix of biking and skiing.... I think that is a pretty good description really, possibly even a bit like inline skating, but I don't really find myself comparing it to anything else - it feels more like an extension of your body to me - you just lean and go ?. I am a bit concerned at the recommendations you are getting in the other thread. They fit what you asked for but very few people ride 18" wheels in town and batteries are where the biggest part of the cost is. So an 18" wheel with at least 50 miles range (which has little to do with power, only battery capacity) is both very expensive and heavy. Don't forget it also equates to standing on the thing for 3 or more hours between charges which takes a fair bit of getting used to. Most people use 16" or 14" wheels in town, 14" if, as I do, you want to carry it on public transport at times and use it for the last mile. 16" are a good balance in size between weight, portability and can carry a big enough battery for good range. You will have a better idea perhaps of what you might really want after trying the wheel that @dmethvin has kindly offered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javier Pereira Posted May 6, 2017 Author Share Posted May 6, 2017 7 hours ago, Keith said: I think that is a pretty good description really, possibly even a bit like inline skating, but I don't really find myself comparing it to anything else - it feels more like an extension of your body to me - you just lean and go ?. I am a bit concerned at the recommendations you are getting in the other thread. They fit what you asked for but very few people ride 18" wheels in town and batteries are where the biggest part of the cost is. So an 18" wheel with at least 50 miles range (which has little to do with power, only battery capacity) is both very expensive and heavy. Don't forget it also equates to standing on the thing for 3 or more hours between charges which takes a fair bit of getting used to. Most people use 16" or 14" wheels in town, 14" if, as I do, you want to carry it on public transport at times and use it for the last mile. 16" are a good balance in size between weight, portability and can carry a big enough battery for good range. You will have a better idea perhaps of what you might really want after trying the wheel that @dmethvin has kindly offered. Hello Keith, Thank you for paying so much attention hahaha. I completely agree that I'm going to have to compromise comfort for portability or the other way around and I'm not going to know which one is more suited for me until I actually purchase and ride it for a couple of months unfortunately. To respond to your question I think I'm probably going to combine the wheel with the metro, although having the possibility of using the unicycle alone would be great for when the metro is sluggish, specially now that they are going to start a major addition to the DC metro line and some lines might stop completely for a couple of months. Additionally having the possibility of going off-road if I do excursion with the dogs I'm looking after or being able to run them for example is definitely a plus (i guess the bigger one might be better for that?) My only other question in terms of the wheel size and elevation is which one is better with rain? If I plan to use the wheel like I want to I'll have to use it in the rain from time to time so are any of the wheel sizes more suited for this? Another thing that worries me is that another reason why I'm doing this is to try to incorporate this for work in my pet sitting company. My partner and I plan to go multi-city in the next 5 years (New York and Chicago would be the next steps) and hopefully national in the future so having a more capable wheel might be better... right? Realistically I don't think I'll travel more than 5 miles without stopping although this could change with the expansion. Me and my sitters currently move around with cars from house to house. However, its difficult finding more people that want to do this kind of business and live in a central area at the same time, instead of in the suburbs. I don't have anything against them but being far away from the city makes us less efficient and less appeal to some clients. So my though was to dominate the wheels and implement unicycles as the transportation method in the company. In that way future hires could have more fun, save all the money they would spend in a car and put it towards the hire rent in the city (other stuff if they have extra). Sitters win because they could take more assignments and make more money while the company also gets to have its personnel in strategic areas for further growth and development. We still have some clients that are a bit further than others so if we want to substitute the cars completely we might need that extra millage and comfort for longer rides which I don't think will be more than 5 miles but you never know.... My last concern with this comfort, size and portability compromise is that after we get off the wheel we need to walk our furry clients for those 15-60 min depending on what the client wants and then hop on it again for the next one. So with that in mind, do you think the exra comfort of the bigger wheel might be better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Hey @Javier Pereira I sent you a PM, feel free to contact me and we can set up a time to get the wheel to you. On 5/6/2017 at 0:56 PM, Javier Pereira said: To respond to your question I think I'm probably going to combine the wheel with the metro, although having the possibility of using the unicycle alone would be great for when the metro is sluggish, specially now that they are going to start a major addition to the DC metro line and some lines might stop completely for a couple of months. I go to Silver Spring and catch the Metro when I want to go into DC for rides. A couple of times the Red Line was single-tracking so there were a lot of delays. Rather than just sitting on the train, I hopped off and rode down the Metropolitan Branch Trail which is pretty nice because it's away from cars until you get close to Union Station, and even then it's a dedicated bike lane. So it's definitely handy for that "last mile" commute or longer, especially when Metro isn't cooperating. As far as dog walking goes, it would be a challenge to walk a dog on a unicycle unless they're predictable and really like to haul tail in a straight line. You definitely want some practice before you try! I know @Michael Vu has some experience here: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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