Jump to content

Would a wheel like this prevent faceplants?


RooEUC

Recommended Posts

10 hours ago, Vik3 said:

Looks like you have never used additional wheels, but you are so strongly confident in this. I use.

You use them in a bicycle. I hope you are aware that the physics of unicycles are totally different? :)

 

 

When the second wheel touches the ground (it cuts off), you have to cope with 3 effects:
- Sudden tilt forwards (of pedals)
- Loss of steering right-left
- Your speed is higher than the wheel

The loss of steering right-left is caused by a bigger turn radius caused by the second wheel.
Considering that you're falling forwards because you're faster than the wheel AND your feet are tilted forwards... There would be no real way to right yourself. Unless your feet are attached to the pads.
But even if they are attached, you still have to cope with the sudden loss of right-left steering. It's not impossible, but way harder if the turning radius changes in 1ms.
Add to all of the above that the human reaction time is around 200-300ms (untrained even more). In 300ms you're already airborne after a cutoff.

Could it work? Yes - with training, and if you're expecting a cutoff.
I think it's way better to train to sprint from a cutoff unicycle.

The second wheel will make things worse if you hit a pothole. If it is as you say one inch, it'll hit the ground every time you ride through a one-inch pothole. Or a curb. It will cause:
- A sudden jerk backwards (because the front wheel will go up, making the wheel think you wanna slow down)
- Temporary loss of steering right-left
- Sudden tilt backwards

Overall, any pothole higher than the front wheel will result in unnecessary danger of faceplanting. And bigger unicycles can take potholes as big as 4 inches, sometimes even more.
Go buy a *unicycle and do 1000km before you'll try to kill us please. B)

 

I admit, this is entertaining. It's like arguing with a stubborn kid about programming. :) And the kid is recommending Pascal because it's the only language he wrote 100 lines in.

* No, don't buy a unicycle! A unicycle is not a good idea in your climate. Stick with bikes.

 

#######################

Edit: The loss of right-left control can be mitigated somewhat by having a rotating wheel like in GausWheel... But that borns other problems...

Edited by atdlzpae
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, mrelwood said:

 

 Have you calculated how high off the ground the wheel would have to be when the EUC is stationary, to allow for acceleration while carving on a soft mode on rough ground or slopes?

Another brain tease: Imagine you are trying to stand in a subway car with your hands free when the subway starts to accelerate. You’re doing good as you lean forward and are allowably proud of yourself, when the subway suddenly loses power and stops accelerating. What happens to your balance and position?

Xtra points question: How does this relate to the topic at hand?

Such as shortages in power, range, and fun that you’d get from a 5-year old EUC? :P

 Have you calculated how high off the ground the wheel would have to be when the EUC is stationary, to allow for acceleration while carving on a soft mode on rough ground or slopes? - Yes, it is about 70mm. Remember, I mean calm safe city riding by asphalt roads with standard slope not more than 12% (7 degrees).

 when the subway suddenly loses power and stops accelerating. What happens to your balance and position? -  Excellent example for proving of my concept! – nothing wrong would happened to me having hands free and seating on seat  with legs extended forward and feet thrusting to safety wheels. This is what are my safety wheels for:)

Xtra points question: How does this relate to the topic at hand? -I think it is a bit early to stop discussion:P .

Such as shortages in power, range, and fun that you’d get from a 5-year old EUC? :P - compelled big power up to 2500W, big range up to 150km, big weight up 35kg and a big speed up to 60kmh with deadly risk fun are not advantages of modern EUC for people who have to buy them, but wanted  to get light weight, normal speed and range SAFE EUC.:(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, Aneta said:

 

That was an old version  for off road . One month ago he put front wheels much lower for asfalt road . You see it is tested and works even without rotating GausWheels :) :

 

Though I do not like his concept - it is big and heavy, two wheel bike would be better to use instead.

Edited by Vik3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, atdlzpae said:


Go buy a *unicycle and do 1000km before you'll try to kill us please. B)

 

* No, don't buy a unicycle! A unicycle is not a good idea in your climate. Stick with bikes.

 

I awfully worry that you may have it on EUC earlier than I will make it safe, meeting such a resistance. B)  The rest is just your guessing.

 

A unicycle as it is, is not a good idea in any climate. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

16 hours ago, Vik3 said:

- Yes, it is about 70mm. Remember, I mean calm safe city riding by asphalt roads with standard slope not more than 12% (7 degrees).

And how far forward the additional wheel is from the EUCs tire?

The softer riding modes on many current unicycles tilt for about 5 degrees, older wheels like the one suggested might do double that or even more. That makes the 7cm drop dangerously low or even touching the ground during acceleration in a curve, especially if any slope is introduced, like the ones when crossing a car street. One would have to constantly evaluate wether the regular city occurences are safe to ride through. The risk of making the wrong guess is big, and having several unrideable or potentially dangerous spots in a city, one has to constantly concentrate on this secondary aspect, which also makes riding less safe.

16 hours ago, Vik3 said:

 when the subway suddenly loses power and stops accelerating. What happens to your balance and position? -  Excellent example for proving of my concept! – nothing wrong would happened to me having hands free and seating on seat  with legs extended forward and feet thrusting to safety wheels. This is what are my safety wheels for:)

So the point is to have the wheel stay upright only if the wheel fails (extremely rare amongst modern wheels), or you hit a bump that causes the additional wheel to touch the ground (causing the accident), while riding seated (an additional, difficult skill that prevents tight turns), having one’s feet forward (additional difficulty for steering, and takes up 2-3x the space), so that instead of falling to the ground on your knees, you would slide off to the ground in a seated position? With the cost of having to constantly focus and evaluate wether one can even ride through the many slopes, curbs and other obstacles that city riding offers? And all this to get to ride up to speeds of 20km/h, which is a speed you might still run out from in a standing position if the crash isn’t 100% sudden.

1. Would that be fun to ride? Would it offer the feeling of flying, skiing and magic-carpet-like freedom that one gets from regular EUC riding?

2. How does the added weight of the additional wheel affect turning since it’s positioned far from the pivot point?

3. Have you considered how having one’s legs out like that further slows down and limits the steering? It further prevents you from twisting and steering the wheel. Like the 3000W uni-motorcycle in the video, seems it can only do very large and slow turns. I’m sure the slower turning capability makes riding one even more difficult than regular seated riding, which is already an additional skill to be learned after learning to ride an EUC, which itself requires a good amount of dedication to learn. Niche in a niche in a niche. Nobody will grant a bank loan to fund a business like that.

4. Considering that 25km/h wheels are considered learner wheels that most riders grow out of in two weeks or less, why would anyone pay for a vehicle like that instead of an electric kick scooter or a proper EUC?

5. How has the feedback been amongst current EUC riders? How does the future look for a business of selling a product like this? ;)

16 hours ago, Vik3 said:

Such as shortages in power, range, and fun that you’d get from a 5-year old EUC? :P - compelled big power up to 2500W, big range up to 150km, big weight up 35kg and a big speed up to 60kmh with deadly risk fun are not advantages of modern EUC for people who have to buy them, but wanted  to get light weight, normal speed and range SAFE EUC.:(

How about 1200W / 40km / 17.5kg / 35km/h? Or 2000W / 45km / 20kg / 45km/h? Or 1000W / 25km / 14.5kg / 30-35km/h? There are many kinds of EUCs available that are lighter than the top-of-the-line 24kg ones.

 

13 hours ago, Vik3 said:

A unicycle as it is, is not a good idea in any climate. :(

The situation makes me think of a person who has never tried bungee jumping because it isn’t safe, and invents ladders to be climbed down from the tower instead.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, mrelwood said:

 

And how far forward the additional wheel is from the EUCs tire?

The softer riding modes on many current unicycles tilt for about 5 degrees, older wheels like the one suggested might do double that or even more. That makes the 7cm drop dangerously low or even touching the ground during acceleration in a curve, especially if any slope is introduced, like the ones when crossing a car street. One would have to constantly evaluate wether the regular city occurences are safe to ride through. The risk of making the wrong guess is big, and having several unrideable or potentially dangerous spots in a city, one has to constantly concentrate on this secondary aspect, which also makes riding less safe.

So the point is to have the wheel stay upright only if the wheel fails (extremely rare amongst modern wheels), or you hit a bump that causes the additional wheel to touch the ground (causing the accident), while riding seated (an additional, difficult skill that prevents tight turns), having one’s feet forward (additional difficulty for steering, and takes up 2-3x the space), so that instead of falling to the ground on your knees, you would slide off to the ground in a seated position? With the cost of having to constantly focus and evaluate wether one can even ride through the many slopes, curbs and other obstacles that city riding offers? And all this to get to ride up to speeds of 20km/h, which is a speed you might still run out from in a standing position if the crash isn’t 100% sudden.

1. Would that be fun to ride? Would it offer the feeling of flying, skiing and magic-carpet-like freedom that one gets from regular EUC riding?

2. How does the added weight of the additional wheel affect turning since it’s positioned far from the pivot point?

3. Have you considered how having one’s legs out like that further slows down and limits the steering? It further prevents you from twisting and steering the wheel. Like the 3000W uni-motorcycle in the video, seems it can only do very large and slow turns. I’m sure the slower turning capability makes riding one even more difficult than regular seated riding, which is already an additional skill to be learned after learning to ride an EUC, which itself requires a good amount of dedication to learn. Niche in a niche in a niche. Nobody will grant a bank loan to fund a business like that.

4. Considering that 25km/h wheels are considered learner wheels that most riders grow out of in two weeks or less, why would anyone pay for a vehicle like that instead of an electric kick scooter or a proper EUC?

5. How has the feedback been amongst current EUC riders? How does the future look for a business of selling a product like this? ;)

How about 1200W / 40km / 17.5kg / 35km/h? Or 2000W / 45km / 20kg / 45km/h? Or 1000W / 25km / 14.5kg / 30-35km/h? There are many kinds of EUCs available that are lighter than the top-of-the-line 24kg ones.

 

The situation makes me think of a person who has never tried bungee jumping because it isn’t safe, and invents ladders to be climbed down from the tower instead.

And how far forward the additional wheel is from the EUCs tire? --it is about 600mm from axis.

The softer riding modes on many current unicycles tilt for about 5 degrees, older wheels like the one suggested might do double that or even more. -Good point, this is what I am trying to clear for myself since recently.

That makes the 7cm drop dangerously low or even touching the ground during acceleration in a curve, especially if any slope is introduced, like the ones when crossing a car street. -as I said earlier, I have to do left turn on my ebike from  the middle of car road, therefore I should do it as fast as possible accelerating with big leaning left on curve, but since my safety wheels are on the cross bar balancing on hinge in the middle I keep them both one inch above the road. In EUC with safety balancing wheels they will be kept at 70mm.

Please have a look at this guy using pretty soft hoverboard drive:

 

 

You see, he is cruising around by cracked asphalt road, going off road by grass, jumping  on bumps with screaming and laughing, but not falling  at all. He also breaking, accelerating and overtaking other guys very quick who falls at the first small bump. This is thanks to small wheels which are for about 450mm forward, and seating position.

 

One would have to constantly evaluate wether the regular city occurences are safe to ride through. The risk of making the wrong guess is big, and having several unrideable or potentially dangerous spots in a city, one has to constantly concentrate on this secondary aspect, which also makes riding less safe. – yes it depends in a certain degree.

So the point is to have the wheel stay upright only if the wheel fails (extremely rare amongst modern wheels), or you hit a bump that causes the additional wheel to touch the ground (causing the accident), while riding seated (an additional, difficult skill that prevents tight turns), having one’s feet forward (additional difficulty for steering, and takes up 2-3x the space),

-Yes, probably it will take additional training.

so that instead of falling to the ground on your knees, you would slide off to the ground in a seated position? -I have seen just one time when the EUC rider managed to fall on his knee and slide, in the most cases these were bodies and faces with broken bones. Falling from seated position looks much safer.

 

 With the cost of having to constantly focus and evaluate wether one can even ride through the many slopes, curbs and other obstacles that city riding offers? And all this to get to ride up to speeds of 20km/h, which is a speed you might still run out from in a standing position if the crash isn’t 100% sudden. - I have seen several pretty bad cases falling from standing position at 15kmh.

1. Would that be fun to ride? Would it offer the feeling of flying, skiing and magic-carpet-like freedom that one gets from regular EUC riding?  – you know my point : calm safe riding from home to work.

2. How does the added weight of the additional wheel affect turning since it’s positioned far from the pivot point? - have to be tested. I am not going to kill anybody before it is made, properly tested and accepted.

3. Have you considered how having one’s legs out like that further slows down and limits the steering? It further prevents you from twisting and steering the wheel. Like the 3000W uni-motorcycle in the video, seems it can only do very large and slow turns. I’m sure the slower turning capability makes riding one even more difficult than regular seated riding, which is already an additional skill to be learned after learning to ride an EUC, which itself requires a good amount of dedication to learn. Niche in a niche in a niche. Nobody will grant a bank loan to fund a business like that. - it requires simple low cast testing.

4. Considering that 25km/h wheels are considered learner wheels that most riders grow out of in two weeks or less, why would anyone pay for a vehicle like that instead of an electric kick scooter or a proper EUC? - because of light weight, and supposed  better safety.

5. How has the feedback been amongst current EUC riders? How does the future look for a business of selling a product like this? ;) - I heard that one western philosopher said that there is no crime the capitalist could commit for 100% profit. (or loosing it). I am an engineer, not seller, and I am trying to make it just safer.

How about 1200W / 40km / 17.5kg / 35km/h? Or 2000W / 45km / 20kg / 45km/h? Or 1000W / 25km / 14.5kg / 30-35km/h? There are many kinds of EUCs available that are lighter than the top-of-the-line 24kg ones. –it doesn’t go.

 

The situation makes me think of a person who has never tried bungee jumping because it isn’t safe, and invents ladders to be climbed down from the tower instead. -I was and did, but probably my working for 16 years in American Oil Company where “Safety is the first!” spoiled me and I hate unnecessary risk.:)

Edited by Vik3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, Vik3 said:

You see, he is cruising around by cracked asphalt road, going off road by grass, jumping  on bumps with screaming and laughing, but not falling  at all. He also breaking, accelerating and overtaking other guys very quick who falls at the first small bump. This is thanks to small wheels which are for about 450mm forward, and seating position.

He's also not riding a unicycle - he is riding a segway. He has no issues with right-left control. And he's moving very slowly. And the tarmac is very smooth. I'd have to have an epilepsy attack to crash at that particular road/grass at those speeds.

If he rode his vehicle at 30km/h and hit a bigger pothole, he'd fly off his wheelchair like anyone else. The inventor of segways also died on a segway.

 

32 minutes ago, Vik3 said:

I am an engineer, not seller, and I am trying to make it just safer.
I was and did, but probably my working for 16 years in American Oil Company where “Safety is the first!” spoiled me and I hate unnecessary risk.

And yet your solutions would make it less safe and more risky. You're refusing to learn the basics, still thinking that the unicycle is a segway or a bike. <_<

Edited by atdlzpae
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dear @Vik3. It's been slightly fun, but I think this will be my last reply. You keep revealing more and more of very basic aspects of EUC riding and even fundamental physics that you haven't even thought of. Trying to learn them all here would make this could go on forever. I'm not interested in that.

2 hours ago, Vik3 said:

And how far forward the additional wheel is from the EUCs tire? --it is about 600mm from axis.

So, less than 12 degrees until the wheel touches the ground. You are cutting it close. The wheelchair in your linked video had maybe double the 7cm, or more.

2 hours ago, Vik3 said:

-as I said earlier, I have to do left turn on my ebike from  the middle of car road, therefore I should do it as fast as possible accelerating with big leaning left on curve, but since my safety wheels are on the cross bar balancing on hinge in the middle I keep them both one inch above the road.

So, back to the basics. You can lean your additional bicycle wheels as much against the ground as you like, without much degradation in safety. But you can not do that on an EUC.

1) When the additional wheel touches ground on your bicycle, it only limits how much you can tilt the bicycle. The friction is added far inside the turn radius, so more friction only enhances the ability to turn. It also doesn't limit steering in any way. If you lean too heavily on the additional wheel, you can change your trajectory and the downward pressure on the additional wheel just by turning the handle bar.   When an additional front tire on an EUC would touch the ground, it will most likely happen when the centre of your gravity is already way forward from the pivot point, and you have already lost your balance, you are falling forward. The only way for a self-balancing vehicle to receive the command to accelerate more is by an increased forward tilt. And that is also the only way that a self-balancing vehicle can recover from such situation. What this additional wheel would do is limit the EUCs own ability to recover from the situation it is supposed to save the rider from, since it will not receive the command to accelerate faster.

2) When you add any mass up to 60cm (~1.5x the diameter of the EUC's own tire!) away from the axle, you are slowing down the speed that the wheel can change direction, ie. turn. Especially the two large tubular sacks of meat you plan on hanging there. Riding standing up at slow speeds, twisting at the hip is one of the two only techniques of steering. The proposed wheel would be horrible to steer and ride, and less safe than any EUC, current or previous. Really. It would be slow to turn, very difficult to balance, and:

3) Even a light tap to the ground with the beak would disturb the rider's balance greatly. It wouldn't function at all like a bicycle. As you carve (= turn with a wide radius), touching the ground with anything at all would stop the rotation. On a bike, no problem, just turn the handlebar a bit more. On an EUC, the friction is added to the outside of the turning radius, and turning more to overcome the added friction doesn't work, since it would only try to push the additional wheel deeper into the ground. So yet another situation where the additional wheel causes a catastrophic failure to it's original purpose, because it's sole existence prevents the only way one could recover from the situation it has caused.

4) On an EUC you have used hours and hours to learn the exact combination of forces, tilts and other measures required for a smooth turn. Adding friction 60cm to the front of the wheel that may touch ground in an emergency situation, you would have to be a cold blooded professional to recover from just a quick tap on the ground, even if it wouldn't stay on the gound to cause the number 3).

 

2 hours ago, Vik3 said:

You see, he is cruising around by cracked asphalt road, going off road by grass, jumping  on bumps with screaming and laughing, but not falling  at all. He also breaking, accelerating and overtaking other guys very quick who falls at the first small bump. This is thanks to small wheels which are for about 450mm forward, and seating position.

To be honest, this was the one I was most disappointed in of all your comments so far. Especially when you threw in the word "engineer" later on.

1) The small tires of the hoverboard are connected directly to the huge wheels on the wheelchair, creating what is called "a gear". The ratio of the gear is extremely small, multiplying the torque of the hoverboard roughly by a factor of 4. The hoverboard with the large tires is a mod that has been tried before at least twice on a MiniPro in Russia, and since it works as a gear in the opposite direction, it decreases the torque of the hoverboard too much for it to even function properly. Despite the MiniPro being a much more powerful vehicle than a regular hoverboard.

2) The small hoverboard wheels have a radius of 6.5" or 8". Wheelchairs have 24"-26". Just going from 16" to 18" on an EUC significantly improves the ability to ride over obstacles or in rough terrain. Imagine going from 6.5" to 24"... Did you really miss this point?!

3) "Not falling at all." He did lose his balance, and the front wheels slammed to the ground! That's what he laughed at! The guy with the failed hoverboard experiment had to step off, but literally didn't even spill his beer. Nobody was hurt in either situation. And besides all the main points above, it seems safe (no pun intended) to guess that the one on the wheelchair is both McGyver and Braveheart enough to succesfully create and test such a wild mod, while his friends may be trying the hoverboards for the first time. The video doesn't work as a proof of concept no matter what angle you look at it from. Even less when we are supposed to be talking about a UNIcycle.

All these aspects, and you took it as a result of the safety wheels that are mostly just dangling in the air. Sounds a bit like you're in love.

 

2 hours ago, Vik3 said:

– yes it depends in a certain degree.

 

2 hours ago, Vik3 said:

-Yes, probably it will take additional training.

So, you are trying to make a 5 year old EUC that besides requiring one to learn to ride the EUC itself, will require additional training, is inherently dangerous in some surprise situations, and weighs more due to the seat and the support mechanism for the additional tire.

2 hours ago, Vik3 said:

-I have seen just one time when the EUC rider managed to fall on his knee and slide, in the most cases these were bodies and faces with broken bones. Falling from seated position looks much safer.

I have stepped off a running EUC multiple times, and a few times even ran off. How safe it looked doesn't really tell us very much.

Again, which wheels were they riding, what failed, what was their experience level, and did they wear appropriate protection? And most importantly, would they have ridden this wheel of your design instead? As I said, I sure wouldn't.

 

2 hours ago, Vik3 said:

- I have seen several pretty bad cases falling from standing position at 15kmh.

I know people who died while being perfectly still in a soft bed, shielded from all directions by 4 walls and a roof. I wonder what were the actual causes of the crashes you mention. Were they all hardware failures? If a different kind of vehicle could've prevented the crashes, why would anyone suggest an EUC as a solution? Didn't someone just say that an EUC is inherently unsafe?

2 hours ago, Vik3 said:

 - because of light weight, and supposed  better safety.

No matter how light you manage to make it, it is all still added to the weight of an already functional EUC.

2 hours ago, Vik3 said:

I am an engineer, not seller, and I am trying to make it just safer.

You haven't yet understood what the risks of riding one even are. That's why your ideas are going to all the wrong places.

 

2 hours ago, Vik3 said:

American Oil Company where “Safety is the first!”

Oh man... There are so many jokes in just that phrase! :roflmao:

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/8/2019 at 11:10 PM, mrelwood said:

To be honest, this was the one I was most disappointed in of all your comments so far. Especially when you threw in the word "engineer" later on.

1) The small tires of the hoverboard are connected directly to the huge wheels on the wheelchair, creating what is called "a gear". The ratio of the gear is extremely small, multiplying the torque of the hoverboard roughly by a factor of 4. The hoverboard with the large tires is a mod that has been tried before at least twice on a MiniPro in Russia, and since it works as a gear in the opposite direction, it decreases the torque of the hoverboard too much for it to even function properly. Despite the MiniPro being a much more powerful vehicle than a regular hoverboard.

 

If you are a mechanical engineer as me, you should know that there is no any increasing or decreasing of anything at all. In this case the big chair wheel works as an idle gear or intermediate gear which does not change torque, speed and pulling force – just changing a direction and covering a gap ( we call it “parasite gear”). If hoverboard small wheel has speed 20kmh and force 100H then the big wheel will have the same 20kmh and 100H on the road.

 The rest is obvious and, of course, I know of that as well.  

Anyway, thank you all for helpful discussion. It pushed me for finding another solution of safe portable vehicle. It will be standing riding, up to 35kmh, 10-12kg of weight, 30km range, on 12-14” wheel. Probably it will be my 18-th patent. I will let you know of it in several months :) .

Edited by Vik3
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Quote

In this case the big chair wheel works as an idle gear or intermediate gear which does not change torque, speed and pulling force

You are absolutely correct! It would only do so if the hoverboard tires were changed or modified to be smaller than original. What an embarrassing brain fart from me, sorry... :facepalm:

Quote

Anyway, thank you all for helpful discussion. It pushed me for finding another solution of safe portable vehicle. It will be standing riding, up to 35kmh, 10-12kg of weight, 30km range, on 12-14” wheel. Probably it will be my 18-th patent. I will let you know of it in several months :) .

I assume you mean wheels, plural? Sounds a bit like an electric kick-scooter with oversized tires, which would indeed surely be a much better fit for your needs. I also hope to see what you come up with.

If nothing else, this thread hopefully saved you the funds and hours it would’ve taken for you to build the first few prototypes (after learning to ride the EUC in the first place).

Edited by mrelwood
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/12/2019 at 9:54 PM, RagingGrandpa said:

Stumbled upon:  https://sites.google.com/site/onewheeledselfbalancing/

I'm beginning to understand why we get asked "did you make that?!" from passers-by :D

mega-hub-is-the-shed-built-electric-unic

A video of that vehicle was linked to a page or few ago, demonstrating the nimbl... um... train-like stability of the wheel while cornering. :lol:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/2/2017 at 9:07 AM, flass said:

a large airbag that reacts when the wheel is losing power and blows up in front of you that you can land on.

A guy in Germany has invented something like that, I am not sure if it is available yet. Works like an airbag, but blows up sort of helmet around your head and air cushions around your body in milliseconds. I was very impressed.

I see you are in Sweden. Would you mind if I send you a direct message with some questions about Sweden, off topic, nothing about EUC?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...
On 11/12/2019 at 4:02 PM, Vik3 said:

 

Anyway, thank you all for helpful discussion. It pushed me for finding another solution of safe portable vehicle. It will be standing riding, up to 35kmh, 10-12kg of weight, 30km range, on 12-14” wheel. Probably it will be my 18-th patent. I will let you know of it in several months :) .

Hi everybody, I am back with my design of safe balance vehicle, as I promised 10 months ago. I took the smallest 10inch and weakest 350Watt EUC LUFFY 10 and just attached front small steering wheel to it:

2625c53e1d19.jpg

I checked it with even smaller wheel – it worked as well, but it was too rigid and noisy:

 f856716a79b5.jpg

Today I tested it again and it works fine on plane road:

 

and going up down hills up to 14% of slope:

 

Actually it is an electrical mini-scooter with use of longitudinal gyroscope balance. You see the handle bar is empty – no gas, no brake, the only control is an ON/OFF button under seat. I only use leaning forward of my body for acceleration and back for braking.

This is just a roughly made experimental working model, but it already runs up to 30km/h. Latter I am going to make a folding option till to small suite case size:

3fe8115574d9.jpg

Edited by Vik3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/14/2020 at 1:36 AM, Wonderwebb said:

So you have made a electric bike ?

Looks like this is a scooter, because by definition a bike is a vehicle with big diameter wheels and the motor is in the middle between them, but a scooter  is with smaller wheels and the motor is in the back like mine.

Thanks to balance the small front wheel always carry only about 10% of all load or 7-9kg of 100kg. It goes much easier over cracks and bumps than a big back wheel, just with a slight frame shaking. It allows to make a steering stand and a handle bar much lighter and smaller. The front wheel and a knee (elbow) will be 1.5 times less – they just left after previous experiments when the suspension stroke was 200mm, now it is 30mm:

99f063e04b6b.jpg

the standing riding did not go – not safe when cutoff happens.

Edited by Vik3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/13/2020 at 2:50 PM, Vik3 said:

Hi everybody, I am back with my design of safe balance vehicle, as I promised 10 months ago. I took the smallest 10inch and weakest 350Watt EUC LUFFY 10 and just attached front small steering wheel to it:

3fe8115574d9.jpg

That's the ugliest scooter I've ever seen! :) 

Edited by Tryptych
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/15/2020 at 10:20 AM, Tryptych said:

That's the ugliest scooter I've ever seen! :) 

At this stage it does not matter how it look, the more important is how it runs. Your colorful toy will have a miserable look after the first faceplant :)  

 

Edited by Vik3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

I made an account cause I wanted to comment on this thread. I don't get why you guys are sh*ting on this guy's idea. I think it is a step in the right direction to improving EUC safety. Sure it's ugly now, but it's just a prototype experiment. Let's face it, EUCs can fail. A wire can come loose, the motor can be overpowered, and components inside fail. Wouldn't you want some kind of safety measure to protect you when that happens kind of like airbags? 

So my idea is when the wheel senses it's about to fail, it deploys some kind of wheel that pops out in front to prevent a faceplant. I think that would be a cool idea if implemented correctly. I know people are saying it's ghetto, but it's because they haven't seen a wheel that is able to do it and not look ugly. I guarantee if this type of wheel existed, it would be the only wheel people would be buying. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Rencocom said:

I made an account cause I wanted to comment on this thread. I don't get why you guys are sh*ting on this guy's idea. I think it is a step in the right direction to improving EUC safety. Sure it's ugly now, but it's just a prototype experiment. Let's face it, EUCs can fail. A wire can come loose, the motor can be overpowered, and components inside fail. Wouldn't you want some kind of safety measure to protect you when that happens kind of like airbags? 

So my idea is when the wheel senses it's about to fail, it deploys some kind of wheel that pops out in front to prevent a faceplant. I think that would be a cool idea if implemented correctly. I know people are saying it's ghetto, but it's because they haven't seen a wheel that is able to do it and not look ugly. I guarantee if this type of wheel existed, it would be the only wheel people would be buying. 

The idea is good, the execution needs to be debated; turning a EUC into a scooter is not the answer.

IMO the wheel popping out idea is not possible (I'm not trying to sh*t on your idea). If you've ever had a cutout you'll know how it happens extremely quickly at the absolute last second when the wheel is already in trouble. An extra wheel popping out to save the day would have to be as quick as an airbag, and that would make it potentially more dangerous than not having it.  Even if it deployed successfully and in time you'd still probably be in deep trouble. 

It is more realistic / practical to use a motorcycle airbag.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...