How long did you keep on using the belt?

[ir_fuel]

Just wondering, since it is a great way to rescue the euc when it does go wrong, how long did people that used it to learn to ride keep it on the euc "in case of", even when feeling pretty confident?

[HETPE3B]

Actually it was a first day today when I rode without a leash. Was pretty confident. It's day 11 since I bought it. I guess in total 3hrs of riding and around 40miles on that thing. 

[RayRay]

I'm still using mine after several hours (spread out over weeks) of slow but steady progress. I still make awkward dismounts occasionally and I can tell my wheel has a mind of it's own (trying to escape). I think if it weren't for the tether, I'd have chased that thing halfway across the parking lot where I practice about a dozen times...

[JimB]

I'm still using a tether after 600km of riding.  I don't really "need" it, but it doesn't bother me, and the potential impact (no pun intended) if the wheel escapes is quite high.  If one of these wheels escapes onto a busy street, it could potentially result in a serious motor vehicle accident.  So I'll continue to use the tether, just to limit the potential risk to others.

[WARPed1701D]

I'm 70km into riding. Still have it and it still saves the wheel occasionally. As @JimB stated I think the tether is important from a social responsibility standpoint. These things do run off without you. I saw a video of one barrelling down a hillside and then bouncing across a river (luckily for its young owner) via narrow pedestrian bridge. It was probably doing at least 20MPH in an uncontrolled tumble over a 4ft wide walled path. A person on that bridge would not have been able to escape it and if hit would have been hospitalized for sure. If you are comfortable keeping it on I say keep it. I will.

[Mono]

I used a leash loosely attached to my belt for the first 3000km.

See also 

 

Edited August 7, 2017 by Mono

[Keith]

15 hours ago, ir_fuel said:

how long did people that used it to learn to ride keep it on the euc "in case of", even when feeling pretty confident?

Bottom line: if there is any reasonable chance you might lose control of the wheel, and you are somewhere where damage or injury to another person or their property might occur (for example riding where there are parked cars) then the strap is, quite probably, the only insurance policy you have, as very few of us have been able to get 3rd party liability for our wheels. An uninsured claim against you is not only likely to be painful but very bad publicity as well.

[LanghamP]

I rarely use a leash. I did once have a runaway wheel that went on seemingly forever after I fell off it. Last weekend I was in an enclosed playground and so expirimented with my wheel; it will go on forever, keeping perfect balance and running straight forever until it hits a fence, at slightly above walking speed. Basically a land torpedo.

Even though I rarely use a leash, I would think a leash is almost mandatory in public.

[ir_fuel]

So do you keep it in hand all the time, or attach it to your body? I think pants wouldn't be a good idea, unless you want to be the male stripper when it runs off  

[WARPed1701D]

26 minutes ago, ir_fuel said:

So do you keep it in hand all the time, or attach it to your body? I think pants wouldn't be a good idea, unless you want to be the male stripper when it runs off  

While learning I hold it loosely. It's the only way I can take up the slack in time when I fall. I'm not sure what I will do when I'm confident and this purely becomes a safety device. Length and method of attachement are things I've pondered a few times. I figure attachment with a larger quick release clip attached to a leather waist belt is best. In a fall I can't guarantee I'll have time to grab something losely attached to me. I'm thinking 6 feet of tether allows some ability to the wheel and I to be apart in a fall but not so far that it will likely strike anyone in most circumstances or stray too far into a road. The concern with too long of a length is the excess being caught under the wheel during normnal riding. I'll likely coil the excess into a small pouch that, under force, will pull itself out and uncoil to full length (similar to throwable lifelines on yachts).

I want to prevent my wheel being a liability to others but also not have it beat me apart in a high speed fall as it bounces along next to me. Being tethered to 30-50lb of high speed mass with an out of control rotating rubber wheel trying to eat you is not my idea of fun, but it is my choice to take the risk that comes through riding. I should pay the price in an accident, not a bystander granny or toddler.

[LanghamP]

1 hour ago, ir_fuel said:

So do you keep it in hand all the time, or attach it to your body? I think pants wouldn't be a good idea, unless you want to be the male stripper when it runs off  

TLDR: bowline to the handle, slip hitch to your pants.

I use the leash when practicing going up or down hills that are off-road. You need only enough force to tip the wheel one way or the other so it falls over, in my opinion.

I personally use a bowline on the handle of the wheel, and highway man's hitch to my pants with the loose part of the hitch being the standing part of the bowline. I do this so there's just enough friction to knock the wheel sideways but not enough to tear my pants. The slack can be easily adjusted on the slipknot side.

Since the Inmotions have a trigger, you need a constant loop like the bowline so you don't accidently tighten the rope on the trigger. Maybe Inmotions disable the trigger when at speed? Dunno, never felt brave enough to try it.

Edited August 7, 2017 by LanghamP

[JimB]

59 minutes ago, ir_fuel said:

So do you keep it in hand all the time, or attach it to your body? I think pants wouldn't be a good idea, unless you want to be the male stripper when it runs off  

I have a strap with a few knots in it.  It's secured to the handle of the EUC, and I simply loop it up through my belt and let it hang over.  It's not securely fastened to me, but I think it's enough to prevent a runaway.

[WARPed1701D]

2 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

Since the Inmotions have a trigger, you need a constant loop like the bowline so you don't accidently tighten the rope on the trigger. Maybe Inmotions disable the trigger when at speed? Dunno, never felt brave enough to try it.

I've tested the power button and anything over a very very slight crawl disables its operation. I also accidently rode with the kill switch enabled one day (after callibration). I had been practicing 20 minutes until as I mounted i tugged the tether causing the button to activate and the wheel to disable (still at a standstill at that point). I just stepped off as it leaned forward without moving.  I suspect if the kill switch worked while riding I would have found out that day. I will test this properly though.

[Rehab1]

Just be extra careful using the strap method on the Inmotion V5s and V8. Be sure to shut off the motor disengagement handle switch on your app so you don't inadvertently activate the switch while riding that might result in a face plant.

[ir_fuel]

2 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

Just be extra careful using the strap method on the Inmotion V5s and V8. Be sure to shut off the motor disengagement handle switch on your app so you don't inadvertently activate the switch while riding that might result in a face plant.

Some posts above yours suggest that might not be a problem.

3 hours ago, LanghamP said:

I personally use a bowline on the handle of the wheel, and highway man's hitch to my pants with the loose part of the hitch being the standing part of the bowline. I do this so there's just enough friction to knock the wheel sideways but not enough to tear my pants. The slack can be easily adjusted on the slipknot side.

Could you post a picture?

[radial]

If I can borrow someone else's face, I'll test this out at speed :).  

[LanghamP]

20 minutes ago, ir_fuel said:

Some posts above yours suggest that might not be a problem.

Could you post a picture?

Here's a quick a dirty pic. I'll post another when I get home with Paracord.

The watch is the handle, the cigar is your belt loop, and the book shows how to tie the highway man hitch.

The loose end goes to the unicycle; if your EUC gets away then the knot purposefully gets undone but with some difficulty, enough not to tear anything up but enough to knock the wheel sideways. Make the loop on your belt bigger to take up some slack.

Whole thing takes maybe five seconds to setup.

 

[kasenutty]

I got rid of the strap as soon as possible. 

 

And I'll just say this; I have never gotten back from a ride and thought to myself how I really wished I had been tied to my wheel during the ride. 

[Rehab1]

31 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

The watch is the handle, the cigar is your belt loop, and the book shows how to tie the highway man hitch.

Looks simple enough! I do better watching someone. Just me.

 

[radial]

11 minutes ago, kasenutty said:

I got rid of the strap as soon as possible. 

 

I have never gotten back from a ride and thought to myself how I really wished I had been tied to my wheel during the ride. 

[ir_fuel]

59 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

Here's a quick a dirty pic. I'll post another when I get home with Paracord.

The watch is the handle, the cigar is your belt loop, and the book shows how to tie the highway man hitch.

The loose end goes to the unicycle; if your EUC gets away then the knot purposefully gets undone but with some difficulty, enough not to tear anything up but enough to knock the wheel sideways. Make the loop on your belt bigger to take up some slack.

Whole thing takes maybe five seconds to setup.

 

I never joined the boy scouts  

[ir_fuel]

I currently use a luggage strap, but I think something smaller (in width) might be more convenient.

[Mono]

1 hour ago, kasenutty said:

And I'll just say this; I have never gotten back from a ride and thought to myself how I really wished I had been tied to my wheel during the ride. 

That's one of the reasons why I don't wear a helmet, but at least I have been more considered with heath of others.

Edited August 7, 2017 by Mono

[kasenutty]

So, you do wear a strap all the time, but no helmet? 

[kasenutty]

I'm glad you've found a combination that works for you