novazeus Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 this might be a ridiculous question coming from somebody that doesn’t know squat about these wheels, but it seems the most injurious part about these things(other than getting hit by a car) is when there’s some electrical malfunction shutting down the motor in forward motion and the momentum of the wheel losing gyroscopic balance slams frontwards into the pavement along with the rider. could there be a spring loaded, solenoid locked, type of kickstand/wheelie bar mounted on the front that could activate when there’s a loss of power, to keep the wheel from slamming into the pavement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 If you go to about 32 seconds in, you will see what he describes as a training wheel, but I think it is a front mounted faceplant preventer. He didn't install it, but I am pretty sure it hangs down from the frame under the handlebars and stays about 6 inches from the ground. This would work on pavement, but might dig in to soft ground and flip you off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novazeus Posted November 12, 2017 Author Share Posted November 12, 2017 yeah something like that. u wouldn’t want it down all the time, it would just spring down when the solenoid along with the wheel lost power and lock in place. also it would be an automatic kickstand. u would power on, have to pull up the kickstand to where the solenoid would hold it up and loss of power would cause it to snap down in front, possibly allowing the rider to ride it out a bit before running off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novazeus Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 for all us sue happy americans, imagine this scenario, ur out on ur wheel in a park, nice flat ground, tightly cut grass, and a friend comes around and wants to try ur wheel, and ur like sure, ur wheel has some protection, it’s grass etc. and off ur friend or new friend maybe goes, and the wheel for whatever reason, cuts out and they face plant, break their nose. a 63 yo man just won a $7,000,000.00 lawsuit against walmart for getting his foot caught in a pallet of watermelons while reaching for one and broke his leg. i think about this kind of stuff 24/7. there needs to be some way to prevent cut off faceplants. if it were a horse, and it did that occaisionally, u would shoot it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriull Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 1 hour ago, novazeus said: for all us sue happy americans, imagine this scenario, ur out on ur wheel in a park, nice flat ground, tightly cut grass, and a friend comes around and wants to try ur wheel, and ur like sure, ur wheel has some protection, it’s grass etc. and off ur friend or new friend maybe goes, and the wheel for whatever reason, cuts out and they face plant, break their nose. a 63 yo man just won a $7,000,000.00 lawsuit against walmart for getting his foot caught in a pallet of watermelons while reaching for one and broke his leg. i think about this kind of stuff 24/7. Isn't the amount related to the turnover of a company? So sues against private persons are much cheaper? Be covered by some kind of insurance? Or will this leave private persons just without any assets? Then it's easy - never let anyone try your wheel . Or let your lawyer work out a "perfect" damage waiver declaration... 1 hour ago, novazeus said: therereneeds to be some way to prevent cut off faceplants. ... Waiting for newer wheel generations should be the best chance ... from the first euc till now much evolved and this will go on... With some drawbacks inbetween, of course... Mechanical solutions like wheelie bars, etc could maybe protect at low speeds, but introduce new and worse risks at medium to higher speeds. 1 hour ago, novazeus said: ifit were a horse, and it did that occaisionally, u would shoot it. Lol - i like this picture! @Marty Backe shooting his mten at the turnstile ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fat Unicyclist Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 The problem with a wheelie bar is that, while it may stop the wheel from rotating forward, your centre of gravity would still be forward of the axle - and as the wheel won't be "keeping up," you will still be tasting the concrete... I think of it like skydiving... you need the parachute to work. End of story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novazeus Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 think if there were two spring loaded mini wheels front and back and as soon as power was cut they snapped into plane with the bottom of the wheel. u would sill be freewheeling wouldn’t u.? u can autorotate a heli if the engine dies, for crying out loud. maybe some back up battery/board arrangement hard wired in for momentary back up like our ups or line conditioners. i just had a 4 month old nesco american harvest food dehydrator burn out and melt all the trays. and of course i’m on my 4th foodsaver that just stopped working after two months. the way they build things and push it out the door, they weigh the cost of insurance, product liability, recalls, warranty, lawsuits etc etc, but injuries are the big ones. u know what they say, what’s the difference between a dead armadillo or a dead lawyer in the road. skid marks in front of the armadillo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fat Unicyclist Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 if you did start free-wheeling... with your CoG forward of the axle, the downward force would only assist in slowing the wheel more quickly. The taste of gravel in your mouth will still be present. Having been riding for a few years now, and falling off for just as long, the one thing I know for sure is that pivoting a fat unicycist from ankle height will only ever end one way. But accepting that, wearing the right gear (and being not-quite-sober) means I still choose this over everything as my preferred method of transport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 On 13/11/2017 at 7:58 AM, The Fat Unicyclist said: The problem with a wheelie bar is that, while it may stop the wheel from rotating forward, your centre of gravity would still be forward of the axle - and as the wheel won't be "keeping up," you will still be tasting the concrete... I think of it like skydiving... you need the parachute to work. End of story. Spot on, but can I also point out all of this is assuming that you have lost power and that has effectively released a solenoid allowing the wheel to pop out. From personal experience and reports on this forum I would reckon that very few faceplant are directly due to power simply shutting off, they are way more likely to be exceeding torque or something like a FET failing, so the safety wheel would not pop out. However as @The Fat Unicyclist, has already stated, any tilt forward will have you off and, indeed, a small wheel digging into soft turf will throw you off spectacularly well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoother Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Actually, I've been visualising something like this, more as a parking stand, less as an anti face plant device. It would be lovey, if, with the push of a button on the trolley handle, a little parking stand shoots out fro somewhere inside the wheel well. No more leaning against walls, etc, or falling over. even something that flips out by hand, like a motorcycle centre stand would be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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