1-mph crash and bruised ankle - injuries at any speed

[WARPed1701D]

2 hours ago, Smoother said:

It's precisely the full face helmet that is most recognisable as the " that doesn't belong on the side walk with me" item.  I have trouble distinguished difference between some full face bike helmet and a full face motorcycle helmet and I've studied both at length in the calm comfort of my living room.  For the average member of the public, not only can they not determine the difference as we speed towards them, often in low or no light, but 90% of them probably don't even know that such a thing as a full face bike helmet exists.  Like I said, on trails, roads, or bike paths, no problem, but on the crowded sidewalk of a busy urban environment, it doesn't send the right message. Knee pads and elbow pads make you no more threatening than an inline skater.  They've been wearing them for decades, but rarely with a full face helmet, of any type.

when a friend first saw me wheeling with a full face lid, she said I looked scary, and she's knows me ( and no I'm not scary, usually).

Not all full face helmets are the same or give the same perception. Marty's helmet, while cool, hides the face in it's entirety and honestly has a menacing alien look to it. Dystopian. Authoritarian. Military. 

You don't know what's going on inside. How to judge his intentions. What will you assume when you think of movies where questionable characters sport the same look.

Denying people eye contact and the ability to gauge a facial expression has the ability to terrify. Think of masked terrorists? To put it another way... 

On 12/14/2017 at 12:25 PM, Smoother said:

 

 

... First guy is OK with me. I can see his eyes. He looks friendly. 

The other two dudes... Yeah I'd be wary... Especially the last guy. I've no idea what is going on in there. What are you up to? Are you even human or have you got some alien bug eyes back there sizing me up for anal probing (cue @Hunka Hunka Burning Love) ! 

I'll also add that while your helmet also looks cool. It has some pretty aggressive styling of the chin bar. Angular with a lot of facial coverage. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01L6SS4FW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'd argue that the Switchblade offers a much more friendly, open, readable view of the riders face. If I smile, they see it. They can read my eyes. 

In my opinion saying full face helmets are intimidating is an oversimplification of the situation. Choices can be made to maintain protection without unnecessary increasing public concern about their safety. 

[WARPed1701D]

1 hour ago, Smoother said:

we have several other contributory issues here in England, especially London.  Motorcycle and scooter riding criminals have, for years, been using bikes to rob jewellery stores, often riding on the side walk to block it off to pedestrians while they make their smash and grab robbery.

Plus, in the last year, scooter riders have been riding in packs, often on the side walk.  They ride up to people, throw acid in their faces and steal their phones, purses, or even scooters.  So someone in a full face helmet might  assumed to to committing a crime ( other than riding an EUC).

I agree that the problem in London is troubling. Not just for the perception of someone with a shielded identity but also of EUCs in general. It's not good. Ironically however many of these scooter gangs aren't wearing helmets when doing the deed because the police won't peruse them if they are at extreme risk of injury if they crash. I say chase the little bastards and hope they come off. As long as the NHS isn't billed to keep them alive. 

However, as per my last post, IMO the choice of helmet make a big difference to public perception of the rider. 

[Marty Backe]

1 hour ago, RayRay said:

Holy crap! I thought I looked less intimidating riding a scooter (as opposed to a motorcycle), but I guess I look terrifying to some...

Still, I usually wear a bright-yellow hi-viz vest and/or over-pants and I think this makes me look much less threatening.

(I don't have any pics, but here's the obligatory Marty Model.)

I think I'll stick with "my" look. If I dressed like that guy on the right I'd only get down votes and people would laugh at me on the street.

[Marty Backe]

1 hour ago, WARPed1701D said:

Right you are. I've promised it a lot but not got round to it. Trying to move to the UK distracted me. I will get it done over the next week. Not sure if it will be a video or text with pictures. 

The G-Form gear I use is not cheap and as already mentioned requires over 5 minutes to gear up. Certainly not for everyone but if you have the inclination then I think it is a great highly protective and discrete solution. 

Exactly what part of this activity is cheap   Don't let that stop you.

[WARPed1701D]

7 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Exactly what part of this activity is cheap   Don't let that stop you.

+1000

[The Fat Unicyclist]

30 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Exactly what part of this activity is cheap   Don't let that stop you.

Recharging!

[LanghamP]

On 1/21/2018 at 10:31 PM, WARPed1701D said:

Marty's helmet, while cool, hides the face in it's entirety and honestly has a menacing alien look to it. Dystopian. Authoritarian. Military. 

 

In my opinion saying full face helmets are intimidating is an oversimplification of the situation. Choices can be made to maintain protection without unnecessary increasing public concern about their safety. 

Stop buying black helmets! Blue, yellow, and possibly red are friendly and inviting colors. 

I do think that @Marty Backe's helmet is easily the most dystopian looking helmet. Still people buy SUV's because they want to signal to others their ruggedness; their hostility towards strangers that bear them ill-will, as to put it.

Anyway, most if not all people that I have stopped to talk to comment that a full-face makes sense as they can immediately see the danger of face planting on an EUC. It's a dangerous sport that requires more than a bicycle helmet, and most observers instinctively understand that.

[Marty Backe]

2 hours ago, LanghamP said:

Stop buying black helmets! Blue, yellow, and possibly red are friendly and inviting colors. 

I do think that @Marty Backe's helmet is easily the most dystopian looking helmet. Still people buy SUV's because they want to signal to others their ruggedness; their hostility towards strangers that bear them ill-will, as to put it.

Anyway, most if not all people that I have stopped to talk to comment that a full-face makes sense as they can immediately see the danger of face planting on an EUC. It's a dangerous sport that requires more than a bicycle helmet, and most observers instinctively understand that.

And that's exactly why I bought. It's a 'bad-ass' helmet, and that's actually how it's marketed. I am their (Scorpion) demographic 

Most guys get-it, and think it's really cool. I'm not buying safety gear or riding wheels to appease pedestrians who are frightened by their own shadow 

[LanghamP]

On 1/21/2018 at 10:45 PM, WARPed1701D said:

I agree that the problem in London is troubling. Not just for the perception of someone with a shielded identity but also of EUCs in general. It's not good. Ironically however many of these scooter gangs aren't wearing helmets when doing the deed because the police won't peruse them if they are at extreme risk of injury if they crash. I say chase the little bastards and hope they come off. As long as the NHS isn't billed to keep them alive. 

However, as per my last post, IMO the choice of helmet make a big difference to public perception of the rider. 

It's not a scooter issue; it's an ethnic and economical issue. Scooters are merely the tools.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4720226/Moped-gangs-rob-54-times-day-London.html

It's not illegal to carry acid, and throwing acid onto something immediately incapacitates them from a distance. Highly effective ambushes, you wouldn't be able to tell that's not a bottle of water until the acid thrower was right on top of you. I gotta admit, that's pretty damn effective. Smart criminals.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4719766/Gang-member-says-using-chemicals-muggings-win-win.html

[Stan Onymous]

38 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

 

It's not illegal to carry acid, and throwing acid onto something immediately incapacitates them from a distance. Highly effective ambushes, you wouldn't be able to tell that's not a bottle of water until the acid thrower was right on top of you. I gotta admit, that's pretty damn effective. Smart criminals.

Would a diluted solution of baking soda and water help neutralize the acid? If so it would be a pretty easy solution to fit in a mini aerosol.

[LanghamP]

37 minutes ago, Stan Onymous said:

Would a diluted solution of baking soda and water help neutralize the acid? If so it would be a pretty easy solution to fit in a mini aerosol.

With almost 100 attacks per day just in London, and evidently in just a few neighborhoods (I don't know London), all you'd have to do is station a few soldiers and maybe some drone operators to run them to the ground, and counter-ambush just 2-4 of these guys each day. Within twenty days you will have eliminated almost half of these acid attackers.

An acid attacker, when suspecting people are carrying mini aerosols, would simply double the amount of acid used, and keep doubling it until the mini aerosol wasn't effective anymore.

[Smoother]

2 hours ago, LanghamP said:

It's not a scooter issue; it's an ethnic and economical issue. Scooters are merely the tools.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4720226/Moped-gangs-rob-54-times-day-London.html

It's not illegal to carry acid, and throwing acid onto something immediately incapacitates them from a distance. Highly effective ambushes, you wouldn't be able to tell that's not a bottle of water until the acid thrower was right on top of you. I gotta admit, that's pretty damn effective. Smart criminals.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4719766/Gang-member-says-using-chemicals-muggings-win-win.html

Even before these events, I didn't like going into London.  My Girlfriend from Texas would ask why we didn't go into London that much when she comes to visit.  This is why.  It's an ugly place, and I can't properly protect her there.  We have no legal guns, and the innocent can only use reasonable force against the evil, even though the evil can use as much force as they like.  No lie, I actually felt safer in Texas than I do in London, because in Texas, if someone tries to throw acid on me or my girlfriend, I can shoot him dead, and the grand jury will no-bill it.  And the world will be a better place.

[LanghamP]

9 minutes ago, Smoother said:

Even before these events, I didn't like going into London.  My Girlfriend from Texas would ask why we didn't go into London that much when she comes to visit.  This is why.  It's an ugly place, and I can't properly protect her there.  We have no legal guns, and the innocent can only use reasonable force against the evil, even though the evil can use as much force as they like.  No lie, I actually felt safer in Texas than I do in London, because in Texas, if someone tries to throw acid on me or my girlfriend, I can shoot him dead, and the grand jury will no-bill it.  And the world will be a better place.

Acid attackers and photographers in public spaces are equally dangerous.

https://petapixel.com/2016/07/16/video-photographer-tests-rights-streets-london/

[Smoother]

32 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

Acid attackers and photographers in public spaces are equally dangerous.

https://petapixel.com/2016/07/16/video-photographer-tests-rights-streets-london/

 

Interesting video.

Did you notice that he starts with a Nikon, and at 6 minutes its become a Canon?

[RayRay]

Rather than derail this thread by 'throwing more gas on the flames' (or acid on the face)... I thought I'd comment on these spiky pedals:

This reminds me of the low budget solution for cycle pedals before 'clip-in' shoes became popular on road bikes. I'm wondering if a similar solution for euc's could eventually evolve? Something less extreme perhaps; (maybe involving magnets)...

[Smoother]

1 hour ago, RayRay said:

I thought I'd comment on these spiky pedals:

oh! is that what this thread was about?  Oops.

[LanghamP]

17 hours ago, Smoother said:

Interesting video.

Did you notice that he starts with a Nikon, and at 6 minutes its become a Canon?

Just about every photographer I know is brand agnostic unlike even just a few years ago. Price vary so wildly between brands that you're almost forced to buy a couple of their cheapest bodies and pick the lenses to go with them.

Also, as I painfully discovered two years ago, an extra camera body is always a good thing when going on vacation. If something is worth taking a photo/video of, then it's worth taking two bodies with you (although I usually don't).

[Marty Backe]

3 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

Just about every photographer I know is brand agnostic unlike even just a few years ago. Price vary so wildly between brands that you're almost forced to buy a couple of their cheapest bodies and pick the lenses to go with them.

Also, as I painfully discovered two years ago, an extra camera body is always a good thing when going on vacation. If something is worth taking a photo/video of, then it's worth taking two bodies with you (although I usually don't).

Is this really true? Considering the cost of quality glass (I have lots of L-lenses) I find it hard to believe photographers that buy higher end cameras are brand agnostic.

Maybe you're thinking of the people who buy $500 Rebels or the like, not the ones who buy >$3500 for a camera body.

[LanghamP]

1 hour ago, Marty Backe said:

Is this really true? Considering the cost of quality glass (I have lots of L-lenses) I find it hard to believe photographers that buy higher end cameras are brand agnostic.

Maybe you're thinking of the people who buy $500 Rebels or the like, not the ones who buy >$3500 for a camera body.

Yeah, it's mostly always amateurs who buy the latest high-end stuff, and they usually have a ton of different stuff. The pros I know, here locally, don't buy the highest-end stuff; they might have one higher-end body that they share between themselves, and a fair number of Rebels, a few go-pro knockoffs, and the obligatory Panasonic video camera. And maybe three high-quality zooms and that's it.

The Canon SL1 seems hugely popular, everyone seems to own one regardless if they are pro or amateur like me. It's like 90% of any camera for 1/10 the cost.

One pro who derives his entire income from photography says it's pretty rough nowdays compared to even 4 years ago. Pretty much the only paid gigs are wedding and senior yearbook, and there's a very strong downward pressure on price as more amateurs get into that at lower capital costs.

Whereas you might have been hired to shoot sport events and bands, nowdays most of those two groups either demand you pay them to shoot, or you shoot for free, and they keep all the rights to the pictures you take.

Interestingly, he occasionally gets into it when he takes photos of bands playing on public property. Bands playing in a city park cannot successfully sue a photographer for selling their pictures, which seems to catch every band off guard at least once.

[Marty Backe]

46 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

Yeah, it's mostly always amateurs who buy the latest high-end stuff, and they usually have a ton of different stuff. The pros I know, here locally, don't buy the highest-end stuff; they might have one higher-end body that they share between themselves, and a fair number of Rebels, a few go-pro knockoffs, and the obligatory Panasonic video camera. And maybe three high-quality zooms and that's it.

The Canon SL1 seems hugely popular, everyone seems to own one regardless if they are pro or amateur like me. It's like 90% of any camera for 1/10 the cost.

One pro who derives his entire income from photography says it's pretty rough nowdays compared to even 4 years ago. Pretty much the only paid gigs are wedding and senior yearbook, and there's a very strong downward pressure on price as more amateurs get into that at lower capital costs.

Whereas you might have been hired to shoot sport events and bands, nowdays most of those two groups either demand you pay them to shoot, or you shoot for free, and they keep all the rights to the pictures you take.

Interestingly, he occasionally gets into it when he takes photos of bands playing on public property. Bands playing in a city park cannot successfully sue a photographer for selling their pictures, which seems to catch every band off guard at least once.

Yeah, my brother is a professional photographer - last 25-years or so. It's a tough business, but doable if you can establish a brand and reputation. I think he's glad that he'll be retiring soon.

[The Fat Unicyclist]

23 hours ago, RayRay said:

Rather than derail this thread by 'throwing more gas on the flames' (or acid on the face)... I thought I'd comment on these spiky pedals:

This reminds me of the low budget solution for cycle pedals before 'clip-in' shoes became popular on road bikes. I'm wondering if a similar solution for euc's could eventually evolve? Something less extreme perhaps; (maybe involving magnets)...

Hmmmn... l like that idea. 

Pros: Quick release for run-off and "guidance" for (to) optimal foot placement. 

Cons: Working out optimal foot placement and having to wear dedicated "riding shoes." 

[Shad0z]

On 1/22/2018 at 5:31 AM, WARPed1701D said:

Not all full face helmets are the same or give the same perception. Marty's helmet, while cool, hides the face in it's entirety and honestly has a menacing alien look to it. Dystopian. Authoritarian. Military. 

You don't know what's going on inside. How to judge his intentions. What will you assume when you think of movies where questionable characters sport the same look.

Denying people eye contact and the ability to gauge a facial expression has the ability to terrify. Think of masked terrorists? To put it another way... 

... First guy is OK with me. I can see his eyes. He looks friendly. 

The other two dudes... Yeah I'd be wary... Especially the last guy. I've no idea what is going on in there. What are you up to? Are you even human or have you got some alien bug eyes back there sizing me up for anal probing (cue @Hunka Hunka Burning Love) ! 

I'll also add that while your helmet also looks cool. It has some pretty aggressive styling of the chin bar. Angular with a lot of facial coverage. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01L6SS4FW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'd argue that the Switchblade offers a much more friendly, open, readable view of the riders face. If I smile, they see it. They can read my eyes. 

In my opinion saying full face helmets are intimidating is an oversimplification of the situation. Choices can be made to maintain protection without unnecessary increasing public concern about their safety. 

i agree people talk to me and stuff when i have my visor off but as soon i take it on...

they pretty much treat me like im some kind of anonomous alien creature or not human

for some reason people need to see your face to react to you like a human 

well its understandable to some extend marty looks like a nice guys but when he gets his helmet on 

its like aliens have invaded planet earth 2118 with one wheeled rideables  

[Je77]

I’m about to receive my first EUC. Excited. As a beginner, how high do the boots need to be to provide the necessary ankle protection? I have hiking boots that cover the ankles. Is that sufficient or do I need something that covers the lower shins? If so, are there certain kind of pads that would be better than buying new shoes? I prefer normal height sneakers. Thanks

[Shad0z]

3 hours ago, Je77 said:

I’m about to receive my first EUC. Excited. As a beginner, how high do the boots need to be to provide the necessary ankle protection? I have hiking boots that cover the ankles. Is that sufficient or do I need something that covers the lower shins? If so, are there certain kind of pads that would be better than buying new shoes? I prefer normal height sneakers. Thanks

Dont think too much about it. I never had problems with my ankles but if you do have problems find some foam and put it on the euc

[Marty Backe]

3 hours ago, Je77 said:

I’m about to receive my first EUC. Excited. As a beginner, how high do the boots need to be to provide the necessary ankle protection? I have hiking boots that cover the ankles. Is that sufficient or do I need something that covers the lower shins? If so, are there certain kind of pads that would be better than buying new shoes? I prefer normal height sneakers. Thanks

Any hiking type boot would provide all the protection that you need. Highly recommended. There are separate ankle type support braces that I've seen, but I think that's too much effort to put on and take off.