Causes of your accidents

[exoplanet]

Slippery surface. wet Ice. Wheelspin, fall forward, solution, spikes

Slippery surface,  wet and dry ice, turning too quick, lose grip wheel slips to side, i step off or fall into puddle.

Too little power in hill, over current shutoff, step off. More powerful system

Too little power. potholes. superman. solution, bigger diameter, shock absorbers, higher profile tyres, more power, sensing systems, awareness.

Too high surface pressure, dig through snow, hit ice ridge  wheel spins, loss of control, wider tyres and big treads and spikes as well as higher profile tyres and shock absorbers

Too low foot plates, shell carrying too much weight rather than the tyre. Get stuck in snow. solution, let the tyre and wheel be the part that shows below the foot pedals.

snow build up, mess up shared corridor, solution, a cover like on circular saws or design it to not accumulate alot of water and have an inbuilt rug to stand it on.

No trolley handle, pain in back. solution. trolley handle or less weight or taller design or self driving with gyroscopes or wheels behind you.

Under powered, cutoff at high speed. sometimes at low battery. solution. bigger battery, more power, utiilise less of maximum potential.

Water in the wrong places. Rusty start button. water short. wheel cutoff or no turn on and late for appointment.

Too big wheel diameter, lose balance because of transition from flat to down hill. balance point on pedals shifts. Solution, move pedals dynamically or have a smaller wheel so contact point is limited in movement back and forwards.

Low speed, no shock absorbing. plantar fasciitis from standing too long. Solution, higher speeds and softer ride.

Low battery, late for stuff. no more range, slow speed. solution bigger batteries. enough for a full day. say 5000Wh.4

Oh. and i want tyres with spikes that can be activated and deployed. and give me induction charging.

 

What are the causes of your accidents, what happened and what could a solution be?

 

[The Fat Unicyclist]

Cause: Too fat and not enough torque

Solution: Lose weight  Get a wheel with more torque!

[LanghamP]

Not listed here yet my last two crashes where I hit the ground were catching my footpads on something.

Catching footpads while leaning isn't too bad, but my god catching the pads on something real is like a big dog grabs you by the legs and just slams you into the ground.

At least the wheel doesn't run you over afterwards like going down an unseen curb at an angle.

[kasenutty]

My last crash was an overlean going backwards. Sounds more exciting than it was, I was penduluming and hit it too hard on one of the reverses and the fucker just let go. I was all shocked and flopped out in my driveway. Was a good one. 

[Marty Backe]

2 hours ago, kasenutty said:

My last crash was an overlean going backwards. Sounds more exciting than it was, I was penduluming and hit it too hard on one of the reverses and the fucker just let go. I was all shocked and flopped out in my driveway. Was a good one. 

Which wheel didn't have the guts?

[Marty Backe]

2 hours ago, LanghamP said:

Not listed here yet my last two crashes where I hit the ground were catching my footpads on something.

Catching footpads while leaning isn't too bad, but my god catching the pads on something real is like a big dog grabs you by the legs and just slams you into the ground.

At least the wheel doesn't run you over afterwards like going down an unseen curb at an angle.

My most physically damaging crash was from a pedal catch. I try to be extra vigilant now.

[dmethvin]

3 hours ago, The Fat Unicyclist said:

Cause: Too fat and not enough torque

Solution: Lose weight  Get a wheel with more torque!

The bigger the porque the bigger the torque!

[kasenutty]

39 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Which wheel didn't have the guts?

14c. I’m a big dude (215) and I gunned it way too hard. But I rode around backwards some today just fine.

I’m just getting into turning backwards and having it click so I’m getting too aggressive on hard ass pendulums because I think I’m a total badass now ?

[The Fat Unicyclist]

1 hour ago, dmethvin said:

The bigger the porque the bigger the torque!

I resemble that remark!

[Cannings]

My worst was when I was going down a lowered curb but i was a bit late turning so kind off went of as it was raising back up, caught my pedal on the curb itself and it threw me into the middle of the road while a line of traffic were waiting to leave the business park and watching me through their windows lol

[Marty Backe]

On 1/26/2018 at 6:03 PM, kasenutty said:

14c. I’m a big dude (215) and I gunned it way too hard. But I rode around backwards some today just fine.

I’m just getting into turning backwards and having it click so I’m getting too aggressive on hard ass pendulums because I think I’m a total badass now ?

Get a Gotway and you can do as many hard-ass pendulums as you like 

[Marty Backe]

1 hour ago, Cannings said:

My worst was when I was going down a lowered curb but i was a bit late turning so kind off went of as it was raising back up, caught my pedal on the curb itself and it threw me into the middle of the road while a line of traffic were waiting to leave the business park and watching me through their windows lol

I don't know which is worse, falling or falling in front of traffic. For me it's the traffic 

[LanghamP]

Eh, I've fallen a dozen times in front of traffic. To be specific, the lip going up to the road that grabs the wheel as you both mount and try to get enough speed to pass over it. That's where I learned the hard and medium settings.

Also catching the edges of the sidewalk when the sidewalk is lowered.

These problems hardly effect me nowdays, but watching other new riders fall in those problem areas shows that EUCs may be inherently non mainstream.

[exoplanet]

It being inherently non mainstream is a great thing, though. Then we don't get too restricted and don't lose our freedom.

 

I guess bringing the pedals higher would ameliorate that problem though. For widespread adoption, perhaps people should learn to snag their pedals first to know the danger.

 

13 hours ago, LanghamP said:

Eh, I've fallen a dozen times in front of traffic. To be specific, the lip going up to the road that grabs the wheel as you both mount and try to get enough speed to pass over it. That's where I learned the hard and medium settings.

Also catching the edges of the sidewalk when the sidewalk is lowered.

These problems hardly effect me nowdays, but watching other new riders fall in those problem areas shows that EUCs may be inherently non mainstream.

What did you mean when talking about the hard and medium setting?

[kasenutty]

19 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Get a Gotway and you can do as many hard-ass pendulums as you like 

 

I may do that, but I'm just not sure yet. I want to get a new wheel this spring. I've got it narrowed down to either a 16s, 18s, 18l, Tesla, MSuper, or Z10 at the moment

[LanghamP]

16 hours ago, exoplanet said:

It being inherently non mainstream is a great thing, though. Then we don't get too restricted and don't lose our freedom.

What did you mean when talking about the hard and medium setting?

White middle-aged Spandex clad bicyclist are wildly hostile towards EUCs if EUCs are on "their" bicycle path. I mean, you can be going the same speed as them, passing them, or being passed by them, and they're still extremely intolerant of EUCs. If EUCs were more mainstream then they might be more tolerant. However, these same guys also want to restrict eBikes from bicycle paths although they had no problem with using taxpayer money to build the paths in the first place.

Why, that feels almost...exclusionary and elitist, that is, to use taxpayer funded bicycle paths are strictly for leisure and not for transportation.

Medium and hard settings are simply how quickly the wheel reacts to being unbalanced. As far as I can tell (someone correct me if I'm wrong), medium and soft can output the same amount of power.

[Marty Backe]

40 minutes ago, kasenutty said:

 

I may do that, but I'm just not sure yet. I want to get a new wheel this spring. I've got it narrowed down to either a 16s, 18s, 18l, Tesla, MSuper, or Z10 at the moment

I myself am very intrigued with the Z10, but there are enough unknowns (such a new wheel with little pedigree) that I'm probably going to wait to hear field reports from actual riders before buying one.

[Marty Backe]

1 hour ago, LanghamP said:

White middle-aged Spandex clad bicyclist are wildly hostile towards EUCs if EUCs are on "their" bicycle path. I mean, you can be going the same speed as them, passing them, or being passed by them, and they're still extremely intolerant of EUCs. If EUCs were more mainstream then they might be more tolerant. However, these same guys also want to restrict eBikes from bicycle paths although they had no problem with using taxpayer money to build the paths in the first place.

Why, that feels almost...exclusionary and elitist, that is, to use taxpayer funded bicycle paths are strictly for leisure and not for transportation.

Medium and hard settings are simply how quickly the wheel reacts to being unbalanced. As far as I can tell (someone correct me if I'm wrong), medium and soft can output the same amount of power.

That is not my experience at all. This must be a regional thing. I ride hundreds of miles on bike paths in Southern California with lots of Spandex covered bicyclists. I can't recall ever seeing or hearing a negative response. To the contrary, I get lots of smiles and thumbs up as they race by me in the opposite direction.

California is probably unique. People are very health conscious and accepting of weird things like EUCs. I'm very grateful that I happen to be living here when I discovered EUCs  

[kasenutty]

Spandex bike dudes are definitely the biggest hateful group here as well. Followed by teenagers in cars. 

[Cannings]

I managed to top my best fall last night with a new best fall, I was coming up a hill and there is a part where the cycle path rejoins the main path however there is a bit of mud on either side of the cycle path as it joins and the path is kind of sloped left by about 5-10 degrees. The path between the mud is maximum 3-4 inches wide and it by far the worst part of my journey.

Well last night as I was heading up at around 10-15mph I reckon as I always slow down for this bit, I managed to go slightly on the mud and just got that feeling where the wheel is slipping out from under you and I came down hard on my side bruised my shoulder, side and I still have a killer dead leg today. In future i'm going to slow right down to a crawl for that bit as long as its wet mud. 

[dmethvin]

On 1/29/2018 at 11:19 AM, Marty Backe said:

On 1/29/2018 at 10:54 AM, LanghamP said:

White middle-aged Spandex clad bicyclist are wildly hostile towards EUCs if EUCs are on "their" bicycle path.

That is not my experience at all. This must be a regional thing. I ride hundreds of miles on bike paths in Southern California with lots of Spandex covered bicyclists. I can't recall ever seeing or hearing a negative response. 

I've gotten it two times here in the DC area, both of them in Rock Creek Park on their paved trails. One time it was an oncoming cyclist yelling "No motors on the trail!" and the other was a cyclist saying "You're not supposed to ride those here." Both were decked out in spandex and expensive gear on an expensive bike--"serious cyclists." I've just decided to avoid those areas, they tend to be crowded anyway so it's not a pleasant ride.

Are they right? Well, DC, Maryland, and Virginia have EPAMD laws saying they're legal on bike lanes and they're legal on sidewalks as well except for the central business district of DC. The National Park Service says that state laws govern bicycle use and Rock Creek rules say The use of roller skates, skateboards, roller skis, coasting vehicles, or similar devices are allowed in .. Paved multi-use trails and roads closed to motor vehicle traffic on weekends or federal holidays  so although there's no mention of electric bikes, Segways, EUCs, Boosted Boards, OneWheels, etc. they are not specifically prohibited either.

As I've noted before, there are about 20 different police forces and sets of rules to deal with in the DC area (DC Police, Secret Service, US Capitol Police, FBI, US National Park Police, etc), so it's certainly possible you're breaking the rules somewhere and somehow. But I'm not going to stop and argue with some spandex guy about it, my record of explaining the law to people isn't that good.

[The Wizard]

On 1/28/2018 at 4:19 PM, LanghamP said:

Eh, I've fallen a dozen times in front of traffic. To be specific, the lip going up to the road that grabs the wheel as you both mount and try to get enough speed to pass over it. That's where I learned the hard and medium settings.

Also catching the edges of the sidewalk when the sidewalk is lowered.

These problems hardly effect me nowdays, but watching other new riders fall in those problem areas shows that EUCs may be inherently non mainstream.

Yes. You know you've matured in your euc riding when you are ALWAYS aware of catching that far edge of your peddle on something. Usually something unseen at the time.

The twisting dismount is so surprisingly abrupt and authoritive. I like the addition of Sunken Sidewalks.

I seem to like riding too close to Curbs. (without realizing it).

Ohhh the dismount...............

Twice it happened to me in heavy car traffic. Very very embarrassing. In all the flipping and flopping and rolling, I think most of them thought I was dead.

 

[TremF]

The cause of my worst accident, on my first ACM, was the axle breaking. The axle was probably weakened by dropping off curbs from time to time. When it went I heard a crack and stopped to check for visible damage. I couldn't see anything so carried on on my way to work but very slowly paying a lot of attention to the ACM to see if I could hear or feel anything else. After a few hundred yards it gave up on my and just dropped me to the floor causing my worst injuries ever let alone in over two years of riding.

The solution is for Gotway to not use such thin/weak axles. I now have the ACM 2 which is a massive upgrade, internally, over my original ACM including a thicker axle. Although thicker I still haven't gone dropping off any curbs since getting it.

[Shad0z]

dont worry exo i got your back with the red likes still!  

[winterwheel]

Winter, 6am, dark, cold. City commute. Ride carefully to the bike lane, cleared by the city, salted, dry as a bone. Time for some fun, a respite from the hard work of navigating the snowy roads where bike paths don't go. Up ahead, a main break has flooded one of the intersections and frozen over.  Now you can ride even the worst, blackest ice if you always follow three golden rules: stay totally upright when turning; stay to the center of crowned roads; and stay on the wheel until you get to safe ground. I was about to break rule 2. That slow motion thing they talk about in accidents is real. Ever so gently the wheel slid out from underneath me. Really it was about the most gentle unplanned dismount you'll ever have while riding an electric unicycle at 40kmh. Then I was on the icy road sliding along with the wheel. I have always wished there had been someone there to see it. I and the wheel slid in tandem to the intersection, through the intersection, and 20 yards further to boot, maybe fifty meters in all. Thankfully, being so early, there was no traffic to run me over (why I go to work so early actually). I got up, checked the wheel, and proceeded on to the rest of my day none the worse for wear.