ACM - High Speed Shut off. (Wipe out)

[Questor]

Hello All.

It's been a while since I've posted.  Life has been very busy.

But I thought I'd add my story.

I've got a ACM and am very comfortable and confident with it.  I've had it up to 33 mph and probably have over 200 miles on it.

Well, on September 16th, 2017, I decided to race a pickup truck at a green light.  I had the initial jump on him, and was accelerating away up a pretty decent hill when all of a sudden, I'm flying though the air, and I see my wheel tumbling past me.  I hit the dreaded high speed shut off.

I busted up both palms pretty badly, fractured a bone in my right wrist, opened right knee right down to the bone, lacerated my left knee pretty badly, and I had a bunch of road rash on my back.  (I wasn't wearing any protective gear...)

The worst part was that I was still about four miles from home and had to get back on the wheel to get home.  I couldn t walk and couldn't pick up the wheel.

I've had worse accidents on a motorcycle and sustained less physical damage, but  I always ride with full gear and helmet.

So now, some five months later, I'm mostly healed.  I put the wheel back together, washed off all the dried blood, but the case is cracked and badly damaged.

Moral of the story.  Set your alarms.  Set your tilt back.  Wear protective gear.

 

Now - does anyone know where I can get a new case put back on my wheel?

Q~

[Master Blaster]

Ouch!!

[meepmeepmayer]

33mph? That's very close to 55km/h where the wheels goes into mad spin acceleration mode to 65 when it shuts off. The ACM is not a >50km/h wheel.

@Jason McNeil can get you a new shell. You can ask other dealers, too.

[Questor]

4 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

33mph? That's very close to 55km/h where the wheels goes into mad spin acceleration mode to 65 when it shuts off. The ACM is not a >50km/h wheel.

@Jason McNeil can get you a new shell. You can ask other dealers, too.

Yeah.  I know.  In my excitement and adrenaline of the "race" my intelligence shut off.

Same thing happens to me when I ride motorcycles.  If I see someone faster, I just have to give chase.

Too many years of racing...

I'm very thankful I didn't get run over by a car or hit my head.  My girlfriend is still mad at me for bleeding all over the couch.

Q~

[Charles McLean]

Yikes!  Glad you're ok now!  Keep on wheeling!

[mezzanine]

I used to ride a motorcycle, and while there's more catastrophic risk with a motorbike, I believe EUCs are more dangerous when the frequency of minor injuries are factored.  

I had a spill for the first time in a few months a few days ago.  Banged my knee and elbow and hit my head on the pavement; luckily my helmet took the impact.  Ended up losing my keys (!) in the fall and getting new ones has been a hassle.  No significant injuries, but I recognized that it was pure luck.  

I'm going to drop $500 on safety gear in the coming months.  Going to get a full faced helmet and possibly some kind of body armor if I can find something light and quick to put on/take off.  

[Questor]

1 hour ago, mezzanine said:

I used to ride a motorcycle, and while there's more catastrophic risk with a motorbike, I believe EUCs are more dangerous when the frequency of minor injuries are factored.  

I had a spill for the first time in a few months a few days ago.  Banged my knee and elbow and hit my head on the pavement; luckily my helmet took the impact.  Ended up losing my keys (!) in the fall and getting new ones has been a hassle.  No significant injuries, but I recognized that it was pure luck.  

I'm going to drop $500 on safety gear in the coming months.  Going to get a full faced helmet and possibly some kind of body armor if I can find something light and quick to put on/take off.  

I commute 15,000 miles a year in Los Angeles traffic. I've been hit twice and totalled both bikes and sent five cars away on flatbed trucks.

I race stock cars. I do track days on 200hp super bikes.

Before that I used to race downhill mountain bikes.

Before that I was a whitewater kayaker and would Huck myself off 40 foot waterfalls.

I guess I'm not risk averse.

But these wheels are still really cool.

Q~

[duaner]

5 hours ago, Questor said:

Moral of the story.  Set your alarms.  Set your tilt back.  Wear protective gear.

I'm sorry you got injured.  But your conclusion is understated.  The moral is: "Ride recklessly and wreck", or even more bluntly "Be stupid, get injured".  In aviation there is a saying "The are bold pilots, and there are old pilots.  But there are no old bold pilots.".  Lucky for you EUCs are more forgiving then aviation.

[Marty Backe]

7 hours ago, Questor said:

Hello All.

It's been a while since I've posted.  Life has been very busy.

But I thought I'd add my story.

I've got a ACM and am very comfortable and confident with it.  I've had it up to 33 mph and probably have over 200 miles on it.

Well, on September 16th, 2017, I decided to race a pickup truck at a green light.  I had the initial jump on him, and was accelerating away up a pretty decent hill when all of a sudden, I'm flying though the air, and I see my wheel tumbling past me.  I hit the dreaded high speed shut off.

I busted up both palms pretty badly, fractured a bone in my right wrist, opened right knee right down to the bone, lacerated my left knee pretty badly, and I had a bunch of road rash on my back.  (I wasn't wearing any protective gear...)

The worst part was that I was still about four miles from home and had to get back on the wheel to get home.  I couldn t walk and couldn't pick up the wheel.

I've had worse accidents on a motorcycle and sustained less physical damage, but  I always ride with full gear and helmet.

So now, some five months later, I'm mostly healed.  I put the wheel back together, washed off all the dried blood, but the case is cracked and badly damaged.

Moral of the story.  Set your alarms.  Set your tilt back.  Wear protective gear.

 

Now - does anyone know where I can get a new case put back on my wheel?

Q~

Hey, it's been a long time. Still hoping you join us during a group ride - you were on the first one but never again 

Anyway, sorry to hear of the bad fall. Sounds scary and very painful. As you know () accelerating hard up a high is potential recipe for disaster. Ouch.

I'm getting to the point of avoiding all hard acceleration's and deceleration's. Basically not pushing the wheel to G or velocity extremes.

See EWheels. You may have to wait a bit, but I'm sure they can order the shell. I know Speedyfeet sells case parts too.

[Marty Backe]

7 hours ago, Questor said:

Yeah.  I know.  In my excitement and adrenaline of the "race" my intelligence shut off.

Same thing happens to me when I ride motorcycles.  If I see someone faster, I just have to give chase.

Too many years of racing...

I'm very thankful I didn't get run over by a car or hit my head.  My girlfriend is still mad at me for bleeding all over the couch.

Q~

I remember you saying that as soon as you got a high-performance wheel  that you'd be adding all the protection. You probably do, but I know how that goes. Sometimes you're not and something (like a race) come up 

[Rehab1]

Thanks for posting your story for other members to read. Glad you are feeling better. Sounds like your a ‘Gear Forever’ convert now. I think more and more riders are coming around to wearing safety gear. 

Curious. Did the guy in the pickup truck even stop to offer you assistance? 

10 hours ago, Questor said:

Moral of the story.  Set your alarms.  Set your tilt back.  Wear protective gear.

 

If only we could drive that message home for other riders. 

10 hours ago, Questor said:

My girlfriend is still mad at me for bleeding all over the couch.

I feel your pain in more ways than one.  

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

I gear up 99% of the time except for the short, slow trip to the community mailbox half a block away.  Thankfully I haven't had to discover how effective my gear is so far although I did a slow faceplant at < 1 kph on an ice rut.  The only parts injured were the ones my gear didn't cover!

If these EUCs were made by Honda, Kawasaki, or Yamaha then yeah we could probably push them and be fairly safe most of the time.  But the reality is that these are Chinese made rides without a huge R&D engineering department behind them so I try to remember that.  It's difficult though because the fun factor and stability really fools you into thinking you're safer than you really are.  

The QC factor and safety protocols just aren't quite up to par yet.  Maybe if the Gotway had a battery level sliding slow tiltback when approaching the danger speed there would be some physical feedback to encourage you to slow down.  The Ninebot Ones have that and other varying degrees of tiltback.  Relying on a beep beep beep alone sometimes might not be enough?  I still believe that tiltback if smartly programmed and incorporated can be more helpful than a lot of people think.

[yourtoys7]

@Questor glad you ok now and please wear full gear now. It for me a decent fall to get most of my gear up and a recent fall to get full face helmet. The other day I went to the mail box with out any protection (couple of hundred ft.), and I was so, so nervous that if I would to fall at any speed what it could/ would do to your body. Only after the fall do you realize how well protective gear works.

Share some photos if you have, hopefully this stories/ imagines will encourage riders ride with full protective gear.

[Mrd777]

@Questor I’m certainly happy that you are ready to ride again, I can also understand and relate to the chase race attitude. It sounds like you are fully aware of the limitations of your wheel. I’m glad you are ok, and didn’t seriously get hurt.

Maybe I can just get an alarm confirmation. The last alarm which we can’t turn off, is still a speed alarm ? Correct?  Can someone confirm that there is the 20/80 % alarm AND a final speed aleram that can’t be shut off ? Thanks

[Marty Backe]

2 hours ago, Mrd777 said:

@Questor I’m certainly happy that you are ready to ride again, I can also understand and relate to the chase race attitude. It sounds like you are fully aware of the limitations of your wheel. I’m glad you are ok, and didn’t seriously get hurt.

Maybe I can just get an alarm confirmation. The last alarm which we can’t turn off, is still a speed alarm ? Correct?  Can someone confirm that there is the 20/80 % alarm AND a final speed aleram that can’t be shut off ? Thanks

I know that @KingSong69 is of the opinion that the 3rd alarm is just a fixed speed, but I don't agree. And I can confirm with absolute confidence that the Tesla utilizes a max power level for the 3rd alarm.

When my battery was below 50% and I was riding in the low-20's I was getting the 3rd alarm. The next day I did the same test with the wheel fully charged and I did not get the 3rd alarm while riding at my max speed of ~25-mph. This tells me that the 3rd alarm on the Tesla is determined by available power not a fixed speed.

[Marty Backe]

5 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

Thanks for posting your story for other members to read. Glad you are feeling better. Sounds like your a ‘Gear Forever’ convert now. I think more and more riders are coming around to wearing safety gear. 

Curious. Did the guy in the pickup truck even stop to offer you assistance? 

If only we could drive that message home for other riders. 

I feel your pain in more ways than one.  

I was wondering the same thing. Then again, the guy in the truck probably didn't even know that he was participating in a 'race'.

[Questor]

16 hours ago, Charles McLean said:

Yikes!  Glad you're ok now!  Keep on wheeling!

I will, but with better protection and common sense.

Q~

12 hours ago, duaner said:

I'm sorry you got injured.  But your conclusion is understated.  The moral is: "Ride recklessly and wreck", or even more bluntly "Be stupid, get injured".  In aviation there is a saying "The are bold pilots, and there are old pilots.  But there are no old bold pilots.".  Lucky for you EUCs are more forgiving then aviation.

Or as I say, "Do stupid things, win stupid prizes".  

Q~

[Questor]

45 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

I was wondering the same thing. Then again, the guy in the truck probably didn't even know that he was participating in a 'race'.

Naw.  This is California.  It's like ancient Sparta.  Only the strong survive.

Q~

[Questor]

5 hours ago, yourtoys7 said:

@Questor glad you ok now and please wear full gear now. It for me a decent fall to get most of my gear up and a recent fall to get full face helmet. The other day I went to the mail box with out any protection (couple of hundred ft.), and I was so, so nervous that if I would to fall at any speed what it could/ would do to your body. Only after the fall do you realize how well protective gear works.

Share some photos if you have, hopefully this stories/ imagines will encourage riders ride with full protective gear.

I wasn't able to take pictures of my hands, but here's what my right knee looked like about three days after the crash. Friction burns like this take months to heal. It kept oozing for months and sticking to my pants.

The second photo is my knee now. It's all scar tissue and I doubt hair will ever grow there again.

Q~

 

[Rehab1]

6 hours ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

If these EUCs were made by Honda, Kawasaki 250 cycle, or Yamaha then yeah we could probably push them and be fairly safe most of the time.  But the reality is that these are Chinese made rides without a huge R&D engineering department behind them so I try to remember that.  It's difficult though because the fun factor and stability really fools you into thinking you're safer than you really are.  

I have a Honda generator, a Kawasaki 250 cycle and Jetski.  No issues.  These companies would capture the entire EUC market. 

31 minutes ago, Questor said:

I wasn't able to take pictures of my hands, but here's what my right knee looked like about three days after the crash. Friction burns like this take months to heal. It kept oozing for months and sticking to my pants.

The second photo is my knee now. It's all scar tissue and I doubt hair will ever grow there again.

 

OMG Questor! You really got banged up! Bummer! Glad you have recuperated enough to climb back on a wheel. 

[Rehab1]

1 hour ago, Marty Backe said:

I was wondering the same thing. Then again, the guy in the truck probably didn't even know that he was participating in a 'race'.

Possibility but if he actually saw the accident and did nothing that would be inhumane.  

[Questor]

9 minutes ago, Rehab1 said:

I have a Honda generator, a Kawasaki 250 cycle and Jetski.  No issues.  These companies would capture the entire EUC market. 

OMG Questor! You really got banged up! Bummer! Glad you have recuperated enough to climb back on a wheel. 

What sucked is that I commute by motorcycle.

It was very painful for about three months putting on my leathers and gloves with a bleeding knee and broken hand.

I didn't know my hand had a broken bone in it till about December when I went to see the doctor because it was wasn't working right.  He couldn't believe I was riding in the condition I was in.  

The ironic thing is, I NEVER ride my motorcycle without ALL the protective gear.  the double irony is that I design motorcycle helmets and apparel for a living.

Live and learn I suppose.

Q~

[Marty Backe]

1 hour ago, Questor said:

What sucked is that I commute by motorcycle.

It was very painful for about three months putting on my leathers and gloves with a bleeding knee and broken hand.

I didn't know my hand had a broken bone in it till about December when I went to see the doctor because it was wasn't working right.  He couldn't believe I was riding in the condition I was in.  

The ironic thing is, I NEVER ride my motorcycle without ALL the protective gear.  the double irony is that I design motorcycle helmets and apparel for a living.

Live and learn I suppose.

Q~

For the last couple of months I no longer ride my wheel without wrist guards, regardless of how short the trip.

From personal experience, every time I've fallen I've hit my knees. Fortunately I've had knee pads on at the time. But you've just convinced me that I need to wear them all the time too.

I just timed how long it takes to put my Triple-8 knee pads on. Including the adjustment of pants, etc., between 75 and 90 seconds. So 1-1/2 minutes is not really a long time to add some important protection. Wrist guards take less than 30-seconds.

So 2 minutes total for the most important gear.

From my personal experiences, I think the wrist guards and knee pads offer the best, most used protection. I've yet to hit my head in all the riding that I've done, so I'm OK skipping the helmet for short rides.

[yourtoys7]

@Questor I can only imagine how the rest of the body looked after that fall, hope you heal well. I hope that post like these will encourage riders to take protective gear more serious.

 

[Rehab1]

4 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

I just timed how long it takes to put my Triple-8 knee pads on. Including the adjustment of pants, etc., between 75 and 90 seconds. So 1-1/2 minutes is not really a long time to add some important protection. Wrist guards take less than 30-seconds.

Just like NASCAR. How fast can you change pedals and a tire.   Ugh... It literally takes me 3 minutes just to put on a winter coat. Safety gear would be a real problem so I wait.