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This is why a regular unpowered popsicle skateboard with some big fat soft wheels (60mm 79a ish is good) is the king of urban commuting in my experience. I ride

by asdff 3y ago

This is why a regular unpowered popsicle skateboard with some big fat soft wheels (60mm 79a ish is good) is the king of urban commuting in my experience. I ride it over torn up asphault that would have stopped a hard wheeled skateboard in its tracks. I pick the occasional glass piece out of the wheel and its none worse for the wear. I can take it with me anywhere. On a crowded train I can put it in between my legs. The board is very easy to stash out of the way indoors. The board probably weighs 1/5th the one wheel and I never have to worry about charging it or very much maintenance. It also has its own skill progression with tricks that has been really fun and satisfying to get into. ollies are downright useful to learn. I have seen better skateboarders than myself ollie up ~1ft tall curbs commuting through town; I don't think any other micromobility device can take a 1ft curb.

ClumsyPilot 3y ago
I think e-scooter like xiaomi ones works better for majority of population and is also foldable
- asdff 3y ago
  They are fold able but certainly more clumsy when I see them on the train. Also a lot more expensive and yet another thing you gotta charge and eventually replace a battery for. Its also a 30lb hunk of metal still, not everyone can comfortably tote that up and down train station steps all day. Most people I see don't even fold their escooter on the train just hold the handle, roll it in and have the tail out and let people deal with stepping over it. Makes me think transit as we know it wouldn't even work if everyone got one of these things or an ebike and took up so much extra space as a result.
  - FrankoDelMar 3y ago
    > Makes me think transit as we know it wouldn't even work if everyone got one of these things or an ebike and took up so much extra space as a result. I’ve been wondered something like this too when I see people bring their scooters into a restaurant, the gym or other indoor spaces. I get that you don’t want it stolen but it would untenable if everyone did it.
    - underlipton 3y ago
      Take a portion of the space set aside for car parking, perhaps? (God forbid.)
      - callalex 3y ago
        That doesn’t solve the theft problem.
        asdff 3y ago
        My theory is the number of people in a city willing to commit bike theft is finite, and more bikes in public isn't going to draw out very many more thieves out of the woodwork since bikes are already easy to quickly find to steal in public. That means if the world changes and you get everyone biking, rate of bike theft drops down low enough where its something most people don't think of, like how grand theft auto is an extremely rare occurrence despite there being plenty of expensive cars parked on the street.
        hughesjj 3y ago
        depends on what you replace the space with. Bike lockers exist and are awesome.
  - burnished 3y ago
    At that point I suspect there would be dedicated parking - on the light rail near me there is a spot for luggage with ceiling hooks for hanging your bike
    - asdff 3y ago
      Yeah some train cars do have a dedicated spot for bikes and bulky stuff, even with a little bike sticker on the door to label them as such. But It still comes at a big cost. I'd say in the space three people with three ebikes can fit, you can probably fit at least three times as many people standing and hanging on the pole. Plus in the chaos of the few seconds the train waits with the doors open they can be a hassle and are sometimes even a source of door delays moving past people and unloading all this equipment.
- benjaminwootton 3y ago
  eScooters are amazing. I wouldn’t last 5 minutes on a skateboard, but I’ve done 1000s of kilometres on an eScooter without incident. I think they should be much more popular where the infrastructure exists.
  - lstamour 3y ago
    As a counterpoint, every 1500kms I've had a fall, though usually from bad road, not knowing where the curb cut was, inattentiveness and asphalt bumps, and once, the scooter's folding latch was too loose and the scooter folded while I was riding (at low speeds). I can definitely recommend falling on grass or mud rather than concrete or asphalt. ;-) And if you can't run off the scooter, rolling sometimes helps. Even after my experiences crashing on a scooter, I still love riding them. Suspension can help you keep your balance a bit better, but there's always a failure point that's possible to hit if you're not ready for it. I suspect e-bikes are a bit more stable than scooters, especially with bigger, fatter wheels, but then, you can stick a leg out or run off a scooter, whereas doing either of those things at speed is a bit harder sitting on a bike. And it's a different feel for the road/sidewalk.
    - adrianwaj 3y ago
      Would you say that e-scooter wheels are too small? That's the first reaction I get when I see one. Maybe child BMX wheels instead?
      - lstamour 3y ago
        Even bigger, fatter wheels might help, like car tires or some e-bikes. But honestly if we are blue sky dreaming for a second - I wonder if there will come a time when a two wheel kick scooter can self-balance, such as by using more wheels in a different configuration or by using some other kind of board or motor technology to stay balanced more of the time. If a scooter also had the ability to predict if it was going to crash into a curb or pothole or if there were more safety features, even maybe better jackets and jeans that have padding in all the right places to support falls, I’d think we’re moving in the right direction. The gotcha is that we’ve had time to understand what bikes and cars need for safety but we haven’t had as much time to understand what makes for a safer scooter ride yet. Likewise e-bikes too, if you ask me. And jury’s still out as to whether or not bikes or cars have “solved” their safety issues completely. I should say that scooters are definitely still improving. A new latch design is slightly better than the old one, suspension can help maintain balance in some situations but not others, and some scooters have anti-skid technology so the front and back wheels always rotate at the same speeds at the cost of a loss of power going up hills sometimes.
- m463 3y ago
  Having had an electric skateboard and ridden scooters very little I wonder.. if you crash on a scooter, is the crash and possible recovery complicated by the handlebar in your way?
notnmeyer 3y ago
tell me more about your setup. do you have risers under the trucks? seems like 60mm wheels on a standard popsicle board would be prone to wheel bite without really tight trucks.
- ploxiln 3y ago
  I have a 15-year-old Loaded Vanguard (medium flex option) on which I put 85mm "Seismic Speed Vent" wheels. It's great for cruising and commuting, just not great for drifting / slides (too soft, chattery). I have 180mm trucks ... I forget the brand, it's been like 14 years! Anyway, wheel bite hasn't been a problem.
- asdff 3y ago
  Indy mid trucks with 1/4" risers, tightened flush to the kingpin. No bite and its still loose enough where I feel like I could turn till I fall off.
  - notnmeyer 3y ago
    killer, thanks! i have 57mm ricta clouds right now without any risers and get a liiitle but if wheel bite from time to time. sounds like risers are in my future
- Jerrrry 3y ago
  I have 120mm hot pink wheels and ha e 4inch spacer to avoid wheel bite
  - zardo 3y ago
    Four inch risers? That must feel odd to push with the board so high up.
    - Jerrrry 3y ago
      not (relatively) odd as I'm 16in taller than average; but oddly it inverts itself due to some weird motion-schematic and i had to put the trucks on backwards to compensate.
phyzome 3y ago
Yeah, the skateboard-to-bike range of mobility tools is just lovely in the city -- they have the property that you can go much faster than walking with far less effort, but you can also carry your transportation (up stairs, over obstacles, etc.) With a car, if you run into a traffic jam or an obstacle or a mechanical failure, you're screwed. Bikes are definitely on the big end, being things that not everyone can carry, and that definitely can't just be strapped onto your back. (But they do let you carry cargo.)

by asdff 3y ago

ClumsyPilot 3y ago

I think e-scooter like xiaomi ones works better for majority of population and is also foldable

asdff 3y ago
They are fold able but certainly more clumsy when I see them on the train. Also a lot more expensive and yet another thing you gotta charge and eventually replace a battery for. Its also a 30lb hunk of metal still, not everyone can comfortably tote that up and down train station steps all day. Most people I see don't even fold their escooter on the train just hold the handle, roll it in and have the tail out and let people deal with stepping over it. Makes me think transit as we know it wouldn't even work if everyone got one of these things or an ebike and took up so much extra space as a result.
- FrankoDelMar 3y ago
  > Makes me think transit as we know it wouldn't even work if everyone got one of these things or an ebike and took up so much extra space as a result. I’ve been wondered something like this too when I see people bring their scooters into a restaurant, the gym or other indoor spaces. I get that you don’t want it stolen but it would untenable if everyone did it.
  - underlipton 3y ago
    Take a portion of the space set aside for car parking, perhaps? (God forbid.)
    - callalex 3y ago
      That doesn’t solve the theft problem.
      - asdff 3y ago
        My theory is the number of people in a city willing to commit bike theft is finite, and more bikes in public isn't going to draw out very many more thieves out of the woodwork since bikes are already easy to quickly find to steal in public. That means if the world changes and you get everyone biking, rate of bike theft drops down low enough where its something most people don't think of, like how grand theft auto is an extremely rare occurrence despite there being plenty of expensive cars parked on the street.
      - hughesjj 3y ago
        depends on what you replace the space with. Bike lockers exist and are awesome.
- burnished 3y ago
  At that point I suspect there would be dedicated parking - on the light rail near me there is a spot for luggage with ceiling hooks for hanging your bike
  - asdff 3y ago
    Yeah some train cars do have a dedicated spot for bikes and bulky stuff, even with a little bike sticker on the door to label them as such. But It still comes at a big cost. I'd say in the space three people with three ebikes can fit, you can probably fit at least three times as many people standing and hanging on the pole. Plus in the chaos of the few seconds the train waits with the doors open they can be a hassle and are sometimes even a source of door delays moving past people and unloading all this equipment.
benjaminwootton 3y ago
eScooters are amazing. I wouldn’t last 5 minutes on a skateboard, but I’ve done 1000s of kilometres on an eScooter without incident. I think they should be much more popular where the infrastructure exists.
- lstamour 3y ago
  As a counterpoint, every 1500kms I've had a fall, though usually from bad road, not knowing where the curb cut was, inattentiveness and asphalt bumps, and once, the scooter's folding latch was too loose and the scooter folded while I was riding (at low speeds). I can definitely recommend falling on grass or mud rather than concrete or asphalt. ;-) And if you can't run off the scooter, rolling sometimes helps. Even after my experiences crashing on a scooter, I still love riding them. Suspension can help you keep your balance a bit better, but there's always a failure point that's possible to hit if you're not ready for it. I suspect e-bikes are a bit more stable than scooters, especially with bigger, fatter wheels, but then, you can stick a leg out or run off a scooter, whereas doing either of those things at speed is a bit harder sitting on a bike. And it's a different feel for the road/sidewalk.
  - adrianwaj 3y ago
    Would you say that e-scooter wheels are too small? That's the first reaction I get when I see one. Maybe child BMX wheels instead?
    - lstamour 3y ago
      Even bigger, fatter wheels might help, like car tires or some e-bikes. But honestly if we are blue sky dreaming for a second - I wonder if there will come a time when a two wheel kick scooter can self-balance, such as by using more wheels in a different configuration or by using some other kind of board or motor technology to stay balanced more of the time. If a scooter also had the ability to predict if it was going to crash into a curb or pothole or if there were more safety features, even maybe better jackets and jeans that have padding in all the right places to support falls, I’d think we’re moving in the right direction. The gotcha is that we’ve had time to understand what bikes and cars need for safety but we haven’t had as much time to understand what makes for a safer scooter ride yet. Likewise e-bikes too, if you ask me. And jury’s still out as to whether or not bikes or cars have “solved” their safety issues completely. I should say that scooters are definitely still improving. A new latch design is slightly better than the old one, suspension can help maintain balance in some situations but not others, and some scooters have anti-skid technology so the front and back wheels always rotate at the same speeds at the cost of a loss of power going up hills sometimes.
m463 3y ago
Having had an electric skateboard and ridden scooters very little I wonder.. if you crash on a scooter, is the crash and possible recovery complicated by the handlebar in your way?

notnmeyer 3y ago

tell me more about your setup. do you have risers under the trucks? seems like 60mm wheels on a standard popsicle board would be prone to wheel bite without really tight trucks.

ploxiln 3y ago
I have a 15-year-old Loaded Vanguard (medium flex option) on which I put 85mm "Seismic Speed Vent" wheels. It's great for cruising and commuting, just not great for drifting / slides (too soft, chattery). I have 180mm trucks ... I forget the brand, it's been like 14 years! Anyway, wheel bite hasn't been a problem.
asdff 3y ago
Indy mid trucks with 1/4" risers, tightened flush to the kingpin. No bite and its still loose enough where I feel like I could turn till I fall off.
- notnmeyer 3y ago
  killer, thanks! i have 57mm ricta clouds right now without any risers and get a liiitle but if wheel bite from time to time. sounds like risers are in my future
Jerrrry 3y ago
I have 120mm hot pink wheels and ha e 4inch spacer to avoid wheel bite
- zardo 3y ago
  Four inch risers? That must feel odd to push with the board so high up.
  - Jerrrry 3y ago
    not (relatively) odd as I'm 16in taller than average; but oddly it inverts itself due to some weird motion-schematic and i had to put the trucks on backwards to compensate.

phyzome 3y ago

Yeah, the skateboard-to-bike range of mobility tools is just lovely in the city -- they have the property that you can go much faster than walking with far less effort, but you can also carry your transportation (up stairs, over obstacles, etc.) With a car, if you run into a traffic jam or an obstacle or a mechanical failure, you're screwed. Bikes are definitely on the big end, being things that not everyone can carry, and that definitely can't just be strapped onto your back. (But they do let you carry cargo.)