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++ hard agreement here. I built my own electric longboard with enough power to throttle my hefty frame up to 25mph. It was perfectly tuned for me. I swapped ou

++ hard agreement here. I built my own electric longboard with enough power to throttle my hefty frame up to 25mph. It was perfectly tuned for me. I swapped out so many parts to get it just right. In the first hours of riding it, I took a fall that had me out of commission for a week. I was going 10mph! Once I got the hang of things, I used the board to commute daily for a few months - putting ~ 8 miles on it daily. To this day, I consider daily rides on this board to be the single highest life threatening risk I have taken to date. I realize that now. For anyone looking to use a board or one wheel or e-unicycle, please reconsider. All it takes is one missed sign, one pothole, one inattentive driver, one loose bushing, one nail on the road, one patch of oil. You get the idea. The number and variety of risks and significance of the damage they could do should be enough to avoid. With electric boards (not the one wheel) you need to constantly manage your center of gravity. This means if you want to break because of a hazard, you MUST shift your center of mass to lean in the direction of travel while slowing down. It takes some time to naturally manage throttle/brake in unison with your center of mass. After 3 months of daily rides, it still required intentional planning. Just let that sink in... All it takes is one "oh shit" moment where you miss the transfer of center of mass. You face plant and possibly slide directly under the path of the hazard you braked for. If you still want to, get kevlar gear like motorcyclists use. Many have shoulder, elbow and back pad inserts. ALWAYS be padded and helmeted!

ShadowBanThis01 3y ago
One day I decided to ride a cheap, narrow, narrow-wheeled skateboard down a fairly steep access road that led to a beach parking lot where I grew up. At some point during the descent, the board started to shimmy violently, forcing me to jump off... but I was already going faster than I could run. But run I did, and my feet and legs literally fell behind my torso... upon which I fell and skidded down the asphalt, shirtless. I did manage to keep my chin up and off the pavement as I slid, however. It was night-time and we were at the beach with some relatives. I gritted my way through playing in waves and showing my relatives around. Nobody noticed anything. When we got home and I walked into the light, my mom gawked at the shredded skin on my chest and, being a woman of considerable decorum, did NOT shout "WTF!!!" But that was definitely the nature of the response.
jamiedumont 3y ago
I’m sat here with a bunch of metal in my shoulder and a brain full of analgesia after coming off my mountain bike. I crashed at about a tenth of the speed I’d normally be going. My helmet was trashed and definitely saved my life. I’m wondering whether extra padding would have saved me from weeks of pain, a surgery and months of immobilisation followed by months of rehab. The thought of blasting down the road on a One wheel in T-shirt and jeans gives me chills now.
- sandos 3y ago
  I mean bikes are soo much better than one-wheels and boards... the way you can "just" use tha brakes more or less freely on a bike without worrying about getting your CoG right before you do.. priceless. But yes, of course people get hurt on bikes, too. But I believe you can be an order of magnitude safer at least.
zamfi 3y ago
I rode an e-unicycle (EUC) for a few years as my main mode of transport. It was super fun, and after my first year I was really quite good at it, good enough to even dodge a few cars on instinct: my response was entirely unplanned, a reflex—a sharp turn, rather than an attempt to slow down, that I was shocked my body performed in retrospect. (Turns rely on center-of-mass and rubber friction, rather than motor acceleration or deceleration, which are limited.) I loved riding that thing, it felt like flying. It was addictive. I rode it like wings, my instincts were so good it felt like I was one with it—it no longer required any intentional planning. Sure, I had my share of spills, but learned from each one where I'd messed up and how to become exceptionally careful, and was fortunate that I recovered from each in a few days. I say all this because, like you, I now realize it was the single most life-threatening risk I've ever taken in my life. These things you write are 100% true: > All it takes is one missed sign, one pothole, one inattentive driver, one loose bushing, one nail on the road, one patch of oil. You get the idea. The number and variety of risks and significance of the damage they could do should be enough to avoid. > All it takes is one "oh shit" moment where you miss the transfer of center of mass. You face plant and possibly slide directly under the path of the hazard you braked for. You are extremely exposed, and trusting your life to firmware developers. 99.99% of the time it is the unbelievable feeling of flying, slicing through the wind. 0.01% of the time it is slamming your body into rough pavement at 20mph, like diving face-first off a two-story building, no warning. No way to see it coming. My EUC now sits in my shed, gathering dust.
- cryptograthor 3y ago
  I’ll take it if you’re in bay

ShadowBanThis01 3y ago

One day I decided to ride a cheap, narrow, narrow-wheeled skateboard down a fairly steep access road that led to a beach parking lot where I grew up. At some point during the descent, the board started to shimmy violently, forcing me to jump off... but I was already going faster than I could run. But run I did, and my feet and legs literally fell behind my torso... upon which I fell and skidded down the asphalt, shirtless. I did manage to keep my chin up and off the pavement as I slid, however. It was night-time and we were at the beach with some relatives. I gritted my way through playing in waves and showing my relatives around. Nobody noticed anything. When we got home and I walked into the light, my mom gawked at the shredded skin on my chest and, being a woman of considerable decorum, did NOT shout "WTF!!!" But that was definitely the nature of the response.

jamiedumont 3y ago

I’m sat here with a bunch of metal in my shoulder and a brain full of analgesia after coming off my mountain bike. I crashed at about a tenth of the speed I’d normally be going. My helmet was trashed and definitely saved my life. I’m wondering whether extra padding would have saved me from weeks of pain, a surgery and months of immobilisation followed by months of rehab. The thought of blasting down the road on a One wheel in T-shirt and jeans gives me chills now.

sandos 3y ago
I mean bikes are soo much better than one-wheels and boards... the way you can "just" use tha brakes more or less freely on a bike without worrying about getting your CoG right before you do.. priceless. But yes, of course people get hurt on bikes, too. But I believe you can be an order of magnitude safer at least.

zamfi 3y ago

I rode an e-unicycle (EUC) for a few years as my main mode of transport. It was super fun, and after my first year I was really quite good at it, good enough to even dodge a few cars on instinct: my response was entirely unplanned, a reflex—a sharp turn, rather than an attempt to slow down, that I was shocked my body performed in retrospect. (Turns rely on center-of-mass and rubber friction, rather than motor acceleration or deceleration, which are limited.) I loved riding that thing, it felt like flying. It was addictive. I rode it like wings, my instincts were so good it felt like I was one with it—it no longer required any intentional planning. Sure, I had my share of spills, but learned from each one where I'd messed up and how to become exceptionally careful, and was fortunate that I recovered from each in a few days. I say all this because, like you, I now realize it was the single most life-threatening risk I've ever taken in my life. These things you write are 100% true: > All it takes is one missed sign, one pothole, one inattentive driver, one loose bushing, one nail on the road, one patch of oil. You get the idea. The number and variety of risks and significance of the damage they could do should be enough to avoid. > All it takes is one "oh shit" moment where you miss the transfer of center of mass. You face plant and possibly slide directly under the path of the hazard you braked for. You are extremely exposed, and trusting your life to firmware developers. 99.99% of the time it is the unbelievable feeling of flying, slicing through the wind. 0.01% of the time it is slamming your body into rough pavement at 20mph, like diving face-first off a two-story building, no warning. No way to see it coming. My EUC now sits in my shed, gathering dust.

cryptograthor 3y ago
I’ll take it if you’re in bay