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AirWheel electric unicycle review

bemmu.com

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Re: AirWheel electric unicycle review

#11

Post by sillysaurus3 »

quickpost wrote: post #10
zacinbusiness wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On my last trip to London I noticed several people riding unicycles around and I started wondering if it's a growing trend in urban environments (I'm intensely intrigued by the urban landscape and how people cope with the challenges there). I plan on purchasing one myself simply out of curiosity (and because it would be a boat load of fun). Any pointers on brand, technique?

I have a Torker Unistar with a 20" wheel and that's been perfect to learn on. Depending on your height, the seatpost usually comes pretty long, so you may have to cut it down with a hacksaw to get some flexibility on seat level. As far as learning, I kept a little logbook of each time I went out. It honestly feels impossible at first (constantly falling in 360 degrees), but you just have to keep working on it. I did…

Yow, the electric unicycle cited in the article is over $600! The Torker is $90.

Maybe it's possible to build an electric one cheaply? I wonder how much tlb's cost...

EDIT: http://tlb.org/#eunicycle "All together the components, in single unit retail quantities, cost about $1500." I wonder how expensive it would be today?

Re: AirWheel electric unicycle review

#12

Post by cuu508 »

quickpost wrote: post #10
zacinbusiness wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On my last trip to London I noticed several people riding unicycles around and I started wondering if it's a growing trend in urban environments (I'm intensely intrigued by the urban landscape and how people cope with the challenges there). I plan on purchasing one myself simply out of curiosity (and because it would be a boat load of fun). Any pointers on brand, technique?

I have a Torker Unistar with a 20" wheel and that's been perfect to learn on. Depending on your height, the seatpost usually comes pretty long, so you may have to cut it down with a hacksaw to get some flexibility on seat level. As far as learning, I kept a little logbook of each time I went out. It honestly feels impossible at first (constantly falling in 360 degrees), but you just have to keep working on it. I did…

I practiced with mine in office space. 1 hour of coding, 5 minutes of unicycling and so forth. I just tracked along a wall, forth and back, forth and back until I didn't need the wall

Re: AirWheel electric unicycle review

#14

Post by eridius »

klinquist wrote: post #2

I'm a fan of the SBUv3 - I can't imagine not having a seat to sit on. No calf pain :). The seat post is removable making it pack almost as small as the AirWheel. Video of me on my SBU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mngn92PXsso

I have an SBUv2. I thought it was really neat, although the one time I tried riding it on a street I quickly decided that I was far too freaked out about falling over and getting hit by a car.

Unfortunately, it turns out to not be usable in San Francisco. It handles hills up to a decent grade (I forget exactly what, but probably the 30% the SBUv3 advertises). But unfortunately it doesn't handle variations very well. And as hilly as San Francisco is, you can't walk 5 steps without the slope changing. When I say it doesn't handle it very well, I mean it feels like it's speeding up or slowing down unpredictably. Even just going from the sidewalk to the street, crossing it, and back to the sidewalk is hard.

Because of that, I haven't touched the thing in several years. And the last time I looked at it (sometime last year) it turns out the battery won't even charge anymore. Apparently leaving it unused for a couple years is sufficient to render the battery unusable.

I have no idea if the SBUv3 is any better.

Of course, if you live somewhere that's reasonably flat, then I'm sure it will work great.

Re: AirWheel electric unicycle review

#15

Post by JacobAldridge »

brianbreslin wrote: post #3

So is this a US made "vehicle?" or designed? the author cites a few chinese clones, so I'm wondering if the chinese manufacturer made them first or what. If the chinese one came second, then its impressive they've cloned this so fast.

What gives you the impression this is US? Seems straightforward to me that bemmu talks about seeing them in China and purchasing one to ship from there on his return home to Japan.

Re: AirWheel electric unicycle review

#16

Post by jliechti1 »

quickpost wrote: post #6

For comparison sake, I learned to ride a unicycle (level 2 ish) with about 8hrs of concerted practice spread over a couple weeks. A lot of the problems you encounter in the video (difficulty mounting, speed control, not falling on your face) are exactly the challenges with learning to ride a real unicycle. I highly recommend trying it out sometime - it's a surprising amount of fun once you get the hang of it. EDIT: U…

If you want something more challenging than a unicycle, you should try the BC wheel (the name comes from the stone wheel that characters in the popular comic strip ride). It's basically a non motorized version of what they describe in the article. Just a free-spinning wheel with metal plates you stand in. The other name it goes by is an "impossible wheel". They are quite difficult to ride - but some can ride them and do tricks similar to skateboarding. Here's one of the best guys at riding them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FZlKRyR3qA

Re: AirWheel electric unicycle review

#17

Post by davydka »

zacinbusiness wrote: post #9
quickpost wrote: post #6

For comparison sake, I learned to ride a unicycle (level 2 ish) with about 8hrs of concerted practice spread over a couple weeks. A lot of the problems you encounter in the video (difficulty mounting, speed control, not falling on your face) are exactly the challenges with learning to ride a real unicycle. I highly recommend trying it out sometime - it's a surprising amount of fun once you get the hang of it. EDIT: U…

On my last trip to London I noticed several people riding unicycles around and I started wondering if it's a growing trend in urban environments (I'm intensely intrigued by the urban landscape and how people cope with the challenges there). I plan on purchasing one myself simply out of curiosity (and because it would be a boat load of fun). Any pointers on brand, technique?

I've seen at least one unicyclist going up and down the Manhattan Bridge in New York. I moved to another area and don't really see any other unicyclists anymore.

Re: AirWheel electric unicycle review

#18

Post by ColinWright »

Unicycles have been mentioned several times, so I thought I'd post a link to my page on learning to ride one. It was a work in progress, and no one ever asked for more. Take that as you will:

http://www.solipsys.co.uk/new/LearningToUnicycle.html?HN0

Added in edit: email in profile if you want more!

Re: AirWheel electric unicycle review

#19

Post by Spearchucker »

ColinWright wrote: post #18

Unicycles have been mentioned several times, so I thought I'd post a link to my page on learning to ride one. It was a work in progress, and no one ever asked for more. Take that as you will: http://www.solipsys.co.uk/new/LearningToUnicycle.html?HN0 Added in edit: email in profile if you want more!

Thanks, just bookmarked it, because on the back of this thread I've just ordered one. I already see myself. Splayed, facedown on the pavement...

Re: AirWheel electric unicycle review

#20

Post by ansible »

ccozan wrote: post #4

Also the SoloWheel: http://inventist.com/soloindex.php .This chinese wheel might be a clone of this.

One of them is likely the clone of the other. I can't say which way from what I've seen so far.

However, I can't imagine many people buying an electric unicycle for $2000 USD. That is very expensive.

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