Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

cpsc.gov

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 415 posts

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#191

Post by TheCondor »

apienx wrote: post #97
celestialcheese wrote: post #52

Reading this warning, I don't understand why now? Is there a bug with onewheels that are causing this injury/death? Or is it just rider error doing a dangerous activity? Is the CPSC going to start warning against purchasing Rossignol skis or Santa Cruz mountain bikes because their respective activities are dangerous? Participation in action sports and high-speed transportation will result in a higher expected mortali…

"I don't understand why now?" Bureaucratic inefficiencies. "Is there a bug with onewheels that are causing this injury/death?" There was an issue that the community referred to as "ghosting" whereby the board got a bit out of control. This was fixed with a firmware update. The boards also nosedive when approaching top speed. Some people consider that a bug, but it's just users neglecting instructions and warnings.

I know a couple of people injured by the so-called non-bug and they have both dumped their one wheels and feel duped about it.

I hate to think that the whole idea is fatally flawed, but it should have enough reserve power to gracefully slow you down if the machine is in trouble. They guys I know, one is a very talented board sporter and broke his collarbone. He takes safety pretty seriously and felt like there was no warning and it just cut out on him. North of 10mph? That's a pretty good tumble for most people, you might not just pop up after it.

In the case of my friends, they knew they were going to get hurt, they were setting up ramps and trying to do tricks and things. They entered into it with that in mind and then decided it wasn't for them. Hard to imagine how a total civilian would approach such a device.

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#192

Post by nraynaud »

0_____0 wrote: post #23

One issue I've noticed with these new forms of electric wheeled transport (longboard, transverse and longitudinal one-wheelers) is that the people riding them often don't come from a sports background. They aren't "safe" devices exactly - it takes skill to pilot them, and when things inevitably go awry, it takes good reflexes to avoid damage. Novices to action sports often throw their arms out to catch themselves whe…

funny, I was about to build and electric skateboard, then I thought: "hum, I'm an out of shape 100+ kg slob, maybe 1) I shouldn't take a heavy fall from a standing position 2) use my muscles for transportation".

So I got a non-electric bike, because I'm too lazy to walk.

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#193

Post by rainsurf »

themagician wrote: post #125
rainsurf wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, anything can fail. For these kind of "catastrophic failures" I think the important thing is the probability of the event. I am not aware of evidence showing a Onewheel can fail at an unacceptable rate.

The difference is that when most things fail (something that will happen), they do not result in instant deceleration. When your iPhone experiences a power failure it usually just doesn't turn back on. If a car experiences a power failure the brakes still work. Even if the brakes DO fail, you can still at least try to come to a safe stop—and it's possible you can. When the power fails on a OneWheel there is almost no…

Yes, agree with you both - probability * severity. The severity is high (unless you know how to run off the board - that lowers the severity quite a bit). The probability is unfortunately unknown.

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#194

Post by conductr »

Glide wrote: post #160
conductr wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bailed at 8mph on an electric longboard and broke my elbow, severely sprained my shoulder and wrist. I even lost some rotation and dexterity in my hand. It's one of those my arm is never going to be the same type injuries. I was 40 but skated and bmxed into my mid-20s and still felt pretty comfortable with my abilities on the ground (gave up on ramps long ago). I knew this was a risk given the speeds and even got a…

Is there something more inherent that makes an electric unicycles more dangerous, other than they make them go ridiculous speeds? I would have thought the larger wheel on an EUC made it more stable and the higher power makes it not have to nosedive. I kind of prefer e-bikes because they are well… normal.

I’ve only watched some videos but the balance part of the unicycle seems to have a big learning curve. The speed is what worries me the most. I’m thinking anything with a motor should probably have a seat.

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#195

Post by BuildTheRobots »

sometimeshuman wrote: post #170
fpgaminer wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure this logic applies to the OneWheel. They aren't self balancing like a SegWay where the average person can get on and be fine zooming around within a couple minutes. The OneWheel only does about half the balancing work, you have to do the rest, and learning to ride one can take days or longer. During that time you'll fall many, many times. It also doesn't take much to eat shit on it even as a skilled ride…

"The OneWheel only does about half the balancing work" -- It's more like 99% of the work and I defy anyone to stay balanced and keep riding free wheel if the power suddenly cuts out. The OneWheel's balancing algorithm is so good it gives the the illusion of competence after less than an hour.

> I defy anyone to stay balanced and keep riding free wheel if the power suddenly cuts out.

Does the wheel actually freewheel if the power cuts? I've not played with one (yet), but with the reports of them dipping forward, I was curious if the wheel/motor actually locked up.

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#196

Post by rainsurf »

paxys wrote: post #153
rainsurf wrote: post #54

I strongly disagree with this recall. I own a Onewheel (XR) and have ridden nearly ~1,000 miles on it in a variety of conditions. I've only had one incident and it was entirely my fault (riding at night without proper lights and hit a pothole). The Onewheel definitely has a learning curve. Like most things in life if you are patient in learning it and respect the limits it is entirely safe. I think the safeguards One…

"I have never had a problem therefore there is no problem" If you actually read the complaint you will see several product safety issues (such as sudden stops) that cannot be solved by wearing a helmet or learning to ride.

Unfortunately the CPSC warning is too vague to know if this is people pushing the device past its documented limits or the device failing within the standard limits.

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#197

Post by themitigating »

ramesh31 wrote: post #119
0_____0 wrote: post #23

One issue I've noticed with these new forms of electric wheeled transport (longboard, transverse and longitudinal one-wheelers) is that the people riding them often don't come from a sports background. They aren't "safe" devices exactly - it takes skill to pilot them, and when things inevitably go awry, it takes good reflexes to avoid damage. Novices to action sports often throw their arms out to catch themselves whe…

Knowing how to fall is such an incredibly important life skill, it's baffling to watch people who never learned it. As a ski instructor, you could instantly tell from their first fall the kids who would get it and stick with it from the ones who would be sitting in the lodge pouting after an hour.

Why can't life skills, especially ones that could be lead to injury, be explained instead of each person having to make the mistake before they learn it?

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#198

Post by themitigating »

ramesh31 wrote: post #158
perihelions wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- "you could instantly tell from their first fall" Mind elaborating what it is you see?

>Mind elaborating what it is you see? A lot of people just fall . Like a sack of potatoes. Their inner ear senses a point of no return, and they just let gravity take over from there. Other people sense the fall, and react, but they are still just trying to stop the fall from happening, so they break their wrists on impact. But usually anyone with any kind of athletic experience or decent kinematic awareness understa…

Couldn't that be taught on mats in a gym instead of mistakes that could lead to injury?

Re: CPSC calls for full recall of all Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards

#200

Post by jeffbee »

kube-system wrote: post #142
jeffbee wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about this experience is specific to electric bikes?

Smaller tires and rotating assemblies with less mass are more susceptible to uneven pavement. For example, a vehicle like a motorcycle or even a motor scooter will be able to handle imperfections on city streets more easily. If you got a bigger gyroscope under your butt, you're harder to knock over. Bicycles tend to go with smaller and less massive wheels, because it decreases rider effort required to spin them up, a…

Just to make sure we're on the same page: the answer to my question is "nothing", right?
Post reply on HN