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

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

#211

Post by blastro »

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…

Riding an electric skateboard up and down the hills of San Francisco was one of the most dangerous and exhilarating things I've done, and was only made possible by the years of skateboarding and snowboarding experience I was lucky to have. I completely agree with your take, it was akin to a full day of snowboarding in terms of the athletic load it put on my body, and constant danger I seemed to be in. There are so many opportunities to hurt yourself and only a few ways to safely navigate the random situations you encounter. I'm glad I got out without serious injury.

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

#212

Post by alistairSH »

themitigating wrote: post #198
ramesh31 wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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?

Yes.

Judo and parkour both actively teach falling and body-awareness. Gymnastics does, though it’s not generally as formal/explicit - you just get the body awareness from beginner-level tumbling.

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

#213

Post by jerrysievert »

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…

Heck, i went over the handlebars of a razor scooter in Palm Springs (bad place to ride anything with small wheels) in my early 40’s. Thankfully, i just came out bloodied (i still have the scars). I would hate to try to do that with something at a higher speed.

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

#214

Post by Aeolun »

anon334455 wrote: post #182
eagleinparadise wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My partner was hospitalized for nearly a week and had to have facial reconstructive surgery and nearly lost all her teeth after she got hit by someone on a scooter going 25mph while we were walking Be careful out there if you combine speed + unprotected mode of transportation

Created a new account to warn everyone to be more aware around street corners. I once tried to catch a train so I rode a scooter on the sidewalk which I normally don't. Seeing no cars, I didn't slow too much at a street corner, and ran into someone. Luckily the top speed on the scooter was 15mph and I slowed to probably 13mph, but still, the force was too much and the person failed pretty hard. I swear to never do th…

Most of didn't have to run into someone to learn this thing, but I'm glad you know now.

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

#215

Post by jtsuken »

timo555 wrote: post #172
butterguns wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know how to fall (intellectually). How do I translate that into the real world? I took a nasty fall on my MTB this summer, broke my shoulder. Everything was instinctual and a blur. Can we somehow retrain our innate responses?

Surfing is a great safe way to learn how to fall.

No, it's not! When you surf, you get used to punching through the surface and then holding your breath and dealing with the water movement. You have to consciously remind yourself to not do the equivalent of going head first through the face of the wave or stretching out your toes when bailing of the board.

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

#216

Post by strix_varius »

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…

Are we sharing anecdata now? I also have an XR with about 1k miles on it. For the vast majority of those miles it's been fine. It's had two issues, both of which were terrifying.

The first was just a simple nosedive. For some fraction of a second no power went to the board. I went flying, rolled, used crutches for a few weeks.

The second was when the battery cells became "unbalanced." The closest way to describe its behavior was a bucking horse - lagging, then surging. This wasn't a unique issue for the support guy... He told me exactly how to debug it.

The thing is an injury machine. I'm astounded it took this long.

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

#217

Post by krackers »

taylorlapeyre wrote: post #17

The physics of Onewheels are actually super interesting, and Future Motion published an extremely well-made video recently which explains the issue that the CPSC is referring to. It goes into detail about why "nosedives" happen, and how to prevent them. Really interesting stuff! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGn7iPN07XI

That's pretty impressive, do you know if this was produced by the company itself or just a licensed reupload of a video by someone else?

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

#218

Post by Aeolun »

nraynaud wrote: post #192
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.

Hmm, I don't think people using bikes are too lazy to walk. Then you'd use an electric bike. People using a bike are too busy to have time for walking. Using a bike is just as much effort, just condensed over a shorter period of time.

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

#219

Post by Dylan16807 »

1attice wrote: post #208
Dylan16807 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you saying that 25mph is inherently unsafe? What's the safe speed then, for a normal dry day? Does this speed limit apply to motorcycles too?

Goodness, no! There is no such thing as 'inherence' when discussing safety, that's a category mistake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_mistake I will say, anecdotally, that 25mph can sometimes, or even often, be unsafe on several popular brands of e-bike. There are lots of reasons for this, but anecdotally, tire thickness, wheel diameter, rider height/stance, and braking system quality all seem to contribute, a…

> Goodness, no! There is no such thing as 'inherence' when discussing safety, that's a category mistake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_mistake

Keep in mind I was responding to someone implying that "don't be an idiot" is all you need, which is pretty similar in bad reasoning.

I wanted to know why that particular person objected to 25mph.

> The one factor that is really counterintuitive for me is weight. We learned in the motorcycle course that a heavier motorbike will actually be safer in, for example, rainy conditions, as the weight of the internal-combustion engine pushes the motorbike against the earth, expelling water from between the tread and the asphalt.

> E-bikes, however, are often bicycle-ish in weight -- only twice as heavy as a standard bicycle, say, instead of ten times as heavy, which is what a motorcycle is. Nevertheless, they still vroom at motorbike-ish speeds.

On the other hand, motorbikes lose a bunch of pressure because of tire shape. And the rider provides a lot of weight. So I'd want more information here; it's more complicated than motorbike vs. motorbike.

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

#220

Post by alistairSH »

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…

Is the CPSC going to start warning against purchasing Rossignol skis or Santa Cruz mountain bikes because their respective activities are dangerous?

Skis balance just fine without power. A skier will slow gracefully due to friction.

Likewise, mountain bikes don’t fall over when power (leg or EV) is removed. They coast to a stop. A rider can dangle their feet to slow and balance.

A One-Wheel/electric unicycle doesn’t naturally balance when power is removed. During use, the rider is leaning forward and the board is fighting that forward fall by accelerating forward and pushing the board/deck back level. When power fails, the nose of the board/deck necessarily plunges into the ground, tossing the rider forward. “Training wheels” on front and back would mitigate this, but would look dorky, so nobody (that I’ve seen) builds them that way.

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