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

cpsc.gov

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

#301

Post by MivLives »

dghlsakjg wrote: post #129

I love riding my onehwheel, but it is incredibly, stupidly, dangerous and the company DOES NOT CARE. Out of the box, mine was prone to runaway/ghosting where it would continue riding even if no one is on it. Kind of dangerous for a 25 pound device to go careening into the world. I contacted the manufacturer and the response was basically: 'not our problem, you're probably using it wrong' until I sent them a video tha…

35 pound, that thing is heavy and solid, it's a missle when you crashed.

One Wheel XR needed more indicator lights (what is my battery without the app), and a more audible feedback for a pushback. As another 200 lb guy, you could feel the pushback if you weren't trying to split the weight between your feet and instead pushing down. This is a very unintuitive thing at first.

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

#302

Post by MivLives »

heleninboodler wrote: post #168
opwieurposiu wrote: post #53

One issue with the skateboard style of e-wheel is that your feet are perpendicular to the direction of motion. This means when the wheel quits or you hit a big bump you will have to turn 90deg before you can run. The unicycle style where your feet are parallel to the direction of travel is much easier to "run-out" if the motor quits. The unicycle style also allows a larger wheel and larger batteries. I think reason t…

> I think reason the unicycle configuration is less popular is that it does not look as cool as the skateboard style. The fact that it may look "cooler" is entirely beside the point. A sideways stance is much more stable forward-to-back. This is why we ride surfboards and skateboards sideways, and why if you're standing in a boat whose nose is crashing up and down through waves, you'll tend to turn sideways for stabi…

It's remarkable how much easier it is to turn by tilting your ankles rather then your whole weight.

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

#303

Post by MivLives »

I'm a former rider of a Onewheel XR. I stopped due to not wanting to end up in a hospital during covid.

The nose diving thing has been known in rider groups for awhile. It's always been a sporadic issue though.

Some caveats to One Wheels. Everyone mods these things. New tires, fenders, fangs, colored panels for protection, different back and front pads to stand on, and skid plates were pretty common on most One Wheels I saw. More extreme stuff like battery mods (one involved removing some of the battery protective plating to fit more battery in) isn't normal but it does exist.

Future Motion sorta shut down the repairability of the newer One Wheels from my understanding. How many of these could be prevented by replacing a shot battery pack, or swapping in a new front pad? Not all of them of course, but if you're relying on this thing to keep you upright, why make regular maintenance take shipping a 35 pound board in? I had to do a tire swap after about 800 miles, and I did 3 in my time owning the board.

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

#304

Post by MivLives »

deeblering4 wrote: post #39
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…

Very true. If you've never been able to cruise on a skateboard, you might not realize how much damage an unexpected pebble or sidewalk crack will do. Riding is a constant balance of scanning the pavement for inconsistencies and making corrections to mitigate them. I don't know if that's even possible at 20+ mph.

It is totally possible. Generally on a One Wheel if it's a small pebble or sidewalk crack you roll over it. If it's bigger and you jump while going over it normally the board will hit the crack or whatever and bounce up into your feet. I was going down a hill near top speed on a one wheel when I saw part of the pavement was cut out, maybe a 2-3 inch groove. Did this, road through the intersection to the otherside and then sat on the curb until I stopped shaking. Probably the closest I've ever been to dying on a One Wheel.

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

#306

Post by kube-system »

sleepybrett wrote: post #293
kube-system wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

A lot of ebikes go with pretty chunky tires (for a bicycle). Mine are like 3.3 inches wide. (Rad Power Bikes) I'm mostly just a pedal assist guy though, I only go for the throttle on big hills or coming off a light with a car behind me.

Yeah, they do it for exactly that reason -- but not all do. Some even go with smaller tires to be convenient in a folding form factor, etc. And then you're got things like e-scooters which will launch a person at the mere thought of uneven pavement. I don't understand how people will ride those things and then call a motorcycle dangerous.

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

#307

Post by MivLives »

moooo99 wrote: post #123
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…

This is ignored so often, it is scary. I have been longboarding pretty frequently and extensively up until 2 years ago. I've had my fair share of crashes and plenty of scars to serve as a reminder, but generally I always was a pretty safe and relatively skilled rider. But I also had multiple fun but stupidly risky experiences on my longboard, but no experiences comes close to the fear I felt when joining my friend on…

One Wheel in traffic isn't too bad. As long as you stick to lower speed (25 mph) roads. It's actually nice because it's super easy to go slow on a One Wheel if you have to hop on the sidewalk (bike lanes don't always work). I could pretty easily go 3mph on a One Wheel, much easier then I could on a bike.

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

#308

Post by MivLives »

rx_tx wrote: post #204
BuildTheRobots wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

I think it's because as the rider is leaning forward to indicate a desire for forward motion, the board drives the motor to move you forward, but also counters the natural tendency of the front lip to just touch the floor. If the motor cuts off while you are leaning forward, the lip will immediately hid the floor and stop you. And your muscle memory isn't expecting that kind of balancing, having been used to the boar…

It's considered bad form to lean weight onto the front. You should have most of the weight on your back leg and push down with your front foot to accelerate. At least among the people I road with. If most of your weight is leaned backwards it's easier to just fall flat to the ground if you need to stop. Had the front of my board clipped by a car turning into a parking lot and this saved me.

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

#309

Post by latchkey »

Zak wrote: post #273
fn-mote wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not even 4 deaths a year, I have to say this is still a magnitude safer than swimming or skiing. The only meaningful comparison would be a _rate_, not total number of injuries. Google says there are 40 skiing deaths per year in the US. It would be very easy to believe there are 100x more people skiing than uniboarding. This passes my back of the envelope test for "dangerous". If you've got better numbers, I'll list…

My take on it is that if it's no more dangerous than the term "20+ MPH electrically-driven skateboard/unicycle hybrid" sounds, then it's perfectly fine to market it to adults. That sounds kind of dangerous to me. If I was going to ride one, I'd be sure I was wearing a helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads. I'd ride it in a very controlled space free of obstacles, uneven surfaces, and unpredictable road users until I mast…

It is too easy to nosedive on these things at speed and go superman. Either a balance mistake or hardware failure. There are tons of videos of people nosediving.

There are now third party companies making little wheels that sit on the end edge that are supposed to help protect you. IMHO, that is one advancement that the company should be making as part of the core product and not just outsourcing.

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

#310

Post by mtelgon »

MivLives wrote: post #308
rx_tx wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's because as the rider is leaning forward to indicate a desire for forward motion, the board drives the motor to move you forward, but also counters the natural tendency of the front lip to just touch the floor. If the motor cuts off while you are leaning forward, the lip will immediately hid the floor and stop you. And your muscle memory isn't expecting that kind of balancing, having been used to the boar…

It's considered bad form to lean weight onto the front. You should have most of the weight on your back leg and push down with your front foot to accelerate. At least among the people I road with. If most of your weight is leaned backwards it's easier to just fall flat to the ground if you need to stop. Had the front of my board clipped by a car turning into a parking lot and this saved me.

indeed you should use your hips instead of head/shoulders to weight the board, but it doesn't actually move more weight to the back (think about it, to go forward, the board needs to feel more weight on the front, for which it compensates by accelerating = increase speed + levels the board)

the weight distribution doesn't change, but your body had much more control over the distribution.

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