Who wants to try an electric unicycle?

DMS General
#1

I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that regular unicycles are just too easy. I mean, come on, they have a seat! You can literally ride them sitting down. Where’s the challenge in that?

Thankfully, some enterprising inventor decided to fix that by taking the seat off a unicycle and stuffing an electric motor in there. Sounds like fun? Sounds like fun:

I’ll be bringing my wheel in on Saturday (3/28) around noon (and I’ll be around for a few hours at least). Anyone who’s brave enough to try it is welcome to. Most people can manage to ride it on their own after a half hour or so of practice. I’d suggest bringing a helmet and maybe some pads if you’re not confident in your regular unicycling skills.

I’d describe myself so that people can find me, but I don’t think you’ll have any trouble spotting the dude flying around the back parking lot on a crazy wheel thing.

8978db112341ec2b.jpg1920×1080

Yep.

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Getting to the train at night
Repairing a self-balancing electric unicycle
#2

That is waaaaay kewl! I have family stuff I’m doing tomorrow, so not likely to get to see it in action; BUT… just in-case… What are the upper weight limits? (and lower age limits - as far as your comfort in sharing is concerned…). Sooooooooooooo kewl! :smiley:

#3

Their site recommends being at least age 15. For liability’s sake, I would require anyone under 18 to have parental permission.

The weight limit is 250lbs, and it has a lot of power, so it’ll take a heavier rider no problem.

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#4

Thanks for the info!!! I am hovering right around 250… sooooo hhhmmmmm… (again, just dreaming mostly, since… family stuff; but, never know… :wink: )

Thanks again!
:slight_smile:

#5

I’m sure it won’t be the last time I bust out the wheel at the space.

#6

Looks like a great way to break your neck.

#7

This is excellent for people who are unable to perform epic face-plants into concrete without assistance.

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#8

I’d say it’s actually less dangerous than riding a bike. It’s really easy to ditch if you lose your balance, unlike a bike, and it’s limited to 10mph. Most bike riders can do 15 pretty easily.

Plus it’s fun as hell, and I’ve never gotten more than a scraped knee even while I was learning to ride.

#9

I saw this a while ago (or something like it) but haven’t seen much since about it. I’d love to try this out before plopping down $1.5k on it. I’ve been trying to find something that would let me more easily get across large convention centers (in the outdoors area). How well have you found it to handle uneven pavement? No better or worse than a unicycle?

-the purring dork

#10

Sloped / wavy pavement is no problem. Hard (not muddy) grass / dirt is fine. Some gravel is OK, you just need to be careful when turning. The real killer is sharp bumps. Like when a sidewalk tile has heaved, and you get that little 2" cliff. You can make it over those, but you have to prepare for the jolt, otherwise you’ll get thrown off.

And I agree, the price is pretty high. I got mine secondhand.

#11

I’m out back right now, if anyone’s interested.

#12

I’m heading to the 'Space right now, should be there at about 1-1:30pm.

-the purring dork

#13

Taking it inside for a charge break. Unfortunately, it’s not compatible with the Tesla speed charger =P

#14

Well, that was fun. Two takers, two full charges of the wheel, and no injuries!

I’ll leave it as a standing offer. If you find me at the space, just ask and I’ll gladly give you some wheel time. (That’s me in the lower picture, BTW).

#15

Ya, it’ll probably take me about 4-5 more hours on it before I think I’ll get the hang of it but I could certainly see the usefulness of it. Thanks for having it out there.

Something that I was wondering and thinking about: the setup (lean forward/back, right/left) is similar to a segway with the major differences being one wheel (vs two wheels) and a hand grip and I was thinking that the wheels can’t be changed (without making it a segway) but maybe a removable hand grip pole could be added (which would provide something to lean against). This would be more useful for beginning riders and might be something that could attach around the already existing hand hold as like a clamp.

-the purring dork

#16

They actually do sell it with a “learning strap,” however it’s not rigid. I never used it myself, since the guy whose wheel I learned on didn’t have it, so I can’t speak for its usefulness. I can dig it up if you want to try it.

#17

Ya, I think that might help as far as learning to balance on it at first (and I didn’t think of just using a strap…that makes more sense than a telescoping pole).

-the purring dork

#18

Yeah, it’s about as simple as it gets. Just a piece of nylon strap and a clip. And now that I think about it, it’s probably nice to be able to take some of the pressure off your calves by using the strap to keep it upright.