Hacker News Reader

Comment by opwieurposiu | Hacker News Reader

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 the unicycle configuration is less popular is that it does not look as cool as the skateboard style. My wife calls mine the dorkmobile.

View on HN

> 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 stability. Same goes for if you're standing on a crowded bus and don't have much to hold onto: sideways is better. The toes-forward stance feels very unstable in the face of an unexpected slowdown or bump because your only way to counteract it is to start leaning back in advance, whereas when sideways, you can counter a lot of forward-to-back jolts with a wide stance.

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

Skateboarders train themselves to run out in this situation pretty much immediately.

With OneWheel you never really "train" to fall, instead you try to avoid it. So if you don't come from a skateboarding background you have no muscle memory.

Skateboarders train themselves to run out early in their practice, in front of the garage when they hit a pebble at <5mph. And get frequent future practice.

I imagine if your first skateboard fall was at 15+mph after a month of complacency, skateboards would be attributed to a whole lot more concussions.

It’s much easier to run after bailing from a skateboard than to run after a nosedive. I’ve been casually longboarding for ~12 years, and I rode an electric longboard for my commute for ~3 years. Learning to run out after bailing (or at least slow yourself down for a few steps before you lose your footing) is an essential skill, and you learn to do it automatically. Having the right stance helps a lot to ensure that when the board stops you can handle it. Realizing you need to hop off is a luxury you don’t always get.

When my OneWheel nosedived, I was completely thrown for a loop. It stops abruptly (more so than a skateboard usually will), your stance is heavily restricted (due to the balance requirement), and the board messes with your trajectory and balance as it tips. It kind of throws you toward the pavement while a skateboard just throws you forwards.

I love it, but it is definitely a vehicle you need to be careful with.

Didn’t you basically train yourself on how to run out on an EUC while learning? I know I did.

Also the EUC feels so ridiculous that wearing protective gear seems normal.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com