Posts made by E-Wave_I

I nosedived in 2018 and badly bruised all of the carpals in one wrist and this was with slider gloves with palm protection. Because there was a chance the scaphoid was fractured, I had to wear a cast including the thumb for a month, during which time I was out of work. Then experienced tendinitis which did not fully resolve for close to a year. I still have a scar on my shoulder and permanent discoloration on my side from road rash. After this ordeal, I began researching ways to warn of sudden increase in speed. No rim-mount speedometers really make sense and GPS apps lag by several seconds. I wish there was a way to more severely limit the max speed or at least warn with a flashing red light. At the most conservative setting, I want to lean forward full-tilt and just be limited to a minimum of 0 mph with full self-balancing. Not sure if the physics make sense on this request. Maybe incorporate a gyroscope? Maybe I'll DIY something. Until there is a solution, I just go very conservatively (10-15 mph) on my OneWheel XR and full speed ahead (up to 24 mph) on my Boosted Stealth. It's a shame because I know I can go faster on the OneWheel, but I just can't trust it.

@E-Wave_I Well darn it. Just laid the board on its side and, on closer inspection, the handle is not within the protective radius of the tire and rail and thus not protected from damage during a hard bail. Don't know how I didn't see this before. The permanently affixed shield sold by OW should do the job, but I use a FlightShield which pops off on impact or for cleaning. Thus the Mag Handle would take the brunt of the impact. Removed and tossed the Mag Mount and Handle (I will never ask for a refund because I do support FM as a company). However, going with the "Silver" handle from Craft & Ride, as I think this more accurately suits both how I expect to carry the board as well as the level of impact on hard surfaces.

Reviews are closed on the Mag Handle, so leaving a review here. Mount plus handle Pro cost $115 total. Build quality is sort of worth the price. I have very strong hands and did not accidentally strip the threads, which is reassuring. However, the handle does not fold all the way outward. The magnetic tab just unclicks far enough to be able to automatically retract the handle back in when released. Thus, it only pops out 10 degrees or so (about 1/2" farther out from the tire). This is exactly enough room to clear my thick fingers with maybe 1/8" wiggle room. Not exactly what I'd call carrying it "briefcase style", but comfortable enough. Seems very sturdy. Please be aware the mount bottom only goes on one way to clear the motor cable, the mount top only goes on one way due to the stop and the whole assembly must goes on the side without the valve stem.

@Sponge315 Unfortunately, that's a very steep climb depending on your weight. I've found that nudging up the juice in the customization helps overcome these sorts of obstacles better (at the expense of runtime).

I have also used a handle grip flashlight to compete with car headlights for visibility and just being able to see up ahead.

I'd say keep it well under 15 mph, closer to 10 mph, and monitor your battery life. I am over 200 lbs and tall, so that's a lot more leverage required to keep me balanced when going fast or over a difficult obstruction. There is a limited amount of torque available, and when it is used up, NOSEDIVE! My one and only true nosedive was going approx. 19 mph in "Elevated" mode. This mode adjusts the level point to slightly off-level to keep the nose raised higher than usual to better avoid obstacles. I was ignorant of what "Elevated" meant and pushed through pushback without realizing I had entered a point of no return. I don't remember exactly what happened in the fraction of a second before the board conked out, but I believe the board freewheeled, I panicked and the nose touched down into the asphalt, which sent me and my wrist directly into the ground. I had lightly padded fingerless gloves and a helmet. An MRI showed a dent in the cartilage of my radius and bruising on my scaphoid. A couple periods of bracing and rest and my wrist still isn't quite right a year later. Get yourself some good motorcycle gloves and a quality helmet. If you have experience with inline or skateboarding, you probably know how to fall. However, be sure you can outrun your fall at whatever speed the board is traveling when (not if) it conks out.

I have been on the OEM Vega for about a year and have noticed a distinct harsh squeaky quality to the rubber similar to new auto tires or cheap tennis shoes. Just noticed it today on a wood floor. Makes it a bit harder to pivot. When new, the tire felt velvety smooth. I have gone down in weight if anything. I have not exposed the wheel to any chemicals aside from flooding it to the undercarriage twice and hosing several times over the board's life. I take care to not apply detergents or conditioners to the board. The floor in question has not been waxed or treated any differently in the board's lifetime. I'm wondering if maybe that initial smoothness was just from whatever was used as a release in the mold?

Update: I've been riding my board with this setup three quarters of a year with no pressure sensor errors. I do test on dismount by lifting my heel in both regular and goofy stances and it seems to work as intended.

Hi, everyone. Just wanted to run this by anyone with perhaps more engineering insight than me. I did a brief search and couldn't find this topic elsewhere.

I really like the FlightFender/ FlightShield Pro alternative to the OW fender. However, upon installing the FlightFender a couple weeks ago, I began getting random blink errors and smart phone notifications alerting me to make sure the sensor pad was clear. Loosening up the two screws on the grip tape side seemed to clear the error. The only variance to the instructions I had committed was in covering the divider line with about 5 coats of glow-in-the-dark paint. This built up the thickness over this line by about 1mm-to-1/16", just enough to cause some pressure under the aftermarket fender. So, I scraped off the paint just under the fender and re-tightened the screws. No change in behavior. Then it occurred to me- The grip tape under the fender is probably not activating any sensor directly. It is probably applying enough pressure to flex the plexiglass substrate and just barely activate pressure sensors inches away.

So, I did the following:
-Preemptively ordered a new footpad before I even started,
-Soft powered down the board,
-Carefully disconnected the footpad from the motherboard per instructions,
-Traced out the outline of the FlightFender with dry-erase marker,
-Warmed the grip tape about the trace,
-Cut out the trace with a razor knife,
-Heated the grip tape further to peel the waste material without leaving residue,
-Reinstalled footpad, FlightFender and FlightShield.

No more errors regardless of screw pressures. I did not observe any conductive materials inlaid in the plastic in the area I cut out.
Note: I did not cut through the plexiglass.

What do you think?

I am a 35-year-old electrician with a history of recreational sports-- inline, parkour, biking, kayaking, some skateboarding and skiing. The only other owner I know IRL is a kayak enthusiast about my age. Of course, a history like mine isn't unique to millennials. I would imagine OneWheel would also be of interest to people as old as 80+, as it doesn't demand much physical exhaustion for propulsion, just for balance. I think the concept appeals to a lot of older engineering types-- whom also have the money to spend on it.

@speedracer I know the type. Parents my age (early 30s) just shelling out big bucks for a hip new toy. I had a long conversation yesterday with a OW rep where I STRONGLY recommend they revise their marketing. No wrist guards! Not one model in the videos is wearing wrist protection in those video backdrops on the homepage. I'm 35. I've done inline, parkour, skateboarding and skiing. I've broken my right scaphoid at least once, possibly twice according to x-ray and have taken falls hard enough to require precautionary casting many times- each time requiring light duty and fewer hours at work for 2-4 weeks per injury. Once you pass 30, injuries begin to turn into arthritis and impact your livelihood in hands-on professions. Please don't be afraid of looking dorky. If someone 20 years younger than you pokes fun, simply explain exactly what the dangers are. Wisdom is on your side.

Always wear a helmet and gloves with palm protection. I had a decent conversation with a OW rep, yesterday, about my nosedive experience. I was indeed being ignorant to the way the thing works and was pushing for speed after ignoring a gentle pushback cue. My fingertips got pretty badly torn up and I had small graze on my chin. It would have been far worse without any protection. If I had not been wearing my helmet, I would have had road rash on my head with chunks of hair possibly never growing again. If I had not been wearing palm slider gloves, I would have broken my left scaphoid or re-injured my already once-broken right scaphoid. Also keep in mind that when riding this, you are being entirely supported by high technology for the entire ride. Any random unpredictable failure can and statistically does occur.

Now. The range is great. The charger is great. Aftermarket accessories have been fully developed. After replacing my bumpers, I realize the internal space has been used up by the additional battery capacity. The only way to improve would be maybe 10% better batteries, road pitch sensing or an app upgrade as far as I can tell.

@MichaelW I rode the FlightFins without fins or shield for about a month thinking they would be better than nothing and more convenient than the OW brand fender. The slots let a lot of grit through. The original Shield apparently requires Fins to work and rides too high to remain stable. The Pro is definitely perfection IMHO. It stays in place, covers the slots fully, sits nice and low, stays in place and the side edges are contoured to be narrower at the peak, allowing tumbles without jarring the shield too bad. I've driven through some serious puddles with no splashback. Being removable, it makes it easy to hose down and dry the board after a muddy ride. Not sure about the Fins themselves. I weigh 220 lbs. and don't really want to be literally jumping the board up curbs. Nor do I want anything possibly grabbing my foot during a nosedive.

I would recommend purchasing a second set of bumpers with your order, They're not difficult or particularly expensive to replace and take quite a few bad hits to get roached badly. I've had thoughts about custom skid plates, but the most I plan on doing is adding Fangs. It gets beat up. That's just going to happen. I use satin spar varnish to touch up the plywood, basic blue Sharpie (rubbed in before it dries) to disguise scratches to the aluminum and (2) layers of 1" Gorilla duct tape about 6" long to protect the aluminum edges near the center (top and bottom).

I have a similar condition. I may have had a childhood trauma from jumping from trees, but never "broke" my ankle as far as I or my parents can recall. A pretty severe arthritic condition reared its head when I began working in solar, installing panels on rooftops and walking steep pitches all day. I had an experimental surgery to install a temporary frame to distract the joint, then had a 2nd surgery to remove that, then a third surgery to clean up the cartilage borders. After 4 years of surgeries, changing work duties and daily self-guided rehab, I had better movement and less pain than ever. I purchased my OneWheel this summer and have been surprised as well by how it challenges me to stretch. The gentle intermittent pushback forces me to hold my foot in dorsiflexion while traversing gentle bumps in the sidewalk. I switch between regular and goofy stances about every mile or major traffic crossing to give my bad ankle a rest. The unnatural motions required to ride this board also really work my hips in ways I never expected. It's a great gentle nudge out of my comfort zone. I know it's electric and not really working muscles, but I do feel it is at least helping me work on my sense of balance and reaction time.