Do you fall off sometimes?

MvM wrote:

However unfortunate, it happened to me last Saturday.
I had already done some shopping in town on my Solowheel, buying some clothes and went and out to do another errand.
Came around a corner near my home, leaned a bit forward against the wind and suddenly I was flat on my face. I am still not sure how it exactly happened, it was a bit windy and perhaps I was already going faster than I thought.

Nevertheless, it was very discomforting and a big blow to my self esteem.

The endresult? Two stitches in my chin and a very stiff left elbow and arm. Am carrying my arm in a sling right now and it looks like this will take at least a couple of weeks. They people at the hospital could not say definately if something was broken, but it sure hurts when I move or twist my arm.
In about 920 km of driving my Solowheel, I had only fallen twice before. Once was on the very first night while learning how to use it and the second time was when I was trying to see how high a curb I could get on.

This time, it came as a big surprise which is probably why it happened.
Perhaps I was getting a little too casual riding the SW

This sounds a lot like the only serious fall I've had on my wheel. I was pushing really hard forward to try to demonstrate the top speed and the device seems to simple shut of completely. I posted a picture of my damaged arm on the facebook group. I think perhaps the wheel has a cutoff mechanism in there that it applies if it fails to slow you down using the normal method of tilting the pedals backwards. In my case anyway it was clear what I was doing wrong and I can avoid this in future.

I remember going up a very small bump to an entrance of MacDonald outdoor area with lots of people watching...my speed is a little too fast and the AirWheel suddenly goes up the bump causing me to fly forward.

I hurt my left palm & left ribcage for a week + but after that I will be so cautious at unfamiliar locations and even added bright LED lights to show the way in front.

There are times when I go too fast down a small curb will also throw me forward but I normally just able to land standing while the AirWheel spin & cut off the power with annoying beeping sound haha.

Now I will avoid potholes, small but sharp bumps, and slow down when going up slope or down curb...

My fears now are fast walking pedestrians that stop suddenly...those are my nightmares...so far haven't encounter those yet...I will leave a distance between me & people in front....hehe

simontay78 wrote:

My fears now are fast walking pedestrians that stop suddenly...those are my nightmares...so far haven't encounter those yet...I will leave a distance between me & people in front....hehe

Yes, you definitely need to be very cautious and anticipatory when there are others in your way or might possibly be crossing it. I also slow down temporarily when coming to a corner that I cannot see around. Sometimes, people run out into my way from there. They can't see anything either, but I'd like to avoid a crash there in advance. Like the very well-done speed ad of the NZ transport agency says: Other people make mistakes. Slow down.

Falling off your wheel.
This is not always your fault and is often the result of a software limitation of the wheel, known as;

"BROWN OUT"

This is a technical term which applies when a variable set of conditions arise resulting in a power demand being put on a Wheel, or any electrically powered device, which it cannot, or can no longer, produce.
Therefore an excessive demand on a fully charged machine or a lesser demand on a Wheel with depleted power may both produce this same unfortunate result. The demand may not necessarily be the result of speed thus the speed limit warning may not be triggered. This is more likely to occur on the lower powered units although reports seem to indicate the some of the higher powered machines also produce this dangerous and potentially life threatening feature. It is dependant to a large degree upon the sophistication of the software. I have owned several machines and tried a number of others (I have the scars to prove it!).
I am now the happy owner of an second generation IPS 111. It's very reasonably priced and features an instantaneous smoothness of response together with a genuine, immense power reserve to a degree far exceeding anything else I have experienced to date. I have pushed the IPS 111 beyond all reasonable limits and it has never failed me. At least now, when I occasionally exceed my own capabilities, I know it is not the machine that is at fault and that I am
no longer going to be thrown, without warning, unceremoniously, and dangerously, flat on face when I do not deserve it.
So, If you want to avoid seriously damaging yourself, then before buying, check all blogs and reviews.

John Berry
PS. I was born in 1935. So if I can do it so can you!

Look at post under "EXPERIENCES" entitled "Falling Off Your Wheel (when you shouldn't)!

MvM wrote:

And then you fall (hard) on a nice piece of road which normaly should not have been a problem....
Very annoying..

True. ..
These are the kind of falls that when happens start to rise in my mind the distrust in the wheel. .. where the faith is all and is a must ! I must feel it and have the certainty to be able to control it!
Ride the wheel without a faith in it isn't a pleasure anymore. ...

Happened again....

Is just the 2nd time I FALL without a reason in a piece of road where never had any kind of problems. ..

Just noticed that motor seems to have less power.. maybe due to batteries less efficiency in this period of the year. .

Too...idling forth and back on a same point, feel less resistance than before and this could be either the reason why now it's more difficult to brake in a downhill ....

Start to loose my trust in my wheel....
In those last 2 situations I don't understand where I was wrong. .. so this is a bit dangerous for the future. ..

zugu wrote:

Happened again....

Is just the 2nd time I FALL without a reason in a piece of road where never had any kind of problems. ..

Just noticed that motor seems to have less power.. maybe due to batteries less efficiency in this period of the year. .

Too...idling forth and back on a same point, feel less resistance than before and this could be either the reason why now it's more difficult to brake in a downhill ....

Start to loose my trust in my wheel....
In those last 2 situations I don't understand where I was wrong. .. so this is a bit dangerous for the future. ..

Sorry to hear that.

I am not familiair with the Roboteer unicycle. What is the power of the motor in it?
How 'stiff' is the unicycle under normal use??
The only other unicycle I tried was the Airwheel and I was surprised just how 'stiff' it felt while using it. With stiff I mean that the unicycle doesn't tilt forward or backwards on your inputs. The Airwheel is very rigid in that it doesn't seem to tilt at all.
A bit like the brake pedal in a car which has no play at all which makes it a bit hard to apply just the right input.

My Solowheel is very supple in that you can feel it tilting when you lean forward or backwords. I am very comfortable with that.
I have driven the Solowheel at freezing temperatures and did not feel it responding any less than it did last summer.

Hi sorry for delay. . But don't received the notification for the reply at my previous message. ..

Roboteer-M has stated to be almost 500 watt motor power

The problems in my opinion are 2 ... less batteries efficiency in this period in addition to my increase in weight. .
I'm at now 5 kg more than last summer plus dresses and bag are another 5 kg taking the increase weight to a total of 10 kg more than last summer. ..

This take my Roboteer-M to suffer in support almost 100 kg in total..

I own 2 units.. one is mine and the other is of my son and I noticed this less performance in both units...
Obviously my son that is 40 kg less than me doesn't feel any problems in both units

Simply, I think that those little units are for Chinese light and thin guys

I'm seriously thinking to looking for a 1500 watt or better the forthcoming 2200 watt Xtreme unit that can warranty to sustain my weight over almost all kind of streets and surfaces

p.s. just 2 week that I look at my wheel and avoid to use it...
Last time I've ride it I had serious difficulty into brake on the downhill garage ramp while going to take my car...

Wow, 500 Watt is not very much for a unicycle imho, unless it has a gearing like the Rockwheel to increase the torque.

I think that the more powerful the motor is, the easier it can cope with sudden movements of the users when riding it.

With my Solowheel I am now close to 200 days of ownership and use, and since then I have travelled about 1830 km with it.
Everyday, there is a tunnel that I ride through when riding to work. There is a steel U-girder on the stairs to make it easier for bicycle riders to guide their bicycle up and down. Every day, I just ride my Solowheel first down into the tunnel holding on to the rail and just as easy, I ride it up again on the other side
It's a lot of fun and I get many surprised stares from people doing that.
The Solowheel has no problem at all doing that. Must admit that my total weight is less than 100 kg, with my back pack I, coat and all, I am closer to 80 kg.