Personal city teleportator

Communicating in the community of users of personal electric transport, I see the processes that are taking place from the inside. The fact that people on the street see only as a fait accompli (electric scooters have become commonplace on the streets of big cities) - I saw from within the community as a long process that began a long time ago and has been developing exponentially over the past year and a half. I myself in the summer of 2018 dashed off on a light electric scooter almost 2.5 thousand kilometers, feeling all its advantages and saving on the journey (including taxis) the amount of half the monthly salary.

So, there is a new process that is not visible from the outside. People from scooters are transplanted to monocoles. Migration is strictly in one direction, there is almost no reverse. To the question "which scooter to choose" in chat rooms they answer not to waste time and immediately choose a wheel.
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The transport of the future is already here, only you have not understood it yet.

I will be honest - I rewrote this article several times, deleting the draft with the words "I could not get across" and starting anew.

The fact is that any mention of the monocolaces in the comments (which is on the habre, that on youtube) instantly causes aggression and dislike. No wonder - just recently, my attitude towards them was also aggressively negative. “I still want to live” and “this is for acrobats” - these are my quotes a year ago.

Personal experience turned all the ideas - it became clear why people change one thing to another, and why this process will only intensify further.

Nonconformism

The situation can be compared with the mass appearance of ordinary scooters on the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg. At first, an adult on the “children's toy” provoked disapproval and ridicule. But such people became more and more - and it became the norm. An elderly grandmother, who yesterday twisted a finger at her temple after an adult guy on a scooter, at some point comes to the conclusion that it is easier to get to the subway, and since other people do it, she can. Meanwhile, the aforementioned guy suddenly leaves the corner, balancing on satanic garbage ... History repeats itself in a circle.

In the fall of 2018, I accidentally became “the very guy”, having decided to learn how to ride a mono-wheel just for show. A few days later I had to buy my own, and put the electric scooter in the closet. After a week of use, my conclusion was:

The monowheel in the role of urban transport puts an electric scooter on the blades about as confidently as the latter cracks down on an ordinary scooter.

But if people have already figured out with electric scooters that you can save on travel and enjoy driving to work, the story of the monowheel is just beginning.

The reasons for the unpopularity of the monowheels

I sincerely supported most of these views.

Feelings and emotional evaluation

The monowheel is not an acrobatic projectile, but a full-fledged vehicle with characteristics similar to an electric scooter. In terms of price, it loses speed to scooters, but repeatedly wins in freedom, feeling literally like a “pocket teleport”. A few days after the initial training, management skills go into the background - you get up on the wheel and seem to merge with it, and your body suddenly gets new opportunities. The questions “how do you manage it?” And “how do you brake on it?” Lose all meaning. It's like asking how you control your legs. No way, damn it, I'm just going where I need to! So here you go out of the door, look where you need it, the wind hits in your face and it’s as if you are flying, barely noticing noises like speed bumps or curbs.

Compared to scooters

Security

The wheel is much safer than it seems from the outside and at first glance.

ATTENTION! I'm not trying to call it safe! Falls are unlikely to be avoided altogether, and protection (knees / elbows / wrists) is necessary. But this risk is much, much lower than it seems from the outside. I did not believe when I was convinced of this. Now it's your turn not to believe me :)

I got onto the wheel for the first time in October, I went to work and back every day until the New Year, rolling out from 20 to 40 km every day. Rain, wind, ice, snow porridge, slabs of wet polished granite at a temperature of 0 degrees - and all on the summer "slick" tire. The first 700 kilometers in such conditions passed without a fall. The first fall happened in the second half of December, when the city collapsed - fell into a hole under the snow. And the problem here, obviously, is still laying :)

Power

If you push the gas all the way on the scooter - it will accelerate until the friction and resistance forces balance the maximum engine power. When descending from the mountain, the speed will increase, while climbing, it will decrease. Even a weak scooter can be greatly dispersed downhill.

The engine of the monowheel tends to keep the pedals horizontal and accelerates, rolling under the rider and compensating for its fall forward. If you allow it to accelerate without restrictions, then after reaching the maximum possible power (and speed) the wheel will not be able to continue acceleration, and the person will continue - face into the asphalt. Therefore, the maximum speed of the monowheel is limited - when it reaches the engine, there is enough reserve left to overtake the person and pull up the pedals, forcing them to lean back.

Corollary number # 0 - inconsistency with traffic logic
SDA implies that all engine power is spent on acceleration. The principle of operation of the monowheels implies that a significant percentage of power is not used and is always "in stock", ensuring safety. Judge for yourself: both a 350 W scooter and a 1200 W monowheel ks16s accelerate to 35 km / h - and the wheel will not go faster, but the scooter can. The difference in power is almost four times at the same speed, so it is impossible to classify monowheels by current traffic rules.

Corollary number # 1 - relatively low maximum speed.
For comparison, a scooter with a 300 W motor accelerates to 30 km / h in a straight line.
My 800W mono-wheel with a motor is limited to 30 km / h regardless of external conditions - even down a steep descent it will not allow you to accelerate higher.

Corollary number 2 - excellent dynamics and acceleration
Until the maximum speed is reached and the currents do not exceed the limiting ones, all the available power goes to overclocking, and even a “weak” wheel can easily deliver 1.5–2 kW for a few seconds.

Corollary number 3 - overcoming steep climbs
Scooters are not dreamed of . Where the conventional Xiaomi would have to drive - the budget wheel successfully drives in, slowing down.

Corollary number # 4 - the highest efficiency.
To travel evenly at a speed of 35 km / h against a small wind, you need to consume about 500-600 watts. For the "medium" monowheel with a capacity of 1.2 kW it is only half of the rated load! As a result - the wheel is almost not heated, all the energy goes into motion. On a scooter with a nominal value of 350 W, the motor-wheel operates at this speed with almost double overload and it is very hot, throwing the battery charge into the atmosphere for nothing.

Therefore, when the battery is equal, the wheel goes beyond the scooter, without reducing speed in a head wind .

Learning - Theory and Practice

The first thought, when you first try to get up and go - "THIS IS EXACTLY NOT FOR ME!"
The second is “DAMAGE, THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE IN THE PRINCIPLE!”
Everything is normal, our body simply does not have the necessary skill - to keep the balance left and right on the fulcrum the size of a coin . This skill can not be taught explanations - it is necessary that the body was forced to try to do it. The good news is that this skill comes within an hour, and then, after a few days of riding, it is polished to perfection. It becomes as easy as standing on two legs and not falling. The second good news is that we are perfectly able to keep the balance back and forth, there will be no problems with it. In short, this is not a circus art that has been studied for years.

It is best to study with an assistant - relying on his hand, try to keep your balance and go slowly. After some time, it begins to turn out, and the assistant's hand is no longer used for support, but as a kind of "beacon" in space, relative to which the body holds the vertical. After 5-10 minutes of driving “by the handle”, you can learn to get up on your own, the body already knows about what to do. Next - a question of a couple of tens of minutes and perseverance.

Tip # 1: Straightening your back and unbending your legs, it is much easier to keep your balance. It is useful when training - then you still have to ride on slightly bent legs.

Tip # 2: turns are made not by the inclination of the hull or the wheel, but by slowly bending one leg, fixing the other and keeping balance.

This is enough to get up and go as fast as possible - then the skill begins to grow at a tremendous rate. A bit like riding a bike - once learned, you will not forget.

Wheel selection

The real choice is limited on the strength of a dozen models.
It is advisable to first explore the forums and ask questions in the telegram channels. This is not an advertising post, so I’m not going to give specific references - but in Russian there are only two main resources devoted to personal electric transport, and it’s easy to find them.

PS still throw off, perhaps, a link to the favorite review of my wheel model - budget Kingsong KS14D 420Wh: 3
Nothing personal, just a little prejudice, okay?)