What's going to fail first, and how?

[jeff8v7]

I'm hoping OW 2.0 comes out before I get any failures, but honestly I don't think about it. I just ride & enjoy :)

[dcosmos]

@dalisdair where did you hear that the warranty expires at 2000 miles?

[jordo]

@dalisdair a 'cautious person' would not typically buy the Onewheel in the first place. And when they do, they usually get on the forum to sell it soon after it arrives. I personally don't have the time or energy to think about if/when the motor might fail, and I will NEVER retire the Onewheel. It makes me sad to imagine an old beat-up Onewheel sitting on a shelf collecting dust, just because it's odometer had reached a certain mileage. Don't worry about stuff so much, just ride and smile!

[dalisdair]

I suppose I'm just a reckless fraidy cat.

[dalisdair]

I was wrong it's 2000 Kilometers. (1243 miles)

From the manual, page 43:

The following situations are beyond the warranty scope:

......Total mileage is over 2000 km

(it list 9 other situations - like "overloading the Onewheel")

[dalisdair]

@jordo

You will retire your Onewheel, it will not last forever. If something fails when I'm going down an uneven concrete sidewalk that has a 15% grade and 5 degree dip to the side and I get thrown teeth first into a parking meter, I won't be smiling.

[dalisdair]

And I'm trying hard to convince myself that the scenario I've listed above isn't inevitable, sooner or later, but I haven't been able to do so yet.

[hustle]

@dalisdair Quit being a debby downer, bro. Lol. Constantly fearing life is going to make you immune to the joys of it.

[dalisdair]

@hustle

You guys baffle me, it's fine to engage in dangerous activities, it make no sense to not try and be as safe as possible.

There are examples of very serious injury on this board as I'm sure you've seen, in situations like "turning into my driveway". I don't care whether it's user error, board malfunction or failure, or a gopher hole, I'd prefer not to jack myself up.

You don't respect the Onewheel. It's a dangerous device and I hope you don't get hurt.

Discussions of safety and maintenance apparently aren't your thing. Why even take the time to chide me for trying to be as safe as I can doing something that has potential for serious injury?

I'm much older than you, probably older than your dad, probably heavier and less athletic than you, and using the Onewheel in a much more challenging and dangerous environment. If I have a serious wreck, I'm going to get hurt. On the plus side, I don't carry.

I'm a pussy and I whimper the entire time I'm on the Onewheel, deal with it.

[Roy]

@dalisdair, it will cost a couple bucks, but you could treat your OW to an overhaul a couple times per year to keep it in perfect shape and minimize the chance of a mechanical failure.

[wr420]

And on the flip side you could replace your perfectly good pads with new defective ones and introduce a problem where there was previously none.

[dalisdair]

@Roy

I'd like to, it would be nice if FM could suggest a routine maintenance schedule, like a car or motorcycle manufacturer would. Lacking that, I'm not sure these things will or are intended to last more than a couple of thousand miles, even with preventative maintenance. Besides the mechanical parts and sensors, there must be many ways the electronics can get stressed, corroded, or just die of old age. With heavy use, I doubt I'll want to ride it more than two years without getting a new one.

When the tire is worn the Tune up and Reload maintenance will be reassuring, but the tire is the only thing that will obviously tell you that it needs to be replaced.

[Roy]

Yes, good point, kind of like replacing your recalled airbag and having It inadvertently blow up in your face.

[jordo]

@dalisdair We all agree that it's dangerous, and of course safety is always a good idea. But are we talking about safety or paranoia? Just seems silly that you're so concerned about the eventual demise of your board, like it's right around the next corner. Although it's bound to crap out someday, this is a worry that has never crossed my mind (as with most worries). It's like stressing about your pending marriage because of the national divorce statistics, or not flying on airplanes because of the state of our world right now. We're dealing with the fact that 'you're a pussy and you whimper the entire time you're on the Onewheel' (your words not mine), but the nature of a forum is that we all chime in at some point. I promise it's all in good fun!!! Just like me, my Onewheel will never retire. It will ride until it dies...

ps...if you live near the West Coast, we're expecting that soon there will be a catastrophic earthquake followed by a Tsunami that will likely wipe out several states. Just a heads up!

[dalisdair]

I live in San Francisco. Were you alive for the last big earthquake? I do in fact worry about the next one. I tend to not worry much about a tsunami.

I'm talking about safety. I fly on planes and I travel on my Onewheel through dangerous neighborhoods. I missed a drive by shooting by 30 minutes about a month ago. Pedestrians and cyclists are also commonly run over and killed in SF. I think around 30 deaths last year in this small city. It's something else I worry about.

There is no paranoia. I've broken both wrists and my ankle with sports and motorcycles. One wrist has been broken twice. I really don't want to do it again.

I don't ride my Onewheel on deserted smooth level paths with grass on either side, I do it in a very challenging, crowded, dense, urban environment where there is NEVER a good place to fall, often not enough room to run it out, except in one narrow direction if I'm lucky, and I can hurt myself or someone else very easily. I have good control and haven't had a serious fall yet, but I do realize the board could hurt someone else and I worry about that.

I apologize for being cranky, sarcastic and defensive, but saying it's silly for trying to plan to not get hurt is ridiculous and irresponsible to folks who may not be as bulletproof as you.

I'll try and not be as rude to people who disagree with me. Of course anyone should feel free to offer any opinion they want.

The fact is, you just don't want to hear it, and you're not dealing with it.

Or you're trolling.

[viennaCalling]

@dalisdair

hi, i ride in vienna, i am 53 and i want to have fun and ride in a save way.

for me riding in a save way means: i always wear a helmet, wrist guards, elbow and knee protectors.

And: i am aware of my conditions.With conditions i mean: when i worked a long time and come back home at 11pm, i am aware, that my concentration is not so sharp like in the morning, i am aware that my body is tired, so i reduce speed, but i have fun, i forget my problems at work and i relax. and i am 53, i cannot compare with guys in their 20's or 30's.

a few months ago, end of april i read in the forum about heavy injuries (nosedives) of some members and i read the postings that something is wrong with the board. i was scared. i also read the postings from (for example) thegreck and vabuz, also watching their videos, and i came to a better understanding of the board. i stay centered on the board, i wear flat shoes with a thin sole, to have a good contact to the sensors and i slowly build up my skills. i am not a advanced rider, but after 600 km (370 miles) my opinion is: these nosedives are mostly user errors. they stay not centered and speed up with little skills and do not understanding push back, go beyond push back and buuummm.

if you want check your sensors before riding: turn your board on, and check your sensor plates (2) with a little pressure of your fingers, if a sensor is working well, the light in will get brighter. another idea is the android app called POWheel, it records your sensors while you are riding.

the onewheel is a electronic device, like our cars. i trust in the craftsmanship of the futuremotion company, compare the inside of a trotter (youtube video) to the connectors of a onewheel. what a difference.

the forum-community is also a safety backup for me, there are so much riders out there with a high amount of miles, they will tell us about lifetime of the board.

i think nobody is trolling in this forum.

greetings from vienna and sorry for my broken english.

[dalisdair]

@viennaCalling

Thanks for the info, I wish I could get some info about potential warning signs of failure but maybe there aren't any. If that's the case, so be it, that's what I need to hear. I think the Onewheel seems to be a heavy duty device with high build quality, but I'll never trust a machine not to fail or hiccup if failure may mean serious injury. With a car or motorcycle, there is a defined schedule to replace parts before they fail, and of course things go bad anyway. If my car's motor fails, I probably won't be thrown through the windshield.

I am trying to reduce risk by going out of my way each day to work and taking a farther route to find less steep grades, and less people. I've been successful at reducing the steepness of my route a bit, but not at avoiding people. It's hard since I live at the top of a hill and my commute takes me through downtown rush hour.

I think folks have very different thresholds for what is acceptable regarding injury, Up to now I've had no serious falls, and breaking bones is not something I can contemplate casually. If I get hurt or hurt someone, I will feel angry, irresponsible, embarrassed, stupid, immature and liable.

I appreciate the suggestion regarding pushing down to test the sensors. I have an iPhone and don't think poWheel exists for iPhone. What sort of information does poWheel provide on the sensors?

I'm good about protective gear, but I only use helmet and wrist guards. I did buy elbow pads but I'm not using them. I do wonder if my foot not being centered on the sensor could ever be problem, I keep it a little farther forward. But I haven't had an issue there.

You have a good point that so much information is shared on the board and there are so many people in front of us, and they will tell us their experiences when their components or oneWheels need replacement. I hadn't considered that, and it is reassuring. However, many people have needed to replace footpads and sensors, and there are stories of sensor failure and bad consequence, but I haven't heard of any signs that might be looked out for.

No doubt I'm thin-skinned about teasing, if it's not actual trolling, but I maintain that it's a bad idea to discourage anyone about being mindful or even fearful about safety. I don't mind being made fun of about most things. People need to get comfortable with a device like this on their own terms. Part of being a skilled rider is being relaxed and confident. Concerns and misgivings greatly increase the possibility of a painful mistake. I too have noticed that after a fourteen hour day at work, I'm much less confident and skilled on the way home, and I have to go slower. I've experienced the entire range from jittery and unconfident to riding confidently and intuitively. I look forward to the day when I forget the machine below me and pay no more attention to it than I do to breathing. I'm a long way off.

Thanks for your helpful, constructive suggestions, and your English is great.

[wheelteamsix]

I shred mine really hard almost every time I'm riding. I'm sure you all know this but lowering your stance really helps you in going fast. I ride around like that at 20+ mph, jumping stuff often, balancing things, so it receives an awful lot of impact. I've had mine since May and do this almost daily. The only problem mine has is the front light doesn't come on anymore, only sometimes when I hit bumps or it receives a large enough impact, meaning there's a short somewhere. For now I'm just using it as an opportunity get more comfortable riding goofy when I night shred. I took off the front pad but it seems like the problem lies in the enclosure that I don't want to mess with. Gonna send er in soon. So for mine, the first failure was that. I force this wheel to take me up a hill that's like a 45 degree incline for about 100 yards sometimes thrice daily and the engine hasn't had a problem yet. I'd say if anything, the motor/braking system is the least of your worries. From what I understand, they're incredibly well designed with only one moving part. I take mine off 2-3 foot drops very often, and my axel seems to be completely fine as well. I should mention that I never wear pads or anything. I've had both of my hands completely raw from falling. One time I had to a cut 1x1" bloody flap of skin off my palm. I just learned from my mistakes and stopped falling. I always keep in mind that the board is smarter than I. Every time I've hurt myself, it was my fault. Trust in your wheel, stay loose and low, and keep your shoulders square, you'll be fine.

[mrb]

@dalisdair said in What's going to fail first, and how?:

I figured a sensor as well, but I'm concerned if there's no warning, that I may be on a hill, or near people and lose control.<

there are two switches that probably won't fail at the same time. the worn switch would fault intermittently and in the open position. both switches must close to engage the board at low speed.

hopefully you'll notice one or two switches on their way out when getting on and off the board.