Donut wheel scooter news

https://www.statesman.com/news/local/austin-has-until-friday-give-opinion-dockless-vehicles-survey-city-says/4PdZ3CleAhqq9QOjvhs8pJ/amp.html

Doctors at Dell Seton Medical Center have treated one to two injuries every day since the beginning of April, when stand-up scooters first arrived in Austin, Dr. Christopher Ziebell, the hospital’s emergency department medical director, told the American-Statesman this summer.

The injuries include broken elbows, knees and wrists as well as scrapes and cuts, but at least four serious head injuries and two injuries from a collision with a vehicle have been reported, he said.
 
https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/scooter-rider-injured-after-being-hit-by-car-in-downtown-austin

Austin averages at least 10 scooter injuries a day which is the most in the country.

I think the clock is ticking for these scooters. The business model looks like a ploy to slurp up investor dollars/yuan, the opportunity for legitimate profits is marginal at best, personal injury liability is a growing wave that has yet to crest, and as soon as thieves learn how to part the things out for a buck... it's all over.

I won't miss them. (I hope to get in on the glut of useful batteries when the companies fail.) But at least they'll have pointed out one path away from cars.
 
The Statesman piece has a picture of a kid, maybe 7 years old on one, downtown.
The Washington Post article and podcast from today, is another bit of support, the articles on "reactive" safety and regulation speak of a "put them out there and see who gets hurt" approach. I see a lot of folks riding double and with the Lime scooters frame failure issue it reinforces the fact that that the irresponsible implementation and use are not just an issue about being churlish.
 
These have been going up around town, for a law firm:
IMG_20181227_114157.jpg
 
The kinda sad thing is that the industry COULD save itself by redesigning the vehicles to be dramatically safer, but i don't see any pushes to do so..

So what happens is that a really cool transportation segment disappears.

Yeah, it is happening..
 
I have seen a YouTube video with a "hotwired" rental scooter.

I saw the remains of a destroyed rental scooter strewn across a sidewalk.

I see lots of stolen corporate bicycles too.

I see it as litter as much as anything but I never see anyone wearing a helmet.

They don't make sense to me which makes the corporation cash grab idea sound likely.

I'll be glad when they go away but I hope they are replaced by more people owning E-bikes and sit down electric scooters.
 
This modern life!

Scooter rider critical after being hit by a Lyft driver in downtown
https://www.kxan.com/amp/news/local/austin/scooter-rider-critical-after-being-hit-by-a-lyft-driver-in-downtown/1744863153
 
Lime Scooter Software Glitch Causes Random Braking, Dozens Of Rider Injuries
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bizcarson/2019/02/22/lime-scooter-software-glitch-causes-random-braking-dozens-of-rider-injuries
 
90/65R6.5 tyre on a aluminuim decent rim the 60v1600w hubs like what's on the dualtron is more than good for 70mph and not exploding.

The issue with scooters is the faster you go more the giro effect pulls on your body as you turn resisting the turn and stopping the lean in I found after 45mph I would always speed wobble as I slowed down on my 48v1600w scooter with simular wheels but a chaindriven Inrunner motor.

The higher you stand the worse it gets I found a scooter with good suspension travel won't lend it's self to high speed same as a high speed low setup with little suspension travel as possible if any at all to keep the stood upright rider low for better stability from a lower centre of gravity as well as turn in ability will be no good at off-road and bumpy roads etc.

I would like to see the best design for a speed demon scooter i would think a 29er front wheel on a solid fork with a 13 inch 273/70 stator 12000w hub on the rear and a low standing position with some high discharge Lipo and take it to the local drag strip running 144v and it should break some stand up records.
 
https://www.statesman.com/news/20190316/leaning-tower-of-sxsw-scooters-spotted-in-downtown-austin

v2u9euprljm21.jpg
 
Ianhill said:
90/65R6.5 tyre on a aluminuim decent rim the 60v1600w hubs like what's on the dualtron is more than good for 70mph and not exploding.

The issue with scooters is the faster you go more the giro effect pulls on your body as you turn resisting the turn and stopping the lean in I found after 45mph I would always speed wobble as I slowed down on my 48v1600w scooter with simular wheels but a chaindriven Inrunner motor.

The higher you stand the worse it gets I found a scooter with good suspension travel won't lend it's self to high speed same as a high speed low setup with little suspension travel as possible if any at all to keep the stood upright rider low for better stability from a lower centre of gravity as well as turn in ability will be no good at off-road and bumpy roads etc.

I would like to see the best design for a speed demon scooter i would think a 29er front wheel on a solid fork with a 13 inch 273/70 stator 12000w hub on the rear and a low standing position with some high discharge Lipo and take it to the local drag strip running 144v and it should break some stand up records.

50mph...no problem...very stable. Had it at 55 once, still nice and stable, but GAWD that's fast on a little EV like this!

Currie%2010181117%2024.jpg
 
Chalo said:
https://www.statesman.com/news/20190316/leaning-tower-of-sxsw-scooters-spotted-in-downtown-austin

v2u9euprljm21.jpg

Oh look down town Denver!
 
The speed wobbles mentioned above are purely the result of an improper steering geometry for high speed. My little commuter rocket has 16" OD wheels front and rear and rides like on rails at it's top speed of 70mph. When I increased the rake of the original (15kph top speed vehicle) to increase trail for high speed stability, I got lucky and got it just perfect, and have no sluggishness at low speeds. While it's a ride on scoot the steering geometry principles are identical. A stand up scoot has a shorter wheelbase and higher CoG, but it has the advantage of the rider being able to greatly change the CoG position while riding.
 
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/05/head-injuries-broken-bones-plague-e-scooter-users-as-more-data-rolls-in

This is a completely different magnitude of risk than bicycles-- even rented bicycles ridden by noobs. Yet there are people who think bicycles are too risky who'll take one of these things instead.
 
They do have completely different riding style to a bike, if i stsnd tall and ridgid then its stright on im going takes serious effort to rag one of these and your skill level needs to be more than newb.

I cant really say any thing other than its cheap as fuk to put out a pile of crap scooter together in a chineese factory raping your countrys work force while fuking its tax rules and make money putting people at risk.

The world is fuked theres loads of cunts id love to smash in but id be popping skull cavitys all day long for the rest of my life and still passing the torch to the next nut job with a massive lists of money grabbing twats left too fix.
 
AUSTIN, Texas — A truck full of electric scooters caught fire on Friday night in downtown Austin, with witnesses saying they had to be ushered inside due to toxic air.

https://www.kvue.com/amp/article/news/local/truck-full-of-scooters-catches-fire-in-downtown-austin/269-a17ee2cc-ecf9-4c59-b167-783f05f01d5a
 
Here's a fun one from awaken with JP..

[youtube]ny14qUNvjVg[/youtube]
 
This is as small a wheel I will ride 6.5 inch the 4 inch wheels are a minimum requirement I believe if there no suspension they provide good damping if inflated correct for weight the 4 inch is better in that regard with a taller side wall but less corner stability at speed.
 
Hey, it's at least as tall as the brake rotors we use on our bikes.. :lol:
 
neptronix said:
Hey, it's at least as tall as the brake rotors we use on our bikes.. :lol:

160mm rotor is about the limit lol, 203mm has barely any clearance a hefty bank to the left would foul it with the floor no doubt.

Got a decent 6.5inch hub too but I put a 140mm rotor on that one and used a decent set of tyres too rather than the off-road crap i don't want them balancing up like a Pyle of turd.
IMG_20190212_145859520.jpg
IMG_20190211_135305059.jpg
 
My missus disagree's with me on this one mind and say the 4 inch is a waste of time and won't ride anything under a 6.5 inch. 🤣
 
That seems like a moronic debate.
Everything can be dangerous if you don't know how to use it, and even if you know. Accidents happens.

I bet there are much more stairs related incidents in the US than scooter incidents all around the globe combined, is it a reason to forbid stairs?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/790609.stm

Should bicycles be forbidden?
https://www.peoplepoweredmovement.org/bicycle-accidents-in-the-united-states/

Skateboards? Roller blades?

And if it comes to actually purposed built dangerous devices that hurt/kill people, then shouldn't stuff like firearms be forbidden prior to scooters? Which ones hurts/kills the most?
 
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