I finally fell today!

[AtlSeg]

Not that it is anything to celebrate, but while out gliding today, I managed to try to negotiate a slight curb that didn't cooperate, and my Seg ended up in a safety shutdown, with me pitching forward on my hands and knees. No damage, bruises, etc., just a bit of surprise. Surprise because this curb (about 2 inches) is somewhat necessary to go up over as there is no other curb cut at this particular intersection. What made it troublesome today (I think) is the back that there is some loose earth in front of it, which normally helps as a ramp. However, it has been raining quite a bit here, and there was damp earth covered by damp leaves and debris. So, I guess it was a good learning experience today.

You need to be ever vigilent of your surroundings! And, pt, don't need to hear the "XXX miles and XX months and no falls for me" line <G>

Dick (Richard) in Atlanta

[RedKey]

I've seen a similar fall when transitioning from sidewalk to grass where the dirt level of the grass was about 2" higher than the sidewalk. The dirt/grass was very loose and dry so the Seg couldn't maintain traction lifting itself up the 2". Wheels spin a bit, when they catch you buck and may or may not ride it out (in this case the rider had a harmless fall).

Yesterday I saw a small 'buck' from a user riding over an extension cord. The extension cord rolled causing the wheels to spin a little extra, etc. Rider was fine it was a minor buck but could have been worse.

No traction= fall
Don't take your ride for granted. Always be aware of any surface, object, materiel, etc that might affect your traction.

[BruceWright]

Small bumps at slow speeds, often you don't have enough traction to climb em. You will learn what bumps to take, and which ones to avoid. Just a little bit faster, and you might have been fine.

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream

[statmed]

Altseg;

Appreciate the experience you had. We have many sidewalks and curbs similar to what you experienced. I'll definitely be more careful, especially after heavy rains which may wash packed dirt away or push wash in the way.

H.M. Stern
statmed@optonline.net

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together (Hannibal Smith)

[segwayowner]

its good that you are safe. i just had a fall and know how surprisig it is.

DES: Segway owner

[dhugger]

it's taken some practice, but i can go up and over objects (like curbs) about 2" high. if u do a very small jump just at the right moment, there will be just enough momentum for the ht to "jump" the curb and keep going just as you land back on it. it's probably not the smartest idea, and i would recommend people go out and try it, but it works for me.

-Derek Hugger-

[pt]

i am 50 miles away from not every having a fall and going 1,000 miles. i'm sure at like 999 miles an asteroid will smack my wheel.

cheers,
pt



======================

segway ht journal:
http://www.bookofseg.com

other stuff:
http://www.flashenabled.com

[Blinky]

quote:Originally posted by pt

i am 50 miles away from not every having a fall and going 1,000 miles. i'm sure at like 999 miles an asteroid will smack my wheel.

cheers,
pt



======================

segway ht journal:
http://www.bookofseg.com

other stuff:
http://www.flashenabled.com

Where would you get such an idea from? :D

http://www.capital.net/com/phuston/DANCINGALIEN.GIFhttp://tljbryant.com/meteor.gifhttp://www.capital.net/com/phuston/DANCINGALIEN.GIF



http://www.bl.com/ben/gifs/Blinky.gif http://www.harpy.net/paul/blinky.jpg

[Peter iNova]

The only time I've been slammed to the ground (except for extremes-testing) was when rolling up a wet grass area at the end of a sidewalk segment. Fortunately my landing spot was wet grass. Unfortunately I was in a suit. Fortunately all it did was get wet a little. Pride hurt only.

The only time I've seen others fall or almost fall was when they were distracted or speeding or both.

I'm beginning to feel that the fastest speed should ONLY be attempted when the way ahead is entirely visible and understood and that there are no optical illusions (broken sidewalk panels can do this to you) no slick conditions (wet grass at the top of my list now) and no possibility of intruding cars from driveways or pedestrians from nearby doors.

I glided Pasadena's "restricted" zone today at the height of pedestrian traffic. Overall I averaged 4.5 mph (GPS unit sez) and never felt like I was being particularly slow. I out distanced all pedestrians without ever a whiff of controversy and spent a lot of time dawdling with small clumps of folks chatting. This is a very slow speed machine, not a sidewalk racing bulldozer. I'm eternally surprised at those who assume it is. Reality says that the person most likely to be bruised by a Segway HT is its rider.

-iNova

http://www.glidewalk.com

[RWC]

quote:and my Seg ended up in a safety shutdown, with me pitching forward on my hands and knees.

AltSeg, did the HT shoot forward,catch traction, then shoot back then the shutdown occured?

Two times at curbs (once while on it, the other pushing it up and over a curb while standing slightly behind)the wheels (or maybe just one) raised off the pavement, spun, shot forward, then quickly backwards. In both cases I stepped aside and we recovered. Is it the shooting backwards that initiates the shut down?

Has anyone expereinced a shutdown as the HT moved forward?

Take care, R.

"The best way to control your cow or sheep is to give them a large spacious meadow... and a Segway with all terrain tires" - Suzuki Ralphi

[GlideMaster]

Blinky only you could turn the dancing babies into dancing aliens. :D:D[^]

<center>The GlideMaster</center>


quote:Originally posted by Blinky

quote:Originally posted by pt

i am 50 miles away from not every having a fall and going 1,000 miles. i'm sure at like 999 miles an asteroid will smack my wheel.

cheers,
pt



======================

segway ht journal:
http://www.bookofseg.com

other stuff:
http://www.flashenabled.com

Where would you get such an idea from? :D

http://www.capital.net/com/phuston/DANCINGALIEN.GIFhttp://tljbryant.com/meteor.gifhttp://www.capital.net/com/phuston/DANCINGALIEN.GIF



http://www.bl.com/ben/gifs/Blinky.gif http://www.harpy.net/paul/blinky.jpg

[AtlSeg]

quote:Originally posted by RWC


AltSeg, did the HT shoot forward,catch traction, then shoot back then the shutdown occured?

No, the wheels actually spun very fast, it did a shutdown and pitched me forward. There really was no "back and forth" motion that I could discern (as I was trying to land gracefully on my hands and knees on the wet grass).

I think as others have mentioned, "wet" grass, dirt, etc. can be a problem. Also I agree that a little extra speed in this instance might have gotten me over the obstacle. And I must again point out that this was a "mini-curb" that I have successfully negotiated in the past. This time the wet conditions caught me off guard. Speed, in general, was not an issue here. Again, you have to always be vigilent of your surroundings.

Dick (Richard) in Atlanta

[Karamozov]

I try to take little obstacles slowly and at an angle including roll curbs. I've had two minor incidents when transitioning from grass to sidewalk and one on a curb when I tried the foot down manuever. I find it interesting that transitions from grass to sidewalk can cause problems, yet gravel roads have been a breeze for some so far.

"Any town that doesn't have sidewalks doesn't love its children."
- Margaret Mead

[Peter iNova]

quote:Originally posted by RWC

quote:and my Seg ended up in a safety shutdown, with me pitching forward on my hands and knees.

AltSeg, did the HT shoot forward,catch traction, then shoot back then the shutdown occured?

Two times at curbs (once while on it, the other pushing it up and over a curb while standing slightly behind)the wheels (or maybe just one) raised off the pavement, spun, shot forward, then quickly backwards. In both cases I stepped aside and we recovered. Is it the shooting backwards that initiates the shut down?

Has anyone expereinced a shutdown as the HT moved forward?

Take care, R.

"The best way to control your cow or sheep is to give them a large spacious meadow... and a Segway with all terrain tires" - Suzuki Ralphi


I believe that the shut down happens when the rate of angular change of the platform exceeds some fixed limit. It may be a different setting for forwards and backwards, but is probably the same or very close. Side to side (I think of it as the Z axis spin) roll is probably set to a much different standard. Turning twist (I'd call it the Y axis spin) is likely to be its own standard, too.

The to/fro tilt is the only one that actively balances you. So it is the one axis of rate change where the machine needs to make the critical go/no go decision when you keel over since your balance is at stake. If it gives up too soon, you fall. If it gives up too late, the wheels are spinning and could tear into things. I'm sure the engineers had fun defining those conditions. It's probably their most razor-edge call.

Something I've noticed when pushing the HT in extremes-testing is that if it actually does shoot back under you in an emergency, your own reaction to that move is the most probable cause of the eventual fall. Changing surface conditions being the number two cause. I've gotten to the point of trying to "go with it" when it seems to be pulling a fast catch-up or spring back based on my putting it in balance jeopardy. If I try to MAKE it do something, that can dump me. If I give it the freedom to seek its own place of stability, both of us benefit.

An example of this happened with two witnesses. Both Wheels and ToyBuilder were behind me at night when I hit a broken patch of sidewalk at around 10 mph. The break was bad enough to dump you at that speed and I started keeling over forwards severely, but my experience let the HT do its thing and it zoomed ahead of me, then back under and was stable without breaking stride or speed. My reaction was more like "attaboy" than panic. Sometimes you need to let the horse be a horse. The two guys behind me thought I was sidwalk kill for sure.

I'd bet that the base was doing the job of 1. catching up, 2. propping me up, 3. continuing with my momentum as its reference.

I'd love to have had a video of it but I wouldn't ever do it intentionally.

-iNova

http://www.glidewalk.com

[toybuilder]

quote:Originally posted by Peter iNova

An example of this happened with two witnesses. Both Wheels and ToyBuilder were behind me at night when I hit a broken patch of sidewalk at around 10 mph.
(...)
I'd love to have had a video of it but I wouldn't ever do it intentionally.
Yeah, it was quite a sight to see you "trip" and recover in an instant. It looked quite dramatic from my perspective. I knew the Segway would attempt recovery, but it was still amazing to see.

I was also cursing myself for not having my camera on you at the time! :D It would have made for an excellent video!

Glide smooth, glide safe!

http://www.pasadenasegway.org/
A bicycle in 1897 cost $25 ($2,200 today adjusted for inflation).
A Ford Model-T cost $850 in 1908 ($75,000 today adjusted for inflation).

[gotseg]

Segwaypads!

gotseg?

[Lohja]

quote:Originally posted by pt

i am 50 miles away from not every having a fall and going 1,000 miles. i'm sure at like 999 miles an asteroid will smack my wheel.

cheers,
pt

segway

When you get to 1000-miles, do you have to change the oil? How about the oil filter. Does that have to be changed also?

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