Kickstand Re-design Idea

[beckpm]

Well after being as careful as possible, I finally broke my kickstand - From the posts here I know I am not the first or the last to do this! LLC has mailed me a replacement - I have not yet bought the proper wrench to take my wheel off.

I am not an engineer and I may be way off base, but I think I have a gem of an idea that real engineers could perfect:
<center>http://www.segwaychat.com/photos/beckpm/stand.bmp</center>
Make the gray part out of something strong like metal, the blue part is a sleave, and the red part is a disposable / replaceable plastic breakaway piece. One should be able to replace the red part without taking a wheel off with some set screws or something like that through the sleave. The length of the grey part and the sleave would have to be such that it does not come close to touching the ground after the red breakaway breaks off and the segway is in balance mode moving ahead.



Peter Beck
Arlington, Virginia

[Antoni]

Peter,

My only concern would be if something became snagged on the kick stand if you forgot to raise it while ridding.

Otherwise great idea...

[Sunday]

Make it out of metal, and place a small wheel at the end. BAM! A third wheel! If you accidentally get on without retracting the stand, you hear some screeching noises, and realize you've got your stand down.

Sunday

Segway-more fun than you can stand!

[Neelix]

Sunday, that wouldn't work. You wouldn't be able to lean forward for it to evan matter. It would just snap, eventually, the Segway would whig out and flail around and you'd wind up with not only a broken kickstand, but a broken arm, or leg, or tailbone, or skull, or whatever.

-------------------------
Fear not, for even though I come from the Forbidden City, I surely do not agree with the rules.
Chris Knight

[beckpm]

quote:Originally posted by Neelix

Sunday, that wouldn't work. You wouldn't be able to lean forward for it to evan matter. It would just snap, eventually, the Segway would whig out and flail around and you'd wind up with not only a broken kickstand, but a broken arm, or leg, or tailbone, or skull, or whatever.

I agree with Chris - I think we need to preserve the "breakaway" aspect of the kickstand to insure there are no injuries if we go brain dead and take off with it extended. But I strongly believe the breakaway "part" needs to be cheap, easily replaced, and insure no injuries from "the stub".

Peter Beck
Arlington, Virginia

[gotseg]

I think most of us agree that the segway needs a kickstand that will break or fall away when the segway is put into balance mode while deployed. But I personaly dont like the idea of paying 35$+ (after your second replacement) to replace a part that came with a 4,500$ machine. I think they should atleast offer the choice of a 'non breakable' kickstand that we understand may cause injury.

gotseg?

[Sal]

How about a kickstand that will automatically retract once the segway is turned on? I know it's overengineering, but it's a thought. As for the current kickstands, I too, prefer the breakaway concept, it's sturdy enough when it's engaged, and the Segway is in a totally non-rideable angle. Although when I have parked the segway (kickstand deployed) I have seen a few people try and step on, and my heart leaps out of my chest. I have since then just leaned the machine against something.

-Sal

Think Different
www.apple.com

Answers that Matter
www.lilly.com

[beckpm]

quote:Originally posted by salkulkarni

...Although when I have parked the segway (kickstand deployed) I have seen a few people try and step on, and my heart leaps out of my chest. I have since then just leaned the machine against something.
-Sal

That's how mine got broken - I think the person who stands on my property deserves to fall over with the HT, but I want to be able to pull a replacement breakaway peg out of my 12.0 bag and insert it into the sleave and be on my way in a few minutes and be out only a few bucks!

Peter Beck
Arlington, Virginia

[fathertime]

Hey LLC,
How about a joint (up high where the kickstand articulates) that comes apart like a "Pop-It" Bead. Once the owner snapped it off by accident he or she could snap it back on with a tap from a hammer and all would be well. This would solve the problem and reduce the cost of a new arm if the old should become damaged? Whatdayathink!!![?]

JR

[Deviant]

Peter and JR,

I agree. Such a simple thing. I can understand in the rush to get version 1 out, we got what we did. However, there has now been enough time to correct this nag.

GlideMaster also has an idea of just using a strong spring that collapses under weight but returns to form thereafter.

Like Peter, I had my HT for many many months without breaking the stand. Unfortunately, someone apparently stood on my machine outside, while I was in the Post Office. Fortunately, LLC sent a free replacement quickly. Hopefully they will do something about this design.

[wayne]

If LLC knew how don't you think they would have fixed the problem by now, they have had over a year with this problem.
One I use on mine never breaks and you do not have to bend over to put it down or up.
A Seg without a kickstand is like a milk cow without ****.
http://www.kcaps.com/zkick.jpg

Wayne

[GlideMaster]

My wooden stands don't break; plus I can stand on my Segway when it's on and it holds all of my 220lbs and goes no where.

<center>http://www.segwaychat.com/forum/avatars/glidemaster.gif</center>

[Murray Fisher]

Wayne......how would it work on your stand setup, to eliminate the rear "loop" and just raise the Seg into riding position by pulling back on the handlebars rather than stepping on tha rear loop?

Murray Fisher

[wayne]

Murray,

That works too.

Wayne

[Mr_Laurenzano]

I see a P&gt;
and a cold one.

peace is a oneway street, with no crossroads and no deadends

[beckpm]

quote:Originally posted by GlideMaster

My wooden stands don't break; plus I can stand on my Segway when it's on and it holds all of my 220lbs and goes no where.

<center>http://www.segwaychat.com/forum/avatars/glidemaster.gif</center>

What does it look like - do you have photos?

Peter Beck
Arlington, Virginia

[IndyFIRSTengineer]

Sorry but I just don't understand some of these kickstand discussions. With the stand deployed the platform is tilted back far enough that you CANNOT put the Segway into balance mode ... so why the safety argument of having a "breakaway" stand? I say just make it WAY less fragile - a different material, or different design. I don't buy that LLC intentionally made a "breakable" kickstand - I'm more inclined to believe that things are as they seem - the kickstand design was an afterthought thrown in at the last minute without proper design protocol.

Stuart Bloom - Rolls-Royce Corporation
FIRST Team 1018 - Pike High School "RoboDevils"

“Who goes out and says, ‘You have a better probability of winning the state lottery than making a nickel in professional sports. And by the way, last year two million exciting technical jobs went unfilled in this country because you weren't there to take that job. And it pays you 10 times as much as flipping burgers, and it's fun and it's exciting and you get to create things and build things and help make the world a better place and help make yourself a better living.’ Who tells them this?”
Dean Kamen, founder - FIRST Robotics

[Neelix]

No, Stuart, they did. Ron Reich said that the reason they built it to break away was in situations where it might accidentally be deployed whilst in motion. If it didn't break away, I shudder to think what would happen to the rider.

-------------------------
Fear not, for even though I come from the Forbidden City, I surely do not agree with the rules.
Chris Knight

[IndyFIRSTengineer]

quote:Originally posted by Neelix

... situations where it might accidentally be deployed whilst in motion...
I hear you Chris, but can you explain to me how that could happen? Have you ever heard of the kickstand deploying while someone was in motion? Due to the action of the mechanism I can see a concern while moving backward, but you can't go backward very fast (3-4 mph). When moving forward the kickstand would merely be "pushed" back into stowed position. I would like to have had the opportunity to ask Ron more about the logic behind that decision.

Stuart Bloom - Rolls-Royce Corporation
FIRST Team 1018 - Pike High School "RoboDevils"

“Who goes out and says, ‘You have a better probability of winning the state lottery than making a nickel in professional sports. And by the way, last year two million exciting technical jobs went unfilled in this country because you weren't there to take that job. And it pays you 10 times as much as flipping burgers, and it's fun and it's exciting and you get to create things and build things and help make the world a better place and help make yourself a better living.’ Who tells them this?”
Dean Kamen, founder - FIRST Robotics

[pam]

The issue is not deploying while in motion, the issue is having the kickstand deployed and then going into motion. I believe the initial kickstand designs did not have the platform tilted as much. The tilt is a sign to us that the kickstand is down. It might not be to everyone. It certainly isn't enough of a sign to keep strangers off the machine while you're stopped somewhere &lt;G&gt;.
Pam