Odd day riding my Coker today. First a guy asked me what I thought of those “electric” unicycles to which I replied, “oh, you mean self-balancing skateboards?” Then a few blocks later a guy asked me, “where’s the battery?”
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I love your reply!
When riding a geared uni, I sometimes encounter people who ask me whether it’s an electric uni - because of the big hub!
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Im still waiting for the police to stop me and tell me electric unicycles are forbidden to ride here and then I can rub in their faces that I generate the power myself, that there is no battery.
On the other hand I do actually want to try an electric unicycle, but I don’t want to spend 2000 EUR for something I can’t ride on the road or parking lot.
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My brother once saw me walking and shouted, “Hey, you lost a wheel” 
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Here, electric “unicycles” (one-wheeled gizmos) can be ridden anywhere (apparently). I know one man that used to commute to work on a 36" KH unicycle, but now commutes to work on a one-wheeled electric gizmo that travels 45+ miles per hour. He rides on the road with cars at 40-45mph, as if he was riding a motorcycle, and wears full motocross protective gear. I once asked him if he has ever had a UPD “at speed”. He said, “Twice.” I asked him what happened each time and he said, “I slid. A long way.”
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I love my electric unicycle and it’s what got me over the hump to try “acoustic” unicycles. So I guess I’m doubly thankful for it
Mine (a Solowheel glide 3, aka InMotion V8) is a little bit on the lower end of the spectrum it was about 850 USD, has a top speed of 30 kmh / 18.6 mph, a range of about 14 Mi with my heavy butt and the hilly terrain around here, which for me usually equates to about a little over an hour of ride time . It weighs about 30 lb and with the 16-in wheel inside it’s like a mini electric vehicle in something the size of a round heavy briefcase, very easy to stash behind a seat, under a desk, in your trunk Etc.
I usually take both it and my Muni anywhere we go camping Etc. Both are fun in different ways.
It’s also convenient for short errands like running something to the post office or going to a convenience store Etc. Also came in handy one time I got my car worked on and so it provided a convenient way to get back home after I dropped the car off.
I much prefer it over a bicycle if you’re just trying to get somewhere as I can keep a much faster Pace on this without getting all hot and sweaty not to mention it so much more Compact and stashable.
I do find myself wanting something that’s faster and has a longer range but I haven’t done so for the same reason you mentioned – cost!
This is a video that more or less convinced me I wanted to buy one, and I can say I don’t regret the purchase at all!
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“Oh, and you don’t even have a motor” has become a fairly common addition to the “where is your other wheel”- comments I’ve been getting whenever I ride in the mountains.
I’ve counted e bike to manually powered bike ratios of up to 2:1 before, they’ve really taken off over here.
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There was an early stage of these EUCs when they can occasionally lose power and cause UPDs when overtorqued, like going a steep uphill. (Or maybe it was because they were cheap knockoffs, I’m not sure.) It was really scary, two of my friends broke their teeth because of that; and that was when they were completely banned in our city.
Yeah that can still happen, especially with a combination of one or more of: smaller batteries, low charge, heavy riders, cold weather, and aggressive riding/acceleration, since they can either consume a lot more current or limit the amount the battery can deliver when needed.
I am a little heavier than ideal for the power/battery of my euc, but I have never had a problem myself, although I do ride a little on the cautious side when it comes to acceleration knowing that I am kind of at the weight limit for my machine.
I would never ride it without a full face helmet and wrist protection. I usually throw on my motorcycle jacket too just to be safe, since I have one, and you are often riding along at a pretty good speed on pavement, and you still are on one wheel after all.
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A kid 2 or 3 yrs old shouting “Not two wheels, not two wheels”
One time, I came across a group of teenagers. One girl was very surprised and told her friends:
“Look! A bike with no wheels! Uhhhh…”
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I have been asked that a few times when I’m on my G36. Never had the question for my flick flock yet but I don’t have it out as much so maybe in time.
Just yesterday some called it a tricycle so they clearly see my other wheel(s). I have heard that comment more then once before too.
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I hear a lot of people calling tricycle to my unicycles too. Even my father uses tricycle instead of unicycle even thought he went to last unicon.
I’ve had a e-scooter rider ask his fellow e-scooter rider as they passed me , “is that an ebike?” as I rode past with my 28" unicycle. Maybe they did not expect a unicycle to be faster than what they are used to which are the usual 20" and below? Or it could be they never saw a unicycle with handlebars and lights and a bike computer before.
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I once heard someone on a bike talked to me when we were waiting at the red light: no wonder you are so fast, you have a motor there! To which I believe he was refering the Schlumpf hub.
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I had a little kid yell out “a ONE BIKE”
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Today while riding I passed by a woman walking her dog. She stopped, pointed at me, and said to the dog, “Look, a one-wheeled bike.” This didn’t surprise me. What surprised me was when the dog looked up at her and clearly responded, “Oh, honestly. Bikes have two wheels. That’s a unicycle you moron. Stop embarrassing me in public.”
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As much as I like reading the comments here…
I prefer them in the original topic so I can easily find them:
Yeah that’s a good point. Could be good to move those two over.
This thread would be fun to keep for electric related comments only. Probably should add electric or something else in the thread title to make it clearer