@deathcookies didn’t want to hijack the other thread. In general, I think I’m a pretty conservative rider and I know I don’t have a very large pool of experience relative to some of the riders on this forum but here are a few examples of how faster can be safer for my riding conditions. I’m sure others can provide their own experiences too.
Example 1
This is the shared lane on my shortest commute route - the yellow arrow is actually the designated bike lane. The safest speed to go is at the same speed or faster than the vehicle traffic primarily because of buses - the buses can’t go faster than the flow of traffic which is around 20mph. Buses pull into the bike lane very often to drop off and pick-up passengers, they also don’t check the lane when they’re stopping. If you’re not going fast enough the bus will continually overtake you and then pull out in front of you to stop which is dangerous – if you’re sandwiched between the bus and the parked cars you run the risk of getting hit by someone opening their car doors or pedestrians or by the bus itself.
You need speed to pass bikers and to carry yourself over cracks. When you’re riding behind bikers it’s hard to see potholes ahead and bikers don’t have to dodge potholes which you have to on a e-skateboard which is why I don’t like riding behind bikers. I was behind a biker and there was vehicular traffic so didn’t see the above pothole until it was too late to brake and ended up just hitting the throttle hoping the momentum would carry me over it. I thought I was going to eat it but I didn’t … the board made it over with a very loud popping noise and it was shitty going over this but I made it. If I was going slower or tried to brake I know I would have gotten slammed.
on the other hand you could’ve kept your distance behind the biker giving you enough time to react. but these potholes are really nasty. what I’m also worried about are flattened curbs that are flat enough for a bike to role over but not necessarily an Eboard. I thought maybe it helps in these situations to put your body weight on the rear foot, so the front wheel will have it easier to roll over.
I’m a conservative rider and I like to have distance when I can but that’s not always an option during rush hour. I was maintaining speed with other bikers on the bike-way when I hit this - there were bikers in front of me and behind me. During rush-hour the bike traffic is constant so if I slow down then bikers will just pass me and block my viewing distance anyway. They also get pissed off if you’re going to slow because it forces them out into the lane if they’re trying to pass.
Popping noise? What are you doing with my baby that board?
You’re right about the speed over stuff like that. Every time i get thrown over crap like that its because i’m going to slow. I discovered that even train tracks aren’t a problem if your going fast enough and you hit them at a slight angle.
I think it would be saver in rush hour traffic to have a setup with light offroad wheels, like the evolve, maybe a bit less bulky. they roll over everything and you didnt have to worry about going with the flow. Of course such board is not as portable, but if you dont need to use public transport it should be fine.
Lol - yeah, I winced when I heard it, sounded like a wooden bat being swung against concrete. She’s doing fine (with a name like Phat Matson I’m assuming it’s a girl) - just had to tighten up some bolts on the motor mount and I put on some 90mm wheels to help.
I go over a number of expansion joints and potholes daily. The trick is to approach with speed and do a little jump as you pass over. You don’t even need entirely lose contact with your board. Just enough to float over. Land with your front foot first. If your going fast enough, you can release the throttle as you go over, if your going slower, maintain your throttle to make sure your board gets pushed passed the gap. It takes a few times to build up the confidence to do it, but once you get the hang of it, it’s no biggie.
If the gap is uneven, the board will often times pop up while you’re going over. It looks like you’re doing a little ollie over the gap.
