Why single-caster skates are Easy

[@sokudonkalitrex1598]

And this year's "Most Novel Way to Injure Your Knees" award goes to .... Jet Engine Stilt Skates!

[@eminstinct4114]

ok that got me

[@U014B]

He certainly is a Certified Innovator.

[@vivianchang6802]

Yes

[@irri4662]

Airbags not included

[@Francois_Dupont]

i was about to comment this: it look like an ingenious way to brake your leg.

[@gicknardner]

I appreciate you going through the effort of building these rather than just buying them directly from ACME

[@Jeremy.Bearemy]

Meep meep

[@cyruspalmer98]

That's a great comment 😂 👏

[@johan6983]

Those only came rocket powered.. bit overkill.

[@a-swizzle8846]

giggled at this comment bravo

[@jerbear7952]

So good

[@frostymoments]

"I need a block of wood to stop the caster from moving... so I printed a couple." When all you have is one glorious hammer... :) So impressed with the work James does.

[@l3urnell]

"I need a rectangle with some holes in it, so I busted out the cnc and cut it out of the middle of the sheet."

[@bermchasin]

and then proceeded to saw it to the correct dimensions.

[@NUeB_net]

09:10 The stability effect you're experiencing is called trail. It's like when you let a normal bicycle roll on it's own (or ride w/o hands on the handlebar) - when the bike leans to one side, front wheel PLUS fork steer and bike goes back in a stable position… as long as it's fast enough.

[@DrWhom]

the Dutch use the verb sporen which means following a trail

[@Jesayou]

Same thing for vehicles when you let go of the wheel and it centers its self caster is a fun adjustment

[@DnB-BMX]

This!!

[@bentsprockettech]

That is probably the scariest, most hyper complicated skate arrangement I have ever seen sir. Awesome! Thanks for sharing this one with us. :)

[@alanrice8614]

I learned to ride a unicycle by holding on to a shopping cart. It keeps you steady and upright while you learn to use your body and feet to balance and steer. It might also help with learning to use those leg-breakers. :)

[@DeetotheDubs]

I've always wanted to learn how to ride a unicycle. I'll have to keep your advice in mind should I ever get the chance.

[@Amanda-C.]

You'd want a small, light, maneuverable cart that's very open in the back so you're not banging your knees or the uni wheel into it and you don't have a hard time keeping it aligned with you. And not for any wheel bigger than a 12-inch, or you'd never find an ordinary shopping cart with enough room for the wheel. Also, how old were you? Were you at your full height? I don't have my old 12-incher anymore, but unicycles don't usually position you very low to the ground. I feel like, at my current size, the handle would end up about mid-torso, at which point any fall would dump me headfirst into the basket...

[@derjansan9564]

I really hope we will see an update on the caster scooter with the caster wheel mounted in an angle the same way you did in this project. I think this should work much better than your previous attempt.

[@revimfadli4666]

Yes!

[@ratman6417]

definitely!

[@zardozspeakshs1111]

that clip from Braille skateboarding.... seems like it'd be a natural collab project between the two of you. You've got insane sports gear, they've got a professional skate park and pro skaters. They have a series of vids where people send in crazy skateboards made in bizarre and stupid ways and they try to skate with them.

[@jacobe2995]

well as long as they have the paperwork to free him from any liability of injury then heck yeah!

[@kinnikunky]

heck yea!!! we need James to start sending gear to Braille!!

[@Excludos]

@@jacobe2995 With the amount of sketchy things they do, I'm assuming they have piles of it at the ready

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

They fell off hard years ago. After Fetty turned out to be a predator and Carlos left it seemed like everything went downhill. Maybe I'm just an old man who doesn't like change, but it really didn't feel the same anymore

[@jjeshop]

The church of scientology won't allow Aaron to travel all the way to the UK.

[@bornach]

I never in a million years would have thought that could be made to work as well as you've demonstrated here. Astounding proof of concept!

[@tombuster]

Gosh, at 7:50 these look tailor-made for hurting your legs in the worst ways imaginable! I'm also surprised you managed not to gauge a nasty scratch in your car! Honestly, though it's very impressive how far you actually rode those rip-skates, I can't imagine turning or riding like that being used to usual skateboards and ripboards

[@irri4662]

Only one pair of pants were hurt in the making of this video

[@ChristianBehnke]

Trousers. 😂

[@officer_baitlyn]

​@@ChristianBehnkejeans

[@irri4662]

Pantaloons. 🤣

[@NewsRedial]

At 07:35 did you consider connected the two skates with a bungie cord to avoid leg splay? Could be attached at the shin brace level to prevent the cord from getting tangled in the wheels when your feet are close together.

[@jerredshifflett6287]

word of advice for riding anything perpendicular to our body's symmetry . Keep you hips and knees slightly bent. I used to keep myself upright like a tree when riding stuff. Your whole body will fall over at once when you are standing up right. Make sure you know where the humans center of gravity is and how to manage it when getting in a good riding stance. I really love your channel and you have inspired my own robotics projects. I found the issue with mass when making scaled down version of a suspension design. Engineering is especially fun in that regard.

[@greggv8]

Years ago I saw some odd skates in an old magazine. Two children rolling along on one wheel skates. Each foot had a single large wheel on the outer side. There was a rod or platform to support the foot and a rod up the outside of the lower leg, strapped to the leg. The wheels looked to be at least 6" diameter.

[@Zed_Oud]

So a revisit of the 1000W Caster Scooter with the 30 degree incline?

[@Atmos_Glitch]

My man's just discovering how a bike works, without discovering how a bike works in this video lol...

[@ionbusman2086]

I love my free skates! They’re quite hard but once you get it, you never forget… and the feeling is awesome with 100% control.

[@ARockRaider]

i love how every stage of this project looks more dangerous then the last.

[@caardappel]

This video escalated amazingly! Also, it made my knees, ankles, groin, and tailbone ache in sympathy for you, but that might be age talking. Great work on this one, lots of fun!

[@zernofoo345]

I really want to try this. How confident are you on a ripstick? Perhaps using the same technique as a ripstick will allow more control with more speed

[@freescape08]

Yeah, about that propulsion thing... the original ripstick already solved that,and it made it more compact by connecting the paddles together instead of to your leg.

[@anonymous5405]

I appreciate you going through the effort of building these rather than just learning to use normal free skates

[@TheDutchMagicTeacher]

10 or so years ago i had a waveboard, which seems similar to what you have except the two pieces were connected to each other. So maybe what i remember from that can help you here, to steer, you push your back foot in the opposite direction, not verry far, just about a foot or so, obviously, the further you push that foot, the smaller your turning radius. To gain momentum you would basically steer left to right continuously in quick succession. Hope it helps!

[@Xaaaach]

Oh, so a Ripstick?

[@TheDutchMagicTeacher]

@@Xaaaach yes, that seems to be the same sort of thing

[@8epic819]

Dang thats crazy James! You experimented a lot and really explored that field and came up with an interesting solution!

[@bphater31]

It took me a week to ride the freeskates. In some way it's similar to snowboarding. But freebord is the most similar. Anyway... Can you make a 4 caster wheels on an angle but wheel position like a skateboard?

[@victorro8760]

You tilt your ankles in opposite directions to steer on a ripstik. You can't do that with your cut off ripstik since they're strapped to your legs. You could get around this by putting a hinge or something where the strut attaches to the board.

[@anonymous5405]

I appreciate you going through the effort of building these instead of just learning to use normal free skates

[@Gabe_Altier]

What an incredible way to showcase the freeskates! Awesome video James!!

[@chrisblake4198]

Steering solution- look at the Rip stick for inspiration again, and make your lead wheel fixed instead of a caster. May make starting harder, but will work as a guide wheel when you twist or lean over it, once you're going.

[@cavemaneca]

I don't know what kind you've ridden, but the only ones I've seen have a rotating caster in the front as well.

[@tubbymitchek]

In theory you should be able to translate your feet(as it would be sideways) and by design you should move forward. With forward momentum, the back and forth motion of the casters would propel you forward I would think. Add in the fans and even more speed.

[@one-man-band]

The way the "rip-stick" worked was by allowing you to rotate your hips to steer around your leading foot. So to make a left turn, i lead with my left foot then rotate my hips so that the back right foot swings from behind, redirecting my forward foot. The way it propelled was by allowing you to essentially rotate your hips to 'push' off the ground. Like self propelled snowboarding, you steer with your propulsion. Since your propulsion was essentially staticly oriented, you never had a way to control.

[@truejim]

9:35 It’s also like a bicycle, true? If you’re falling one way on a bike, the angled front fork passively turns the front wheel into the fall, so the forward momentum gets the bike’s wheels under the center of mass again.

[@muxpux]

I bought a summerboard. It’s a skateboard with castor wheels under it. Rides like a snowboard. Took a while to learn, but now that I can ride it well, you essentially ride on the castors. It’s super fun.

[@CandC68]

When the only way to stop is: Crash or fall, I consider that a warning. So brakes must be added. When the only physical result is: exhaustion: A rest item must be added (seat). When the only apparent steering used is just to keep going straight, and not fall: A steering mod is needed. Congratz, you have reinvented a mini--bike. BTW I loved the attempt, and excellent video. But you do need a support team, including a medic.

[@evanrhildreth]

With the foot straps and leg brace, you essentially recreated a boot - you could have started with a pair of in-line skates.

[@xaytana]

I remember coming across free skating over a decade ago when the trend at the time was a hubless wheel that when around your foot. I wonder if there's a decent way to turn those into a pivoted castor to adapt their design to this kind of design. With the much larger contact patch, and the other benefits hubless could provide, it seems like a good combination.

[@quentinreid3111]

i was really thrown when you started making jet propulsion for the caster skates. It didnt seem necessary to me seeing how rip-sticks are propelled manually from swiveling your hips and legs. I would assume that while more difficult, the same principals would apply to the independent skates on each foot.

[@shizbyrc8438]

You fall more safely than I ever could, sir.

[@quintonschellenberg575]

Keep at the free skates, they're really fun! It took me just a few days to stay upright, and then a week to get going on flat ground. You'll really notice your legs getting stronger in ways you've never considered.

[@jimysk8er]

just a reminder that with roller blades you make pivoting your feet easier by transferring your weight onto fewer wheels to unload friction and retransfer the load to apply friction to turn. in reality its more of a balancing act between the two. the saving grace is that you have the option of always having two stable wheels to rest on an some limits to movement. the rip stick works because the distance between the pivot points of the casters is fixed. the amazon skate things always have at least two wheels touching the ground and your side to side movement is restricted. these all somewhat act like a sailboat where the keel restricts the tilting movement thus transferring the forces into the direction where it has freedom to move.

[@SaperPl1]

I'm pretty sure business-oriented dentists approve of those types of locomotion :D

[@pseudotasuki]

I think you might be able to turn by shifting your weight. If you put mere weight on your left leg, your left knee will bend, tilting the front castor right and therefore turning right. The opposite would turn the rear costor right, causing you to turn left.

[@mckenziekeith7434]

If it is like the ripstick you turn by angling your feet in different directions. Lead foot leans into the turn (like a skateboard) and trailing foot leans away from the turn (opposite of a skateboard).

[@Komeuppance]

Looking forward to a self balancing free skate robot!

[@Dolmeca_the_Knight]

His sonic the hedgehog robot was a self balancing skate robot.

[@Robotron-zg6mf]

Skatotron 2023

[@matteomascaropennacchi2220]

Could you make a Jet fighter based on this rollers please?

[@Dogburt_Junior]

So there are electric freeskates out there. The brand I've seen the most is Summer board. They have powered castor motors. I wonder if throwing those on with a VESC would do the trick.

[@minecrafter0505]

I thought it would be impossible to cut a Waveboard (board with two inline casters) in half and drive around, but apparently, I'm wrong.

[@justinsmall756]

have you thought about feet that retracked up when starting or stoping or when you want to walk the feet drop down giving you a way to stand and walk could even add small wheels to the feet so you can start moving with them down and they pop up while your moving

[@Leftysrev3nge]

Now that you figured out the Ripstick skates use an angle to keep the casters pointing in a very helpful forward direction, would that work for your caster scooter, which you mounted flat to the board?

[@DevinDTV]

i was pretty confused why you immobilized it which defeated the whole purpose of caster, which is self-correction of tilt. if you tilt to the right, the wheel turns to the right.

[@mistermagnifico]

The surface on the ground changes too. The kitchen is smooth and the carpet offers more friction which helps

[@EpicATrain]

Where did you get that EDF?

[@zacwolf2]

Did you try the double wheels but using the swivel? I bet you could also add a second wheel axle that is connected via a very strong spring, but with an axle block at the top so the wheel doesn't catch on the deck.

[@jackpaxton9391]

What I don’t understand about the split skate board thing in the beginning is how do you regain velocity? With a regular skate board you can use one foot to push off but you can with the split board because then it will leave you…

[@tylerm124]

You cant steer because to steer on casters you have to tip onto your toe on one board and tip to your heel on the other. The leg braces make it essentially impossible to do that. If the braces had a pivot point with likes tromg springs to make it eant to stay cemtered except when you want to steer might work

What is the point to have rotary casters when you are constraining them to just one axis. Why not getting rollerblades with just one wheel.

[@prostytroll]

Do you think that 3D printing every bit of crap like those block for fixing "ski" poles is a good engineering?

[@annoyingneighbor4928]

Was there a center of mass issue causing the turbines to be mounted on the same side?

[@Dysiode]

I will say, I own a pair of largely unused Freeline skates, and the freeskates you have have much more boxy wheels. The JMKRide freeskates have an even more rounded profile than their original design which I think helps considerably with turning. You also DO tilt your ankles a lot to turn on freeskates, it's not just yaw, which is why I think the square wheel geometry is hurting you

[@asdfghyter]

are you able to speed up on your own by wiggling your legs back and forth? it’s pretty easy to do that on a ribskate, so i’m expecting it to work similarly on these

[@BewbsOP]

11:55 I dont think there *is* a way to steer. Those casters are basically gonna keep you going in whichever direction you have the most momentum, and rotating the boards arent gonna rotate the casters. If you rotated both casters, you could angle yourself, but turning in a totally different direction would require you to cancel some of your forward momentum and redirect it, which isnt quite possible with the current build unless you rotate your body entirely. Maybe having the inverted propulsion to slow and the ability to rotate the back propulsion for steering would be an option.

[@stormtroopr1977]

you could steer like a RWD car? put both propellors on the trailing foot and swap out your leading foot for the wheels on the original?

[@arcanealchemist3190]

it was interesting to see james slowly approach a ripstick. like you could probably edit a ripstick underneath him in the final footage and his movements wouldnt be far off. the funniest part is you could for sure go faster on one, with no engines.

[@aerolus]

i had a ripstick as a kid and it sucks because theres no way to slow down and maintain stability

[@Leviweyhrich]

So what happens if you have one wheel on a caster and one wheel that is solid

[@battlebong869]

Has anyone made a hub motor work in a caster wheel?

[@djdt_614]

Fun project! You should try moving under your own power like the ripstick which is very similar to what you have except the two platforms are connected by a single axle. On the ripstick you twist your hips back and forth which sends your feet forward and backward. The wheels draw a cross cross S shape on the ground as you propel forward.

[@Yosser70]

James seems like the least daredevil person but does some proper sketchy stuff 😂

[@mckenziekeith7434]

It seems really similar to a ripstick, except that they are not joined together. I wonder if someone adept at ripstick would be able to do it? Or does the lack of connection between the feet make it totally different? The amount of time you spent, from what I can tell, would not be enough to learn how to get around on a ripstick. It takes a while to figure out how it works. Especially with nobody to tell you how to do it.

[@chrissugg968]

I love how it just gets bigger and bigger and sillier and sillier as the video goes on.

[@Alphoric]

What about using something like ski poles to gain momentum and add stability

[@lasskinn474]

I don't get it why the freeskates wouldn't have straps or something. I guess that would make it a different sport/product, but seems like that would just make it so much better, sideways rollerskates

[@KaitouKaiju]

It's not exactly "free" if it's strapped to your foot

[@gildedbear5355]

From what I've seen, the ability to bail by just stepping off is handy when things start to go wrong. Also, insane tricks.

[@lasskinn474]

@@gildedbear5355 well yeah but you wouldn't need to bail, but also then again it would just be sideways rollerskates as far as the difficulty goes if you could relocate your feet with the device still attached and able to place it back on the ground where you want it's not like they're made for practicality in the first place

[@larryzeno7133]

I have an invention I need help with. Trying to figure patent process out is difficult.

[@snowdragon1213]

how do you make a skateboard with "a varying amount of wheels between 4 and 5"¿¿¿???

[@VarionJimmy]

I’ve realised that the most important thing to get used to is falling. Then you know how to do it without getting (much) hurt. But the parking lot at the end.. what a scary surface! Looks like a grader. 😳

[@Missile_Crab]

Would actually love to see a caneskate; Like a pole with a single skate on it that allows the entire thing to fold up and telescope into a small package. (Perhaps even a motorized version)

[@tenchuu007]

The best part about this solution is the practicality.

[@TXHEN1]

You can steer trust me. Well maybe not you, this type of things dont suite you too much but anyone with just a bit of over the normal balance could.

[@TheRealAlpha2]

I'd say go back and watch some of those Braille skateboarding videos, after two tor three episodes of them falling on their butts learning rips-skates and free-skates you almost absorb the understanding like Neo in the Matrix learning kung-fu. Granted, I think for either of these you need strong legs, but still impressive that you basically made electric ripskates out of necessity.

[@zefellowbud5970]

what if you tried leaning forwards and back while accelerating with that?

[@eekee6034]

Interesting to see RealVNC advertising. :) In the past, I used VNC extensively as a disability aid, allowing me to lay down or sit up as needed without changing what I was doing. Had to give it up because using a laptop in bed was killing my neck. Touchscreens were better for me, but all of the software I used was absolutely terrible on touchscreen. I kind-of should have adapted that one self-compiling IDE-compiler I was using, but wasn't happy with its coding language. A Raspberry Pi wouldn't be a suitable component of the system anyway.

[@dafoex]

One thing i've wondered for a while is if you could have self balancing skates like Segway shoes or Boston Dynamics's Handle but on a human. One wheel on each foot, each actively tries to stay upright, some throttle control to either move them both together or control them independently, steering would be done by leaning, speeding up one wheel, or probably both. Never done more than just think about it, not tried to make it or anything, but it was a thought nonetheless.

[@sgsax]

"Let's take something easy to use like skates and make it harder! Also add jet turbines!" 😂 Absolute madman. Ridiculous fun. Thanks for sharing!

[@aserta]

Whatever else... kudos for putting yourself through that torment. I used to be a pretty good skateboarder, i'd probably be now, the old guy who wipes out trying to show the kids a cool trick, but when i first tried freeliners, i fell over several times until the guy who borrowed the set told me the secret. You need to forget about them being skateboards or skates. They're neither. It's less about continuation of motion (which is the core element of those two) and more about static balance that allows you to move in a direction. It's like that trike that was popular for a couple of years many moons ago, the one where you'd lean left (which would twist the trike body) then lean right, then left, then right and that would create a forward motion. It's similar in that respect. You're using your static balance to create motion.

[@JeffreyBNL]

Have you also looked at something designed like a waveboard, that's something we used to play with when I was younger.

[@JeffreyBNL]

Looks a lot like what you are doing now but has both connected by a rod which allows for turning and speeding up

[@Alluklappleiter]

Using only one fixed wheel could solve the steering problem. And I would preffer an short rubberband-ish connection between the two wheels just to prevent some kind of injuries.

[@actionmarco8556]

I was thinking the same, just one fixed wheel.

[@actionmarco8556]

but no, the rubberband makes it more sketchy, I would say. But then, I'm a freeskater, so I am used to the skates being separated.

[@Rax1145]

seems very similar to a wave board, which i think also uses casters for its wheels.

[@johns1307]

The fans kind of miss the point of the casters. if you move them opposite directions (watch a caster board, its why it twists in the middle) the wheels want to correct themselves to return upright as you described, which gives you a jolt along the axis perpendicular to the twisting motion. You just need to move your feet forwards and back almost like you are walking and you will gain momentum to the side

[@hydroweight4085]

Would EDF used with a ReWalk (exo skeleton) help people with disabilities walk without needing to use their arms?

[@ohsteeev]

I feel like these would work better with the caster mount at the toes, ridden like you would rollerblades.

[@Lucien86]

Do you know how many people have tried to invent new kinds of skate? It must be in the hundreds.. It is actually very difficult.

[@bebopBiGsHoT]

Free skates are cool because just how compact they are. No straps , just step on and go , amazing simple design.. When I first saw them I knew I had to get some.

[@thePavuk]

It's like "Hmm, I'm in mood like... I wanna totally break my legs and may be few other bones... like in funny way, and make it original."

[@kestans]

what if add a rubber strap in between so to keep it both legs not go apart so easy

[@S0UPIE]

I was really surprised to see a Braille Skateboarding reference here. I just bought my first skateboard from them and have been practicing for a few days now.

[@arrchan1023]

I have an idea of a walking robot but I'm not sure if it's going to work or it supposed to work. But I would like to to try it. I would be delighted if you consider my idea of this one because I really love watching you build these robots and stuffs.

[@kniffin719]

Try a Ripstik/caster board before free skating. It gives you a good understanding of the propulsion system.

[@everythingdigital1]

I have a cheaper set of freeskates the wheel material is better suited for indoor floors or sidewalks then road asphalt. Your ability to turn them but your foot slipping out that is probably why. I would find a better surface or get a better pair of skates. I have not tried to re-grip mine yet but I imagine doing that then getting more pro model wheels would let me take them on roads and hill bomb which is what they were originally made for... Another thing to learn fast is move one foot ignore the other it will help you learn faster once one foot gets you moving start to then do the same with the other.

[@jwsmite]

I've got an idea for a future project, how about fractal suspension? Like those fractal clamps, I saw someone made a fractal chair too, seems like it could be good for a rover concept

[@leonardodelpuertoburk2439]

These seem like a great way to test wether your knee will break before your ankle snaps or not.

[@TLCBB]

can you do a tip video for a RC robot parts because I would like to build a RC robot one day and its going to be a RC robot from the movie real steel

[@Moogagot]

This is the most over-engineered grip tape I've ever seen.