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Idea

Skateboard stands in public buses

Image credit: Moduplay

Darko Savic

Darko Savic Mar 09, 2022

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Skateboards mounted on springs in public buses. A fun way to train your balance and skill while commuting.
Why?
A fun way to commute.
Balance and skill training.
Full body workout. Balancing is not easy on the legs, back and arms.
How it works
A skateboard without wheels is mounted on a short rigid spring. The rigidity of the spring makes it possible for the skater to lean and maintain balance. Yet the spring is too rigid for the board to tip over.
There are no safety belts or harnesses. The skateboard stands are not for everyone. They are to be used at your own risk. It is still safer to ride a fixed skateboard inside a bus than to slide down the stair rail:)
When we were kids, our town had these long buses with a "turntable" in the middle. Standing on the turntable was quite challenging during turns. The potholes in our roads made skating all that much fun:)

public transportation fun commuting

3

Creative contributions

Alternative design

Spook Louw

Spook Louw Mar 09, 2022

Have you tested a skateboard on a spring? I have not, so I don't know for sure, but I expect that it would either be extremely difficult or too easy, depending on the spring. This means that people who weigh more would have different experiences than those who weigh less. 
We used to build balancing boards by just putting a board on any cylindrical object that could support the weight, perhaps something similar to that could be used as an alternative design, instead of on a cylindrical shape, the board could be attached to a round bearing, allowing it to tilt in all directions.

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A safer design

Contrived _voice

Contrived _voice Mar 10, 2022

Spook Louw, I think I have a solution for you. 
If you're going to do something dangerous you might as well commit to it entirely.
Instead of one spring, you could put the board on one of those self-inflating balls and then tether it to the floor of the bus using helical springs with a high spring constant.
The board gets an extra plane of motion and it's also safer since inertial forces from the bus accelerating and decelerating won't fling you off the board, Instead, you'll just coast a little before the rear or front spring brings you to a controlled stop

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Straps to hold on to

Povilas S

Povilas S Mar 10, 2022

From my experience (both as an ex-skateboarder and hands-off bus rider) I'm pretty certain that it would be too unstable to stand on such a board while the bus moves. This is because it's complicated enough to even ride a bus for long without holding on to something if you're standing, so what to say about a board on a spring which is an additional level of instability.
You might manage to stand on such bord while the bus moves if the spring was tight enough, but then there's also a complication of being higher than the bus floor, so if you fall off the board, the impact would be way more damaging both for you and those around you than if you fell while riding the bus without holding on.
So I propose using straps to hold on to while being on the board. They'd hang from the bus ceiling and have handles to grab at different levels for people of different heights. It would still be fun, but way safer. In fact, it would very likely be more fun, because then you'd be able to stand on the board for long and softer springs providing more extreme movement could be used.

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General comments

Goran Radanovic

Goran Radanovic3 years ago

The additional challenge will be balancing as the bus turns corners. You also have to consider the safety aspect of people falling and hurting themselves and/or others. A padded cubicle that completely surrounds them could be a solution to that problem.

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Oguntola Tobi

Oguntola Tobi3 years ago

I laughed at this. Can you make buses like this already so I can use them?

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