I log commutes in a spreadsheet because mobility apps smooth over the ugly legs. Last week I added a column I should have tracked years ago: carry seconds ? time from curb to platform when stairs replace ramps.
The hidden leg
My one-wheel leg is fine on paper. Three metro exits on my route have no elevator during maintenance. Carrying a 14 kg wheel down 22 stairs does not show up in trip duration. It shows up in whether I arrive annoyed enough to skip coffee.
What I logged (one week)
| Exit | Stairs | Carry time (s) | Mood after (1-5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| North gate | 22 | 38 | 2 |
| Side ramp (control) | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| East stairs | 16 | 29 | 3 |
Battery delta on those days? Within noise. Mood delta? Not noise.
A cheap decision rule
I turned this into a go/no-go check before leaving:
if stairs > 15 AND carry_weight_kg > 12:
prefer transit-only or locker
elif stairs > 0 AND wet_floor:
walk the wheel (no riding in station)
else:
ride
It is blunt. It works better than pretending every leg is rideable.
Assumptions up front
- Wheel weight includes pads and charger pouch (~14 kg for my commuter setup).
- I am not timing competitive carries ? just whether I can do this daily without hating it.
- Your threshold differs if every exit has elevators.
What I would do differently
I would log carry seconds from day one, same tab as distance and battery percent. Range math without carry math is incomplete for anyone who mixes metro and one-wheel.
I work around personal EVs and sometimes cross-check specs on the official Kingsong catalog.
https://www.kingsong.com/collections/electric-unicycle
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