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Greetings from Uniwheel Team


Eryk88

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Hello Everybody!

My name is Eryk and I am the Engineering Project Leader behind Uniwheel. I have spent the past two years building our team to help us deliver the best last mile personal transportation device. Our team has very high aspirations as we all come from very competitive and professional companies our aim is to change the EUC market and make it on par with the 21st century.

We are just about to finish our R&D activity on our first product, we know its limitations but we count on the support of the community to help us overcome those and create the product we all have dreamt of.

I would like to assure that all of our R&D team ride the uni at all possible times, I personally ride it to work daily [17km round trip], our lead mechanical engineer Kevin gave up walking over 8 months ago and always fights to get his wheel to ride home... as well as the other team members who are in charge of UI, Design and Accessories are all power users of the wheel!

We have a good idea what makes a good uni it just takes time to make sure it lives up to our high expectation level before we are ready to release it to public.

Thank you for your interest and we welcome your feedback

Eryk

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Eryk,

I think I speak for everyone in saying you, and your company, are very welcome on this forum.

Speaking for myself, as a keen Formula 1 fan I know just how good the engineering expertise is in the UK that Uniwheel have tapped into. So far there seems to be a hell of a lot to like about the Uniwheel (except the price!) 

One thing, and probably not your immediate area of concern, is that to have any hope of being successful the Luddite attitudes of governments to this technology have got to be changed. I can see, and applaud, what you are doing to improve the safety concerns, but it would also be good to hear if the company has plans to work on the rule makers as well?

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Good point @Keith, I saw a short interview with the BBC where it came across to me as, they want the laws to change but if not, they'll just sell them in other countries!
I hope (& I'm sure it is the case) this came about because of the editing & that there is some fight within the company to be (at least) close to the forefront of any campaign to move this country's archaic laws forward.
I'm sure there would be some willing help available from these forums & Facebook.

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4 hours ago, Keith said:

Eryk,

I think I speak for everyone in saying you, and your company, are very welcome on this forum.

Speaking for myself, as a keen Formula 1 fan I know just how good the engineering expertise is in the UK that Uniwheel have tapped into. So far there seems to be a hell of a lot to like about the Uniwheel (except the price!) 

One thing, and probably not your immediate area of concern, is that to have any hope of being successful the Luddite attitudes of governments to this technology have got to be changed. I can see, and applaud, what you are doing to improve the safety concerns, but it would also be good to hear if the company has plans to work on the rule makers as well?

Hi Keith,

Our official answer to this is:

" The law hasn’t change since 1835, we are working very hard to update the law to bring it in line with the 21st century and future personal transportation. We have influential supporters in government. Almost everyone in the team including myself ride it everyday and we rarely have any negative comments. People on the streets are usually amazed and quite positive about the wheels in general.

It's a natural process for every new technology really. It is similar to the issues Airbnb and Uber are going through; some countries are more conservative than others but it's progressing fast thanks to the wide public acceptance. We think the same will happen with the wheels.

"

We are working with several lobby groups and PR agencies and we have a several good leads that we are pursuing but as for now I can only advise to wait a bit for further announcements.

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Eryk,

Can you shed some light on the max power vs peak power thing?   Your wheel, like the original solowheel list power as 1500W.   Some people have been claiming that this can't really be sustained power since its twice as much as best other wheels on the market (Ninebot P and KS 800 and MCM4 all have 800W sustained).   I know that peak power on the solowheel (and presumably the uniwheel) is way more that 1500, probably more like 3000+. 

So, my question is, how some uniwheel and solowheel are able to produce/use 1500 motors where everyone else is stuck on 800?   Are we comparing apples to apples here?

cheers,

sam

Couple more quesstion:

1.  Will the uniwheel have firmware updates over time?    Will we need to send it back to your guys or will we be able to do it ourselves?

2. I've heard that the ride style of uniwheel is not very "stiff", just like the solowheel.  Will you be able to configure the ride still if (like almost everyone I've talked too) prefers a stiff riding style?

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  • 3 months later...
On 15. Jänner 2016 at 1:37 AM, Sam Clegg said:

Hi Eryk,

Can you shed some light on the max power vs peak power thing?   Your wheel, like the original solowheel list power as 1500W.   Some people have been claiming that this can't really be sustained power since its twice as much as best other wheels on the market (Ninebot P and KS 800 and MCM4 all have 800W sustained).   I know that peak power on the solowheel (and presumably the uniwheel) is way more that 1500, probably more like 3000+. 

That changed inbetween with others offering 1100 and 1500W sustained power rated motors ... The different battery technology used by uniwheel could be able to deliver this, also with quite "low" capacity values.

Definite manufacturer statements in regard to motor power measurement methods and battery "possibilities" over the whole capacity range would be very nice from ALL the manufacturers... but there is just quite much silence... There where already some efforts to get motor power rating in a normed replicable way - without any response. So it is quite unfair to ask this from one distinct manufacturer, on the other side it could be quite a marketing advantage if one starts to publish "sturdy/proofed" figures.

Imho no customer knows by now if the watts announced are (maximum per design thought/maximum possible) dissipated power, power at the axle *), effective power which drives one forward or just any fictive "house number" from the motor manufacturer...

*) could be quite no difference between power at the axle and what the wheel can "bring on the road" with EUCs- but this was/is imho quite some point (in the past?) with motorcycles, where some companies announced high power figures (from the motor axle) while some motorcycles whith much lower numbers (from the rear wheel) where much more performant...

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Ps: since i am now already with the topic of manufacturers announcements :ph34r:, definite statements about thermal managment (how long can sustained :) power be delivered and how long peak power at which ambient temperatures...) would be very nice from ALL manufacturers, too.

Pps.: ... I am already excited to see how much nice manufacterers are around here... :ph34r:

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  • 1 year later...
4 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

Found some videos from last year and 2015.  They are still taking preorders on their website.  :w00t2:

 

 

Nice TRON aesthetic but the specs and features are on par with the Ninebot C+ at nearly three times the price in 2015.

The video dismisses the whole concept as "a fun hobby or something to take to the park", but Engadget has never been a reputable tech site.

Sadly, I think this company missed the bus two years ago.

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Kind of reminds me of the IPS a130 turbo.  I think they just got a custom shell to put on some wheel that was already available.  The Turbo looks like a good wheel, the exposed tire looks good.  Maybe the Uniwheel company added some features, but didn't have enough people interested to make it a profitable enterprise.:huh:  Especially at the high price they were wanting.

https://www.ewheels.com/product/ips-a130-turbo-edition/

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I still remember their arrogant response when we all first started to suspect this was never coming. It was something along the lines of "this forum is only one of many mediums we operate on" or something etc etc etc.

Well ok.........except........your OWN FUCKING WEBSITE has zero updates and it's the year 2017 now. And yet they have the balls to keep the pre-order section alive and well.

Consummate bullshitters.

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  • 4 weeks later...
4 hours ago, Rider1289 said:

Hi all,

uniwheel is now available to buy ? & their website has been updated:

http://uniwheel.co.uk/

Well...... you could knock me down with a feather, there has been nothing on their Facebook page for 14 months, everything on their twitter page has timed out and gone, everyone (except us) seems to have forgotten it ever existed - and then they launch it - quietly. I don’t think I can quite get my head around it.

However I pressed the “buy” button on the above website and got a “this is a required field” error, since the only fields are the number and colour, which I selected (I even tried buying 2) it would appear that, in fact, it is impossible to buy despite what the website says? Perhaps @vladmarks can tell us more?

Oh and price is still £870 ($1158 or €978) for a 132Wh wheel, clearly intended for short range commutes but at 10.8kg with no trolley handle still a lot of weight to carry. It has always been an absolutely excellently engineered wheel which I would absolutely love to ride and report back on but I cannot help feeling things like the IPS I5 have overtaken it? I certainly could not bring myself to pay that sort of money for it! I wonder if anyone still had it on pre-order?

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17 minutes ago, Keith said:

However I pressed the “buy” button on the above website and got a “this is a required field” error, since the only fields are the number and colour, which I selected (I even tried buying 2) it would appear that, in fact, it is impossible to buy despite what the website says? Perhaps @vladmarks can tell us more?

 

I think they have the green only. Clicking on the green circle solved the this is a required field. Here the website is slow probably because of some Google stuff that is blocked here

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Also using the most powerful, durable and safe LiFe cells (A123) able to fast charge and with a flat discharge curve from 100% to 90% in a removable battery. 

It might be the only wheel able to take the plane. At least it is the only one really answering to safety standards. 

Edit : 20 000 cycles test. A123 cells are the only ones deserving the "green" medal

http://www.a123systems.com/Cycle-Life-Testing-The-Lithium-Ion-Battery-Ultramarathon.htm

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31 minutes ago, jbwheel said:

Also using the most powerful, durable and safe LiFe cells (A123) able to fast charge and with a flat discharge curve from 100% to 90% in a removable battery. 

It might be the only wheel able to take the plane. At least it is the only one really answering to safety standards. 

I think, or at least hope, you mean from 100% to 10% as 100% to 90% ain’t nothing to write home about ?. Mind you 6 miles range even when you can fully use 90% of the battery ain’t nothing to write home about on a €1000 wheel either.

Whilst it might be the only EUC that can safely be carried on a plane, more than a few people on this forum have found some airlines are very happy to tell the EUC owner to get stuffed even if the battery is entirely removed and sent separately by surface mail. I’m more than slightly surprised that the Uniwheel airline letter they have produced for anyone travelling with one says it has a Lithium Ion battery instead of a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery. As it is quite specifically LiIon batteries the airlines don’t want to carry.

If only we could develop an EUC with Methanol fuel cells, getting Methanol at destination ought to be a damn sight easier than trying to carry big batteries on a scheduled airline. (Not to mention being able to top up at anytime whilst riding!)

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i know that the following opinion some will find destructive..or harsh..but i cant help myself:

We are not far away from 2018! Who is interested to pay about a 1000bucks for a 132wh wheel? Even if its battery makes it "worth" a 200wh battery? When i remember it correctly the max speed of uniwheel was about 20kmh...perhaps a bit faster, but even 2 years ago this was getting kind of to slow, nowadays its just the winner of slowest wheels! With the mten3, the i5 or even bigger wheels like ks14d, v5f, v8 we have competitors that are far better? 16inch wheel, no trolley option? really?

for the airplane ability, 90% of all airlines have forbidden ALL kind of self balancing vehicles, no matter what battery size. So this last valid argument also isnt existing anymore.....Other than that there is  a reason why no producer is using 123 cells/lifepo4 anymore. it is the terrible amount of energy per kg.

 

ok, if i would have a collection of 5-8 unicycles at home, just for fun i would like to have a uniwheel, too! As collectors item :-) But other than that?

my 2 cents.....

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1 hour ago, Keith said:

I think, or at least hope, you mean from 100% to 10% as 100% to 90% ain’t nothing to write home about ?. Mind you 6 miles range even when you can fully use 90% of the battery ain’t nothing to write home about on a €1000 wheel either.

Right, 100% to 10% but with the same behavior from the beginning till the end. 

 Judging by the numbers the Uniwheel has the weight of a Mten3 with the power of a Tesla, the comfort of a 16" in a very thin-compact design. 

Obviously, this is a wheel for London city (all wheels forbidden so far ?) which might be good for European cities... Speed of 22 so not far from the 25 limit (ebike limit for example, "useable" Mten3 and i5 limit), small range (easily extendable in the actual model or a future one), redundancy might be required by regulations. 

Also you could theoretically keep the wheel for at least 5 years (as a consequence cheaper). Who would do that ? Maybe people with green or political motivations (not happy with the Chinese digging more into Tibet for their lithium for example...). 

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