hyiu00 Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Just bought it from Taobao two days ago. Might be used like a wheelchair for the elderly who gets tired of walking. It can also be used as a walking stick that always stands upright. Pro: It is easy to learn. It is easy to control with seat, but suggest not to go too fast as acceleration and deceleration takes a while. In order to stop fast, I really have to use my legs to stand up so my center of gravity is quicky shifted backward. This car can be easily dragged along when it is off, so it is quite convenient to take it around. It is only 503mm wide, and is more narrow than the Ninebot Mini. It has 8 inch wheels, which is good for all indoor use and most outdoor use with flat surface. There are no headlights which is a good thing for me. Going up and down 10 degree slopes are quite smooth. Con: It can only be turned on with the supplied remote control. It is easy for me to forget to switch off the main switch which could drain out battery. The pressure sensor does not turn on the unit, but it can keep the unit from turning off. Chargning the battery needs to follow some exact complicated steps, which involve disconnecting and reconnecting the wall plug. Seems all these are for safety reasons, but it is actually making it less convenient to use. The user manual is only in Chinese for now. The user manual is lacking a lot of information. The seat is too high for my use, even at the lowest setting. I cannot connect bluetooth when it is at power standby while the motor is off. The bluetooth app has a setting to set the speed limit from 6 to 17 km/h, but I cannot get it to work and it is only fixed at 15km/h. The provided wrench is useless as it will not fit into the narrow area, I have to use my own tool. The screws for the seat become loose after a few ride. Recommend to add screw glue to secure the screws. It cannot be steered without the seat. Removing the seat for storage is not recommended as it involves disconnecting the sensor wire which seems not designed to be plug and unplug many times. If the sensor wire is disconnected, it will treat as if pressure is always applied, which might be considered as less safe since it will start rolling backward all by itself without a rider, as soon as you press the remote. Riding on a standing posture is not as natural as the Ninebot Mini as you do not naturally shift the center of gravity during turns. I think this vehicle is designed mainly to ride in a seating posture. I think Airwheel should give a complete test report for the condition when the battery is about to go out. This really imapct the usefulness of this vehicle. I do not want to be the one to test this as I do not want to hurt my butt, so I always make sure the battery is quite full when I use it. Ideally the battery should go out gracefully in all conditions and give enough warning to the rider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 It would be quite dangerous for the elderly in case they ride this things then gets off balanced or the power cuts off which is basically the same thing with hoverboards. The safest mobility devices for the elderly are the ones with 4 wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyiu00 Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 It will be just as dangerous for anyone if the power is suddenly off for these kind of self-balanced vehicle. This is why I still prefer to go with a electric scooter than any of these for any serious outdoor, rough roads, or hillclimbing use. Besides, the efficiency of a electric scooter is better as you can get better milage for the same battery size. I think these kind of self-balancing vehicle is only best on flat surface such as at home, in the back yard, or in shopping malls (if they were not prohibited). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I have a very good electric scooter. It carried me together with my son before during long park rides but it is now seldom used since each one in the family rides his/her own EUC which is much more fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jie Janet Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 22 hours ago, SlowMo said: I have a very good electric scooter. It carried me together with my son before during long park rides but it is now seldom used since each one in the family rides his/her own EUC which is much more fun. which EUC you get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyiu00 Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 For me, I am using the Speedway II with a 13Ah battery. The 48V 500W motor is supposed to go up to 45 km/h on leveled road, but I mainly want it to go uphill. It is still not enough to carry me up a 15 degree hill with my 85kg weight. But after I changed it to a geared motor, it works wonderfully well. It is a 48V, 350W, 35Nm torque motor. It can easily go up 15 degree hill at my weight at about 13km/h. On leveled road, it can still deliver 27 km/h which is good enough for me. Now calculate the required power: 85 x 9.81 x 13000 x sin(15) / 3600 = 780W, which is already over the spec of the geared motor of 350W. But I can still ride it continuously uphill for half an hour without burning the motor. This shop is just wonderful for those who would like to swap their motor: http://world.taobao.com/item/520048127974.htm?fromSite=main&spm=a312a.7700824.w4002-9476868345.42.IwIy4P http://world.taobao.com/item/524536226414.htm?fromSite=main&spm=a312a.7700824.w4002-9476868345.23.VuTFpl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisny Abby Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 33 minutes ago, hyiu00 said: For me, I am using the Speedway II. I mainly want it to go uphill. The 48V 500W motor is still not enough to carry me up a 15 degree hill with my 85kg weight. But after I changed it to a geared motor, it works wonderfully well. It is a 48V, 350W, 35Nm torque motor. It can easily go up 15 degree hill at my weight at about 13kmph. Calculate the energy: 85 x 9.81 x 13000 x sin(15) / 3600 = 780W, which is already over the spec of the geared motor of 350W. But I can still ride it continuously uphill for half an hour without burning the motor. this scooter like airwheel Z3, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I also have a speedway. It can carry me and my son with a combined weight of 105kgs on long trips. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bicycle-light-electric-bicycle-light-electric-skateboards-light-flashlight/32337237558.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyiu00 Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 29 minutes ago, Lisny Abby said: this scooter like airwheel Z3, isn't it? The Z3 seems good, but I doubt it can do serious hill climbing. For now I cannot find a scooter less than 20kg but can go uphill as mine. 29 minutes ago, SlowMo said: I also have a speedway. It can carry me and my son with a combined weight of 105kgs on long trips. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bicycle-light-electric-bicycle-light-electric-skateboards-light-flashlight/32337237558.html This seems to be the new lighter one with 8 inch wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dauy Alice Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 19 hours ago, SlowMo said: I also have a speedway. It can carry me and my son with a combined weight of 105kgs on long trips. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bicycle-light-electric-bicycle-light-electric-skateboards-light-flashlight/32337237558.html wow, 105kg. seems cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hari Jaganathan Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 Do you need to keep moving when you are siting on the airwheel s6? Are u able to sit on it without any movement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyiu00 Posted February 28, 2016 Author Share Posted February 28, 2016 On 2016-02-28 at 8:55 PM, Hari Jaganathan said: Do you need to keep moving when you are siting on the airwheel s6? Are u able to sit on it without any movement? If you just go straight at constant speed, there is no need to move your body. But if you turn left, turn right, stopping, or accelerating, then you use your body (and of course you legs to keep your body in that position). Basically it means that you use your body as a steering wheel, as brake, and as gas pedal. So your waist still need to be quite strong. So it is not completely true as a wheelchair replacement for senior or disabled person. You can imagine that the S6 is an office chair. You lean forward to move forward, lean backward to move backward, rotate the chair left to turn left, and rotate the chair right to turn right. This movement is quite natural when riding in a seated posture as compared to riding in a standing posture, since you really have to use your knee while standing up in order to push the seat to rotate it. But I am quite amazed of the seat steering control as the tiny 2-3 degrees of seat rotation converts to many steps of turning, and the seat is quite rigid with almost no noticeable laterial movement. I also recommend that Airwheel should make a "park N charge" docking for the S6. For now, to use the S6 as a stationary seat already consumes 5 to 10W, so a "park N charge" docking can keep it upright as a normal seat forever. This is especially useful for the lazy office lady who can do her office work without ever leaving her seat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyiu00 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 If Airwheel can make something like this and sell it at low price, it would be great! Hyundai also just announced that they planned to R&D on similar items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyiu00 Posted March 19, 2016 Author Share Posted March 19, 2016 I just ran more road test on the S6. It can handle most pavement road condition quite well. I even ran it over car bumps, but with very slow speed. I can go up and down 10 degree hills easily with considerable speed. Going downhill recharges the battery. I wonder that if the battery is already full, will the vehicle overheat if it continues to go downhill. Airwheel should test this also. The thing is as the seat is pointing only upward, any bumpy or slant road will sway the seat left or right. In order to balance it, I really have to swing the upper part of my body hard to the other direction. Another problem is that there is very little or no shock absorption designed into the seat, and the wheels are not the air inflated type, my butt really hurts after riding on bumpy road for half an hour or so. I finally managed to set the speed limit of this vehicle. I have to set it at the beginning before I put pressure on the saddle. The speed limit is not saved and so I have to set it before each ride. I think setting the speed limit is very important as there is a tendency to go faster and faster once I get used to handling the vehicle, and just like a kid learning to ride a bicycle, that is usually the time when accident happens. Compared to the other self-balance vehicle which rides in a standing posture, riding in a seated posture feels like I can safely go faster since the center of gravity is lower. I really do not like the look of this S6 picture as it is hard to see what his hands are doing, but holding the seat this way really makes it easier to control the vehicle in making turns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyiu00 Posted March 30, 2016 Author Share Posted March 30, 2016 There is another 3rd party review from here: http://theelectricrider.com/the-airwheel-s6-scooter/ I am glad that the reason I paid more is because of better safety in the battery charging system design. But I am sure I purchased the 260Wh version, not the one mentioned in his review. But it is still much less than my Speedway II scooter at 624 Wh. The newer Speedway II even have 864Wh, and the more powerful Dualtron is even at 1270Wh. But the Dualtron is more of a motorcycle than scooter at over 27kg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 On 3/18/2016 at 1:02 PM, hyiu00 said: If Airwheel can make something like this and sell it at low price, it would be great! Hyundai also just announced that they planned to R&D on similar items. This is the best mobility device design that I have seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer" Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 11 minutes ago, SlowMo said: This is the best mobility device design that I have seen. I hope it comes with a kevlar athletic supporter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 3 minutes ago, jrkline said: I hope it comes with a kevlar athletic supporter! It would be better if this thing has a vibrating saddle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer" Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 7 minutes ago, SlowMo said: It would be better if this thing has a vibrating saddle That's one way to entice more female interest in personal transportation devices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyiu00 Posted March 30, 2016 Author Share Posted March 30, 2016 21 minutes ago, SlowMo said: It would be better if this thing has a vibrating saddle Yes, the vibration is quite unbearable when riding the S6 on bumpy road at higher speed. They really should improve the shock absorption of the seat. The problem is it not only vibrates up and down, it also vibrates sideway because of uneven bumps on the left and right wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 12 minutes ago, hyiu00 said: Yes, the vibration is quite unbearable when riding the S6 on bumpy road at higher speed. They really should improve the shock absorption of the seat. I still feel that they should have made this design with at least 3 or 4 wheels. That would greatly increase the safety factor and people would not be greatly affected by sudden power loss. I tried to use up all the power of my electric scooter once. The scooter was carrying me and my son. When the motor finally shut-off which was after our ascend from a tunnel, there was no accident and the hardest part was only to use the scooter in manual mode back to our point of origin. I still don't trust the lateral design of hoverboards and segways with regards to safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyiu00 Posted March 30, 2016 Author Share Posted March 30, 2016 5 hours ago, SlowMo said: I still feel that they should have made this design with at least 3 or 4 wheels. That would greatly increase the safety factor and people would not be greatly affected by sudden power loss. I tried to use up all the power of my electric scooter once. The scooter was carrying me and my son. When the motor finally shut-off which was after our ascend from a tunnel, there was no accident and the hardest part was only to use the scooter in manual mode back to our point of origin. I still don't trust the lateral design of hoverboards and segways with regards to safety. Agree, the good old bicycle wheel arrangement (front/back) is still the most safe and most natural for all kinds of road condition. I will keep the S6 as mainly for indoor flat surface transportation which is also less demanding for the battery, and keep the Speedway II for other more demanding outdoor, hill climbing, and bumpy road condition. I originally had a 14" unicycle, but I was never able to master it. I twisted and hurt my knees several times, so I went back to two wheels, left/right or front/back. Since this is a unicycle forum, I would ask how good it is for unicycles in uphill, downhill, and bumpy roads? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 3 hours ago, hyiu00 said: Agree, the good old bicycle design is still the most safe and most natural for all kinds of road condition. I will keep the S6 as mainly for indoor flat surface transportation which is also less demanding for the battery, and keep the Speedway II for other more demanding outdoor, hill climbing, and bumpy road condition. I originally had a 14" unicycle, but I was never able to master it. I twisted and hurt my knees several times, so I went back to two wheels, left/right or front/back. Since this is a unicycle forum, I would ask how good it is for unicycles in uphill, downhill, and bumpy roads? After initial practice, it's possible to ride an electric unicycle in very demanding terrains. Check out Vee's (EUC Extreme) off-road / "motocross" -videos, if you haven't already: https://www.youtube.com/user/taskulamppufriikki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMo Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 @hyiu00 I almost gave up on my first EUC but cannot back out because I already had another one on the way and had a goal to have fun riding with the family. So I pushed my self to learn, eventually got familiar with the balance and taught everyone in the family to ride. You just need to "feel the force" and you should be able to do it to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyiu00 Posted March 30, 2016 Author Share Posted March 30, 2016 1 hour ago, esaj said: After initial practice, it's possible to ride an electric unicycle in very demanding terrains. Check out Vee's (EUC Extreme) off-road / "motocross" -videos, if you haven't already: https://www.youtube.com/user/taskulamppufriikki Oh no, I do not want to hurt my knees again, but it does look cool. So far, I have not seen any idea of a good training fixture without the pain. I was learning it in a 4 feet wide corridor and almost got it, but finally failed with my hurt knee on flat surface without any walls to hold on to. But if we go back to the safety issue, the unicycle still suffers the power loss problem, and it seems that unicycle riders need to prepare himself before hitting a pothole. On the other hand, scooter riders will not suffer safety issue at power loss and there is no need to prepare in front of a pothole. Anyway I think the personal electric transportation vehicle will eventually evolve into many different types for different people and different riding conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.