Jump to content

Gotway 18 inch Msuper (GW18) Review (2014-12-31)


John Eucist

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 178
  • Created
  • Last Reply

No one can say because it is not an exact number. The 4 beeps tell you it's near the limit of its power, if nothing extra asks for more power in theory it could carry on until the battery power gives out. Unfortunately the motive power is only a small part of what is required in order to keep you standing upright and the slightest dip, piece of gravel or even a puff of wind could be the final straw that breaks the camels back.

So you see there's no predicting the actual point of failure and the only sensible thing to do is pull back immediately you hear the 4 beeps. That or dress up like vee73. :)

Hi @Gimlet, when trying to produce some reference data for @esaj's GW protocol reverse engineering, I had the rare opportunity to ride my GW18 on a straight runway with quite a strong wind blowing constantly and somewhat dependable (see http://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/982-energy-balance-data-records/?page=1). Result: I used more power going against the wind at 20 km/h than downwind at >30 km/h. Still, even with the wind pushing me, the beeping startet at the same 28 km/h as it does under no wind conditions. So, the very noticeable power saving help by the wind did not move up the onset of the beeping any bit. 

My conclusion: The beeping must be triggered by both absolute speed and by coming close to the power limits - whatever comes first causes to alarm.

Does that conclusion make sense to you? :wacko:

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I take it you are talking about the final warning continuous beeping? If so its quite probable. It's a powerful motor so I suppose it takes a fair degree of slope to use the power to the extent that it's close to its limits. I can get it onto the last beeps on long steep hills around my house at relatively low speeds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I take it you are talking about the final warning continuous beeping? If so its quite probable. It's a powerful motor so I suppose it takes a fair degree of slope to use the power to the extent that it's close to its limits. I can get it onto the last beeps on long steep hills around my house at relatively low speeds.

Yes, sorry, I forgot to mention, I disabled the lower 2 speed warning levels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well that's it then. I fully admit that I tend to tax my wheels capabilities to the limit. The fact that I'm a little over 90kg whilst not being anywhere near most manufacturers max specs of 120kg is pushing the limits a little on the hills that are around my area. 

And I do like to maintain my speed on the long steep inclines. :)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Well that's it then. I fully admit that I tend to tax my wheels capabilities to the limit. The fact that I'm a little over 90kg whilst not being anywhere near most manufacturers max specs of 120kg is pushing the limits a little on the hills that are around my area. 

And I do like to maintain my speed on the long steep inclines. :)

 

Incredibly amateur question here, (awaiting arrival of my ninebot) - but the heavier you are as a person, does the only effect of that mean more battery is used, or is the maximum speed you can attain quickly reduced too?

On youtube I've seen a couple of videos of a tiny little kid on a ninebot, can't be more than 40kg in weight. Can they attain particularly fast speeds?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try hanging a Kg bag of sugar on a 6' pole and then grip the other end and try to swing it up from the floor. You'll soon get the idea of the power that is required and how much weight affects it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Incredibly amateur question here, (awaiting arrival of my ninebot) - but the heavier you are as a person, does the only effect of that mean more battery is used, or is the maximum speed you can attain quickly reduced too?
On youtube I've seen a couple of videos of a tiny little kid on a ninebot, can't be more than 40kg in weight. Can they attain particularly fast speeds?

Amateur question? Aren't we all ??? :D 

Assuming that what we found with the Gotway 18 applies to all EUCs in principle, the feather weight kiddo will be able to accelerate faster and ride faster in all situations, where available power is the limit, but top speeds will be the same for a midget and Arnold Schwarzenegger. So, downhill beeping and tilt-back (if the wheel does that) should be the same for both and eventually - if they keep pushing it and the wheel lets them - both will go ballistic when the max. rpm cut-off kicks in. That is the limiter, which shuts down your wheel when you just lift it up and let it spin. On my Gotway 18, that happens between 44 and 45 km/h.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Incredibly amateur question here, (awaiting arrival of my ninebot) - but the heavier you are as a person, does the only effect of that mean more battery is used, or is the maximum speed you can attain quickly reduced too?
On youtube I've seen a couple of videos of a tiny little kid on a ninebot, can't be more than 40kg in weight. Can they attain particularly fast speeds?

Max speed on flat ground or downhill is not affected by weight (how quickly you get to that top speed might be affected but in practice I don't think that's a huge issue). However max speed when going uphill is dependent on weight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Engine cut-off should always be the same speed, regardless of whether you follow the uphill or downhill.
But if the hill is very steep, the device is not necessarily sufficient to keep stable pedals and you have to silence the speed. But I'm talking about a very sharp rise and soft terrain.
But the facts are that the engine stop must always be the same speed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have only heard about 2 different kinds of beeps. It seems to go from slow to really fast. I have also never been able to just hold it at a speed where it beeps at the same frequency. I think the most identical beeps I've ever had in a row is 4.

 

I don't understand why this is but am still happy with the wheel after almost 1000 miles since May it has paid for itself :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

My range on all my eucs is fairly poor, but I am in a particularly bad position of being near the top of a very big hill so every journey I make has to end in a long climb.

It also doesn't help that I am a little over 90Kg before I add clothes. This is why I've given up publishing my range testing as it is only really applicable to my situation.

I do however recommend that if at all possible buy the biggest battery version that is available in any euc. My reasoning is simple, riding a euc on a low battery is not much fun and even the best eucs behave more like the cheap ones when low on charge. In an ideal situation you would only be using the top half of the available power and never be squeezing the last dregs out of your euc. 

This also happens to be much better for the batteries and they will last a lot longer if never run low on juice.

Hi, I am interested to use a Gotway to pick up my car from the hill after hanggliding. Is it possible to gain 1000m height? (10km 10% slope upward?) This is most interesting for me...

thank you very much,

Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Imho not really. Just for the potential energy (lifting 90 kg up 1000m) in one hour you would need a 2400Wh battery pack...

I think you there is a slight mistake: 10Joule (Ws) is 1kg one meter. 900 Ws is 90kg 1 meter. 900.000 Ws is 90kg 1000m. 900.000/60 = 15.000Wmin.

15.000Wmin/60= 250Wh

So in theory no problem... The question is the efficiency of the wheel going 10% upwards...

best regards,

Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, I am interested to use a Gotway to pick up my car from the hill after hanggliding. Is it possible to gain 1000m height? (10km 10% slope upward?) This is most interesting for me...

thank you very much,

Martin

Are we talking 10% or 10° here? It sounds like you mean 10°.

Anyway all of my eucs are capable of climbing the hill that passes my house which is about 15° overall and 18°at it's steepest point.

Your problem will be the the length of the hill rather than the grade and you will need a large battery but it will also depend on your weight.

My 680wh KS 800W can get me into town and back twice fairly easily and that is about 10km each way and the elevation of Bath is 56m and the top of my hill Lansdown is 238m before I drop down the last steep decent to my house.

The Guinness World Record lists Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand as the steepest street in the world, with a 35% grade (19°) overall and disputed 38% grade (21°) at its steepest section.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seeing as I live in Bristol I thought I'd share a little info on Britain's steepest street which is in Bristol and is called "Vale Street".

It is not a long street in fact it is fairly short but anyone who walks up it might wish they hadn't lol.

vale_street_steepest_uk_street.thumb.jpg

vale_street_stats.thumb.png.b18f8cf14a99

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are we talking 10% or 10° here? It sounds like you mean 10°.

Anyway all of my eucs are capable of climbing the hill that passes my house which is about 15° overall and 18°at it's steepest point.

Your problem will be the the length of the hill rather than the grade and you will need a large battery but it will also depend on your weight.

My 680wh KS 800W can get me into town and back twice fairly easily and that is about 10km each way and the elevation of Bath is 56m and the top of my hill Lansdown is 238m before I drop down the last steep decent to my house.

The Guinness World Record lists Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand as the steepest street in the world, with a 35% grade (19°) overall and disputed 38% grade (21°) at its steepest section.

thanks for the answers! I mean 10% 10m forward, 1m upwards => 10km forwards 1km upwards. if the unicycle does not get to hot, it means that it does not operate so ineffieciently... and as already mentioned potential energy to lift 90kg 1000m is around 250wh...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I too was confused by the max grade specification on ewheels so I got my learn on and figured it out. Because I'm feeling nerdy and pedantic, I present my explanation to you.

Ahem, if one is going up a hill of 45 degrees, that person will find that for each meter of vertical distance that is climbed, one meter of horizontal distance is traversed.  This horizontal distance divided into the vertical distance, or, if we remember our high school geometry,  the run divided into the rise (rise over run) determines the slope.  The grade is merely the slope expressed as a percentage instead of a decimal.  So a 45 degree hill with a rise of one and a run of one will have a slope of 1/1 and a grade of 100%.  A 30 degree hill will have a rise of .5 and a run of .5 * sqrt(3) making for a grade of 57.7%.  The easiest way to convert degrees to slope is to use the tangent button on your calculator.  To convert slope to degrees, use the inverse tangent function.  So a grade of 15% means a slope of .15 and the inverse tangent of .15 expressed as degrees is 8.53.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Looking to  buy a Gotway M18"  

I have a few questions. 

1. Which one should I purchase if I'm looking to do offroading?

2. Where do you suggest to buy one from. I have emailed wheelzworld about 5 times  with no response.

 

Should note that i'm in the USA.

 

Thanks

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, whitecow said:

Looking to  buy a Gotway M18"  

I have a few questions. 

1. Which one should I purchase if I'm looking to do offroading?

2. Where do you suggest to buy one from. I have emailed wheelzworld about 5 times  with no response.

Should note that i'm in the USA.

 

Thanks

 

Hey there whitecow,

I am a Gotway reseller in the Northeast US (NJ). To answer your questions, you could really go with any of the 3 models. User @vee73 does lots of offroading and I believe he has the HS model. Also it depends on the terrain you plan on riding. For manageable hills, HS should do fine. Larger steep hills you may want more torque. I currently have in stock the HS 850wh units. Let me know if you are interested!

John

Oh yea and about the airplane, I don't think anyone's tried as you'd be almost guaranteed to lose your wheel. Flight limits are 160Wh IATA - there is a thread on bringing EU's on planes here. The MSuper's battery is many times that limit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...