KS18b review (1200W 1680Wh)

[mark321]

I recently upgraded from a KS14c (800 W, 680 Wh) to a KS18b (1200 W, 1680 Wh) (from ewheels).

The most dramatic difference is the ability to more easily navigate rough sections of pavement. On the KS14 a nearby road required me to slow down to walking speed, and I'd wobble over each crack as the rough section of road stretched on endlessly. On the KS18 I only slow to maybe 10-12mph for the same road. I feel pretty stable and stress free, and the rough section is over before I know it.

I think it's worth noting that not only is there a diameter difference between the two wheels, but also a width increase:
  14" x 2.125"
  18" x 2.5"
which is probably partly responsible for stability as well.

I've taken both EUCs out with a group of cyclists. On the KS14 I often felt like I was running a high risk of a crash due to the speeds at which I was trying to navigate road hazards. On the KS18 it was fairly stress-free to keep up. On some roads I still had to drop to a lower speed than the bikes to navigate the cracks, but I didn't have to slow to a crawl, and I would catch back up easily.

Overall as a transportation option the KS18 is a clear winner over the KS14.

I set the warning beeps for 0,0,36,40 so I get my first warning at just over 22mph, which is as fast as I've ridden it. It may be capable of 25mph but I don't feel safe much over 22mph. I'm not sure if it's a difference in how "in control" I feel or if it's the fact that I've had a couple painful crashes on the KS14 that have made me more cautious. But so far I'd say speed wise that 18mph feels prett slow and boring, 20mph is comfortable, and 22mph is a bit scary.

Something about the KS18 keeps me from leaning as hard into it as I used to on the KS14. So my acceleration isn't nearly as great, or at least doesn't feel as high anyway. It is fast and certainly doesn't take long to reach high speeds though. It has a lot of power, but the reactions and responsiveness all feel slower than the KS14, I can't say for sure that it's not just a difference in how aggressively I ride the two wheels, but so far my acceleration (and braking) feel noticeably more gradual than the KS14. I wonder if the higher pedal height makes it harder to shift my weight out in front or behind the wheel.

I won't write a long description of the old kingsong's confusing bluetooth controls, but the new one is much better. There is only one button, and it turns on/off both the wheel and the bluetooth together.

Other controls are in the app. I love being able to turn off the voice (no more shouting "hello kingsong!", "bluetooth connected!", or "please decelerate"). And I like setting the lights to "always on" too for increased visibility. Although disabling the "hello kingsong!" voice prompts also seems to disable bluetooth for playing music (they need to implement that differently).

The KS18 is heavy, but I have no trouble carrying it up and down stairs,

The size can occasionally be a concern: when I tried to go shopping I couldn't fit the KS18 in a stable position under the cart. The wires of the shopping cart form a kind of "bowl" shape under the cart that the KS14 fits inside of, while the KS18 rests on top of the bowl where it just slides off. I'm going to have to try carrying around some bungee cords to see if that lets me take it shopping.

I did take some notes on performance at different states of charge and the distances involved. The total range might be large, but the distance over which it performs optimally isn't as far as I had hoped (especially since this was a "full" charge on a 67.2V charger, not a partial charge on a 64.8V charger that I had planned to use to extend the battery life):

As the battery drains, a warning beep starts coming on at slower and slower speeds, possibly in response to the voltage:

0  km : fresh charge, 100%/10bar, 66.2V
55 km (34 mi) : beep @ 31 kph, 56%/8bar, 59.9V
67 km (41 mi) : beep @ 28 kph, 50%/6bar, 58.4V
76 km (47 mi) : beep @ 26.5 kph, 43%/6bar, 57.5V
82 km (51 mi) : beep @ 26 kph, 37%/6bar, 56.9V
86 km (53 mi) : (home) 43%/6bar, 57V

Once I'm at mile 35 and the warning beep starts happening around 30 kph it feel like it needs to be charged, despite the KS still showing 8 bars. It may still be capable of higher speeds, but I assume the warning beeps are legitimate and I shouldn't ride beyond the speeds they indicate. Anybody know how conservative the KS is being here?

For such a powerful 1680 Wh battery pack I expected the range during which it safely maintains high speeds to be further. I haven't yet tested how far it maintains top-performance if I only charge it at the charger's 64.8V setting to extend the battery life. For what it's worth I weigh 170#.

[US69]

1 hour ago, mark321 said:

Something about the KS18 keeps me from leaning as hard into it as I used to on the KS14. So my acceleration isn't nearly as great, or at least doesn't feel as high anyway. It is fast and certainly doesn't take long to reach high speeds though. It has a lot of power, but the reactions and responsiveness all feel slower than the KS14, I can't say for sure that it's not just a difference in how aggressively I ride the two wheels, but so far my acceleration (and braking) feel noticeably more gradual than the KS14. I wonder if the higher pedal height makes it harder to shift my weight out in front or behind the wheel.

As i also made exactly that transition from Ks14 to ks18....i can assure you that you will get more comfortable in leaning more in!

The Ks18 has unbelievable power reserves and in contrast to my Ks14 i am not able to overlean it at all...

Once you are comfortable with more lean....you will see how great it accelerates :-)

 

for the warning beeps:

In Contrary to Gotway, which hands over all security to the user itself, KS is much more conservative and a security first player:

From 40-45% batterie, ( and i guess you allready reached that -under load- in your "2.row") Ks is starting to implement lower max speeds....which will go more down with batterie even lower!

There is not only the warning beeps...if you ignore them...about 3-4-5kmh faster you will receive a tiltback also! (so you can go faster than the beeps...tiltback will come later and stop you from going tooo fast)

So your 0 0 36 40 settings are kind of "overwritten"...

As long as you are over 45% batterie and you do not push to hard (to much batterie sag)...you still can go faster as the 31kmh...

This is by the way for all KS wheels with firmware over version 1.20 ...only the brandnew Ks14d seams not to have that restriction...

 

you can see that as a downside....or as the safety feature as it is...you can never ride faster than your wheel has power...and it will not cut out because of low batterie....

[Mono]

8 hours ago, mark321 said:

0  km : fresh charge, 100%/10bar, 66.2V
55 km (34 mi) : beep @ 31 kph, 56%/8bar, 59.9V
67 km (41 mi) : beep @ 28 kph, 50%/6bar, 58.4V
76 km (47 mi) : beep @ 26.5 kph, 43%/6bar, 57.5V
82 km (51 mi) : beep @ 26 kph, 37%/6bar, 56.9V
86 km (53 mi) : (home) 43%/6bar, 57V

Once I'm at mile 35 and the warning beep starts happening around 30 kph it feel like it needs to be charged, despite the KS still showing 8 bars. It may still be capable of higher speeds, but I assume the warning beeps are legitimate and I shouldn't ride beyond the speeds they indicate. Anybody know how conservative the KS is being here?

I get very similar behaviour with my Gotway and with my IPS. Below 59V, the wheels start to feel soft and weak, they seem to be asking for a refill. I agree that one could have expected this point to set in later with a higher capacity battery.

[abinder3]

As some of you may of noticed, in another thread, I stated that I'm thinking of getting the new Kingsong 16s when it comes out or the current Kingsong 18.
(currently, I'm riding a V8, but I'd like to be able to go farther on a charge)

The one thing that's sort of swaying me toward the new Kingsong 16s when it comes out is the trolley handle.  Does anyone make a trolley handle for the KS18?
(I'm 6' and weigh about 192lbs.)

 

Thanks for any info and any input.

 

 

Allen

[mark321]

Thanks for the info about how the KS makes its decisions about warning beeps / tilt back. I'd prefer the beeps came a little later, just a little before tilt back, but it's not bad this way.

About the trolley handle, I forgot to include that in my review. I have the same question. So far I haven't been able to get one, but I do want one. Despite how tall the KS18 is, it's still short enough it's awkward to trolley it around with no handle, I have to walk kind of hunched over. It's okay for a very short distance like crossing the street maybe, but any further than that and I'd like to have a real handle. I really hope it's just a matter of time.

[US69]

41 minutes ago, mark321 said:

Thanks for the info about how the KS makes its decisions about warning beeps / tilt back. I'd prefer the beeps came a little later, just a little before tilt back, but it's not bad this way.

About the trolley handle, I forgot to include that in my review. I have the same question. So far I haven't been able to get one, but I do want one. Despite how tall the KS18 is, it's still short enough it's awkward to trolley it around with no handle, I have to walk kind of hunched over. It's okay for a very short distance like crossing the street maybe, but any further than that and I'd like to have a real handle. I really hope it's just a matter of time.

You can do 2 solutions:

ugly:

 

or nice one:

 

In the end there is no standard solution...just try to shoot a "long" trolley on ebay or somewhere else...

i can not give you a link as my is only sending to germany.....Sorry

@abinder3 look here...search on ebay for a trolley...

 

[Raptor]

1 hour ago, mark321 said:

Thanks for the info about how the KS makes its decisions about warning beeps / tilt back. I'd prefer the beeps came a little later, just a little before tilt back, but it's not bad this way.

About the trolley handle, I forgot to include that in my review. I have the same question. So far I haven't been able to get one, but I do want one. Despite how tall the KS18 is, it's still short enough it's awkward to trolley it around with no handle, I have to walk kind of hunched over. It's okay for a very short distance like crossing the street maybe, but any further than that and I'd like to have a real handle. I really hope it's just a matter of time.

  and :  http://www.banggood.com/Electric-Unicycle-Extendable-Handle-Telescopic-Handle-With-Lock-p-958779.html

[abinder3]

Thanks everyone !!!!!!!
@Raptor, I really like that one on yours.  Did you have to make the piece that fastens onto the top of the KS18 handle?  Is the bottom of the trolley just bolted to the housing of the KS18?

@KingSong69, Do you have a photo of how you attached the trolley to the top of the KS18 ?

 

Thanks again everyone !!!!!

 

 

Allen

[Raptor]

34 minutes ago, abinder3 said:

Thanks everyone !!!!!!!
@Raptor, I really like that one on yours.  Did you have to make the piece that fastens onto the top of the KS18 handle?  Is the bottom of the trolley just bolted to the housing of the KS18?

@KingSong69, Do you have a photo of how you attached the trolley to the top of the KS18 ?

 

Thanks again everyone !!!!!

 

 

Allen

I make the piece that fastens onto the top from duraluminium sheet 

[abinder3]

2 minutes ago, Raptor said:

I make the piece that fastens onto the top from duraluminium sheet 

Wow !!!!!!!!
Really nice.

 

Did you just bolt the bottom of the trolley to the housing of the KS18?

(It would also look cool having flashing tail lights where your red reflective tape is.)

 

 

Allen

[abinder3]

Just 'pulled the trigger' and my KS18 is on it's way !!!!
Thanks to Jason @ ewheels.

 

 

Allen

[Raptor]

35 minutes ago, abinder3 said:

Just 'pulled the trigger' and my KS18 is on it's way !!!!
Thanks to Jason @ ewheels.

 

 

Allen

Super! Congratulations !  This is very fast, powerful, safe, and also a beautiful wheel . A little need to rehearse with him at the beginning of. After 16 inches it seemed that he did not turn so well ! But very stable at high speeds, such as a motorcycle. After some time, it seems that will turn as well as a 16 inch wheel 

( Yes I just bolt the bottom of the trolley to the housing . This material is strong enough .  )

 

[abinder3]

@Raptor Thanks again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Allen

[US69]

10 hours ago, abinder3 said:

Thanks everyone !!!!!!!
@Raptor, I really like that one on yours.  Did you have to make the piece that fastens onto the top of the KS18 handle?  Is the bottom of the trolley just bolted to the housing of the KS18?

@KingSong69, Do you have a photo of how you attached the trolley to the top of the KS18 ?

 

Thanks again everyone !!!!!

 

 

Allen

Unfortunatly I dont have it as professional as @Raptor :-)

Here my first solution:

Which are just plastic cable binder strips!

This works well, but to be more flexible nowadays i am just using this flexible span rubber with hooks....only have this photo, where you can not see it really good:

 

 

This works better than the cable binders in my opinion.....

[abinder3]

10 hours ago, KingSong69 said:

Unfortunatly I dont have it as professional as @Raptor :-)

Here my first solution:

Which are just plastic cable binder strips!

This works well, but to be more flexible nowadays i am just using this flexible span rubber with hooks....only have this photo, where you can not see it really good:

 

 

This works better than the cable binders in my opinion.....

Thanks !!!!!
That very well may be the way I go until I can get something made like @Raptor upper mount.
(Is that the same trolley handle as the trolley for the KS14 ?)

[MetricUSA]

Mark123, have you ever taken the public bus with the 18? Wondered about how sliding under seat might be possible...

[Mono]

On 15/02/2017 at 9:44 AM, KingSong69 said:

This works better than the cable binders in my opinion.....

I have been using, no kidding, dental floss. Cable binders were breaking every other month, dental floss didn't.

[abinder3]

48 minutes ago, Mono said:

I have been using, no kidding, dental floss. Cable binders were breaking every other month, dental floss didn't.

Really ????????
I never would of figured that.

 

 

Allen

[steve454]

4 hours ago, Mono said:

I have been using, no kidding, dental floss.

How do you use it, by going around several times?  It is strong, but very thin.  Do you twist several strands together to make a cord and then wrap it?  Dental floss is also good for removing emblems from autos, it is strong and thin enough to cut through the adhesive without damaging the paint too much.

[Mono]

32 minutes ago, steve454 said:

How do you use it, by going around several times?  It is strong, but very thin.

yes, three or four rounds, each independently knotted, just in case 

Quote

Do you twist several strands together to make a cord and then wrap it?

no, but that sounds feasible as well

Quote

Dental floss is also good for removing emblems from autos, it is strong and thin enough to cut through the adhesive without damaging the paint too much.

I didn't know that one