Gotway Luffy: My initial thoughts

[roofus4]

I got my 200WH Luffy this evening. Bought it from Aliexpress (green and fashion travaling shop) and received it with free shipping in about 8 days. I opened the box and it was literally the charger, and the wheel. Along with some packaging, that was it. No manual to be found.

First thing I noticed was the tire seemed soft, so I looked at the PSI rating on the tire, 20-28 PSI. I used my compressor to fill it up, and it was already at 28psi. I hopped on, and it seemed soft. So I filled it to 50 PSI and feels more realistic.

After some charging, I took it for a spin. Coming from my Inmotion V5F+, It felt very soft. In fact I ran off of it just trying to accelerate up my slightly inclined driveway, and braking seemed sketchy too. The low petals were immediately apparent as well. First night and they are all scraped up. It also seemed to have very aggressive tilt back at an unimpressive speed. I started wondering if I had made a mistake by buying it.

So, I figured it was time to setup the app (http://www.kebye.com/content/?182.html). (First option on that page is the one that worked). I set the Mode to "Powerful Mode," selected "Close First Alarm," and then selected "Pedal Tilt-Back at 24 km/h" (the highest you can select). I hopped back on, and Luffy was a whole different beast. Much more crisp feel in both acceleration and braking. Most importantly, I am now happy with the speed. I knew this small wheel wasn't going to be a speed demon, I just wanted it to be respectable. So, after putting about 6 km on it, I am comfortably able to cruise at about 12 MPH (using my Garmin GPS watch for mph speed). If you ride the tilt back you can actually reach 14mph (24km/h) before getting the alarm. I haven't gone past that because the tilt-back comes on pretty strong at that point. That is literally like 1.5 - 2 MPH below my V5F+. To me that's not bad.

Now from a personal perspective, I find the petals to be fine. In fact they are no more uncomfortable than my V5F+. I feel they have good traction, despite not having any grippy tape, but also know that my feet were dry the whole time. That being said, I weigh 170 lbs with only a size 9 foot. 

It may be a little too soon to say for sure, but after a bit of a rough start, I'm starting to like this little guy. It is definitely not a power house. Acceleration and braking need to be somewhat moderate. Almost like the motor is setup for speed, not torque. Also, after some acclimation time, I'm scraping the petals a lot less, while still being able to turn around in the width of a typical sidewalk. It's more the high speed carving that's not possible. So overall, not bad.

 

[houseofjob]

Great review @roofus4! (apparently, you are approximately my body weight and height doppleganger, so can draw closer comparisons / experiences~)

 

Interesting. So as I guessed, high speed, low torque, like an IPS Zero. Sucks they didn't include the bag (not sure if Gotway-branded Luffy adopted this to begin with). 

 

Still have some burning questions, if you would be obliged to answer (thanks in advance)!

• Does the rubber tire itself actually have PSI rating written on it, instead of what looks like pen marking on the rim?
• What's the charge port connection and charging rate (Amps) of the charger? (if you could upload a pic, would be awesome!)
• How would you compare the hardest Luffy mode to the hardness of an InMotion and any other wheels you've ridden?
• Have you tried connecting with the most recent Gotway app? If so, is there any nonsense with motor code registration like there is with other, current Gotway wheels?
• Was the box itself Gotway-branded?
• Have you hit the 3rd alarm while riding at all (consecutive beeping, no pauses)? If so, what was the speed?
• How is the alarm volume in real world riding conditions (i.e. street noise, etc... it seemed pretty loud in the test videos)?
• Was it 8 days from order to doorstep? (If so, that's ridiculously fast!)
• How stiff or plush are the leg pads?
• Have you tested the headlight yet? If so, how bright is it in comparison to other wheels you've ridden?

 

Sorry for the barrage of questions, but very curious as this will be my next wheel addition / purchase, thanks!

 

[roofus4]

Man, great questions. Lots that I never thought to mention.

 

-The tire has the PSI actually on the rubber like any tire. What you saw was my own handwriting. I like to do that to all my vehicles for easy reference.

-Check out the pics for the charge port and charger question.

-As far as hardness mode, the Inmotion is top notch. Very crisp. Even the hardest mode on the luffy is not quite that crisp, but I was much happier once I found how to firm it up. I've never had a wheel with hardness settings. It may also be that the motor is weaker and thus makes it feel not as crisp, not necessarily the firmware. I'm still kinda new to these things, so not sure how to quantify these idiosyncrasies.

-As far as the app, I don't know which app to try. I'm just glad I found one that works. Is there a link to the newest one? I'd love to try it!

-Not sure about the box. It has half of the word Luffy on one side of the box. The other parts are so covered in packing tape that you can't see what the box originally looked like. However, It does have a carrying handle on the box so that's cool, LOL.

-No, I have not hit the 3rd alarm. I have still not gone beyond the first level of beeping. The beeping is in my opinion pretty loud. It beeps when you turn it on and off, when you change a setting in the app, and during the lift test were it speeds up until it stops, and that is where you will get rapid beeping until it shuts down. After It shuts down, it will do a slower continuous beeping until you turn it off.

-The order was placed on Feb 26th, but my bank blocked the transaction cause they thought it was suspicious. So it took me a little bit to get it resolved. During that time, Aliexpress had a countdown timer with 19 plus days on it for me to make the payment before the order was canceled. Once I got the payment to go through, there was a clock with 7 or 8 days for the seller to ship it before it was cancelled. It took almost 3 days for him to ship it. The shipping history shows that it shipped on the 3rd. Then I got it on the 8th. So 8 days was just a top of my head approximation.

-The leg pads feel nice when you touch them with your hand, but getting on seems like there is still some plastic to shin contact. The lower ankle pad is a little thinner and thus firmer, but still a nice touch in my opinion. In the picture where I'm touching it, I do have some force there, as seen in the color of my finger.

-Unfortunately there is no light on this Wheel. I think it's the power button that from some pics looks like a light. It is certainly in a place that you'd expect a light. The power button and charge port are on one side, and on the other side is the charge indicator. The power button is a "press and hold" for both on and off.

One thing I like is how you can just set it down and rest it on it's pedal. Makes it easy to put it down for a moment. 

So, for me, I think of the Luffy as a compromise wheel in order to gain portability. Definitely not as nice as my V5F+, but given the size, It's pretty impressive. It would be awesome to have a light, or a larger battery, but so far, I don't regret buying it. The problem for me, is I have few reasons to have any of these things. Here in Texas, things are just too spread out to not use a car. So, I just bum around the neighborhood for the most part. I never ride so long that the batteries run out.

The true reason I got into wheels, is that I wanted portable transportation to take with me in my plane (I hope that doesn't sound uppity.) That way I have a way around when I get to where I'm going. And there, my friends, is the true attraction to the Luffy. The thing is smaller than ALL the other things I have ever looked at, from scooters, to hover boards, to skate boards, segway minis, etc! I think this Luffy will finally fit the bill perfectly!

 

Let me know what other questions you have.

 

[roofus4]

If you look at the picture of the charger above, it says green LED = <250 mA. Does that mean it is still charging a little even after the light turns green, and if so, is it bad to leave it plugged in indefinitely? Is it damaging the battery?

[esaj]

1 hour ago, roofus4 said:

If you look at the picture of the charger above, it says green LED = <250 mA. Does that mean it is still charging a little even after the light turns green, and if so, is it bad to leave it plugged in indefinitely? Is it damaging the battery?

Keeping the battery constantly charged at full voltage (about 4.2V) is a bad thing and stresses the cells, but we're talking days, weeks, months...

For getting the longest possible lifetime out of the battery, it shouldn't be charged all the way to full all the time, but instead to, say, 80%, and occasionally full (and then left there even after the charger goes red) to allow the BMS (Battery Management System) to balance the cells. Even if you charge to full all the time, the batteries take many hundred cycles before the capacity has permanently reduced even 10-20%.

For longer term storage (for example, over the winter), the batteries should be charged to a lower voltage (3.6-3.8V per cell seems to be a "popular" value), kept cool(ish, not freezing), and only charger back up to around that voltage if they self-discharge to something like 3.0...3.2V per cell.

There's lots and lots of information about the batteries around the forum, as well as (for example) :  http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/

 

[steve454]

4 hours ago, roofus4 said:

Man, great questions. Lots that I never thought to mention.

 

-The tire has the PSI actually on the rubber like any tire. What you saw was my own handwriting. I like to do that to all my vehicles for easy reference.

-Check out the pics for the charge port and charger question.

-As far as hardness mode, the Inmotion is top notch. Very crisp. Even the hardest mode on the luffy is not quite that crisp, but I was much happier once I found how to firm it up. I've never had a wheel with hardness settings. It may also be that the motor is weaker and thus makes it feel not as crisp, not necessarily the firmware. I'm still kinda new to these things, so not sure how to quantify these idiosyncrasies.

-As far as the app, I don't know which app to try. I'm just glad I found one that works. Is there a link to the newest one? I'd love to try it!

-Not sure about the box. It has half of the word Luffy on one side of the box. The other parts are so covered in packing tape that you can't see what the box originally looked like. However, It does have a carrying handle on the box so that's cool, LOL.

-No, I have not hit the 3rd alarm. I have still not gone beyond the first level of beeping. The beeping is in my opinion pretty loud. It beeps when you turn it on and off, when you change a setting in the app, and during the lift test were it speeds up until it stops, and that is where you will get rapid beeping until it shuts down. After It shuts down, it will do a slower continuous beeping until you turn it off.

-The order was placed on Feb 26th, but my bank blocked the transaction cause they thought it was suspicious. So it took me a little bit to get it resolved. During that time, Aliexpress had a countdown timer with 19 plus days on it for me to make the payment before the order was canceled. Once I got the payment to go through, there was a clock with 7 or 8 days for the seller to ship it before it was cancelled. It took almost 3 days for him to ship it. The shipping history shows that it shipped on the 3rd. Then I got it on the 8th. So 8 days was just a top of my head approximation.

-The leg pads feel nice when you touch them with your hand, but getting on seems like there is still some plastic to shin contact. The lower ankle pad is a little thinner and thus firmer, but still a nice touch in my opinion. In the picture where I'm touching it, I do have some force there, as seen in the color of my finger.

-Unfortunately there is no light on this Wheel. I think it's the power button that from some pics looks like a light. It is certainly in a place that you'd expect a light. The power button and charge port are on one side, and on the other side is the charge indicator. The power button is a "press and hold" for both on and off.

One thing I like is how you can just set it down and rest it on it's pedal. Makes it easy to put it down for a moment. 

So, for me, I think of the Luffy as a compromise wheel in order to gain portability. Definitely not as nice as my V5F+, but given the size, It's pretty impressive. It would be awesome to have a light, or a larger battery, but so far, I don't regret buying it. The problem for me, is I have few reasons to have any of these things. Here in Texas, things are just too spread out to not use a car. So, I just bum around the neighborhood for the most part. I never ride so long that the batteries run out.

The true reason I got into wheels, is that I wanted portable transportation to take with me in my plane (I hope that doesn't sound uppity.) That way I have a way around when I get to where I'm going. And there, my friends, is the true attraction to the Luffy. The thing is smaller than ALL the other things I have ever looked at, from scooters, to hover boards, to skate boards, segway minis, etc! I think this Luffy will finally fit the bill perfectly!

 

Let me know what other questions you have.

 

Why is Gotway trying to take over the world?

[houseofjob]

Again, thanks for all the answers @roofus4! I'm definitely pulling the trigger on a Luffy very soon!

 

10 hours ago, roofus4 said:

-The tire has the PSI actually on the rubber like any tire. What you saw was my own handwriting. I like to do that to all my vehicles for easy reference.

Ah, I see. That's a good idea, easier to read! 

I'd be a little weird pumping the tire past the written PSI rating, but if it felt that soft, I guess it is what it is.

 

10 hours ago, roofus4 said:

-Check out the pics for the charge port and charger question.

Cool, that looks to be (I'm guessing), a GX12-3 charging port, same as a hoverboard or InMotion V8 charge connection.

You can't swap chargers, as they're all different voltages, but you might be able to use Hobbyist's GX12-3 Charge Doctor (2nd from the bottom) to do stuff like stop charging at ~90%, so as to maximize battery life / cycle count.

Also very weird that this Gotway charger label adopted the Ninebot charger label green-grey color scheme *smh

 

7 hours ago, roofus4 said:

If you look at the picture of the charger above, it says green LED = <250 mA. Does that mean it is still charging a little even after the light turns green, and if so, is it bad to leave it plugged in indefinitely? Is it damaging the battery?

Not sure, but typical Gotway charger behaves like most pc laptop-style brick EUC chargers: full green = 100% charged, red = sub 100%.

In general, like @esaj is saying, to maximize battery life for any EUC / lithium battery device, you shouldn't be full 100% charging.

But, I believe, battery degradation / cycle count reduction happens slow enough that many riders might not even care about such effects, as, by then, they'll be on to the next wheel. (especially in today's EUC market where new models are coming out bi-annually)

 

10 hours ago, roofus4 said:

-As far as hardness mode, the Inmotion is top notch. Very crisp. Even the hardest mode on the luffy is not quite that crisp, but I was much happier once I found how to firm it up. I've never had a wheel with hardness settings. It may also be that the motor is weaker and thus makes it feel not as crisp, not necessarily the firmware. I'm still kinda new to these things, so not sure how to quantify these idiosyncrasies.

Okay, cool. If you're main / only EUC experience is coming from the InMotions, then everything will feel softer.

Just good to know it's not super suuuper soft on the hardest ride mode.

 

10 hours ago, roofus4 said:

-As far as the app, I don't know which app to try. I'm just glad I found one that works. Is there a link to the newest one? I'd love to try it!

I believe this is the latest Gotway App: GotWay_0213.apk

And once you've got settings down, even better: WheelLog App (applies to many different makes and model EUCs; searchable as well through Google Play Store)

(Gotway FB Group File list)

 

10 hours ago, roofus4 said:

-Not sure about the box. It has half of the word Luffy on one side of the box. The other parts are so covered in packing tape that you can't see what the box originally looked like. However, It does have a carrying handle on the box so that's cool, LOL.

Cool, I only asked this because I've been afraid of AliExpress vendors trying to pass off their MengQ / Lufei Luffy's as Gotway (weaker motor, 70-80kg max load vs Gotway's 100KG).

 

10 hours ago, roofus4 said:

-No, I have not hit the 3rd alarm. I have still not gone beyond the first level of beeping. The beeping is in my opinion pretty loud. It beeps when you turn it on and off, when you change a setting in the app, and during the lift test were it speeds up until it stops, and that is where you will get rapid beeping until it shuts down. After It shuts down, it will do a slower continuous beeping until you turn it off.

Okay, cool. When I get mine, I'm definitely riding sans 1st & 2nd alarm, and sans tiltback, seeing as the zero load lift test maxes out at 47km/h, giving a good buffer to attempt reaching speeds closer to 30km/h.

 

10 hours ago, roofus4 said:

-The order was placed on Feb 26th, but my bank blocked the transaction cause they thought it was suspicious. So it took me a little bit to get it resolved. During that time, Aliexpress had a countdown timer with 19 plus days on it for me to make the payment before the order was canceled. Once I got the payment to go through, there was a clock with 7 or 8 days for the seller to ship it before it was cancelled. It took almost 3 days for him to ship it. The shipping history shows that it shipped on the 3rd. Then I got it on the 8th. So 8 days was just a top of my head approximation.

Wow, that's still super fast! I've been waiting going on a month for my GT16 from AliExpress now (which was my expectation, per seller guarantee).

 

10 hours ago, roofus4 said:

-The leg pads feel nice when you touch them with your hand, but getting on seems like there is still some plastic to shin contact. The lower ankle pad is a little thinner and thus firmer, but still a nice touch in my opinion. In the picture where I'm touching it, I do have some force there, as seen in the color of my finger.

Ok, cool, I was hoping for this, as I prefer a stiffer, yet still relatively soft, pad, unlike the super plush ones Gotway uses for their main 14"+ product line.

 

10 hours ago, roofus4 said:

-Unfortunately there is no light on this Wheel. I think it's the power button that from some pics looks like a light. It is certainly in a place that you'd expect a light. The power button and charge port are on one side, and on the other side is the charge indicator. The power button is a "press and hold" for both on and off.

Hmmmm... I guess those 4 LEDs in your pics are the taillight / battery meter then? That's a bummer there's not at least some kind of headlight.

 

10 hours ago, roofus4 said:

One thing I like is how you can just set it down and rest it on it's pedal. Makes it easy to put it down for a moment. 

Yup, this is awesome~ I can totally excuse the lowness of the pedals in exchange for this prop-ability on a wheel like this!

 

10 hours ago, roofus4 said:

So, for me, I think of the Luffy as a compromise wheel in order to gain portability. Definitely not as nice as my V5F+, but given the size, It's pretty impressive. It would be awesome to have a light, or a larger battery, but so far, I don't regret buying it. The problem for me, is I have few reasons to have any of these things. Here in Texas, things are just too spread out to not use a car. So, I just bum around the neighborhood for the most part. I never ride so long that the batteries run out.

The true reason I got into wheels, is that I wanted portable transportation to take with me in my plane (I hope that doesn't sound uppity.) That way I have a way around when I get to where I'm going. And there, my friends, is the true attraction to the Luffy. The thing is smaller than ALL the other things I have ever looked at, from scooters, to hover boards, to skate boards, segway minis, etc! I think this Luffy will finally fit the bill perfectly!

Yes, the Luffy IMHO is definitely not a main wheel, but a supplementary one, so I don't expect of it the same things as my V5F+ or Monster, etc.

 

I'm guessing real world range is 6-7 miles, so the Luffy is perfect for close proximity city riding and/or situations where you wanna ride, but need to store away the wheel as well (party/wedding functions, movie theater / malls, *fingers crossed* airports....)

 

Awesome stuff! Please report back if you have new findings~

 

[roofus4]

28 minutes ago, houseofjob said:

 

I believe this is the latest Gotway App: GotWay_0213.apk

And once you've got settings down, even better: WheelLog App (applies to many different makes and model EUCs; searchable as well through Google Play Store)

(Gotway FB Group File list)

 

Cool, I only asked this because I've been afraid of AliExpress vendors trying to pass off their MengQ / Lufei Luffy's as Gotway (weaker motor, 70-80kg max load vs Gotway's 100KG).~

 

Thanks for the link to the app. I'm out of town again, so can't try till I get home.

I agree with your concern about some of the Ali sellers selling the MengQ version. I still wonder if mine is legit. I got it for $599 and free shipping. Way lower than any other 200wh I've seen. Do you see enough evidence that I have a real Gotway? When it didn't come with a manual, that was kind of a red flag. But it connects to the gotway app. Is that of any consequence? Do you think the box with "uffy" on it means it's Gotway? Without a side by side, one MengQ, and one Gotway, how would I know? One way is to get it from speedy feet, but it costs a fortune. It says www.kebye.com on the pedal and the charger.  I guess what I'm asking, is what can I look for to tell if it's truly a Gotway?

[houseofjob]

1 minute ago, roofus4 said:

I agree with your concern about some of the Ali sellers selling the MengQ version. I still wonder if mine is legit. I got it for $599 and free shipping. Way lower than any other 200wh I've seen. Do you see enough evidence that I have a real Gotway? When it didn't come with a manual, that was kind of a red flag. But it connects to the gotway app. Is that of any consequence? Do you think the box with "uffy" on it means it's Gotway? Without a side by side, one MengQ, and one Gotway, how would I know? One way is to get it from speedy feet, but it costs a fortune. It says www.kebye.com on the pedal and the charger.  I guess what I'm asking, is what can I look for to tell if it's truly a Gotway?

Actually, doing some more sleuthing, I'm inclined to believe this Luffy is legit Gotway version.

If you see in this post here, the pics of the MengQ Luffy show a different box, but more importantly, the MengQ Luffy charger in the pics is 71.4V as opposed to your 67.2V (curious why they decreased the voltage for the Gotway Luffy when current EUC trend is to increase operational voltage/current).

You could also go 1 step further and open up the Luffy to see if the battery pack has the Gotway sticker (see vid here around 9:30). Even though they could fake this, it would be a great hassle to swap stickers. (but I don't think you need to, the differing charging voltages is enough proof IMO - you can go a step further and confirm voltage if the Hobbyist Charge doctor is compatible).

[US69]

keybe=Gotway!

if you have that on the pedal, you are fine..also i think that it connects to the Gw app is the best sign

[roofus4]

Awesome, thanks for your thoughts guys. Makes me feel better. Good find on the voltage difference. One thing I noticed in the link you posted, the picture of the charge indicator has 5 white led lights. Mine, if you look very carefully, looks like there are 5 LEDs as well, but at full charge, as was the case in the pic I posted, it only goes up to 4 LEDs. Almost like the lower voltage battery doesn't get it up to the 5th LED. Also seems like the MengQ has a black only sticker on the pedal, where the gotway has some red in it.

Thanks again guys, I feel more confident now.

 

I was about to post the link to the seller on Ali that I got mine from for $599, but they now have it up to $740. When I bought it, it said %19 off. I guess I happened on a solid deal.

[roofus4]

I was able to get the Luffy connected to the latest Gotway app. Thanks houseofjob for the link. I messed around with the tiltback settings. I cranked it up to 27 km/h, and then subsequently turned it off completely. I left the 2nd alarm on just for my own safety, but was able to get it up to 28km/h before I chickened out. It could probably go faster, but I was scared to go any faster. That is officially faster than I've gone on my V5F+. In that regime, you get 3 rapid beeps that repeat themselves.

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Wow  that is impressive for such a tiny wheel!  It goes faster than my Ninebot One E+, but then yeah most wheels nowadays do.    I wonder if airlines would allow a 200 wh battery onboard?  This might be the answer for a small, compact travel away from home wheel for vacations, business trips, etc!  Take the battery out, stow the wheel into checked on baggage, and away you go!

Can you post up some ride videos?

[houseofjob]

14 hours ago, roofus4 said:

I was able to get the Luffy connected to the latest Gotway app. Thanks houseofjob for the link. I messed around with the tiltback settings. I cranked it up to 27 km/h, and then subsequently turned it off completely. I left the 2nd alarm on just for my own safety, but was able to get it up to 28km/h before I chickened out. It could probably go faster, but I was scared to go any faster. That is officially faster than I've gone on my V5F+. In that regime, you get 3 rapid beeps that repeat themselves.

Nice~ 

This makes me more than satisfied to eventually take the plunge.

It's faster than a V5F+ or NB1E+, but braking is probably not as quick as those wheels at these speeds, which is to be expected with the weaker motor.

[yourtoys7]

Other colours?

yes, take some vid. riding :))

[roofus4]

10 hours ago, houseofjob said:

Nice~ 

This makes me more than satisfied to eventually take the plunge.

It's faster than a V5F+ or NB1E+, but braking is probably not as quick as those wheels at these speeds, which is to be expected with the weaker motor.

As far as I know, there is only this one color...

Ok, so I turned off the tilt-back on the Luffy with somewhat of an experimental mind set. I had it in my mind that I could probably get it up to a speed faster than my V5F+. That was my goal. However, as you guys have taught me, it's not a very safe place to be. There just isn't much torque left at the upper end of the speed range. And also, like houseofjob mentioned, the braking is not quite as good as some of the bigger wheels, so less room for error. That being said, I went ahead and turned the tilt-back back on. 28 km/h is 17 mph! With the tilt-back on, I was only able to go 14 mph riding the tilt. I have it in my mind that for the actual purpose of riding to get somewhere, I will settle into a speed just below tilt-back, which is about 12-13 mph. That will give me better range, and a higher safety margin.

It's just cool knowing that this tiny EUC can hang with the big boys, well some of the big boys anyway. Of course, if I turned off the tilt back on my V5F+, it would smoke the Luffy... But, back to my main point. I really didn't know how useful of a wheel this little thing would be, but IMO it is a totally legit wheel, so long as we understand it's limitations.

My next mission is to see how many times I can go around the block on a full charge (1 block is right about 1 mile). I have a feeling we are going to wish it had it's original 400+ WH battery.

I'll see if I can take some video for you guys.

 

[roofus4]

The store where I bought mine on Aliexpress, now has it at 14% off. (5-8 days free shipping for $636)

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Gotway-Msuper3-820WH-Outdoor-fitness-equipment-Electric-unicycle-one-wheel-sooter-The-fast-speed-50KM-H/32735063397.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.11.HWbtpA&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_2_10065_10130_10068_433_10136_10137_10138_10060_10062_10056_10055_10054_302_10059_10099_9915_10103_10102_10096_10052_10053_10050_10107_10051_10106_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10111_10112_10113_10114_10078_10079_10073_10070_10122_10123_10126_10124-10051_9915,searchweb201603_9,afswitch_1,ppcSwitch_5,single_sort_0_default&btsid=177aa57c-428a-4f83-9649-8673767a457b&algo_expid=2a0644f4-7975-42fc-938a-a6d3abdacacf-1&algo_pvid=2a0644f4-7975-42fc-938a-a6d3abdacacf

[roofus4]

I just wiped out in my livingroom and the front cover popped off. Does it look like they HAD planned on putting a headlight in this thing? Or maybe they have the option to put one in on future upgraded models? 

[houseofjob]

18 hours ago, roofus4 said:

My next mission is to see how many times I can go around the block on a full charge (1 block is right about 1 mile). I have a feeling we are going to wish it had it's original 400+ WH battery.

Yes, the final mystery (besides 80% 3rd alarm/beep) is real world range. Please let us know how far you can go until 20% and below battery, reduced speed cripple mode!

 

18 hours ago, roofus4 said:

Does it look like they HAD planned on putting a headlight in this thing? Or maybe they have the option to put one in on future upgraded models?

AFAIK the casing had no changes from the MengQ version. 

It does seem like they could've easily placed some kind of LED headlight there. The MengQ Luffy seems to have no headlight either.

[roofus4]

At about midnight I took Luffy off the charger with a full charge and set off around the block over and over to see how far I could get. I was using my Garmin watch as my official speed and distance measuring device. I tried to ride as consistently as possible right under tilt back. That seemed to be between 12 and 13 mph. I did stop at about 4 miles to rest. Feet and calves were starting to get sore. At about the 7.2 mile mark I got my first battery beep, but only a few. It wasn't till about 8 miles that it started beeping pretty continuously. 3 beeps repeating. Beep beep beep....... beep beep beep....... The battery was bouncing between 40 and 30%. Still right at about 12 mph and no change in tilt back behavior. Passing 9 miles, my calves were burning and I started feeling self conscious about the beeping, as it was almost 1 in the morning in my sleeping neighborhood. I could feel Luffy starting to tilt me back a little sooner (10 - 11mph). The motor seemed to lack in its sprightliness. It mostly stayed that way as I passed 10 miles. However, at that point I did feel it was tilting back at yet slower speeds. I stopped and checked the app, and with me off the wheel, it said 20% battery. But when you get on and go, it drops down to 0 - 10%. So at that point I decided to quit (almost as much for my calves as the battery). I was hoping Luffy would get at least 8 miles and he did better than that, so I'm very happy! I actually brought him inside and rode him some more around the livingroom for a bit, and I could really tell the power was quite depleted. As it stands right now, with no load, the app says 20% battery. For reference, here in Houston, TX, it is 51 degrees Fahrenheit. I weigh 170 lbs, and am 5'10" tall. 

Here is a link to some pics of my Garmin watch (I've exceeded the forum picture allotment). One pic shows distance (10.26 mi), and another shows the average speed (11.8 mph). The total movement time was 51 min 58 sec. 

https://goo.gl/photos/e9RUg9u6SZWi42vr8

[houseofjob]

Wow, that's more range than I was expecting! (nice Garmin Watch BTW, might have to get me one of those!)

 

7 hours ago, roofus4 said:

I stopped and checked the app, and with me off the wheel, it said 20% battery. But when you get on and go, it drops down to 0 - 10%.

FYI, Gotway app battery percentage reading has always been screwy (remember, battery percentage itself is not a truly accurate measure).

You'll get the most accurate reading while at rest.

 

So it seems, with 10 miles as the 20% cripple mode mark, under the ideal 68ºF for Lithium batteries, total Luffy range would appear to be about 12.5-13 miles.

This is almost on par with the range I used to get on my old Ninebot One E+, at around half the weight!

[roofus4]

1 hour ago, houseofjob said:

Wow, that's more range than I was expecting! (nice Garmin Watch BTW, might have to get me one of those!)

 

FYI, Gotway app battery percentage reading has always been screwy (remember, battery percentage itself is not a truly accurate measure).

You'll get the most accurate reading while at rest.

 

So it seems, with 10 miles as the 20% cripple mode mark, under the ideal 68ºF for Lithium batteries, total Luffy range would appear to be about 12.5-13 miles.

This is almost on par with the range I used to get on my old Ninebot One E+, at around half the weight!

It's a Garmin Vivoactive fitness watch. I use the biking app. There's a newer version now.

I was scared and concerned to go too much further, but you think I could have gotten another mile or two if I were to slow down and milk it a bit?

Either way, I'm pretty happy with it. Like I said before, imagine the original larger battery! That would be pretty cool. I could stand another pound or so for superior range. Do guys ever have custom batteries made? Are there places that can do that? I wonder if I could get a bigger battery that way? Just for the fun of it

My next mission is to go with it to a store and find a svelt back back that Luffy will fit into perfectly. Air show season is starting soon.

I know it is probably taboo to say this, but as far as taking Luffy on a commercial plane, I think it would be a non event. If asked about the battery, just say it meets the airline specs. Take off the 200WH sticker and how would anyone know. If these are Panasonic batteries, they should be as safe as a laptop right? Just don't charge it with the onboard seat outlets, lol!

Is that a bad thought?

[houseofjob]

8 minutes ago, roofus4 said:

I was scared and concerned to go too much further, but you think I could have gotten another mile or two if I were to slow down and milk it a bit?

I was going off your reported tiltback reduction behavior, but maybe it should be measured from when the 2nd alarm (3 consecutive beeps) kicks in at lesser speeds (so maybe 10-11 miles(?) total range)

Personally, I am never interested in actually riding a wheel into the sub-20% on any wheel, let alone sub-50%, if I can help it, so 8 miles on a Luffy seems like good range.  

Also, as the Luffy is on the weaker end of motors, I would be more inclined to avoid riding on sub-20% battery.

 

35 minutes ago, roofus4 said:

I know it is probably taboo to say this, but as far as taking Luffy on a commercial plane, I think it would be a non event. If asked about the battery, just say it meets the airline specs. Take off the 200WH sticker and how would anyone know. If these are Panasonic batteries, they should be as safe as a laptop right? Just don't charge it with the onboard seat outlets, lol!

Any reputable battery co should be safe; it's the cheap no-name Chinese batteries with bad membranes that cause thermal runaway / fires.

If you're attempting to carry-on, passing through TSA is the main concern, not the airlines AFAIK. You need to separate battery and wheel, with the battery being the mandatory carry-on (lithium batteries are potentially more reactive and banned in the cargo area). And deplete the battery to 40-50% storage levels prior to boarding.

[roofus4]

1 hour ago, houseofjob said:

Personally, I am never interested in actually riding a wheel into the sub-20% on any wheel, let alone sub-50%, if I can help it, so 8 miles on a Luffy seems like good range.  

Also, as the Luffy is on the weaker end of motors, I would be more inclined to avoid riding on sub-20% battery.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on that. Sounds like a good rule of thumb.

1 hour ago, houseofjob said:

If you're attempting to carry-on, passing through TSA is the main concern, not the airlines AFAIK. You need to separate battery and wheel, with the battery being the mandatory carry-on (lithium batteries are potentially more reactive and banned in the cargo area). And deplete the battery to 40-50% storage levels prior to boarding.

So I guess it's not really practical to plan in taking this on a commercial flight. That's a bummer. Even with the whole thing as a carry on in the cabin, you'd still need to remove the battery?

[houseofjob]

1 hour ago, roofus4 said:

So I guess it's not really practical to plan in taking this on a commercial flight. That's a bummer. Even with the whole thing as a carry on in the cabin, you'd still need to remove the battery?

The actual airline is never the issue (as long as your not flaunting the wheel), it's security check.

(FYI, most airlines have banned EUCs, so though 'technically' allowed, they are effectively banned).

 

Every security check is different, especially abroad, so you are at their mercy (all in the name of security);  plan accordingly. (best surefire method is to ship the battery, carry / check-in the wheel).

 

From what I can gather from reports on the forums and local NYC riders / travelers, FTA, domestic security is more lax than IATA / non-US security, so you may be able to travel with your wheel easier when traveling within the US (still no guarantees; have a plan B ready).

The Middle East seems to not allow altogether (for obvious reasons), with parts of Asia and Europe actively banning as well. 

 

The purpose of separating battery and wheel (preferably checked-in and away from your battery) is to disassociate your case from the stigma / prejudice of the 'hoverboard' and Samsung Galaxy fiascos. But be prepared to prove the use and watt-hour for your battery, as I've heard cases where security asks for just that.