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Horrific initial experience with EUC


guyr

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Bought my first electric unicycle - Ninebot One C+ (£400). It arrived on Monday

The tyres arrived at a low pressure but perfectly ride-able. I'd done some reading on this forum in advance and it suggested that learning to ride on less inflated tyres would be easier. Potentially true, but it turns out that does NOT outweigh the risks... (Read on)

I went out and obsessively practised for about an hour. By the end of that, I was able to stand and go in a straight line for about 50m. But my unicycle was making a thumping noise like it had a flat tyre...

Went back to check it and the valve had gone INTO the tyre and got VERY stuck. Impossible to pull back out with my hands or any tool I have. 

Went to a couple of bike shops - no one was really interested and no one wanted to help sadly. 

After a lot of searching I decided the best option was to invest in some tyre levers and hex keys, open up the ninebot and try to fix it myself.

SUCCESS. I opened it and found the inner tube was completely mangled into a small part of the tyre, and when I got the tyre off, the valve came loose. I untangled the inner tube and pumped it a bit to restore its shape, before putting it back into the tyre and putting the tyre back on. Wahay. Super excited to be able to get on it again... I pumped up the tyre to about 40 PSI and started the long job of closing the Ninebot up again. (Total time to open, fix and close up again: about 2 hrs - I am inexperienced...)

Once finally closed, I give the wheel a squeeze. Crud. It's completely flat. The inner tube isn't holding any air. Great. 

So two options: buy some tyre patches (and open it all up again to apply them), or get some 'slime'. Slime has a lot of good press on here and I thought I could apply it without opening up the ninebot again, so I went and ordered it off Amazon... Just my luck the package never arrives but shows as delivered. No card left and nothing with neighbours. Not giving up, I call around every bike shop near me, find one that stocks slime, go and purchase it. 

Return to ninebot with slime. Very excited. Ready to put slime in but can't get the bloody valve core out of the valve. Spent an hour trying to do that. Eventually decided I'm going to have to start dismantling it again to get sufficient access to the valve. Start opening it up and about halfway through taking stuff off the valve is accessible enough to remove the core. SUCCESS. Plug in the slime, fill it with slime. Follow the instructions perfectly. Put the valve core back in and pump it up. 

...... HSSSSSSSS

The slime didn't bloody work.

Add more slime and repeat.

Still doesn't hold air.

Re-pump 3 times and spin the wheel loads just in case slime hadn't spread around enough.

Still doesn't hold air. 

Sooooo it's 3 days after my ninebot arrived, 3 long days and nights trying to fix it, and I still can't bloody use the thing. 

---

I don't blame anyone but myself really because I should pumped it before riding it or stopped riding much sooner to pump it up. 

But thought I'd share my experience because it was stories like this that helped me to make the purchase decision and to at least make progress towards repairing it in the first place. 

So.....  does anyone have any spare Ninebot One 16" inner tubes and/or tyres in the UK that I could purchase to try and get this thing working again ASAP?

Thanks!

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That the slime did not work is probably because its not your tire, that has a leak!

 

I would suspect that where the vent is split from the inner tube...because all the fumbling had defect it.

The place where the vent/valve is sitting is the most sensitive place....and on this slime doesn’t help a bit.

 

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Bummer, how disappointing!  Once you replace the tube and get the pressure up to 35 psi or so, you'll be back in business.  At least you are no stranger to disassembly now so the process should go smoothly.  

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Aw man :cry2: that's a classic Ninebot newb mistake.  I don't know why Ninebot doesn't at least fill these to like 40 psi at the factory to avoid something like this happening.  Someone else did the exact same thing a few months ago in the summer on the forum. 

Rule number one: First thing to do is to check the air pressure and fill up the tire.  They come with like 15 psi from the factory.  I know there are some postings about how easier it is to learn on a slightly lower pressure, but it's better to fill it up at least to 35-40 psi.  I learned on my 14" generic which had a rock hard tire pressure, and while it was very difficult, it still was manageable so I bet a 16" Ninebot with 45-50 psi would be just fine.  I ride with 55-60 psi on mine now.  With the heavier wheels, I don't think the softer air pressure likely makes a huge difference.

I don't know if the photos are just generic ones as the bent air valve looks to be pointing in the wrong direction, but here's one on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ninebot-One-Electric-Unicycle-Parts-Inner-Tube-Tire-for-Models-C-C-E-E-A1-S2-/222613066607

One more:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tube-Original-Replacement-Ninebot-One-C-E-Series-Tire-Tube/152685262131

https://hoodriderz.com/products/ninebot-one-inner-tube

https://www.passiongadgets.com/ninebot-one-16-inch-inner-tube-replacement-tire/

https://royalbrinkman.com/inner-tube-ninebot-one-w00001280

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/inner-tube-and-outer-tyer-for-Ninebot-One-C-E-A1-S2-solo-wheel-scooter/32823373717.html

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3 hours ago, guyr said:

Bought my first electric unicycle - Ninebot One C+ (£400). It arrived on Monday

The tyres arrived at a low pressure but perfectly ride-able. I'd done some reading on this forum in advance and it suggested that learning to ride on less inflated tyres would be easier. Potentially true, but it turns out that does NOT outweigh the risks... (Read on)

I went out and obsessively practised for about an hour. By the end of that, I was able to stand and go in a straight line for about 50m. But my unicycle was making a thumping noise like it had a flat tyre...

Went back to check it and the valve had gone INTO the tyre and got VERY stuck. Impossible to pull back out with my hands or any tool I have. 

Went to a couple of bike shops - no one was really interested and no one wanted to help sadly. 

After a lot of searching I decided the best option was to invest in some tyre levers and hex keys, open up the ninebot and try to fix it myself.

SUCCESS. I opened it and found the inner tube was completely mangled into a small part of the tyre, and when I got the tyre off, the valve came loose. I untangled the inner tube and pumped it a bit to restore its shape, before putting it back into the tyre and putting the tyre back on. Wahay. Super excited to be able to get on it again... I pumped up the tyre to about 40 PSI and started the long job of closing the Ninebot up again. (Total time to open, fix and close up again: about 2 hrs - I am inexperienced...)

Once finally closed, I give the wheel a squeeze. Crud. It's completely flat. The inner tube isn't holding any air. Great. 

So two options: buy some tyre patches (and open it all up again to apply them), or get some 'slime'. Slime has a lot of good press on here and I thought I could apply it without opening up the ninebot again, so I went and ordered it off Amazon... Just my luck the package never arrives but shows as delivered. No card left and nothing with neighbours. Not giving up, I call around every bike shop near me, find one that stocks slime, go and purchase it. 

Return to ninebot with slime. Very excited. Ready to put slime in but can't get the bloody valve core out of the valve. Spent an hour trying to do that. Eventually decided I'm going to have to start dismantling it again to get sufficient access to the valve. Start opening it up and about halfway through taking stuff off the valve is accessible enough to remove the core. SUCCESS. Plug in the slime, fill it with slime. Follow the instructions perfectly. Put the valve core back in and pump it up. 

...... HSSSSSSSS

The slime didn't bloody work.

Add more slime and repeat.

Still doesn't hold air.

Re-pump 3 times and spin the wheel loads just in case slime hadn't spread around enough.

Still doesn't hold air. 

Sooooo it's 3 days after my ninebot arrived, 3 long days and nights trying to fix it, and I still can't bloody use the thing. 

---

I don't blame anyone but myself really because I should pumped it before riding it or stopped riding much sooner to pump it up. 

But thought I'd share my experience because it was stories like this that helped me to make the purchase decision and to at least make progress towards repairing it in the first place. 

So.....  does anyone have any spare Ninebot One 16" inner tubes and/or tyres in the UK that I could purchase to try and get this thing working again ASAP?

Thanks!

Sorry to hear of your bad experience. As others have said, proper air pressure can prevent some flats. During one of our recent group rides someone ran over a very large rock with a tire that had low pressure. It immediately went flat and Slime did not help. He had a snakebite puncture which are two large wounds to the  tube, near the outside. Something Slime can't fix.

I run all my tires between 40 and 60psi.

Doesn't Speedyfeet carry Ninebot supplies?

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3 hours ago, guyr said:

Bought my first electric unicycle - Ninebot One C+ (£400). It arrived on Monday

The tyres arrived at a low pressure but perfectly ride-able. I'd done some reading on this forum in advance and it suggested that learning to ride on less inflated tyres would be easier. Potentially true, but it turns out that does NOT outweigh the risks... (Read on)

I went out and obsessively practised for about an hour. By the end of that, I was able to stand and go in a straight line for about 50m. But my unicycle was making a thumping noise like it had a flat tyre...

Went back to check it and the valve had gone INTO the tyre and got VERY stuck. Impossible to pull back out with my hands or any tool I have. 

Went to a couple of bike shops - no one was really interested and no one wanted to help sadly. 

After a lot of searching I decided the best option was to invest in some tyre levers and hex keys, open up the ninebot and try to fix it myself.

SUCCESS. I opened it and found the inner tube was completely mangled into a small part of the tyre, and when I got the tyre off, the valve came loose. I untangled the inner tube and pumped it a bit to restore its shape, before putting it back into the tyre and putting the tyre back on. Wahay. Super excited to be able to get on it again... I pumped up the tyre to about 40 PSI and started the long job of closing the Ninebot up again. (Total time to open, fix and close up again: about 2 hrs - I am inexperienced...)

Once finally closed, I give the wheel a squeeze. Crud. It's completely flat. The inner tube isn't holding any air. Great. 

So two options: buy some tyre patches (and open it all up again to apply them), or get some 'slime'. Slime has a lot of good press on here and I thought I could apply it without opening up the ninebot again, so I went and ordered it off Amazon... Just my luck the package never arrives but shows as delivered. No card left and nothing with neighbours. Not giving up, I call around every bike shop near me, find one that stocks slime, go and purchase it. 

Return to ninebot with slime. Very excited. Ready to put slime in but can't get the bloody valve core out of the valve. Spent an hour trying to do that. Eventually decided I'm going to have to start dismantling it again to get sufficient access to the valve. Start opening it up and about halfway through taking stuff off the valve is accessible enough to remove the core. SUCCESS. Plug in the slime, fill it with slime. Follow the instructions perfectly. Put the valve core back in and pump it up. 

...... HSSSSSSSS

The slime didn't bloody work.

Add more slime and repeat.

Still doesn't hold air.

Re-pump 3 times and spin the wheel loads just in case slime hadn't spread around enough.

Still doesn't hold air. 

Sooooo it's 3 days after my ninebot arrived, 3 long days and nights trying to fix it, and I still can't bloody use the thing. 

---

I don't blame anyone but myself really because I should pumped it before riding it or stopped riding much sooner to pump it up. 

But thought I'd share my experience because it was stories like this that helped me to make the purchase decision and to at least make progress towards repairing it in the first place. 

So.....  does anyone have any spare Ninebot One 16" inner tubes and/or tyres in the UK that I could purchase to try and get this thing working again ASAP?

Thanks!

Listen and rock to that song! (Bad Day)

"'Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile, and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down, and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Well you need a blue sky holiday
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carrying on"

Sing it baby!

It happens sometimes, it'll be worth it once you learn.  The EUC videos from Europe looks so fun!

I bought my Ninebot via Amazon and was fortunate to be able to return it.  It was a little beat up and I felt really guilty about returning it.  I couldn't learn to ride it and my son wanted to get the Nintendo Switch instead.

Anyways, I didn't give up and ended up buying the V8 which took me several weeks to learn to ride.  When I got it, it had the tire scraping problem and people suggested deflating a bit.  I chose not to deflate and kept riding until the bumps wore off and never changed to the tire Jason got me.  I'm glad I stuck with the EUC.  I'm having a good time with my 6 year old daughter and I no longer worry about parking my car far away.  The family loves it that I can drop them off and go park any where and pick them up any time.

I think it will also pay off when my wife and I get older and we can sight see and cover a lot more distance than walking.

However EUC is dangerous, there's still the face plant experience and the cutoff experience to come.

But I won't let a bad day stop me!

Good luck.

 

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On 27/10/2017 at 12:04 AM, guyr said:

The tyres arrived at a low pressure but perfectly ride-able. I'd done some reading on this forum in advance and it suggested that learning to ride on less inflated tyres would be easier. Potentially true, but it turns out that does NOT outweigh the risks... (Read on)

Just to sum up: As @Hunka Hunka Burning Love, has already mentioned but is worth reiterating for other newbies, this is a classic piece of “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing”.

Yes, there is a lot to be said for not having too high a pressure whilst learning - it can feel like you are riding on ice as well as jumping your feet off of the peddles over every bump - very unpleasant. However by “less inflated” we mean something like 30-35 P.S.I. Not 15 PSI. Even then the weight of the rider needs to be considered. Obviously, I hope, the heavier the rider, the higher the pressure is going to need to be.

As @Marty Backe also said above, a “snakebite” puncture caused by pinching the tyre against the rim does serious damage to the tyre and tube so it is better to err on the side of too high a pressure - especially if likely to hit potholes, kerbs etc.

A good rule of thumb if unsure is to stand on your powered up wheel stationary (hold something to support yourself) and get someone to photograph the tyre from the side. If you are compressing the bottom of the tyre to less then half the sidewall width then the tyre needs more air.

Once you can ride comfortably, don’t be afraid to experiment with tyre pressure. The higher the pressure the better the range and responsiveness, but the less stable it will be and bumps will be more jarring. Finding the right balance for you personally can make a real difference to your riding pleasure.

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On 27/10/2017 at 12:04 AM, guyr said:

So.....  does anyone have any spare Ninebot One 16" inner tubes and/or tyres in the UK that I could purchase to try and get this thing working again ASAP?

To answer the original question, it looks like @Jason McNeil’s UK site has a 16” KingSong/IPS inner tube for sale see: https://www.wheelgo.com/product/king-song-14-inner-tube/ I’m not sure if the Ninebot one is any different, this one certainly has the same bent over valve. Maybe Jason or someone else could confirm whether or not the KingSong one will fit?

 

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Thanks all!

I ended up finding this golden thread: 

 

And checked all the UK sellers. 3 had the inner tube available and in stock: Airwheel UK, WheelGo and Yorkshire Airwheels. I contacted them all and Yorkshire Airwheels were the fastest to respond and happy to send it to me next day delivery included in the price, so went with them! 

All fixed and riding again. Fully got the hang of going straight and turning now. Already feeling a bit limited by the top speed but it's decent enough for now!

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