mfvtgtgs Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 I ordered the King Song 16s which finally came in the mail today. I decided to write a little about my experience while my very sore shins are recovering. I knew nothing about this whole idea of electric unicycles until I saw a "Cool Gadgets" type youtube video which showed the Segway S1 and thought, "Cool!". From what I had heard about Segway I thought it would be way expensive and was surprised that it was only $500. Well, I had some left over Christmas cash burning a whole in my pocket so I said, "I'm getting one!". I started to research and saw that there was a cap on the speed which I though was faster than what I needed but was concerned about the battery capacity and power. It seemed that for just a little more, I could get a lot more power, and a lot more battery life with the King Song 14D. I plunked down the cash for the King Song 14D but since it was on backorder, it gave me a chance to think more and thought," I want more power! I want more battery!" so a quick cancel of the 14D and I ended up ordering the 16s from Freemotion. Mind you, from the time I started my unicycle quest and thinking that $500 was about as much as I wanted to spend, I ended up spending $1300 total for the 16S and the 5A charger from ewheels. I ordered the gray 16s version and he put it in the mail the next day but since it was coming from Canada, it took about 6 days to get here. SIX AGONIZING DAYS!! The person I dealt with at freemotion was very quick with return emails. He gave me some hints on updating the firmware with ios while it was enroute. I had a pleasant experience with Freemotion. While it was enroute, I spent time watching youtube instruction videos from all wheel makers as well as riding my inline skates. I had not worn them for about 5 years so I practiced trying to lean forward while moving as well as keeping my ankles together while cruising down hills. I went to the shipping depot the minute it opened and picked it up this morning. I had heard stories of the firmware update not going as expected and was scared I would get this toy, err I mean "electronic personal mobility device" and turn it into a brick immediately so I opted to skip the firmware update for now. I read the provided instructions which mention only using an inflation tube to inflate the wheel but I did not see any such item in the box. Only the wheel, king song charger, and 2- 40A fuses. I fired off an email to Freemotion asking if a "inflation tube" was supposed to be in there and he replied back within 30minutes that he did not think so but had sent the question to King Song. Anyone know what this is referring to? Anyway, I was able to inflate the tire just using a pump and got it to 46PSI. During my trying to do horizontal calibration the lights stopped working and it was beeping twice every 2 seconds which scared me a little bit until I remembered someone on the forum mentioning the lock feature. I quickly unlocked it from the King Song app and it was back working as it should. I also changed the mode to learning mode. I have also installed the Darkness bot app which looks like it may be the app that I use since it is just beautiful in appearance and has all the features that I need. Not sure why its free but will definately buy the add ons since they are just $4 and I want to support all the hard work that went into the app. I had previously purchased the baby corner bumper with double sided tape to protect the wheel but was concerned that the tape would ruin the finish so I put on masking take first and then the double sided tape and bumper on that. Within about 45 minutes the bumper was coming off so obviously there is a better way. I am interested in making a cover but was concerned that it may insulate the motor and cause it to get too hot. I figure once I determine the normal operating temperature that I can try to make a cover and see if the temp increases significantly. I did put some climbing webbing through the handle to act as a retention strap to catch it when I step off which has done very, very well during my learning. I spent about 10 minutes with my right foot on the wheel and my left foot on the ground just pressing forward and backwards to learn the movement. It was during this that I learned how painful it was on my shins. Clearly I have no muscle there since all the pressure, despite the side pads is very uncomfortable. Maybe my position needs to be adjusted? Since my shins hurt so much I elected to pull out my truck and just stand on the wheel and get a feel for it while holding onto the truck. Initially, the truck got too hot in the sun which was kind of a motivator to limit my contact with the truck to prevent my hand from burning. I would go inside to rest my shins and let my hand recover but after about 3 rounds of 15-20min each, I got a glove on my left hand which kept my hand from getting hot. I started to just take laps around the truck and after about 100 laps I started to get some guts and opted to just see how far I could go up the driveway. It ends up with constant trys, I was able to move up the driveway and slowly around the block. Going faster is definitely more stable/easier which is not intuitive when starting out. Basically go as fast as you can run off when you lose your balance. I still have the strap on the handle which is essential for me to get started going. I do better turning to the left which is the same direction that I was doing the laps around the car. I will go back and try taking laps around the car the other way to see if I can get the right turns better. My total time to being able to ride the wheel was probably about 2.5 hours. My next step will be to get my starts a little more refined and to be able to stop without looking like I am having a seizure. Not sure when I will feel comfortable to remove the strap... Well, my shin is doing better now. I think its time for another session. mfvtgtgs Anderson, SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Thanks for you story and welcome to the club Regardless of how many muscles you have or don't have, your body will be sore. That's just part of the learning process. Give it time. Within a week or two your body will have adjusted to the various pressure points. Your intro was a bit confusing. You describe the purchasing experience from Freemotion, but then state that you spent $1300 buying from EWheels. I'm confused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 1 hour ago, mfvtgtgs said: I also changed the mode to learning mode. @mfvtgtgs, welcome to the forum, and great write up. Just one thing I would pick up on. Virtually everyone considers learner mode to be unpleasantly soft, even complete beginners, you might want to try the medium mode (I think it is “cycling”) before you get much further. See the 4th paragraph in the below posts for example: Shins hurting is a pretty common problem when you start off (for me as well!) I have never been totally sure whether it is the shins hardening up or the riders learning not to frantically grip the wheel between their legs - you really only need to stand on the peddles not grip the wheel tight. However, whichever reason it is you should find the problem goes after a week or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfvtgtgs Posted May 10, 2018 Author Share Posted May 10, 2018 Sorry for the confusion Marty. I purchased the wheel from Freemotion and then the 5amp charger from ewheels. My total cost was $1300 for both. Based upon the comments it seems like keeping the battery between 20%to 80% with a full charge about every 2m seems to be optimal. I purchased the ewheels 5amp charger so I could do this. I think the charger will come next week from ewheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 12 minutes ago, mfvtgtgs said: Sorry for the confusion Marty. I purchased the wheel from Freemotion and then the 5amp charger from ewheels. My total cost was $1300 for both. Based upon the comments it seems like keeping the battery between 20%to 80% with a full charge about every 2m seems to be optimal. I purchased the ewheels 5amp charger so I could do this. I think the charger will come next week from ewheels. Thanks for clearing up the vendor confusion. Lots of differing opinions on battery 'babying'. My opinion is to fully charge and enjoy the wheel. I think the odds of your batteries deteriorating within the 2 to 3 years that you'll probably own the wheel, due to always fullying charging, is essentially nil. It's just an opinion, but that's how I roll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HermanTheGerman Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 22 minutes ago, Marty Backe said: Thanks for clearing up the vendor confusion. Lots of differing opinions on battery 'babying'. My opinion is to fully charge and enjoy the wheel. I think the odds of your batteries deteriorating within the 2 to 3 years that you'll probably own the wheel, due to always fullying charging, is essentially nil. It's just an opinion, but that's how I roll I agree completely. I'm only charging to between 95-97%, because I live up on a hill, and when I leave my house, I must roll down first for quite some time. That's the only reason why I do not charge up to 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circuitmage Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Sounds like a familiar starting sequence (from purchase to first rides). Word of CAUTION (from experience), do not get too comfortable with going fast. About my 3rd month in I had a couple high speed minor collisions as I felt I was ready for high speed, but had not learned restraint yet. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr8ps Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 23 hours ago, Marty Backe said: On 5/10/2018 at 3:21 PM, mfvtgtgs said: Based upon the comments it seems like keeping the battery between 20%to 80% with a full charge about every 2m seems to be optimal. I purchased the ewheels 5amp charger so I could do this. I think the charger will come next week from ewheels. I roll at 90% except for when I know I'm going for a long ride, then I'll top it off. My line of thought is if my usual rides only use 30 or 40 percent of the charge then why keep it at 100%? This will prematurely age the batteries for no good reason. Then again, I only have one grown up wheel. There is a reason why Tesla wants you to keep the maximum charge at 90% and why laptops often have battery modes that cap off charge to less than 100% to preserve battery longevity. Even my hotspot gives a warning to take it off the charger and that keeping it plugged in would decrease the battery lifespan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrelwood Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 My Airwheel A3 (seated 2-wheeler) battery has lost most of it’s ability to deliver power, just after 2 years (3000km). When I got my 16S I had learned about the 40-80% range and Charge Doctor, therefore the 16S battery is still doing great after 7000km. I charge to 90% and top it off if I know I’m going for a long one. If you plan to ride the wheel for 2 years or more, I would definitely recommend babying the battery as much as is/feels reasonable. For the price for a nee battery, it’s definitely worth it. - Keep the charge between 40-80%. - Let it charge 3 hours past 100% every 10th charge cycle. - Let the battery sit for 15 minutes before charging. My shins still hurt if I have a lot of starts. The point of contact is a bit low on the 16S, so padding helps. The inflation tube is just a brass extender tube to make filling easier. If your pump fits without bending the valve too much, the extender is not needed. The 2-sided tape of the baby bumper will not harm the 16S finish. It comes off perfectly with Label Off. Welcome to the greatest hobby in the world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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