TomOnWheels Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Hi ! Anyone have any news from Uniwheel ? They stopped answering emails and it looks like there is nothing new around... not even on the forum.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WARPed1701D Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 They posted a few times at the beginning of the year and there was a new video released of a guy from either France or Belgium who picked one up and then rode it around inside a large hall of some kind. After that. Nothing. They keep dropping off the radar only to then out the blue make some announcement months/years later. I imagine they are still around, they just have no clue how important community engagement is in helping their wheel take off. @vladmarks has a good relationship with them. Maybe he can elaborate. It's a shame. I think the Uniwheel actually is a nice looking wheel for the last mile commuter (with a caveat that it needs a trolley handle). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwheel Jack Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Try phoning them before you spread rumours about them closing down. They're part of a large technology investment fund so it seems unlikely they are 'Out of Business'. Tel: 020 7642 1397 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomOnWheels Posted May 11, 2018 Author Share Posted May 11, 2018 1 hour ago, WARPed1701D said: They posted a few times at the beginning of the year and there was a new video released of a guy from either France or Belgium who picked one up and then rode it around inside a large hall of some kind. After that. Nothing. They keep dropping off the radar only to then out the blue make some announcement months/years later. I imagine they are still around, they just have no clue how important community engagement is in helping their wheel take off. @vladmarks has a good relationship with them. Maybe he can elaborate. It's a shame. I think the Uniwheel actually is a nice looking wheel for the last mile commuter (with a caveat that it needs a trolley handle). Thanks for information ! Uniwheel is available here in Paris, but I was trying to see if there is a way to get an extra battery and also where they are with Android app dev... No answer to emails, phone, etc... As you said so sad, because it's a nice wheel and also seems engineered from scratch, with good technolgy and some inovations... I was about to buy one but I'm afraid they give up and there is no support then... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomOnWheels Posted May 11, 2018 Author Share Posted May 11, 2018 19 minutes ago, Blackwheel Jack said: Try phoning them before you spread rumours about them closing down. They're part of a large technology investment fund so it seems unlikely they are 'Out of Business'. Tel: 020 7642 1397 I've called them but the guy told me to email... I did 3 times but no answer... It was a different number also, let me try this one. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post WARPed1701D Posted May 11, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted May 11, 2018 1 hour ago, Blackwheel Jack said: Try phoning them before you spread rumours about them closing down. They're part of a large technology investment fund so it seems unlikely they are 'Out of Business'. Tel: 020 7642 1397 He asked a question. Didn't make a statement. I'm not sure why you needed such a harsh response. 6 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 On 5/11/2018 at 7:04 PM, TomOnWheels said: Thanks for information ! Uniwheel is available here in Paris, but I was trying to see if there is a way to get an extra battery and also where they are with Android app dev... Why don't you ask your Paris dealer? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomOnWheels Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 On 5/16/2018 at 11:32 PM, Mono said: Why don't you ask your Paris dealer? I did... I've ased e-roue if they can get a spear battery as they are selling uniwheel, they told me they gonna call them but no news too... ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 (edited) 22 minutes ago, TomOnWheels said: I did... I've ased e-roue if they can get a spear battery as they are selling uniwheel, they told me they gonna call them but no news too... ? BTW, what was the outcome of your test ride? I am seriously considering to check out the Uniwheel, but if e-roue can't organize a spare battery, I most likely will not buy it. To have at least one extra battery seems to be a must for this wheel. Edited May 17, 2018 by Mono 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomOnWheels Posted May 18, 2018 Author Share Posted May 18, 2018 14 hours ago, Mono said: BTW, what was the outcome of your test ride? I am seriously considering to check out the Uniwheel, but if e-roue can't organize a spare battery, I most likely will not buy it. To have at least one extra battery seems to be a must for this wheel. Agree... I don't mind to have low range but in this case I really need a spare battery ! My try was a good experience all in all... Battery is easy to change (I think it takes around 30 seconds if it's not your 1st time) also the it's very comfortable and feel little bit like solowheel to me. It's easy to turn on it too... I got only 5 minutes for testing so, to was a short but good experience... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jonathan Tolhurst Posted May 18, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted May 18, 2018 I was walking past the Uniwheel offices just this lunchtime and they still appear to be in the same block although they might of moved units? I have rung the buzzer a few times previously but no-one answered. I've never seen anyone riding a Uniwheel despite working about 200 meters from their office! I wouldn't mind having a chat with the team and see how the wheel handles... I did see someone whizz down Borough High Street on a Kingsong today which was the first wheel I have seen in a while. 5 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomOnWheels Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 On 5/18/2018 at 3:37 PM, Jonathan Tolhurst said: I was walking past the Uniwheel offices just this lunchtime and they still appear to be in the same block although they might of moved units? I have rung the buzzer a few times previously but no-one answered. I've never seen anyone riding a Uniwheel despite working about 200 meters from their office! I wouldn't mind having a chat with the team and see how the wheel handles... I did see someone whizz down Borough High Street on a Kingsong today which was the first wheel I have seen in a while. Oh non... That sounds quite bad... I was having a lot of hopes in that EU wheel... Just was dreaming about something different from other wheels. Interesting from technical point of view (battery technology, motor, etc...). The last email exchange I got with them was about 5 month ago... They told me that there going to be some breaking news about uniwheel this year... But since then - total silence... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaveCut Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 Giving up is pretty breaking news though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 I never understood what was going on behind the scenes at Uniwheel. It still does not seem to me they ever were really in the business of building an electric unicycle, their entire behavior was too off for that. The Uniwheel felt more like a side effect of something else... whatever that was (is?). Patent stuff? Fleecing gullible investors? Collecting subsidies? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 I wonder if they just simply ran out of operating money. To fund a project like this outside of China it likely requires a huge investment and backers with deep pockets. By the time a product is ready for release it can already be dated in terms of specifications for the asking price. With so many Chinese wheels on the market being cranked out at a relatively fast pace, I imagine that the available market share dwindles as time goes by. Those banks loans and money owing to staff, suppliers, and contract companies can easily overwhelm a new start-up company. Trying to update an already delayed project to compete against existing products can be costly and a difficult game of catch up. At a certain breaking point the company collapses, and plans get scraped. I'm not saying this is necessarily the case for UniWheel, but as time goes on it just looks more and more like what is happening. If someone can dispute this, please by all means help clear the air. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ir_fuel Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 Not only that, but going from a finalized working prototype to actual mass production is a very big challenge. Upstart costs are through the roof. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 They held a large deposit from me for well over a year before I got fed up and asked for it to be returned. Fair enough, it was returned immediately so I don't think they were trying to fleece anybody. I would have preferred a working wheel though. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomOnWheels Posted June 11, 2018 Author Share Posted June 11, 2018 9 hours ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: I wonder if they just simply ran out of operating money. To fund a project like this outside of China it likely requires a huge investment and backers with deep pockets. By the time a product is ready for release it can already be dated in terms of specifications for the asking price. With so many Chinese wheels on the market being cranked out at a relatively fast pace, I imagine that the available market share dwindles as time goes by. Those banks loans and money owing to staff, suppliers, and contract companies can easily overwhelm a new start-up company. Trying to update an already delayed project to compete against existing products can be costly and a difficult game of catch up. At a certain breaking point the company collapses, and plans get scraped. I'm not saying this is necessarily the case for UniWheel, but as time goes on it just looks more and more like what is happening. If someone can dispute this, please by all means help clear the air. Also there seems to be a rich, Russian investor behind UniWeel project... Sure if he decided to stop to invest then this is most of the time the end of company... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 I think we'd all like to see a company outside of China create a viable, competitive product especially one that has good engineering principles incorporated from the start. I think that's why people were excited about UniWheel way back when, but with high quality and well thought out engineering comes a need for time and development. I loved the look of the UniWheel and the rubber replaceable "bumpers." The LiFe battery I wasn't really sold on, but I think the reasoning behind it was somewhat sound. It's difficult though to compete against high density lithium ion cells when it comes down to it. People want performance and top notch specifications judging by the amount of turn around people have with their rides. Also producing a wheel locally can involve passing certifications like UL/CSA which add on thousands onto the development price tag. A wheel fire like what happened to the hoverboards could be the end of a company pretty quickly. It's not a easy process I imagine. I wonder whether that Pulse Glider wheel will see the light of day... http://www.austinglider.com/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TomOnWheels Posted June 12, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 12, 2018 19 hours ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: I think we'd all like to see a company outside of China create a viable, competitive product especially one that has good engineering principles incorporated from the start. I think that's why people were excited about UniWheel way back when, but with high quality and well thought out engineering comes a need for time and development. I loved the look of the UniWheel and the rubber replaceable "bumpers." The LiFe battery I wasn't really sold on, but I think the reasoning behind it was somewhat sound. It's difficult though to compete against high density lithium ion cells when it comes down to it. People want performance and top notch specifications judging by the amount of turn around people have with their rides. Also producing a wheel locally can involve passing certifications like UL/CSA which add on thousands onto the development price tag. A wheel fire like what happened to the hoverboards could be the end of a company pretty quickly. It's not a easy process I imagine. I wonder whether that Pulse Glider wheel will see the light of day... http://www.austinglider.com/ LiFe battery was one of the reason I wanted that wheel... It's not about capacity but all about constant energy it can deliver during all cycle of discharge... 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Keith Posted June 14, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted June 14, 2018 On 6/11/2018 at 11:27 PM, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: I wonder whether that Pulse Glider wheel will see the light of day... It seemed damned unlikely 9 months ago, AFAIK absolutely nothing has changed since then, I can find no updates or newer information at all on line. If anyone has got any newer information that this spectacular leap forward in technology is actually on its way it will be well worth adding to its original thread: On 6/12/2018 at 7:21 PM, TomOnWheels said: LiFe battery was one of the reason I wanted that wheel... It's not about capacity but all about constant energy it can deliver during all cycle of discharge... This has always been my view, by the time I’ve gone 8 miles my 340Wh wheel is becoming unpleasant to ride, I suspect would get at least the same range out of Uniwheel’s battery without the slowing down or worry of damaging the battery. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomOnWheels Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 10 hours ago, Keith said: It seemed damned unlikely 9 months ago, AFAIK absolutely nothing has changed since then, I can find no updates or newer information at all on line. If anyone has got any newer information that this spectacular leap forward in technology is actually on its way it will be well worth adding to its original thread: This has always been my view, by the time I’ve gone 8 miles my 340Wh wheel is becoming unpleasant to ride, I suspect would get at least the same range out of Uniwheel’s battery without the slowing down or worry of damaging the battery. Yes, first solowheel was using also LiFe then they switched to traditional LiPo and then it statarts to be a disaster... ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotmotion2016 Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 (edited) Today i saw this French shop that sells the Uniwheel. So for people who are interested the link. https://www.mobilityurban.fr/roue-electrique-1/roue-electrique-gotway/roue-electrique-uniwheel.html Edited June 8, 2019 by gotmotion2016 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Quite a slow seller it seems. I think they stopped producing them +6 months ago? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomOnWheels Posted June 10, 2019 Author Share Posted June 10, 2019 Yes even Eroue in Paris has some Uniwheels... But sadly there no production activity anymore... (no way to get spear battery too). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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