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My Z10 Triumphs, Tribulations, and Failures


Marty Backe

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37 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

The Lights

In the following video I demonstrate all of the light modes of the Z10. Note that when I break the rear light flashes and the rear section of the ring lights turn red. Also note that I turn off the rear light and both of the headlights. And although it's not in the video, you can turn off the ring lights too. So you can operate in total stealth mode if desired :ph34r:

The actual colors for many of the ring light modes can be chosen via a color wheel.

It's a very fun wheel to ride around at night with :D

 

it looks like if u have the right place to play with that wheel, it could be big fun. especially for bigger guys. can’t really tell if the headlight is mch good.

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49 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

In the following video I demonstrate all of the light modes of the Z10

Leds look good and seems to be bright, however they are not visible from the sides of the wheel that much ...  This is not so good as this is one of the safety features in Kingsong KS16S .  I have mine set to rotating red and blue...  for a purpose...   works well.  For next evening ride - please stop in front of a wall  like 5 meters away and  show how how the front light cone of light looks on the wall...   I saw the front light of the Inmotion V10F on the wall - it is quite bright, but for sure people coming towards you from other direction will complain that the light gets into their eyes too much - it is much to high lighting top of the trees in front of You...

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@Marty Backe After the end of  initial rush... If You have a moment and a friend with Iphone around -  please download DarknessBot from apple store and make an attempt to connect to Z10... This will give us the answer if Ninebot changed the communication protocol again or it stayed the same as for ONE E+  

Edited by Lukasz
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This is my quite old video with lights - see the exact edges of the lit area from the lamps on the helmet which have zoom type optics,  vs small light of KS16 shining too high .    Now to the the same optics on the helmet I have added most efficient 10W Cree 6000k LEDS with custom drivers powered from 2pcs of 18650  3500mAh cells for each lamp... (so 4pcs in total 14000mAh).    Backpack has also separate front and back LED lights driven from another 2 cells which can be turned on/off separately.

 

 

Edited by Lukasz
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2 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

The Lights

In the following video I demonstrate all of the light modes of the Z10. Note that when I break the rear light flashes and the rear section of the ring lights turn red. Also note that I turn off the rear light and both of the headlights. And although it's not in the video, you can turn off the ring lights too. So you can operate in total stealth mode if desired :ph34r:

The actual colors for many of the ring light modes can be chosen via a color wheel.

It's a very fun wheel to ride around at night with :D

 

Very cool. I could quite tell from the video but are the lights speed reactive? The V8 patterns get faster as you ride faster. It seemed to be a constant speed on the Z10 for both the chasing ring pattern and the breathing mode. 

I also wish that was some side lights. Not necessarily flashing fancy ones  but just a couple of amber LEDs to increase side visibility for road use. 

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2 hours ago, novazeus said:

it looks like if u have the right place to play with that wheel, it could be big fun. especially for bigger guys. can’t really tell if the headlight is mch good.

The headlight sucks big time. Good for visibility but worthless for riding with. No worse than the KingSong lights but nothing like Gotway or the ultra-superior V10.

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2 hours ago, Lukasz said:

@Marty Backe After the end of  initial rush... If You have a moment and a friend with Iphone around -  please download DarknessBot from apple store and make an attempt to connect to Z10... This will give us the answer if Ninebot changed the communication protocol again or it stayed the same as for ONE E+  

I don't understand. How can the developers of DarknessBot be doing any development without a Z10?

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2 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

The headlight sucks big time. Good for visibility but worthless for riding with. No worse than the KingSong lights but nothing like Gotway or the ultra-superior V10.

yup, the V10F is the only one i feel safe with at night. that’s a big deal out here. 

that’s a shame. i wonder if ninebot will make changes to later versions like better pedals and fix the headlight?

 

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10 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

I expected the Z10 to roll over them like a train on rails. It's the opposite. During my Griffith Park ride last night the wheel was pulling left and right all the time. I let @Stan Onymous ride it for a bit on one the trail sections to make sure that I wasn't imaging it. He confirmed my reactions and analogy to the Mten3 (he owns one). But as Bill says, what you need to do is just let the wheel do its thing. Don't fight it. And he's right.

This is what I meant in my video about different tire pressures... but I guess the language barrier is making it hard to make sense until you try it yourself :laughbounce2: 

When riding in high speed on a nice smooth road and suddenly hit an uneven part unexpectly can be quite scary, it has never throw me off the wheel... so far... but it's a heart pounding scare every time.

IMG_0920.thumb.jpg.f938b8a2c31232459abea5c91a4b79c9.jpg

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10 hours ago, houseofjob said:

My 2 cents: 25PSi is too low for the average male bodyweight on the Z tire, don't really subscribe to what others have said.

Under 30PSI for me at 175-180lbs rider weight did too much underinflated pull left and right, ~30PSI eliminated this at my spec.

I tested again, I still have no idea what causes the random sideway pull. To me personally, it is only obvious at mid 20s psi range, it disappears or become less of a problem when the pressure is higher or lower than that range. I'm 181 lbs. FYI

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Quick comment that I have on the forum in general: it would be good if staff/mods could highlight certain posts on the front page so they can easily be seen. I’ve only discovered this thread because I stumbled in to the Ninebot forum on whim. 

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28 minutes ago, Kael said:

Quick comment that I have on the forum in general: it would be good if staff/mods could highlight certain posts on the front page so they can easily be seen. I’ve only discovered this thread because I stumbled in to the Ninebot forum on whim. 

What I've done is to Follow various members of the Forum. There are a core group of people which seem to have their finger on the pulse of the community. So between them all I'm able to usually keep abreast of new interesting posts. Glad you found this thread if you're interested in the Z10.

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1 hour ago, Esper said:

Can I suggest that the next time you title a post have it called. Triumphs, Tribulations, and Tragedies. The three T's just make it sound better in my head.

Tragedies sounds so dismal :unsure: Hopefully I won't experience any of those :efefc8626c:

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1 hour ago, Marty Backe said:

Tire Tracking - Trails and Crappy Roads - Addendum

I was duped my Chooch's talk about riding on flat tires. After my initial post above plus @houseofjob's reminder about low pressure, I decided to go full pressure.

I took the beast out for a ~25-mile ride late this afternoon. Instead of running in the low 20's, I pumped the tire up to ~35-psi and headed into the mountains (overheat hill mountains).

What a difference. I'm now convinced for someone of my weight (or more), mid-30's is the place to be. The wheel now tracks on payment and gnarly dirt trails. We must remember that Chooch weighs 120-pounds by his own admission. This wheel is so heavy I can imagine that he was being thrown around on it at high pressures. Unfortunately this wheel may not be ideal for light guys or maybe you'll just have to ride it on a flat tire :(

I'll be posting some video of very rough terrain riding, and it was a champ. I love it. BTW, I also over-heated it twice, once causing it to tumble 100-feet down the side of a steep hill. Great fun! This wheel is built like a tank ? 

I settled on low 20s for protection of my knees but I don’t ride on dirt trail...

Turn off all lights, it may help temperatures a little bit.

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10 minutes ago, Turbocharged said:

I settled on low 20s for protection of my knees but I don’t ride on dirt trail...

Turn off all lights, it may help temperatures a little bit.

All lights were off. The LED's do not draw enough current to heat anything.

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6 hours ago, Marty Backe said:
8 hours ago, Lukasz said:

@Marty Backe After the end of  initial rush... If You have a moment and a friend with Iphone around -  please download DarknessBot from apple store and make an attempt to connect to Z10... This will give us the answer if Ninebot changed the communication protocol again or it stayed the same as for ONE E+  

I don't understand. How can the developers of DarknessBot be doing any development without a Z10?

@Marty BackeHmm. I thought that second part of the sentence  explain the question...  for now we do not know if the communication protocol had been changed or not...  so the test will let us know if development is needed (or at least for basics like speed not)  BTW  Ecodrift in Moscow was showing their movie with Z10 .... and Ilya  who is the developer of DarkenesBot is also from Moscow....   possible to meet.  @Turbocharged  maybe You have Iphone available to make basic communication test ?

Edited by Lukasz
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6 hours ago, novazeus said:

yup, the V10F is the only one i feel safe with at night. that’s a big deal out here. 

that’s a shame. i wonder if ninebot will make changes to later versions like better pedals and fix the headlight?

V10F light is bright... and shows tree tops nicely... It is fine if  You ride in the forest path with no incoming traffic..  If You happen to be in the city - incoming bikers complain a lot that your light is blindfolding them - significant part your light gets into their eyes, not on the road.     Wheel lights have to evolve... it is not any more 0.2W "signal light"   With more power - specific beam must be designed and light must reach road in front of You, not the incoming people eyes...

Edited by Lukasz
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