New Kingsong 16" wheel

[Cloud]

This appears to be the new 16" wheel from kingsong. Obviously they have realized the cool looks sell. Glad they are on par now.

Once they resolve their last major minus - the lack of local warranty support, i will see no reason to pick ninebot over kingsong.

but what do i know after all...a month ago i didnt know what an electric unicycle is...

 

[Jag_Rip]

As a ninebot owner because of the looks and the local warranty support, I can say for me, this would have made it into the top 3 for me to choose from, but it still would have lost to the 'bot.

I like the handle design and that the boxy look is gone.

[Cloud]

As a ninebot owner because of the looks and the local warranty support, I can say for me, this would have made it into the top 3 for me to choose from, but it still would have lost to the 'bot.

I like the handle design and that the boxy look is gone.

agreed. The bot still looks a bit cooler ( probably due to the rounded tapering edges) but ks is not too far off now! The difference in the looks , for me, will not be a deal breaker. I could live with that:) I like the new handle too ( which appears to have been designed for right handed people only:). 

Another apparent issue with the handle is that the button that collapses the handle sticks out above the handle. It will be accidentally pressed while rolling the unit. The button should not be sticking out ( but thats in the perfect universe. Once again, i could live with that!)

[Jason McNeil]

@Cloud, nice write-up on the KS 800W. I love this eWheel too, but it has faults; in my books the main one lack of adequate water resistance. It's been a real struggle to get them to understand that this is vital, what are your thoughts? Have you ridden in the rain yet?

[Cloud]

@Cloud, nice write-up on the KS 800W. I love this eWheel too, but it has faults; in my books the main one lack of adequate water resistance. It's been a real struggle to get them to understand that this is vital, what are your thoughts? Have you ridden in the rain yet?

thank you, Jason McNeil.  Yes i agree, the wheel has to be waterproof. I had one experience riding it in the rain, on my 4th day i took a trip from manhattan to brooklyn, about an hour long and it started raining. The rain wasnt too heavy so i dont know if this means anything but i had no problems with it.  I realized that since the usb port is unprotected, this will be a perfect route for the water to get it, so i rode into a store at the gas station and asked them for a piece of scotch tape. I had nothing but a plastic bag with me, so i tore a piece of the plastic bag and taped it on top of the unit to cover the usb port. I didnt have any issues riding in the light rain, but i suspect if the rain was heavier, it could have been a problem...

 

what woukd be the other weak points for the water to get in? Speaker openings? If these are the only locations, this would be easy to resolve. Speakers dont have to have actual openings. There could be a waterproof membrane placed there that woukd have virtually no effect on sound

 

the on off button needs to be made waterprrof also. I assume its not right now. Again, an easy fix...

[Homer69uk]

Looking forward to hearing more about this 16".Price dependant of course,I was thinking about getting another wheel and there's a new gotway 18" at the end of the year so a possible hard choice to be made?

[Cloud]

Gotway needs to fix the high speed power cutouts. Then it will be a very hard choice. If it wasnt for the power cut off, i would have gone with msuper istead of KS

[Gimlet]

what would be the other weak points for the water to get in? Speaker openings? If these are the only locations, this would be easy to resolve. Speakers dont have to have actual openings. There could be a waterproof membrane placed there that woukd have virtually no effect on sound

Simply applying gaffer tape can cure all the external danger areas but if it's like most wheel designs the real danger is up in the wheel arch/mud guard as any water that you ride through, even if it isn't raining, is thrown up against the internal case seam with the force of a power washer.

[diggory 456]

How much would this realistically end up costing? Given this Ninebot-challenging direction is this likely to be only slightly cheaper than a bot or do you think they'd rattle the cage with a much lower price point?

[Cloud]

How much would this realistically end up costing? Given this Ninebot-challenging direction is this likely to be only slightly cheaper than a bot or do you think they'd rattle the cage with a much lower price point?

i dont know about the price, but i guess it might be much cheaper than the new ninebot model but not too much cheaper than the previous ninebot. What i think will still be hapoening for the year or so is the brands will try to keep their new models on the same $$ level while dropping the prices for the previous models . They will then have to keep coming up with new models every few months to keep the race going, until this pyramid finally collapses with the overall inevitable price drop on all wheels throughout the brands.

[Gimlet]

It's probable that the big difference will be larger battery options which will clinch the deal for many.

[Jag_Rip]

They will eventually find out that the battery and its available possibilities are a major selling point for most of the customers.

Then I hope we will get to see EUCs with not only swappable packs but several bays to modularly customize your range versus the weight. Id like to have only one battery for my daily commute as I can charge it twice per 24h without noticing. But slap in 4 if I want to go on a longer ride where I dont lug the thing around. 

[Gimlet]

This has beeny hope for a while now. A wheel with 4 slots for small airline friendly batteries, 2 on each side either side of the pedal hangers. Plus blanking plates so that you can ride with 1,2,3 or 4 batteries depending on need.

[Cloud]

I am praying for this day to come, but not sure it will very soon. Also, not sure very high battery options will become availabke until battery cost comes down:/ batteries get much lighter. I believe with the current customer base, higher capacity battery options are too expensive for these manufactures to be profitable. Perhaps when their market moves more to europe and the US, it will start making more sense. Also, by virtue of its use, unicycles need to be portable/ smaller size and are intended for short trips. I dont see total battery size going above 1000wh in next couple of years. You never know though, lets not underestimate the power of a prayer)

[esaj]

Looks nice, only downside I see is that if the outward-coming part in the top middle is the battery compartment (and similar on the other side for motherboard), it won't have enough battery space for me . Doesn't look like more than 2 packs can fit in there. Probably should go and design my own shell, maybe I could get it 3d-printed somewhere... my cousin does a have cheap 3d-printer that can print out parts from ABS-plastic, but the max size is 200x200x150mm, which isn't enough to make shell-sides from single pieces. Probably could be got around with elaborate modular design, but getting that right is harder.

Perhaps when their market moves more to europe and the US, it will start making more sense. Also, by virtue of its use, unicycles need to be portable/ smaller size and are intended for short trips. 

Since I'm a recreational user, my direction is entirely different: more batteries, some extra weight won't matter as much, as long as I don't have to carry it. On the other hand, being fairly light weight, "too heavy" wheel might be hard for me to handle.

I dont see total battery size going above 1000wh in next couple of years. You never know though, lets not underestimate the power of a prayer)

You can already get over 1000Wh batteries for MSuper from 1Rad Werkstatt.

[Cloud]

 

You can already get over 1000Wh batteries for MSuper from 1Rad Werkstatt.

 

i need that!!

[Nevin@Tec-toyz.com]

And How far are you able to travel on the 1000Wh pack?

[esaj]

And How far are you able to travel on the 1000Wh pack?

I don't have a 1kWh pack, but my usual "consumption" on the Firewheel with 2*132Wh packs was around 10-12Wh/km, so going by that, something like 85-100km (the MSuper -pack that 1Rad Werkstatt sells seems to be 5 * 210Wh, but they're pedantic on using the real voltages instead of the nominal 60V, so they've calculated it as 5 * 59.2V * 3.5Ah = 1036Wh). Of course, as there are 5 packs in total in the full-blown MSuper, which means less stress per pack, that could even mean less Wh-usage per km, but not sure.

I was going to test if I get better Wh/km -figures out of the Firewheel now that it has 3 * 192Wh packs, but just smashed my bike computer tonight due to an unexpected cut-out (overcharge protection, didn't think about it since I was used to charging the batteries to the brim and starting my journey going downhill, now it cut out due to regenerative braking on full batteries)...    Time to get a new bike computer.

[Jag_Rip]

I believe with the current customer base, higher capacity battery options are too expensive for these manufactures to be profitable.

It becomes very profitable when you can sell the wheel with one small pack included (cheaper price upfront) but offer the option for more of the same pack to simply click in (no additional development costs).

And never overestimate the "power" of a prayer... I'd rather write Emails to the responsible Manufacturers, since prayers have no delivery guarantee and have known to get lost on their way.

[KaleOsaurusRex]

@Cloud

Thank you for posting this! King Song has a fast release cycle, and I love the way they listen to their customers and make changes quickly.

King Song's warranty is provided through the distributor, so for example as the North America distributor ElectricUnicycleReviews.com is conducting all warranty repairs for units in North America purchased through our site.

This new unit is a beauty I can't wait to drag it around by that handle. We'll get pricing on our site ASAP for preorders, that way folks can get one of the units from the first batch. Our 800w 14" are finally shipping right now.

[OleTC]

Looks nice, only downside I see is that if the outward-coming part in the top middle is the battery compartment (and similar on the other side for motherboard), it won't have enough battery space for me . Doesn't look like more than 2 packs can fit in there. Probably should go and design my own shell, maybe I could get it 3d-printed somewhere... my cousin does a have cheap 3d-printer that can print out parts from ABS-plastic, but the max size is 200x200x150mm, which isn't enough to make shell-sides from single pieces. Probably could be got around with elaborate modular design, but getting that right is harder.

Since I'm a recreational user, my direction is entirely different: more batteries, some extra weight won't matter as much, as long as I don't have to carry it. On the other hand, being fairly light weight, "too heavy" wheel might be hard for me to handle.

You can already get over 1000Wh batteries for MSuper from 1Rad Werkstatt.

 

There must be ample Space for 16S2P packs in each side. This is supposed to be housing the 800 W motor, which in the 14" Wheel only ships with 680 Wh packs. So to just have Space for 2 packs would be a real showstopper.

This Wheel is an obvious contender for my 110 kg body deadweight.

[Sam Clegg]

Looks nice.   I wish they would make it slimmer.  Even just removing those sticking out pads would help.   This looks just as wide as the KS14, although its hard to tell I guess.

[Jeffrey Scott Will]

I've been told 2nd hand that Tina says this is not the final design, only an earlier render.  I hope they keep an integrated trolley handle in the final design, though.

[KaleOsaurusRex]

Yes, King Song says that even the unit they'll be showing at the upcoming convention is a prototype. I am told that units will be shipping in November at the very earliest. The design has not yet been finalized, but they have confirmed that it will include a trolley handle. That's all the official info I was able to get! I am still awaiting pricing information.

[MrBump]

I've been told 2nd hand that Tina says this is not the final design, only an earlier render.  I hope they keep an integrated trolley handle in the final design, though.

Me too, but I'm not too sure about the diagonal design of the handle on that render.