MSX customizations-sharewhat you’ve done

[EMA]

1 minute ago, Planemo said:

Do you have anything to support that belief?

not a real one but keep in mind that the only thing that could influence a free spin is the battery and a board (firmware/component). we know motors are the same so

(unless you compare a brand new battery and a real old one)
 

[Planemo]

17 minutes ago, EMA said:

not a real one but keep in mind that the only thing that could influence a free spin is the battery and a board (firmware/component).

Or your speed reading is off....maybe...

[Llorx]

On 5/15/2019 at 5:40 PM, mrelwood said:

~200km tire review - Chaoyang H-666, 18x3.0"

Now that I have a few weeks down with the new tire, I feel like I can give a proper review. For more photos, scroll a few posts back up.

Size

Despite the same "18x3.0" designation, the H-666 is 0.2" wider than the original, leaving just 0.1" for clearance per side. Pinecones and the rare few pebbles that have gotten dragged in make more noise, but haven't affected the riding otherwise. Before aligning the shell the right side of the tire would scrape on the shell as soon as I put more weight on the right foot, but loosening the shell-to-pedal bracket screws (6 per side) and aligning the tire to the center of the wheel well helped some. Will do the alignment again, since it can still touch during one-legged takeoff.

Riding properties

Despite being wider, the H-666 has less tendency to stay upright during a turn. The original tire was pretty worn after 5000km, but I think even when new the original did force the wheel upright more. The difference is not huge but easily noticeable, and I consider the change to be a good one since turning at high speed takes less effort this way. I don't hear or feel additional noises or vibrations on any surface. At first I thought that the H-666 was more comfortable in taking bumps, but I'm not sure anymore. Could be that the newly pumped tire pressure settled to a lower value causing a more comfy feel. Then again, I don't feel the same little wobbly bouncing that I used to when riding down curbs or hitting larger cracks on pavement.

What is phenomenal is the H-666's directionality when transitioning from one surface to another. Pavement to gravel, and even onto soft fine gravel is no problem, the change in behaviour is unnaturally tiny.

When twisting the MSX on pavement, the H-666 turns a good bit better than the original did. The original stuck to the pavement and was very hard to turn by twisting.

Grip

The original H-5102 tire was bad at mud, wet moss, wet grass and other challenging conditions, even when new. When worn, it got dangerous. The few muddy spots I rode while the snow was melting this spring were extremely unstable despite riding at less than walking speed. I realized that I had put off off-roading several times because of the tire. And whenever I saw anything wet, I slowed down to a crawl. It was stressful.

The grip on the H-666 is magnificent on every surface, wet or dry! It is not a knobby tire, so wet mud is still slippery, but in a very predictable manner. I'm no longer afraid of the muddy spots! When trying a very steep climb onto a cliff that I struggle with even under dry conditions, the wheel lost it's grip and ability to balance very slowly and gracefully. Then I just calmly stepped off without the slightest bit of drama. Turned out the tire had been skidding on and throwing back wet moss for a good few meters. Even crossing tough 10" deep muddy ruts has been surprisingly succesful so far.

Combined with the astonishing directionality, the magnificent grip and the ability to carve better has made me ride 90° turns way faster than I've ever done. On pavement, fine gravel, and even on large loose gravel. It is an exciting new experience, to ride tight turns on bike paths at speeds that used to be unimaginable. It's humorous how quickly the turn is done!

Milage (92kg rider + gear)

Unfortunately I didn't gather any data during the tire change. The 1600Wh MSX range has started to bother me a bit this spring, but then again I ride and accelerate quite a bit faster than I used to, and I ride more off-road. Both even more now that the H-666 enables me to do so. Today I got the first beeps already at 40km on a very steep incline, when I had ridden only off-road and hilly dirt pathways and shaky gravel cycleways, all of which are very battery consuming. I finished the trip at 55km, down to 12% battery left. I will try to restrain myself to do a full range test on pavement...

65km was my record from a local EUC meet last year, and I did reach 64km (17% battery) at this year's first meet on monday. Unfortunately I have no recollection of the battery state from last year. I think it's safe to say that if there is a difference in range, it is not huge.

Last year I settled to 2.7 bars on the original, although this spring anything above 2.5 felt like too much. I was able to improve the shock absorbers under my DIY bigfoot pedal plates, so I've been running the H-666 at 2.7 - 2.8 bars as well.

Conclusion

The H-666 is a stellar upgrade in every imaginable measure to even a new original H-5102 MSX tire. Unfortunately the larger size may be problematic if your rim doesn't run true, or if the shell is off center and can't be re-aligned to center properly. If those are non-issues, the installation is pretty straightforward when lubed properly, and the reward is a wheel that can be pushed more under all, and way more under most circumstances. I really like this tire a lot, and damn I love my wheel now!

I paid ~50€ for mine to seller "Kingstar-cn" at Ebay, who was kind enough to confirm twice that I would indeed get the correct tire, unlike all my past experiences from Chinese tire sellers. Unfortunately the seller doesn't have any items on Ebay at the moment, but I would still ask the seller directly, in case you can't find another reliable seller for the Chaoyang H-666 in 18x3.0".

 

Warning! 18x3.0" is the correct size, while 3.0-18 would be a motorcycle tire for a lot larger rim. Make sure you purchase a 18x3.0 (bicycle standard), NOT 3.0-18 (motorcycle standard)! A motorcycle size that fits is 2.50-14, and also some 2.75-14 models.

Are your impressions still the same or have you found something that you don't like?

[mrelwood]

56 minutes ago, Llorx said:

Are your impressions still the same or have you found something that you don't like?

They are the same, although quite a bit more detailed after several thousand kms... I still feel that this is the best universal EUC tire. Unfortunately it has been discontinued.

After riding through the last winter with the CST C-186 trials knobby, i however experienced what it is to ride with a proper (50/50) off-road tire. I’m hoping to find a tire that sits in between the H-666 and C-186, but finding one in EUC sizings has been difficult. Shinko SR-244 would’ve been my next try, but I can’t find it anywhere in Europe or Ali.

[Llorx]

2 minutes ago, mrelwood said:

Unfortunately it has been discontinued.

Ooooh, that explains A LOT of things after an hour searching on Google 

2 minutes ago, mrelwood said:

After riding through the last winter with the CST C-186 trials knobby, i however experienced what it is to ride with a proper (50/50) off-road tire. I’m hoping to find a tire that sits in between the H-666 and C-186, but finding one in EUC sizings has been difficult. Shinko SR-244 would’ve been my next try, but I can’t find it anywhere in Europe or Ali.

So I've searched for CST C-186 reviews on Google and BAM, the first one I found is in this forum and is yours. You are the boss hahaha.

At first I wanted a knobby tire, but found you talking about H-666 and wanted to try it. Now that is impossible to reach a H-666 I guess I'm looking for a knobby tire again. Thank you for your input. Is really helpful.

[mrelwood]

The issue you’ll probably run into is that the 16x3.0 / 2.75-12 doesn’t offer as many options as the 18x3.0 / 2.75-14 of the MSX/P. Especially on the motorcycle side, there are kids’ motocross tires but that’s about it.

 

[Llorx]

Exactly. That's what I'm seeing 

[Victor Solovjov]

I've always wondered how to make the protective bumper around the headlight in MSX exactly follow the shape of the euc body. And I got the idea to make a disposable cheap bumper. We wrap front part of the shell with an elastic film, spray with glue. We crumb the Styrofoam into separate balls and apply to the film. Spray with glue and apply styrofoam balls in layers. We give an external shape and spray on top with plastidip. You can prepare several bumpers and carry a couple in a backpack.