Ninebot Z10, recording of my experiences.

[EUCMania]

Yesterday, my Z10 bought from ewheels arrived.

My prior EUCs are 9B1E+, GW Msuper3, KS-16. 

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My impression from the 1st Z10 ride: Most of observations from earlier posts by other forum members are confirmed.

Settings: responsiveness = 0, tire pressure = 30 psi, battery level 60%.

Impression: The EUC is dense and heavy. Looks like a lot of metal is used to allow lower voltage motor to generate enough torque.

Sufficient acceleration. But feels weak in breaking. This is strange. I guess one reason for the feeling of weak breaking is due to the body design, where there is much less contact surface in the rear comparing to other models I have. When I break by leaning back, my calf moves backward. The lack of contact between EUC and my calf creates the sensation of over leaning backwards. In other EUCs, such as GW MSuper, I can squeeze the EUC body with my legs to create more breaking torque. Here I cannot. To confirm this hypothesis, I turn the z10 around, ride it with the break light facing forward, and try to break. The breaking seems better this way.

I decide that in my later rides, I will wear my protections and measure the breaking distances. 

Breaking to step off: This requires a bit getting used to because the z10 is heavy, I have to use a bit more force on the foot still on the paddle to stop it going forward. Or, I should have practiced swing the foot on the paddle forward backward while standing like a newbie.

The turning radius at slow speed is much smaller and easy to control.

Turning at higher speed: Experienced the feeling that the z10 wants to stay upright. I remember that when I inflated Msuper 3 hard, I also felt this sensation. So, I will lower tire pressure to try next time.

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Impression from 2nd ride:

Reduce tire pressure to 22 psi. My weight is about 175 lb.

The soft valve extension pipe for z10 provided does not prevent gas leaks when attached to the valve. So, I attached the pipe to the brass extension pipe of 9BE+ to this soft pipe. The problem solved.

Ride on the same side walk as in last ride. Feel much less bumpy, without loss of agility. I would say that I feel more bumpiness on KS-16 if I inflate it to 35+ psi.

Tried to break harder by put more pressure on the heels. Seems that the breaking distance is shortened. Will measure next time.

Tried to go straight faster and lean back a little while u-turn, like those skiers breaking while approaching the end of ski ground. WOW, I can U-turn much faster and stabler than I could on my other EUCs. FUN! A Plus. Figure 8 is also small and easy. Now I see what others meant when they praised z10's low speed maneuverability.

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Impression from the 3rd ride:

This time I rode it to a stiff Incline A, where 9BE+ struggles KS-16 barely make it up and MSuper3 can go up with ease if I squeeze its body with legs. Z10 performed, but slower than MSuper3. I remember that when I am new to MSuper3, I had trouble going up hill until I learnt to squeeze its body. I guess I should not come to conclusion too soon until I know how to push Z10 harder..Going down this hill on z10 was not a problem.

Then I rode to another hill, Incline B. A part of Incline B is 25 degree. My MSper3 could do it with ease until the last time when its wire burnt right here. When I went down hill, I did not feel as stable as my other EUCs. and I stepped off. I do not know it was my lack of confidence in it or my lack of skill or because of lack of proper contact between z10 body and my leg. When I break by leaning back, the contact surface is much smaller due to z10's forward leaning body design, causing a sensation that the z10 is slipping away from me.

Going up hill is not a problem, but I felt that with the same amount of squeezing and push, z10 did not go up as fast as MSuper3. Probably I have to squeeze and push z10 harder. Or, I guess, that z10 has a current limiter to protect the machine. MSuper3 just run naked, and hence 2 control boards busted in my unit, and 2 wires burnt too.

After that I arrived at an unpaved road. The ground was bumpy with gravels around. Rode with responsiveness set to 0 and 4. I felt that the level 4 was a little more comfortable. 

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Impression from the 4th ride:

Today, I went to Incline A again to practice hill climbing. This time, I felt z10 was peppier. 

I tried turning at higher speed, @RoberAce-style. It requires more body movement. Whether that is fun depends on individual preferences. Z10's insistence of staying upright is a big plus for safety, because it reduces the chance of pedal scratching ground at high speed turn. Such a scratch is dangerous at high speed. I was thrown off before when a pedal of MSuper 3 was caught by a small pot hole on ground while turning. Luckily the low speed and protection saved me from injury.

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Edited November 19, 2018 by EUCMania

[EUCMania]

The front light should be bend downwards a bit. This can be done using a clear plastic with a trapezoid cross section, or half of a magnifying plastic lens. Maybe I can find some aryclic plastic, melt it and pour into a mold. Anyone did this before?

[EUCMania]

Today, I rode my KS-16 to a dental appointment. In the first 200 meters, I found that I over-steered. I lost some of my KS-16 skill after a few days of NBZ10 riding. After a while, I regained my previous KS-16 skill, and went on to the dental office 3 miles away.

Experiences from 5-th Z10 ride:

This time I lowered the pressure to 14 psi. The forward motion was not as straight as when tire pressure was 22 psi. When driving at about 20kmh speed over the bump between road and a driveway, I felt the rim was almost touched.

So. I inflated the tire back to 20 psi. The forward motion now was more stable than that when the tire pressure was 14psi. I will inflate to 24psi and try again. 

To correct Z10 head light angle, I plan to make a lens to be glued to the front of the head light. I think clear resin might work: https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Casting-Resin-Catalyst-Ounce/dp/B0018N9E3M. I have to find a well polished mold for it.

The tire valve is not covered. What if mud gets into the valve?

 

 

[EUCMania]

Experiences from today's Z10 rides:

After a couple of rides with various tire pressure, I settled at 20 psi. At this pressure, I feel that I am close to the best compromise allowed by z10 in terms of stability, maneuverability and cushion comfort.

I tried to climb Incline A again. This time I was better at gripping z10 with my legs to push it forward. Z10 indeed climbed faster and stabler than before. However, the pads given by Z10, while beautiful, have sharp edges which hurt my shin. I will take these upper pads away, and replace them with regular protection pads to see if that is more comfortable.

I also tried to turn sharply on pavement covered by leaves to see if fat tire can maintain the traction. It did not. I fell, without injury. I also tried turning in kids' playground covered by wood chips. It cannot keep the traction either. I guess if the tire is narrower, it will sink deeper, preventing slipping.

[EUCMania]

Today is Thanksgiving holiday. I rode z10 to a party in a friend's house. I put the z10 outside of the door. I told some people in the party about electric unicycle. We went out of the house for me to demonstrate. Too bad, the Z10 did not power on when I push the power button. The outside temperature was about 34^oF. I took z10 inside to warm up. After about 30 minutes. Z10 worked again. The battery level was 3 bars when it came back to life. It seems that Z10 has a temperature sensor or battery sensor which  decides whether to allow me to ride or not. If it can announce its decision through the speakers, then better. What if I ride to some far away cold places? If Z10 decides not to power up, then I will be in a bad situation. Ninebot should make it into limited mode and announcement via speakers instead of not powering up, making people think: damn, low quality.

So, WARNING: Do not ride Z10 to some place without heating in winter and park there. If you do, please keep it power on.

Edited November 23, 2018 by EUCMania

[EUCMania]

Today, the weather was nice. I rode Z10 on side walk, in street, and in a trail. The street is tilted to the right side for water drainage. Z10 kept pushing my right leg to stay perpendicular to the street surface. I did not like this. More experienced Z10 riders here said that this discomfort would go away after getting used to Z10. I will see.

Z10 also made a few unwanted side moves in the trail.

Now I start to wonder whether the benefit of a wide tire is worth its negatives.

[fbhb]

2 hours ago, EUCMania said:

Today, the weather was nice. I rode Z10 on side walk, in street, and in a trail. The street is tilted to the right side for water drainage. Z10 kept pushing my right leg to stay perpendicular to the street surface. I did not like this. More experienced Z10 riders here said that this discomfort would go away after getting used to Z10. I will see.

Z10 also made a few unwanted side moves in the trail.

Now I start to wonder whether the benefit of a wide tire is worth its negatives.

@EUCMania do you still have the tyre pressure set at 20 psi? If so, I would say that is where your problem lies especially considering you previously stated you weigh 175 lbs. In my opinion, 20 psi at your weight is far too low and will definitely produce the unwanted issues you describe. You might want to try increasing the pressure slightly, step by step, until you find the point where this trait disappears.

As other owners have said previously, you will also find that with more mileage on the Z10 you will become more accustomed/tuned in to how it behaves to the point where it is no longer an issue and then the enjoyment of the Z10's handling can really begin!

[Vanzen]

Riding at 42 psi for 70kg.

Course its bumpy but it minmizes the tilting and make the wheel easier to control.

After 600km ish you start not to mind the sudden unwanted moves ...  not before ...

[Girth Brooks]

@EUC I have put 60+ miles on my Z10 after this past weekend. I experienced several of things you mentioned above with discomfort and the wheel following grooves in the road or a trail. I have reached the point now where I do not experience these issues on paved or smooth surfaces. I have tried several tire pressures along with foot/leg placement to find a very nice comfort zone while riding. I have had to adjust depending on the surface though. I have yet to get a real feel on the off-road riding versus any smooth, hard surface, but I have to admit I haven't given the same effort to off-road riding that I have paved riding so that's probably why in my instance. I also left my wheel in the car overnight in the cold (34 degrees) to see if I could replicate the issue you stated above, but my wheel functioned the same as it always has when powered on after 8 hours in my trunk. I did not ride it at that point, but feel very certain it would have worked without fault.

[Girth Brooks]

@EUC for reference on tire psi from a 5'8", 205 lbs rider: I have found 28psi is perfect for my road riding. I doubt I will vary from that 28 judging from my recent longs rides of 5 miles or more. I move up to 32psi  when going to grass or dirt.

[EUCMania]

Today, I commute to my office on Z10. Before leaving for office, my mileage on Z10 = 111km. Tire pressure = 24psi.

On the way down the Incline B of 25^o degree, I felt normal and relaxed, much better than the first time I rode down. On the way up, my feet felt vibrations from the pedal and I hear some noise. This happens when the climbing speed is low. Is this normal for Z10? I do not hear or sense vibrations on my other models when climbing the same hill.

Part of my trip is on unpaved gravel road. I felt Z10 does unwanted side moves when one side of tire is over a small stone. Over soft ground Z10 is much better than other EUCs.

I fixed my MSuper3 yesterday, and test rode it. I like the feeling of seeing an old friend come back and we can still collaborate like before.  

[Ziiten]

On 11/22/2018 at 9:22 PM, EUCMania said:

Today is Thanksgiving holiday. I rode z10 to a party in a friend's house. I put the z10 outside of the door. I told some people in the party about electric unicycle. We went out of the house for me to demonstrate. Too bad, the Z10 did not power on when I push the power button. The outside temperature was about 34^oF. I took z10 inside to warm up. After about 30 minutes. Z10 worked again. The battery level was 3 bars when it came back to life. It seems that Z10 has a temperature sensor or battery sensor which  decides whether to allow me to ride or not. If it can announce its decision through the speakers, then better. What if I ride to some far away cold places? If Z10 decides not to power up, then I will be in a bad situation. Ninebot should make it into limited mode and announcement via speakers instead of not powering up, making people think: damn, low quality.

So, WARNING: Do not ride Z10 to some place without heating in winter and park there. If you do, please keep it power on.

I had this experience, i.e., I was not able to turn on the wheel again even though there still was some charge left (I was riding in about 32F). Leaving the wheel on won't work either because it auto shutdown after few minutes.

[EUCMania]

Today, a relative of mine of age 21 came to visit. He was a baseball player in high school, and did skateboard before. I let him try my EUCs. FIrst he tried my KS16.  I taught him the very basics such as hold on a car to get on and swing forward and backward.  Then he tried to move away from the car. Failed a few times. Then I told him to look far forward and turn a bit to the direction of falling. Then he could get going for about 3 meters. Then I gave him Z10 to try. Suddenly, he could go one street block. The whole process took less than 20 minutes. This shows that Z10 is a much easier EUC for the beginners, due to the fat tire. 

Conclusion: If EUC manufacturers wants to make a beginner-friendly model, use fat tire, a higher body to reduce pressure on shin. For beginners, a less powerful battery and motor is OK.