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GUESS WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL A DAY EARLY


Lutalo

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Took the XL out for its maiden voyage today. It was short. About 5 miles. It's as cold as the seventh circle of hell outside (well, perhaps that's an exaggeration), and the annoying 20kph limiter is obviously still in full effect for the first 50km; sucks! Wish KS would allow experienced riders to remove the annoying firmware limitations when receiving a new wheel. 

Before riding I pumped 40psi into the tire. The valve stem isn't bent enough so getting the compressor tube's female end connected to the tires male end was a bit of a task. In the end, I suspect that I lost 3-5 pai removing the compressor tube from the valve stem.a I must have ridden with about 35-37 psi.

My first impressions:

This wheel is Badass; real slick. Deja vu. believe that I said the exact same thing after my maiden voyage upon the 18L. After I became to annoyed with the incessant warnings to decelerate from the KS app during street sprints, I took to the trail. The trails are naturally lower speed so the deceleration warnings were less intrusive. The temperature seemed to drop rapidly which didn't lend itself well to a longer.ride; 

The larger foot landings made the XL feel really comfortable in the trail. I am sure that once the speed limiter is removed I am going t have a lot of fun. The XL is heavier.

The XL's weight penalty is noticeable when lifting or toting the wheel, but less less noticeable when actually riding. I had no trouble with tight maneuvers, and pendulum swinging the wheel once the proper psi was in the tire. 

I am looking forward to some great times on this wheel. 

 

 

 

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42 minutes ago, Lutalo said:

annoying 20kph limiter is obviously still in full effect for the first 50km; sucks! Wish KS would allow experienced riders to remove the annoying firmware limitations when receiving a new wheel. 

Isn't it 3km to unlock to 40kph? You can also use WheelLog/Darknessbot to up the speed to the 40kph instantly without having to first clock up the 3km.

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54 minutes ago, Jason McNeil said:

Isn't it 3km to unlock to 40kph? You can also use WheelLog/Darknessbot to up the speed to the 40kph instantly without having to first clock up the 3km.

3km? probably, I thought it was 50. because I was planning a short ride, I didn't bring the my phone (app) on the ride so couldn't stop and change it even if it is only 3.

Thanks Jason, I just downloaded wheel Log about to blast that limiter out of the park as we speak. I will update. 

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Beautiful day in Washington.... Got lots of riding in on the new wheel. I love these days that offer breaks for the cold, but in reality I know that it is merely the calm before the storm. So enjoy the day. If you live in the DMV,  I hope that you broke out your wheel and got some :)👍

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:crying::crying::crying::crying:

DAMMIT! my son son scraped my beautiful,  pristine black platforms. I was letting him ride the wheel. He dismounted and it fell over. I felt the sound of the platform scrape as if it was my own pain :cry2: . I suppose that it wouldn't hurt so much if I had been the one who put a scrape on my own wheel; but my son got the privilege:furious:. Sucks! but @Jason McNeil there will be an order for new platforms cominatcha in a few. It hurts so much. :cry2:

 

IMG_20181223_132352.jpg

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I would swap the XL pedals over with the 18L, if they're identical and undamaged. Or simply paint over the damage. 

How is the acceleration from Low down on the XL compared to 18L? Is there a slight difference? Or just in weight when handling the wheel? I am waiting for Chooch Tech's next video upload, now that he has the XL. 

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It’s like that new car door ding.  :crying:  It never is easy to get that first one especially so soon after a new purchase.  It unfortunately won’t be the last one. Maybe a little touch up paint will fix that right up.  Try to think of it as a cool battle scar that shows people that your wheel is being ridden and enjoyed.  

Your son son probably feels bad enough for scuffing up your new ride so don’t go too too hard on him.  These things surely do happen to these wheels without fail and with fail.  :whistling:  Or I guess you could whup that boy’s hiney to teach him a lesson!!  :furious:   

They really should put replaceble slick plastic skid guards underneath the pedals kinda like skateboards have.  Scuffed or worn out?  Unscrew and replace!  Some of us attach strips of carbon fibre pattern automotive self-adhesive trim to the bottom of our pedals.

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On 12/19/2018 at 1:44 AM, Lutalo said:

Yeah! The KS18Ludicrous and the KS18eXtraLudicrousB)👍

IMG_20181218_203658.jpg

If anything, I would change the Mudguard you have on the black one, the Mudguard on the white one looks much better, I reckon. 

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2 hours ago, ED209 said:

I would swap the XL pedals over with the 18L, if they're identical and undamaged. Or simply paint over the damage. 

How is the acceleration from Low down on the XL compared to 18L? Is there a slight difference? Or just in weight when handling the wheel? I am waiting for Chooch Tech's next video upload, now that he has the XL. 

I was planning on doing a review after I spent a month with the wheel. My sons and I have done side-by-side comparisons over the last few days between the 18L and XL.

Quite frankly, it's been very difficult for me to discern a difference since they both have the new foot plats installed. 

I think we both agree that the 18XL seems to accelerate more strongly and steadily, but I can't really see why that would be true other than perhaps the stronger battery having something to do with it. I would say that it could have something to do with the fact that the calibration on the XL leans a little more to the rear - thus leaning in less yields more acceleration benefit, but my son also recalibrated the 18L to lean back a bit from my original level calibration. I am not sure yet how to explain the acceleration difference I seem to feel. I need more time with each wheel. 

The 18L felt to be the more easily maneuverable wheel between the two, shifts directions and turns more easily. Feels like it would make a better shorter distance urban commuting companion than the XL. The difference is slight in my opinion,  but there if you immediately jump off of one and onto the other. 

I am talking nitpicky minutiae here, but the 18L is to me the most perfectly balanced of the two wheel's in that it does lot of things very well, and most of those things it does marginally better than the XL; especially if you install the new plats, and for some that will make it the better wheel; I attribute this to the difference in weight.

For me The 18XL feels superior to the 18L in one not-so-obvious metric only: acceleration, and even that could be my mind playing tricks on me. I will test that more - play with tire pressure and such. because it seems to me like the lighter wheel should feel quicker, but it doesn't.

The more obvious superiority of the XL is the range and power sustainability over the charge band. This is a significant advantage because I have been riding for days and have only charged the XL once so far.  

Overall, my preference is for the XL because I like the visceral sensation of greater power and range. The sacrifices due to the weight are so marginal that buyer's who want the range of the XL will not be deterred by the very slight advantages of the 18L.

Case in point, my oldest son rides the 18L almost daily, and over the time that I have had it he has ridden it a lot more frequently than I have; that is why his input was so valuable to me. We both feel that the 18L is the "better" handler - though they both handle very well, and the 18XL the more stable cruiser - though they are both very stable cruisers. 

Nevertheless, he commented to me that if he was choosing which wheel to buy he would go for the XL because he felt more secure on it for traversing the DC landscape and that the advantages we noted about the 18L were too marginal to override what he likes about the XL and make him select it over the XL in the final analysis.

Additionally,  the advantages I noted result mostly from the weight difference between the wheels,  and any one purchasing the XL is likely already at least theoretically aware of the disadvantages of greater weight and prepared to accept them. Its not like they would be accepting a whole bunch anyway. 

I will spend more time with both wheels because I feel that my time living with the XL has been too brief to be sound. 

But,  that's what I have so far.  

 

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33 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

It’s like that new car door ding.  :crying:  It never is easy to get that first one especially so soon after a new purchase.  It unfortunately won’t be the last one. Maybe a little touch up paint will fix that right up.  Try to think of it as a cool battle scar that shows people that your wheel is being ridden and enjoyed.  

Your son son probably feels bad enough for scuffing up your new ride so don’t go too too hard on him.  These things surely do happen to these wheels without fail and with fail.  :whistling:  Or I guess you could whup that boy’s hiney to teach him a lesson!!  :furious:   

They really should put replaceble slick plastic skid guards underneath the pedals kinda like skateboards have.  Scuffed or worn out?  Unscrew and replace!  Some of us attach strips of carbon fibre pattern automotive self-adhesive trim to the bottom of our pedals.

I already put the whuppin on that hiney. So too late to go back on that. I was planning on getting another set of black plats for the 18AY like I did on the L. Now, I will buy the new plats and swap them; the scraped ones currently on the XL will go on the AY, and I will install the new ones on the XL when they arrive. My son riding the L would definitely protest me swapping those. I insist on adding battle scars to my own plats if you please :D.

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33 minutes ago, ED209 said:

If anything, I would change the Mudguard you have on the black one, the Mudguard on the white one looks much better, I reckon. 

I have made all types of derogatory comments about the new flap. Before I saw it in person and up close I thought that I liked the baggy saggy more. However after seeing them side-to-side and up close the new flap looks better. If anything I would buy a new flap for the L. 

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48 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

It’s like that new car door ding.  :crying:  It never is easy to get that first one especially so soon after a new purchase.  

:D right. Or like letting your kid test drive your new Range Rover with the 22" Black rims, and he scrapes the curb during a parallel parking attempt. Now your black 22" rims have a bright silver abrasion contrasting against the beautiful pristine black.:crying::furious: TIME FOR SOME GOOD OLE CHILD ABUSE!

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41 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

Confucius say - No want scraped rims, keep keys out of reach!  :efef927839:  No want scraped pedals, keep in shipping box.  :whistling:  No want sore bum, don’t damage Dad’s stuff!

Now, see. That's why I like Confucius. 

I don't mind the scraped plats. I just didn't want sloppy seconds putting battle scars on my own wheel. :D:D

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Damn... Guys, as I looked at your posts and all the joy they contained, I could not stand :dribble:and... ordered KS-18XL :thumbup: I will not wait until spring and get my new wheel in the beginning of January :clap3: 

Oh, I would like to cast the spells on the weather to make it as good as possible as soon as possible, but I haven't yet grown back my hair which I could cut for this intention again :efefb6a84e:

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12 hours ago, Seba said:

Damn... Guys, as I looked at your posts and all the joy they contained, I could not stand :dribble:and... ordered KS-18XL :thumbup: I will not wait until spring and get my new wheel in the beginning of January :clap3: 

Oh, I would like to cast the spells on the weather to make it as good as possible as soon as possible, but I haven't yet grown back my hair which I could cut for this intention again :efefb6a84e:

:clap3::clap3::clap3:Congrats. Excited to see what you think man.  

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23 hours ago, Lutalo said:

 

:crying::crying::crying::crying:

DAMMIT! my son son scraped my beautiful,  pristine black platforms. I was letting him ride the wheel. He dismounted and it fell over. I felt the sound of the platform scrape as if it was my own pain :cry2: . I suppose that it wouldn't hurt so much if I had been the one who put a scrape on my own wheel; but my son got the privilege:furious:. Sucks! but @Jason McNeil there will be an order for new platforms cominatcha in a few. It hurts so much. :cry2:

 

Good as new!

45535989625_d5ef7d7350_b.jpg

 

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So, after spending time with both the 18L and 18XL today. Most of what I said yesterday still stands. If we accept a working definition of "handling" to mean how nimble the wheel subjectively feels when quickly and repeatedly shifting direction, the 18L is definitely the better handler. The handling difference is more pronounced when you ride one immediately after the other; as I did yesterday and today. 

The XL feels more stable in turns but shows greater resistance to directional changes. The greater resistance to directional changes compared to the 18L seems to be the trade-off for the greater stability in turns. 

The XL feels more stable and planted than the L. This is what I think gives me the impression of better acceleration than the L. I doubt that the XL would show by any quantifiable measure to be stronger, but it feels stronger. The sensation of stronger acceleration from the XL was reaffirmed in my tests today; I think it might be the stability that results from greater weight that creates this sensation of stronger acceleration. 

I will keep testing. 

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On ‎12‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 7:39 AM, Lutalo said:

DAMMIT! my son son scraped my beautiful,  pristine black platforms. I was letting him ride the wheel. He dismounted and it fell over. I felt the sound of the platform scrape as if it was my own pain :cry2:

That's the one issue I have with the new King Song pedals... The size is AWESOME for riding - it only takes about 10 feet to know that you never want to go back.

But the black paint flackes off too easily - I realise now how much the old grey / silver pedals concealed the scuffing. The black pedals, not so much!

I love the black though, so need to work out an alternative to the paint used in the factory...

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On 12/24/2018 at 10:24 PM, The Fat Unicyclist said:

That's the one issue I have with the new King Song pedals... The size is AWESOME for riding - it only takes about 10 feet to know that you never want to go back.

But the black paint flackes off too easily - I realise now how much the old grey / silver pedals concealed the scuffing. The black pedals, not so much!

I love the black though, so need to work out an alternative to the paint used in the factory...

True indeed. I am planning to vinyl wrap the XL. I was debating whether or not to wrap the foot plats. I think I will. This incident would have definitely damaged the vinyl, but left the plats basically unscathed. The vinyl is easily replaced, but once you scuff your lovely black plats. Ouch!

The old grey definitely hid scrapes better, but the black looks soooo much cooler :efee8319ab:👍

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