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Speedyfeet or Poolmarket?


Planemo

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Hello all,

Newbie here, I have been lurking for some time after stumbling across these weird machines via an unrelated google search. I can't get EUC's out of my head now, and am now up to page 82 in the General Discussion section, having read many threads on this great forum which has helped immensely. I have now decided that I am going to give this EUC thing a go, and have settled on the Ninebot E+ (Gen 2) as my first wheel.

Speedyfeet was going to be my No1 seller, having seen many of Ians videos and he clearly seems to be enthusiastic and has a good reputation. Currently they are selling the E+ for £625 but I later found mention of a guy on this forum buying from Poolmarket as they were cheaper. At the moment, its only a £10 difference so it's a bit of a no brainer, but I cannot fathom how Poolmarket can sell cheaper, as it seems that they are a reseller from Speedyfeet. still, £10 is £10. Both offer free shipping and somewhat oddly, the website design and layout on Poolmarket looks very similar to Speedy's one, even down to the text used.

My head is telling me to just use Speedy, but is there any reason not to use Poolmarket?!

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I would look at the Inmotion V8 as a first wheel  - Much more scope and will last you longer. The Ninebot is very very old tech now (the V8 is getting old but still a great wheel)

You can buy from Speedyfeet and he comes highly recommended of you can also buy direct from Inmotion in China through the on INMOTION Global Store on Ali Express  

I bought from there and its was not much more than the Ninebot is selling for in the UK.   Great comms and delivery was quite swift..  Love the inMotion V8  watch nonstopneal on you tube for a great in depth to owning this wheel.

Good Luck and enjoy what ever you get they are great fun.

 

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4 hours ago, Gibo993 said:

I would look at the Inmotion V8 as a first wheel  - Much more scope and will last you longer. The Ninebot is very very old tech now (the V8 is getting old but still a great wheel)

You can buy from Speedyfeet and he comes highly recommended of you can also buy direct from Inmotion in China through the on INMOTION Global Store on Ali Express  

I bought from there and its was not much more than the Ninebot is selling for in the UK.   Great comms and delivery was quite swift..  Love the inMotion V8  watch nonstopneal on you tube for a great in depth to owning this wheel.

Good Luck and enjoy what ever you get they are great fun.

 

I'd get the V8 as a starter learner wheel -  even if you outgrow its speed, you'd want to keep as backup for the next one up. Very good build quality too and rather nippy around town - you can't go wrong with reliability either..

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Either you're a customer who only want a cheap price and hope you won't get any issues with the wheel that would require a warranty repair. Or you want to make sure to have the best possible help and support and pay a bit extra for it.

Like the other said I would also go for a wheel like the V8 or KS16S. My own decision were between these wheels. I love my V8 but after riding it for 2000km I feel like I wouldn't have outgrown the KS16S just a fast since it has a bigger battery and higher top speed. But it's a lot of money and I fully understand you're looking at cheaper models. The Ninebot E+ gen 2 seems to be a great wheel for learning how to ride. But you're gonna grow out of in in a matter of days I'm afraid.

But any EUC is a great beginning stepping into a wonderful new world and a great community. ;)

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Hey @Planemo , have you tried to email Ian? He's very friendly, approachable, and responsive. I communicated with him 'way back when', as I was searching for a dealer, and he never pressured me about who/where to buy. In my experience, he has "your" best interest in mind. Can't hurt to ask. Wherever you get your wheel..welcome to the EUC community.  :clap3:

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Thanks guys, you are all of course 100% correct regarding getting a more advanced wheel to start with which will last me longer, but the sheer issue for me is finances and there is no getting away from that. Even at £625 for the E+, around half of that will still need to go on the 0% finance option (another reason to use Ian) that is offered. An additional £400-ish for the V8 or an extra £565 for the KS16 just isn't possible for me.

The only saving grace is that learning to ride an EUC is something that I will be doing along with my 13 y/o son and 11 y/o daughter, and as a result, if I progress to a better wheel the E+ will be given to one of them rather than needing to be sold so it's not really going to be 'wasted' as such (unless one of them sniffs at it stating "you must be joking Dad, I want a Z10...'). Neither will any wheel I buy be used for commuting so it's just for kicks really.

I haven't contacted Ian yet, I guess I was always going to use him anyway simply based on reputation, my initial question was really around how odd the situation on pricing seemed to be, and why a re-seller (an official one of Speedy's by the look of it) would sell cheaper. The fact the web design looks very similar suggests they are in cohorts also. I guess that as long as Ian is supplying wheels then he isn't bothered that he is being undercut by his own re-sellers.

Anyway, thanks for the welcome! I really do think we need more of us to bring these wheels more into the public - as long as everyone riding them is behaved. I am a right fusspot regarding etiquette to pedestrians and my kids have been brought up the same (we are keen cyclists) and always consider ourselves secondary to walkers. It amazes when I see people fighting for 'EUC rights' yet videos show them riding like maniacs. Foot and Shot springs to mind!

Edit - sorry, meant to add that although I appreciate the suggestion re buying a V8 from China direct, I don't think I would be comfortable doing this, I would prefer a UK seller and more specifically, the support should I need it.

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I have to agree with everyone else in this thread - the Ninebot won't be a good medium term investment. I have owned an Inmotion V8 for around 6 months / 1600km and have just recently purchased my first upgrade (MSuper X). I'd heartily recommend the V8 for new users - not too fast, but very nimble and robust. Anything less and you'll grow out of it far too quickly.

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10 hours ago, Jens Ronnedal said:

Either you're a customer who only want a cheap price and hope you won't get any issues with the wheel that would require a warranty repair. Or you want to make sure to have the best possible help and support and pay a bit extra for it.

Like the other said I would also go for a wheel like the V8 or KS16S. My own decision were between these wheels. I love my V8 but after riding it for 2000km I feel like I wouldn't have outgrown the KS16S just a fast since it has a bigger battery and higher top speed. But it's a lot of money and I fully understand you're looking at cheaper models. The Ninebot E+ gen 2 seems to be a great wheel for learning how to ride. But you're gonna grow out of in in a matter of days I'm afraid.

But any EUC is a great beginning stepping into a wonderful new world and a great community. ;)

I bought the Ninebot E+ and i must agree that you will grow out of it very quickly once you get the hang of it ,the Range and speed are very limiting , Your 1st wheel maybe best buying 2nd hand learn to ride forwards then Backwards 180s etc really learn everything on it as it will take a beating like my E+ has  ,  But still use mine to try new stuff as it is a really nimble wheel and very hard to break

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On 1/24/2019 at 1:46 AM, Planemo said:

My head is telling me to just use Speedy, but is there any reason not to use Poolmarket?!

Well, one is a specialized EUC dealer, the other is a swimming pool supply seller that also sells some EUCs. You do the math.

In principle, there's nothing wrong with buying from poolmarket. It's actually kind of cool to see EUCs sold by a random unrelated store, maybe should even be rewarded that they try this!

The real issue here, I have to agree with the others, that an old ass, slow, weak Ninebot E+ is a really bad investment. 625£ (SF price) is just a lot of money already. And you will outgrow it in a week. You seem to be looking for a less pricy wheel, it's just that the EUC market is unfortunately really bad in what you get for your money at the lower end.

-

If I were you, I'd maybe look for a cheap Inmotion V5F on AliExpress or GearBest (China import). They seem to be quite expensive now (around $500), but they could be had for 300-350€ around Christmas (deals), maybe such a deal is coming up again? @jojo33 Do you know if something might be coming up? That would be a "nice but not crazy expensive" choice so you don't throw money out of the window.

The other option, if you can, would be to invest some more money and get a better wheel. The more you spend, the more you get per £, it's pretty much as simple as that. A KingSong KS14D, Inmotion V8, something like this can be had for a reasonable price. These are the kind of wheels that are just good enough so you can live with them and won't immediately outgrow them. And of course, the higher you go, the better it gets.

For example, a KingSong KS14D is 900€ (prices taken from https://eunicycles.eu) and has 20+ km range for the average rider, whereas a KS14S (same wheel, just twice the battery size) has twice the range at 40-45km, and costs 250€ more at 1150€. You see how much better it gets for a price increase that is rather small in comparison? Going in the opposite direction towards lower prices, this is why the E+ is such a bad investment. You still pay a significant amount of money and get very little in comparison to other wheels.

Third, maybe you're lucky and can find a good used wheel (there, even an E+ would be fine). They are rare in Europe, but are by far the best bang for your buck. And the good thing about EUCs is: they are very simple machines. So if a used wheel wasn't abused (and looks the part), if it works there's little to nothing that might be wrong with it, so you essentially just get a wheel that someone has extensively tested for you and confirmed good.

To summarize:

  • Any wheel is better than no wheel, even the E+. Wheels are fantastic.
  • Try not to buy an E+ if it can be helped:)

It's almost heartbreaking to see someone spend this much money on an E+ (a wheel from the stone age of EUCs).

It's great that you've been bitten by the EUC bug, so don't give up, but don't do something drastic;) What's your weight (it matters)? People here can help you find the right wheel for you. (This means: upselling you as far as you want to go, because that really is where you very much get the most out of a your investment.)

(Also consider some money for wrist guards, knee guards, a helmet in the overall price.)

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30 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Do you know if something might be coming up? That would be a "nice but not crazy expensive" choice so you don't throw money out of the window.

Actually, for the V5F shipping time have been extended to 50-60 days (chinese new year holidays), coupon ends 2019-01-31

see my ad into commercial section

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@jojo33 You are great! Didn't realize this was still going on.

--

So a V5F can be had for 356€. Half the price of an E+, but a better wheel. Should you want to upgrade later (you will), it can serve as a nice light second wheel. Or you just sell it as a learner wheel to someone else. Shipping time is loooooooooooong, but the price is great.

Or you go for a "real" wheel right away. For example I'm seeing the Inmotion V10 for 800€ here:dribble:! A very good deal. Barely more than the E+, but an entirely different beast of a modern, powerful, fast wheel!

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On 1/24/2019 at 1:46 AM, Planemo said:

Speedyfeet was going to be my No1 seller, having seen many of Ians videos and he clearly seems to be enthusiastic and has a good reputation.

I have a lot of respect for SpeedyFeet, I learned a lot about the Mini two years ago, thanks to its videos, when I started my blog.
SpeedyFeet is the pioneer in Europe

A great seller and great reviewer :thumbup:

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8 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

@jojo33 You are great! Didn't realize this was still going on.

 

:popcorn:nooo im not great, just it's hard with gearbest get clear coupon sheet sometimes ... with next chinese new year holidays, shipment between the warehouse and the freight stationt will be slow, few agents will be mobilized.

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1 hour ago, meepmeepmayer said:

It's almost heartbreaking to see someone spend this much money on an E+ (a wheel from the stone age of EUCs).

E1+ Yep wish i was told this as i would have gone for the V8 

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Thanks for all your help. Now I just have more wheels to think about though! I thought I had pretty much settled on the E+ but now...

I had decided on the E+ as it seemed like a well made wheel from a reputable company. Plus not too lairy for me (or the kids) plus it has the 16" wheel which people have said was better for dealing with road imperfections than smaller wheels, and not as twitchy when learning.

I agree the V5F price is very good but its 14" which puts me off. Maybe I am looking into this being more of a problem than it is though. The battery size is about the same as the E+ too, albeit the V5 has a slightly more powerful motor. Delivery time I can deal with so thats not a deciding factor, and £408 is an amazing price!

The V10 is, I think, just too big, too heavy and too fast for my kids to learn on. I might get away with it but for them...hmmm. Also, following the link above it shows up at £877? which is out of my price range.

In answer to the question I am about 85kg.

And yes, I wish I could find a secondhand wheel! But I wouldnt want to buy a used item like this from an unknown on Ebay so it would have to be from a member on this site. Cant see anything suitable at the moment though.

We all have full pads, helmets and body armour from mtb'ing so thankfully at least that side is covered.

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11 minutes ago, Gaz Bon said:

E1+ Yep wish i was told this as i would have gone for the V8 

Just to mention it again, you can get a V10 from China for less money than a V8 from Europe, and the V10 is a vastly better wheel. So it really doesn't make sense to buy a V8 in this situation, unless you want to buy from Europe or can't deal with the long China shipping time (or just absolutely want a V8).

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45 minutes ago, Planemo said:

for my kids to learn on

Well the E+1 would be a good for kids age and size dependent to learn on and no fear of them racing around but for yr self I think you would be wanting a bit more very quickly 

 

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54 minutes ago, Planemo said:

I had decided on the E+ as it seemed like a well made wheel from a reputable company.

That's because the manufacturers do zero marketing except for Ninebot back then (and Inmotion now). So all you find is 4 year old articles and recommendations telling you the E+ is the shit (which was true then, but certainly isn't true now). So your research (outside of this forum) is completely biased towards this old junk.

Same reason so many people think the nearly 3 year old V8 is the latest and greatest (it certainly is still a decent wheel, but not competitive with modern wheels other than its lower price). People just googling etc. (including people reviewing wheels!) wouldn't know that Gotway or King Song and all their current, modern, powerful models even exist.

1 hour ago, Planemo said:

I agree the V5F price is very good but its 14" which puts me off. Maybe I am looking into this being more of a problem than it is though.

At the speeds we are talking about (below 25kph), this isn't an issue. And certainly not at the E+ snail's pace. You need bigger diameters to get more stability at speed. 30+kph is where a 14 incher starts getting sketchy whereas a 16 incher is perfectly fine, and maybe at 40+kph is where you will prefer an 18 incher.

1 hour ago, Planemo said:

The V10 is, I think, just too big, too heavy and too fast for my kids to learn on. I might get away with it but for them...hmmm. Also, following the link above it shows up at £877? which is out of my price range.

You have to enter a coupon code to get the final, lower price (enter it... somewhere, that certainly is well hidden). The code is in the thread I linked (always go for the last one posted).

-

The path for you seems clear to me. Don't even think about getting an E+, the V5F is better and much cheaper. An E+ would be a waste of money. So get the V5F.

And then, let's see how long you can hold on NOT ordering that V10 (or some other, bigger wheel):D. I wonder if you can keep up until your V5F has arrived or can't hold back before that point (the deal for the V10 might end some time, one never knows;)). One nice light wheel as learner, for the kids and as a secondary wheel; and a nice fat ride for daddy. You're hooked, you just don't know it yet:D

(For the record, I'm not saying the E+ is crap, I'm saying for anything above 250€ it's officially overpriced nowadays.)

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Gaaa! Blast you neepneepmayer!  Just as I thought I had managed to wade through everything I could regarding wheels (I have been reading and reviewing for 4 weeks now) you throw in a wheel that I hadnt even yet considered! I had simply discounted anything below 16" as everything I read suggested that the smaller the wheel the more they pick up more surface imperfections. I appreciate at the speeds I was thinking about, stability may not be the issue, but simply that bigger wheels handle bumps/dips better which made sense to me, given the 26" wheels our bikes have! I just wanted to make the learning phase as easy as possible and although I am not looking to off road as such, the sort of parking lots and paved areas I was planning to learn on are not exactly billiard table smooth. Oh I dont know, will 2" really be that much worse (the Mrs seems to think so...)

I couldnt find anywhere to put the coupon code, like you say it may be well hidden. If it is indeed going to work out less than the £407 ish that initially came up, even better. Its just the size that is niggling away at me. Have you ridden a 14 and 16 to advise whether the 14 is noticeably more susceptible to dips/cracks/pebbles etc?

Thanks again for all your time and help!

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Id echo the various posts above but gotta say the V5 may be a false economy. Great wheel but you will grow out of it that much quicker than you would the V8. 

A 14 or a 16 inch is probably the best starter wheel, both are more nimble than an 18 and you won't get better service than at Speedyfeet.

Not sure where in Essex you are but there are a fair number of riders in London now and they have both a Facebook page and a whatsapp with reasonably regular meet ups in and around london ... although fewer at this time of year as its a bit chilly :). If you are interested search fb for the Official London Electric Unicycle Club. Likely someone there will let you try a V8, between them they have just about every wheel made. If you are ever in Hampshire you can try mine. 

Welcome to the world of EUC's 

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@Planemo Tire size is not that important.

You can learn on pretty much any wheel - mten3 to Monster. The V5F is a good wheel to learn - light and a high shell giving your legs good leverage.

You can do pretty much everything with any wheel. Question just is, how good is it for what you do with it (but you can do it).

My wheel is 16'', and I've ridden a 14'' wheel for a bit one time. It simply was a little more squirrely than the 16 incher. You can do the same things, you just may want to go slower doing the same things with a smaller wheel. That also applies to your worry about potholes. Since the V5F isn't very fast, it's no problem anyways.

16'' is the perfect allrounder size - good for everything. Get one and happily use it for everything. Some people say one should just get a 14 incher for shorter/slower rides/fun and an 18 incher for speed/ serious commuting, and be better off in the end. That's not wrong either.

Have I at least stopped you from considering the E+ (for that price)? Then I'm happy.

Maybe we should just list some nice lower-priced wheels:

  • KS14D (=420Wh) or 14S (680Wh or 840Wh) - 900€, 1050€, 1150€ at eunicycles.eu (for example) - 14 inchers
  • V5F - great intro wheel for low price on Gearbest. No better way to get into EUCs for little money. - 14 incher
  • V8 - £1000 at Speedyfeet - 16 incher. Not a bad wheel, but a bit overpriced compared with the others.

Those you may grow out of (the V5F most likely, the others probably).

Next:

  • V10:wub: - 800€ at Gearbest (dat price!) - 16 incher with extra wide tire for stability and comfort - much better than the V8, but no longer works as a light+easy wheel for the kids.
  • The world is your oyster if you go upwards in price. KS16S, V10F, Tesla, all there is. Maybe just give up and oder an msuper X or  KS18XL right now;)

These would be wheels you don't grow out of. You can live with them forever (maybe except you will want more range some day).

My evil plan is to get you a cheap+easy V5F now (and for the kids and as a later secondary wheel), and then you're hooked and will pay anthing for a "real" wheel:D The V8 isn't a bad idea, works as a light but still practical serious wheel, but maybe you will want a better one soon anyways. And then you spent 1000£. Sure, you can always sell it (if the kids aren't interested and you don't keep it for them), but still, 1000 is 1000 when you could have paid 1200 for a V5F+V10, for example.

It all depends a bit on what you see yourself and family doing with the wheel. There's no really right or wrong choice here, but most people here are upsold like crazy and don't regret it in the slightest. And a lot of people try to limit their expenditure (to "1000 is enough ffs") or think they don't need more (and buy a V8), and then end up upgrading to a 2000€ wheel with joy (Hi @travsformation;)) (And some people are indeed happy with their V5F or V8 and don't need more.)

For example, @adampj started like you (considering a V8 or 14D) and ended up buying a V5F and V10. I don't think he regrets it:D

See his thread here, the situation is very similar to yours:

Finally, one good tip is to buy the wheel your intuition tells you to buy (unless it's the E+, then your intuition is officially wrong). So lean back, relax, look at the options, and then you'll know which one(s) you want.

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Well, you will be happy meep. I have just placed my order for the V5F! Using the Gearbest link kindly provided by jojo, it came to £352 inc shipping and insurance. For info the latest code in the other thread didn't work, but the previous one did (GBV5FBW).

It saved about £86 if memory serves. So for that price I am very happy, thanks so much to all of you, what a great forum. Just have a long, painful wait now!

For info I am in Billericay, Essex. It would be great to meet up with anyone nearby (unlikely I know!).

So, onwards to reading anything and everything about the V5 until it turns up :)

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