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Quiet Wheels


Asphalt

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I've been very happy learning to ride on my V8 since November - I'll have 1000 miles on it soon. I'm outgrowing the wheel, wanting for more range and speed, so I'm evaluating candidates for my next EUC. Currently contemplating the MSX or KS18XL.

One of the reasons I got interested in EUCs was for the ability to use it as a gimbal for video work. The InMotion V8 has a high-pitch whine from the motor. It's not terribly loud, but noticeable in a quiet room. I was wondering if this was common amongst all wheels, or if some models are quieter than others?

Any suggestions on quiet wheels suitable for gimbal use would be much appreciated.

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Many of the older generation wheels have loud motors.

Although KS18XL is a brand new wheel, it's loud as hell relative to the other wheels released in 2018. KingSong really needs to work on their motor driver design to get with the times.

The MSX is arguably the quietest wheel yet made. It's a perfect stealth wheel for sneaking up on people ;)

We should have Wheel-of-the-Year awards. I think the MSX would win for 2018.

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Thanks Marty. Are there any generalizations to the noise levels of the wheels?

  • Smaller wheels are quieter than larger wheels?
  • Wider wheels are louder than thinner wheels?
  • Brand X is quieter than brand Y?
  • Stationary loudness vs rolling loudness?

Your opinion just swayed me heavily towards the MSX. Maybe I need to ask Eddie to balance things out ;)

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Although @eddiemoy generally dislikes the MSX, I'm pretty sure he would agree as to its stealthiness :)

The motor sound is dependent on the drive electronics. The sound levels are all over the the place even within manufacturers. Gotway has made the biggest strides in reducing the motor noise, starting with the release of the Tesla in 2017. They've been getting better and better with the culmination being the MSX.

The Rockwheel GT16 is the loudest wheel ever made, and everything else falls somewhere in between.

The Z10 is also very quiet, but the MSX is quieter.

In broad strokes, from quietest to loudest based on the wheels that I've had access to:

  1. Gotway
  2. Ninebot Z10
  3. Inmotion
  4. KingSong
  5. Rockwheel
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personally i prefer a louder wheel that way i dont give people a heart attack when i come up behind them haha usually theyll turn around and look and then move aside and i dont have to say anything on my ks wheels.. on very quiet wheels its harder because they dont hear you until they can see you right beside them and people react differently lol

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11 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Many of the older generation wheels have loud motors.

Although KS18XL is a brand new wheel, it's loud as hell relative to the other wheels released in 2018. KingSong really needs to work on their motor driver design to get with the times.

The MSX is arguably the quietest wheel yet made. It's a perfect stealth wheel for sneaking up on people ;)

We should have Wheel-of-the-Year awards. I think the MSX would win for 2018.

Strange.... I just rode a KS18XL last weekend, admittedly not for very long, but the motor did not strike me unusually loud. It might have even been less noticeable than my ACM2. Did you hear other KS18s to see if they are not all the same?

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11 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Although @eddiemoy generally dislikes the MSX, I'm pretty sure he would agree as to its stealthiness :)

The motor sound is dependent on the drive electronics. The sound levels are all over the the place even within manufacturers. Gotway has made the biggest strides in reducing the motor noise, starting with the release of the Tesla in 2017. They've been getting better and better with the culmination being the MSX.

The Rockwheel GT16 is the loudest wheel ever made, and everything else falls somewhere in between.

The Z10 is also very quiet, but the MSX is quieter.

In broad strokes, from quietest to loudest based on the wheels that I've had access to:

  1. Gotway
  2. Ninebot Z10
  3. Inmotion
  4. KingSong
  5. Rockwheel

My 100V MSX was not as quite as the 84V MSX I've tried.  I was definitely surprised at how quite the 84V MSX was.  KS is not known for being quiet.  Some like the noise, some hate it.  Kind of like how an electric car motor noise is.  

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2 hours ago, MacPara said:

Strange.... I just rode a KS18XL last weekend, admittedly not for very long, but the motor did not strike me unusually loud. It might have even been less noticeable than my ACM2. Did you hear other KS18s to see if they are not all the same?

My pre-production 18XL sounds like a typical KingSong wheel. I seem to recall hearing one of the production XL's and it sounded similar.

I guess when I say it's loud as hell, I'm comparing it to some of the more quiet wheels which have come out in 2018.

Yes, the ACM may be louder, but it's an older wheel.

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1 hour ago, Ande said:

I have a KS18L, and find it amazingly quiet. I’ve no basis for comparison, but I would have to make a seriously concerted effort to hear it out on a ride.

Even the loud wheels are hard to hear when you're actually riding. I do have the advantage of being able to ride many wheels, so I have much to compare the XL against.

2 hours ago, eddiemoy said:

My 100V MSX was not as quite as the 84V MSX I've tried.  I was definitely surprised at how quite the 84V MSX was.  KS is not known for being quiet.  Some like the noise, some hate it.  Kind of like how an electric car motor noise is.  

Interesting to know that the 100-volt version is louder.

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I'm going to guess that most of us under 35 will say our wheels are loud, while most of us over 50 will say our wheels make very little noise.

This is because most of us lose our ability to hear high pitched noises as we age.

Presbicusis is the loss of hearing as you age.

Noise-induced hearing loss is loud noises gradually destroying your hearing.

Research suggests most presbicusis is, in fact, NIHL, because most people in low industrial societies keep their hearing while most people in high industrial societies lose much or most of their hearing.

The answer is, all wheels are loud, because little kids can hear your froma block away

The answer is, all wheels are quiet, because you can 100% sneak up on old people with a Rockwheel 16.

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1 hour ago, LanghamP said:

I'm going to guess that most of us under 35 will say our wheels are loud, while most of us over 50 will say our wheels make very little noise.

This is because most of us lose our ability to hear high pitched noises as we age.

Presbicusis is the loss of hearing as you age.

Noise-induced hearing loss is loud noises gradually destroying your hearing.

Research suggests most presbicusis is, in fact, NIHL, because most people in low industrial societies keep their hearing while most people in high industrial societies lose much or most of their hearing.

The answer is, all wheels are loud, because little kids can hear your froma block away

The answer is, all wheels are quiet, because you can 100% sneak up on old people with a Rockwheel 16.

LOL, don't think the high pitch is in the range where us old farts cannot hear it.

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6 minutes ago, dieterGRAMS said:

Yea the kingsong motors are loud but I personally find it a good thing. I can hear where the kingsong is in our group so I never cut him off. Riding with an msx in your blind-spot in a guessing game. 

:roflmao:

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24 minutes ago, eddiemoy said:

LOL, don't think the high pitch is in the range where us old farts cannot hear it.

If you're under 50 then the accumulated hearing lost isn't quite up there yet.

Unsurprisingly, all the musicians I've showed my wheel to cannot tell if the wheel is turned on. I would guess drummers are particularly bad.

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I wonder if the reason why dogs freak out, when an EUC approaches, has anything to do with the high pitch whine?

Can any MSX riders testify to lowers incidents of dog harassment compared to louder wheels?

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1 hour ago, Asphalt said:

lowers

Or higher? The MSX may actually be louder but at a higher frequency. (?)

Some dogs hear my V5F ( a "quiet" wheel) from 100 feet.

Humans and dogs don't respond the same way to sound frequencies.

 

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10 hours ago, Asphalt said:

I wonder if the reason why dogs freak out, when an EUC approaches, has anything to do with the high pitch whine?

Can any MSX riders testify to lowers incidents of dog harassment compared to louder wheels?

im sure it is.. i can hear it, probably deafening to them.. almost all dogs freak out at my euc lol

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I’m also in video and have yet to find a good use for my wheels on set, other than wheeling heavy objects across the desert during shoots. We needed to charge batteries one time and our generator was about a quarter mile away, half mile round trip. Took about a minute for me to ride over and grab spares, versus almost 10 if someone was walking.

An EUC isn’t useful enough for solid gimbal use unless the camera is moving at a jogging pace. In which case you can only be riding in a straight line, and probably not indoors. And you’d be shooting MOS anyway...right @Asphalt?

 

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@csmyers Yeah, audio isn't very usable at this point due to wind noise and wheel whine, but I'm experimenting with dead cats and post-production filters.

I'm mostly shooting moving objects e.g. bicycles, skateboards, cars, etc, but it is fun playing around shots like the Michael Bay 360.

EUCs seem like the a more flexible and less expensive alternative to  $15K+ RC dolly systems, 

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   The KS18XL Might seem quite while riding yet everyone around you can hear it. My wife rides an XL. I always know where she is and how fast she is going without looking. The Only sound the MSX makes is the low speed low pitch acceleration growl that you can feel more than hear. ( and tire noise at high speed) 

   I have always wonder how useful the EUC could be making movies. They set up camera tracks and gimbal carrying cyborg, robot suits. You would think that a quick smooth EUC could save the day over setting up camera tracks. 

  I can picture a man wearing a giant camera gimbal riding an EUC while filming a Sci-fi cyborg and wondering witch side of the camera would be more impressive to see.:D

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