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Entry level euc: s2, ks14d, im v5f


Altaire.

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So im pretty resolved to go ahead and drop 5 or 600 on one of these, any thoughts on which would be better? The 14d seems to have more power and speed but is selling for 900, the other two around 500 so I'm probably going with one of those... what about the s2? Good bad? What about a1, is that the same as the s1? Any thoughts would be helpful, anywhere i look i get different opinions. 

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Funnily enough I bought a V5F which arrived yesterday, I can't read ride it more than about 2 yards yet but I'm impressed with the look and build quality. Hopefully someone who can actually ride one can give you better advice shortly :)

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Did you find one cheaper than 550? That's the one i was gonna go with actually but today i read some things on e wheels comparing the other two so i went into dispersion again. But ewheels talked about them like they were all entry level competitors but the 14d is almost as much as the higher priced ones so it's not really in competition if it's 400 dollars more. I'd rather just get one of the better ones if i was gonna pay that much.

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Battery depreciation is pretty bad on the S1/A1 in my experience, I've had the wheel 2 years and barely get 5 miles out of it if I ride slow, 8mph or so.

If I ride at the fill 12mph/15kph, I get maybe 3-4 miles before the battery dies. Personally, I wouldn't get an S1/A1 or even the S2 for that matter. 

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2 hours ago, NylahTay said:

Battery depreciation is pretty bad on the S1/A1 in my experience, I've had the wheel 2 years and barely get 5 miles out of it if I ride slow, 8mph or so.

If I ride at the fill 12mph/15kph, I get maybe 3-4 miles before the battery dies. Personally, I wouldn't get an S1/A1 or even the S2 for that matter. 

You are in the danger zone. Your batteries are toasted and their internal resistance is abysmal. You may have a cut off at any moment.

You must be a smooth rider, any man would have already eaten the pavement.

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The old Ninebots really are a waste of money unless you get a used one for like 250.

The V5F is definitely better, and the 14D is definitely better than the V5F.

For under 1000, imho the best option is being lucky in finding a good price used wheel. Maybe a 14S or 16S. Just look at this example, this is lightyears better (unfortunately for you this is California only, otherwise an 18L for 950 is crazy good in comparison).

And if you can spend more, it's always worth it, EUCs get disproportionately better with higher prices.

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3 hours ago, Gasmantle said:

Funnily enough I bought a V5F which arrived yesterday, I can't read ride it more than about 2 yards yet but I'm impressed with the look and build quality. Hopefully someone who can actually ride one can give you better advice shortly :)

I own the V5F. This is a wheel that takes a lot of time to master. Be patient.

Other than for speed and range you will never really outgrow a V5F(others may of course tell you otherwise ;) )

This is still the wheel I come back to when I want to stay "honest" ( read, when I want to be sure I really know how to master a maneuver)

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The S1 is often on sale on Amazon for $300, and I bought two of them, giving one away to my girlfriend's boss while keeping the other one.

I think much more than most wheels, the S1/S2 are quite difficult to ride due to their low power, low pedal height, the 14 inch form factor, and the complete lack of side padding. They are quite difficult to mount. However, if you ride slowly and reasonably then the S1 makes a very good urban sidewalk surfer except for the fact it doesn't have a trolley.

The S1/S2 are very useful wheels because you can put them under your car seat for the last half mile solution, and in this role my wheel finds a lot of usage; I think I've used it for more trips than any other wheel I own.

IPS makes an even smaller wheel called the i5 that's probably a better use case than the S1/S2, but $300 buys you a very refined last mileage wheel (with a 12 mile range).

I do hear Segway/Ninebot quality and customer support is wretched.

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I also got a V5F as my starter wheel used off eBay for $250 in early March. I had considered a Ninebot, but the low speed and range turned me off.

I love the V5F - currently use it to commute to and from the train station for work in Boston. I really want it to be a little faster than 15mph, but it gets the job done. If it had a little more range and speed I would take it for the whole 7.5 mi ride to the office and back. I know it's supposed to have ~15 mi of range, but with the way I ride I don't think it would make it the whole way, and even if it did it would be running on fumes and be very bad for the battery by the time I got home, and I don't feel like bringing my charger into Boston to charge at work. So I'm looking into something faster with a lot more range.

Knowing what I know now, I definitely would have gone with a more expensive wheel to start out, because I'm hooked. That being said I will never get rid of my V5F - not only because I've beaten it up so much that nobody in their right mind would buy it - but because it's a great beater wheel that I can use to show my friends how to ride, and I don't think it'll ever stop going.

So a V5F would be a great investment! But for some it might be worth skipping to learn on a larger or more powerful wheel that will last longer. 

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34 minutes ago, pico said:

I own the V5F. This is a wheel that takes a lot of time to master. Be patient.

Other than for speed and range you will never really outgrow a V5F(others may of course tell you otherwise ;) )

This is still the wheel I come back to when I want to stay "honest" ( read, when I want to be sure I really know how to master a maneuver)

Thanks, that's reassuring. I've had another go today for an hour and whilst I can't get far and can't yet steer it I can at least stay on for a short distance. I'd like to think that once I can get a little bit further it should start getting easier.

 

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I can get 20-25 km out of my S2 (about same as V5F), I’d probably recommend the V5F due to equipment, but the S2 is probably more pleasant to use with its thicker tire, lower pedals (less twitch) and optional pads. Design aesthetics unmatched.

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36 minutes ago, mikemarz88 said:

So a V5F would be a great investment! But for some it might be worth skipping to learn on a larger or more powerful wheel that will last longer. 

We're down to our last 10x V5Fs, once these are sold out, the prices from other sources will likely to increase to $600 (without the cover), because we acquired this inventory in the pre-tariff days.... I'm not sure if we'll be restocking this model, because the 14D is a fairly substantial upgrade with that 800W motor & 18.6MPH max speed. One option under consideration is a $699 variant with the 340Wh pack, using the 2.9Ah cells.  

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10 minutes ago, Jason McNeil said:

We're down to our last 10x V5Fs, once these are sold out, the prices from other sources will likely to increase to $600 (without the cover), because we acquired this inventory in the pre-tariff days.... I'm not sure if we'll be restocking this model, because the 14D is a fairly substantial upgrade with that 800W motor & 18.6MPH max speed. One option under consideration is a $699 variant with the 340Wh pack, using the 2.9Ah cells.  

Jason, as a matter of interest do you ship to the UK? 

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1 hour ago, Jason McNeil said:

We're down to our last 10x V5Fs, once these are sold out, the prices from other sources will likely to increase to $600 (without the cover), because we acquired this inventory in the pre-tariff days.... I'm not sure if we'll be restocking this model, because the 14D is a fairly substantial upgrade with that 800W motor & 18.6MPH max speed. One option under consideration is a $699 variant with the 340Wh pack, using the 2.9Ah cells.  

Went ahead and pulled the trigger on the v5f... the sale page says that the purchase includes a cover, wrist protection and a handle, the confirmation letter just says a cover will be sent separately though? 

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2 hours ago, pico said:

You are in the danger zone. Your batteries are toasted and their internal resistance is abysmal. You may have a cut off at any moment.

You must be a smooth rider, any man would have already eaten the pavement.

Yeah I've already ordered a replacement EUC earlier this month. I'm upgrading to the KS18xl. Waiting patiently as ewheels.com gets the shipment in. :)

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1 minute ago, NylahTay said:

@Gasmantle thanks! I've been wanting to upgrade for a while. It's so much fun. Congrats on your wheel, a bit of a learning curve at first, but once you get hooked there is no going back. :) 

Yea it's great fun, I can still only get about 30yds and can't yet steer it but I'm hoping in a few days I'll have have the basic riding learnt :)

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10 hours ago, NylahTay said:

Yeah I've already ordered a replacement EUC earlier this month. I'm upgrading to the KS18xl. Waiting patiently as ewheels.com gets the shipment in. :)

That's gonna be such a substantial upgrade and different feel, gonna be awesome. I'm in the same boat I'm waiting for the Teslas to arrive....this is worst than waiting for Christmas presents of my entire childhood combined.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have this exact doubt! :) Thanks for the post! :)
Tough to find anything with "nice sale prices" on the market these days in Europe... (is everyone going nuts over unicycling?!)
Will keep my eyes open...

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On 4/25/2019 at 5:38 PM, pico said:

I own the V5F. This is a wheel that takes a lot of time to master. Be patient.

Other than for speed and range you will never really outgrow a V5F(others may of course tell you otherwise ;) )

This is still the wheel I come back to when I want to stay "honest" ( read, when I want to be sure I really know how to master a maneuver)

Even speed/range it seems pretty decent, for a casual recreational user.
For me, a "wannabe beginner", seems like a "best buy", as 14d is really much more expensive.

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