Gotway Nikola: First impressions

[Nils]

I slimed the wheel today. I couldn't get a good reading of what pressure the wheel came with (fighting to get the electrical pump on the darn nozzle and the air went out), but after sliming it I pumped it up to ~40 PSI and took it for a ride. That did make the turning a lot smoother, so good call there @houseofjob! I appreciate the tire much more now at this pressure.

Great ride, and it handles great, very happy with the wheel Carves beautifully now with the higher pressure, and there's a nice sense of strength from the wheel when riding. I kind of get the feeling that there's a lower sense of gravity in the Nikola compared to my previous wheels, which feels nice. I find it very comfortable, particularly now with the pressure adjustment. I need to mess around with the calibration as well I think to account for my sneakers with cushioned heels, that might make it even more great. I haven't yet tried the side pads for what it's worth, I guess I'll have to soon just for reference if nothing else, but it rides well without them as well. I'm kind of hesitant to destroy the clean looks of the wheel as well, which I've really come to appreciate. The wheel, to me, is great looking with more sober side lights!

[walsus]

4 hours ago, Nils said:

Here you go. The Nikola ended up being photographed a little bit sideways for the width-comparison photos, so perhaps it's a little bit unfair towards it but hopefully you should get the idea at any rate.

This helps a lot! Thank you.

 

[wongster]

I got to test ride a buddy's Nikola last weekend (mine expected to arrive with the main shipment to Singapore in another week or so)

Initial impressions of the Nikola.. besides it looking like an 18" wheel , the motor is quiet & smooth, pickup/acceleration feels relatively sluggish compared to the Tesla, but opens up delightfully once you start to push it it above 30km/hr

The increased pedal size & height height clearance makes for one relaxed ride & confident tight turns. I didn't like the overly "tilted upwards " pedals on my MSX  and it's a relief to find that the Nikola did not continue this trend.

The higher body also translates to more "grip" surface area for the upper inner thighs, making it a joy to manipulate the wheel. I prefer the feel of the MSX side paddings on the Nikola. 

Glad that the default stock tyre for the Nikola is the CST e-Bike Pro 16" X 3.0 (model C-1488). The tyre thread of this model makes for one relaxed ride.

Let's put it this way... I hated the feel of the ride of my KS18S, KS18L, KS16S (cut the shell to accommodate the C-1488 16" X 2.5 tyre), but once I swapped the stock tyre to the C-1488, the wheeling experience is greatly enhanced. 

During a  Gotway Factory visit last year, Lucas shared with me that they love the feedback from the C1488 tyre and it's great that Gotway decided to use it for their newer wheels.

Can't wait to compare the upcoming KS16X against the Nikola in terms of the agility.

[wongster]

On 4/30/2019 at 3:04 AM, Nils said:

I slimed the wheel today. I couldn't get a good reading of what pressure the wheel came with (fighting to get the electrical pump on the darn nozzle and the air went out), but after sliming it I pumped it up to ~40 PSI and took it for a ride. That did make the turning a lot smoother, so good call there @houseofjob! I appreciate the tire much more now at this pressure.

Great ride, and it handles great, very happy with the wheel Carves beautifully now with the higher pressure, and there's a nice sense of strength from the wheel when riding. I kind of get the feeling that there's a lower sense of gravity in the Nikola compared to my previous wheels, which feels nice. I find it very comfortable, particularly now with the pressure adjustment. I need to mess around with the calibration as well I think to account for my sneakers with cushioned heels, that might make it even more great. I haven't yet tried the side pads for what it's worth, I guess I'll have to soon just for reference if nothing else, but it rides well without them as well. I'm kind of hesitant to destroy the clean looks of the wheel as well, which I've really come to appreciate. The wheel, to me, is great looking with more sober side lights!

At 220 pounds (100kg), 45psi works for me and handles the "carving" beautifully.

And yes, definitely put on the side paddings...you will love the Nikola even more

[Nils]

On 5/2/2019 at 9:25 AM, wongster said:

At 220 pounds (100kg), 45psi works for me and handles the "carving" beautifully.

And yes, definitely put on the side paddings...you will love the Nikola even more 

I did the first ride with the side paddings today, but so far I'm not as pleased as you are unfortunately.. The pads themselves are nice, thick and well-built. When put on Nikola they add too much width to the already wide body for me. Now my feet are not only long but they're also pretty wide (AKA "Donald Duck feet"), and with the side pads on I can't really utilize the full width of the pedals as the side pads push my legs out.  Anyway, I'll leave them on for a while to really evaluate them - I'm hoping that they'll perhaps soften up a bit, or perhaps I'll come to like them anyway with some use.

[stephen]

2 minutes ago, Nils said:

The pads themselves are nice, thick and well-built. When put on Nikola they add too much width to the already wide body for me.

At least they didn't stick to the original Msx first batch ones which was cheap and thin ,would of probly been better on the Nikola😂

Keep us updated you might need to get used to them 🤘

[Sidewalk Enforcer]

Stumbled across this vid - haven't seen it posted elsewhere on this forum. Fair warning it's in French with English sub-titles but I thought it was presented very fairly.

 

 

[meepmeepmayer]

3 hours ago, Sidewalk Enforcer said:

Stumbled across this vid - haven't seen it posted elsewhere on this forum. Fair warning it's in French with English sub-titles but I thought it was presented very fairly.

Those French prices are a joke. 1900€ ($2100) for a 800Wh Nikola, 2400€ ($2700) for the 1600Wh I don't know why a single French person buys from French dealers.

[Rehab1]

6 hours ago, Sidewalk Enforcer said:

Stumbled across this vid - haven't seen it posted elsewhere on this forum. Fair warning it's in French with English sub-titles but I thought it was presented very fairly.

 

 

I like this guy and his presentation. 

[Rehab1]

2 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Those French prices are a joke. 1900€ ($2100) for a 800Wh Nikola, 2400€ ($2700) for the 1600Wh I don't know why a single French person buys from French dealers.

Their use to paying inflated prices. Think how much a fine bottle of vintage wine costs in France. You don’t hear them grumbling. 

[Vanzen]

We all order from Aliexpress, dont worry

 

[ED209]

@Flying Rat, reviews the Nikola,

 

[Nils]

On 5/6/2019 at 9:58 AM, Nils said:

I did the first ride with the side paddings today, but so far I'm not as pleased as you are unfortunately.. The pads themselves are nice, thick and well-built. When put on Nikola they add too much width to the already wide body for me. Now my feet are not only long but they're also pretty wide (AKA "Donald Duck feet"), and with the side pads on I can't really utilize the full width of the pedals as the side pads push my legs out.  Anyway, I'll leave them on for a while to really evaluate them - I'm hoping that they'll perhaps soften up a bit, or perhaps I'll come to like them anyway with some use.

Update for the side pads: Can't make them work for me.. Having them on the standard location (as shown on Nikola pictures) just pushes the legs out way too much. Makes everything very uncomfortable for me, and makes me kind of fight to get the feet in while riding. Now, I like shuffling my feet around on the pedals when I ride, and that became hard and felt downright dangerous when the pads get in the way all the time. I tried putting the pads higher up on the wheel, closer to the handle, which made things better but not good. Now I've completely removed them, sweet bless! I'd still think it'd be good with some friction on the sides so perhaps I'll experiment some more later, either by seeing if I can thin the existing side pads in some way or come up with some alternative (perhaps just some semi-grippy tape or something similar).

Edited May 13, 2019 by Nils

[Lucas Alexander Oliver]

So @Nils I have a nikola on the way to the us. Hopefully next week. But I’m 6’3”. I am nervous about the trolley being un usable.  I use the trolley on my v8 everyday.  Would you please measure the height for me fully extended. I’d really appreciate it and maybe even a picture of you pushing it with the handle.   Thanks 

Edited May 16, 2019 by Lucas Alexander Oliver
Spelling

[Nils]

17 hours ago, Lucas Alexander Oliver said:

So @Nils I have a nikola on the way to the us. Hopefully next week. But I’m 6’3”. I am nervous about the trolley being un usable.  I use the trolley on my v8 everyday.  Would you please measure the height for me fully extended. I’d really appreciate it and maybe even a picture of you pushing it with the handle.   Thanks 

My measurement puts it at somewhere around 87 centimetres (34"), to the top of the trolley. I certainly don't find it unusable, and I'm about your height. It would be preferable to me  if the handle was a little big taller and would lock like the V10F's handle, but it gets the job done. But then I don't trolley much at all, so YMMV.

Edited May 16, 2019 by Nils

[t33m]

That looks a bit too big to bring on a bus or train or into restaurant or something. Or is that just the camera?

[meepmeepmayer]

Even a Monster isn't that big in the end. People bring Monsters into a lot of places. There's no hard cut-off for "too big", you have to know for yourself.

[Nils]

16 hours ago, t33m said:

That looks a bit too big to bring on a bus or train or into restaurant or something. Or is that just the camera? 

I have yet to bring it onto a bus or into a restaurant so I really couldn't say. That being said, I don't think the additional size is going be that much of a problem in those scenarios compared to a similar wheel.

Edited May 22, 2019 by Nils

[Nils]

On 5/13/2019 at 9:45 AM, Nils said:

Update for the side pads: Can't make them work for me.. Having them on the standard location (as shown on Nikola pictures) just pushes the legs out way too much. Makes everything very uncomfortable for me, and makes me kind of fight to get the feet in while riding. Now, I like shuffling my feet around on the pedals when I ride, and that became hard and felt downright dangerous when the pads get in the way all the time. I tried putting the pads higher up on the wheel, closer to the handle, which made things better but not good. Now I've completely removed them, sweet bless! I'd still think it'd be good with some friction on the sides so perhaps I'll experiment some more later, either by seeing if I can thin the existing side pads in some way or come up with some alternative (perhaps just some semi-grippy tape or something similar).

For the pads I finally took the time to make some adjustments, I have ridden without them so far, which actually hasn't been a problem either. Anyway, the pads as they are are way too wide for me, so I brought out the kitchen knife and elegantly sliced through the pads (in reality: painfully and unevenly sawed through the pads with the knife in what seemed to take forever), leaving them with perhaps 40% of their original width or so. Just had a great ride now, at this width they're very nice and makes the ride even better.

Edited June 20, 2019 by Nils

[BoisDeFruit]

21 hours ago, Nils said:

For the pads I finally took the time to make some adjustments, I have ridden without them so far, which actually hasn't been a problem either. Anyway, the pads as they are are way too wide for me, so I brought out the kitchen knife and elegantly sliced through the pads (in reality: painfully and unevenly sawed through the pads with the knife in what seemed to take forever), leaving them with perhaps 40% of their original width or so. Just had a great ride now, at this width they're very nice and makes the ride even better.

I was thinking about using some of these sticky "carpet pads". They're quite thin, and (theoretically) should perform the "grabbing" functionality quite well.

[meepmeepmayer]

The Nikola's smooth rounded shape seems ideal for using motorcycle tank protectors. Those are stick-on, profiled rubber mats specifically designed so the motorcyclist's legs can grab the otherwise slippery sides of the motorcycle body. Which is exactly what we need for EUCs (padding isn't important, as usually your legs don't even touch the wheel unless you grab it on purpose).

Only downside: this stuff is expensive as ****. Google "techspec". But cutting one mat for ~50 should be enough for one EUC.

[Dzlchef]

On 6/21/2019 at 4:47 AM, meepmeepmayer said:

The Nikola's smooth rounded shape seems ideal for using motorcycle tank protectors. Those are stick-on, profiled rubber mats specifically designed so the motorcyclist's legs can grab the otherwise slippery sides of the motorcycle body. Which is exactly what we need for EUCs (padding isn't important, as usually your legs don't even touch the wheel unless you grab it on purpose).

Only downside: this stuff is expensive as ****. Google "techspec". But cutting one mat for ~50 should be enough for one EUC.

Thanks for the suggestion as I was looking for something thin, somewhat soft but very grippy for my Nikola.  I ended up buying the Techspec Xline.  I should have everything installed this week and will share pics & experience. 

[wongster]

On 5/6/2019 at 3:58 PM, Nils said:

I did the first ride with the side paddings today, but so far I'm not as pleased as you are unfortunately.. The pads themselves are nice, thick and well-built. When put on Nikola they add too much width to the already wide body for me. Now my feet are not only long but they're also pretty wide (AKA "Donald Duck feet"), and with the side pads on I can't really utilize the full width of the pedals as the side pads push my legs out.  Anyway, I'll leave them on for a while to really evaluate them - I'm hoping that they'll perhaps soften up a bit, or perhaps I'll come to like them anyway with some use.

A buddy replaced the stock Nikola side paddings and replaced them with a pair taken from an old Inmotion V5 .

I fell in love with the feel instantly when I had a chance to try it out on his 100V Nikola

.We are at opposite ends of the weighing scale where rider weight is concerned but both of us find the thinner paddings very comfortable. Gone is the feeling that the stock side pads are pushing one's legs out .

[Zackziber]

Hi euc riders, I have a problem with my nikola, the led lights totally blackout but the motor still work perfect only no lights and no more irritating Start sound ....only a normal sound on n off.. I try to on from the apps.. still the same , do any of you face the same problems? 

[mrelwood]

On 8/8/2020 at 3:49 AM, Zackziber said:

Hi euc riders, I have a problem with my nikola, the led lights totally blackout but the motor still work perfect only no lights and no more irritating Start sound ....only a normal sound on n off.. I try to on from the apps.. still the same , do any of you face the same problems? 

Sounds like the 5V converter is bust. There have been a few reports of that happening with some GW mainboards. Unfortunately I don’t have further details on the issue.

 Experienced electronics repairers may be able to replace the broken components (likely a regulator or a transformer), other than that a new mainboard could be your only option.