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What's wrong with Airwheels?


BaconLiker

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My take on it is, they offer the best of NO worlds.

There seem to be two types of wheel at the mo. Aesthetically very slick looking ones like the solowheel and Ninebot (which some people liken to an iPhone) and the boxier but much more powerful beasts like the msuper and King songs.

Airwheel on the other hand offers neither advantage. And as Esaj said, are bizarrely expensive.

The X8 is on sale in my local Maplins in London for £850! That's the same price as a Ninebot e+!!

I totally agree with you that the Airwheel offers neither advantage and totally overpriced.

However, the Airwheel F3 has arrived!  Real EUC fans will not even consider buying it because of its limited speed and range. BUT it totally satisfies the first criterion and looks totally awesome. It has "Electromagnetic Suspension Motor" (whatever that means).. so be prepared to pay an arm and a leg for it!!  

Personally, I started with an X3. After 6 months, I traded the X3 in for what was then the most powerful EUC in the market... The Rockwheel.  I found the X3 totally underpowered and limited in range.  It is probably a good EUC to start learning and practising with but after a while, the lack of speed and range will totally frustrate you.

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Not so much that there's something 'wrong' with them, but they will try to kill you every once in a while.

It's a matter of taste, really - in many ways they remind me of my ex-girlfriend.

On the subject of being attacked, (not by girlfriends - that's normal) has anyone got riding experience of both twin-wheel and single wheel unicycles? I bought the Q3 because I thought it would be more stable with twin wheels. (and the advert SAID it was more stable!!!) However, I find it extremely unstable on uneven and sideways-sloping surfaces. After I thought I had got the hang of it, it ejected me through the air to land on my ribs after going into some kind of 'corkscrew' or 'tank-slapper'.  I'm wondering if I made a mistake about the two-wheel version being more stable.... Any comments?

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On the subject of being attacked, (not by girlfriends - that's normal) has anyone got riding experience of both twin-wheel and single wheel unicycles? I bought the Q3 because I thought it would be more stable with twin wheels. (and the advert SAID it was more stable!!!) However, I find it extremely unstable on uneven and sideways-sloping surfaces. After I thought I had got the hang of it, it ejected me through the air to land on my ribs after going into some kind of 'corkscrew' or 'tank-slapper'.  I'm wondering if I made a mistake about the two-wheel version being more stable.... Any comments?

I primarily ride a single wheel and that is what I learned on, but my sister has a twin-wheeled Inmotion V3 as her starter wheel so I got to ride that a good bit.

It seems only intuitive that a twin-wheel configuration is more stable than a single wheel.  The problem comes when, as you have experienced, the twin-wheeled rider encounters uneven ground that causes one wheel to be more elevated than the other as this will cause the entire platform to orient itself accordingly.  Unfortunately, many streets, sidewalks, bike paths, and trails present just such a scenario quite frequently.

A single wheel is inherently an unstable platform.  Learning to balance on a single wheel involves constantly overcoming this inherent instability to the point that it becomes instinct.  So by the time you achieve competence on a single wheel, encountering uneven ground is just another type of instability that you instinctively know how to handle.

Because of the better stability of a twin-wheel at low speed or standstill, it is easier to learn how to ride on one.  And learning how to handle wobbles on a twin-wheel apparently helps in preparing how to learn to ride a single wheel.  My sister was able to transition from the Inmotion V3 to the Ninebot One (a single wheeled platform) without much fuss; after maybe 15 - 30 minutes she was riding on the Ninebot fairly comfortably.

Both of us agree that a single wheel is the way to go.  The single wheel allows you to easily negotiate terrain which would be more problematic for a twin-wheel rider.  It is nice having the twin-wheel on hand as a training tool for new people who you want to introduce to the world of ewheels, but as a primary wheel I find it limiting.

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I primarily ride a single wheel and that is what I learned on, but my sister has a twin-wheeled Inmotion V3 as her starter wheel so I got to ride that a good bit.

It seems only intuitive that a twin-wheel configuration is more stable than a single wheel.  The problem comes when, as you have experienced, the twin-wheeled rider encounters uneven ground that causes one wheel to be more elevated than the other as this will cause the entire platform to orient itself accordingly.  Unfortunately, many streets, sidewalks, bike paths, and trails present just such a scenario quite frequently.

A single wheel is inherently an unstable platform.  Learning to balance on a single wheel involves constantly overcoming this inherent instability to the point that it becomes instinct.  So by the time you achieve competence on a single wheel, encountering uneven ground is just another type of instability that you instinctively know how to handle.

Because of the better stability of a twin-wheel at low speed or standstill, it is easier to learn how to ride on one.  And learning how to handle wobbles on a twin-wheel apparently helps in preparing how to learn to ride a single wheel.  My sister was able to transition from the Inmotion V3 to the Ninebot One (a single wheeled platform) without much fuss; after maybe 15 - 30 minutes she was riding on the Ninebot fairly comfortably.

Both of us agree that a single wheel is the way to go.  The single wheel allows you to easily negotiate terrain which would be more problematic for a twin-wheel rider.  It is nice having the twin-wheel on hand as a training tool for new people who you want to introduce to the world of ewheels, but as a primary wheel I find it limiting.

Thanks for that detailed reply, RichieV.  You've confirmed what I've started to suspect, that the twin-wheels produce their own problems.  I've only just started riding so I'll persevere and maybe graduate to a single wheel model next year...

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  • 1 month later...
On 9/30/2015, 11:16:11, BaconLiker said:

Thanks for the info everyone.  I should've looked here before purchasing a wheel but Airwheel are just about the only 'visible' brand in the UK so I went with them.

I'll stick with the X8 until I've finished learning at least, then maybe consider an upgrade.  I'll ask Airwheel about the BMS issues and wear full body armour in the meantime ;-)

I love my X8 and have had an X3 before that. Maybe they are more narrow in scope, but I like knowing what parts go into my wheel, and trust that they are legit.  Airwheel for me, for now, as well :)

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've tried Airwheels both x3 and x8 and despite being a little soft on the ride and having a very low speed tilt back I found them to be vastly superior to many other 'starter wheels' but they are very expensive for their limited capabilities.

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  • 2 months later...

Im with KaleOsaurusRex, I have been badly hurt by my X3 having unexpected shut downs.  I am getting an unhelpful response from Airwheel.com who I bought the unit from.  But it is interesting that other people seem to have the same problem. 

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  • 1 month later...
On Wednesday, 30 September 2015 at 3:30 PM, KaleOsaurusRex said:

The main problems are unexpected shutdowns. It appears they suffer BMS shutdowns, main-board shutdowns, and voltage drop shutdowns (not sure these last 2 are always different)


 

On Wednesday, 30 September 2015 at 3:30 PM, KaleOsaurusRex said:

The main problems are unexpected shutdowns. It appears they suffer BMS shutdowns, main-board shutdowns, and voltage drop shutdowns (not sure these last 2 are always different)

The biggest problem I see is, (as I have already posted) is the power button Unlatching , turning off power

and the wheel freewheeling out from under you at dangerous speed

Doesn't matter how good a rider you are someone is going to get hurt
 

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7 minutes ago, RANX said:


 

The biggest problem I see is, (as I have already posted) is the power button Unlatching , turning off power

and the wheel freewheeling out from under you at dangerous speed

Doesn't matter how good a rider you are someone is going to get hurt
 

If you ask airwheel customer service for a replacement latching switch and explain that your switch is defective, maybe they could send you one.

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On 9/29/2015 at 5:22 PM, BaconLiker said:

I've only just found this forum and have noticed quite a few negative comments about Airwheels.  Are there any specific issues I should be aware of or is it just that they're not as good as some of the alternatives?

I'm currently learning to ride an X8 with a view to commuting to work, 5km each way.

The X8 is okay for a first wheel. It was my friend's first wheel and when it was new it rode great. After about 3 months though, it didn't ride as well. Also, although the top speed is stated to be 11 mph, it's dangerous and uncomfortable to ride at that speed due to the tilt back (starts around 9 mph). 

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On 20/05/2016 at 9:38 PM, SlowMo said:

If you ask airwheel customer service for a replacement latching switch and explain that your switch is defective, maybe they could send you one.

Yes in the process of seeing what Airwheel can offer
but I don't have much confidence riding the wheel, if the switch they supply is the same type,

the latching mechanism just isn't very positive

 Also their is a real safety issue here, if switch fail means no braking, at all, Freewheeling out from under you, !!

that's like a car stalling and then having no brakes,

(Yer I know about power assisted braking, but at least you still have the ability to brake,even if it is less effective)

but this is on a footpath, where some innocent bystander could be seriously injured

and that could affect everyone who rides an electric wheel, we all could be banned from pedestrian walkways.

Not something I want to happen

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32 minutes ago, RANX said:

the latching mechanism just isn't very positive

You might be just one of the unlucky ones to get a defective switch. There's still some hope that your Airwheel will perform properly.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 9/30/2015 at 1:37 PM, dmethvin said:

Well to the point that @Jason McNeil makes, there is a LOT to a name. AirWheel sounds like a reputable brand name, so simple and actually a bit better than SoloWheel to be honest. (Who wants to be alone on their wheel?)  As for a name like King Song, to me it evokes the feeling of a low-quality Asian manufacturer. The reviews I've seen here indicate that isn't true, but the name leaves that first impression and it takes work to overcome versus a name like AirWheel. There's a reason that Lucky Goldstar changed its name to LG.

Yes it is really great name for this product. In Chinese there is a close word "风(air)火(fire)轮(wheel)" which are the wheels under a mythological character.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nezha_(deity)

~ Picture is from Google image search - an euc photo sneaks into the top results.

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11 minutes ago, AndrewArthur said:

Yes it is really great name for this product. In Chinese there is a close word "风(air)火(fire)轮(wheel)" which are the wheels under a mythological character.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nezha_(deity)

 

~ Picture is from Google image search - an euc photo sneaks into the top results.

I am new here and just messed up pasting images.

nezha.jpg

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I am newbie and just got airwheel X3 a month ago. Seems it is hitting warning speed very easily. I held my GPS yesterday and it started beeping at 8.X mph and at 9.5 mph it started tilt back. It is definitely enough to ride on pedestrian walk but too slow on bike lane. The good thing it is cheap - you won't feel bad to put scratches on it :)

I am researching other brands for faster top speed. Looks like IPS zero is a good balance of speed, weight, look and price?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Jay does terrific on his Airwheel. I had a Q6 that had been on Ebay for months. Finally a guy purchased it but 3 days later wanted to cancel the sale. He must have read some of these posts and got scared.  He got a good buy as it was almost new. I never had any issues, just wanted a NB1. 

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@Rehab1   It probably helps that he is still small, so is light weight, and not too tall either, so the 14" wheel size suits him well.   I actually didn't really know what I was looking for or doing when buying his, he had asked for one for xmas, I didn't find this group until after I had bought it!  Ha ha oh well    He is happy with it.   Though he is looking for some smart stickers/skin to stick on it to make it look good and also to cover up all the scrapes.  

My aim was to find something not too expensive, but also was worried in case I bought a cheap generic wheel and it was useless and ended up disappointed on xmas day, so Airwheel it was! 

 

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