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Already an 2nd version of the Nikola ?!?


Mike Paolini

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44 minutes ago, Flying W said:

This would be amazing. On flat ground I have enough range for me as is but on steep off road trails there isnt enough battery. 

Yeah exactly. I would have enough range on flat ground as well. I usually ride around 40-60km per day.
With the MSX I can explore new areas that are far away but I wouldn't be able to climb some of the hills out there.
With the MCM5 I wouldn't even be able to reach those areas. The horror.
But maybe the MCM5 would be able to open up new areas nearby that I haven't been able to climb.
Oh decisions... but first I need a plan B if my MSX breaks.
And an MCM5 and a Z10. 

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Clue in a newbie...

I'm trying to summarize what y'all are say'n. If I get it wrong, feel free.

The "3000W Max" motor is maybe the same "2000W continuous" motor in the MSX? The current motors also have a higher max wattage output, but they are listed as their continuous watt number. Maybe the 3000W number is being tossed around because they heard the 16X motor is being upgraded to 2200W continuous?

Compared to the current 18" (actually 19.5") MSX 100V, the Nikola Plus:

  • Will have more low end torque (zippiness) because of the smaller 17" wheel
  • A little less roadworthy because of the smaller wheel
  • More range because because of 6 banks of 24 cells (24 x 4.2v = 100V) for  6 x 24 x 4.2v x 3A = 1845Ah
  • The size of the wheel is offset by the fact it's 100V to get the max speed back up to 35mph+ (56kph)

In practice, would you want to want to ride a 17" wheel at 35+ mph?

Which is higher on the comfort factor, an 18" x 2.5" tire or a 17" x 3" tire, or a 16" x 3" tire like on the KS16X?

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So you're pretty sure no matter how much power you put into this 16" wheel, it WON'T give me more zippiness? what will it give me, just more top end??

It should increase the fastest acceleration you can do without an over-lean. (It’s not the only thing that affects though.) The motor should also heat up less, but as seen with the V10F, it’s the control board overheating that stops the ride, not the motor. And Gotways have been the coolest running wheels for the past year or two anyway.

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so between nikola and plus, if I'm NOT a speed demon, aside from bigger battery, what other advantage would it have? will the higher amperage help it climb steeper hills or keep it cooler during those climbs?

I think the difference is solely up to how the firmware is programmed. If the acceleration curves (pedal stiffness) are the same, you might not notice any difference. Reports on the 84V vs 100V MSX usually say that the difference during riding is minimal to non-existent, and that the difference could be explained by the amount of parallel battery cell blocks. Which is a win for the 84V version (6 parallel for 84V, 4 for 100V).

Numbers are just numbers, and many specs can’t even be directly compared. An EUC is an entity that is run by a firmware program that decides the most on how the wheel feels. No number can describe that, which is why reviews and comparisons are so important when deciding which one to purchase.

 

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3 hours ago, Mike Sacristan said:

Yeah exactly. I would have enough range on flat ground as well. I usually ride around 40-60km per day.
With the MSX I can explore new areas that are far away but I wouldn't be able to climb some of the hills out there.
With the MCM5 I wouldn't even be able to reach those areas. The horror.
But maybe the MCM5 would be able to open up new areas nearby that I haven't been able to climb.
Oh decisions... but first I need a plan B if my MSX breaks.
And an MCM5 and a Z10. 

I'm wanting a longer range wheel that can still climb so I'm hoping one if the new 16s will do it. Currently I only have 2 wheels, a 16s and an mcm5. 

I'm still surprised at what theb16s will climb,  it just doesnt do it nearly as easy as the mcm5 and it heats up much faster. My mcm5 stays really cool. I commute on it but only about 8 miles a day. The accel and breaking are wonderful for car pinball morning rush hour. The larger issue for me is that I'm on about a 3 to 4 month tire changing cycle and with the screws being "self tappers" into plastic I know I cant keep opening it up 3 to 4 times a year. 

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4 minutes ago, erk1024 said:

Which is higher on the comfort factor, an 18" x 2.5" tire or a 17" x 3" tire, or a 16" x 3" tire like on the KS16X?

Nikola and 16X have exactly the same tire size, Gotway numbers are just marketing. 

We don’t really know the answer to that yet as this size has not been out that long. I’m predicting the 16x3 class will be very close to the 18x2,5 feel but still different.  

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The notion that the nominal motor power does not say anything about oomph is both right and wrong.

Wrong because of course a stronger motor gives you stronger acceleration, if only because it can be stressed more before overheating/frying. Wrong also because historically stonger motors meant better zippyness.

Right because the nominal motor power doesn't really mean anything and it depends on how you control the motor and how you can feed the motor (battery size, electronics).

I bet the motor is the exact same motor Gotway uses for all their big wheels. Just the "2000W" motor of the MSX. 3000W is actually lowballing as usually the max power is more like 2x the nominal. So the number means nothing. Unless it's really 3000W nominal which I guess it won't be, but hey, I'm open to surprises!

2 hours ago, erk1024 said:

More range because because of 6 banks of 24 cells (24 x 4.2v = 100V) for  6 x 24 x 4.2v x 3A = 1845Ah

The math is 6 x 24 cells * 3.7V (nominal voltage = average voltage over the use of the battery from 100% to 0%, not max 100% voltage) * 3500mAh per cell = 1864.8Wh (or 1814Wh if you use a possibly more honest 3.6V nominal voltage).

Rest of your post is how it is:)

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1 hour ago, meepmeepmayer said:

The math is 6 x 24 cells * 3.7V (nominal voltage = average voltage over the use of the battery from 100% to 0%, not max 100% voltage) * 3500mAh per cell = 1864.8Wh (or 1814Wh if you use a possibly more honest 3.6V nominal voltage).

Awesome! Thanks! Explains why my calculations were a bit off... ;) 

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7 hours ago, maltocs said:

So i was thinking about this whole zippiness thing and nominal power rating correlation. So you're pretty sure no matter how much power you put into this 16" wheel, it WON'T give me more zippiness? what will it give me, just more top end??

so between nikola and plus, if I'm NOT a speed demon, aside from bigger battery, what other advantage would it have? will the higher amperage help it climb steeper hills or keep it cooler during those climbs? Trying to decide if I would wait for a plus. Thanks. 

Just my opinion, I think the only advantage to the Nikola Plus is added range and top end speed.

The zippiest wheels are the small diameter and lightweight wheels.

The powerful 16-inch wheels, like the ACM2, give you long range, high speed (but not the fastest), and smooth long accelerations. One big advantage to small long-range wheels is weight (because of all the batteries). That gives the wheel a sense of stability because they weigh a lot and are close to the ground.

If you want a zippy 16-inch wheel. right now that's probably the Tesla. All the power of the ACM2 but in a lighter weight package. Less weight, higher accelerations.

I anticipate the Nikola to feel like a close cousin to the MSuper V3s+. I.e., it's going to compete more against 18-inch wheels than 16-inch wheels. I'll know more when I get it.

Unfortunately I was in the mountains when they attempted delivery and now my delivery date is Tuesday :o :crying:

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10 hours ago, Jim Martin said:

Damn, it's impossible to pay these people, they won't take any of my credit cards and I'm not about to use my debit card

I have used PayPal for all my orders there, as it is hassle free. Just create a PayPal account and then tie your credit card to that, rather than using your credit card on Aliexpress directly.

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2 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Unfortunately I was in the mountains when they attempted delivery and now my delivery date is Tuesday :o :crying:

That's a bummer, i actually remembered you were supposed to get the wheel today and came to the forums for your initial impressions, haha.

Tuesday then.. *looks at watch* ... so uh..how 'bout that game huh? *looks at watch*

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Wrong because of course a stronger motor gives you stronger acceleration, if only because it can be stressed more before overheating/frying.

We are talking about different things here. You talk about the maximum acceleration that can be done before an overlean or the motor overheating. That is indeed measured by the max power delivery capabilities of the battery and the motor. But the value makes little difference to everyday riding on a modern wheel. Zippyness does.

Just like the most powerful car in the world can have a gas pedal that is unresponsive at the first 3/4 of the gas pedal travel.

During a regular ride many riders utilize perhaps half of the nominal power of the wheel. It would make zero difference if the motor was 10 more powerful, all else being equal. You ask for 1000W from a 1000W motor, it gives you 1000W. Ask for 1000W from a 8900W wheel, it gives you 1000W.

Still, the rider can assess and compare the zippyness of the wheel.

Quote

Wrong also because historically stonger motors meant better zippyness.

Correlation regarding zippyness is not the motor power but the programming of the pedal modes. MCM4 for example, the squishyness hides all the power of the wheel. S2 for example is a lot zippyer despite the lower power rating.

And you can be sure that as a 205lbs person, I rode extremely peacefully, and did not go anywhere near the max power rating on either wheel.

 

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4 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Unfortunately I was in the mountains when they attempted delivery and now my delivery date is Tuesday :o :crying:

My sympathy for you is far outweighed by jealousy :P

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4 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Unfortunately I was in the mountains when they attempted delivery and now my delivery date is Tuesday :o :crying:

If it's a FED EX delivery, you can go online and change the delivery to the nearest FED EX store by your home. It will be delivered the same day but now you have the option to pick up your Nikola at your earliest convenience, some stores are opened 24 hours a day.

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I saw some reviews already about the Original Nikola being boring and sluggish, and too similar a ride experience to an MSX, but with performance drawbacks. Perhaps the Nikola Plus is an answer to these gripes. Fat soft tires create lots of rolling resistance and have high rotational inertia which cause slow starts. To get these new 3" fatties zipping around, lots more power (low-end torque) is needed. Whether that power is delivered by motor watts, battery watts, bigger capacitors, or firmware changes, they still require more power to match the same zippiness as a thin-tire Tesla. This is just a theory as I have not owned a Tesla or Nikola (yet).

Also I own a 10" Luffy and 14" MCM5, and the MCM5 is way more zippy than the Luffy which means with the right amount of power a larger wheel can definitely become as zippy as a smaller predecessor. I also owned a NB One S2 (14"/500w/320whr) and while the acceleration from 0 to 12 mph on flat ground, with no backpack and no wind, was comparable to the MCM5, as soon as real world elements are introduced there was no comparison. The S2 simply could not match the MCM5 in real world setting acceleration. Bigger capacitors/MOSFETs, battery, motor wattage, firmware all play a factor in real world performance. So all things being equal, higher specs equal better real world performance in all the important areas, even acceleration.

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1 hour ago, Dave U said:

If it's a FED EX delivery, you can go online and change the delivery to the nearest FED EX store by your home. It will be delivered the same day but now you have the option to pick up your Nikola at your earliest convenience, some stores are opened 24 hours a day.

I know and I already made the change. They still attempted the delivery to my home and the FedEx store I picked is closed Sunday.

I'm spoiled by the service that I get from Amazon and keep expecting these other companies to compete. They have a long way to go.

2 minutes ago, Michael Tucker said:

I saw some reviews already about the Original Nikola being boring and sluggish, and too similar a ride experience to an MSX, but with performance drawbacks. Perhaps the Nikola Plus is an answer to these gripes. Fat soft tires create lots of rolling resistance and have high rotational inertia which cause slow starts. To get these new 3" fatties zipping around, lots more power (low-end torque) is needed. Whether that power is delivered by motor watts, battery watts, bigger capacitors, or firmware changes, they still require more power to match the same zippiness as a thin-tire Tesla. This is just a theory as I have not owned a Tesla or Nikola (yet).

Also I own a 10" Luffy and 14" MCM5, and the MCM5 is way more zippy than the Luffy which means with the right amount of power a larger wheel can definitely become as zippy as a smaller predecessor. I also owned a NB One S2 (14"/500w/320whr) and while the acceleration from 0 to 12 mph on flat ground, with no backpack and no wind, was comparable to the MCM5, as soon as real world elements are introduced there was no comparison. The S2 simply could not match the MCM5 in real world setting acceleration. Bigger capacitors/MOSFETs, battery, motor wattage, firmware all play a factor in real world performance. So all things being equal, higher specs equal better real world performance in all the important areas, even acceleration.

I hope you can try an Mten3 someday. The Luffy is life a Ninebot and the Mten3 is like a Tesla.

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7 hours ago, gon2fast said:

I am very interested in the new variation of the 84V model (84V/2100wh/Black). 

Goodbye 100V, hello 84V:w00t2: Finally they're using all that space.

Funny how the non-plus Nikola is already being replaced before most people get the chance to buy one:facepalm:

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2 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Funny how the non-plus Nikola is already being replaced before most people get the chance to buy one:facepalm:

OMG so many different versions of the Nikoka! Is that 8 banks of 20 cells?

Here is that link...

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/2019-Newest-super-Gotway-Nikola-electric-unicycle-monowheel-one-wheel-scooter-84V-2100WH-2000W-motor-max/1908673_33031454577.html?spm=2114.12010612.8148356.30.4eb730fah3dRVz

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Yep 8x20:wub: 2072Wh:dribble:A small extra 20pack (has anybody here seen "I love Money" by the way?) on each side, to use all that space. Makes very much sense. I wish they would cram in even more. 10x20 is 2590Wh, maybe that still can be fit!

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Soooo @Marty Backe   Are you feeling upset that you got the first edition 1600 wh nikola ?  I’m getting the sense that these other editions aren’t going to change anything but top end speed and range.   If that’s the case. I will be extremely happy with my 84 volt 1600wh.  Cause I don’t need faster than 30.   Extra torque would be awesome but if that’s not gonna happen. I don’t need more than 60 miles range.       Am I correct in these assumptions?  Should I go ahead and pay my remaining 1500 on the first nikola or should I consider waiting till Jason gets the upgrades ?     Any input from anyone ???? 

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11 minutes ago, Lucas Alexander Oliver said:

Soooo @Marty Backe   Are you feeling upset that you got the first edition 1600 wh nikola ?  I’m getting the sense that these other editions aren’t going to change anything but top end speed and range.   If that’s the case. I will be extremely happy with my 84 volt 1600wh.  Cause I don’t need faster than 30.   Extra torque would be awesome but if that’s not gonna happen. I don’t need more than 60 miles range.       Am I correct in these assumptions?  Should I go ahead and pay my remaining 1500 on the first nikola or should I consider waiting till Jason gets the upgrades ?     Any input from anyone ???? 

Upset is a strong word. Disappointed? Yes. Then again, the rumor is the Plus could be a $3k wheel. I'm not up for spending $3k on a wheel right now. And I have the Nikola now instead of waiting another 2-3 months.

There's always something shiny and new around the corner.

I can tell you that I don't think I'm going to buy the next Gotway again. I'll wait. 

The Nikola will be the 2nd Gotway wheel that I bought just to find out that a newer version was available before the ink on the check dried. I think Gotway may be screwing themselves by releasing so soon. Maybe not. But they've turned off this user.

 

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1 hour ago, Marty Backe said:

Upset is a strong word. Disappointed? Yes. Then again, the rumor is the Plus could be a $3k wheel. I'm not up for spending $3k on a wheel right now. And I have the Nikola now instead of waiting another 2-3 months.

There's always something shiny and new around the corner.

I can tell you that I don't think I'm going to buy the next Gotway again. I'll wait. 

The Nikola will be the 2nd Gotway wheel that I bought just to find out that a newer version was available before the ink on the check dried. I think Gotway may be screwing themselves by releasing so soon. Maybe not. But they've turned off this user.

 

Definitely agreed.  Why they would want to bum out their loyal and excited buyers. I cannot figure out.  I agree. I will never get excited and buy the first edition again !

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So. On Ali express I could get the nikola plus for 2700 and they say they have a 15 day shipping guarantee..  it’s from the wheel tech store    I would be willing to pay the xtra 700$ if people think it’s worth it. And if the wheel tech store is legit in their 15 day shipping and whatnot   

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