Inmotion V10 - shaking tire

[Petr Z]

Hi All,

i am New user unicykle Inmotion V10. I learning to ride i this unicykle, but i found that at a higher speed (above 20km/h), unicykle was uneasy - throwing / shaking. I checked the tire and found it shaking, axially and sideways - see video. The rim a little to the side. The pressure is at 2.8 bar, I have about 10km ride on it. Is that probably not normal? Complaints?

Thanks

 

 

 

 

[DougE_UC]

Petr,

I had the exact same problem on my InMotion v8 that I bought last October. Like you I propped up the wheel and examined the rim and tire very carefully while rotating the wheel. Just as your video shows, the problem is not cause by the rim, which appears perfectly concentric, rather the wobble is due to the way the tire fits crooked on the rim.

After contacting my dealer, who turned out to be absolutely useless (i.e. InMotion USA), the first thing I did was disassemble the wheel, separating the wheel from the chassis and then removing the tire from the rim to examine it more closely.  Importantly, the tire practically fell off the rim it was so loose, indicating that the tire is definitely defective (the bead diameter being too large, resulting in a loose wobbly fit). I then put the tire (and tube) back on the rim and tried many times to align the bead with the edge of the rim while re-inflating the tube, but because the tire bead fits so loosely on the rim I found it impossible to get it inflate in a manner that was uniformly concentric.

When I tried to order a new tire I found that the OEM tire that my v8 shipped with (Kenda 16x1.95) was no longer available (possibly because Kenda knows they are defective?). I also noticed that newer v8’s are now shipping with a Kenda tire that is slightly larger (16x2.125) than the OEM tire. So I ordered this larger tire off Amazon (because my dealer at InMotion USA refused to send me a replacement).  Finally, when I installed the new tire it fit and worked perfectly. In fact, the fit between the rim and the bead was so snug I needed tire irons to leaver it on, which is normal.

(Instead of sending me a replacement for the defective tire, InMotion USA insisted that I was somehow at fault. The only option they gave me was for me to send the wheel back to them, saying that I would be charged with two-way shipping plus labor and other costs.)

I think the correct tire for your v10 is a 16x2.5, which I can not comment on because I have no experience with this tire. Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure the solution to your problem is to simply order a new tire and hope you get one that fits properly.

I have heard of other InMotion wheels having this same problem, so this is obviously not a random tire defect; rather it is an ongoing problem, where InMotion continues to ship wheels with defective Kenda tires that do not fit properly.  This is especially disturbing since (as we both know) a crooked tire can cause the wheel to oscillate violently, which may be very dangerous at high speed, and so it seems to me that InMotion OEM is neglecting this important safety issue.

I'm also quite disappointed with InMotion USA (San Diego, California), which is merely a retailer/dealer and not part of the InMotion OEM that manufactures the wheels. My experience with InMotion USA was very frustrating because they absolutely refuse to handle technical support issues over the phone; instead they force customers to communicate exclusively through email.  Unfortunately, from what I observed over a 4 month period, all tech support emails are directed through a single "gate-keeper"; some guy who is simultaneously argumentative and ineffectual.  I'd also describe him as an obstructionist. And for these reasons I will be choosing a different InMotion dealer for my next wheel.

Good luck!

 

[UniVehje]

Your rim seems fine. Try lowering the pressure and adjusting the tire to better position. Try to get it centered while increasing pressure.