Gotway Mten3 - My First Wheel!

[BoisDeFruit]

So it turned out that I bought Mten3 as my first-ever-wheel (EDIT: Now I have 2 of them!) . I chose it because it somehow resonated with me in terms of design, specs and compactness. Visually-wise, it looked the least “Chinese” out of all other wheels, with their flashing strobes, questionable design choices and redundant logotypes all over the place. I also knew I wouldn’t be using the wheel as a transportation means for long commutes, just for some quick errands and park leisure strolls. And, of course, I was heavily influenced by Marty’s raving reviews (and boy was he right about it)!

So currently I’ve just covered a pitiful 80 km on this thing. Learned from scratch at nighttime on a kids playground (with rubberised coating). It took me about 5 nights, 20-30 minutes each session, to be able to drive out of the playground and get to my house on the wheel. It felt like such an achievement!

There’s a couple of things I’ve never seen in reviews of Mten3. This thing is best compared to a dirt bike. The maximum level of fun is achieved when you ride on not-so-great roads, with random bumps, hills, cracks and transitions. You need a subtle challenge to overcome here and there, so you get a dopamine reward.

One night, I took the wheel to a long straight road that goes aside a river. It was the most boring night ever (EDIT: Well, seems it largely depends on the mood. Sometimes long straight roads are fun as well). This wheel is absolutely not for straight roads longer than, say, 400-500 metres, because this way it becomes similar to riding Ninebot Mini Pro (which I also have, and it was fun only for the first couple of times) - you’re essentially just standing doing nothing, which is not fun.

I believe that on other wheels, long straight roads mean speed and comfort, but on Mten3, you don’t want to speed up. My limit is set to 21 km/h and I’ve never hit it. This way, I feel safe riding it without any protective gear, which kills the fun for me. But it still feels extremely fast, even on speeds about 20 km/h.

For the last 10-20 km, I’ve been developing a special “swingy” style of riding, with rapid accelerations and decelerations, combined with surf-like wavy motion trajectories, like on a Carver longboard. This feels just awesome, especially as the mind becomes more and more synergetic with the mechanics of the wheel. It even evoked the feelings of some “Avatar”-like connection.

Playgrounds, small spaces are all extremely fun to be in while on Mten3, just as Marty said. Never thought I could spend hours just riding around certain objects. Undoubtedly, Mten3 is the best experience I have got from the money for the last X years.

The only thing I’m having trouble with are ground elevations. If there’s a bump bigger than 4-5 cm, there are solid chances that the wheel will stutter there and drop you, while spinning around like crazy. It gets a bit better with the experience, but for now I just manually push the wheel on the incline, to be on the safe side.

I’m totally OK with the not-so-ergonomic shape of the handle (it’s like contact lenses - you get used to it) and with the absence of the killswitch underneath the handle. These are non-critical issues.

Of course, I’ve been looking at other wheels, because I’m curious what it feels like to ride a bigger diameter. But I’m also afraid it just wouldn’t be so fun so I might be purchasing another backup Mten3, just in case Gotway stops producing them.

Edited June 18, 2019 by BoisDeFruit

[Rehab1]

Congratulations and nice review! You now own a wheel that you will cherish for life not matter what else you purchase.  

[Marty Backe]

Fantastic. You're the second person I know that chose to learn on the Mten3

Great report on your experiences 👍

[LucasD]

6 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Fantastic. You're the second person I know that chose to learn on the Mten3

Great report on your experiences 👍

He would be third, I already achieved basic level on Mten3  

 

Edited June 8, 2019 by LucasD

[BoisDeFruit]

Thank you so much!

I would never purchase a EUC without reading this forum and especially without seeing @Marty Backe videos.

Yesterday I had a 20-km trip on Mten3 and that was such a relief, feels just like back into the childhood.

An EUC really makes you want to go out more and explore the surrounding areas. For example, there's a large park approximately 2 km away from my house. It's too close to drive a car there, but too far to walk. So I rarely visited it, but Mten3 it makes the trip a breeze.

[Marty Backe]

21 hours ago, BoisDeFruit said:

Thank you so much!

I would never purchase a EUC without reading this forum and especially without seeing @Marty Backe videos.

Yesterday I had a 20-km trip on Mten3 and that was such a relief, feels just like back into the childhood.

An EUC really makes you want to go out more and explore the surrounding areas. For example, there's a large park approximately 2 km away from my house. It's too close to drive a car there, but too far to walk. So I rarely visited it, but Mten3 it makes the trip a breeze.

Yes, I've seen more of the outside in the last few years than I have in the last 30-years 

[Rehab1]

5 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Yes, I've seen more of the outside in the last few years than I have in the last 30-years 

It is amazing how much this hobby has changed our lives.

[BoisDeFruit]

I've just bought a second Mten3, lol.

Out of all things I've ever ridden in my life, this is by far the most fun. So I concluded I really want to have a second one as a spare (and it happened that I took one of the last devices available at my dealer). Another advantage is being able to teach friends, and ride with them, on similar devices, without anyone feeling offended.

I did consider buying a Nikola or a Tesla or a 18L as a second EUC, and spent a long time evaluating that decision, but there are just too many things that put me off from going that direction. Those are mostly the poor design choices (9 different Gotway logos on Nikola? seriously?), weight, size and of course this latest mosfet story with Nikolas.

I understand that Nikola might be able to provide a better riding experience, but Mten3 is already wonderful enough for me - to the extent that I can't get enough of riding it.

Yesterday I tried inflating the tire to 30 PSI and setting the pedals to "Soft" mode. It's just an incredible ride. Intresting that I wasn't able to ride at "Soft" while learning, but now it makes quite a difference in terms of comfort and leisure. Even the so-feared tiled pavements are almost no struggle.

Now a paint job is on the way!

Edited June 18, 2019 by BoisDeFruit

[meepmeepmayer]

Marty has 2 ACM2s (his favorite wheel before the Nikola) so you're in good company.

Though you really need a third, different wheel now that you got the essentials out of your way

[BoisDeFruit]

Just now, meepmeepmayer said:

Marty has 2 ACM2s (his favorite wheel before the Nikola) so you're in good company.

Though you really need a third, different wheel now that you got the essentials out of your way

I think I'm going to wait until the release of KS16X and see how that gets accepted in the community. Hopefully Gotway sorts out the issues with Nikolas by that time and it will be possible to get an all-black Nikola with an MSX board inside, so it will be a great choice.

It's quite evident that 16x3 tire (or 14x3, anyone?) is the way to go in terms of EUC development. Now they only need to improve the designs and the manufacturing processes.

[meepmeepmayer]

Good plan! Wait for 16X and then go for 16X or Nikola (or maybe a different wheel).

2 minutes ago, BoisDeFruit said:

16x3 tire (or 14x3, anyone?)

Motorbike tires go by rim size, bicycle tires by outer diameter. So this is either a 12'' (rim) or a 17.75'' (Marty diameter measurement) tire. Sold as 16''. Whatever, if that was the only complaint about the manufacturers...

How it works in detail is described here:

[Marty Backe]

2 hours ago, BoisDeFruit said:

I've just bought a second Mten3, lol.

Out of all things I've ever ridden in my life, this is by far the most fun. So I concluded I really want to have a second one as a spare (and it happened that I took one of the last devices available at my dealer). Another advantage is being able to teach friends, and ride with them, on similar devices, without anyone feeling offended.

I did consider buying a Nikola or a Tesla or a 18L as a second EUC, and spent a long time evaluating that decision, but there are just too many things that put me off from going that direction. Those are mostly the poor design choices (9 different Gotway logos on Nikola? seriously?), weight, size and of course this latest mosfet story with Nikolas.

I understand that Nikola might be able to provide a better riding experience, but Mten3 is already wonderful enough for me - to the extent that I can't get enough of riding it.

Yesterday I tried inflating the tire to 30 PSI and setting the pedals to "Soft" mode. It's just an incredible ride. Intresting that I wasn't able to ride at "Soft" while learning, but now it makes quite a difference in terms of comfort and leisure. Even the so-feared tiled pavements are almost no struggle.

Now a paint job is on the way!

Wise man 

[Dynomite]

I just got an Mten3 as my first wheel too. I have just started going outside and can ride it in a straight line. I can do fast left turns but turning right is still a little slow. I'm a right footed 'regular' rider on snowboards and I'm kind of using my left foot to apply the pressure. It is incredibly fun to ride and I look forward to it every time I go out.