Your top 3 unique must have wheels? 🌟

[koto]

In my view, even I haven't ridden as long as @Marty Backe on Nikola, I can believe him when he said that Nikola is probably the more pleasant/confortable wheel to ride at this time of writing. It is more reactive than MsuperX. We can say that its tyre is more confortable than MsuperX's one. It has really some Tesla riding feeling. It is more agile than MsuperX, I hope it can have the same range as MsuperX (unfortunately Marty seems to think that it is more energy intensive).

1) I would have said that Nikola is a must have, but with these infos, I would replace it by MsuperX as a multi-purpose wheel (not really the best wheel to bring in a bus, undrrground railway, etc...)

2) If you are a MsuperX user you can consider a Tesla as a very agile wheel, despite its 19.5 kg (1020Wh)

3) I don't know...

 

[andrew900nyc]

19 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

I don't have time to repeat myself endlessly. If you have the time and interest you can watch the video that I posted on the 2nd page of this thread, near the top. In the first 10-minutes I talk about how it's better than the MSX and KS18XL, and I also summarize things again in the last ~5-minutes. If you don't have the time for that, than don't obtain the information that you seek and stay sane 

I missed your video somehow, so thanks for directing me to it. I watched the video and actually managed to stay sane, so it worked out well! While I can appreciate that you like the Nikola the best, my take-away is that compared to the MSX, it's more comfortable to ride, I assume it's lighter, it seems to have a better trolley handle, and it has a nice, smooth ride. That definitely sounds good, but I'm real happy with the way the MSX rides (except for the pedal dip, which I haven't yet resolved) and all the other benefits of the Nikola aren't enough to make me really covet that wheel. I feel like anything that can be done on a Nikola, can be done on the MSX, just perhaps with slightly less comfort (and a bit more effort, in terms of carrying/trollying). But as you pointed out, the MSX is better for the trails. So for my likes and needs, the MSX will do the trick as my all-around wheel. And, of course, I've got the MTen3 on the other end of the spectrum, so until something comes out that has significantly improved technology and/or fills a certain niche much better than competing wheels, I think I'll be ok for a little while. Great video, though! I really enjoyed it and look forward to wheeling up to Sandia Peek sometime. I've always wanted to hang glide from that site, so being able to do two of my favorite pastimes there will make it quite a memorable adventure!

[Marty Backe]

47 minutes ago, andrew900nyc said:

I missed your video somehow, so thanks for directing me to it. I watched the video and actually managed to stay sane, so it worked out well! While I can appreciate that you like the Nikola the best, my take-away is that compared to the MSX, it's more comfortable to ride, I assume it's lighter, it seems to have a better trolley handle, and it has a nice, smooth ride. That definitely sounds good, but I'm real happy with the way the MSX rides (except for the pedal dip, which I haven't yet resolved) and all the other benefits of the Nikola aren't enough to make me really covet that wheel. I feel like anything that can be done on a Nikola, can be done on the MSX, just perhaps with slightly less comfort (and a bit more effort, in terms of carrying/trollying). But as you pointed out, the MSX is better for the trails. So for my likes and needs, the MSX will do the trick as my all-around wheel. And, of course, I've got the MTen3 on the other end of the spectrum, so until something comes out that has significantly improved technology and/or fills a certain niche much better than competing wheels, I think I'll be ok for a little while. Great video, though! I really enjoyed it and look forward to wheeling up to Sandia Peek sometime. I've always wanted to hang glide from that site, so being able to do two of my favorite pastimes there will make it quite a memorable adventure!

You Hang Glide?    I only flew there once, but it has the most dramatic launch site that I've ever experienced - a few steps and then a 1000-foot non-survivable cliff. The flying was spectacular. You can imagine the ridge lift - instant few thousand foot climb 

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend swapping a MSX for the Nikola, but for new people I'm recommending to skip the MSX.

[chrisjunlee]

Oooh, combine hang gliding with EUC, take off and landings would be fun!

[Marty Backe]

5 minutes ago, chrisjunlee said:

Oooh, combine hang gliding with EUC, take off and landings would be fun!

If you knew how to hang glide you wouldn't say that 

[andrew900nyc]

50 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

You Hang Glide?    I only flew there once, but it has the most dramatic launch site that I've ever experienced - a few steps and then a 1000-foot non-survivable cliff. The flying was spectacular. You can imagine the ridge lift - instant few thousand foot climb 

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend swapping a MSX for the Nikola, but for new people I'm recommending to skip the MSX.

Yes, I started hang gliding when I was 12 years old on a Seagull III, then upgraded to a double surface Flight Designs Demon 175 (I didn't get the JetWing trike they sold with it, unfortunately) when I was 16 and pretty much stopped flying by the time I was 19 (one of the stupidest mistakes of my life) and didn't get back into the sport until 5 years ago. During the interim period, I earned my helicopter and fixed-wing ratings and learned to fly gyroplanes, so I did manage to avoid being stuck on the ground for a decent amount of time. I've read articles in Hang Gliding magazine (now "Hang Gliding & Paragliding" magazine) about Sandia Peak from the time I first got started in the sport, so I've wanted to fly there for quite a while! Sandia sounds like a launch where you need to be EXTRA careful to make sure you're hooked in! With my OCD, I'll probably do a hang check at least twice before launching there! St. Hilaire in France is another site that is perched atop a high cliff. It has a very steep launch ramp. Check it out:

When I was watching your video, I kept thinking, "I wonder if he'll wind up near the hang gliding launch?" I thought it would be so cool to see a video with both an  EUC and hang gliding in it! Crestline is the site I've flown most. I drove up in Rob McKenzie's shuttle van quite a few times, as I'm sure you have as well. The attached view from one of my flights there should look very familiar to you. It's great to meet fellow pilots who ride wheels!  

Edited July 11, 2019 by andrew900nyc

[Marty Backe]

3 minutes ago, andrew900nyc said:

Yes, I started hang gliding when I was 12 years old on a Seagull III, then upgraded to a double surface Flight Designs Demon 175 (I didn't get the JetWing trike they sold with it, unfortunately) when I was 16 and pretty much stopped flying by the time I was 19 (one of the stupidest mistakes of my life) and didn't get back into the sport until 5 years ago. During the interim period, I earned my helicopter and fixed-wing ratings and learned to fly gyroplanes, so I did manage to avoid being stuck on the ground for a decent amount of time. I've read articles in Hang Gliding magazine (now "Hang Gliding & Paragliding" magazine) about Sandia Peak from the time I first got started in the sport, so I've wanted to fly there for quite a while! Sandia sounds like a launch where you need to be EXTRA careful to make sure you're hooked in! With my OCD, I'll probably do a hang check at least twice before launching there! St. Hilaire in France is another site that is perched atop a high cliff. It has a very steep launch ramp. Check it out:

When I was watching your video, I kept thinking, "I wonder if he'll wind up near the hang gliding launch?" I thought it would be so cool to see a video with both an  EUC and hang gliding in it! Crestline is the site I've flown most. I drove up in Rob McKenzie's shuttle van quite a few times, as I'm sure you have as well. It's great to meet fellow pilots who ride wheels!  

That French launch site looks worse, if not as high.

Did we already talk hang gliding or was that someone else? About Rob just retiring, etc. I talk to so many people I get confused sometimes 

[andrew900nyc]

1 minute ago, Marty Backe said:

That French launch site looks worse, if not as high.

Did we already talk hang gliding or was that someone else? About Rob just retiring, etc. I talk to so many people I get confused sometimes 

Yes, we emailed back and forth a little while back. That's how I knew that you trained with Rob and flew Crestline. As active as you are on this forum and as busy as you must be shooting and editing great videos - in addition to everything else in your life that's going on -  I'm sure it's easy to get confused sometimes, so no worries. I'm the guy who sent you the info (in confidence) on the new kind of self-balancing vehicle that I invented. I'm in the process of building the prototype.

[Marty Backe]

30 minutes ago, andrew900nyc said:

Yes, we emailed back and forth a little while back. That's how I knew that you trained with Rob and flew Crestline. As active as you are on this forum and as busy as you must be shooting and editing great videos - in addition to everything else in your life that's going on -  I'm sure it's easy to get confused sometimes, so no worries. I'm the guy who sent you the info (in confidence) on the new kind of self-balancing vehicle that I invented. I'm in the process of building the prototype.

Right right right. Hi again 

After I'm retired in a few months I'll have more time to hopefully be less confused 

[MBIKER_SURFER]

8 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

After I'm retired in a few months I'll have more time to hopefully be less confused 

?? - Early retirement?

I get envious - retirement and such a great area for EUC riding! And EUC riding not forbidden .....

[atdlzpae]

@MBIKER_SURFER

It's quite simple actually: The less you spend on wheels, the faster you'll be able to retire.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-blog-post/

[Marty Backe]

5 hours ago, MBIKER_SURFER said:

?? - Early retirement?

I get envious - retirement and such a great area for EUC riding! And EUC riding not forbidden .....

Yes, my wife and I made good life choices early which allows me to retire at 59. I will be enjoying a lot more EUC riding in sunny California 

[Marty Backe]

1 hour ago, atdlzpae said:

@MBIKER_SURFER

It's quite simple actually: The less you spend on wheels, the faster you'll be able to retire.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-blog-post/

But I have 11-EUCs    

[US69]

23 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Yes, my wife and I made good life choices early which allows me to retire at 59. I will be enjoying a lot more EUC riding in sunny California 

Man, retirement with 59....that would be a dream!

[Marty Backe]

10 minutes ago, US69 said:

Man, retirement with 59....that would be a dream!

I am living my dream 

[MBIKER_SURFER]

20 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

I am living my dream 

Me too - but since nearly 20 years - but not retired 

[atdlzpae]

https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-blog-post/zz

The algorithm to early retirement is simple:

• Work hard
• Don't spend money on useless stuff
• Invest money you've saved

Your savings rate is the only thing that really determines how early you can retire. If you're able to save 50%, you'll be able to retire in about 20 years. With savings rate of 75%, it should take 5-10 years.

https://networthify.com/calculator/earlyretirement
Mr. Money Mustache guy was able to do it before 30. Early retirement extreme did it in about 5 years [but the way he did it was kinda... extreme ]. I also saved enough to never work again before 35.

If you'll work in a high salary place [ex. California, London], save like crazy and move to a low-cost-of-living place [ex. Mississippi, Romania], you'll be able to do it even faster.

 

On average, the economy grows 6% above inflation [Real S&P 500 with dividends]: https://thume.ca/indexView/

Early retirement people assume 4% just to be conservative. So every $1 earned now will become $2 in 20 years.

 

As for retiring at 59... I'm not impressed. Kinda late.

Edited July 11, 2019 by atdlzpae

[Marty Backe]

8 minutes ago, atdlzpae said:

https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-blog-post/zz

The algorithm to early retirement is simple:

• Work hard
• Don't spend money on useless stuff
• Invest money you've saved

Your savings rate is the only thing that really determines how early you can retire. If you're able to save 50%, you'll be able to retire in about 20 years. With savings rate of 75%, it should take 5-10 years.

https://networthify.com/calculator/earlyretirement
Mr. Money Mustache guy was able to do it before 30. Early retirement extreme did it in about 5 years [but the way he did it was kinda... extreme ].

If you'll work in a high salary place [ex. California, London], save like crazy and move to a low-cost-of-living place [ex. Mississippi, Romania], you'll be able to do it even faster.

 

On average, the economy grows 6% above inflation [Real S&P 500 with dividends]: https://thume.ca/indexView/

Early retirement people assume 4% just to be conservative. So every $1 earned now will become $2 in 20 years.

I think one more bullet could be added:

• Luck

And speaking as someone who is retiring, how you save/invest greatly affects your ultimate return and when you can retire.

And a successful retirement means that you can continue living at the same standard of living that you are accustomed to. Retiring in California and having to move to Mississippi is a less than fully successful retirement, IMO.

[atdlzpae]

Luck matters in the short term. Early retirement is a marathon, not a sprint. In the long term everything averages out.  S&P 500 continues it's steady growth despite Black Friday/Monday/2008 financial crash.

Luck will make you achieve your goal 3 years earlier or 3 years later. But you'll get there eventually.

15 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

And a successful retirement means that you can continue living at the same standard of living that you are accustomed to. Retiring in California and having to move to Mississippi is a less than fully successful retirement, IMO.

Quite often a cheaper place has the same standard of living for the lower price. I wouldn't say that Poland is any worse than Great Britain despite being 3 times cheaper for basic necessities. Thus it makes a lot of sense to move to London, save for 5 years and come back. I have a friend who did exactly that.

[Marty Backe]

14 minutes ago, atdlzpae said:

Luck matters in the short term. Early retirement is a marathon, not a sprint. In the long term everything averages out.  S&P 500 continues it's steady growth despite Black Friday/Monday/2008 financial crash.

Luck will make you achieve your goal 3 years earlier or 3 years later. But you'll get there eventually.

Quite often a cheaper place has the same standard of living for the lower price. I wouldn't say that Poland is any worse than Great Britain despite being 3 times cheaper for basic necessities. Thus it makes a lot of sense to move to London, save for 5 years and come back. I have a friend who did exactly that.

Pretty much by definition a cheaper place does not have the same standard of living. It's cheaper for a reason (people don't want to live there). You're only considering material things, not culture, weather, access to the culture, etc.

And regarding luck, I wasn't referring to the markets. I'm referring to things such as you happening to have a conversation with someone who recommends that you do something that has profound affects 20-years later. That's luck.

[Rehab1]

7 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Yes, my wife and I made good life choices early which allows me to retire at 59. I will be enjoying a lot more EUC riding in sunny California 

With your extra free time do you have any plans on teaching your wife to ride again?  

[Marty Backe]

1 minute ago, Rehab1 said:

With your extra free time do you have any plans on teaching your wife to ride again?  

You never know, but I can't help be concerned with her getting hurt. Sometimes we worry much more about our loved ones than we do ourselves.

[Rehab1]

13 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

You never know, but I can't help be concerned with her getting hurt. Sometimes we worry much more about our loved ones than we do ourselves.

I hear you! My issue is that I feel guilty about riding. I hate leaving my wife at home knowing that she is worrying about me when I’m gone. 

[atdlzpae]

2 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Pretty much by definition a cheaper place does not have the same standard of living. It's cheaper for a reason (people don't want to live there). You're only considering material things, not culture, weather, access to the culture, etc.

I prefer suburbs instead of to the city center. Unicycles have the same 1-day shipping. It's way less noisy. It's only 5km to the center anyway. The internet has the same speed. Traffic jams happen way less often. It's not so crowded. Forests and trails are near. I'd loose a lot by moving to a more expensive place in the city.

Cost of living is often tied to history, economics and culture. In case of Poland it's mainly it's history: World Wars and communism devastated the country and it's slowly, but steadily catching up.

Poland is safer than more expensive countries despite being 3 times cheaper:

• Poland has 2 times lower homicide rate than UK and Germany, 8 times lower than USA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate
• Poland scored better than Germany, UK and US in the wallet drop test: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/70

I cheated the economic situation by working over the internet. Some people emigrate and come back. Personally I don't see much difference.

Speaking of more expensive places... San Francisco has a feces problem. That alone is a good counter-example for the "cheaper place does not have the same standard of living".

2 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

And regarding luck, I wasn't referring to the markets. I'm referring to things such as you happening to have a conversation with someone who recommends that you do something that has profound affects 20-years later. That's luck.

I completely agree. It's way too often when I speak with people who earn multiples of average salary and still live paycheck to paycheck.

Edited July 12, 2019 by atdlzpae

[erk1024]

On 7/10/2019 at 7:39 AM, houseofjob said:

I was just waiting for Gotway to repackage that awesome MSX performance in a better, newer shell design; with better amenities

I've only had my 18xl a short time, and I only have a couple hundred miles on it. But one thing I've noticed is that the bumps are pretty hard. More comfort would be cool. With my weight (265 lbs), I have to run the tire pressure at 50+ psi otherwise it feels ...wrong.. squishy. I mean it's comfortable, but I'm worried about the tire deforming too much. In any case, I was eyeing the MSX because I figured a larger, fatter tire I could run at a lower PSI, and it would soak up the bumps better. 

But what do you guys think? Would the MSX feel pretty much the same? I'd probably have to run the Nikola / 16X at similar pressures (wider but smaller) as the 18xl? Maybe just go for the Monster instead? I do like the torque of the 18xl, and that's a concern for the Monster, also no trolley handle sounds annoying. But maybe I'd get more torque out of the Monster (than a lighter rider) because when I weight shift, I've got more weight to shift?

I was out riding last night, and there was a strong wind coming off the ocean, so I had to lean hard into it. Felt odd rolling down the street tilting to the left the whole time.  

Edited July 12, 2019 by erk1024