Got a Ninebot One E+ last weekend (and generic wheel)

[LosCal]

I held off as long as I could, but Saturday I just had to buy a Ninebot One. I had bought a generic 90Wh EUC labelled "sport", a week before so I thought I would be able to hold out longer. 

I had seen a few of the athletes at my school learning to ride a EUC back in January. I couldn't tell if it had a motor, or if they were just going downhill at the time, but was very intrigued. I actually forgot completely about the unicycle shortly after that, but a few months ago, the player was on espn radio and was asked abut it by the host. The kid is kind of well known for being seen on a EUC putting around campus, although I just saw him the once. 

Judging by the reviews and popularity, I pretty much knew I would end up going with the nb1 early on, but I also knew I would probably kill it, so it was just too expensive. I went with a $275 auto balance wheel which had the brand listed as "sport". I was jumping back and forth at about 430 in the morning between different ebay listings and chinese web sites, and decided to go with one. I assumed it was a 132Wh, but somehow a 90Wh snuck into the mix, oops. Oh well. 

The first wheel was pretty fun, and the speed and battery life were sufficient... For about 2 hours. When the generic first arrived, I assumed the tire was pumped, and when I tried to ride it, I could feel that something was causing some serious resistance. "I am too fat for the hoverboard" I texted my friend. I am right around the 120kg limit. I am busy during the week, so only had 10-15 minutes to play with it that day. Anyways, i learned I wasn't too fat for the wheel, just too dumb. Saturday morning I pumped up the tire, went to the store and bought a brand new set of pads and a helmet, then went to Westwood recreation center to learn outside of the tennis courts. Slowly but surely I started getting the hang of it, making tight 90 degree turns, and for the finale, climbed the incline of the handicap ramp on the way back to my car. I don't remember exactly the amount of time it but probably 20-30 minutes to be able to go down a 200 foot walk way without using hands, and then an hour of doing laps around 6 tennis courts. I was pretty impressed with the battery life at that point. I recharged and later rode to Chipotle about 1.2 miles away. I did a lot of walking the wheel, and needed to cheat to start but I made it there and back. The next day I went out to go to the store and after I got what I needed at the store, I went into Forrest Gump mode: "Already went this far, might as well go a little bit farther." I got about 5.5 mile before the wheel shut off, but I was turning the wheel off often to walk it across the street, or crowded area with kids or dogs, so its not indicative of the range. I was half a mile from home, with 0.25 miles slightly up hill and 0.25 slightly downhill. Luckily my wheel got me back after the first low battery shut down. 

I didn't ride at all during the week. I had to let the bruises on my leg subside. The next saturday I was out riding, and felt like I was being watched at a crowded intersection, so I wanted to look really natural riding. I got up on the wheel nicely, leaned forward a little extra hard since I needed to go up a small grade. I guess I toppled the gyro, because the wheel just flipped forward. My wrist guards knocked against the ground, and I felt fine, got right up. I have taken a lot of skateboard falls, and unless I feel like I broke something I try to get right back on the board without thinking. Made it home just fine. I don't know if this pushed me to get the NB1 as I had been feverishly checking prices the last few weeks. 

I managed to find a reseller near Los Angeles who would offer local pick up! You would think it would be easy to talk a company into saving $40 on shipping, but it isn't always! I got home with my wheel, pumped it up. I didn't even know ninebot expects us to remove the LED light to pump it. The attachment they gave me did not work with my bike pump, the extender blocked the path of the air due to a poor design on somebodies part, but luckily I had the extender from the generic wheel, and was able to pump the tire without removing anything. I loaded up my ninedroid app, synced to the phone and updated the firmware for the wheel through my phone. I thought this was really amazing and logged on to the forum to say something about just getting an E+ when I came across the 1.2.6 warnings, and decided to wait on using the wheel. I didn't even realize I had 1.2.7 already so I was clear to ride. 

I did notice some differences right away when it was time to ride the NB1. First, the unit is much heavier, but the petals are easy to fold up, so you can easily carry it if you don't mind the arm burn. Second, was the angled petals. I learned on a flat petal so it felt different at first the way my legs leaned. I thought maybe I would be able to get up on the NB1 without a wall on my first try. I started my skateboard style kick off, but as I went to step on the petal, i kicked up towards closed position. I guess they are a little wider than the "sport". I did some cheat starts, and soon was kicking off. The petals are much longer, and sturdier on the NB1. My feet feel very well supported and the muscles in my feet and lower legs do not get the burn they get when I ride the sport which has petals an inch shorter. And even though the ride model is adjustable, the generic wheel is much more sensitive than the NB1 even on zero setting. And this feels good; it feels like it is much sturdier and more supportive. The generic wheel is so sensitive that its hard to step off with one foot and stop the wheel right where you want it, it kind of jerks back and forth reacting to tiny changes in weight distribution. On the NB1 coming to a stop and stepping off with one foot feels really natural and comfortable. A "hey hey hey hey hey" guy who followed me a half a block on his bike to watch and ask questions said it looked easy, so it must have looked pretty smooth. 

So far no issues with the wheel. I haven't ridden it much as its too hot or too much UV to ride during most of the day, after about 11 a.m. and too dark at night, so I do a saturday ride in the morning, maybe a late afternoon ride, and a morning ride sunday. I took the generic wheel to school one day this week. It made it easy to get around, and really shrunk the campus. I chose to bring the generic because it is lighter, less flashy, and cheaper. After having riden the NB1 though, my Sport seems so cheap and rickety and squeeky. 

I am getting better at riding, although I am still not comfortable going up the inclines from street to sidewalk unless it is a forgiving looking one. Sometimes I get the confidence up and manage to do it, and it feels so easy, but other times, at the same exact sidewalk, it seems to throw off the wheel and me. At first I was powering off and walking the wheel across intersections, but now I am trying to just do a skatebord step on the sidewalk inclines. Maybe you guys have tips, other than don't be so afraid. I am pretty sure this will jinx it, but the ninebot has taken zero falls so far, so it looks like it was smart to learn on a cheap wheel. That thing went through many rolling tumbles on the first day. 

I also tried to add a light but the angle is not low enough. I stood 20 feet across from the wheel and the light is too bright to onlookers. I need to find a way to adjust the angle, fabricate a visor, or place some tint over the top portion. I like the way the light looks attached to the wheel but the functionality must be right. I might just wear one on my head!

 

[Villac]

Nice writeup! Good to hear how you are using skateboard experience.

I found that I had to aim my bicycle light at a point on the ground about 6 feet in front of the EU.

[LosCal]

Nice writeup! Good to hear how you are using skateboard experience.

I found that I had to aim my bicycle light at a point on the ground about 6 feet in front of the EU.

Thank you. Its not quite the same as on a skateboard you are pushing the board. I think I will need a bracket to get it to face that direction. 

[castShadow]

Very nice writeup.  You've also proven that it can be learned in about 30 mins in one session!  Wow.  There is a video of UK happy feet and it looks like he learned in 5 minutes.  In the first minute or two he's doing it wrong but then soon after, he's just riding it!

There is a tip on picking up the eu without turning it off for a curb - the tire will spin but it spins because it thinks it is being tipped forward or backward and so it will spin in that direction.  It's probably hard to do but if you could pick it up straight it maybe won't spin much and when you quickly put it back down it might not jerk much on contact with the ground.  Possible/impossible(?)  When you pick it up and let it spin freely, it will error out only when it's reached max speed, so if you get it not to spin so much you have more time to put it down (I think I'll practice it myself - I'll "brake" it in mid-air as I put it down).

[glorat]

Thanks for the write-up and posting the pictures! I like what you did with the padding on the padding... I might have to copy that idea. My shins are nicely bruised after day 1 of messing around.

[JFP9]

Nice write up, and welcome.

After a few days of riding my shins are OK (I get to the gym on a regular basis), but my ankle has quite a cherry! 

Cheers,

Jim

[Jag_Rip]

dont permanently squeeze the device with your ankles, move your feet outward a little so they just dont touch the batterycompartment. I made this mistake as well in the beginning and the rubbed off skin hurts and burns for days... I only squeeze it when I am on rough terrain or to jump.