Segway "S" Plus Experience

[FreeRide]

In a moment of weakness over the Independence Day weekend here in the US I purchased an "S" Plus  ( aka Mini Plus), figuring nothing much new was going to happen with the Mini Pro, and the Mini Plus (now S Plus) may not be around in the US for much longer.  All this was just thinking though, and who knows what might happen.

I was surprised the box already had the S Plus branding, and a nice warnings on the top about lots of things, the first one being "injury or death".  

Charged it up, and noticed the lights on the unit turn off after it is charged, where as on the Mini Pro the LED level segments flash after the battery has been balanced.  I hope to test my 63V charger on it soon to take advantage of the slight larger battery.  I've not tried that yet, will have to make an adapter for the new connector.  

Of course you have to complete the tutorial again, but the really annoying thing is even after your 1km, you have to complete the part of the tutorial on the use of the supplied remote.  I had already thrown that in a box never to be used, but I had to dig it out to complete the full tutorial.  After a short ride the speed limit was unlocked (I manually pushed the limit button) and I have 19km/h as my limit.  

It did ride really nice and the knee controller while not adjustable is an OK height for me, it will likely be a bit short if I add an extra foam platform though to the foot pads like I've done on the mini pro.  that could be annoying.  I'm not ;likely to use in much right now in the sort term, so that is a problem for the future.  

The speed was pretty nice, it beeped less than my MiniPro for the same trip, but it squawked as i went over a railway crossing which the Mini Pro happily does quietly.  Other than that the speed was decent, being slight faster than my MiniPro (even with the large tires) I believe, I was conditioned to keep it below it's max speed.  Only on one straight away did I trigger the warning and the beeping was loud, but the tilt back was pretty minimal.  My mini pro tilt though is pretty good now with tilt as well, like it is more lenient given my mileage or something.  

The S Plus came with v1.1.7 for the master control software, and I'm going to leave it there as long as I can. It's quite strange the firmware is so old, but I'm happy it is.

Since my main Mini Pro has the larger tires and the extra foot pads the S Plus seem quite tiny, like switching from an 18" EUC to a 14" one, but not quite that drastic.  It still feels like you're going to break the tiny thing.

That's all for my initial ride of about 5km. Not sure when I will use it again, but maybe soon, if I can charge it to 63V.  I have to check the battery configuration again,

Edited July 21, 2019 by FreeRide

[jojo33]

11 hours ago, FreeRide said:

The S Plus came with v1.1.7 for the master control software, and I'm going to leave it there as long as I can. It's quite strange the firmware is so old, but I'm happy it is

it's not the same firmware, the version number is the same (look my signature), but the Mini PLUS  firmwarei s not the same as for the Mini "S", Mini "pro"

V117 for Mini PLUS was released many month ago this year

Edited July 13, 2019 by jojo33

[FreeRide]

4 hours ago, jojo33 said:

it's not the same firmware, the version number is the same (look my signature), but the Mini PLUS  firmwarei s not the same as for the Mini "S", Mini "pro"

V117 for Mini PLUS was released many month ago this year

That makes sense.  Either way it seems good, so I won't update to the latest.

[Lillian]

Thanks for the review. I was tempted by one of those sales.

[FreeRide]

On 7/12/2019 at 7:25 PM, FreeRide said:

 

 

Edited July 21, 2019 by FreeRide
weird double post instead of edit.

[FreeRide]

2 hours ago, Lillian said:

Thanks for the review. I was tempted by one of those sales.

No problem.

1. I checked, and the Plus does have a different battery configuration, so charging to 63V is not possible.  The supplied charger is OK.
     
2. I think most people would be happy with the plus, as they are not going to be going super long distances or wanting to buy, carry and swap battery packs on the go.
     
3. One can tolerate the color

 

I think if buying today, buying the S-Plus is the way to go, it performs better than the original Mini-Pro, and most people will be OK with it's fixed knee controller.  The downside is the price, compared to the other models.  Still I like how it performs, and that matters more to me.

You might want to see how the new In Motion model works out, but they are not known for low-cost devices and you'll have to get it shipped from outside the US.

[Lillian]

42 minutes ago, FreeRide said:

No problem.

1. I checked, and the Plus does have a different battery configuration, so charging to 63V is not possible.  The supplied charger is OK.
     
2. I think most people would be happy with the plus, as they are not going to be going super long distances or wanting to buy, carry and swap battery packs on the go.
     
3. One can tolerate the color

 

I think if buying today, buying the S-Plus is the way to go, it performs better than the original Mini-Pro, and most people will be OK with it's fixed knee controller.  The downside is the price, compared to the other models.  Still I like how it performs, and that matters more to me.

You might want to see how the new In Motion model works out, but they are not known for low-cost devices and you'll have to get it shipped from outside the US.

Yes, I had the a Segway i2, a Mini Pro and Drift W1s. All sold.

Now I prefer the EUC and possibly OW Pint...errr, contemplating that one  . The EUC feels most like my Segway i2 in terms of lean gliding. I am a noob but love it so far.

The reason I didn't purchase the Segway S-Plus at the time was because it can't be stowed away, pass security, fit in tight spaces easily, etc. 

Just a side note: I had the "Mall Cop" styled Segway since 2007. I was all over the comments section defending Segways against people who said "just walk" and "you look like a dork". Fast-forward to the present and there are multiple PEVs using similar lean technology, but now it's "cool" 

[FreeRide]

3 hours ago, Lillian said:

Yes, I had the a Segway i2, a Mini Pro and Drift W1s. All sold.

Now I prefer the EUC and possibly OW Pint...errr, contemplating that one  . The EUC feels most like my Segway i2 in terms of lean gliding. I am a noob but love it so far.

The reason I didn't purchase the Segway S-Plus at the time was because it can't be stowed away, pass security, fit in tight spaces easily, etc. 

Just a side note: I had the "Mall Cop" styled Segway since 2007. I was all over the comments section defending Segways against people who said "just walk" and "you look like a dork". Fast-forward to the present and there are multiple PEVs using similar lean technology, but now it's "cool" 

Ya, sometimes you have to wait for the world to catch up.  Yeah, you enjoyed it though and knew from experience.  Experiences you will remember.  Ya, I love how the min-pro can be put into a small gym bag.  Prevents lots of questions, and so handy for train and buss travel.  If you are on an EUC then for the most part they are the best overall PEV right now, but not in all circumstances.  I really like the mini pro design, and it works really well for photography and watching wildlife.  My e-bike is very practical and I love it, other PEVs don't always replace the bike.  The bike is large though, and not as much fun on regular roads.  I have a few EUCs, but still not good enough to where I'm really comfortable on them.  Just to much to do, and no time to practice.  After taking a break I regress.  As soon as it cools down a bit, I will put in more training time.    You are probably better off just finding the right EUC, size, pedals, air pressure, etc. They are still so different having a few is nice, but hard to really get the value out of them if you don't commute on them where you can put a lot of time on each one.

[Lillian]

13 hours ago, FreeRide said:

Ya, sometimes you have to wait for the world to catch up.  Yeah, you enjoyed it though and knew from experience.  Experiences you will remember.  Ya, I love how the min-pro can be put into a small gym bag.  Prevents lots of questions, and so handy for train and buss travel.  If you are on an EUC then for the most part they are the best overall PEV right now, but not in all circumstances.  I really like the mini pro design, and it works really well for photography and watching wildlife.  My e-bike is very practical and I love it, other PEVs don't always replace the bike.  The bike is large though, and not as much fun on regular roads.  I have a few EUCs, but still not good enough to where I'm really comfortable on them.  Just to much to do, and no time to practice.  After taking a break I regress.  As soon as it cools down a bit, I will put in more training time.    You are probably better off just finding the right EUC, size, pedals, air pressure, etc. They are still so different having a few is nice, but hard to really get the value out of them if you don't commute on them where you can put a lot of time on each one.

I wanted to practice on my EUC this weekend, just adding miles. My work commute is under 4 miles round trip so that's why I'm still in noob mode. I agree with you about the heat. I think it'll be more fun after it cools a little.

You can fit your Mini Pro in a gym bag? Thats' cool.

[MetricUSA]

I am extremely disappointed with the battery capacity of the Plus! It should have had at least 465 wh, if they had used the same 18650 cells of the pro battery! 14 cells vs 21 cells.... Sadly plus only has 329 wh... Which is reason why I think Segway is now going in the wrong direction! I can no longer support Segway...

[Lillian]

3 minutes ago, MetricUSA said:

I am extremely disappointed with the battery capacity of the Plus! It should have had at least 465 wh, if they had used the same 18650 cells of the pro battery! 14 cells vs 21 cells.... Sadly plus only has 329 wh... Which is reason why I think Segway is now going in the wrong direction! I can no longer support Segway...

Unfortunately, same. In my opinion, and having owned pre and post-Ninebot Segway products, I think they've gone downhill. 

[FreeRide]

19 minutes ago, MetricUSA said:

I am extremely disappointed with the battery capacity of the Plus! It should have had at least 465 wh, if they had used the same 18650 cells of the pro battery! 14 cells vs 21 cells.... Sadly plus only has 329 wh... Which is reason why I think Segway is now going in the wrong direction! I can no longer support Segway...

Exactly.  I bought one thinking that I will upgrade the battery pack one day.

[Lynnda Butler]

Looking at the S Plus...can anyone address the ability to use it in campgrounds on hard packed dirt trails with some small twigs and leaves?  Any experiences with any of the hoverboards?

[Philip]

The S-Plus is very capable on hard packed dirt trails with twigs and leaves. What you need to watch out for is slippery surfaces, such as decaying leaves, wet tree roots protruding out of the ground, etc. A rider with a bit of experience can ride on shingle at speed (eg a rural driveway made out of half-inch loose stones, or similar). With experience you can learn how to approach and cross all kinds of tricky terrain :-)

But the great thing about the S-Plus (or S or S-Pro) is you can always just step off any carry it across or over difficult terrain, and get back on again when it is safe to do so.