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Nikola soft mode pedal dip


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Hello everyone!

After lurking forever I decided to celebrate receiving the new Nikola 100v today I would celebrate by making my first post in the Gotway forum. I remember when I was trying to decide what wheel to buy I saw someone mention they love the soft riding mode on the Nikola. I've only ever rode hard mode on every EUC I've tried so I decided to try it and I found the pedals dip quite a bit in sharp turns. Is this a soft mode thing or can it be resolved with calibration? Also what is the best way to calibrate the wheel if I don't have a stand for it? I don't know if I can hold it perfectly still and level for the calibration.

Thanks!

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Hi!

Yep this is a bad calibration. It just shows more in soft mode apparently.

You don't need to be super careful when calibrating. Leaning the wheel against a hard wall is enough. Just make sure it is tilted sideways as little as possible. The sideways tilt is what throws off the calibration. The pedal tilt can be as you like. In fact, I always recommend a crazy steep pedal calibration (like 45°) just to confirm your calibration method works. After that, you can calibrate again, this time to level pedals (or whatever you prefer).

Also, keep the wheel still during the entire calibration, this may be one off/on cycle more than it looks.

If your board/sensor stays stubborn, play around with the calibration process. Maybe one calibration with a crazy sideways tilt, and then the next one might be good. Etc. But usually one nice upright calibration should be enough to remove (or at least minimize) the pedal tilting in curves.

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I re-calibrated it a few times but it still has pretty severe pedal dip when I make a sharp right turn (like tightest possible turn, normal turn doesn't dip too much). It corrects fairly quickly as soon as I straighten out but it definitely dips substantially. I did find that the default calibration was tilted too far forward and I did find an angle I think I'm comfortable with but the dip going right didn't really get much better. There isn't really any noticeable dip when I turn left though on equally tight turns for some reason. The dip actually exists in all ride modes, not just soft mode. It don't think its really a dealbreaker as I don't often make tight turns like that and when I do they are at very slow speed so its not like the dip is going to throw me off the wheel but I feel like I'd have more control in those turns if it didn't dip like that. Oh well.

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I think it may just be something about the way I am turning since it only happens on one side (which is the side I feel more comfortable turning also). I'm going to keep playing with it and see if it gets more comfortable.

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The working theory is that the sensor is thrown off and does no longer reliably tell what is level when the wheel is tilted too much to the side. So that is what causes the dipping (= pedals not level) in turns, because in turns the wheel is tilted to the side.

The fact that the dipping only happens when turning to one side is probably due to the specific calibration you did, together with a susceptible sensor. If it is anything you do, it is because you tilt the wheel sideways further when turning right than you tilt it when turning left. You can try and see if the dipping depends on how much you tilt the wheel in turns, maybe just by controlling the wheel with your hands instead of riding it.

But in the end, ideally you just get a new board. Should be a warranty thing. At least ask. $2000+ is a lot, everything should be perfect then.

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@clementine418 the dip shouldn't be extremely severe, but that's kind of the point for Gotway soft mode: it requires a certain technique where you are not just leaning in parallel with the wheel body.

I've explained this technique a bunch on these forums, really gotta make a vid so I can just link that instead of writing an essay each time, but if it's so unsettling, I'd recommend just moving it up one notch to Medium. Personal still think the Nikola Hard mode is just awful, but that's based on how I ride.

Edited by houseofjob
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have you tried simply switching to hard mode to see if any pedal dip exists there? that will quickly prove whether its the fact that its in soft mode or not..

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Just now, TDK said:

I have the same effect on Kingsong 18XL. Only when turning right. In all driving modes.

that makes me suspect its a calibration issue.. are you positive you calibrated correctly? follow this thread.. basically ensure it is perfectly straight up during the entire calibration... this shouldnt ever happen, i always calibrate every wheel i get on a 3d printed stand thats level and ive never experienced pedal dip any mode on any euc... if youre sure you did the calibration perfectly it could be a board issue

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4 minutes ago, Rywokast said:

that makes me suspect its a calibration issue.. are you positive you calibrated correctly? follow this thread.. basically ensure it is perfectly straight up during the entire calibration... this shouldnt ever happen, i always calibrate every wheel i get on a 3d printed stand thats level and ive never experienced pedal dip any mode on any euc... if youre sure you did the calibration perfectly it could be a board issue

I will try to calibrate the wheel again tomorrow.

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3 minutes ago, houseofjob said:

Also realize FWIW, we all can turn better / sharper going one side over the other.

agreed.. just like everyone has a dominant foot.. even if youre ambidextrous you will still always have a preference.. if given the choice i prefer to take left turns.. thats not to say i cant do right turns just as well its just that something in my brain feels more comfortable turning left.. quite odd.. but a pedal dip shouldnt be something you can induce on a properly working euc no matter how skilled or unskilled you are unless something is wrong... BUT with somebody riding soft mode who is used to hard mode, there will be a weird feeling initially and as theres already some give in the pedals in this mode thats where their comfort could come into the equation, you would need somebody who rides in soft mode regularly who knows exactly how it behaves and is used to it to test the wheel to tell, thats why i said try another mode because if it does not reproduce the issue in hard mode then it is most likely just you.. but if it does then its a calibration or board issue.. i think early msuper 3s had this issue, that was fixed with a board replacement? iirc

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3 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

As said above, guys: pedal dipping when turning to one side (but not when turning to the other) might be because you lean the wheel sideways more when turning to the dipping side. Test it. That's valuable info:)

Pedal dipping occurs after the turn.

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6 minutes ago, houseofjob said:

@Rywokast sorry, I should've added that my "dominant turn side" comment refers to the fact that the sharper a sudden angle you can turn, the more likely you can evoke a pedal dip, really on any EUC (within reason).

ohhhh i see what you were saying, okay. i still dont recall ever once feeling any pedal dip on any of my EUCs ive had... perhaps its just my riding style, or that combined with my weight? no idea.. to me when i think of pedal dip i think of it as an issue never something that is supposed to happen, but perhaps thats just because of my personal experience

5 minutes ago, TDK said:

Pedal dipping occurs after the turn.

now that sounds like an actual issue....

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8 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

The pedal dipping I know: it dips while turning, and when you go straight it levels out again.

Is yours different?

I do not feel pedal dipping when turning right. After the turn, I feel pedal dipping for a few seconds (about 10 seconds).

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I've recalibrated it like 5 times, I've tried to recalibrate it at different angles as well. I'm going to try to recalibrate it using a couple styrofoam blocks to keep it perfectly level on all axis to see if that helps since it is always leaning against the wall when I callibrate it so far. Thanks for all the suggestions so far though! 

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16 minutes ago, clementine418 said:

I'm going to try to recalibrate it using a couple styrofoam blocks to keep it perfectly level on all axis to see if that helps since it is always leaning against the wall when I callibrate it so far.

Only the sideways (left/right) tilt matters to get a good calibration without dipping. Try to minimize the sideways tilt.

For me it worked with just the wheel upright against a wall, but some blocks can't hurt. Good luck!

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22 hours ago, houseofjob said:

@clementine418 the dip shouldn't be extremely severe, but that's kind of the point for Gotway soft mode: it requires a certain technique where you are not just leaning in parallel with the wheel body.

I've explained this technique a bunch on these forums, really gotta make a vid so I can just link that instead of writing an essay each time, but if it's so unsettling, I'd recommend just moving it up one notch to Medium. Personal still think the Nikola Hard mode is just awful, but that's based on how I ride.

Forgot where we talked about this last time @houseofjob, but I did try out the soft mode yesterday. Sad to to to report that it's too floppy for me! I need more resistance, so for me the medium mode is where it's at, flowy and nice but with enough push back to provide control and allow me to shuffle around on the wheel comfortably. I'm thinking that the rider weight will also be a factor here, so perhaps lighter riders will find the soft mode better than I did.

Related to this thread I also experienced more forward dipping with the soft mode, and was thinking that if I actually would use it I'd have to re-calibrate the wheel (and I've already calibrated it with a slight backward tilt).

Go team medium!

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3 hours ago, Nils said:

Forgot where we talked about this last time @houseofjob, but I did try out the soft mode yesterday. Sad to to to report that it's too floppy for me! I need more resistance, so for me the medium mode is where it's at, flowy and nice but with enough push back to provide control and allow me to shuffle around on the wheel comfortably. I'm thinking that the rider weight will also be a factor here, so perhaps lighter riders will find the soft mode better than I did.

Related to this thread I also experienced more forward dipping with the soft mode, and was thinking that if I actually would use it I'd have to re-calibrate the wheel (and I've already calibrated it with a slight backward tilt).

Go team medium!

Well, good you tried at least! :lol:

I've been in that boat too, couldn't stand pedal dip or slow mode early on, but once I figured out how to use it (leans are with the wheel body leaning on an angle, as like in a carve, not upright), I don't use anything else. Our more experienced riders that are more need-for-speed have also noted that the Nik+ soft mode is the most ideal for flatland accelerations (like instant torque for very little lean force exerted) but I know it's not for everyone.

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