Nikola 100V Plus review/wheelog/journal 🦓

[Sidewalk Enforcer]

Entertaining as ever @chrisjunlee . 65 Km/h! You'll need to watch out for the popo.

[fred8569]

Hi,

 

I'm glad for joining this thread, I hardly desire this wheel but after having heard a new NKL 100V will come out soon with improved cells, I will try to be patient till I have enough info to choose between both models.

 

BTW, I'm very interested in getting your logs for your next rides as we seem to behave the same on an EUC lol. Is it too much to ask ^^ ?

 

Otherwise, thanks for sharing your journey

[Mike Sacristan]

That's some crazy speed you hit Chris!
16X and Nikola + are two truly different wheels in my opinion.
Having tried both and also having done 5000+km on my MSX I appreciate the differences.
Sorry about your pads!

[ir_fuel]

6 hours ago, chrisjunlee said:

== Day 4.2 - Sat 8/24/2019 ==

The Butchering of the Thicc™ pads took so long, the Nikola was charged up 100%. Decided to take it around Lake Sammamish.

The speed limit is 35 mph, so I wasn't able to comfortably keep up with speeding traffic, but boy it was a zippy ride.

Quick notes:

• no longer using pads - just the adhesive left behind. But I'm still using a wide stance. However, it feels much natural being able to bring my knees in.
• the top of the Nikola really digs into my forward left knee - it's a pain point I need to figure out
• tire pressure: 28 PSI

Notable moment: I my way up through traffic to the front of the light. I'm blasting Rank1 - Airwave on max volume, so on green, I just take off. There was a white car next to me flooring, trying to outpace me, and I just shifted harder and flew, just flew.

The car did a wtf-deceleration in defeat. But it was really more abrupt than the usual giving up, and I distinctly felt all the cars around me were surprised. Odd I thought - maybe it's a Redmond thing?

The next light, I took a break and checked my wheelog read out. And jfc, this here is why:

Yes, I had effortlessly smoked everything at 41.1 mph. [reminder: dig up insta360 clip]

And the crazy part? No beep - this was still within the 80% limit of this motor. I was trembling in awe - I had never thought I would get anywhere close to hitting 40 mph.

The way kinetic energy works, 40 mph is 16x the energy of 10 mph. Let that sink in for a bit.

And just to drive this point home, here's my Strava report (strava has always under-reported speed for me on the 16X):

Sometime after this, I heard the beeps for the first time going 37 mph. So, it is possible I didn't hear the beeps before due to wind noise + Airwave.

Riding back home, battery ~43%, I started getting beeps at 31 mph.

== Datapoint for range people ==

43% battery left for 28 miles trip, at 28 PSI for a 140 lb rider, riding aggressively.

If we extrapolate that, we get 65 miles of range for fast riding. 

W T F

Those are some crazy numbers. I can hardly imagine what it feels riding at those speeds. When I ride 25 mph I sometimes feel as if I really have to push through the wind to keep that speed, let alone going 10mph faster.

41mph, you should be using full motorcycle attire for that speed 

[Jon Stern]

11 hours ago, chrisjunlee said:

Notable moment: I my way up through traffic to the front of the light. I'm blasting Rank1 - Airwave on max volume, so on green, I just take off. 

That's a top tune there. A classic from my Gatecrasher clubbing days!

[ir_fuel]

1 hour ago, Jon Stern said:

That's a top tune there. A classic from my Gatecrasher clubbing days!

On a different note, I hate people that have to impose their "great" musical taste on others by blaring it at full volume in public spaces.

[meepmeepmayer]

@chrisjunlee You might want to try this for side pads. Thin and grippy (by design). The Nikola seems made for these with its smooth sides and already wide enough shape.

@photorph Gotway is working on a thinner, lighter, city commute type of wheel. See this thread.

[photorph]

1 hour ago, meepmeepmayer said:

@photorph Gotway is working on a thinner, lighter, city commute type of wheel. See this thread

Yep I know but that won’t be out for a long time

[chrisjunlee]

2 hours ago, ir_fuel said:

On a different note, I hate people that have to impose their "great" musical taste on others by blaring it at full volume in public spaces.

mmhmm, but strange thing is, I always seem to notice them in traffic, even if I'm texting and shaving. 

[Rywokast]

its very interesting to read about your thoughts on the nikola and how it compares, i remember when you hated the 16X  i share a lot of the same sentiment as you, the nikola is very fast and smooth, also relatively nimble for its size.... its size being the key words, its friggin massive and awkward and with how heavy the 2100 wh is especially drives like a tank at moderate speeds, i do appreciate its ridiculous torque given its size and weight but tbh i prefer everything about my 18 XL, its slim and elegant, turns much easier without fighting you, and the handle is just perfect.. now with the firmware updates it also has excellent acceleration and braking for an 18".. i find the nikola to be a little too aggressive and controlling, dont get me wrong its a sweet ride but i feel more like its driving me instead of the other way around lol.. i imagine i will get a 16x some time in the near future and see what thats all about  appreciate your blog on it

[Esso]

On 8/23/2019 at 11:18 PM, chrisjunlee said:

My rule of thumb is you want to be able to go 15 mph above the speed limit - since that's fast speeding cars go. That means the 16X is limited to 15 mph roads for me - which is non-existent.

Every time I get excited about the 16X, I think about this, my excitement leaves me and I'm left with the thought that the Nikola 100v is the only option.

[Rywokast]

2 hours ago, Esso said:

Every time I get excited about the 16X, I think about this, my excitement leaves me and I'm left with the thought that the Nikola 100v is the only option.

wait for the new tesla with 21700 cells :p

[chrisjunlee]

On 8/25/2019 at 12:50 AM, fred8569 said:

BTW, I'm very interested in getting your logs for your next rides as we seem to behave the same on an EUC lol. Is it too much to ask ^^ ?

Sure! I log all my rides, so you can even take a look at my old ones.

Here's everything: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1agNmkpRW5D1o7ZPidiP67_0r7qlvpz4g

What about the logs are you interested in? Note that Kingsong and Gotway have different ways of measuring current. 

Edit: Gave you your first react! Welcome to the forums!

Edited August 29, 2019 by chrisjunlee

[fred8569]

As I'm coming from a KS wheel, amp data are not the same* and I need to know how much amp it can sustain so, when I have my new wheel (probably a Nikola +), I can set a decent amp alarm that won't limit my riding.

 

(*) And I can't figure out why. I mean, I set an alarm at 15A on my KS18XL, then I went to a local store to freely test the Nikola 84V, and I barely started to ride it that it my amp alarm on wheelog (that I didn't change) started to ring like crazy. 

[chrisjunlee]

== Day 6 - Mon 8/26/2019 ==

[ placeholder ]

Edited August 29, 2019 by chrisjunlee

[Chriull]

1 minute ago, fred8569 said:

As I'm coming from a KS wheel, amp data are not the same* and I need to know how much amp it can sustain so, when I have my new wheel (probably a Nikola +), I can set a decent amp alarm that won't limit my riding.

 

(*) And I can't figure out why. I mean, I set an alarm at 15A on my KS18XL, then I went to a local store to freely test the Nikola 84V, and I barely started to ride it that it my amp alarm on wheelog (that I didn't change) started to ring like crazy. 

@Marty Backe afair has his amp alarm for his GW wheels set to 90A?

But imho 15A for the KS18XL is quite conservative - more like a warning? The 90A for GW @Marty Backe uses is afaik already quite the "final alarm" not to be ignored too long.

Amps are just some values somehow corresponding to some current reported.  KS and GW always had very different readings.

[chrisjunlee]

== Day 8 - Wed 8/26/2019 ==

Haven't been able to ride much lately, so been slow on putting in the miles.

During my commute this morning, after a fast windy stretch (35 mph, against 10 mph headwind for miles), I feel something scratching my lower left leg. Look down, don't see anything - ok, maybe it's my imagination? 

Scratching won't go away, so I pull aside and then I see it.

That gives you an idea of how fast this wheel is.

Nikola 100V+ is so fast, the stickers literally peel off from the speed 😆.

As for mileage: 275 miles.

Edited August 29, 2019 by chrisjunlee

[Marty Backe]

28 minutes ago, Chriull said:

@Marty Backe afair has his amp alarm for his GW wheels set to 90A?

But imho 15A for the KS18XL is quite conservative - more like a warning? The 90A for GW @Marty Backe uses is afaik already quite the "final alarm" not to be ignored too long.

Amps are just some values somehow corresponding to some current reported.  KS and GW always had very different readings.

Yes, 90-amps. Only useful for Gotway wheels. Whether it's actually 90-amps is debatable, but I feel confident that if the 90-amp alarm is triggering near continuous for more than a handful of seconds, best stop riding for a couple of minutes.

[photorph]

19 minutes ago, chrisjunlee said:

Nikola 100V+ is so fast, the stickers literally peel off from the speed 😆.

Mine peeled off at a standstill haha, it's very poor quality adhesive they use.

[fred8569]

58 minutes ago, Chriull said:

@Marty Backe afair has his amp alarm for his GW wheels set to 90A?

But imho 15A for the KS18XL is quite conservative - more like a warning? The 90A for GW @Marty Backe uses is afaik already quite the "final alarm" not to be ignored too long.

Amps are just some values somehow corresponding to some current reported.  KS and GW always had very different readings.

I prefer setting it to a conservative value so I can use my wheel up to 30%/20% level of battery remaining. That's why I set my Amp alarm to 15A

[Chriull]

14 minutes ago, fred8569 said:

I prefer setting it to a conservative value so I can use my wheel up to 30%/20% level of battery remaining. That's why I set my Amp alarm to 15A

No Problem! With this settings one should stay far away from any overlean possibility!

I was just stating this, as already the "ancient" KS16C could cope almost around 30A up to tilt back speed! (But this on the edge of overleaning without any reserve)

So, if the measurment/reporting values did not change (too much) between the KS modells, one should still stay very save with increasing this alarm a bit - just in case you get once annoyed by too much beeps! 

[fred8569]

2 hours ago, Chriull said:

No Problem! With this settings one should stay far away from any overlean possibility!

I was just stating this, as already the "ancient" KS16C could cope almost around 30A up to tilt back speed! (But this on the edge of overleaning without any reserve)

So, if the measurment/reporting values did not change (too much) between the KS modells, one should still stay very save with increasing this alarm a bit - just in case you get once annoyed by too much beeps! 

This 15 amps alarm will be lost in history within the next months (it's too hard to wait for GW to release their new models and to wait for some people to test it 😁)

[mrelwood]

The first time I WheelLogged my regular ride that includes a few shortish but very steep hills, I got this for my 84V MSX:

 

I was able to ride a similiar or steeper hill for more than a minute before the motor cables melted. (I sure wish I had logs from that one!). For my weight of 205lbs I would use an even higher warning than the 90 amps, so that I would know when I’m really getting in the danger zone.

Btw @Marty Backe, do you still use the 90A warning for the Nikola as well? Since it seems it draws more current than other GWs under the same situation.

[chrisjunlee]

21 minutes ago, mrelwood said:

I was able to ride a similiar or steeper hill for more than a minute before the motor cables melted. (I sure wish I had logs from that one!). For my weight of 205lbs I would use an even higher warning than the 90 amps, so that I would know when I’m really getting in the danger zone.

What was the cable melting failure mode like? Did the wheel abruptly cut out? 

Edited August 30, 2019 by chrisjunlee

[Marty Backe]

9 hours ago, mrelwood said:

The first time I WheelLogged my regular ride that includes a few shortish but very steep hills, I got this for my 84V MSX:

 

I was able to ride a similiar or steeper hill for more than a minute before the motor cables melted. (I sure wish I had logs from that one!). For my weight of 205lbs I would use an even higher warning than the 90 amps, so that I would know when I’m really getting in the danger zone.

Btw @Marty Backe, do you still use the 90A warning for the Nikola as well? Since it seems it draws more current than other GWs under the same situation.

Yes, I've left my alarm at 90 for now. I haven't been riding it in any conditions that are triggering it a lot. I suppose I would raise it if my riding conditions for it change. Since I ride so many different Gotway wheels it's inconvenient to be changing the alarm value all of the time.