Another Nikola 100V Plus review

[LorenW]

I received the Nikola Plus 100V about two weeks ago from the deservedly esteemed Jason at eWheels. I currently own an Inmotion V5F+ and a KingSong 16c, with the 16c being my (previous) daily wheel. I had some considerable internal debate over the decision to get this wheel. Having ridden KingSong for several years now, my first inclination was to pull the trigger on the 18XL or to wait for the new 16X.

 

Let me just say... I am glad I did not wait.

 

The Nikola+ is absolutely amazing.

 

Size. This wheel is big. Bigger than expected. It absolutely dwarfs the 16c, and initially, you *will* be very taken with its width and its weight. For the first two days, honestly I was actually concerned... my fear was that the wheel might be too large and ungainly for handling slow pedestrians, and possibly to heavy and big to be easily handled in the office. These are both important factors for me. While this initially was a concern, I can say that after two weeks, that fear has 100% evaporated. This wheel IS big, and IS less wieldy than smaller wheels, but amazingly, you quickly get used to it.

 

Riding dynamics. You simply cannot ride this wheel the same way a smaller one. But once again, those concerns disappeared as I quickly adjusted to using more body weight on turns, and the tire, which was initially quite slippery, was "worn in" and properly grippy after a day or two. The Nikola+, with a bit of experience, is just SOLID. It is easy to get to the place where you trust it and its ability to handle anything the road brings, and anything you ask of it. It flies right over rough road bumps that would have put terror in my soul to even consider driving over on the 16c. Yet the feeling of solidity over nimbleness, is not the tradeoff that I expected. In the end, I have actually come to hugely value the feeling of solidity over nimbleness. You feel that you have more command of the road and that is hugely, hugely satisfying.

 

There were a few tweaks that I made to the wheel that were for me, pretty critical.

 

The first was to throw away the spongy pads that the wheel comes with. Honestly they are complete garbage. They have a problem with the adhesive, but even once you address that, they are simply too thick. They make a wheel that is already big feel like you are straddling a truck. Instead I found some motorcycle tank pads on Amazon which provide the perfect grip for the wheel when it is needed. These pads made a huge, huge difference. They only cost me $8.59 for each pack of two pads, absolutely a no-brainer.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SL3JNSC/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_tyEDDbGD2VHFH

 

The next thing was that I also recalibrated the wheel up from the initial 1.5% angle to a 3% angle (after trying some other angles) and settled in on soft mode, which has *not* been my preference previously. After reading that some others recommended it, I tried it and agreed. For me it its much, much less hard on my legs in this mode. I haven't yet messed with tire pressure at all.

 

Cosmetically, nearly every sticker on the Nikola+ (except for the padded stickers that protect the wheel when the pedals come up), peel off on their own. Gotway clearly has some adhesive issue here. My solution? I just removed them all, which really, simply improves the cleanliness of the look of the wheel anyway. The startup sound, as others have stated, is unnecessarily loud, and will have you rethinking where and when you start the wheel. That is an unfortunate annoyance, and an issue that I hope they fix in future firmware updates. But these are relatively minor issues, to be honest. The trolley handle for me hasn't been a problem for me, since it is essentially identical to the one from the InMotion V5F+, which I own. It gets the job done. It works effectively. The light, for nighttime riding, is bright and also quite effective.

 

Power. The power cannot be understated. I am completely awed by the Nikola+. I am a 6'5" tall 220lb rider, and riding this wheel feels like riding a beast. This wheel gives you every bit from it that you ask for. It absolutely *flies* up hills on command, and it comes up to 25+ MPH at an amazing pace... and honestly, in my 100 miles of riding this wheel so far, I have only been a few MPH beyond that. Nevertheless, it is amazing to have reserve power even at that speed. I have spent a lot of time talking about other things, but really I could spend all day talking about how amazing the power of this wheel is. It is absolutely invigorating. In all honesty, I don't much see the point of having wheels that go much faster than 30MPH. At least in the city. That speed will make your heart skip not just one, but several beats.

 

But such is the nature of the EUC arms race... Every year we push beyond... and I am here to tell you that I am thrilled to have gotten on board for the ride with the Nikola+.

Edited September 9, 2019 by LorenW
Update

[meepmeepmayer]

Nice review.

6 hours ago, LorenW said:

Instead I found some motorcycle tank pads on Amazon which provide the perfect grip for the wheel when it is needed. These pads made a huge, huge difference. They only cost me $8.59 for each pack of two pads, absolutely a no-brainer.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SL3JNSC/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_tyEDDbGD2VHFH

Finally a low-price alternative to the overpriced techspec stuff! Great find!

[mrelwood]

16 hours ago, LorenW said:

That is an unfortunate annoyance, and an issue that I hope they fix in future firmware updates.

Unfortunately that won’t happen, since the firmware can’t be updated by the end user (edit: on Gotway wheels that is). They can only change the behaviour for future batches.

There is a thread about the startup sound, with a link to a few dollar relay board that can be used to circumvent the issue.

Edited September 9, 2019 by mrelwood

[LorenW]

7 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Nice review.

Finally a low-price alternative to the overpriced techspec stuff! Great find!

Thank you for your kind words. I really wanted to finally contribute some words back to this amazing EUC community. It has been such a tremendous value to me (your many posts certainly included!!)... I am so thankful for this forum.

Yes! The tank pads were a guess, based on size, really, and they turned out to be spot on.

[LorenW]

6 hours ago, mrelwood said:

Unfortunately that won’t happen, since the firmware can’t be updated by the end user. They can only change the behaviour for future batches.

There is a thread about the startup sound, with a link to a few dollar relay board that can be used to circumvent the issue.

Ughhh! Thanks for the heads up (and your many awesome Forum contributions that I have valued as well)! I'll check out that thread!