Inmotion V5F or V8?

[Pabgarja]

Hello everyone:

I’m new and i’m thinking about buying my first EUC. My decission is between V5F and V8.

I have to say that i’m tall and skinny, and the use would be for short distances (4-8 km). 

I have read other posts about the decission and the features of two, but I can’t decide. Things like  quality of plastic or pedals in v8 worries me, but it has good things like motor or size (16). 

In additon, i wanted to know which elements are refommendable to buy.

Thanks a lot!!

[foxtrotgolf]

I would skip both of them all together, and get the one you really want - say a 16x, or Nikola+. Like you, I was agonizing over a “beginner“ model – (just search my posts). I decided to take the plunge, and buy a Nikola+ from a fellow member. (Thanks @Nick McCutcheon!)  It took me about 15 minutes to figure out, and in two days I have put over 20 miles on it. I’m in love!

Had I bought a beginner model, I’d be annoyed with its 12 mph or whatever top speed and stuck trying to sell it for a loss. 

I would also recommend buying a used one, because you will drop it :-)

[MBIKER_SURFER]

I enjoyed my V5F as a beginner wheel. But as soon as you want to ride more, the battery is too small. You have a max of 25 km range. It is very nimble and its weight is topp - about 11 kg.

But if you enjoy riding, you complain about the small battery - for sure. If inmotion - buy the V8.

The recommended Nikola is - my oppinion - not a beginner wheel, because it is too heavy - about 24 kg. The rest of the Nikola - a dream.

 

Edited November 21, 2019 by MBIKER_SURFER

[litewave]

Since you're tall, I'd definitely recommend a 16" wheel like the V8, especially of you can find a good wheel at a great price. You should be able to resell it without losing much money if you outgrow it.

Buying a $2000 new wheel to start off with is like giving your 16-year-old self a $40,000 new motorcycle. You are going to crash, and you still have pimples. 

[Pabgarja]

Mmm I’m almost convinced to buy the v8 😂😂 but any element to buy in addition? The cover is to protect when it is at home? 

 

Thanks a lot.

[MBIKER_SURFER]

AT home just lean it to the wall. A Protector if you are riding would be worth buying, if you are buying a brand new wheel. 

But try to get a used one for $ 400 or less - dependant on mileage. 

[AtlasP]

There are four main approaches to the question of "which wheel should I get first?" which the community is extremely split over, with no end to the debate any time soon. I've found myself agreeing with or giving each of these advice to different people at different times depending on who the person was and their context.

Approach #1 - Get the cheapest used wheel to learn on (which you'll scratch-up/abuse while learning), then after learning turn around and sell it and get a higher-end wheel. This approach is great if you can get a used learner wheel for just a few hundred bucks. (This depends a lot on where you live.)

Approach #2 - Buy a mid-range wheel of sufficient capability to be able to use for your first six-months-to-a-year (which also keeps your speeds limited to the high teens/low 20s until you get a good chunk of miles under your belt), at which point you'll be in a better place to be trying/buying bigger/faster wheels if you want as well as knowing more about what you want/what your priorities are in a potential upgrade. I personally think the forthcoming V8F or older KS16S are the sweet spot for this one (as long as someone isn't approaching the weight limits of these wheels which could necessitate going to something larger from the beginning).

Approach #3 - Buy a higher-end wheel right off the bat. I'm usually not the biggest fan of this strategy mostly because of the size/weight of the higher-end wheels (unless a rider is a much larger and athletic person), but if someone is considering this route I personally would steer them towards the newly refreshed KS18XL (with the 2200W motor)--it's just much more svelte/manageable in size compared to any of the other high-end wheels which feel much larger.

Approach #4 - This one says it doesn't matter which wheel you buy first, what matters most is just to buy one as soon as possible (whichever one you feel like/think you want). It is better to buy a wheel you might later decide you want to upgrade than to be so paralyzed by the decision that you don't buy anything or start riding until 6 months or a year from now. Everyone wishes they started riding sooner, and this is the only point in time when you have control over that.

(Note that unfortunately a brand new V5F doesn't satisfy any of these approaches. It's too expensive to quality for what people have in mind for the first half of strategy #1, and far too limited in speed and range to qualify for strategy #2. I also wouldn't buy a V8 over a V8F at this point/with the V8F just around the corner/in the next few weeks, unless maybe you could get a lightly used V8 for a considerable discount.)

Edited November 22, 2019 by AtlasP

[Mono]

It's maybe relevant to understand that people have vastly different use case scenarios for EUCs. Many forum members want to be able to safely ride at 45km/h and get range anxiety when they do not have 70km range left in the tank when leaving home. For those it is clear that the V5F or V8 can only be a temporary learner wheel for the first months. But that's not true for everybody. The choice between the V5F and the V8 is a choice between a smaller and lighter wheel vs one with which you can go "safely" a little faster. I keep my maximal speed at 25km/h on the V8 and I would recommend something like 22km/h for the V5F. If your future self is satisfied with this speed, both wheels are a perfectly fine choice, IMHO.

Edited November 22, 2019 by Mono

[Darrell Wesh]

Do not buy a high end wheel first. 
 

#1 reason is safety. You want your inevitable crashes to be at low speed. A lot of people also come in to this hobby wearing only skate pads (Wrist, knee and elbow) and are shocked at what other parts of the body can get injured, shocked at road rash or shocked at how those $15 no brand foam pads didn’t protect them. After the first crash many people upgrade their gear. You want to learn these lessons at low speed, not on a Nikola at 40mph. 

Forget the talk about big wheels for “safety buffers” for overlean or cut outs. You will likely never cut out or overlean. But you will crash. 
 

#2 reason is control. If you can control a twitchy 10-14” wheel, doing tricks and one legged riding, stepping up to a high end 16-18” wheel will be a peace of cake thanks to the wider tires, slower reaction and stability. If you choose a 18” wheel first you will have a hard time learning a small wheel. 

[meepmeepmayer]

9 hours ago, Mono said:

Many forum members want to be able to safely ride at 45km/h and get range anxiety when they do not have 70km range left in the tank when leaving home.

I would marry this sentence if I could

[meepmeepmayer]

You can help us give you the right advice by telling us what you see yourself doing with the wheel. Use cases, distances, speeds, ...

Why do you want a EUC?

Do you have limited money, or do you simply not want to spend more than X on a new thing?

Is there any wheel you secretly like (you don't have to know why)?

[Meelosh123]

If it’s between those two, then get the bigger one. Consider the Tesla. A YouTube video of the V8 got me interested in this hobby, and after months of indecision I landed on the Tesla.  After a while, when I realized I was going faster than the max speed of other wheels I was considering, and I still felt comfortable and safe, I knew I made a good choice. Still happy with it a year and a half later.

While I’ve certainly dropped/ran off the wheel, and the wheel itself has crashed, I’ve never “crashed” myself. Just thought I’d give my opinion, since I disagreed quite a bit with one of the posts above 😁

You’re lucky to have found this hobby! After learning how to ride one I think you’re gonna have a good time.

[FreeRide]

Even though the updates are small, I would wait for the V8F rather than get the V8.

[Luis Chalas NYC]

I would have to say the v8 is best

[Darrell Wesh]

2 hours ago, Meelosh123 said:

While I’ve certainly dropped/ran off the wheel, and the wheel itself has crashed, I’ve never “crashed” myself. Just thought I’d give my opinion, since I disagreed quite a bit with one of the posts above 😁

 

Wow congratulations! 🍪

You may already have good enough gear to shrug off any later fall, but people coming in to this rarely gear up for riding the sub 18” wheels. People are in disbelief at how cut up their hands can get from falling on a rough road at 5mph even though they thought their fleece winter gloves would protect their hands (I’ve personally witnessed this just last week, Dudes hands were all cut up from a super slow spill)

It’s the same as people who think denim jeans is a good choice for abrasion resistance. Or a cotton hoodie/winter jacket will do enough for padding to prevent bruising. 

I remember floating around on my ks18s at 30mph with just a Nike long sleeve shirt on and that foam cell padded compression shirt (image below)underneath. I thought that $15 shirt would be satisfactory to prevent impact bruising at THIRTY MILES PER HOUR. Thank god I never crashed with that on and decided to get motorcycle jackets from forum member suggestions. 
 

Those foam knee pads you see? I had them on when I crashed the first day on my MSX at 33mph on a spongy, soft rubber track. They did nothing even on a rubber track to prevent bruising at those speeds. I had a stiff, discolored swollen knee for like 10 days. 

So again, people are shocked that the cheap no brand gear they buy that claim “impact protection” and “abrasion resistance” don’t actually do anything at higher speeds than a jog. I would have been royally fu**** if I had fallen on asphalt with those pads on. 

Learn from people’s mistakes; this forum is a great tool for that. And always place safety at your priority, even if it means getting the slow starter wheel first 🙂
 

 

Edited November 22, 2019 by Darrell Wesh

[Mono]

2 hours ago, Meelosh123 said:

While I’ve certainly dropped/ran off the wheel, and the wheel itself has crashed, I’ve never “crashed” myself.

Same here, I am just too afraid to crash without safety gear , but I also keep it strictly under 25km/h, which might be hard to do on the Tesla 

Edited November 22, 2019 by Mono

[Pabgarja]

14 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

You can help us give you the right advice by telling us what you see yourself doing with the wheel. Use cases, distances, speeds, ...

Why do you want a EUC?

Do you have limited money, or do you simply not want to spend more than X on a new thing?

Is there any wheel you secretly like (you don't have to know why)?

Thanks for answers. I want it to move from my home to my job and even a bit further (2/3 km). I have limitation of money but my top is above 600€. 

I am a bit afraid of the speed because of the posts. If I buy it, I’ll buy protection things to avoid or reduce scratches.

 

[mrelwood]

On 11/23/2019 at 12:22 PM, Pabgarja said:

Thanks for answers. I want it to move from my home to my job and even a bit further (2/3 km). I have limitation of money but my top is above 600€. 

The wheel dimensions are quite different for a tall guy, so I would absolutely go for a 16” wheel. I think you should be able to get a used V8 in your budget.

Quote

I am a bit afraid of the speed because of the posts.

Rightfully so, speed can be dangerous. But once you get familiar with the wheel, the stability and balancing power of current wheels give the impression that faster speeds would be ”safe”. And since the feeling of speed will start to feel familiar, one wants to stay at the same level of excitement so one will increase the speed.

I have announced many times in the past that ”I will never want to ride faster than 30km/h.” ”New wheel! 35km/h is surely enough for everyone.” Etc...

The MSX for example feels just as stable at 45km/h than it does at 20km/h.

If you lack personal control in this sense, you best stay off Gotways. 

Quote

If I buy it, I’ll buy protection things to avoid or reduce scratches.

A thick and ugly wrap of the cheapest closed cell foam you can find is good enough for the first week with the new wheel. Further than that a wheel ”hood” would offer a good balance between looks and protection.

Edited November 25, 2019 by mrelwood