btl Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 Hi everyone, now that i found _the_ EUC forum, i want to share my thoughts and get some more from you experienced guys/girls. This is gonna be long, skip a bit if you prefer ;-) Let me introduce myself: My name is Stefan, i am 47 years old and not one of the sporty or athletic guys. I worked as electrician /service technician most of my adult life, but changed to a desktop job 3 years ago and gained an extra few kg in that time. My weight is now around 100kg (220 lbs) and i'm 1.86m tall. My PEV experience is driving eletric skateboard (i had an Elektroskate ES800 and ES600 when they were early in development), like 10 years ago. i sold them after 2 years, when the batteries started to degradate and the replacement almost cost as much as the boards. My wife and me also did some Segway tours in our holidays. I liked the concept of driving it, but, used to go 35km/h on my ES600, the speed was "meh". I also made a few hundred meters on my nephews Hoverboard. Here in germany it's illegal to drive an EUC (and anything else without classification according to the rules) on public roads, but i have access to a nice windpark on private property with tarmack roads. Also the "Teutoburger Forest" is next to my driveway with lots of forest paths to be explored. My first contact to EUC riding was because i drive a Tesla Model 3, and youtube decided to show me a video of U-Stride riding on his Gotway Tesla. That was a fun to watch, so youtube gave me more related content, like the channel "isthereanyfood" where Mike (i see you are here too, kudos!) and his lovely wife Monica cruise Stockholm and the stunning norway scenery. I was hooked: i want that, too! Before i tell my lovely wife that i found a new hobby, i wanted to learn it so far, that it looks at least effortless and safe. Then i'll see if i can get her on the EUC as well. She was scared to see me on my electric skateboard back then, and thinks i'm too old for this stuff. Hell, but i don't feel too old! And its just like the Segway, just half the wheels, double the fun! Coming to an end with my introduction: i got a Ninebot One S2 with only 240m (yes, not km) on the odometer as my learning wheel and instead of trying to jump on it and learn it fast and hard, i choosed to learn with small steps, day by day. This worked out nicely, too. I lost the EUC a few times, but never fell. After the 7th day of learning i am now able to ride controlled, the way that i want to go. It does not yet look effortless, but at least it looks like i ride the EUC and not the EUC rides me any longer. Just yesterday i unlocked the restricted mode that locks the Ninebot to max 10km/h. I wanted to master slow driving first, and get faster later. I knew from the beginning that the Ninebot won't be my one and only EUC, i'm just too tall and heavy for it. I'll keep the Ninebot One as it fits perfectly in the frunk of my Tesla as a last mile solution. It will also be fun for my nephews to ride with me. So, my new wheel needs to be powerful enough to support a 100kg rider, should have a nice range and be capable of offroad and hill climbing. I am thinking of the Gotway Tesla V2 as it has a fair price/power/range relation, but it may be too small/narrow of a wheel for the hill. The other one i keep an eye on is the Gotway MSX. I'd be open for your thoughts. Thanks for reading, Stefan, aka btl (short for Beetle, my all-time internet nickname) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post travsformation Posted February 20, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted February 20, 2020 (edited) Welcome to the forum! 1 hour ago, btl said: So, my new wheel needs to be powerful enough to support a 100kg rider, should have a nice range and be capable of offroad and hill climbing. I am thinking of the Gotway Tesla V2 as it has a fair price/power/range relation, but it may be too small/narrow of a wheel for the hill. The other one i keep an eye on is the Gotway MSX. I'd be open for your thoughts. The Tesla V2 is a good choice---plenty of torque so you won't have any issues with hill climbs, decent range, compact form factor, not too heavy, reasonably priced, the only caveat being it isn't great for off-roading (it isn't terrible either though). But for 100 kg / 1.86m, I personally think it would be better to go with a bigger battery so you have more safety margin. If the size and weight of the EUC don't matter to you (you don't plan on carrying it / picking it up much, or don't live in a 4th-floor apartment with no elevator hehe), and you're considering the MSX, a powerful 18" performance wheel is probably the safest bet. Of course, everything depends on your budget also... In that field, the 84v MSX is the most affordable option of the lot, but probably not the most comfortable, maneuverable or "user-friendly"---the Kingsong 18L is a better all-rounder (or the 18XL if you want more range). You could also go for a Gotway Nikola, with its 3" wide, 16" diameter tire, which is very good for off-roading. Do bear in mind that the wheels I'm suggesting are "performance wheels" and not cheap, so it depends on your budget, and how committed you are to the world of EUCs (whether you want to spend up to/over 2K on a wheel), but they are also the best bet in terms of safety for a rider your height and weight, as they have power and battery capacity to spare, making sure you won't unexpectedly find yourself face-first on the floor because it was using it all up on getting you up a hill and ended up without enough reserves to keep you balanced. That being said, I'm not objective and am admittedly biased towards high-end wheels: I learned on a brand-new, 900€ Inmotion V8 (which I'm now selling) and outgrew it in a matter of a few weeks, then bought a KS18XL and wouldn't go back to a lower-powered, lower-range wheel for anything in the world. Ideally, I wish I'd been wiser and either started with a cheap, 2nd hand wheel, like you did, or done more research and gone straight for a wheel I wouldn't outgrow anytime soon (like the KS18XL). In retrospect...it would have been hard to justify to myself buying a 2500€ EUC that I didn't know whether I'd be able to learn to ride, but on the other hand, back when I bought the V8 I had no idea how hooked I'd get on riding, and how much of a passion, obsession and lifestyle change it would entail. A range of 30 km sounded great before I started riding! Now I know that realistically, that's more like 25 km, which will only give me 12.5 km range towards a destination, and 12.5 km to get back, which at the V8's maximum safe speed of 25 km/h, is only an hour of riding... When I bought the V8, it never would have crossed my mind that 25 km/h would feel too slow either (I don't advise riding at/near a wheel's max speed for safety reasons) or that I'd consider a 40 km tour to be "an afternoon ride". Which is why I think a lot of us wheel addicts, when suggesting purchases to new riders or folks wanting to upgrade to a new wheel, see an opportunity of traveling back into the past and nudging you to do what we wish we'd done from the beginning, and going straight for a wheel that won't pose any kind of limitation anytime soon, whether it's speed or range-wise (as in, your body will become sore and exhausted before you run out of battery) For an abundance of useful info on wheels like the ones I've suggested, check out the thread below: But in the end, it's up to you to know how "committed" you are to EUCing, how much spare time you have to ride, how important things like range and top speed are to you, what your budget is and how much you want to spend, etc. The more information you can give, the better we can help you choose the right wheel for you Maybe someone more objective than myself will pop by this thread and provide some less biased advice But since you're not a small guy (@Mike Sacristan is a good example of a light rider) and safety is an important consideration, the more powerful the wheel and the bigger the battery, the more safety margin you'll have, so based on that (and your desire for off-roading), I'm guessing I won't be the only one suggesting performance wheels like the MSX, 18(X)L or the Nikola... P.S. Don't feel old, 47 is young for this forum! P.P.S. And you thought your post was long... Edited February 20, 2020 by travsformation 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 Get one of the "big boys" (if you can), for the range and overall robustness: Nikola, 16X, 18XL, MSX or MSP. The 84V MSX or Nikola prices are quite good compared to the others if you want to limit your spending. See here for example (they seem to have some rebate thing going on now til the 23rd?): https://eunicycles.eu/en/ MSX is <1700€ and Nik is <1800€ (but check other places for prices, too, for example 1rad). The Tesla isn't bad and would certainly work for you, but why go 70% when you can go 100%. You want to explore, you can never have enough range 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwave Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 @btl Nice introduction and welcome to the forum! I am the OP of the thread @travsformation linked to you. The information I received from the forum members regarding purchasing a wheel was awesome! I purchased a KS-18XL and have been progressing nicely! It's worth read if you have a moment. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btl Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 5 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said: The Tesla isn't bad and would certainly work for you, but why go 70% when you can go 100%. You want to explore, you can never have enough range Hehe, yes. I'll save money if i go 100% directly and skip the intermediate step. @bigwave your thread was the first i read after i registered here :-) lots of valuable info there! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 22 minutes ago, btl said: I'll save money if i go 100% directly and skip the intermediate step. Exactly. In my opinion, these 1000Wh wheels are great if you are looking for a not too big/heavy commuter wheel, or want to limit your costs. Otherwise, go 1600Wh or more. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travsformation Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 41 minutes ago, btl said: Hehe, yes. I'll save money if i go 100% directly and skip the intermediate step. Go for it! And sorry for the rant, I was trying to compensate for my bias of telling everyone to buy a performance wheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btl Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 I am completely on your side. Can you imagine how much money i could have saved if i bought my Tesla Model 3 directly, instead of getting a used Nissan Leaf and then a new Hyundai Ioniq battery electric car as stepping stones? Electric transportation ftw! Legalize it! Greets, Stefan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mrelwood Posted March 2, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted March 2, 2020 What a nice introduction, and marvellous replies! Everything worthwhile about the next EUC for you has been said already. The only part that wasn’t mentioned was protective gear. While your method of learning is to be held in high regard, falling is still something that is very likely to happen at one point of another. Protect your knees, elbows, face and wrists, and you are much better off when the crash finally happens. Young guys are made of fast-healing rubber and don’t mind as much, but we aren’t anymore... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Mortal Coil Posted March 2, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted March 2, 2020 Agreed. Budget for, and put as much research into, protective gear as you do your wheel. I did and I credit that as the reason I’m still riding every day despite having my first (and I’m sure not my last) big crash a couple of weeks ago. My priority list: Head&Face > Wrists&Hands > Knees > Elbows> Shoulders 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btl Posted March 2, 2020 Author Share Posted March 2, 2020 (edited) For know, with the slow speeds the Ninebot can offer, i wear Inlineskate wristguards, knee and elbow pads, a bicycle helmet and high shaft shoes. If i ever get a faster wheel (read: as soon as i get it) , a full-face motorcycle helmet and jacket with protectors will be ordered with it. Edited March 2, 2020 by btl 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btl Posted March 10, 2020 Author Share Posted March 10, 2020 I just ordered a Gotway MSX, standard 84V, 1600Wh. From all the reviews i watched on YT, and the comments i read here, i think its the right wheel for me. I'll go Full-Face Helmet shopping this week. Fun times ahead :-) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btl Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 The MSX has arrived and i got a Fox Proframe full-face helmet, too. The MSX has black pedals now and they lock down stiff enough to be used as a stand, just like MSP does as i saw in the video review. Also the MSX came on the ChaoYang H-666 tire by factory. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orbajosbrother Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, btl said: Also the MSX came on the ChaoYang H-666 tire by factory. Wow, that's awesome. I just got an 84v MSX from eWheels (came from a KS-14D) and I got the H-5106 tire. The H-666 looks so nice... I went with an LS2 Pioneer motorcycle helmet for the MSX. The Pioneer was $99 on clearance at RevZilla. I don't think the value can be beat. Edited April 6, 2020 by raidzero 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btl Posted April 7, 2020 Author Share Posted April 7, 2020 @raidzero: the LS2 looks like really good value for $99! I took the wheel for a first spin up our street and on some gravel and gras and it handles very predictable compared with the Ninebot one (as expected, the one is for sure not meant for offroad...) The Fox proframe is so light, doesn't affect my breath or sight, so i hope i'll always wear it. Come on, we know ourselfes. When protection gear isn't comfortable, humans tend to not wear it, at work, at sport, at fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planemo Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 On 4/6/2020 at 3:08 PM, btl said: The MSX has black pedals now and they lock down stiff enough to be used as a stand, just like MSP does as i saw in the video review. The pedals will only do that until they have bedded in. Theres no way I would trust what is simply a 'sticky pedal' to hold my beautiful MSX face from hard asphalt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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