Can you use a Ninebot mini sitting down?

[ABEhrhardt]

I would like to ask Ninebot mini users whether they think it would be possible to ride it like the Airwheel S8, from a seated position. It looks as if all you'd have to do is attach a seat to the top - but it's hard to tell from the pictures, and of course I haven't seen a picture of one used that way.

And it may not be physically possible to attach a seat so it will be reliable.

I may have to replace the Airwheel, as it's currently not working, but the concept of the combination of a small footprint with something used sitting is one I'd like to continue.

If you have one, what do you think? Would you use it that way?

 

Thanks!

[trevmar]

In my experience the Ninebot MiniPRO products are not reliable enough for an application like yours. I have four in a corner here, shelved in favor of my two Airwheel S5. The Ninebot was breaking too many of my limbs... it is just not made for folk with a weight approaching 100Kg.

Incidentally, I noticed that a new mother-board for the S8 is available on AliExpress for $49 plus a few dollars shipping. Typically, when a device like this fails it is taken to the local "bikeshop," which in China are located in every residential unit. I remember one in Chengdu which did its arc-welding on the outside (concrete) footpath, quite an experience to walk past unexpectedly! These shops repair bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, just about everything ... To them the replacement of a motherboard is a trivial task. Problem is, in the West we have lost these "neighborhood handymen," so when the Chinese technology is all that meets our needs, as in the case with the Airwheel S8, we are dealing with products and spares not really made for an absence of such craftsmen. That is why forums such as these exist - to connect the various hobbyists outside of China who need to crowdsource their questions and their tips

[ABEhrhardt]

I have found a local repair person who has good reviews and will consider fixing the S8+ if I can get the part. I will be doing maintenance in the future, so this is prudent (I don't think I have the skills any more,  and I don't have the tools).

I will look to AliExpress - many thanks.

[ABEhrhardt]

@trevmar The S8+ has a 120kg limit (and seller check for me - they said they tested it to 150kg). I can live with that. 100kg is too little margin of safety.

Thanks for replying - I'm still not sure how to reply. Is this the way? With the 'at' sign and your name?

 

[ABEhrhardt]

@trevmar - That S8 is a Samsung Galaxy PHONE motherboard! Chuckling.

IIRC, the Airwheel S8+ board are not too expensive; I'm trying to get someone in China to tell me how to buy one - and a spare Airwheel S8+.

I've really been in bad shape sin the S8+ died - almost four weeks now with basically no transportation (I refuse to get a scooter or a wheelchair yet).

 

[ABEhrhardt]

Also Checking out Aliexpress for Airwheel S8+, and board.

The phone motherboards came up first.

There seems to be a wide variety of prices for the motherboard online, and I need to be sure it is the S8 PLUS board. Direct from the factory $150 + $80 shipping - seems steep.

Have to get some sleep - have the flu - more when I figure it out.

thanks!

 

Edited February 25, 2020 by ABEhrhardt
typo

[trevmar]

This is the page I see the board at $49.99 plus $5 shipping:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000141072554.html?spm=2114.12010615.8148356.70.65c927b8kAmVnB

But it may not be the motherboard which is faulty, it may just need a system reset. Airwheel used to have support in the USA but they were forced to close the US operation under pressure from the Segway patent holders (the Chinese Xiaomi company IIRC) a year or more ago. My airwheels have never broken down (or even reached any limits) so I really don't know what they do when faced with overload. The MiniPRO was easy to diagnose - it just threw you onto the ground to protect its own hardware from overload.

The S8 is pretty complex to work on, though. Take a look at this video to get a better understaunding of what could go wrong:

 

Edited February 25, 2020 by trevmar

[ABEhrhardt]

@trevmar

Thanks. Not sure what you mean by 'system reset.'

The video looks fairly simple (but it would be wise to not disconnect anything until knowing where to put it back, and probably to take a lot of pictures). I've done repairs like that - take it apart, replace parts, put it back together. The part I would have been afraid of - the power connection - actually looked quite simple: disconnect power, fix innards, reconnect power. No discharging capacitors or anything.

This video is specifically to replace transformer and remote control board. I don't know what is broken, and it doesn't say how to test.

If not too expensive, you could just replace all three parts - motherboard, transformer, and remote control board.

And if there's an S8/S8+ difference in any of the parts, I wouldn't know. The Aliexpress link says only S8.

The box mine came in says S8; 260 W; manufactured March 18, 2019. Sometimes the manufacturing date can be used if there's a date when they upgraded to the +. Or the giveaway is the 260 W part. I don't know what the S8 started out with battery-wise.

All in all, I'll probably end up buying a new one when they're available again, and keeping this one for a spare battery. It seems wasteful, but the amount of time spent so far has been wasteful, too.

Nice to know you've never had an Airwheel break down; this was probably an aberration.