KS 18xl vs MSX

[Waverider216]

Debating between the 84v MSX and KS 18XL.  This primarily going to be my weekend cruiser since I have a v10f for commuting.  I have preferred the slimmer wheel and have tried the MSX and found it wide.  It maybe be possible though that if I ride it more that I’ll get used to the increased width of the MSX.  I won’t find myself cruising past 30mph but from what I understand the MSX would give me a slightly better buffer.  Is the new 2200w 18XL better than the legacy motor?  In terms of durability and reliability it seems like the MSX have had more high mileage owners.  Lastly, is waterproofing similar on both?  Thanks for the help in advance.

[UniVehje]

I used to own V10F and now have 18XL. Those two feel actually very similar. MSX would be more different so maybe it would be a better option. If you do some modifications it can be comfortable also. If you’re just want to cruise long distance then 18XL is a better option, though. But maybe first see what Inmotion unveils this Friday. 

[EUC Addict]

I own an 18XL and love it. I commute daily 21 miles round trip on it. The trip back is a 1000 ft elevation gain. It's my first wheel and the only one I've ever ridden. It's a comfortable ride for long distance. The large pedals fit my size 11 shoes pretty well. My only critique is that as I've grown more comfortable and experienced, I've found it easier to hit 30 mph. I think it would be nice if it topped out at 35. Though I find I wear myself out quicker the faster I go. It's physically more demanding, and most of my rides are longer distance, so I find 20-25 a nice speed.

[Chriull]

1 hour ago, Waverider216 said:

 I won’t find myself cruising past 30mph

Just for the records - with a KS18XL one will never reach 30 mph as it shows ~18% too high speed values...

 

[Waverider216]

The overestimation of the KS18xl speed may be a deal breaker for me then.  As for the MSX, I weigh about 195lbs.  Would I hear the 80% beep around 50km/h or closer to 45km/h.  I’m prob willing to adapt to a wider wheel if that is the case.  I’ve also been eyeing the 84v Nikola but it looks even wider than the MSX.  Is this the case?

[null]

My 18XL with fw 2.0 displays 27km/h when doing 25km/h on the GPS speedometer, 38 when 35, so I extrapolate 50 km/h is really 46km/h. 
So a top speed of about 28,5 mph

An inflation of 8%, measured over several hundred meters to stabilise.

It would be great if some other people would do the measure over longer distances to get proper readings.

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by null

[EUC Addict]

@Chriull I read the thread you posted about the inflated speeds. Admittedly I didn’t believe it, so I went out and tested it. I marked off 50 ft. and timed how long it took me to cover the distance and compared the speed calculation with what Darknessbot was reading out. Not exact science but the difference was pretty much on the mark of 18% inflation. I then downloaded a GPS speedometer and compared its reading at 15 mph to Darknessbot. Darknessbot read a little over 12 mph. That’s roughly an 18% inflation. 

[Stillhart]

52 minutes ago, shwinston said:

@Chriull I read the thread you posted about the inflated speeds. Admittedly I didn’t believe it, so I went out and tested it. I marked off 50 ft. and timed how long it took me to cover the distance and compared the speed calculation with what Darknessbot was reading out. Not exact science but the difference was pretty much on the mark of 18% inflation. I then downloaded a GPS speedometer and compared its reading at 15 mph to Darknessbot. Darknessbot read a little over 12 mph. That’s roughly an 18% inflation. 

Out of curiosity, why didn't you believe it? It's well known that cars and motorcycles all inflate their speeds too, though only by about 6-8%.  18% seems like a lot but seems believable given the lower speeds we're dealing with.

[TDK]

I have both of these wheels. I also had Inmotion V10.

The XL is a great general purpose wheel. You can go shopping and do business in offices. It is maneuverable and faster to accelerate than MSX. It is easier to ride on it. It climbs the hills a little better. Has a great handle. The maximum speed is 47-48 km/h (GPS). The ride is similar to the V10.

MSX (84 V) accelerates more slowly. Requires more lean. It is a little harder to maneuver. But it's comfortable if you swap the left and right pedals. The greater width of the housing helps me ride (feet are distant). A wide tire absorbs a little better.

Overall, the XL seems like a better wheel, but lately I have been choosing MSX more often. It's hard for me to explain why. It is possible that the wider tire plays a role here.

[EUC Addict]

@Stillhart I’m very new to EUC’s. I’ve only been riding since mid-February. I just found it hard to believe the speed was that far off. 

[mrelwood]

 

14 hours ago, Waverider216 said:

Would I hear the 80% beep around 50km/h or closer to 45km/h.

Gotways’ 80% beep speed is based only on battery voltage. For example the 84V MSX beeps at 57km/h with full battery, and linearly down to 45km/h at 10% battery. (Though it will beep constantly when below 15%.)

 

14 hours ago, Waverider216 said:

I’ve also been eyeing the 84v Nikola but it looks even wider than the MSX.  Is this the case?

To me the width of the shell is just one aspect in how wide the wheel feels. For example the 18XL shell is taller from the pedals than on the MSX, so after the MSX the 18XL feels like I have to ride it with slightly bowed legs. The MSX shell is not as tall so it allows for slightly more options for positioning and posture.

The 16X as another example is a wide wheel, but the pedals are very wide by themselves and the shell narrows up very nicely. You can stand on it any way you want. In that sense I found rhe Nikola between the 16X and 18XL; the shell is tall but narrows up nicely. The shell feels bigger between your legs, but as it’s lacking any sharp edges and the pedals are wider, it’s still more comfortable than the MSX.

[Waverider216]

Yeh I noticed the taper at the top of the nikola.  At this point I’m leaning towards the nikola granted that the speed buffer is comparable to the MSX.  The nikola and the MSX from what I read has the same mosfet.  I can assume the nikola then should mirror the reliability record of the MSX.  I’m a little wary of the 16x being overpowered since I’m on the heavier side.

[Preston Palmer]

@Waverider216 - I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE my 18XL with the 2200W motor.  I promise 31 mph is fast enough.  I have an alarm set at 28 and tiltback at 30.  I consider the 18XL basically the "perfect wheel."  The design is refined, the trolly handle is perfect.  Tons of power, awesome range.  The only reason I would consider an MSP or MSX over it would be for heavy offroad use where the Gotway might do better with the higher pedals.  I literally have 0 complaints for the 18Xl.  Its really fantastic. Buy with confidence!

[Waverider216]

I actually bought the 18L and have been loving the ride.  I agree that 31mph is plenty fast for me, and the ride comfort is also on par with my V10F.  No complaints here.

[.....]

54 minutes ago, Waverider216 said:

I actually bought the 18L and have been loving the ride.  I agree that 31mph is plenty fast for me, and the ride comfort is also on par with my V10F.  No complaints here.

Congrats! I have the exact same wheel 18L(update your signature with pride!). I found it to have a realistic range of about 25-30 miles at sustained 20-25mph in the hills with bursts up to 31mph on a 135lb rider with 25psi in the tire.  For now, the wheel and my legs run out of steam about the same time. Funny how 200miles ago, I swore I didnt care to go faster than around 18-20mph. Now it seems that 31mph tiltback comes too fast and ANY throttling (28mph)from lower battery seems unbearably slow. No surprise, as i think the 18L top speed is very similar to how fast i rode on a bicycle as a little kid (with no damn shoes on! bless the 80's!). I dont think the 18L is at the pinnacle of specs anymore, but they did get it right. Its so damn comfy and reliable.  Just for fun, I rode down to 5% battery and i could still maintain 20+ mph, tho if i gave the wheel a quick shove, it would beep once at me(perhaps under voltage beeps?)Tho i want to go faster, I'm unwilling to accept the compromises that seem to go along with it nowadays. Mark my words... once the next and greatest battery comes along, we will ALL upgrade and not look back. Until then, I'm loving my 18L. So much so that I even have a second one otw(woohoo, blue and purple covered rollnz ftw). Paired with an mten and an sks18, I should be good to go until a REAL upgrade is an option, not just a janky suitcase of batteries with suspect QC and ridiculous weight. I am looking forward to having more torque with the sks18, but honestly, the 2kw motor of the 18L is enough street power and seems to sip the juice in compare to some. I bet KS sold so many of these 18xl/l wheels, that we should be able to repair them with available parts for a very long time.

Edited May 4, 2020 by ShanesPlanet

[Waverider216]

Now that I decided to buy the 18L, I wanted to ask without starting a new thread.  How many miles have the 18l/xl users in the forums logged on their wheels?  I would love to get to 5000 miles on mine (got it with 620 miles on it). 

[.....]

2 minutes ago, Waverider216 said:

Now that I decided to buy the 18L, I wanted to ask without starting a new thread.  How many miles have the 18l/xl users in the forums logged on their wheels?  I would love to get to 5000 miles on mine (got it with 620 miles on it). 

Just turned 320 miles today and got it with 3mi on it. It still behaves like brand new. By your mileage, I can assume i'll at least get double. Something tells me the Ks18's are throttled in such a way that they will live quite long. My charger came putting out 83.9V, I can only assume this was also to help lengthen their lives.  I too am curious, how many miles until it dies, not withstanding an epic crash or glorious free flight off a cliff.

[Preston Palmer]

I have 3000 ish miles on mine. It's the same as new!

[EUC Addict]

Soon to crack 900 miles on my 18XL. I love my XL. I commuted to work on it before this COVID-19 thing, but now I've been riding about 40 miles almost every weekday. 

[Scubadragonsan]

Hello Shwinston,

Can you please tell me how heavy are you and what is the distance/range per charge roughly are you getting out of KS18XL? I am considering upgrading my KS18L to XL, but not sure how much more range will I get. Currently, I am 160 lbs. getting about 45 miles from KS18L. Any input would be appreciated!

[EUC Addict]

@scubadragosan I haven't weighted myself with my gear on, but it's over 200lbs. I weigh 195 lbs. I've done over 50 miles on a single charge. I don't recall what percentage I had left, but recently I completed 138 mile trip on the Santa Ana River Trail from San Bernardino to Huntington Beach and back. I rode 44 miles before my first charge and still had 42% left. I could have easily gone another 20 miles. When I take my day trips that are 40 miles, I still have  plenty of battery left (30-45%) depending on the terrain. The 18XL is easily a 50-60 mile wheel for me.

[EUC Addict]

@scubadragosan Apologies for the belated reply. I just now saw the notice, but I've been on here many times since you've posted. Not sure how I missed it.

[WI_Hedgehog]

14 hours ago, shwinston said:

....recently I completed 138 mile trip on the Santa Ana River Trail from San Bernardino to Huntington Beach and back....

How do you manage the charging? You can't just pull up to a Tesla charging station...are coffee shops charge-friendly? 

[EUC Addict]

I made arrangements with a pizza place 44 miles into the trip. However, I did order a J1772 adapter that will allow me to charge at car charging stations. It will be here Wednesday. 

[Jonesq]

1 hour ago, shwinston said:

I made arrangements with a pizza place 44 miles into the trip. However, I did order a J1772 adapter that will allow me to charge at car charging stations. It will be here Wednesday. 

Woah.. So with this adapter you can charge your wheel at a Tesla charging station? Have you seen this done successfully before?