King Song S18 Discussion

[Zwheeler]

1 hour ago, Zopper said:

Well, that might be possible. But aren't you without any real warranty then?

Acknowledged, pretty much so. One just has to balance between the possibility of failures with the cost. For example: I would definitely buy a KS 18XL directly from China. An old workhorse with all the kinks ironed out should be just OK.  But a new prototype like KS S18: I ordered that one from a trusted Polish seller just because of the warranty.

(but  the chicway.shop price still made me think...)

 

1 hour ago, Zopper said:

And every time I bought something from China (Ali and similar), I always had to pay the 21% VAT on orders over ~$20 (customs checked it the moment it crossed the borders and didn't release it until the VAT was paid). It is changing recently, with Ali and other such portals building warehouses inside of EU, and paying the VAT when they bring it in, but items delivered from these warehouses costs a lot more than those directly from China.

But *of course* I pay the customs fees and taxes from the stuff I order from China. But if the seller says "We'll pay the taxes", I have never had to pay anything extra. This includes a wheel, for example

And, just while I was  writing this, the doorbell rang, and the DHL guy handed me the leg pads I ordered from Chicway a week ago. The DHL address slip says they left from Hongkong.. (better check my apartment for cameras and microphones )

-Z-

Edited July 13, 2020 by Zwheeler

[RockyTop]

I bought from eWheels. The end price Shipping and all fees included $1899 USD. I believe it comes with one year warranty. 
 

Now back to the important issues. ...... Wait!? Never mind!  We are still talking about colors. Mine will be orange after a few miles.  Tennessee clay orange. It is like the Georgia Clay orange but just a bit lighter maybe a bit more tan. 

[fryman]

14 hours ago, fbhb said:

"King Song S18 (in Black) are rolling off the production line!"

Mr. @mrelwood do you see an easy way for them to add another 40 cells?

[Nifrigel]

In Russia the preorder price is ~1715$ and regular price will be ~1850$. I suppose geographic proximity to China plays a role in it, but the most important thing is usually the local dealer. Kawai digital pianos for example are more expensive here than in Germany and UK, because of small and greedy local dealer vs old and well established European shops.

[EUChristian]

5 hours ago, RockyTop said:

I bought from eWheels. The end price Shipping and all fees included $1899 USD. I believe it comes with one year warranty. 
 

Now back to the important issues. ...... Wait!? Never mind!  We are still talking about colors. Mine will be orange after a few miles.  Tennessee clay orange. It is like the Georgia Clay orange but just a bit lighter maybe a bit more tan. 

Ah the mud look - excellent!  I have already been looking at vinyl wrapping and found a black brushed aluminum which would look bad ass for panels. I think that it can be done pretty easily so if I drop it I can redo it. Probably won’t do it for 200 miles or so. 
 

what is nice is the ability to switch out the wrap with some ease and change the entire look. I found this purple prismatic color change one and I don’t care how tacky it looks I have to try it at some point. I’ll paint the suspension to a matching color each time. 
 

[redfoxdude]

More shots from that photoset of the Rubber Black:




I find the particular way they thickened the upper pads a little strange - the way they taper back down to the original thickness before reaching the front contour. Maybe it feels just fine though, we'll see.

Edited July 14, 2020 by redfoxdude

[mrelwood]

8 hours ago, fryman said:

Mr. @mrelwood do you see an easy way for them to add another 40 cells?

Nope. An enthusiastic enough hobbyist could DIY up some custom panels with a battery bulge, but I don’t think we’re going to see that being done anytime soon.

[fbhb]

1 hour ago, redfoxdude said:

I find the way they thickened the upper pads a little strange - the way they taper back down to the original thickness before reaching the front contour.

@redfoxdude there is a very good reason behind this change in the thickness where the pads taper out towards the rear portion!   It was found during the Pre-production S18's being reviewed, that it could be difficult to grip the back of the wheel especially during hard braking, which could then produce wobbles! 

Ian "Speedyfeet" mentioned it in his video reviews, so the added thickness in this area should allow a more locked in feeling and rearwards grip when needed.  IMHO, it looks to be a big improvement to also help in the extreme handling department.

To my eye and still owning an old sportsbike myself, the S18 now has even more of a modern sportsbike look about it with the additional sculpted lines of the padding!  The photos you posted above, allow a view from a few different angles which highlight just how much King Song were influenced by sportsbikes in it's design!

Edited July 14, 2020 by fbhb

[redfoxdude]

@fbhb I rode the preproduction model briefly, and the thicker portion is welcomed for sure - it will be much more stable and comfortable! But I just find it a little odd that in thins back out in the front, before reaching the contour in the front where you can brace your shins during acceleration. It may feel just fine where it thins in the front, but we'll see, I'm sure they tried it. 🤷‍♂️ I think it might be the angle of the photos, it almost looks like the opposite of a "power pad," ha.

Edited July 14, 2020 by redfoxdude

[fbhb]

24 minutes ago, redfoxdude said:

@fbhb I rode the preproduction model briefly, too. The thicker portion is welcomed for sure, but I just find it a little odd that in thins back out in the front, before reaching the contour in the front where you can brace your shins during acceleration. It may feel just fine where it thins in the front, but we'll see, I'm sure they tried it. 🤷‍♂️

OK, so cool that you got to ride the pre-production wheel, you must be even more anxious than me to get your own then?  From the looks of it, you can almost imagine that the S18 is now similar to how a flat sided traditional EUC would be once additional power pads are fitted.  Because the S18"s sculpted shape that dips in through the mid section is a little more pronounced with the added thickness at the rear, it will now act similarly to the power pads people fit that have accelerating and braking bulges!

The area where you state that it thins towards the front is still the same thickness that would have been fitted to to pre-production, then it is just tapering out from 4mm to 12mm at the rear (was originally 4mm from front to back).  I'm sure it will feel really good once you try it, as the increase is only 16mm total width to the wheel at that point but obviously sufficient to provide some added purchase for braking/higher speed/offroad control!

Edited July 14, 2020 by fbhb

[fbhb]

Check out these King Song S18 beauty shots

[Intertracer]

All good but why the tasteless golden suspension bars?  Should have stayed with silver ones as in prototype.

[Steven89]

58 minutes ago, Intertracer said:

All good but why the tasteless golden suspension bars?  Should have stayed with silver ones as in prototype.

Maybe for the white one yo're right but  I prefer the black one as they've done with the gold/orange frame. Still..everyone has different tastes..

..but I've never thought of cancel my preorder because I respect Kingsong for trying something different. It's not a little risk to change so much from the previous designs. I like the idea and I'm willing to pay for their expenses of designers/egineers (suspension etc).

[Intertracer]

27 minutes ago, Steven89 said:

Maybe for the white one yo're right but  I prefer the black one as they've done with the gold/orange frame. Still..everyone has different tastes..

..but I've never thought of cancel my preorder because I respect Kingsong for trying something different. It's not a little risk to change so much from the previous designs. I like the idea and I'm willing to pay for their expenses of designers/egineers (suspension etc).

No way I cancel preorder, after hesitating about switching from Ninebot One E+ to KS-16X, S18 is spot on and would perfectly fit my use case.
Though it's interesting to see 16X 1554Wh retail price dropping below that of S18 pre-order.
On the bright side - can finally put Dremel to good use

[Howes Feng]

18 minutes ago, Intertracer said:

No way I cancel preorder, after hesitating about switching from Ninebot One E+ to KS-16X, S18 is spot on and would perfectly fit my use case.
Though it's interesting to see 16X 1554Wh retail price dropping below that of S18 pre-order.
On the bright side - can finally put Dremel to good use

Actually just the other distributor offer a higher price for new S18. They're some price in Chicway website.

 

[EUChristian]

7 hours ago, redfoxdude said:

More shots from that photoset of the Rubber Black:




I find the particular way they thickened the upper pads a little strange - the way they taper back down to the original thickness before reaching the front contour. Maybe it feels just fine though, we'll see.

Growing on me from these shots! It’s eye catching in black. Glad I made that choice. Now that Marty melted the Sherman on overheat hill I see people are in the Veteran thread are acknowledging reality - every new wheel is a learning experience for its company and if you are willing to be first, you have to be willing to compromise on perfection. I’ll take gray pads over blown mosfets, but I know Veteran is listening and will work to update it - just like Kingsong. This is a great time to be alive folks. People will look back at these trivial points when they get their T18 or U18 and think...they really thought they couldn’t fit an extra 40 cells?

Edited July 14, 2020 by EUChristian

[Mark Wilson]

So is it confirmed then that both the white and black versions of the wheel will come with grey pads? I'd prefer black colored pads over the grey but if that's what they had to do to change the padding for better control, so be it.

[fryman]

9 hours ago, mrelwood said:

Nope. An enthusiastic enough hobbyist could DIY up some custom panels with a battery bulge, but I don’t think we’re going to see that being done anytime soon.

So you say there's a chance! 

[redfoxdude]

2 hours ago, Mark Wilson said:

So is it confirmed then that both the white and black versions of the wheel will come with grey pads? I'd prefer black colored pads over the grey but if that's what they had to do to change the padding for better control, so be it.

I'd prefer a darker black color too, but unfortunately, I think the greyish color is likely due to the new, supposedly more durable, material.

[redfoxdude]

7 hours ago, fbhb said:

It looks cool, but that white reflector on the back is gonna have to go. Don't want to cause ambiguity, plus it may actually be legally required to have a red reflector on the back, depending on where one is.

Still, some nice looking glamour shots 🤩

[null]

Yes most western countries have red back, white front and yellow on the sides positioning color code.
(Nice picture, like the black, find it tidier)

Edited July 14, 2020 by null

[fryman]

7 hours ago, fbhb said:

Check out these King Song S18 beauty shots

I like how the wheel stands on its own.

[Xolition]

FYI - delayed at least 5 -days.

[EUChristian]

6 hours ago, fryman said:

I like how the wheel stands on its own.

Does it actually do this?  Or is this photoshopped?  

[redfoxdude]

Hahahaha, it definitely doesn't actually stand completely on its own like that. I'm assuming it's cleverly placed stand plus possibly photoshop. Neat effect though, I wanna try to take some shots like that with my wheels! =P

Edited July 14, 2020 by redfoxdude