Monster Pro (latest firmware) thoughts from a long-time Veteran Sherman owner

[Ben Kim]

As the first person in NYC to own a Veteran Sherman, I've had a lot of miles logged on that wheel and to this day, I completely enjoy the feel and ride quality of that wheel.  1700 miles, rock solid reliable and faster than anything on the market (the original Sherman firmware had a no-load speed of 107 Kmh).  However as playful and fun the Sherman can be, I longed for another giant wheel in my collection, and cautiously ordered one knowing the issues the earlier demo/batches had.  

I must say, the ride feel was significantly improved from that demo wheel we rode a few months ago!  

The soft mode actually responds pretty well, shades of that original Monster pedal action.  I've ridden the demo wheel, felt indifferent toward it and considered selling the Monster Pro immediately after I received it, but now I'm a little apprehensive.  Did a quick 24 mile ride with my Clark pad bootlegs, and I quickly discovered I hate these pads as they prevented me from enjoying free lateral movement and finding a comfortable seated position.  I may keep the rear portion to enhance the braking, but after 10 miles of riding I ripped the front portion of these pads off the wheel and went naked; soft mode responds well enough to move the wheel and I quickly got acclimated to the wheel and its nuances.  

Notes:

- They dramatically improved the pedal modes from the v1/demo wheels people got initially: Soft mode feels like a real soft mode even though @houseofjobis in denial, Hard mode feels like riding a bull (won't ever use it again) and medium is the PERFECT mode for people riding with Clark pads or some other jump pad variant.  Does not dip all that much, but if you push into those tug pads it MOVES.  I forgot that these giant tire wheels tend to "feel" slow when you're actually going faster than you think.

- They really upped their game when it comes to waterproofing the wheel but still unacceptable.  I found almost no points of water ingress EXCEPT where the wiring from those atmospheric LED strips on the front and back enter the casing.  I filled those holes with a high temp silicone and I believe that was the only place where Begode could improve when assembling these wheels.  Luckily even if you didn't fill these holes, the water would not reach the control board or battery connectors it would just collect at the bottom of the wheel, but please, BEGODE hire some better assemblers (or at least spend the 50 cents per wheel on some hot glue or cheap silicone) if you're charging so damn much for this wheel, thanks. 

- The stock tire is hot garbage.  Living in the pothole-ridden cesspool we call New York City, its not a matter of IF you'll be denting your rim, its a matter of WHEN.  I have a Vee Rubber VMR054 and a Pilot Street coming; it's a damn shame CST discontinued the C117 in 2.75-18 because I think it would have been a rim-protecting ideal tire for this particular wheel.  For those of you that live in areas with nicer roads, the stock tire should be ok as its smooth, quiet and generally pleasant if road conditions are good.  I'm currently running it at 37 psi and it responds reasonably well without too much of that bounce inherent of paper thin sidewalls.  

- The seat is too damn wide and not long enough.  I enjoy shifting around on the seat to accelerate and brake the wheel however it is a tad too short as it terminates right before the power switch / charge port assembly.  

- The Begode honeycomb pedals are too big for my feet and honestly hurt my feet when I'm wearing sneakers.  The magnet is also in the wrong place on those pedals so they don't stay in the upright position.  Luckily I received both the honeycomb and original XL MSX-style pedals in my shipment, and I will be switching back to the original pedals after regripping them with Vicious.

- The shell is crap, but that's no surprise.  Pad it up or don't fall. 

 

As a Veteran Sherman owner, I still much prefer the feel and tuning of that wheel, along with it being more lift-friendly than the Monster Pro (I asked my 120lb girlfriend to try and lift the Monster Pro, she couldn't do it).  It's a more livable wheel for daily tasks with a similar top speed, with slightly worse range at slow speeds; even though the Sherman is still approaching the weight limit of what I'd consider daily drivable.  However, I'm comparing 1700 miles of riding on the Veteran compared to 24 on the Monster Pro, I will be updating my thoughts after I swap out these jump pads for something else, get a few hundred miles of riding in, and replacing the honeycomb pedals with the originals.  The good news is, the Monster Pro, contrary to first impressions from the demo/v1 wheels, is a rideable wheel without any sort of pads, and that is a HUGE win in my book if you love the stability of a giant tire with that giant 3554Wh 8p battery.  

If you're willing to invest 30 minutes taking the outer covers off and adding a little silicone/hot glue to those holes by the atmospheric LED cutouts, we have a very nice riding wheel that now has some of the old Monster DNA in it.  It's definitely a wheel that should be purchased by someone who's owned a few wheels and isn't afraid to get their hands dirty; in my honest opinion, is worth the elbow grease.  

[houseofjob]

@Ben Kim LOL, good writeup, but I still doubt your soft mode claims because you've said in the past on many a Telegram that the Vet soft has too much dip, and I look for MORE DIP / SWING, so our definitions I think are different.

But who knows, @chulander will be able to gauge for me, since his riding dynamics are just about the same as mine, free-swinging soft mode all-day every-day.

 

I'm past the newb phase of trying to buy-to-try every new wheel, because going through that phase, I've learned there will be more new wheels. I'd rather not deal with the the pains of rusty hollow bore motors ON TOP of the usual small maintenance stuff involved with EUC (the claims of Gotway fixing this are too early, as evidenced all the 24Pro buyers JUST getting their wheels). And the lack of a good, long stock seat for a wheel that should have one makes such a big wheel pointless, because seated riding is a major advantage of big wheels, and for seated, I'm constantly sliding up and down the seat for leverage. At least on the Vet, they adopted a flat top so you can ride bare, whereas the Gotways always have a sloped upper handle-area design, and trying to sit/slide on that bare is a bit of nut-buster *smh.

 

So it looks like with this glowing 24Pro review, you almost Have to sell your fat Vet now, since you're only gonna keep one? 

Edited April 29, 2021 by houseofjob

[Ben Kim]

13 minutes ago, houseofjob said:

@Ben Kim LOL, good writeup, but I still doubt your soft mode claims because you've said in the past on many a Telegram that the Vet soft has too much dip, and I look for MORE DIP / SWING, so our definitions I think are different.

But who knows, @chulander will be able to gauge for me, since his riding dynamics are just about the same as mine, free-swinging soft mode all-day every-day.

 

I'm past the newb phase of trying to buy-to-try every new wheel, because going through that phase, I've learned there will be more new wheels. I'd rather not deal with the the pains of rusty hollow bore motors ON TOP of the usual small maintenance stuff involved with EUC (the claims of Gotway fixing this are too early, as evidenced all the 24Pro buyers JUST getting their wheels). And the lack of a good, long stock seat for a wheel that should have one makes such a big wheel pointless, because seated riding is a major advantage of big wheels, and for seated, I'm constantly sliding up and down the seat for leverage. At least on the Vet, they adopted a flat top so you can ride bare, whereas the Gotways always have a sloped upper handle-area design, and trying to sit/slide on that bare is a bit of nut-buster *smh.

 

So it looks like with this glowing 24Pro review, you almost Have to sell your fat Vet now, since you're only gonna keep one? 

It rides much improved from that demo rhino we tried, BUT keep in mind i do deal with stairs, a lot of them. House life no elevator, with that said, I would say your prediction of me selling the Shemale would likely be wrong!

Also, it doesn’t appear Gotway is going to stop spamming new hollow bore motors anytime soon, so eventually you’re going to have to deal with one. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Ben Kim

[houseofjob]

1 minute ago, Ben Kim said:

It rides much improved from that demo rhino we tried, BUT keep in mind i do deal with stairs, a lot of them. House life no elevator, with that said, I would say your prediction of me selling the Shemale would likely be wrong!

Awww yeah, so you gonna sell the amazing 24Pro then!

[Ben Kim]

Just now, houseofjob said:

Awww yeah, so you gonna sell the amazing 24Pro then!

mostly due to the stairs, not because I dislike it (I don’t) 

[Mrd777]

22 minutes ago, Ben Kim said:

mostly due to the stairs, not because I dislike it (I don’t) 

Keep both, problem solved !  

Edited April 29, 2021 by Mrd777

[houseofjob]

1 hour ago, Ben Kim said:

mostly due to the stairs, not because I dislike it (I don’t) 

It's sooo good you're gonna sell it cuz of some measly stairs! 

[EMA]

7 hours ago, Ben Kim said:

I must say, the ride feel was significantly improved from that demo wheel we rode a few months ago!  

had the same impression when i tried it, and this is related to all new gw firmware

good review

[ if you try latest EX firmware is way more soft than M24pro for example ]

[Ben Kim]

1 hour ago, houseofjob said:

It's sooo good you're gonna sell it cuz of some measly stairs! 

Says the jersey/elevator building boy! 🤣

[houseofjob]

28 minutes ago, Ben Kim said:

Says the jersey/elevator building boy! 🤣

Wrong again!

Just step up that Beat Saber time and you can keep Big Bertha, just think of it as extra gym time  Besides, you said it yourself many times, you don't even ride these heffer wheels like that, you ride whatever compact you have way more. 

[Ben Kim]

2 hours ago, houseofjob said:

Wrong again!

Just step up that Beat Saber time and you can keep Big Bertha, just think of it as extra gym time  Besides, you said it yourself many times, you don't even ride these heffer wheels like that, you ride whatever compact you have way more. 

big bertha is making my forearms sore.  can’t beat saber if i can’t use my forearms! (Yes I do use my MCM5 the most)