Cloud Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 I just experienced a second instance of a potentially "less safe than it used to be" behaviour with the latest kingsong 14" wheel. As you may know in the last 2-3 months kingsong has lowered the minimum battery operating voltage to around 50-51 volts. It used to be 55. At the same time, kngsong made changes to the way tiltback works. The people who, like me, are used to the older kingsong units and the way the tiltback works need to be very very carefuk riding the new wheels at lower battery level. I had an instance of an comparatively unsafe behavior in the past but thought it was a fluke, but i just experienced it again. The tiltback used to be more solid, more consistent and fool proof. On lower battery level and, more importantly for higher power demands, the wheel would beep momentarily and tiltback before you could do something youd regret later. If i was going up a hill too fast on low battery, the wheel would tilt back until i lowered to the safe speed. Wwith the new unit, on a lower battery ( for 849 wh battery - on 4 bars or 2 bars) when i went up a hill apparently too fast a hill the wheel almost lost balance for a second, it gave me this washy unstable feeling as if the gyros stopped working for a second. This happened on 4 bars. Today i was going very slowly all day , i was on 4 bars also and slightly accelerating crossing the street. As i was coming up the sidewalk ramp, the ramp had a slight incline and apparently it was too much of an incline. The wheel became unstable but i was able to regain my balance in a second. No beep, no tiltback. kingsong users , especially heavier ones should be aware of this and adjust riding accordingly now, i dont believe that with this new behavior kingsong is less safe than the other brands. But i do believe that the new kingsong is less safe on lower battery levels than the older one which was sold thru august/ september last year.
SlowMo Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 That is how my generic X3 behaves when over speeding. It's like the EUC had a sudden flash of vertigo on it's mainboard. I like the feeling of losing control but not at high speeds.
Mistagear Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 Cloud, thanks for the warning. For my own peace of mind, Just wondering, what has convinced you this behavior IS resulting from KS changes and not some other possible malfunction ? Does it repeat consistently under similar battery state etc ?
KaleOsaurusRex Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 For people who are concerned with this, we still have a few more units in stock in the older style. If anyone makes an order, just private message me or email me and I'll make sure you get the one you want.
Cloud Posted January 10, 2016 Author Posted January 10, 2016 6 hours ago, Mistagear said: Cloud, thanks for the warning. For my own peace of mind, Just wondering, what has convinced you this behavior IS resulting from KS changes and not some other possible malfunction ? Does it repeat consistently under similar battery state etc ? This is kingsong changes. Because i rode two of the new units , not just one. The first incident hapoened on one and the second on the other. When i received the first mark 3 it had a minor issue unrelated to this instability, so i sent it back to be checked out. Then Jason swapped it for another wheel for me. The tiltback behavior overall was consistent between the two wheels , and it is a known and admitted fact that it was changed in the new software. I actually rode 3 of the new wheels( i rode someone elses for a bit), and overall tiltback behavior was consistent on the third, but i didnt have any incidents on the third as i didnt ride on lower battery on that one Also, the behavior does nit look like a malfunction - its a handling of the load thats changed. This does not hapoen repeatedly because i had no desire to test it repeatedly, its nit a very comfortable feeling. It only hapoened when the first time i though id have enough power to take the hill, as i didnt look at the battery indicator, and i knew the older wheel would not allow me to do something like that if the power wasnt enough, and the second time it was dark and i coukdnt see the degree if incline in that short pavement section of the ramp, otherwise id be more careful. If you ride on smooth pavement, horizontally, not on a hill without sudden burst of pieer needed, you are ok on the lower battery, nothing to worry about. And most riders will probably be careful as they know how other wheels will behave. This warning is more for those who are used to the older kingsong and are getting a new one as they will rely on the same safeties. Or for new riders who have read about kingsong and are looking for a fool proof safe wheel. 3 hours ago, KaleOsaurusRex said: For people who are concerned with this, we still have a few more units in stock in the older style. If anyone makes an order, just private message me or email me and I'll make sure you get the one you want. Thanks Kaleosaurus, i would say that if someone doesnt need the 30kph speed , this may be a good option. The older wheel felt safer for me with the tiltback they had then. It was an absolutely fool proof behavior, it felt rock solid
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.