Michael Vu Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 So I've been back from CES in Las Vegas for a week now and I think I'm now ready to give my report back on how it all went at least on the EUCs side of things. Last year was my first time ever to go to CES and this year I had a mission to really check out every EUCs that was here and any other cool tech. The EUCs companies that were at this years CES were Kingsong, Ninebot, Airwheel, Fastwheel, F-wheel, and a few no-name brands. Other personal transport companies included a few electric scooters, electric bikes, and literally around 100 "hoverboard" companies/distributors. This is going to be a long post so I'll try to section this out the best I can. If you want a TL;DR version, scroll all the way down for my short CES EUC summary video. To start off, I was very excited to be able to meet this guy! If you don't know, that is Alton Brown, Food Network celebrity. Bringing my EUCs to CES So I planned on bringing my Kingsong 14C and Gotway Msuper to CES. The kingsong I brought because I needed my firmware to be updated/fixed and the Gotway just as a backup. I didn't want to risk being rejected at the airport so I just shipped my wheels using uship.com for the first time and I must say I recommend them over traditional shipping methods for being cheaper and more flexible. It is basically the "ebay" for shipping and is ideal for when you have to ship any unusual/akward items. My shipment guy arrived on Sunday morning and had my wheels in Vegas by Monday night right when my flight arrived in Vegas. I was able to carry my Kingsong on the plane ride back home though which I talked about in another thread. But I was able to ride up and down the strip at night with no problems at all either from pedestrians or police. I was even able to comfortably navigate the escalators. But one of the main reasons for having my wheels at CES was logistical..... Parking near/at the convention is very limited and expensive. So I parked my friend's car in one of the free parking lots on the strip and then just rode the EUC to CES. I then locked up my EUC to a bike rack like this: It worked out like a charm. And even going in between the LVCC and the Sands Expo took the same amount of time as the shuttle buses did since I talked to a guy as he was getting on the bus and then saw him again when he got off the bus at the Sands. KINGSONG I first saw kingsong on the first day since I wanted them to flash updated firmware on my kingsong 14C. Met Tina and the rest of the gang who were very nice and accommodating. They had the new KS-14C Mark III along with the 16 inch and 18 inch model. I liked the updated design of the 14C with the integrated controls and the rubber pedals. Riding it felt more or less the same as my version. The 16 inch model I didn't think would feel good because of its protruding leg pads but it felt surprisingly very good. The pads were more softer and more comfortable than ninebot's pads and the power and responsiveness felt strong and tight. I wish I was able to take it outside to really test the speed and acceleration though. The integrated handle trolley is a very nice feature although I am not sure how strong the mechanism is when its retracted in since it has to support nearly 30 pounds. The bluetooth speaker sounded nice and just as loud if not louder than the one in the 14C. It also comes with extra noises to make within the app like a car horn. And also has the front headlight, rear tail/brake light, and colorful ninebot-like side ring lights. Taking all of that together, I would say the Kingsong 16 inch wheel is the most "complete" wheel with all of the features packed into it along with a 30 kph top speed, 680 Wh battery, and 800W motor. Even with all of that, the one I rode was not the final production version.... that should be coming out in February with improved cooling and updated firmware. The 18 inch beast was just that.... a beast. I thought my Gotway Msuper was large, the kingsong 18 is like an EUC for Shaquille O'Neal... who by the way did stop by the Kingsong booth and tried to ride the 18 inch wheel. Maneuverability is very limited as you would expect but I guess that's not the point of this wheel. It's an all out cruiser which is even more evident by the tall design which allows for a nice cushion attachment so you can sit down. Also has bluetooth speaker and front and rear lights which by the way dynamically change depending on which direction you are riding. It's a nice touch that I hadn't heard about before. NINEBOT/SEGWAY Ninebot sucked. Well.... not really.... more like just much more stricter on not letting anybody except for celebrities like Shaq ride their products. I wanted to try out their ninebot P but apparently their "P" model on display was actually an E+ with just the P shell. BMX rider Adam Kun and another ninebot/segway employee were the only ones riding the E+ around on the little track. I actually did talk to Adam a little bit while I was holding my Gotway Msuper which he really seemed intrigued by. Seemed like a cool guy, Too bad I couldn't show him what I had in my EUC skills. FASTWHEEL It's funny for their wheel to be called fastwheel when their top speed is only 20 kmh. The design is boring and the power was weak (it almost completely cut off on me a few times as I was testing its acceleration). It is very light though which I guess has that going for it. This is definitely a beginners wheel but I would still get an Airwheel X8 (even X3) over this. There was a German media crew when I was at the fastwheel booth and they saw me riding on the fastwheel and had me do some shots for them. I even helped the female host on trying to ride the fasthwheel which she was able to get the hang of much faster than most people. I have no idea which specific German news it was but if any of you guys in Germany see a video feature an Asian kid riding on a fastwheel let me know! The Fastwheel "Ring".... this thing was a complete trip. Good looking design, light, but very impractical on everything else. The very thin design resulted in a platform that was also "thin" which meant riding it felt like balancing on a tightrope. Definitely needs some getting used to but it is harder than a regular EUC especially when I tried to make tight turns. It was also loud from the geared motor and shuttered/shook every time I came to a semi-hard stop. I have video of me riding it so you can see/hear for yourself. I don't see any practical use for this even for light short distances. You'd be better off getting a regular cheap EUC. FASTWHEEL C1....... not an EUC but an interesting transport device which some of you already have seen before. It's basically a weight scale with wheels and I must say after trying it out for 5 minutes I still could not get how to actually get it to go where I wanted it to go. I even asked the fastwheel rep to show me and even he didn't have full control of it. Plus its slow. It's stupider than all of the "hoverboards". Airwheel Airwheel had their entire unique product line to show off including the A3. The A3 was very easy to ride along with the S6. In fact, I think the S6 is perfect as an office chair replacement and even for disabled people in the workplace since its smaller and more nimble than a typical wheelchair. But I was there for EUCs and I tried out their Q series wheels which I've always wanted to feel how the double wheel EUC handles. And I must say it handles just as I expected..... its very easy and stable (enough to stand still on) but trying to turn especially sharp turns takes much more effort. Maybe its worth for a beginner to get a double wheel EUC but I still think everybody will be much better off just learning on a single wheeled EUC. One of the Airwheel girl reps noticed how good I was at riding and invited me over to China so we could compete. I thought that was cute. https://goo.gl/photos/cjxMyJpRNYSxcUwJ6 F-WHEEL Technically the company name is Shenzhen Counterbalance Technology Co., LTD. and not F-wheel. F-wheel just refers to their line of products. Dolphin One...... I've seen this EUC before and was intrigued by it since it has an integrated trolley handle, bluetooth speakers, head and tail lights, TWO! (2) USB charger ports, and even a damn kickstand integrated within the pedal. Too bad that this was uncomfortable to ride because it is so wide and there was no padding on the part of my leg that actually did touch the wheel. The pedal is made out of plastic..... its a hard stiff plastic since I didn't notice any bending but still I wonder how long those pedals can hold up over time. Power was lacking as this one also almost cut off when I tried to accelerate hard. https://goo.gl/photos/1X2VxcWTTR9Zwa7v8 Red-Rabbit.... This one I hadn't seen before. The pedals were actually metal which is good but uses the airwheel design with the gap in the middle... no good. Power was lacking on this one too. But two very unique things about this wheel... the head and tail light are actually removable USB dongles. So if you had to charge your phone you can just take one of these lights out to plug into the USB port. Also there are two hole slots on top to attach a bicycle-type seat on top although they didn't have this accessory on hand for me to try. Fwheel also had their own weight scale with wheels called the icarbot. Still just as stupid and unreliable as Fastwheels version. GYROOR First time hearing about this company but they had two unicycles to show off. Their T8 seems to be their main unicycle while the orange one is not even listed in their catalog.... so I have no idea what was going on with that guy. Both lacked the power I wanted and the orange one was really uncomftable to ride because it was so wide. And plus I hated the oval pedals. And also didn't help that both of their tires were low on air. Very underwhelming wheels. Hosowell Out of all of the wheels I rode, this one was the most uncomfortable. The bulging sides right where my legs make contact is such a stupid design. Plus the hard silicon does not offer any padding whatsoever. And power sucked on this one of course. However the rep there seemed grateful for my feedback on the wheel. Made me think that this wheel did not go through any field testing. GENERIC BRANDS This one was from xingtech but didn't actually have it at the show. I just saw the picture of it on the poster and thought it was a very unique design. This one was from what seemed like an Airwheel distributor since they were displaying all of Airwheel's products except with another branding on it. This next one was the most pathetic one of all. There was no air in the tire, the battery was low, and the rep did not want to help me out at all on trying to get the EUC up and running or even tell me much about it. Why even bring the damn thing in the first place? OTHER COOL THINGS So as far as non-EUC stuff, I tried out the Rocket Skates. Those were very hard to ride which I expected. Got to see the "Hoverboard"... and by that I mean these guys actually registered/trademarked the name "hoverboard". They own www.hoverboard.com..... and for $4000 they expect a lot of money to be thrown around. IO Hawk was the only American "hoverboard" rebranding company to be at CES. It was funny because they unveiled two new products that have more power, can go a little bit faster, and have crappy bluetooth speakers..... but wouldn't let me try it out because they just released it? Doesn't make any sense but whatever. They are still trying to sell these guys for over $1700. All of the stuff from IO hawk not letting me try out their new wheels is very funny because I ran into their original (and every other American rebranding company) supplier.... Chic-Smart. They let me try the exact brand new products just fine. And of course they are selling the exact same damn thing for less than $1000. But speaking of hoverboards, Lexus was showing off their real hoverboard...... CONCLUSION There were plenty of electric scooters, electric bikes, electric mopeds, electric motorcycles, and electric cars also Nothing really stood out for me other than the moped and motorcycle since you don't see much of those. Overall CES was a lot of fun. Hopefully next year we will have larger showing of EUCs not just from companies but also from enthusiasts and users. Until next year.....
Vanquiz Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Wow, this is like EUC heaven, thank you for the very detailed information on the EUC. Very interesting to see lots of designs from brands that I've never heard of before.
Colestien Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 @Michael Vu Getting all of that together looks like a lot of work. Thank you so much. Maybe next year I'll be able to go too.
Blunzn Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 thank you, hated how most of the tech magazines just had a look at hoverboards, cars and FF (F.....g Fridges) enjoyed your reviews and vids and looking forward for the 16" Kingsong ...
Wheel Rider Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 @Michael Vu great work bringing us such thorogh coverage on the EUC You implied that the King Song "nearly 30 pounds." That's much lighter than the specs' 16kg. Do you think the specs incorrect?
esaj Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Thanks a lot for the report! I think the orange Gyroor -wheel is actually a rebranded Huanxi (don't remember the model), or a clone of them. Also the F-Wheel Red Rabbit was listed somewhere already when I was looking for wheels late spring last year (maybe around April / May), but maybe they're in the CES for first time (or maybe it was very new then). Oh, and Fosjoas has advertised here in the forums also, I too think that they're rebranded Airwheels.
Jason McNeil Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 @Michael Vu, nice write-up & a shame I missed you at the Fair. Flew out on the evening of the first day... What do you think of the faux Carbon Fiber shell on the KS 14C? Personally I think that it looks excessively cheap; it doesn't need to, example is of the underwhelming X8 but at least the CF fools most people into believing it's the real thing.
Michael Vu Posted January 17, 2016 Author Posted January 17, 2016 2 hours ago, Wheel Rider said: @Michael Vu great work bringing us such thorogh coverage on the EUC You implied that the King Song "nearly 30 pounds." That's much lighter than the specs' 16kg. Do you think the specs incorrect? I was just estimating. It is probably a little heavier than 30 pounds. 1 hour ago, Jason McNeil said: @Michael Vu, nice write-up & a shame I missed you at the Fair. Flew out on the evening of the second day... What do you think of the faux Carbon Fiber shell on the KS 14C? Personally I think that it looks excessively cheap; it doesn't need to, example is of the underwhelming X8 but at least the CF fools most people into believing it's the real thing. I don't care for the faux carbon fiber look. Would just be better if they stuck with black or white but I guess they have the CF look to distinguish it from the previous 14C models.
Jason McNeil Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Xingtech's eWheel is a near identical knock-off of a Solowheel concept that was floating around 15 months ago. Rumour was that SW's Chinese distributor was going to fund the development of the new shell body, then inevitably Inventist fell out with them (there is a long history of Solowheel, more specifically Shane Chen falling out with his business partners...) Whoever this designer was, they're clearly are not short in the talent department. King Song should hire them to design a properly decent looking Wheel.
Colestien Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 17 minutes ago, Jason McNeil said: Xingtech's eWheel is a near identical knock-off of a Solowheel concept that was floating around 15 months ago. Rumour was that SW's Chinese distributor was going to fund the development of the new shell body, then inevitably Inventist fell out with them (there is a long history of Solowheel, more specifically Shane Chen falling out with his business partners...) Whoever this designer was, they're clearly are not short in the talent department. King Song should hire them to design a properly decent looking Wheel. Sweet looking Wheel. Looks like something I would like. I've been looking at and reading about EUCs for so long now I just jump to the specs. Will it be fast enough, can I ride it long enough, and last but not least, will it carry my fat ass.
Cloud Posted January 18, 2016 Posted January 18, 2016 @Michael Vu thank you for this comprehensive and unbiased report!
Villac Posted January 18, 2016 Posted January 18, 2016 @Michael Vu Thank you, I felt like I was there! (Except for missing the fun of actually trying all the toys!)
dmethvin Posted January 18, 2016 Posted January 18, 2016 @Michael Vu Awesome report! These guys should be paying you for a report of this quality. Is that your Sony camera? Was it on a gimbal as well? If so what model? Seeing/hearing that video of a Fastwheel Ring I definitely don't think it's gonna sell. You'd come up behind people and they'd start running because it would sound like a swarm of angry bees were attacking.
Michael Vu Posted January 18, 2016 Author Posted January 18, 2016 4 hours ago, dmethvin said: @Michael Vu Is that your Sony camera? Was it on a gimbal as well? If so what model? Yes it was my sony action camera with a Feiyu Tech gimbal.
Tomek Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 On 17 January 2016 at 9:59 PM, Jason McNeil said: Whoever this designer was, they're clearly are not short in the talent department. King Song should hire them to design a properly decent looking Wheel. seems like these guys do a lot of decent EUC designing www.pxid.cn
Jason McNeil Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Nice find @Tomek! Thanks for that! I wonder if this is anything more than a prototype. Can you imagine the KS 16" power & range combined with this body? http://www.pxid.cn/portal.php?mod=view&aid=78
Jag_Rip Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Thanks indeed for the pics, vids and reviews! The EUC Company with the empty batt and flat tire also tries to sell his stuff here on the forums IIRC BTW: why u no EUC on your profile pic?????
Lisny Abby Posted February 3, 2016 Posted February 3, 2016 "I think the S6 is perfect as an office chair replacement and even for disabled people in the workplace since its smaller and more nimble than a typical wheelchair." do you Experience S6? if you are not too fat, i think s6 is perfect as an office chair replacement, isn't it?
OliverH Posted February 3, 2016 Posted February 3, 2016 On 20. Januar 2016 at 1:54 AM, Jason McNeil said: Nice find @Tomek! Thanks for that! I wonder if this is anything more than a prototype. Can you imagine the KS 16" power & range combined with this body? http://www.pxid.cn/portal.php?mod=view&aid=78 Cool. But the KS16 is not bad at all by design.
Lefteris Posted February 3, 2016 Posted February 3, 2016 you are so lucky to be able to go to a show like that.. so many things to see, ride and test out.. so many options.. and also long descriptions which is the second best thing you did at this post.. keep up and keep us posted about your next visit to something like CES ??
MetricUSA Posted February 4, 2016 Posted February 4, 2016 His 'luck' could have bought a really really nice wheel....
edwin_rm Posted February 4, 2016 Posted February 4, 2016 When are the carbon KS 14c going for sale? They look sweet!
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