Jump to content

Airwheel X3 Broke! What should I buy?


Ben Kaplan

Recommended Posts

My Airwheel X3 broke last night. I took it apart, and noticed that it had short circuited (isn't that unfortunate?). I had only owned it since May, so I didn't get as much use from it as I had intended unfortunately. 

I've been doing some basic research and I've found that the King Song and Gotway electric unicycles are generally highly reviewed and are liked by the majority of people, though these can be very expensive. 

I'm open to spending around $600-1000 on a new electric unicycle, so long as it is capable of the following:

  • Water Resistance (It rains a lot where I live)
  • Top speed no lower than 12MPH (Preferably higher)
  • Range of no less than 15 miles (My X3 died way too quickly at 4 mile range)
  • Good build quality and customer support/service
  • I want something that I know I can get my money's worth from. Ideally, I want it to be a dependable device that will last for years.

Additionally, I'm not exactly sure where to find any of the electric unicycles online with fair/cheap prices from a reputable retailer. 

Thanks for your help and advice. It really means a lot!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, Ben Kaplan said:

My Airwheel X3 broke last night. I took it apart, and noticed that it had short circuited (isn't that unfortunate?). I had only owned it since May, so I didn't get as much use from it as I had intended unfortunately. 

You caused the short circuit or it happened while normal operation? If it happend it should be covered by warranty?

35 minutes ago, Ben Kaplan said:

I've been doing some basic research and I've found that the King Song and Gotway electric unicycles are generally highly reviewed and are liked by the majority of people, though these can be very expensive. 

I'm open to spending around $600-1000 on a new electric unicycle, so long as it is capable of the following:

I am afraid, that you'll have to change either these numbers or your demands...;(

35 minutes ago, Ben Kaplan said:
  • Water Resistance (It rains a lot where I live)

Is not relly given with any EUC by now - some/many claim IP65, but none conforms. If you want it water resistant, you have to seal it by yourself (and void the warranty?). Imho once a special edition ?Kingsong? was offered once by a reseller which was sealed by him?

But on the other side, i can't remember any thread here were someone reported a dead EUC after riding in the rain. Just some power button malfunction - which went away after the EUC dried up...

35 minutes ago, Ben Kaplan said:
  • Top speed no lower than 12MPH (Preferably higher)

Is normal now for almost any brand but airwheel and nonames. Definitely for Gotway and Kingsong.

35 minutes ago, Ben Kaplan said:
  • Range of no less than 15 miles (My X3 died way too quickly at 4 mile range)

Look at 

 

But you have to take into account that your weight, number and steepnes of inclines along your track, ambient temperature, age of batteries and your riding style will have a big impact on this numbers!

Your X3 had a 130Wh battery and you managed about 4 miles. So roughly you will need at least a 15/4*130~490Wh battery. Your new EUC will have a stronger motor, so you can deplete your batteries faster by stronger accelerations and just by driving at higher speed, so you should add quite a bit to your number. Consider that the batteries will loose capacity over time and also low outside temperatures can drastically limit the range.

 Imho something around the 680-800Wh should give you plenty of reserves. (also ~340WH could be already enough for most of the time?).

One important advantage of high Wh battery packs is, that a EUC shutoff while riding is way more unlikely than for EUCs with smaller packs -> so this is imho the best investment in personal health.

35 minutes ago, Ben Kaplan said:
  • Good build quality and customer support/service

There the best solution would be a respected and trustworthy local dealer... Maybe some aroung here can give you recommendations, if you tell them were you are located.

But normaly (as heard here on the forum) most people got good support from online dealers ( motherboard/batterie replacements - if one can exchange them oneself). Sending the whole device for repair is normaly not feasable - the shipping costs are to high and normaly covered by the buyer...

35 minutes ago, Ben Kaplan said:
  • I want something that I know I can get my money's worth from. Ideally, I want it to be a dependable device that will last for years.

The batteries you will wear down noticable after ~500 charge cycles. So depending on how often you ride you can excpect to need a new pack after a couple of years. Imho EUCs don't exist so long, as anyone could tell how many years they last - but some riders already managed impressive milages. So for normal riders this could imply that a long lifetime could be possible...

35 minutes ago, Ben Kaplan said:

Additionally, I'm not exactly sure where to find any of the electric unicycles online with fair/cheap prices from a reputable retailer. 

Thanks for your help and advice. It really means a lot!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you checked with ninebot uk!  The guy that runs the uk store Ian is really good.  I email him questions about my NB and he reponds most of the time same day.  Also, his company speedyfeetuk has just been awarded distributor for all of uk.  i have the NB E+ and it has been pretty reliable so far.  I have about 90hrs on it.

20160211_201135_resized_1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, danadane(nottherapper) said:

Have you checked with ninebot uk!  The guy that runs the uk store Ian is really good.  I email him questions about my NB and he reponds most of the time same day.  Also, his company speedyfeetuk has just been awarded distributor for all of uk.  i have the NB E+ and it has been pretty reliable so far.  I have about 90hrs on it.

20160211_201135_resized_1.jpg

I've heard that the ninebot is overpriced and not really that great. Is this true? 

 

14 minutes ago, Kells said:

I can't say how it compares to kingsong.  Only Msuper v2.

It's more nimble, easier to maneuver is the major diff right now.

Thanks for that information, it definitely helps. 

 

Are there any "go-to" retailers that are known for cheap prices and good support?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

340Wh would probably cover 4x X3 - or in ninebot wolrd 320Wh (lower voltage system). IPS is at least well designed and built, I've been riding it in deep snow, loose snow, watery snow, no problem since the casing works so well. But if You sink it, it probably dies like any EUC. 9b1 is a little overpriced but on the other hand, service/retailer network pros 9b1. I tried C+ and it felt slow, same speed with generic felt a lot faster... but even 27 kph (app. 17mph) doesn't feel fast over Lhotz since it's so stable -> don't settle any 20 kph machine, if it's high quality wheel You will hunger for 20+kph travelling speed on the very first day already and 20 kph max. wheels start to beep/tilt back already at 15-17kph.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, THA said:

340Wh would probably cover 4x X3 - or in ninebot wolrd 320Wh (lower voltage system). IPS is at least well designed and built, I've been riding it in deep snow, loose snow, watery snow, no problem since the casing works so well. But if You sink it, it probably dies like any EUC. 9b1 is a little overpriced but on the other hand, service/retailer network pros 9b1. I tried C+ and it felt slow, same speed with generic felt a lot faster... but even 27 kph (app. 17mph) doesn't feel fast over Lhotz since it's so stable -> don't settle any 20 kph machine, if it's high quality wheel You will hunger for 20+kph travelling speed on the very first day already and 20 kph max. wheels start to beep/tilt back already at 15-17kph.

Any advice on what specific IPS model would be appropriate and how does it compare to a King Song?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Ben Kaplan I have Lhotz (191/181) 340Wh. I can't compare to KS since 16" still isn't avalilable. But that 2,5" tire makes a huge difference, especially because there is room to install even a bit bigger tire. Tire makes the wheel feel like is has some modest suspension.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...