Buying a used s18, how can I tell what batch it's from?

[Creeseaz]

It only has 300 miles on it and dude says it's from batch 3 and he only wants 1500 for it. I have the serial number and pictures of it but I figured I should at least verify that it's from batch 3

[The Brahan Seer]

The date of manufacture is in the middle of the serial number. Which batch that relates to depends.

[Creeseaz]

56 minutes ago, The Brahan Seer said:

The date of manufacture is in the middle of the serial number. Which batch that relates to depends.

Yeah I seen that I just have no clue what date the batches were released and I can't seem to find the info

[enaon]

I am not sure the info you ask for exists, I think it has to do with the market letter too. I have seen close by date on s18's that had different batteries inside, LG or Samsumg, I have seen models that had the slider column cut off at the end, so there was no way to adjust petal height, and then taken back to normal. 

I think its is best to look for pedal hangers type etc. 

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by enaon

[Wolverine]

13 hours ago, Creeseaz said:

It only has 300 miles on it and dude says it's from batch 3 and he only wants 1500 for it. I have the serial number and pictures of it but I figured I should at least verify that it's from batch 3

I wouldn't buy a used S18 unicycle for that price ($ 1500), because you can get a brand new one from ewheels for $ 1999. It is not currently in stock but send them an email and put your name on the list so you can get it soon.

https://www.ewheels.com/product/new-king-song-s18-1110wh-battery-2200w-motor-full-body-suspension/

 

[.....]

13 minutes ago, Wolverine said:

I wouldn't buy a used S18 unicycle for that price ($ 1500), because you can get a brand new one from ewheels for $ 1999. It is not currently in stock but send them an email and put your name on the list so you can get it soon.

https://www.ewheels.com/product/new-king-song-s18-1110wh-battery-2200w-motor-full-body-suspension/

 

I would, if I wanted one. A used wheel that has proven to work, is better than a new that hasnt, imho. Lest we even mention that WAITING is not the same thing as buying.... Not all sellers are out to screw people over. Of course, you can trust Jason and the 'warranty' has a little leverage. Still tho.. watching summer pass by while you wait on a new wheel, MAY not be preferable over finding a decent seller witha gently used one...right now. I guess it depends on how lucky a person feels.

Edited May 22, 2022 by ShanesPlanet

[Creeseaz]

7 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

I would, if I wanted one. A used wheel that has proven to work, is better than a new that hasnt, imho. Lest we even mention that WAITING is not the same thing as buying.... Not all sellers are out to screw people over. Of course, you can trust Jason and the 'warranty' has a little leverage. Still tho.. watching summer pass by while you wait on a new wheel, MAY not be preferable over finding a decent seller witha gently used one...right now. I guess it depends on how lucky a person feels.

Pretty much spot on. Plus I was kind of thinking that it only having 300 miles on it is practically nothing in the life of an EUC so it being so little used is one of the main reasons I'm conflicted on just buying a new one or going with this used one. The other issue being him claiming it's from the third batch but it has the tire from the first batch, and when I confronted him about that fact she said when he had ordered it that Jason from e-wheels had emailed him and said he could send it out to him now with the old tire or he could wait longer for the new tire and I don't know if I should believe him or not or if it even makes that big a difference which batch it's from with only 300 milesm you see what I'm saying lol it's frustrating 

[alcatraz]

8 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

I would, if I wanted one. A used wheel that has proven to work, is better than a new that hasnt, imho. Lest we even mention that WAITING is not the same thing as buying.... Not all sellers are out to screw people over. Of course, you can trust Jason and the 'warranty' has a little leverage. Still tho.. watching summer pass by while you wait on a new wheel, MAY not be preferable over finding a decent seller witha gently used one...right now. I guess it depends on how lucky a person feels.

Great point, and a hard one for some to swallow.

I even like to get info on the previous rider. Heavier than me? What speeds did he used to ride at? 

If everything checks out, packs, no melted wires, clean inside, then it's a great security for me. 

But yeah 1500/2000$ is not an amazing deal. 

[OldFartRides]

Are you buying it local, or sight unseen. That makes a big diff to me.

Being able to inspect/ ride it would be a plus. Also, is the seller a forum member with a good rep, or someone on Craigslist ?

That’s a lot of trust to put in “he said”.

Best,
 

 

[Tawpie]

I'm not sure 'batch' is the best indicator for S18s, someone just received a special edition (Molicel) that is (still) sporting some assembly issues.

You're mostly concerned about two things—at least this is what I looked for.

1) how smoothly does the suspension work. This is pretty simple for the seller to demo with video if you can't do it in person: have them deflate both shock chambers and set the rebound rate to 'fastest' (most CCW I believe). Power off and then lift the wheel—the wheel should either stay on the ground or require ever-so-slight of a jostle to drop to the ground. The easier it gets to the ground, the better, they should not have to shake or go through other antics to get it to the ground (maybe a bit of a dropping action, there is stickshun in the shock itself… that's what the negative chamber is for). Even if the suspension is running clear and smooth, you still might have the dreaded black split washers in the linkage and these will eventually ruin the bearings in the linkage... but you'll have a lot of fun before that teardown becomes necessary.

2) how are the batteries—not unique to S18 same advice as any other wheel. You want to see the VOLTAGE at full charge, and for a wheel that new you want to see 83.8 or higher. Batch 1 wheels had a screw that would bork a battery, but if the date of manufacture is "recent" (2021?) it's definitely not batch 1.

and for good measure, here's a third thing to watch out for...

3) there is a plastic boss on the inner shell that can dent the front battery case, but inspection requires some disassembly (you have to remove the inner shell halves). dent's have been known to happen, I don't believe it's a batch issue.

If the suspension isn't working well enough to only require a small yank to get the wheel to drop to the ground, you need a better price because you are looking at a dozen hours of rework (plus parts). Any hint of battery problems needs to factor in the cost of replacement. Replacing the batteries with Molicels will run just over $1000, 'stock' batteries are cheaper but I haven't priced them.

FWIW, there's an S18 with 'old' batteries that were swapped into a brand new wheel (he wanted the molicels for his old wheel, he said his old batteries that are now in the new wheel had 300 miles on them—10 cycles) on this forum and I think he just dropped the price from $1800.

Don't forget that the wheel mileage is really the control board mileage. Replace the control board and you've reset the odo... you have to be able to trust your seller on 'mileage', but I personally don't think raw mileage is important enough to worry about too much... thousands of miles, yeah it's a thing. But under 1000, pfffft.

(for price reference, last fall I paid $1500 for an S18 with 650 miles, and it had been rolled—cutout at max speed. I watched video of the accident, know the seller and it was repaired/serviced by RevRides. The suspension works great, it only needs a tiny 'drop action' to ground the wheel when the suspension is deflated. Included extras were a TR1 installed by RevRides—still had whiskers, Fish pedals, Russian "plush" pads and printed motor wire cover, pedal 'keepers' and Kai jump pads… call it $400 of extras. I recently tore it down and replaced the trolley handle poles and 1 inner shell that was fully functional but cracked—about $65 in parts)

Edited May 23, 2022 by Tawpie

[Wolverine]

12 hours ago, Creeseaz said:

The other issue being him claiming it's from the third batch but it has the tire from the first batch, and when I confronted him about that fact

Unfortunately, this is the first sign that everything is not right, and you should be careful. That was also one of the reasons I recommended buying a new one. As @OldFartRides wrote, a used unicycle is worth buying from a reputable forum member, someone you know, or buying a used unicycle directly from a dealer (many also sell used unicycles). Buying otherwise is risky. Even if you can inspect it on sight but don't know how to ride with these, things can go wrong. You probably need someone who can test ride it and inspect correct things.

[LightWave]

Sounds like a good deal! How do you like it so far?
I just got one to test for a little while and find it really smooth so far