Mten4 announced!

[ZweemZ]

On 9/15/2022 at 4:44 PM, houseofjob said:

The MTen3 first came out with no kill switch, but it was always live on the board on one of the 2-pins, probably gonna be the same way on the MTen4.

So if you're handy, or know someone who is, you can easily wire any 2-way switch into your MTen4 and gain that function, which is basically what they did on the later MTen3's.

It'd be cool to wire a handle that enguages the lift switch when you lift it, would be a challange to have it done in a reliably way. may require an entirely new handle, could be a great 3d printing project. also water proofing is critical in that area.

On 9/22/2022 at 11:07 AM, Paradox said:

Axle is a weak point of the tiny motor on the Mten3.  I am not sure if it has been updated,

yeah, electric dreams on wrong ways podcast, said Law sad... lol, that they addressed the design flaw of using a "narrower axle." you may have heard about the etirly new hanger mounting design, turns out it is to orient the chamfered edges of the axle perpendicular to what it was before, which was a simple, yet effective fix. thats how drop outs are oriented on scooters, vertically. the only reason why they are commonly horizontal on eucs was to allow the tightening shims easy access through the hanger, i think theyve abandon the shims and tighten with screws some other way. Also apparently the inner diameter of the axle is smaller, leaving more metal for stregnth.

On 9/22/2022 at 10:16 PM, Ben Hatfield said:

Just watched the Dennis Hagov yt review for this wheel, Mten4.  His demolition of this wheel is so complete he apologizes to anyone who was interested in this wheel, also wondering what Begode will make of his review.  A lot of this review is subjective - fun factor, direction of EUC design, overall rating on wheel.  But his observations on value, performance and utility seem pretty on point, talking experience, results and facts.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmTESPy5cr8

 

this was great to see actually, kind of tempered my excitement, yes, but good to see none the less. he makes a good point, this wheel should cost about $700-800. perhaps we will see low cost competetors in this class, if EUCs go more mainstream.

tbh, the thermal transfer will be fine with the all metal design. the original Mten3 has a fan, but encased in plastic makes a huge difference in thermal transfere compared to an all metal casing, with 25mph wwind as your fan, should be enough.

the "weak points" denis points out was my biggest concern, and I wonder if theres any after market reenforcement that can be done, like fastening square aluminum rods along those areas?

[Freeforester]

35 minutes ago, Mango said:

Rode the mten4 today.

Yep, confirms my previous reasoning that this wheel blows. It is not better than the mten3 other than bump in specs. Too thick, feels cheap and the (new) unit I rode had numerous issues out of the box.

No spin kill, lack of trolley, god-awful carry handle Begode must've bought in bulk from a mom-pop Alibaba storefront and knobby tire makes this wheel actually worse than the previous model.

Hard NO from me. It's like Begode just refreshed the "Master" design but ended up making this thing worse. Sorry, I don't get the hype over this wheel. IGNORE the hype.

‘Tis in truth a great advert for its predecessor, the Mten3.

[enaon]

22 minutes ago, ZweemZ said:

tbh, the thermal transfer will be fine with the all metal design.

the sink implementation the worse idea I have seen on a unicycle yet, pure madness. The battery is right under the fets, they are using the battery cells as a heat sink. 

Edited September 24, 2022 by enaon

[DanCar]

What is a good competitor to this?  What is a good unicycle for $1,100?

[Constantine]

19 minutes ago, DanCar said:

What is a good competitor to this?  What is a good unicycle for $1,100?

v8 or mcm5 come to mind, can throw in 14s in the mix as well.

[meepmeepmayer]

29 minutes ago, DanCar said:

What is a good competitor to this?

mten3

[winterwheel]

14d or 14s are for me actually more fun to ride than mten3. Super agile, great trick wheels, lightweight, tough,and still usable for casual riding when needed. Mten3 is a bit of two trick pony, easiest wheel to do pendulums and backward riding. But that's pretty much it.

[techyiam]

Incidentally, the first batch of Mten4 is already sold out at EEVEES. Second batch is expected to arrive late fall.

I am contemplating to get one for riding in snow and on ice during the winter months. Of course I would need to make it sufficiently water and corrosion resistant first. 

It already has the honeycomb pedals, and maybe the headlight and tail light are bright enough.

The 750 W battery capacity should be adequate, and 1000 W motor is good enough for riding in the snow and on ice.

Last year, I could not ride for about two weeks in the winter because after some time, the snow got mixed with salt, ice, and what have you, would continuously collapse as weight is placed on it. And thus, it was very difficult for me to keep balance. Also, the salt was harsh on the wheel. Incidentally, under the same condition, my bicycle shodded with 26" x 2.3" knobby tires was fine.

I wasn't planning to ride this winter. But I am reconsidering; if only I can get the Mten4 to work. It is cheap, compact, and light.

Does anyone have any idea how the stock Mten4 knobby would work in snow?

EEVEES estimates that the top speed to be about 40 km/h. 

Does anyone know whether the Mten4 would be stable in the range of 30 km/h to 35 km/h? 

EDIT:

This Youtuber claims the top speed is 41 km/h. He also said that stability-wise, 25 km/h is OK, but above 35 km/h, it is downright dangerous. 

He looked like he was riding fast enough for me in the video. Moreover, he got about 23 miles range (18 km/h average speed; 20% battery remaining).

 

 

Edited September 25, 2022 by techyiam

[Tawpie]

20 minutes ago, techyiam said:

whether the Mten4 would be stable in the range of 30 km/h to 35 km/h? 

The little tire… everything is a hazard. Even if the wheel has the power, the mechanics are not in your favor at speed. Granted I've only ridden an MTen3, but it's as skittish as an alley cat. Scary above 16 mph.

21 minutes ago, techyiam said:

Does anyone have any idea how the stock Mten4 knobby would work in snow?

I've ridden snow on the street tire that came with my 16X and a TR1 on my S18... snow is a surface that "it depends". If it's slushy a knobby will help until the slush gets deep and then you're going to be sitting in the slush. Sort of the same with a street tire but it tends to push the slush to the side and doesn't pack in the center as much, so as long as your tire is able to punch through to the asphalt you're good. But as soon as you float (wide tire, not so good), you're down.

Cold fluffy snow should give the advantage to the knobby, but on this side of the mountains we don't see much of that! I did ride the TR1 in fresh powder and it was a lot of fun, worked well actually.

My success on snow was when it was packed and frozen... not melty on top, frozen. Hard. If you break through the crust, you stop. But as long as you don't and you drive like you would in a car—it works pretty well. I don't think a knobby actually helps much on packed+frozen because of the reduced contact area. That works against you in a couple ways: it's less contact area, and because of the reduced area your weight will cause a micro melt at the snow/tire interface and that's slippery (think about how wax works on skis).

Don't forget the mess from thawing snow. A boot tray is necessary.

[Nick McCutcheon]

After seeing Denis' review, my feelings towards the wheel have been dampened a bit after seeing the build quality, but all I can say is what do you expect from China. These wheels will never get to the level of quality we are hoping for until there is a legitimate non-Chinese competitor. €1300 is indeed too much for this wheel, I'm not sure why it's sold for such a high price over there. $1099 is still pushing it for this level of quality, but it's also half the price of the OW GT with better specs and performance all around. But, who knows, maybe a non-Chinese made MTen4 would cost more than the GT.

As far as the ride feel and wheel capabilities however, I'm quite surprised to see people prefer the MTen3 over this wheel, especially with the new tire. I find the MTen4 more capable off-road contrary to what Denis found, and while the firmware definitely needs some work (like all Begode firmwares do) as it's based on the janky, poorly optimized MTen3 firmware, I can still take this thing through my mixed terrain test loop fairly easily, especially with jump pads. And it can go quite a few mph faster than the MTen3 (26mph wheel speed in my tests, I usually can't get above 21-22mph on the MTen3 without it beeping) to boot.

I realize this may sound like a sales pitch because I work for a dealer, but I really do like this wheel, especially when compared to the MTen3. I'll happily trash wheels I'm not a fan of, lol.

Edited September 25, 2022 by Nick McCutcheon

[OldFartRides]

Since it was an impulse buy to begin with, and it being a first gen sort of wheel, I bailed….and since I always wanted an mcm5v2,I’m having them send me one of those instead.

[techyiam]

3 hours ago, Nick McCutcheon said:

I realize this may sound like a sales pitch because I work for a dealer, but I really do like this wheel, especially when compared to the MTen3. I'll happily trash wheels I'm not a fan of, lol.

You are not the only one who disagrees with Denis.

In the comment section of Marty's latest video, A Mten3-only group ride, he was asked whether Denis Hagov's review would discourage him from buying one. Marty replied with a different perspective than Denis Hagov's. 

 

Edited September 25, 2022 by techyiam

[UtahRider]

6 hours ago, techyiam said:

You are not the only one who disagrees with Denis.

In the comment section of Marty's latest video, A Mten3-only group ride, he was asked whether Denis Hagov's review would discourage him from buying one. Marty replied with a different perspective than Denis Hagov's. 

 

Marty never met a wheel he didn’t like. Not saying that’s good or bad, just my observation.

[techyiam]

1 hour ago, UtahRider said:

Marty never met a wheel he didn’t like. Not saying that’s good or bad, just my observation.

And here is a snippet of Marty's reply addressing the underlying point that is directly tied to the Mten4.

Quote

I forced myself to watch the whole video. I often disagree with Denise and this another case. I was expecting him to show me a disaster inside but instead I see zero substantive issues.  ...

 

[Tawpie]

I get a kick out of Marty. Especially his limit of 10 wheels at a time. He's buying a Master and an MTen4 so that means he's expecting himself to reduce the collection to make room—I wonder what'll get the boot?

[techyiam]

26 minutes ago, Tawpie said:

I wonder what'll get the boot?

Mten3?

[Tawpie]

10 hours ago, techyiam said:

Mten3?

Might... the trolly handle gave out during the Fullerton loop video. I wonder if one of his mid-tier wheels will go, he's pretty much gravitated to long range rides these days.

[360rumors]

On 9/24/2022 at 1:08 PM, Mango said:

Rode the mten4 today.

Yep, confirms my previous reasoning that this wheel blows. It is not better than the mten3 other than bump in specs. Too thick, feels cheap and the (new) unit I rode had numerous issues out of the box.

No spin kill, lack of trolley, god-awful carry handle Begode must've bought in bulk from a mom-pop Alibaba storefront and knobby tire makes this wheel actually worse than the previous model.

Hard NO from me. It's like Begode just refreshed the "Master" design but ended up making this thing worse. Sorry, I don't get the hype over this wheel. IGNORE the hype.

I have an mten3 and there are several reasons I’m interested in the mten4

- metal chassis is tougher

- higher pedal clearance

- much better shell clearance

- knobby tires are better for sketchy surfaces like loose soil. Seems usable for light off-road  like trails.

- wider body seems easier to mount

- higher top speed (?)

- longer range

Are these advantages real? Or have I been misinformed?

[DanCar]

What I liked most about mten3 was its light weight and easily fit in a backpack.  Don't know if mten4 fits that criteria.

[RagingGrandpa]

2 minutes ago, DanCar said:

What I liked most about mten3 was its light weight and easily fit in a backpack.  Don't know if mten4 fits that criteria.

I have a backpack for my MTen3... but I rarely use it. It's still a 23lb lump on your back, unpleasant. 

Where would you be going, that you couldn't ride nor trolley it?

[ZweemZ]

I think the mten4 will not entirly replace my mten3, there will be occasions where I will prefere an even lower profile machine, I feel like the mten4 is close to the mten3 but able to keep up with non mten riders better.

[DanCar]

5 hours ago, RagingGrandpa said:

I have a backpack for my MTen3... but I rarely use it. It's still a 23lb lump on your back, unpleasant. 

Where would you be going, that you couldn't ride nor trolley it?

I use it to pick up my son from school occasionally.  I ride a bigger unicycle and give him the small one.  How much does the mten4 weigh?

Edited September 28, 2022 by DanCar

[techyiam]

6 minutes ago, DanCar said:

How much does the mten4 weigh?

According to EEVEES, it's 26 lbs.

According to Begode's own website, it's 13 kg, or 28.6 lbs.

[redfoxdude]

Welp, I couldn't resist and ended up picking one up. Never had an Mten3 either, but always wanted one. It's super fun! Gonna love toying around on it and using it for little trips. 13kg is what my bathroom scale says. Not too bad to bring around.

The stock handle is really rattly though, and I'm not sure if it will really hold up. Maybe? The ends are mounted too far apart, so it has a few mm of play when retracted 🤦‍♂️
 

Designed and printed a rigid handle out of PETG. So far so good. Printables and Thingiverse for anyone interested. Also, a TPU headlight bumper, now on Printables and Thingverse too.
 
P.S. the side pads look pretty good with a little spray paint! 
 

Edited October 5, 2022 by redfoxdude
added links to bumper

[techyiam]

4 minutes ago, redfoxdude said:

Designed and printed a rigid handle out of PETG. So far so good. Printables and Thingiverse for anyone interested. Also, a TPU headlight bumper.

That is really cool.