100v 1800wh Nik+ Upgrade or Fix?

[Austin]

Hey All!
I've been riding my Nik+ for the last 2ish years and I absolutely love it. A while back I bent the rim pretty heavily and while the wheel is still riding fine, I think I ought to either fix it (buy new rim) and or get a new wheel. Here are some of the things I care more about:
-Speed (40mph+)
-Weight ideally < 70lbs
-range: 70+ miles
-Durable: I want something I don't need to be fiddling with and "just works" nik+ is great in this regard
-Suspension: don't care, if it has it great, if not great; just don't be a source of problems
-Not sure if I want a wheel larger than 20", the 22" wheels seem a bit larger than what I'd prefer

Honestly the nik+ hits pretty much everything I care about, was even thinking about just getting a Nik AR+? (not sure how much work to safetly upgrade my existing Nik+ to have more batteries?)

Curious what others in my situation would do:
-Fix existing nik+ and just move on
-Buy nik AR+?
-Fix existing nik+ & add extra batteries?
-Buy new wheel? (what wheels?)


Thanks!

(apologies if this is in the wrong section!)
 

[JomMas]

You could also just buy a new Nikola motor for not too much more than a new rim. Alien Rides has both in stock now, rim for 225.00 and the motor for 350. Then you could probably sell off the original motor with bent rim to recoup some of the cost.

Another upgrade option to look at is the fan upgrade, (from Alien Rides) if you're interested in that at all - supposed to be more quiet & efficient with, (I think) 2 smaller fans replacing the original one. You can order that separate for a DIY install. 

 

[FlyingWigs]

I have really enjoyed the Nikola AR, it's only my second wheel but it's been good to me for over 800 miles. If you have been happy with the nik+, I'd say try the AR as it's based on a known wheel. All the new ones will have their own issues to be sorted out.

I believe the AR is safer (fire risk) than the normal Nikolas because of the extra cells spreading the power draw to 6p instead of 4p.

As a 185lb rider I can comfortably go 50 miles on a charge at ~28mph, I haven't spent a whole day doing a range test but that's my calculated range. 

[Austin]

@FlyingWigs Thanks, yeah I think I have about 7k+ miles on my current Nik+, I'm surprised you calculated your range to only 50 miles though, as I know I've managed to go 62 miles on my wheel (fully depleting it) averaging 22 mph in hilly mountains; I also weigh 185lb. But the Nik AR is still sounding very enticing, just wondering if I wouldn't want a slightly larger wheel and go to 19" or maybe even 20"

[FlyingWigs]

Yeah I'm still fairly new to riding, and haven't tried any larger wheels. The rs and exn are both said to be really stable and fairly powerful, but they have fragile shells and little water proofing. Many of the new wheels also suffer from lack of water proofing, so be sure to take your riding environment into consideration. 

Then there's the upper end with the Sherman, which has been a great wheel for many years and the latest version has basically every issue ironed out. 

[RagingGrandpa]

On 9/12/2022 at 6:03 PM, Austin said:

I've been riding my Nik+ for the last 2ish years
I bent the rim pretty heavily
fix it or get a new wheel

LG M50T packs?

If it's from ewheels, replace them for free (contact ewheels).

If not, dispose of the packs and part out the wheel. The controller is worth $150 to someone... the rest is scrap.

[Austin]

Just for the sake of completion to this thread; yes they were the bad batteries and ewheels was awesome and sent me the replacements. I also went ahead and bought a new motor. Figured this would keep me riding until I decide to pull the trigger on my next wheel. Still love my Nik+ so much, but recently moved to norcal and the roads where I'm at now are... less than ideal.. so looking forward to suspension. Now I'm struggling to decide which wheel hah, leaning towards the Sherman S or the Fatton