Inmotion V14 Adventure: a new trail wheel from Inmotion

[Finn Bjerke]

I could not live with the suspense anymore so I called Inmotion in CHina to hear more. They said:

我们没有时间玩幼稚的游戏，我们实际上是在这里工作。当我们非常喜欢时，我们会通知您和您的孩子气的朋友。然而，V14 将是一个有趣的发电机，即使对于像你这样的幼儿园小孩也是如此

I didnt really know how to respond to that ....

 

[Robse]

another 16" ?   ... doh

[Funky]

1 hour ago, Robse said:

another 16" ?   ... doh

Another 40kg+ wheel  ... Doh! (That feeling when you get kick in balls. - Panful, but same time quiet exciting.)

[Forwardnbak]

I’m excited to see it develop. This is all I have so far from Bob just now. 

 

“The adventure should be a 16 inch suspension wheel, compact, torquey, and of course out door industrial design style, will be different from other INMOTION wheels”

[The Brahan Seer]

9 hours ago, Finn Bjerke said:

I didnt really know how to respond to that ....

 

Thats a funny reply!, for those who can't be bothered translating it:

We don't have time for childish games, we're actually here to work. We'll let you and your boyish friends know when we like it a lot. However, the V14 Would be a fun dynamo, even for a kindergartener like you

[Forwardnbak]

just uploading my chat with Bob, new challenger wheel also challengerY (20” longer range) 
adventure and challenger share same swapable battery.
adventure looks ridiculous - can’t say much yet. A little in my video. 

 

 

[Forwardnbak]

 

[mtl]

Nice work on the interview! It's good to see Inmotion engaging with the community, and happy for you that he has such trust to share openly with you.

Any word on when we might see more official info about (or releases of) the upcoming wheels (V11 refresh, Adventure Y / P, and Challenger Y)?

Interesting he mentioned the suspension tech to be used for Adventure (linkage) and Challenger Y (hydraulic), but didn't say anything about the suspension for the refreshed V11. Maybe they'll stay with air shocks for that model.

The swappable batteries sound great, especially since it sounds like they will offer wheels without a battery at lower prices.

[Forwardnbak]

1 hour ago, mtl said:

Nice work on the interview! It's good to see Inmotion engaging with the community, and happy for you that he has such trust to share openly with you.

Any word on when we might see more official info about (or releases of) the upcoming wheels (V11 refresh, Adventure Y / P, and Challenger Y)?

Interesting he mentioned the suspension tech to be used for Adventure (linkage) and Challenger Y (hydraulic), but didn't say anything about the suspension for the refreshed V11. Maybe they'll stay with air shocks for that model.

The swappable batteries sound great, especially since it sounds like they will offer wheels without a battery at lower prices.

Thanks mtl, haven’t tested my interview skills and I’m a Bob fan so was a little nervous  

 

I was so surprised with the info Bob presented. There is more exciting stuff but I just can’t stretch the friendship too far. 

I can say what I saw really impressed me, heaps! more than I expected for sure. 

Very keen to see what and when they roll out. 

The versatility of the battery packs is super I think, it hits so many good things.

Spares for range, variable price points, maintenance and longevity, travel with empty wheel and hire batteries later, have a spare set for both your IM wheels and switch them as needed, I even discussed if you could switch 2 packs either forward or bak to give you customisable balance for jumping. 

Seems great! I think weather proofing will be the thing to make sure, great connection.

He mentioned when they might be able to let me test the adventure, and gave a rough date but not sure I can mention yet. 

I will ask Bob and share everything that I can. I just want people as buzzed as it got me.

Cool - cool to be a part of euc as it develops like this 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Forwardnbak

[mrelwood]

@Forwardnbak, thank you so much for doing this and sharing the video! I can feel that you are just as excited about Inmotion’s vision and to get to talk with Bob as I’ve been the few times I’ve had the opportunity. They really are a standout manufacturer.

I can’t wait to hear more about the Adventure and the improved V11! It’s pretty much given that either of them will be my next wheel, but waiting is of course very tormenting especially when we don’t even know how long we have to wait for! But they do their announcements and launches in their time, which I’m sure has been carefully thought out.

 I’ve been hoping for a suspension upgrade for the improved V11, but we’ll see if that’ll be in the books.

But a hydraulic suspension for the future Challenger models was definitely nice news! Unfortunately that and the swappable batteries for the Adventure and Challenger models were the only pieces of news that they wanted to share.

[techyiam]

Kudos to @Forwardnbak for gaining Inmotion's CEO's trust and respect, and thus was able to have an exclusive interview with Bob Yan to learn first about Inmotion's future products and roadmap, ahead of everyone, and even to be a tester of the Inmotion Adventure when it becomes available. 

 

The swappable battery system between the Adventure and Challenger wheels is a feature I am looking forward to. 

Since the battery packs are swappable,  I would surmise that the wheels in the Adventure series will also 126 V wheels.

If the Inmotion Challenger Y is a 20" wheel, I am wondering whether the Inmotion Adventure P is an 18" wheel, and the Inmotion Adventure Y a 16" wheel. 

This is just grand. For my stature and use case, I now have more options to see which one would be the best for me after riding them.

 

Bob said Inmotion is now on the path to become the trendsetter and the performance leader in the electric wheel (monowheel) space.

That is music to my ears. Begode is now going to face some real competition. 

 

Note that under each of the class of wheel in a slide, there was a descriptive word.

(1) Courage  -   neighborhood 

(2) Explore   -   city

(3) Adventure   -  Trails

(4) Challenger   -   Freeway.   Bob also use the phrase "open road" 

It looks like no types of riders will get left behind.

 

Regarding upgrade path, being able to use your swappable battery packs from your already owned Inmotion wheels to reduce cost is enticing. That means Inmotion will sell battery-less versions of their new wheels in the Adventure and Challenger classes.

On the other hand, you will be locked into Inmotion wheels. As long as Inmotion continues to make competitive wheels, I am OK with it. The savings will be significant. 

I can't imagine Begode will sit idling by, and not offer their own version of a swappable battery system. The plot thickens. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by techyiam

[Forwardnbak]

Thanks to you both above. I am glad I made myself do it, i was hesitant as I wasn’t sure I’d be up to interview type set up, recording google meets had issues and I haven’t chatted on meets so wasn’t sure what I was doing. Glad it all worked out, took a while to figure the set up. 

Had to screen grab with ios and record audio seperate then sync it back up. Glad it worked out, I feel better now for next time.

I think the news shared has really stoked me, keeps it very exciting and makes me want to go roll. 

I just unlocked fancier mode on the V13 today so I think i’m going to check that tonight. 

[techyiam]

3 hours ago, mrelwood said:

But a hydraulic suspension for the future Challenger models was definitely nice news!

Mr. Yan called the type of suspension in their Adventure Series a linkage suspension, and the type of suspension in the new Challenger Series (excluding the current V13) a hydraulic suspension. 

Since all damped suspensions are hydraulic because the use of hydraulic dampers, do you think Mr. Yan is using the term "hydraulic suspension" to mean a fork-style suspension, like what is used in the Sherman-S? 

Edited May 23, 2023 by techyiam

[Rollin-on-1]

3 hours ago, techyiam said:

do you think Mr. Yan is using the term "hydraulic suspension" to mean a fork-style suspension, like what is used in the Sherman-S? 

That was my take on it, but I guess we will have to wait for more details before we know for sure.

[techyiam]

52 minutes ago, Rollin-on-1 said:

That was my take on it, but I guess we will have to wait for more details before we know for sure.

I hope he did.

That could give the wheels in the Challenger Series a class leading suspension too. The Challenger Y is a 20" wheel. 

This would put incredible pressure on the Sherman-S to have 126 V or higher, and PWM-based tiltback.

A win-win for the buyers. 

[The Brahan Seer]

another take on the meeting...

 

[mrelwood]

10 hours ago, techyiam said:

do you think Mr. Yan is using the term "hydraulic suspension" to mean a fork-style suspension, like what is used in the Sherman-S?

I definitely do think so. There’s no other reason to call a specific suspension system hydraulic. Despite disagreeing with the term because of the reasons you mentioned, I do recognize that some people do call the ShermS style suspension a hydraulic one.

[mrelwood]

5 hours ago, The Brahan Seer said:

another take on the meeting...

 

Magnificent news!!!

 Adventure series for trails with 14”, 16” and 20” models, four slots for swappable batteries, and a coilover shock.

 Challenger series for open road with 22” and 20” models, swappable batteries, ShermS style suspension, and a ShermS competitor in battery size.

 Although I think there’s a discrepancy in calling a 12” rim a 16” wheel yet a 14” a 20” one despite quite probably having the same tire width, what Inmotion is planning on doing here has several game changers going on for the entire industry! I’m so glad to be on board.

 The only thing left to know is the timetable. I doubt introducing so many new models would happen in a year.

[Freeforester]

10 minutes ago, mrelwood said:

Magnificent news!!!

 Adventure series for trails with 14”, 16” and 20” models, four slots for swappable batteries, and a coilover shock.

 Challenger series for open road with 22” and 20” models, swappable batteries, ShermS style suspension, and a ShermS competitor in battery size.

 Although I think there’s a discrepancy in calling a 12” rim a 16” wheel yet a 14” a 20” one despite quite probably having the same tire width, what Inmotion is planning on doing here has several game changers going on for the entire industry! I’m so glad to be on board.

 The only thing left to know is the timetable. I doubt introducing so many new models would happen in a year.

 

Meanwhile, the entire 100-model-strong Autumn/Winter 2023 collection by ExtremeBull is about to be announced, any second now…..

[Forwardnbak]

the three sizes of adventure surprised me also. All look super great! 

[bpong]

this was worth the wait.  swappable batteries,  choice of wheel size, ...  i hope this raises the stakes in the 2023 euc race.  im happy i didnt spend a cent on any thing as yet...

[techyiam]

3 hours ago, mrelwood said:

Adventure series for trails with 14”, 16” and 20” models, four slots for swappable batteries, and a coilover shock.

I suspect those are nominal tire sizes. I hope Inmotion can find some quality 14" tires.

I am somewhat puzzled by the 4 swappable battery slots. For an electric wheel, the battery packs need to be balanced front-to-back, and side-to-side. This means all 4 slots need to be occupied, if the slots are located at the corners. However, if the slots are stacked in the middle vertically (landscape profile), with two on each side, it could be too wide because of the width of the sliders. Furthermore, if the charge capacity of each pack is fixed, how many slots will the Challenger Series wheels have?

Although, it was only mentioned once in passing, the battery packs will be 134.4 V? I hope so. I don't want to be stuck with obsolete 126 V battery packs in about a year. 

Begode is surely going to rain on Inmotion's parade. Since a war has be declared (Inmotion wants to be the new performance king), Begode will introduce a 146 V or higher to make the 134.4 V battery packs obsolete. But with 134.4 V, I should be fine with that for a few years. The torque and speed levels should be enough for me for a while.

Edited May 23, 2023 by techyiam

[Forwardnbak]

13 minutes ago, techyiam said:

 

I am somewhat puzzled by the 4 swappable battery slots. For an electric wheel, the battery packs need to be balanced front-to-back, and side-to-side. This means all 4 slots need to be occupied, if the slots are located at the corners. If the slots are stacked in the middle vertically (landscape profile), with two on each side, it could be too wide because of the width of the sliders. Furthermore, if the charge capacity of each pack is fixed, how many slots will the Challenger Series wheels have?

I asked Bob on this i think it was in my video

He said only one battery is needed.

I was curious if you could shift balance for jumping by rigging the batteries either forward heavy or back heavy and he said it’s fine.

That opens up heaps of customisation to jump and balance it how you would like. 

Or just run one to keep weight down. 

Will be exciting to see it all roll out. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Forwardnbak

[Eucner]

Nice to see new wheels coming. I hope they also address legal and safety requirements for wheels. Outlaw market is limited for a bunch of enthusiasts.

[techyiam]

58 minutes ago, Forwardnbak said:

I asked Bob on this i think it was in my video

He said only one battery is needed.

I was curious if you could shift balance for jumping by rigging the batteries either forward heavy or back heavy and he said it’s fine.

Wow, if Inmotion truly found a solution to that, that would be fantastic. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by techyiam