About to buy my first

[Norway]

Hello,

I am about to buy my first EU. I have been looking at different models on aliexpress, and the prices range from 320$ - 1200$+.

I need help to know what to look for, I of course would like high performance, quality, battery life, etc. So what do I look for wheel size, battery size and watt usage on the motor?

 

Thanks for the help, I would really appreciate some guiding,

All the best,

[SerpentineGX]

Check out the "Reviews & First Impressions" in the Forums menu. There, you'll get a lot of the pros and cons about different wheels. Ultimately, you have to ask yourself what are you going to use it for? Fun, commute, both, etc. What kind of distance do you need out of your wheel? What kind of terrain will you be riding? You get the idea.

[esaj]

Well, I can't speak from much of experience, since I only got one wheel so far, and haven't been riding it but for a little less than three weeks (although I've been riding it a lot, probably way past 200km now)... So this is mostly based on what I've read from these forums, the FB group and from elsewhere around the internet (manufacturers pages and such). In general, I'd suggest to read lots about them, there's very much information available in these forums alone, if you just put your time & mind into it.

Performance

Performance-wise, there seem to be to two "schools of thought": others say that newbies should have powerful wheels, so they can't as easily "outlean" (meaning, lean too far forwards/backwards, so the wheel can't keep up with torque/acceleration, and you fall/have to run off) it, and so it's more responsive to fast movements. Personally, I (and the "other school of thought) think that at least the most powerful/fastest wheels are not good as your first. Imagine a first-timer or someone with little experience riding something like the "high speed"-model (40+km/h top speed) of 18" Gotway MSuper, and accidentally accelerating it to top speed & over while learning basic things like leaning back and forth... Not a good combination. So a "lower performance" wheel might be good for your first, IMHO. Also, the more powerful wheels tend to cost (sometimes a lot) more, and your first will probably take some beating during the learning phase. I personally bought an used "clone"-wheel for practicing purposes, so I wouldn't be so pissed off when it gets scratched or even breaks (so far, it still works just as fine as ever, but it has fallen over countless number of times), and could ride decently before my more expensive wheel arrives. But if you consider doing lots of off-road riding, or live in a very hilly area, more torque is probably a good thing with learning also (just not necessarily more speed).

Don't stare simply at the rated/peak-wattage numbers, there are software limits for top speeds, as well as different amounts of wire rounds in coils etc. that also affect the top speed/torque. 

Batteries

In general, take the range-ratings from the manufactures with a pinch of salt, you're not going to ride 20km on a 130 or 170Wh battery, probably not even with a 200Wh battery. Someone had a signature in this forum saying he gets about 1km per every 11.7Wh, that might be a good rule of thumb, but varies according to rated motor power, rider weight, road surfaces, hills etc. Also, the speed, torque & responsiveness of the wheel start to fade as the battery charge gets lower. So don't expect that you can ride the battery to "0%" (and the wheels won't even let you). Higher wattage (or more parallel batterypacks) = longer lasting power, not just range. When the battery is low, the wheel becomes harder to ride, as it doesn't respond as fast, can't climb hills so good etc.

Quality

As for the quality of different wheels, again I can't speak from experience, but here's what I've read and deducted (If anyone knows any better or sees some clearly errorneus claims, please correct me):

-"No name" or "Anonymous" or "Generic" clones mean wheels from lesser known manufacturers, the quality can be pretty much anything, but rarely very high. My no-name wheel has taken a lot of beating and still works flawlessly, but was sold to the previous owner as having a 210Wh battery, when in reality it has a 170Wh battery. I'd say good for learning, if you can get one cheap (and happen to get one of the better ones, maybe buying used could be a good way, so the previous owner can tell how it has worked etc.). I've even heard of noname wheels with battery packs assembled from used laptop cells (mixed from multiple types of different cells). YMMV.

-AirWheels seem to be good quality, but in my opinion, cost way too much compared to their specs, my used wheel has same size/larger battery than most AirWheels (Single-wheeled AirWheels seem to be 132Wh or 170Wh, the dual-wheeled ones can have larger), and probably a motor rated similarly as X3 or X5 (350W or 500W rated, don't know the peak wattage, 800?). Still maybe not a bad choice, but I personally see the price as a bit steep (My yet-to-arrive Ninebot One E was lower price than AirWheel X8).

-Firewheels seem highly regarded, but seem to have had a lot of issues with quality control (broken mainboards, dead-on-arrival etc.). Apparently the manufacturer does provide replacement parts free of charge, but waiting for them might a bit nerve wrecking. When they work, I've only heard good things about them

-Ninebots are said to be high quality products, so far I haven't seen many complaints (but there have been some, especially regarding some features of the newer firmwares). I think this is the only wheel where you can upgrade the firmware over Bluetooth via app. I've got one of these (the "basic" E-model, not E+) coming, hopefully next week.

-Gotways are very highly regarded. They have had some QA issues here and there, but they provide the best performance and highest capacity batteries (up to 850Wh on MSuper), of course they are on the pricey side.

-IPS is another well regarded manufacturer. I don't recall seeing anyone having anything bad to say about IPS quality.

-Solowheels are the most(?) expensive ones, high power but low top speed. Top-notch quality, but it's left for everyone to decide themselves if they're worth it (price-wise).

-Rockwheels have had issues due to being geared (apparently the motor or the gears wear out fast?). Powerful, high torque & speed thanks to gearing, a bit on the pricey side?

-King song is a new player in the field, don't know much about it, but heard good things. Rebranded as Milbay in Australia?

-Inmotion produces dual-wheeled models only? Don't know much about these... 

There are probably others I've either forgotten or never heard of before.

Hope this helps at least a little bit.

[Sunny Rockwheel]

Hello ,I am Sunny from Rockwheel.rockwheel also has gearless one~~Next month we will have gearless 14 inch.Which is fast and stable.If you want more information,welcome to contact me

[Norway]

Good morning from Norway, 

Thank you so much for the info so far, much appreciated. 

​I have decided to spend around 500$ on my first wheel. Something from aliexpress, just need to find a product with decent specs for the price. 

I would really appreciate  suggestions from experienced users / buyers. 

Have a nice day! 

[dmethvin]

I think esaj covered all the points really well. My first unicycle was a cheap AliExpress no-name 14-inch model and it has been fun to learn on. The only problem I have had with it is holes in the tube. Cheap wheels like that are less than $300. If it was my only wheel the only thing I would change is to get a 260Wh battery for more range. A few places sell the TG F3 for a good price.

I have a Firewheel F260 but it is still waiting for repair parts after a month.

[Lorents]

Hei Norge,

I live in Norway too and I bought an Airwheel X8 for $550 shipped with Fedex. In addition I got a bill from Fedex with 25% MVA + small handling fee. One of the reasons I bought the Airwheel is that it is sold here in Norway so I figured that parts would be available locally if needed. 

I am super happy with the X8 but after using it a few weeks I felt like upgrading to a faster EU so I have an Gotway 14 on its way from HK.

IMHO your weight is very important for deciding on what wheel to get. I am close to 90Kg so a X3 or one of the clones would not be powerful enough. Range is also important so you should buy an EU with a battery size that lets you travel the distance that you want.

If you post your weight and what you want to use the EU for I am sure you will get some suggestions on what to buy...

[Norway]

Heia Norge,

I am 70kg and I will be using this for FUN!:)

But I am the type of person who would like to ramp up the performance pretty fast if its not powerful enough. So I think I will go for a Gotway 14" 360wh.

How much did you pay for the GW and where did you get it? PM me pls:)

Veldig greit å kunne dele erfaringer fra samme land. Tusen Takk!

[Lorents]

Will send PM

[Chuts]

To help things a little, these are what I would class the Electric Unicycles in terms of proficiencies in reverse order.  Of course the further down the list you go the more you will need to pay but you are also getting more.

 

Novice

Unbranded, TG, PinWheel, Airwheel (X3, X5, Q Series), Inmotion, Saluko, Robstep, ESwing, Freeman, IPS (14")

Intermediate

IPS (16"), NineBot, Solowheel, Airwheel X8, Osdrich, F-Wheel. Gotway (<=10"), Rockwheel (<=14")

Upper Intermediate

Firewheel, Rockwheel (16")

Pro

Gotway (>=14"), Kingsong,

[Norway]

Thanks for all the great help. I think I will go for the Gotway 14".

Looking forward to be the laughing stock of the neighborhood the next weeks

[dranreb]

Excellent choice Norway. I ride my Gotway 14 for commute and Gotway 10 for fun.

[teawithmilk]

Hi All

Noob here. I just bought a Osdrich TD-03 (rated 500W motor with 200wH battery) without doing much research (oops!). I'm 70kg and can negotiate turns and slopes already. My question is, is the Osdrich TD-03 a reliable make/model? I've read about accidents regarding BMS shut downs and all that in this forum.

 

 In my country, most people use Airwheels or Ninebots, so there isn't much feedback about the Osdrich so far.

 

Cheers!