What wheel diameter do you like riding the best and why?

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

I wonder statistically what percentages of wheels sold are 14", 16", 18" or other.  Feel free to explain why you prefer a certain sized tire and tell us what sizes you have tried in comparison.

[Chuts]

Currently have a 16" but leaning towards a 18" for my upgrade.

[John Eucist]

16 in non-congested areas.  14 in congested areas.  10 inside my apartment.  18 if I plan to ride like 40 km/h but I don't ride that fast. 

 

[Gimlet]

I find that I rarely go much more than 10 miles on a ride now that the initial thrill has worn off and so the 10" M10v2 is generally my weapon of choice.

The Msuper is a superb machine for long distance commuting and tackling rough terrain but it's a bit big and lumpy for pure fun and messing around.

[WakefulTraveller]

I find that 14 inch wheels to be the most versatile of all of the wheel sizes (they're well suited for off road, speed, maneuverability, etc.) and that the 16 inch wheels tend to be in the awkward place between the 18 inch and the 14 inch without much of the benefit of either. Yet I'm sure that some will beg to differ on this. The 16 inch wheels are by no means a bad choice.

I have no problem riding my 14 inch wheel at 20 km/h+ on off road trails. Yes, it's incredibly shaky and bumpy, but the grip tape on my pedals helps to hold my feet in place, with my legs bent to absorb most of the shock. I ride on bumpy grass and off road all the time. It's actually a lot of fun on a wheel this size.

The 14 inch wheels will certainly seem less stable, but they're actually just really agile. Once you get adept at riding them, going off road or at high speeds will be a breeze. I believe that by making the 14 inch wheel heavier (such as by adding more battery packs to it) will make the wheel more stable (while sacrificing some of the agility). The reverse can be said for 16 inch wheels.

[Cloud]

I voted for 16" but my position on the size is complicated. For me 14" is a must have and i agree with the points made above. Being in the NyC area and riding around crowds on pedestians, and being able to change the riding pattern fast calls for increased agility and wheel control. However for most riders, a 16" will be a perfect compromise between the paramenets like agility, smoothness of rise, size and weight. 18" becomes slightly unmanageable and 16 is small enough to fit under the subway seat and being able to take it places with no problem while having enough stability and ride smoothness. Also, it will be better for travel and thats what many use it for. So for me , even though 14 is a must have and i enjoy riding it immensely, i tried to judge from thr standpoint of the needs of most and voted for 16

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

It looks like 16" is the most popular so far with 14" wheels coming a close second. I was just looking at some of the weight differences betwen the two, and I wonder if the extra heft of the 16" makes them more cumbersome to carry around when needed.  My generic 14" is heavy enough to lug around.  It would be a pain to have something heavier, but if the ride was nicer it might be worth it.  I've read that some find the 16" just as maneuverable as 14"ers.  I don't know how true that is as more experienced riders seem to say 14" is best in congested areas.

If manfacturers were to make a 20" wheel with spokes like a Rockwheel to keep the motor size and weight down do you think there would be any market or any reason for one?  I'm guessing 20" would be difficult to steer in tight places, but if it's meant more for bike lanes it might be suited fine.  Most bicycles aren't the most maneuverable in between pedestrians so it would be more bike-like in a way.

Regarding "the thrill has worn off" I don't know if I'll ever get tired of rolling around on an EUC.  I still smile every time I ride mine.  Maybe taking them to different places and pathways will spark things up again as I know the same old routes can get a little boring after a while.

[EUCMania]

I face planted once on an unpaved road riding my 16" NB1E+. I was too confident and riding fast. Then I heard a huge bang and I fell to the ground, My upper lip was bleeding and teeth sore. Luckily the teeth is all right. I looked at the road, there was a rock bigger than usual, about 1.5" tall,  whose color was similar to dirt so I did not notice. Besides, with a lot of leaf shadow on the road, it is hard to see all these rocks. I am thinking about my next EUC. Will 18" be a lot more tolerant to these rocks, bumps, tree branches, and be safer? If so, I will get an 18" for commuting and 16" for fun. But then will  switching around 18" and 16" daily making driving hard? If you rode both 16" and 18" before, please tell us your experience.

[Mistagear]

I've owned 14", 16", 18" and now my fav wheel to ride is the 26". Best cruiser, handles offroad easily, fastest and probably safest at any given speed/situation comparison

[WakefulTraveller]

1 hour ago, Mistagear said:

I've owned 14", 16", 18" and now my fav wheel to ride is the 26". Best cruiser, handles offroad easily, fastest and probably safest at any given speed/situation comparison

A 26" inch wheel is certainly interesting, but if you had to choose between one of the other wheels that you own to save in the event of a fire, based on their wheel size, which would you choose?

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Is the 26" EUC still a one-off or are they available for order where you're at now?  I remember seeing the one guy mod a KingSong KS18 to fit a 26" wheel.

 

[Mistagear]

In case of fire..... Let the 14" burn , save the 18" only after rescuing the 26". Wife likes the 16" she can save that one

[Shoe73]

3 hours ago, ECUMania said:

Will 18" be a lot more tolerant to these rocks, bumps, tree branches, and be safer?

I haven't ridden an 18" but I think in general the larger the wheel the more stable the ride. My 16 is more stable than my 14, but the 14 is more fun. I don't have any trouble switching back and forth.

[Cloud]

8 hours ago, ECUMania said:

I face planted once on an unpaved road riding my 16" NB1E+. I was too confident and riding fast. Then I heard a huge bang and I fell to the ground, My upper lip was bleeding and teeth sore. Luckily the teeth is all right. I looked at the road, there was a rock bigger than usual, about 1.5" tall,  whose color was similar to dirt so I did not notice. Besides, with a lot of leaf shadow on the road, it is hard to see all these rocks. I am thinking about my next EUC. Will 18" be a lot more tolerant to these rocks, bumps, tree branches, and be safer? If so, I will get an 18" for commuting and 16" for fun. But then will  switching around 18" and 16" daily making driving hard? If you rode both 16" and 18" before, please tell us your experience.

18 " will be more tolerant to the bumps. Shoukd handle the 1.5" easily. Swicthing from one size to the other will take some getting used to every time, but it shoukdnt take more than a few minutes. 

[Pagsy]

I constantly switch between 14 and 16 and I agree, it takes a few min to get used to it again each time.

But I like that I can be flexible with the size of the wheel.

I select the euc based on the type of surface I expect to ride and also the distance. 

The 14 is mostly for short urban rides knowing that I will have to carry it sometime for stairs or else each time I run some errands.

[Nuo Meng]

I've only ridden on a 16 inch and to date I've gone over 1700 km. Two weeks ago I discovered the GotWay 18 inch - and now the new MSuper3 18 inch is coming and I really want to get one! The idea of going faster and farther and off road is really exciting.

[Tilmann]

1 hour ago, Nuo Meng said:

I've only ridden on a 16 inch and to date I've gone over 1700 km. Two weeks ago I discovered the GotWay 18 inch - and now the new MSuper3 18 inch is coming and I really want to get one! The idea of going faster and farther and off road is really exciting.

I upgraded from a NB1E (not the E+) to the first model Msuper a year ago. By my perception, going 30 km/h with the Msuper feels as controllable as 20 km/h on the NB1E. Now the new Msuper V3 delivers the same impression of riding stability (tried it) and promises even faster riding speeds (40+ km/h, no chance to try that on the GW shopfloor). Fortunately, it turned out a lot slimmer. It took me a while to get used to that feeling of carrying a suitcase between your thighs with the old model .

[Jurgen]

16", best compromise between 14 and 18

16", best compromise between 14 and 18

[Linnea Veteran]

Different people will choose different sizes according to personal requirements such like the weight, the speed, to ride it on flat road or off-road. For me, I only like the 14 inch wheels as I am short and light, I can not stop a 16 inch or a 18 inch wheels when something unexpected happened when I am riding. 

[OliverH]

Had a 16" before and currently ride the 18" MSuper. Was over the bank holidays in France on Tour and hat fun with the MSuper. Stable to ride with back pack and me on top. Had to change  later on the first day with my wife the KS16 because she got trouble on the last km with her feets. Never like to have this agile/ nervous 16" class again. I drove the KS 16 the complete second day and it was not so relaxed as on a 18". Need constantly to balance to keep in line on the road. The route went in parts over a normal road (selected the wrong route) and so you need to ride on the right side to let cars pass by.
But like others I can imagine to ride a smaller EU beside for special purpose. Over here the trend is to have 2 EUs as you never get "one size fits all".

[WakefulTraveller]

@OliverH I tend to agree with that. I really like the 14 inch wheel diameter (at least when it comes to the Gotway MCM) however I can see some definite advantages in having a larger 18 inch wheel with its larger tire. This is coming from someone that is 6'4" and weighs less than 70kg.

Here is my comparison:

14 Inch Wheels:

• Agile & and at times unstable (but easy to control)
• Compact and easy to carry
• Quiet
• Versatile
• Efficient
• Fast acceleration
• Well suited for tricks and delicate maneuvers. 

18 Inch Wheels:

• Stiff & stable (but hard to control)
• Big and bulky
• Loud and obnoxious
• Smooth and comfortable
• Large pedals
• Space for additional batteries
• Well suited for casual riding off road or for a long distance commute.
• Slower acceleration
• Less efficient

As far as 16 inch wheels go, well, I just don't really like them in general. I suppose that if a 16 inch wheel was as light as a 14 inch wheel, it would ride much the same as the 14 inch wheel. It's my suspicion that the MCM4 14" wheel, with its large motor and battery packs, rides a lot like a lightweight 16" wheel.

[johrhoj]

I have traveled over 1000 km on my 16" Ninebot. However, i already bought the new KS 18, which is in transit. I hope to go offroad a lot on the latter, but right now i can only say that the 16" is riding very well, even offroad. The ninebot is very agile. The only problem with my ninebot is that the tire is too much in the bodywork.

[checho]

On 5/1/2016 at 3:28 PM, ECUMania said:

I face planted once on an unpaved road riding my 16" NB1E+. I was too confident and riding fast. Then I heard a huge bang and I fell to the ground, My upper lip was bleeding and teeth sore. Luckily the teeth is all right. I looked at the road, there was a rock bigger than usual, about 1.5" tall,  whose color was similar to dirt so I did not notice. Besides, with a lot of leaf shadow on the road, it is hard to see all these rocks. I am thinking about my next EUC. Will 18" be a lot more tolerant to these rocks, bumps, tree branches, and be safer? If so, I will get an 18" for commuting and 16" for fun. But then will  switching around 18" and 16" daily making driving hard? If you rode both 16" and 18" before, please tell us your experience.

The 18 it is much better for bad roads, but on crowed areas the 16 makes it easy to manuever quickly and ride slow, on the 18 it is really easy to ride fast, it is a little difficult to ride really slow.

So for  bad roads, or not congested sidewalks the 18 is best.

For hand carrying the wheel the 16 is lighter.

I would recommend having both they serve different purposes.

[johrhoj]

My second reply, now I actually ride both 16"and 18".

Only once I reverted to my 16" nb1E+, when i knew i was going to carry it into a shop. Otherwise it is 18" all the way.

I should mention that it is not only the diameter of the tire, it is also the extra width of it. On the pavement below for example, my narrower 16" wheel would perform less than my KS18A. We have a lot of these for the blind in the Netherlands. With my nb1 I had to cross them with care, not so much with my KS.

[Mono]

5 hours ago, johrhoj said:

I should mention that it is not only the diameter of the tire, it is also the extra width of it.

I also think that tire width is underestimated in its relevance. I would love to see more wheels with thicker tires, say 2.5-3.0". I believe the KS18A has 2.5.