Ninebot One E+ Checklist

[Jonathan Tolhurst]

I thought it might be useful to have a checklist thread in the Ninebot section. This is a checklist for Ninebot E+. Some of this may or may not apply to other electric unicycles. This is intended to be helpful  - please feel free to correct me or add anything else that you think might be useful.

I have owned my Ninebot One E+ for round about 12 months, ride it every day (UK weather permitting) and think it's a fantastic machine when ridden sensibly and within the rider and machine limits. For me, one of the big selling points of the NB E+ is that it is very easy to replace damaged or worn parts.

Before Buying

Read reviews, have a look at You Tube and browse/ask questions through this forum. Bear in mind when using any forum that there is normally a mixture of users - newbies, enthusiasts, advertisers, sellers pretending to be enthusiasts and perhaps the occasional troll. Some posts may be designed to sow doubt about a particular product or direct you to alternative products.

Do some research on any related national and/or local laws and how these are enforced.

Be extremely wary of any websites which have offers that are too good to be true and those with limited contact information. You can view a list of official distributors on the Ninebot website.

Before purchasing anything that's relatively expensive, it's very sensible to have a good understanding of consumer protection laws that apply in your region.

As part of the purchase process

Get written confirmation of

• which version of Firmware is to be supplied
• the warranty period provided, and what is covered
• what actions may void the warranty (E.g. maintenance tasks, usage).
• confirm the supplier has the product in stock before placing an order (unless you are prepared to potentially wait).

On receiving the unit

Check that everything is in order and the unit functions correctly:

• Check Firmware Version - Certain Firmware versions are "Bad" - See notes below on avoiding the temptation to update firmware without good reason
• Check Battery - Is the battery as advertised. Has the label been tampered with?
• Check the Charging Port (on Ninebot) and the charger lead.
• Does the Ninebot turn on?

Maintenance and ongoing checks

Tyre Pressure

Recommended tyre pressure = 55psi (this may depend on the actual type of tyre used - see comments below)
Changing the pressure in the tyre will dramatically alter the Ninebot One ride.
The tyres lose pressure over time.
Doing hops or jumps may expedite pressure loss
Doing hops or jumps at low tire pressures may result in damage to the wheel rim
I like to keep a couple of spare inner tubes on hand in case of a puncture.
If you need to change the tyre or inner tube make sure you have watched a tutorial and fully understand whether this voids your warranty.

Battery Casing
The battery casing can become damaged by repeated jolts and/or crashes - doing hops or jumps may therefore damage the battery casing.
Several users of this forum have suggested modifications that may reduce or prevent the risk of this type of damage occurring.
Battery Wires - can also become damaged by repeated jolts and/or crashes. The protective outer cover can split due to the high current. Connectors can be worked loose over time.
I check the battery cover and wires on a weekly basis and always after a crash.

Battery cover/leg support cover condition
The battery cover/leg support can become damaged over time, especially if you do tricks. These are very easily replaced.

Shell condition
The shells can become damaged over time, especially if you do tricks. The bolt holes can wear though or crack. The shells can be easily replaced, although replacing these may void the warranty. Care must be taken not overtighten the screws or bolts. There are some useful tutorials available on Youtube (Speedyfeet have an excellent tutorial)

Foot plate condition
These wear down when turning corners and from spinning. They can also be damaged in a crash. These can be swapped over to increase their lifespan.
There is a little grub screw that holds in the foot plate.This should be checked regularly to ensure that it has not worked loose.
Foot plates can get very slippery in wet conditions. 
I check the foot plate condition on a weekly basis.

Ninebot App and firmware
When a new Firmware is available, the App will ask you on startup whether you want to upgrade.
It is not advisable to upgrade straight away - some firmware versions have been related to NB1 problems.
There is currently no means to roll back firmware - therefore the old adage, if it ain't broke, don't fix it is especially true when related to firmware.
In the UK, the Speedyfeet website has a list of firmwares that are considered "safe".

Ride Mode -  This can be set from 0 - 9 via the App
I have set at 3 and find this to be perfect for tricks

Riding

If you are new to electric unicycles it may at first seem almost impossible and then you will reach that first "get it" moment. There are loads of tutorials online.
It takes most people an extended period of time from that first "get it" moment to developing stance, fine control and a good understanding of the limits of yourself and the machine. 
The first few months are likely to be the most dangerous as that "Epic EUC feeling" can overide common sense to begin with (that was certainly the case with me).
Practising manoeuvres will improve your control of the machine and also help you to understand the machine and your own limitations in a controlled environment.
Electric unicycles behave differently when in contact with different surfaces (E.g tarmac, grass, unsealed surfaces, snow).

Falling off

As with any wheel sport - learning to fall off safely (or as safely as possible) is an important part of learning to ride.
You are more than likely going to fall off at some point in time, especially when learning. If you are going to do tricks then you will definitely fall off/crash as you learn.
You should consider wearing appropriate protective equipment. My tip would be: don't go faster than the speed at which you are prepared to fall off.

Other tips

Be extremely cautious when riding near pedestrians - people who have never seen an EUC before may react in an unpredictable way.
Riding in wet conditions can be extremely dangerous - other users of this forum have modified the foot plates to improve the grip in wet conditions.
A trolley handle is extremely useful for taking the wheel through the public transport system.
When practising tricks it is advisable to remove any accessory/handle brackets or stands as these can take chunks out of your ankles and shins.
Be very careful when attaching things like action cameras to the wheel - if not secured properly these can fall off and jam up the wheel causing you to crash.

Basic Tool Kit (this is what I carry when I'm out and about)
2 x Allen Keys to fit the two types of bolts
1 x Phillips head screwdriver
1 x flat head screwdriver
2 x Inner Tubes
1 x 160mm valve extension
1 x bike pump & pressure gauge
3 x plastic tyre levers
1 x roll of electrical tape
1 x Inner tube

Basic spares set (this is what I keep @ home)
2 x Inner tubes
1 x replacement tyre
1 x foot plate
1 x Battery cover/leg support cover

[steve454]

@Jonathan Tolhurst Thank You very much for the information. I usually ride at 45-50 psi in the park.  You have given some great safety tips.  Not everyone can ride as good as someone who puts in the time and effort to get good. Good laugh when that skateboarder turned around and was like, what is going on. where do I get one of these things?

[Lukasz]

Great summary! 

Just a very small add-on  - as I usually have flat and phillips screwdrivers on me and I have some kind of tools which can work as plastic tyre levers. I have created minimal service set which contains two hex keys to fit the two types of bolts, and two small bike type instant tube repair stickers from KENDA. This all fits into very small plastic box which fits well into the battery compartment. (but please be careful not to destroy the battery shrink) so the only remaining thing of minimal repair set is the small and light bike type pump (good quality to allow to pump to 50-55 psi which fits into my very small backpack which I carry with me most of the time I use Ninebot. In fact in the backpack I also carry big foil bag to pack the ninebot (not to get dirty myself from mud and dust which build up on the NB) and two pieces of 2m long army type thin pieces of rope (looks like thick shoe laces) to allow to tie the ninebot to the backpack - this way in case of emergency "on foot" return I can carry ninebot on my back....

[Lukasz]

In fact - I have made over 1100 km on my ninebot since January 2016, and up till now I have never used the "return on foot"  safety option. It is easier not to run out of power as I use 388Wh battery from 1-RadWerkstatt from Germany - this gives me around 35km of true range  which is more than enough for my needs. (when dressed/geared I am around 90kg)

[Mono]

Adding to the list: use a tube sealant.^1 It is made to prevent flat tires and I believe it does. This makes the ride safer and also saves the time to repair the flat. The intact tire will also keep the pressure up for longer.

^1 for example slime https://www.amazon.com/Slime-10003-Tube-Sealant-oz/dp/B000ENOPPO

[yourtoys7]

thanks for all the info., always wanted to create emergency kit, Slime tube sealant as well, A+

 

[Kimball]

On 2016-06-07 at 10:06 PM, Jonathan Tolhurst said:

Tyre Pressure

 

Recommended tyre pressure = 55psi

I just got my NB1E+ and curious about the pressure, the tyre clearly states "Maximum 2.4-3.1 bar / 35-45 PSI which seems weird, or am I just having trouble thinking here? I added air by manual foot pump with a pressure metre, and I could not really fit any more air in there when it to around 3 bar? 

[johrhoj]

When i first got my nb1, i pumped up the tire to 70 psi (5 bar). This was a bit much, but now i always use 55 psi. The tire survived the 70 psi pressure  

I have a very good pump, i guess.

[Kimball]

5 hours ago, johrhoj said:

When i first got my nb1, i pumped up the tire to 70 psi (5 bar). This was a bit much, but now i always use 55 psi. The tire survived the 70 psi pressure  

I have a very good pump, i guess.

Might be a silly question, but does all NB1s arrive with the same exact tire / inner tube or can it be like 3 different ones or so? Mostly curious since Im not very knowledgeable about... tires and alike, I was just a bit worried since pumping mine above 3 bar seemed very forceful.

[Jag_Rip]

Yes there are different versions of tires used. I cant recall which ones right now but somewhere in this forum there is a thread about it.

[Jonathan Tolhurst]

3 hours ago, Jag_Rip said:

Yes there are different versions of tires used. I cant recall which ones right now but somewhere in this forum there is a thread about it.

@Kimball - Apologies, I was not aware of different tires - I will update the checklist to reflect this.

I always inflate my tire to 55PSI (it is pretty hard) and check this regularly as I require a consistent pressure to perform fast spins.

The source for the information about inflating tires to 55psi originally came from the speedy feet website FAQ:

https://www.speedyfeet.uk/kb_results.asp?ID=24

There is some additional discussion about tyre pressure here:

http://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/2595-recomended-tire-pressure/#comment-31634

 

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

@Kimball My NB1E+ tire says 35 - 45 psi, and I have it at about 42 psi which works fine for me.  I might pump it up a little higher later on.  You might need a better pump as some might not be able to get to the higher pressures.  I know my little hand pump which came free with my generic wheel could only pump up to about 30-35 psi so I had to use my compressor which goes up to about 200 psi IIRC.  I don't do any stunts though, just A to B.

[Kimball]

1 hour ago, Jonathan Tolhurst said:

@Kimball - Apologies, I was not aware of different tires - I will update the checklist to reflect this.

I always inflate my tire to 55PSI (it is pretty hard) and check this regularly as I require a consistent pressure to perform fast spins.

The source for the information about inflating tires to 55psi originally came from the speedy feet website FAQ:

https://www.speedyfeet.uk/kb_results.asp?ID=24

There is some additional discussion about tyre pressure here:

http://forum.electricunicycle.org/topic/2595-recomended-tire-pressure/#comment-31634

 

Thanks for the info! Seems around 55 psi is ok on this tire as well then, Ill try it out, just didnt want anything blowing up

28 minutes ago, HunkaHunkaBurningLove said:

@Kimball My NB1E+ tire says 35 - 45 psi, and I have it at about 42 psi which works fine for me.  I might pump it up a little higher later on.  You might need a better pump as some might not be able to get to the higher pressures.  I know my little hand pump which came free with my generic wheel could only pump up to about 30-35 psi so I had to use my compressor which goes up to about 200 psi IIRC.

To be honest, I was just a bit scared putting too much pressure on it, I can do +70PSI with the pump I have (at least the scale goes that far), so its sitting at ~55 psi, Ill try it out this weekend, I think I had about 20-30 psi before, so it should be a noticable difference I guess.