EUs in Dusty Conditions

[lilianne]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forums, and have been considering EUs for a specific purpose - alternate transportation while at Burning Man. Since this isn't the typical use-case, I'm hoping to get some recommendations from more experienced riders about what might best serve my needs. So far, I've played around with an InMotion V3 and a Ninebot One E+. The Ninebot is more maneuverable, and will probably be more fun once I'm good at it, but I'm not convinced it's the right option under these specific conditions.

Major considerations:

• Burning Man is an event held in a desert with very fine, alkaline dust that can be hard on machinery. I'd love to stick exclusively to options with an IP65 rating, but many brands don't list ratings, and I've read that some IP55 or IP56 models can be modified post-purchase to make them more dust-resistant.
• I won't need to go fast, but I'll need to be pretty agile - I'm likely to end up dodging through crowds of pedestrians and bicyclists.
• I'll be on the flat, but I'll end up riding through some soft 'sand dunes' that are notorious for causing bicycle crashes. Having hit gravel on both the V3 and the Ninebot, I felt safer and more in control on the V3!
• Practical lighting would be a big plus! While I like the LEDs on the Ninebot, the V3's headlight/tail light system is a lot more practical. I can probably rig lights to anything, but having already banged up our Ninebot quite a bit, built-in lights sound like the better option.

Any thoughts, either on how to make the V3 or Ninebot more suitable for the conditions or on what else I should consider? I could deflate the Ninebot tire a little to see if I get better traction and more control at slower speeds, or I could try to seal the V3 more completely from the dust. I'd also be happy to consider other products (would an 18" wheel be safer in those conditions? Does one exist that meets my other criteria?), if there are other wheels that might be a better fit for my needs.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Gimlet]

Dust can be a nightmare for any machinery. I would be loath to take a new wheel to those conditions because although it's relatively easy to seal the case halves together with a little kitchen/bathroom silicon you will still get dust into the wheel bearings which will cause long term damage.

That being said it's not that hard to change wheel bearings and soft fine sand does give a relatively gentle landing for both you and the wheel so if you are happy to split the case and seal it then maybe change the wheel bearings after the event then the KingSong wheels seem to be getting very good reviews and have built in lights.

[lilianne]

Thanks @Gimlet, this is very helpful! Is the King Song recommendation primarily because of the built-in lights? Or are there other things that make their brand stand out for this particular use-case? I'm guessing the size and width of the 18" wheel might help in the dust, but I worry about rideability - I'm only 5'2", so a nearly-27" unicycle could be tricky.

[Gimlet]

I don't have any personal experience of the KingSong but as it's based on the Gotway it should be good and unlike the Gotway it has lights built in.

It's also quite fast but still has tilt back warning at about 25kph.

They do have a 14" model as well as the 18" and as with all wheels I recommend you get the biggest battery version you can afford as no wheel is enjoyable to ride when low on charge and letting the battery get low has a huge impact on it's life expectancy.

Kevin Lee is an international agent for KingSong and is a member here so you can contact him via the messaging service for further model specific information.