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EUC for short trip with a single big climb


charlesrg

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I'm looking to replace my short bus commute with a EUC. I've a big climb that makes me wonder if it will be able to handle. it's about 70 yards/meters long at a very high grade maybe like 18%. Everything else is flat riverside.
The distance is 1.6 miles (2km) but the step hill is my concern. On the bike I have to put 750 watts to climb it. And I also want to go down on it riding the EUC.


It's winter time here and weather reaches -10 celsius, however I think it won't get that cold as I will just take it outdoors for the ride that will take 10 minutes.


Anyone has a suggestion for a good climbing/descent electric unicycle that can handle this route ? Perhaps if it can handle San Francisco will definitely handle my single hill.

Here is a sample of the route https://www.strava.com/activities/590027580, however at first I just want to tackle the west side of the river. If it can go further and handle the whole 6 miles (10km) that's  plus but not a must.

Thank you

power curve.PNG

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The answer depends to some extend on your body weight. If you are below 100kg, a 18% climb shouldn't be prohibitive for any EUC with at least a 500W motor, which is pretty much the case for any branded model. A relevant ballpark figure is that lifting 85kg at 1km/h (like climbing 18% with 4.7km/h speed) needs 230W.

Wheel choice depends also to a greater extend on how much money you are able to spent, how confident you are that you will like it and keep using it, and whether the weight of the wheel is a relevant parameter for you (it is for me, but some people don't care a lot). My current favourite starting point to look at would be the Inmotion V8 as one of the lightest 16" wheels, weighing a little below 14kg.

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I agree with @Mono, every proper branded EUC with at least 400Wh battery capacity should be able to get you over the whole 6 miles. As for the incline, just don't go to fast uphill or downhill and you and your unicycle will be fine. temperature doesn't matter that much as long as you don't let the battery cool down to much, it will heat itself while beeing discharged.

As for a choice of wheel, we could use a starting point, a budget or some other preferences. As mentioned above, just don't go with anything under 400Wh battery and a rated max speed of 25 kph

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Given the round trip distance is only 4km, battery capacity shouldn't be an issue at all. I have done quite similar trips with a 280Wh battery without any problems.

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An 18% slope is 10.2o.  My ride contains a 10-11o slope for over 1/4 mile; I live on the side of a mountain.  I'm riding a Xima Lhotz (340Wh), weigh in at about 175 lbs with clothing and backpack (riding naked here is not permitted) and it does pretty well.  It slows down on the steepest parts, but then picks up when the slope drops below 10o.  The only problem I've had is that sometimes it will beep and slow to stop - an overcurrent warning.  I power-cycle the EUC and it completes the hill with no further warnings.  I've never had it do this more than once on the hill.  I think it happens when I'm trying to push it too hard.

A wheel with a larger battery would have more cells in parallel, allowing more continuous current.

I like this wheel, nice speed, large wheel, and it tackles my hill.  I'm using it for commuting.  1 mile downhill to bus station.  About 1 mile downtown to office.  Reverse at night.  4 miles/day total, with the steep hill climb at the end.  Wheel indicates about 65% battery remaining.  (I only charge to about 92%, since my ride starts with the downhill.)

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Thank you guys. I didn't want to put the budget numbers as I thought it wouldn't be overly expensive or restrictive.  From reading posts here I found the Rockwheel GR16 to be a good choice but I can find only one website that sells and it seems that they are asking too much  $1600 for the GR16 http://www.ewheel.net/rockwheel-line

Where do yo guys order yours ? Is there a brand or a store that you feel more confident buying ?

 

 

I just found that Segway sells one called S1, thought segway would be a reputable brand, however it looks like they are reselling a ninebot. Going to research more into that.

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8 minutes ago, charlesrg said:

Thank you guys. I didn't want to put the budget numbers as I thought it wouldn't be overly expensive or restrictive.  From reading posts here I found the Rockwheel GR16 to be a good choice but I can find only one website that sells and it seems that they are asking too much  $1600 for the GR16 http://www.ewheel.net/rockwheel-line

Where do yo guys order yours ? Is there a brand or a store that you feel more confident buying ?

In case you didn't see this:

A popular and trusted seller (run by the forum member @Jason McNeil) is

https://www.ewheels.com

8 minutes ago, charlesrg said:

I just found that Segway sells one called S1, thought segway would be a reputable brand, however it looks like they are reselling a ninebot. Going to research more into that.

Ninebot (with support of Xiaomi) bought Segway some time ago. 

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23 hours ago, JimB said:

An 18% slope is 10.2o.  My ride contains a 10-11o slope for over 1/4 mile; I live on the side of a mountain.  I'm riding a Xima Lhotz (340Wh), weigh in at about 175 lbs with clothing and backpack (riding naked here is not permitted) and it does pretty well.  It slows down on the steepest parts, but then picks up when the slope drops below 10o.  The only problem I've had is that sometimes it will beep and slow to stop - an overcurrent warning.  I power-cycle the EUC and it completes the hill with no further warnings.  I've never had it do this more than once on the hill.  I think it happens when I'm trying to push it too hard.

A wheel with a larger battery would have more cells in parallel, allowing more continuous current.

I like this wheel, nice speed, large wheel, and it tackles my hill.  I'm using it for commuting.  1 mile downhill to bus station.  About 1 mile downtown to office.  Reverse at night.  4 miles/day total, with the steep hill climb at the end.  Wheel indicates about 65% battery remaining.  (I only charge to about 92%, since my ride starts with the downhill.)

Thank you JimB, I will look into the Xima Lhotz.

18% is more than 10.2 degrees. If 100% is 90 degrees, then 18% is like 20 degrees. The climb I have is really hard. Only strong cyclists go up the hill. Most just walk the bike it's definitely more than 10 degrees.

 

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25 minutes ago, charlesrg said:

Thank you JimB, I will look into the Xima Lhotz.

18% is more than 10.2 degrees.

It's not :). It is indeed 10.20397... degrees. 

Quote

If 100% is 90 degrees, then 18% is like 20 degrees.

100% is 45 degrees. The percentage is the tan(angle) times 100. 

Quote

The climb I have is really hard. Only strong cyclists go up the hill. Most just walk the bike it's definitely more than 10 degrees.

Then it is more than 18%, though it probably isn't, as 18% is a very tough climb. Angles just don't reflect our intuitions very well. See

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_(slope)

http://www.roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/m/climbs/steep/index.htm

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Sorry, I didn't know that 100% was 45 degrees. Then the incline must be higher, close to 28%. Using google maps this website calculated 28% https://www.doogal.co.uk/RouteElevation.php?url=GPX/263f1ae9-c41d-4b18-8cba-f12f2da98cb5.gpx

That makes more sense as in the bike I can't go up without putting 500 watts. I'm 88KG, will be like 90KG riding carrying my food.

 

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I would not recommend the Rockwheel, as it is one of the oldest wheels out on the market, and for that geared drive.

Better look for the newer models. Xima Lhotz is what I ride, that wheel can do what you want. If you don't want the fancy bling LEDs on the case you could go for an IPS T350+, which is basically the same except for the shell and the narrower wheel. If you got a little more to spend and want something properly powerfull look at a Gotway ACM or MSuper V3. Inmotion V8 might also be a good alternative, if you want some low weight/small footprint.

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23 minutes ago, Slaughthammer said:

I would not recommend the Rockwheel, as it is one of the oldest wheels out on the market, and for that geared drive.

Better look for the newer models. Xima Lhotz is what I ride, that wheel can do what you want. If you don't want the fancy bling LEDs on the case you could go for an IPS T350+, which is basically the same except for the shell and the narrower wheel. If you got a little more to spend and want something properly powerfull look at a Gotway ACM or MSuper V3. Inmotion V8 might also be a good alternative, if you want some low weight/small footprint.

Thank you. Totally agree with your point.  Have you also tested the Ninebot ones ? I thought that since they are Segway/Xiaomi products they would be reliable and with better  software.

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1 hour ago, charlesrg said:

Sorry, I didn't know that 100% was 45 degrees. Then the incline must be higher, close to 28%. Using google maps this website calculated 28% https://www.doogal.co.uk/RouteElevation.php?url=GPX/263f1ae9-c41d-4b18-8cba-f12f2da98cb5.gpx

That makes more sense as in the bike I can't go up without putting 500 watts. I'm 88KG, will be like 90KG riding carrying my food.

 

10-11o (18%) is a pretty serious slope  I'd be very surprised if you actually had a 28% hill.  A simple test, use the level app on your iphone (I'm guessing android has something similar).  Find a steep spot and lay the phone on the ground.  Lay it on a long ruler if you need to smooth out the surface.  THEN, rotate the phone 180 degrees and measure again.  Split the difference.

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10 hours ago, charlesrg said:

Thank you. Totally agree with your point.  Have you also tested the Ninebot ones ? I thought that since they are Segway/Xiaomi products they would be reliable and with better  software.

If you're looking for a reputable and quality EUC manufacturer than Inmotion is the leader of the market without a doubt. While it's mainly know in Asia / China is expanding rapidly in past few years to rest of the world and it's a HUGE company with big history in making various devices in EUC and related categories. Visit their website and read through the Inmotion section of this forum to see more. V8 or V5F+ (if you'd prefer smaller / lighter 14" wheel) from @Jason McNeil at eWheels.com would both cover your requirements though with your weight I'd opt for V8.

Ninebot is unfortunately past it's prime and their latest business attitude towards their dealer network would make me think more than twice before purchasing anything from them. 

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Thank you HEC

Looks like I will get a inMotion V8 or a IPS LHOTZ 16. Both seem to be good, the inMotion with more cells feels like it will be better on the climb, however it's hard to compare as the XIMA IPS Lhotz has a bigger motor.  I'm not sure to what extent this specs are really truth as our asian friends are often overly optimistic on their specifications.

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No way has an IPS Lhotz a more powerful motor than an Inmotion V8! The 1000W of the Lhotz are just a maximum figure, which translates to a continious power of aprox. 500W. Over all, the V8 is a top notch brand new wheel, state of the art, whereas the Lhotz is already two years old, which is quite an age in a market this young. Only advantage of the Lhotz would be the wider tire and a lower pricetag, in all other categories the V8 will be superior.

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On 12/27/2016 at 3:34 PM, Slaughthammer said:

I would not recommend the Rockwheel, as it is one of the oldest wheels out on the market, and for that geared drive.

Rockwheel, after a long absence from the market, is (supposedly) returning with a GT16, but information is limited. I think several sources have stated the new Rockwheel will have a conventional hub motor instead of the previous gear drive. As far as I know, the world is still waiting for this new Rockwheel to appear.

 

rockwheel.jpg

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My battery is going on 2  years old now, I use a Charge Doctor and rarely go with a full charge because I don't need the full range of the battery. Trying to get that last 10 percent into the battery tends to reduce the lifetime. There's a Charge Doctor version for the V8 now: http://hobby16.neowp.fr/2016/11/24/charge-doctor-for-inmotion/

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 27 December 2016 at 8:55 PM, Mono said:

Angles just don't reflect our intuitions very well.

I can certainly vouch for that.  The first hill I tried to climb looked massively steep.  But when I put my angle app on it, it read 7 degrees!!! I thought WTF, is my app broken??!! And @Mono is correct, 100% is 45degrees.  One unit forward and one unit up = 100%. I looked it up a while ago because I didn't know.

on a personal note, I don't like measuring angles as a percentage.  Percentage of what? Everyone seems to have a different theory about it.  What's wrong with good old fashioned degrees.  We all know what 45 degrees looks like, so we can visualise anything else. Unless, in my case, it's 7 degrees ?

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17 hours ago, Smoother said:

Percentage of what?

percentage of (compared to) how much one has travelled horizontally at the same time. 1m vertical for 1m horizontal = 100% = 45º. 1m vertically for 10m horizontally = 10%. 

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On 29 December 2016 at 3:57 AM, charlesrg said:

Do you guys feel that the Dual-Mode Charger is a must ? I like the idea of charing to 80% as my ride will start downhill. Anybody knows if the V8 has an option to charge to 80% ?

People give good reasons for only charging to 80%, but starting on a 70yd hill isn't one of them.  in 70 yds you'll only get a tiny bit of electricity back, one or two % at most.  Having a full battery doesn't necessarily prevent one from going down hill (although your hill could be a challenge). These days When I need to charge to 100% ( green light) to balance the batteries, if my wheel objects about too much juice I just fight it, until the juice level falls.

By "fight it" I mean, when Lassie tries to tilt the pedals back, I drive forward with authority; informing  her BMS that I'm using juice, not regenerating it, SO BACK OFF !!!  We go back and forth like that, me and Lassie, for up to a km. It's become a bit of a game we play. It's fun and challenging.

however, I do not recommend charging to 100% regularly, as it goes against good battery management practice.

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