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New SOLOWHEEL Iota


Pingouin

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Hi guys,

I just saw this new cute vehicle on kickstarter, it is designed by the inventor of the solowheel and the original "hoverboard", it seems to be a small double self balancing electric vehicle, very small and easy to use. It is meant to replace your foot on the last miles to home. It is easily transportable because it weights less than 4kg and it's really small !

With solowheel's reputation, I'd say it can only be reliable and durable, but that's only speculation.

The specs are :

  • Range: up to 8 miles (12.8 km)
  • Speed: capable of 10 mph (16 kph)
  • Incline: 15 degrees
  • Weight: approx. 8 pounds (3.6 kg)
  • Width: 7” (17.8 cm)
  • Weight limit: 250 lbs (113.4 kg)
  • Inflatable 8” (20 cm) wheel
  • 1000W motor
  • 100Wh lithium ion battery
  • Charge time: approx. 40 minutes
  • Front and rear lights

 

Here are some pics of this new machine, what do you think ?

 

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b563e2d73b0052d12870183bd2da420c_original.JPG

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36 minutes ago, Pingouin said:

 

Hi guys,

I just saw this new cute vehicle on kickstarter, it is designed by the inventor of the solowheel and the original "hoverboard", it seems to be a small double self balancing electric vehicle, very small and easy to use. It is meant to replace your foot on the last miles to home. It is easily transportable because it weights less than 4kg and it's really small!

 

I agree it is small and 'cute' :facepalm:. So the company's advertising ploy for the wheel's necessity in the ubiquitous world of PEVs is to hop on it after your feet are sore?  Why not ride it from the beginning? What fun is carrying it?

It will be interesting to see if there is any monetary interest on Kickstarter. 

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It's not for me, but I can understand the appeal of this product ! The ease of ride plus it's portability. It's meant to be carried in the bus for example, and ride it to home afterwards, or just to go to the local store, the range is about the same as a cheap EUC.

It already has 204 594$ of funding on kickstarter !

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The lack of pedal ground clearance makes it hard to imagine that it could be very useful beyond to play around and have fun. 

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3 hours ago, Pingouin said:

1000W motor

Is that correct, it has a 1000w motor in such a tiny wheel?  Small battery, very powerful motor Hmmm?   Wouldn't such a small dual wheel EUC work well with say, a 350w motor.  That always got my attention with Solowheel, they claim that the motors are more powerful than most other brands.

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17 minutes ago, steve454 said:

Is that correct, it has a 1000w motor in such a tiny wheel?

When they don't specify Nominal/Average, they are likely quoting Max/Momentary Power, like how 1st and 2nd generation EUCs used to do.

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Aw that's cute... kinda like a baby Airwheel Q series wheel.  Wonder where the battery is stashed and what range it has.  I'd be guessing closer to 6 km maybe guesstimating from the size of a hoverboard battery and halving it while subtracting the weight of the hoverboard by say 15 pounds?

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13 hours ago, steve454 said:

Is that correct, it has a 1000w motor in such a tiny wheel?  Small battery, very powerful motor Hmmm?

The earliest S100 Solowheels used the LiFePo4 battery cells, these were capable of producing enormous amounts of power (70A) but had limited range owing to the poor energy density of this chemistry. Another significant shortcoming of these batteries was the tendency to self-discharge if left in storage for more than a couple months, rendering the pack useless. 

For the past two years they're now using high power Lithium-ion VC3 cells, that can output 18A.

A lot of manufacturers exaggerate the power output of their motors. If even half this is continually pumped through such a small enclosed hub motor, the resistance in the electromagnetic coils will continue to heat up to the point where there will be irreversible damage. 

There is then the question about whether such a small battery pack can produce anywhere near that sort of power. If we assume that it will also use the VC3 cells, which have a capacity of 7.4Wh each x 14 cells = 103Wh = 18A x 3.7v x 14 cells = 932W, which is probably where they've extrapolated the 1000W figure. 

 

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