Evel_Knievel Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 What type of failures do you all see as wheels get older? And how do you realize you have an issue? Do the wheels just start dumping you off? That's obviously a scary proposition. I see plenty of videos of people moving with traffic around them at pretty high speeds and although you can wear protective gear to keep you from getting road rash, a 4000 lb car that doesn't stop after you fall off for whatever reason is going to ruin your day. Batteries I would think would be an obvious failure point. Do you just start loosing range? Or again, do they dump you off and you then know you have an issue? Just curious to hear from those with more experience than me. These things seem very reliable but nothing is as reliable as gravity so what are the failure mechanisms you all typically see? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US69 Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 For sure the batteries loose range when getting older and after a certain number of charge cycles. but that is typical normal for all kind of rechargeable batteries. What they dont do is that they just "dumb" the wheel from one moment to another...That can happen, as all type of failures are possible, but hav not heard of that as reason is age... i have to say that after one year of usage of my KS18, i did not notice any range loss at all (but for sure there is a bit, i just dont notice it). As most or a lot of members here have changed their wheel be because of upgrading to better, faster, safer, newer versions, i guess it will be hard to find a lot of answers for your questions :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 IME, battery pack is the first thing to go, which you notice because your mileage per charge suddenly drops to something very small, after a gradual decline over several years. So that's how you know when to change that... Your tyre may get punctured, or go flat... it's a lot of 'fun' to change a tyre on an EUC, so look forward to that Generally speaking, normal wear and tear doesn't often lead to a situation where the rider gets dumped. That remains mainly the province of user error Then there's rust and corrosion, especially if you ride in the wet, or worse, through sea water / sand at any point. You can avoid that by cleaning your machine when you return from the beach. Of course the motor has an expected lifetime too, but good luck trying to find out what that might be My airwheel ran for 3 years + and the motor was still fine when I upgraded to a better wheel. But I think it is fair to say that it will be rather obvious if your motor ever stops working... CBR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 8 hours ago, KingSong69 said: For sure the batteries loose range when getting older and after a certain number of charge cycles. but that is typical normal for all kind of rechargeable batteries. What they dont do is that they just "dumb" the wheel from one moment to another...That can happen, as all type of failures are possible, but hav not heard of that as reason is age... i have to say that after one year of usage of my KS18, i did not notice any range loss at all (but for sure there is a bit, i just dont notice it). As most or a lot of members here have changed their wheel be because of upgrading to better, faster, safer, newer versions, i guess it will be hard to find a lot of answers for your questions :-) I agree with @KingSong69, you're apt to upgrade to a newer/better wheel before it starts failing due to age. The battery is the obvious consumable, but on average they should be good for a few hundred (I'm being very conservative) charge cycles. If you charge your wheel twice a week, every week, you'll have at least 3 years of riding. There's a strong likelihood that you will move onto a new wheel by then. Put Slime in your tires and you shouldn't have to worry about the tire either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 10 hours ago, Evel_Knievel said: what are the failure mechanisms you all typically see? Getting tired of the same old wheel and wanting something newer and better, like @Marty Backe said, just like cars, you will want a newer one before the wheel itself is worn out. And battery replacement on the same wheel? Please, why bother? The batteries last so long that you might as well get a new wheel just for the experience, that's worth way more than replacing the battery on the same old wheel. The battery is a big part of the cost, anyway. Or adding more batteries to your wheel to make it longer range is like having a new wheel. Making modifications looks like fun, too, for people with the talent to do it. Like people adding batteries to the wheel to increase power and range, not many people can do that, but some do. And changing to a different tire can make a big difference. That's one mod I'd like to do to my Ninebot, but it works fine with the stock tire. The only failure mechanisms I saw were buying cheap and having the wheel not be able to carry my weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxLinux Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 9 hours ago, Cerbera said: My airwheel ran for 3 years + and the motor was still fine Were you still getting good battery performance after 3 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
周正刚 Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 it is Ninebot inc's battery,Segway company have it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 2 hours ago, steve454 said: Getting tired of the same old wheel and wanting something newer and better, like @Marty Backe said, just like cars, you will want a newer one before the wheel itself is worn out. And battery replacement on the same wheel? Please, why bother? The batteries last so long that you might as well get a new wheel just for the experience, that's worth way more than replacing the battery on the same old wheel. The battery is a big part of the cost, anyway. Or adding more batteries to your wheel to make it longer range is like having a new wheel. Making modifications looks like fun, too, for people with the talent to do it. Like people adding batteries to the wheel to increase power and range, not many people can do that, but some do. And changing to a different tire can make a big difference. That's one mod I'd like to do to my Ninebot, but it works fine with the stock tire. The only failure mechanisms I saw were buying cheap and having the wheel not be able to carry my weight. I've only had my first wheel for 6 weeks now but this seems very much more realistic than any actual mechanical failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pingouin Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Hi, I think that batteries, if used properly, can last longer than the EUC itself, unless you have a very small battery (132Wh & 170Wh). Let's make a short calculation, a lithium ion battery should last at least 500 cycles (with a 20% loss of capacity), for a 340Wh with 25km range, that would be 12 500km, now for a 680Wh with 50km range it would be double 25 000km, I am not sure if an EUC can travel that much. However, a battery that is used probably still looses about 5% of it's capacity per year, BUT if you often go below 10% or leave it fully charged for mouths, it can easily loose 30-40% of it's capacity in a matter of mouths, and it won't be able to deliver as much power as before ! That's why I would follow these recommendations (they are from a friend who works as an engineer for a international battery company), Only charge to 100% if you are going to ride. If you leave your batteries unused for more than 2 weeks, charge them to about 40-60%. After charging them, wait 20-30 minutes before riding. The first 1km, go easy on the batteries. Don't charge them directly after riding wait at least 2hours. Keep them away from moisture, and leave them at the lowest temperature possible when resting (closer to 0°C than 20°C). Not always easy to follow these recommendations, but following a few of them, will make your EUC last (at least for the battery part) 4-5 years, more than most people keep their EUC anyways ^^ BUT, I would say the things that could fail on an EUC with time, is the tire, the air chamber, the axles, the pedals..it greatly depends on your riding style and weight, I would recommend flexing your knees when you encounter an obstacle or jumping, and keeping your tire and a sufficient air pressure (2.5-3bar). I am still wondering, while being gentle, how long an EUC can really last, I have heard of +5000 and even +10 000km but nothing above 20 000km ^^ If you don't ride alot, it's not going to be an issue however. As for the issues I have personnaly saw, it's the PCB failure, battery failure, axle failure and the pedal support getting too close to the motor and scratching it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 8 hours ago, MaxLinux said: Were you still getting good battery performance after 3 years? No. It was a general decline for the first 2 1/2 years, then massive drop to 1 mile max range, almost overnight, somewhere in year 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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