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To replace battery or buy a new unit...


CarZin

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I have a 2.5 year old Ninebot One E with the 240Wh battery that can only really travel about 4-5 miles at this point (around 10 when new).  I have over 1,000 miles on the unit.  Never a problem.  But I have a quandry...  A new 310Wh battery will be around $270.  Not too bad...  But I can get a brand new unit for around double of that with something newer.  Ninebot seems to be getting out of the EUS business as they havent really innovated in over a year...

Would you get the new battery and keep using what has worked, or get something new?

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I have yet to purchase a first EUC, but I have owned a LOT of electronics. I usually buy used (don't want to suffer depreciation) and always buy what I want when I want. 

If it were me, I would NOT get a battery for the old NineBot, mainly because it is outdated, and as you note, a new machine with updated tech and features is not that much more. Given the option I will always buy the latest and greatest rather than renew or repair my old tech. 

From the financial side the course of action I would take on the numbers. 

- Buy a new machine, the one you want.

- Sell the old Ninebot, with full disclosure about the battery getting tired, but at a severe discount to someone looking to get into a first machine, for example. If you get $200 for it, that's $200 applied toward the new better more functional machine. 

- Also keep in mind that generally you never get the money back that you put into repairs, upgrades, or maintenance (I consider a new battery a maint. item, not a repair). In other words, if you listed the NineBot for sale at some point and said "New battery 200 miles ago," people won't care, they still want the EUC at a good price. Paid $270 for a battery, that's your problem, they think. 

- Have to take into account that although getting a new battery, the unit is getting old (and worn out). I would not install a new battery on a EUC getting older by the day. This may matter to some prospective buyers who will ask "When did you get this?" When you say "three years ago," for example, many buyers will move on because that sounds like a really old machine. And if you reveal it has 1,000 miles on it, to most that sounds like it needs a proper burial, not a new battery. 

Bonus Tip: Where you can make LOTS of money, don't sell the entire unit. Disassemble it down to the last bolt. Then list individual parts on eBay. Since this is the Ninebot and the company seems to be dropping support, that may make parts all the more valuable. 

I can assure you that you will get double to quadruple the money realized on a sale of the entire unit. 

- Buy the new unit, enjoy it, and take your time selling the Ninebot parts on eBay or the Forums.

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I replaced my Ninebot One E+ battery when it was around 1 year old and worked for 1000km. The thing I noticed was that it did not perform well in cold weather (sub zero degree celsius) and that the shrink wrap started to have holes in it due to the battery moving in the housing on bumpy roads. Also, I found out that the original battery had no balancer, which would cause truble in the long run when charging (over charging some of the cells). This was a major safety concern for me, so I decided to swap the battery out ASAP. I got a much better battery from a German shop (1RadWerkstatt). He uses better cells and a better BMS, including the necessary balancer circuit to make sure none of the cells are over charged. For the Ninebot One E+, his battery has 388Wh and the cells he is using perform much better in cold weather. Here is a link for reference:

http://www.1radwerkstatt.de/epages/80603321.sf/en_US/?ViewObjectPath=%2FShops%2F80603321%2FProducts%2F"15S Ninebot"

However, almost another year and another 1000km later I am in the market for a new wheel and pre-ordered a KS16S. At the time I decided to swap the battery, this model was not available yet and all the 16" wheels had 800W motors, which did not sound like that big of an upgrade to me, but now that there is a 1200W and >800Wh 16" wheel, it is very tempting to just get an upgrade. Today, I am not sure if I would have updated the battery of the Ninebot,  if such a wheel would have been readily available.

It is unfortunate that Ninebot stopped innovation. I think they still have the best looking wheels, which are also very reliable and easy to maintain. Just compare the procedure to change the tire on a Ninebot vs. a Kingsong... 

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2 hours ago, CarZin said:

I have a 2.5 year old Ninebot One E with the 240Wh battery that can only really travel about 4-5 miles at this point (around 10 when new).  I have over 1,000 miles on the unit.  Never a problem.  But I have a quandry...  A new 310Wh battery will be around $270.  Not too bad...  But I can get a brand new unit for around double of that with something newer.  Ninebot seems to be getting out of the EUS business as they havent really innovated in over a year...

Would you get the new battery and keep using what has worked, or get something new?

Get something new, after 2 1/2 years and 1000 miles why not try a different wheel if you can afford it.  I agree with @MichaelSF  and @Christoph Zens completely.  They make a lot of good points.  But I can understand wanting to keep the Ninebot, mine has been totally reliable and has good power and range, and I will probably always remember my Ninebot as having good quality, even if I ever get a new wheel.  But if my battery or something was getting old, and I needed to change something, and I had enough money, I would get a newer type of wheel just to see what the differences are.

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7 hours ago, CarZin said:

Would you get the new battery and keep using what has worked, or get something new?

I would go for the InMotion V8. That or a King Song. I think they lead in build quality. Gotways are fast, but unreliable in my opinion. Good luck with whatever you do!

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