Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 How much did the replacement parts cost? I'm still considering the GT16. Do you know if they have ironed things out in version 2? Without a North American dealer for these, that's another obstacle. Shipping back and forth to China isn't fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 12 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: How much did the replacement parts cost? I'm still considering the GT16. Do you know if they have ironed things out in version 2? Without a North American dealer for these, that's another obstacle. Shipping back and forth to China isn't fun. The fact that you're pondering a GT16 purchase but still consider a Gotway too risky somehow disturbs me Surely in the whole wheel spectrum, Rockwheel falls somewhere below Gotway??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litewave Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 38 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: How much did the replacement parts cost? I'm still considering the GT16. Do you know if they have ironed things out in version 2? Without a North American dealer for these, that's another obstacle. Shipping back and forth to China isn't fun. I messaged this company in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago about the GT16 to confirm availability but did not get a response, so caveat emptor. They have a phone number listed ( +1 (213) 260-4036) for urgent queries but I haven't called them (yet). QUESTIONS AND CONTACT INFORMATION If you would like to: access, correct, amend or delete any personal information we have about you, register a complaint, or simply want more information contact our Privacy Compliance Officer at help@sportbestshop.com or by mail at: SportBestShop LLC 21006 Devonshire St Chatsworth, Los Angeles, CA 91311 United States Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US69 Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 40 minutes ago, litewave said: I messaged this company in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago about the GT16 to confirm availability but did not get a response, so caveat emptor. They have a phone number listed ( +1 (213) 260-4036) for urgent queries but I haven't called them (yet). QUESTIONS AND CONTACT INFORMATION If you would like to: access, correct, amend or delete any personal information we have about you, register a complaint, or simply want more information contact our Privacy Compliance Officer at help@sportbestshop.com or by mail at: SportBestShop LLC 21006 Devonshire St Chatsworth, Los Angeles, CA 91311 United States When i click on the Gt16 link....this look like a "linked" version of aliexpress shop...prices are also the same! So this just seams like a aliexpress dropshipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 1 hour ago, Marty Backe said: The fact that you're pondering a GT16 purchase but still consider a Gotway too risky somehow disturbs me Surely in the whole wheel spectrum, Rockwheel falls somewhere below Gotway??? Oh, I don't recall saying that Gotway was too risky. Gotway is improving, and Rockwheel also has it's growing pains. ACM16 is still on my list as well as the MSuper along with the KS16S. I just kind of like rooting for the underdog in the race. Rockwheel has crazy specifications (love that top speed), but again there could be improvements in wire sizes, choice (or lack thereof) of control board connectors, wire routing, case design, etc. They both have similar heritages and seem to capture that enthusiast spirit for one wheeled speed. Durability and safety might be a different story though! If Rockkwheel version 2 isn't hugely different, KS16S is still a front runner. Gotway has come leaps and bounds from the early days, and good on them for listening to feedback and taking positive changes for everyone's betterment. I hope Rockwheel advances and does the same. As you've previously mentioned, having competition in the marketplace is good for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Admit it, you like the GT16 for its looks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 12 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said: Admit it, you like the GT16 for its looks You know me too well meepster. Waaaa yes yes I do!!!! These Gotway "black boxes" with some monotone colour trim might be good on a USB speaker, computer case, or portable luggage, but I need something sexier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Hehe, I always wondered why you only have a Ninebot. First I thought it was $$$ or lacking safety of the other wheels. But seeing your Flamebot photos it was clear what the reason was - looks (and maybe you want a "tested" wheel where the reliability matches the looks). Btw, did you ever seriously consider an Inmotion V5 or V8? But the GT16 does look nice. It's cool to see Rockwheel doing something new (along with their apparent custom hardware/motor design efforts) instead of defaulting to the "standard" looks. Same for IPS with the i5 and S5, old company making a comeback with a specific design and some nice hardware efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spark Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 On 18.7.2017 at 0:53 AM, Scatcat said: Yes, now TWO people associated with Rockwheel have chimed in and helped. I'm astounded and very happy with both of them. Kudos to you @陈小杰 and to Yi Chen. That is the kind of care that makes a customer happy! I went from "was I stupid to choose a Rockwheel GT16?", to "maybe I was smarter than I think!" Hey, I'm really glad to hear you got knowledgeable support on this! If I ever was about to order a wheel directly from China, I'd for sure use this Rockwheel store. To shorten the wait I'd suggest buying a used KS16, it really won't bankrupt you, and just works. Same goes for the MSuper v2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 @meepmeepmayer It's like I posted, and the Gods answered me! If you look back, we were discussed the case design of the new ACM and the MSuper waaay back, and they were a little underwhelming to me. Other people seemed to like them, but I just thought they could be oh so much cooler like how sportbikes are designed with elaborate fairings. Then BOOM comes this GT16 out of nowhere with the little vents and open wheel design... it just blew me away! Unfortunately I hear case access is difficult so although the concept design was beautiful, it lacked a bit in terms of ease of user repair. The Ninebot has plastic shell cladding that sits over the inner shells which are mounted to a magnesium reinforcement spine. It's such a smart design with easily replaceable parts when they get scuffed up. If Rockwheel or any other company can create a classic design that is user friendly (for maintenance), durable, and safe my wallet is wide open! Money also has a small factor in things of course in addition to having a short summer season, but it's not an absolute barrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 2 hours ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: How much did the replacement parts cost? I'm still considering the GT16. Do you know if they have ironed things out in version 2? Without a North American dealer for these, that's another obstacle. Shipping back and forth to China isn't fun. The prices for me was a bit of a special case since both @陈小杰 (Xiao-Jie Chen) and Yi Chen had gotten interested in the case. I paid much less than I would have, thanks to their kindness and care. But normally a new motor would be $250, a new controller $280 and new batteries would be $588. Good to know though is that Yi Chen of Rockwheel Store normally leaves an informal warranty for a year, 6 months for batteries. You'd have to send back the parts, but in some cases a video demonstrating the fault can be enough. Much of that depends on what part and wether they want the part for testing and control. Much of my woes about cables and connectors seem to be ironed out. The new connectors look way better than the old, but I will follow up on that when I get the parts. The early criticism was burnt out controllers after just a hundred kilometers or so, I don't know what that was all about. My problem seem to be the gyro, but temperatures in the controller have been consistently low or even remarkably low. If you go slow uphill for a stretch, it may rise as high as 70°C, but as long as you have some speed the cooling system is remarkable. Going at a slight elevation at 15mph I never topped 40°C on flat ground and 20mph I never topped 36°C. At times I think the cables heated up some, but I never made any persistent hill climbing like what got @Marty Backe's ACM fried, so I don't know how bad that would become. Physically there i a choke-point for the cables on each side of the board leading down to the battery compartment, and of course the choke-point of the cables into the motor. I don't think that is a big problem as long as you don't go crawling uphill for very long, since the choke-points are physically inside the heat-sink. So in reliability most problems actually lies in the shell design. Part of it are that it could be thicker in places, part of it are tight tolerances in the heat-sink, part of it are screws that could be more substantial - but the screws for connecting motor and shell are very good. Those choke-points I mentioned are overall unnecessary, there are a few simple choices that could have been made to move the water-proofing from "OK in rain" to "OK to use your garden hose". The board could have been laquered to avoid problems with condensation. And simple silicon-liners in the covers and around the board housing, would basically have made it more or less waterproof. I think it would be relatively easy to fix yourself if you're willing to open it up and carefully use some sealant in the relevant places. The battery placement helps, since they're basically water-tight to above the axle. Concerning serviceability, the covers are very easy to open up, while the board is rather more inaccessible. The connection between board-cover and heat-sink is a point that requires real care, as it is far to easy to break something. Getting the wheel out to fix punctures is somewhat of a pain, as it requires removing the whole board and heat-sink assembly with all the cables and then loosening the screws in the shell. When you actually get it to loosen up, it is simple to do the rest. The method of pedal assembly is very good, and not very likely to loosen by vibration. As I understand it, it is reminiscent of the KS-solution with a top and bottom part of the assembly connected by two fat and long bolts that force the connection tight. So what is the conclusion? Well, if you're willing to learn how to do the work yourself, it's a wheel as good as any. But servicing has a slightly higher learning curve than for example GWs wheels. Spares (any spares) can be had through Rockwheel Store, just ask Yi Chen about what you need if you don't find it in the inventory. I think I was a bit unlucky with my motor breaking down, and I can't escape the suspicion that the interference of loose metal in the wheel somehow affected the board and made the gyro go crazy. I think it's a fluke though, and not a fault you should expect to happen to many wheels. In fact Yi Chen said that through the years he's managed Rockwheel Store, this was a first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 2 minutes ago, Scatcat said: Good to know though is that Yi Chen of Rockwheel Store normally leaves an informal warranty for a year, 6 months for batteries. They have a 1036 Wh (blue) and a 67V 680 Wh version! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 2 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said: They have a 1036 Wh (blue) and a 67V 680 Wh version! The 1036Wh in blue almost had me emptying my bank account! That is one-sexy-wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Yepppppp Great write up btw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 I think that if they want me to be a drooling slave, what they should do is a 18"/2.5" variant with 2500W, 92V and 1600Wh They could take the opportunity to redesign a few details to make it just a bit sturdier and water-proof, and I would eat oatmeal for a year to get my hands on one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 Think about these. Then imagine them with 18"/2.5" tyres. The extra width used to allow slightly longer and wider pedals, wider pads, and internally four 22x packs of 20700 batteries of high capacity. Then imagine the wheel using that extra heft to fit wider magnets and stator with even more torque and power. Their algoritms are already very good, with very fine control. The hardest setting is probably too hard for some, but the middle setting is rather smooth. The compact weight placement and low centre of gravity (batteries sits low in the case) makes them super-controllable. I can feel drool running in the corner of my mouth just by the fantasy. --- The black one looks like a muscle-car-style color, the orange one like a Lamborghini, the blue one looks like it's gone through a "pimp my ride" show... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 21 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said: They have a 1036 Wh (blue) and a 67V 680 Wh version! Where's this 1036 Wh one that you speak of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 1 minute ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: Where's this 1036 Wh one that you speak of? https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Rockwheel-GT16-powered-unicycle-global-booking-84-v-voltage-858-wh-speed-surprise-Electric-bicycle-mini/1748730_32772917120.html?spm=2114.12010612.0.0.tSSk6q The first picture with a blue and a white GT16. Hover over it and you'll see the note of the capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 2 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said: Where's this 1036 Wh one that you speak of? Hover your mouse over the first blue one in the Rockwheel Store GT16 page, it says 1036 Wh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 They have a total of 80 Samsung INR 18650 30Q. So in reality it's more like 1008 Wh, at least if you use conservative numbers. But it should be able to deliver >5000W continuously without even getting warm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 And one thing that I really love about the GT16 is that the motor seems VERY efficient. My first suspicion that all wasn't well with my wheel, was that it seemed to use more battery than before. I had gotten used to swooshing the 7-8 miles to work at 18-20 mph using <15% of the charge, then I started using ~20% for the same distance, and wondered if I had mishandled the batteries or something. But having the wheel full of metal flakes from a washer kind of explains the lessening efficiency, doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 I see now... I clicked it before, but the header description didn't change, and I didn't see any reference to the 1036 Wh. Now I see it. I wonder if they were to epoxy resin the copper coils (to reduce coil whine) and make the case a battery width wider on either side while adding in some sort of decent fender to guard against water splashing they could up that capacity to Gotway standards. The case itself is nice to look at, and the open wheel concept is motorcycle cool, but riding through water that little after-thought of a flimsy fender slide out doesn't cut it. I guess they wanted a minimalist motorcycle style, but changing few things could bring it up a few notches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flavour Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 On 15/07/2017 at 2:31 PM, Scatcat said: But if there was a loose or faulty hall sensor, wouldn't that affect the wheel all the time, not only on bumps? What might not be clear in the video is that it only happens if the bounce is not perfectly vertical. You see me bouncing it several times, but when I lift it slightly off-center and bounce it starts vibrating... Also, all cables are soldered to the board and there is no clear point of failure there that can be seen with the naked eye - at least not my naked eye. I don't have the kind of meters or the schematics to test the card. Except for the silicone being a bit frayed for the smaller cables to batteries and lights/charging-ports, there are no visible discolorations or obviously broken solderings. I'll have to go through it carefully, but so far I see nothing amiss. Well except for some proof of how stuff is handled during assembly... I really wonder why the f--k I have the fingerprints of whoever assembled this EUC on the controller board? I do hope the person in question had ESD equipment, but wouldn't bet on it... BTW note how the battery cables have silicone isolation, but the motor cables don't... On 15/07/2017 at 4:41 PM, Scatcat said: Well, well, well, look at what I found! @陈小杰 Take a good look at this: Do you see the metal shavings? One stuck on a magnet, the other stuck between a magnet and the stator. They're part of this: A washer that used to sit between the bearing and the stator. It was obviously wafer-thin and obviously broke after about 550 km... Finding metal shavings all over the inside of the motor kind of explains why it behaves strangely. I really hope I've found them all. I will have to do without the washer I'm afraid, because I really don't think there is a shop where I can find paper thin washers of that size... OMG man, good observation, good find. I had mixed feelings about Rockwheel, especially when they came out with the first version of their flagship. Noisy and ugly mess. We need to make manufacturers see that, because no one wants to ride on a ticking bomb. What are they thinking about when making these boards in a rush? Definitely not about people's lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flavour Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 3 hours ago, Marty Backe said: The fact that you're pondering a GT16 purchase but still consider a Gotway too risky somehow disturbs me Surely in the whole wheel spectrum, Rockwheel falls somewhere below Gotway??? Rockwheel was always below Gotway (which I wouldn't buy either). Gotway at least has some real history and influenced the market, Rockwheel is just trying. But instead focusing on the speed, they both should focus on safety and quality. I hope one day I could say "Gotway is making great devices now". By the way, what happened to your eye on avatar? Is it Google Glass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 37 minutes ago, Scatcat said: The black one looks like a muscle-car-style color, the orange one like a Lamborghini, the blue one looks like it's gone through a "pimp my ride" show... The color choices are one thing that sets Rockwheel apart from all the other brands. More colors to choose from. I kind of like the open tire design, I don't ride through water much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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