First ride

[Catlord17]

Today, I got my MSuper V3s+.  Had to race down the street, because during the 15 minutes I had to be away from home, it arrived.  I did manage to arrive in the nick of time.

First order of business was to charge it.  It stopped charging at 80.4 volts.  Even with the charger set to 100%, it will not go higher.  Isn't it supposed to go to 84?

Second order of business was to inflate the very soft tire.  I removed the pedal and unscrewed all the screws I could find, but no luck getting the case apart.  So I watched Marty's video on fixing his tire, and saw how he inflated it.  On my way to Harbor Freight to get a compressor etc. I stopped at the bike shop.  They advised me against using slime, and inflated the tire for me.

Then I went to HF and bought a 3 gallon pancake compressor with the setup Marty has.

Just tried to ride it.  Was able to get on and do some stuff in the hall for a minute, then took it to the back yard where, within 2 minutes, I concluded that... that's not gonna happen.  Gonna have to pad this baby up and go do some hard surface riding.  Or go to a soccer field or golf course where it's smooth and even.

But I did manage to get on it a few times holding on to nothing, and ride it a few inches.

Doubtless this will seem laughable after a few hours of practice, but for now it's making me happy.  Sadly, now I have to go to work.  

Any comments on my adventures so far are welcome.

[Catlord17]

Gotway app now insisting I have the motor code wrong... triple verified... oy.  This is gonna be one of those experiences, I see.

[radial]

Actually, that sounds pretty typical.  Riding these machines isn't intuitive.  Takes a bit of time for your neuro muscular systems to adapt.  Sounds like you had a great first day! 

[meepmeepmayer]

Where does the 80.4V number come from? What voltage does Wheelllog show (the wheel reports a false voltage, so if Wheellog shows something around 67.2V, that's 84V). edit: actually, don't believe any app voltages they seem to be just random numbers. Just checked my 84V ACM and battery % and voltage don't match eac other at all.

I also had the funny effect where on first charge, it would stop at 70%. Just unplug and replug the charger/keep it in and see if something changes (red light for charging). For me, it went up to 80% (stopped again), then 90% (stopped again), 98% (stopped again), now it goes to 100% perfectly every time; was just on first charge. Also a possibility.

Use only the 9 numbers from the motor code. It's on the rim of the tire and different from the serial number. Better yet, use the old Gotway app (download section here) and you need no registration.

[Catlord17]

Voltage is as read on the fast charger itself.  GotWay App, after I figured out that the motor code is just the numbers, allowed me to log in, and shows an approximate charge of 90% on the graph.  I have tried unplugging and re-plugging the charger, but nothing happens.

I'm all registered already, so... guess that's too late.  Closest to me is Duff.  There are 5 registered users within 219 km.  Funny how the app displays "Mileage" in km.  No option to change, either.  

I am curious as to what this huge download from GotWay is...

[Catlord17]

Now this fourth try it's charging again.  Weird. 

Is the wheel supposed to make a loud almost ultrasonic while at all times even when not being ridden?

 

[meepmeepmayer]

Yes, the high pitched whine (6kHz, you can check with Android app Advanced Spectrum Analyzer) is normal.

Just keep replugging the charger until you reach 100%. After that point, the problem should go away.

[Catlord17]

Well, managed a couple feet in the hallway without touching the walls... this is going to be a lot of fun, I can tell.  Too bad I don't have the time to do more today.

Thanks for the guidance, guys!

[meepmeepmayer]

Have fun!

Now I remember, between the charges I rode a little (just a minute), then after that it would stop charging at a higher percentage until it was 100% and stayed there.

[Catlord17]

I'm planning to only charge to 100% every so often.  I think Jason recommended every 10th charge.  Aside from that I'll probably be doing the 1 amp 80% to maximize battery life.  But this first time... 5 amps, 100%!  

[Catlord17]

That last 4 volts really takes its time, no?  

[meepmeepmayer]

The charging current is gradually reduced to zero towards the end of the charge, so slow or fast charger makes no difference. The end is always at the same speed. So the last few % take longer compared to the quick charging before.

Small tip: after 100%, give the BMSes 20 minutes or so to balance the cells before you use the wheel. At least that's what they say around here

I believe the entire battery protection thing is a bit overblown. If you look at the number of charge cycles even when you charge to 100% every time, it's still like 500 (not sure, example number) or so before the batteries get notably weaker. One charge cycle for 1600Wh is like 90-100 km or so (how far you can get on one full charge 100% to 0%), so at least 4500-5000km before you even notice something. You might have a new wheel long before that happens. And in general, it seems batteries are more robust than people initially believed.

Of course there's no downside to partial charging, I usually do 85% (so I can relatively quickly top up to 100% should it spontaneously be needed). So no reason not to do it, especially with your 1600Wh there's still enough juice left for pretty much any spontaneous ride at 80%.

Probably more important is not to store the wheel at 100% (so the time it is at 100% should not be unnecessarily long). 1A or 5A does not matter, both currents are far below what the battery cells are designed for (with it being distributed between so many cells).

[dmethvin]

Definitely don't feel like you have to do a full charge every time. Only do 100% every few weeks to ensure the cells are balanced if you really feel you need it. Don't charge to 100% and leave it that way for long periods of time.

[Catlord17]

I was reading at Battery University (I think that's what it was called).  This battery stuff is so convoluted.  Different set of arcane rituals for every kind and combination.

 

There's really no loss of life span if it's always 5 amps?  That surprises me.

[meepmeepmayer]

[Catlord17]

Thank you, I'll read that now.

 

I am astonished at how much I am learining in what amount of time and in how many fields and directions since I decided to buy this thing...

[WARPed1701D]

Congrats! My V8 arrived today too. I've not had chance to ride it yet though. Tomorrow I hope!

[Catlord17]

I had a few chances sporadically to get on and try it.  It's definitely not something you'll want to try in uneven grass, as even when I was able to get on it, I could not lean forward enough in time to prevent it from falling over.  Even with someone to hold me up while I was in the grass, my feet were killing me after 50 feet.  Being on the road did not much help at that point.

So it's all padded up now, and tomorrow I'll make my way over to the soccer field near my house, bundle up in all the protective gear and try not to tear muscles, ligaments or tendons in my feet.  

Gotta learn, though.  The hot blonde bartender at the sports bar where I frequently eat lunch wants me to teach her how to ride.  Pretty good incentive!  

[Catlord17]

2 hours ago, WARPed1701D said:

Congrats! My V8 arrived today too. I've not had chance to ride it yet though. Tomorrow I hope!

Congrats to you as well!  I think you may have an easier time of it, given that yours is lighter.

[Catlord17]

I managed a few minutes to "ride" today, while showing my wheel to a friend.  Managed to get a couple feet unassisted in uneven terrain and grass.  Still no time to really do this, but that does seem like an improvement.  It'll be nice when I am done with this work project and I can get serious about doing this.  Should be on the 19th.  Then I can take it to the soccer field and figure it out for serious... unless it's raining, or the ground is too wet.  It's always something lately.

[WARPed1701D]

 I'm in the same boat. Different reasons, but most annoying to have my wheel but not had chance to roll with it properly yet. I should have taken vacation this week.

[ubertoad]

I learned it just by increasing those inches. I disregarded anything and focused on riding an inch more. They grew pretty fast. I think this works even for bad terrain.

Your legs will hurt at first and you'll feel that you are spending tons of energy to ride, way much harder than running. And it is possible for the sides of your legs to hurt even more, as you don't yet know how to hold the wheel (and it may be a good idea to wear some side leg protection). But that all will pass.

[meepmeepmayer]

This video can't be posted often enough

 

[nute]

@WARPed1701D & @Catlord17, the learning process is a bit of a struggle but do keep at it and within a few days you will have picked it up. I found a local school playground which had a low fence/rail around it so was able to hand myself along the fence whilst trying to learn to balance. Like riding a bike the balance comes easier with a little speed so a brisk walking speed is a lot easier to balance at than a crawl. A hard surface is also easier to learn on than loose dirt or gravel and a slightly softer tire pressure also helps although as soon as you have some confidence pump it back up to hard, as the wheel has a much greater agility that way.

Not sure if it has already been suggested but i found a short leash around the handle allowed me to prevent my wheel from falling over if i had to bail. Don't try to use it as a balance aid, that won't work, its just a way of stopping the wheel hitting the deck if /when you jump off.  

[Catlord17]

Well today I tried to take "the beast" to the soccer field, but I quickly found it was too uneven, much less even than I had imagined.  I briefly thought about doing the parking lot before deciding against that.

Brought it home, geared up and started in the road.  Got 3 inches, fell off.  Beast fell over and the padding naturally came off right before it was needed, and my wheel got scratched.  Which pissed me off... so I went back to the grass before trying holding on to the garage door and quickly exhausting myself.  Then I rested until my feet didn't hurt anymore, and went out again in my front yard, high uneven grass right now and uneven ground.  Managed to mount and ride about 3 feet, padding falling off the beast left and right.  I must not have attached it properly.  Then I pulled off five feet before I exhausted myself again.  No leash, no wall, no help.  Woohoo!  Now I'm resting my feet some, and I'll go back out and do it again and again for the next couple hours until I run out of time.

This is certainly an exhausting challenge, but I'm definitely and quickly making progress, which pleases me.  And it's fun, in spite of the pain in my feet and the exhaustion!