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Has anybody Heard of this?


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Guys, I have been in touch with Austin Marhold last night. I don't know him personally, but I have seen his name mentioned multiple times over the last few years. I was a bit intrigued by the videos I have seen on the pulseglider. I reached out to him and he has agreed to answer some questions about his project. He will record the answers so I can use them as a collaboration video for my youtube channel. 

Instead of me thinking up questions alone - I might include some of your input as well.

So what do you want to know about the pulseglider? I can come up with these for a start

  • What the story behind the pulse glider?
  • Who is Austin Marhold?
  • What is the secret to getting this kind of range/performance with a 9kg wheel 
  • What made you choose a 12" wheel? Would 16/18 inch be better? 
  • What is the idea behind the "top" heavy design and how does it help economics 
  • ?????

 

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2 hours ago, Henrik Olsen said:

Guys, I have been in touch with Austin Marhold last night. I don't know him personally, but I have seen his name mentioned multiple times over the last few years. I was a bit intrigued by the videos I have seen on the pulseglider. I reached out to him and he has agreed to answer some questions about his project. He will record the answers so I can use them as a collaboration video for my youtube channel. 

Instead of me thinking up questions alone - I might include some of your input as well.

So what do you want to know about the pulseglider? I can come up with these for a start

  • What the story behind the pulse glider?
  • Who is Austin Marhold?
  • What is the secret to getting this kind of range/performance with a 9kg wheel 
  • What made you choose a 12" wheel? Would 16/18 inch be better? 
  • What is the idea behind the "top" heavy design and how does it help economics 
  • ?????

 

Question: What differentiates it from current high performance wheels. Please be specific - no generalities.

Question: What price point are you aiming for.

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@Henrik Olsen

Questions:

-1600wh weight about 7,5kg...how can the wheel be only 9kg then?

-85%charge in 30Minutes are announced...What is the wattage/amps of the charger?

-Which PCB/Motherboard is used? Selfmade? Which Kind of Mosfets?

-8KW = 8000Watt wheel - That are 100Amps at 80Volts....Is this new Batterie technique?

-What is the -the suggested- timeline that the Serial production unit will come to market!

-and what will be the Price for the -USA produced- urban glider...Sorry: Pulse gilder

 

 

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@Henrik Olsen doing the good work, once again:thumbup:

Agree with @KingSong69's questions, those are the hard (technical) ones. In addition: "Was the demo wheel in published videos built from off-the-shelf components, or self produced components (motor, board, battery, most importantly)?"

And skip the "Who is Austin Marhold?" one, or you'll get stories about his boy scout trophies or such crap;) (sorry but the Linkedin really reads like a parody)

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Business questions:

1) Will you be acquiring capital for your project through crowdsourcing? Is so which platform?

2) How much capital will be required to begin mass production of the pulseglider?

3) Starting a new company of this magnitude will require integrated logistical support such as procurement of materials, facilities, spare parts, trained personnel, liability insurance, etc. What do you envision will be the most difficult obstacles you might encounter during this startup venture?

 

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Perfect, I'll make a list out of suggestions and forward it to him. 

Let's see how many he decides to answer ;-)

Just from previous video collaboration like this, don't expect answer instant as it takes time to do it on video.

I'll have him include some test drive footage as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Henrik Olsen said:

Perfect, I'll make a list out of suggestions and forward it to him. 

Let's see how many he decides to answer ;-)

Just from previous video collaboration like this, don't expect answer instant as it takes time to do it on video.

I'll have him include some test drive footage as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

Based on your previous educational videos I'm sure the interview will be another high caliber production! Looking forward to seeing  it!

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  1. With all the various EUCs available on the market, what makes you believe that people will want to buy the Pulse Glider instead?  What makes it more special than the competition?
  2. It has been stated that assembly and QC will be based in the US.  Is this to help protect IP, maintain quality assurance, and to avoid the Chinese from cloning the PG?  How will you be able to stay competitive in terms of pricing when the Chinese have mastered cheap manufacturing at the factory level?  Due to the high cost of batteries alone, won't an US made Pulse Glider even top Solowheel retail pricing?  If the PG is that much better, you can bet the Chinese will obtain one to copy it.  Once that happens, how will you keep US-made PG's competitive?
  3. Could you detail some of your experiences and education that has allowed you to embark on such an ambitious project?  What are your qualifications?
  4. What has been your investment personally so far in this project?  Do you have a business plan, and could you detail what steps you will be taking and what contingencies you have in place in the event a problem develops?
  5. Looking back at the UniWheel project, how will your company be different and how will you avoid leaving investors and people placing pre-orders hanging with empty promies?
  6. Without giving away too many secrets, how will your Pulse Glider be that much better than your competition?  What's going to make people think damn I want to buy that Pulse Glider instead of that Gotway, Ninebot, InMotion, or KingSong wheel?  Pricing now is already averaging around the $1300-1500 USD mark for a good performance wheel.  Where will the Pulse Glider be priced at?
  7. How will customers deal with warranty repairs?  Will you have a dealer network in place to help with repairs and to obtain spare parts?  Will there always be spare parts available for older models or will they be left orphaned like the KS18A?
  8. What successful and unsuccessful projects have you completed?  Why did they succeed or fail?  Could you tell us how determined you are to complete the PG project and pursue it to fruition?  New start-ups these days can often be short-lived leaving investors hanging (eg. Lily Drone).  How will your company be different?  What is your mission statement and personal goals?
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I wonder how much it would realistically cost to start an electric unicycle company in either the US or Europe from scratch and bring a product to market? I can imagine there is a very long list of skills and resources required, especially if you are going to match or exceed the competition.

The abbreviated accounts for Uniwheel Ltd (June 2015 - September 2016) are available via the UK Companies House website (uploaded end of June 2017) which may or may not give an indication of the kind of expenditure made by such a startup, although sadly with Uniwheel I don't think the product was ever released.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/09657577/filing-history

 

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Hello

Maybe i dont understand very well this market of the ewheels, but i dont see nothing "new" in the "new" produts...

I need to see something new: innovation!!!

Why not suspension? Why not real light that indicate where you turn?

I bought KS 18 because is diferent!!

I want something different, not a "new" wheel, but that is like the others!!

 

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1 hour ago, Austin Marhold Swindles said:

Austin Marhold has no educated. He is just some stupid kid on narcotics. 

Let's not forget his 2014 kickstarter where he tried to pass off a customised Chinese wheel as his own innovation.

The only thing he has learned from his 2014 attempt till now is how to become a better swindler.

I don't know why you're grinding that axe so hard against Marhold but I don't think personal insults have a place here. Let's get him to answer the questions being posed in the other replies and see what he says.

Your job as a potential buyer/investor is to judge whether the company has a chance to deliver on its promises. The questions being asked on this thread are the ones I'd want to have answered before I bought.

The video isn't a swindle, it's just typical over-the-top marketing. If you've ever been a part of a business trying to raise money to build a product, the marketing always ends up being a little overhyped. That's because you're trying to get people to give you money! Do things really go better with Coke? Does a name like Smuckers tell you it has to be good? Is KFC really finger licking good? NO!! 

In the EUC business it seems that everyone is buying motors and control boards from other manufacturers and combining it with their custom shells and firmware. Let's not forget that nearly all cell phones are made in China but they're quite a range of products from iPhone to cheap tossers. The difference is in the design, the software, and the quality control. If some of us had access to the factories, maybe we could build our own EUC as well. Would it be similar to a King Song or Gotway? Yep, because we'd be using many of the same parts!

In the mid-1990s I went to Houston to see the Compaq PC factory. It was a custom building full of highly automated assembly line with conveyor belts and overhead tools that hung down so workers could install parts. Each PC was on a turntable so the worker could move it around easily. There were even some robots! A few years later I went to San Diego to visit Acer. Their "factory" was a bunch of folding tables in a warehouse. They assembled parts that were sent in from China or Taiwan by boat. The workers picked up the PC carcass and hauled it from table to table. It was barely a step up from what you could do in your own basement. Guess which company survived.  Don't fool yourself into thinking that a company needs to spend lots of money on infrastructure to be legit. 

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After reading some of the comments above, it does appear that there was a project listed on Kickstarter a few years back: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/220079372/the-urban-glider-re-think-how-you-explore-the-worl/

 

Funding for this project was suspended by Kickstarter on August 19 (of that year). It would be interesting to learn why funding was suspended? 

 

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20 minutes ago, Jonathan Tolhurst said:

After reading some of the comments above, it does appear that there was a project listed on Kickstarter a few years back: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/220079372/the-urban-glider-re-think-how-you-explore-the-worl/

 

Funding for this project was suspended by Kickstarter on August 19 (of that year). It would be interesting to learn why funding was suspended? 

 

From the comments it seams because of patent issues with solowheel.

The marketed and shown wheel was -suspected/rumoured/offended- to be from the chinese brand Legway.......but please dont nail me on this folks!!! At least it looks pretty identical....

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8 minutes ago, KingSong69 said:

From the comments it seams because of patent issues with solowheel.

That link does discuss the Solowheel patents but it also says Kickstarter does not police those, it was just one guy who seemed to have an axe to grind and, at one point, when talking about Solowheel said "we" - oops slight slip of the tongue ? 

Its own FAQ's also do not state that existing patents are a reason to suspend. The other suggestion on that page is misrepresentation and that is stated in their FAQ as a reason. I would (IMHO) take that to mean passing someone else's product off as your own?

i know it is back in 2014, but the video at the top of https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/220079372/the-urban-glider-re-think-how-you-explore-the-worl/ shows a wheel with absolutely horribly soft  peddles that tilt like crazy on braking. Looks very unpleasant to ride.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/21/2017 at 5:45 PM, KingSong69 said:

That are 100Amps at 80Volts....Is this new Batterie technique?

Or old, it used to be american, who needs 120A for more than 10s or 50A continuous (30A using 18650) ? 

Best safety, best cycle life, best discharge and fast charge ability. Only smaller autonomy than li-ion. LiFePO4 nano is also being sold as polymer pouch.

http://www.a123systems.com/lithium-ion-cells-26650-cylindrical-cell.htm

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