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Oooh lala the Kingsong 18s and the Darkside review


Stan Onymous

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Urna Semper
Stan O'nymos
January 3, 2018


Ooh lala The KS18S 
The night looks better in electronic shades of green.


In the 1930's France decided if the world was collapsing under the great depression, France was, before the final end of civilization, going to finally show the world its superiority in the form of automobiles. They began unceremoniously with push button electronic transmissions that had 6 gear speeds in forward or reverse. Later there were water cooled inline six cylinder fuel injected engines capable of 80mph in the beginning and by the end of 1939 you could cruise at 110 mph in a hardtop retractable convertible down the Champs Elysees on spanked pigs leather upholstered seats blinding all onlookers with spools of chrome accenture off curvy hips fashioned from metal over the fenders and skirts. The styling began, well how do I say this, not so British as to offend the eyes, but wound up evoking the lines and movements of giant chrome accented majestic biplanes glistening in the sky as they roared past the throngs of unwashed hankering for a hunk of cheese cake. These cars hovered more than wheeled on the chassis powered by the thundering inline six dual header sans catalytic converter. Fun names like Delage, and Delahaye, Peugeot, or El Glaoui  who was known as Lord of the Atlas and was the Pasha of Marrakesh, ruled the times. No longer was the car just a noisier wagon wheeled moving money pit, less dependable, sluggish, pollution machine of pain and sorrow. Now in 1939 it was fancy and able to go at tremendous speeds in luxury and safety as well. No wonder why Hitler was so upset at the French. It will be told in history books of the future that Electric Unicycles have now reached that similar period in their development.

It is so proven with Kingsong's newest release, the KS18s an 18" electric unicycle capable of 30 mph and a range good enough to take you to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Zebulon from Rural North Carolina and back. Thats as fast as a horse. Styling of today's so called futuristic wheels is such infantile braggadocio. Yeah? You know what the Segway a1A looks like? Correct it looks like a wheel. How brave those designers must feel. They have reached into the future and come up with - nothing. Im not buying it. Kingsong, like their designs or not, have always been voluptuous with the lines on their machines. I own a 500w KS14 that looks like a stretched out "portable" Singer sewing machine in its plastic case. It really is something out of a 1960's science fiction TV show of what a robot companion would look like in the year 2020, which is only 2 years away so that makes Kingsong almost 5 years ahead of the game already. 

This new much larger wheeled big brother looks like Darth Vader's helmet if it was pressed in a 3 Stooges sized vice. Oddly enough it makes no difference whether you look at it from the front rear or either side. You will still see the dark side staring out at you from the honeycombed metal bluetooth speaker covers. The KS18s and the KS18ay both have quadraphonic bluetooth speaker systems capable of conversation squashing sound wherever you wish to go. The USB port above the power button assures you that the STREAMING can continue as long as their networks deems so. I would guess the white cases look like a storm trooper's helmet, and they do in all the pictures I have seen them in, which is one. C'mon, who wouldn't rather be Darth?

Onto the ride, but wait the app. It has been restyled and much of your well thought out comments were lost in translation, but it is more colorful and it is easier to access the set up modes for speed, ride, and vertical calibration. Vertical calibration is essential to setting up the vehicle for style of lean while on the vehicle. I am short, so I found myself leaning too far beyond the pads. Just enter the calibration mode and lean the machine a little forward. Voila! Setting up the ride is an equally easy task, but not even Confucius himself could solve the speed warning settings riddle. I will be asking kingsong customer support about this paper finger trap where every level I would like to put it at is rejected or fails. So far I have only received the first warning which is set to around 23mph. 

This machine drives like a Mercedes G class SUV. Perfectly suited for the absentminded fellow or housewife who doesnt always notice that the sidewalk is not ended by a ramp but a curb or the giant root bulge in the road that is milliseconds away. The KS18s has handled both of those obstacles at low to medium low speed without me even having the feeling that I needed to panic or brace for a launch. It has a nearly 3" wide tire and that and the larger diameter really smooth out the worst of the road. Oddly enough, certain smaller bumps act more as ramps than the bumps I was accustomed to treat them as on my 16" V8. The KS18 rides the offroad trails like a Clydesdale who has consumed a liter of redbull. It has power, 1500w of constant and double that at the peaks. It has so much power that I find myself leaning far too forward because of the unbelievable climbing strength and sandiness of the soil it just wants to plough through and will with a little patience and less panicked verve on my part.

The KS18s is heavy, heavier still with the 1680wh battery pack, but it handles like it wants to be a baby lamb. It can turn on a dime and head up a leaned over tree if you let it. At first it can handle like trying to retrieve a hat from the ground while closing a diesel truck door. It is that thrill of cheating certain digital amputation that encourages the rider to quickly learn how to carve a 90° corner like Betty Crocker spreading icing on her mother's birthday cake. It is a quick learning curve and one you will want to do out of passion because of the ride the KS18s delivers. I am 145lbs with boots and a hat and just over 5 and a half feet tall, so hearing giants over 6" tall tell me how much fun it is,... Well I was skeptical. I am no longer a skeptic. This thing charges up the steepest hills, carves out a perfect arc on a busy street, and is a champ on grass or dirt trails. Stopping while going downhills is a much bigger chore due to the counterbalance I need to create down steep hills without starting the wobbles. This is getting much better after the first week of riding, and as I get more used to the vehicle's dynamics. The KS18 is remarkably comfortable while riding in foot traffic at slow speed. It is much less noticed than my mTen, perhaps because it is so obvious and therefore easier to predict where its heading. Maybe they just fear it more.

Did I mention its heavy? Fortunately it has a space in the tire rim for a lock cable that you can string up to the handle as well. It has a locking mechanism that I am told will disable the vehicle with a passcode. I believe that, since I have been disabled by several passcodes of mine. So I have not tried out this function yet. It is tall, but it comes with a seat that is comfortable and pretty fun in a Charlie Chaplin sort of way. The lights are reversible depending on the direction you are headed in. In other words, if you drive butt first the rear headlight will light up the ground just before you hit whatever danger lurks in the dark and the same if you head face first into life. But hey the tail lights are perfect and activate when braking which is so totally cool! Besides if you are driving Darth Vader's head at night may I suggest some night vision goggles to compliment the look?

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2 hours ago, Stan Onymous said:

Urna Semper
Stan O'nymos
January 3, 2018


Ooh lala The KS18S 
The night looks better in electronic shades of green.


In the 1930's France decided if the world was collapsing under the great depression, France was, before the final end of civilization, going to finally show the world its superiority in the form of automobiles. They began unceremoniously with push button electronic transmissions that had 6 gear speeds in forward or reverse. Later there were water cooled inline six cylinder fuel injected engines capable of 80mph in the beginning and by the end of 1939 you could cruise at 110 mph in a hardtop retractable convertible down the Champs Elysees on spanked pigs leather upholstered seats blinding all onlookers with spools of chrome accenture off curvy hips fashioned from metal over the fenders and skirts. The styling began, well how do I say this, not so British as to offend the eyes, but wound up evoking the lines and movements of giant chrome accented majestic biplanes glistening in the sky as they roared past the throngs of unwashed hankering for a hunk of cheese cake. These cars hovered more than wheeled on the chassis powered by the thundering inline six dual header sans catalytic converter. Fun names like Delage, and Delahaye, Peugeot, or El Glaoui  who was known as Lord of the Atlas and was the Pasha of Marrakesh, ruled the times. No longer was the car just a noisier wagon wheeled moving money pit, less dependable, sluggish, pollution machine of pain and sorrow. Now in 1939 it was fancy and able to go at tremendous speeds in luxury and safety as well. No wonder why Hitler was so upset at the French. It will be told in history books of the future that Electric Unicycles have now reached that similar period in their development.

It is so proven with Kingsong's newest release, the KS18s an 18" electric unicycle capable of 30 mph and a range good enough to take you to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Zebulon from Rural North Carolina and back. Thats as fast as a horse. Styling of today's so called futuristic wheels is such infantile braggadocio. Yeah? You know what the Segway a1A looks like? Correct it looks like a wheel. How brave those designers must feel. They have reached into the future and come up with - nothing. Im not buying it. Kingsong, like their designs or not, have always been voluptuous with the lines on their machines. I own a 500w KS14 that looks like a stretched out "portable" Singer sewing machine in its plastic case. It really is something out of a 1960's science fiction TV show of what a robot companion would look like in the year 2020, which is only 2 years away so that makes Kingsong almost 5 years ahead of the game already. 

This new much larger wheeled big brother looks like Darth Vader's helmet if it was pressed in a 3 Stooges sized vice. Oddly enough it makes no difference whether you look at it from the front rear or either side. You will still see the dark side staring out at you from the honeycombed metal bluetooth speaker covers. The KS18s and the KS18ay both have quadraphonic bluetooth speaker systems capable of conversation squashing sound wherever you wish to go. The USB port above the power button assures you that the STREAMING can continue as long as their networks deems so. I would guess the white cases look like a storm trooper's helmet, and they do in all the pictures I have seen them in, which is one. C'mon, who wouldn't rather be Darth?

Onto the ride, but wait the app. It has been restyled and much of your well thought out comments were lost in translation, but it is more colorful and it is easier to access the set up modes for speed, ride, and vertical calibration. Vertical calibration is essential to setting up the vehicle for style of lean while on the vehicle. I am short, so I found myself leaning too far beyond the pads. Just enter the calibration mode and lean the machine a little forward. Voila! Setting up the ride is an equally easy task, but not even Confucius himself could solve the speed warning settings riddle. I will be asking kingsong customer support about this paper finger trap where every level I would like to put it at is rejected or fails. So far I have only received the first warning which is set to around 23mph. 

This machine drives like a Mercedes G class SUV. Perfectly suited for the absentminded fellow or housewife who doesnt always notice that the sidewalk is not ended by a ramp but a curb or the giant root bulge in the road that is milliseconds away. The KS18s has handled both of those obstacles at low to medium low speed without me even having the feeling that I needed to panic or brace for a launch. It has a nearly 3" wide tire and that and the larger diameter really smooth out the worst of the road. Oddly enough, certain smaller bumps act more as ramps than the bumps I was accustomed to treat them as on my 16" V8. The KS18 rides the offroad trails like a Clydesdale who has consumed a liter of redbull. It has power, 1500w of constant and double that at the peaks. It has so much power that I find myself leaning far too forward because of the unbelievable climbing strength and sandiness of the soil it just wants to plough through and will with a little patience and less panicked verve on my part.

The KS18s is heavy, heavier still with the 1680wh battery pack, but it handles like it wants to be a baby lamb. It can turn on a dime and head up a leaned over tree if you let it. At first it can handle like trying to retrieve a hat from the ground while closing a diesel truck door. It is that thrill of cheating certain digital amputation that encourages the rider to quickly learn how to carve a 90° corner like Betty Crocker spreading icing on her mother's birthday cake. It is a quick learning curve and one you will want to do out of passion because of the ride the KS18s delivers. I am 145lbs with boots and a hat and just over 5 and a half feet tall, so hearing giants over 6" tall tell me how much fun it is,... Well I was skeptical. I am no longer a skeptic. This thing charges up the steepest hills, carves out a perfect arc on a busy street, and is a champ on grass or dirt trails. Stopping while going downhills is a much bigger chore due to the counterbalance I need to create down steep hills without starting the wobbles. This is getting much better after the first week of riding, and as I get more used to the vehicle's dynamics. The KS18 is remarkably comfortable while riding in foot traffic at slow speed. It is much less noticed than my mTen, perhaps because it is so obvious and therefore easier to predict where its heading. Maybe they just fear it more.

Did I mention its heavy? Fortunately it has a space in the tire rim for a lock cable that you can string up to the handle as well. It has a locking mechanism that I am told will disable the vehicle with a passcode. I believe that since I have been disabled by several passcodes of mine, so I have not tried out this function yet. It is tall, but it comes with a seat that is comfortable and pretty fun in a Charlie Chaplin sort of way. The lights are reversible depending on the direction you are headed in. In other words, if you drive butt first the rear headlight will light up the ground just before you hit whatever danger lurks in the dark and the same if you head face first into life. But hey the tail lights are perfect and activate when braking which is so totally cool! Besides if you are driving Darth Vader's head at night may I suggest some night vision goggles to compliment the look?

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

Nice commentary. I'm surprised to see that you got yourself a KS18S - I didn't think that you were into such large wheels. Glad you are liking it so much :cheers:

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Yeah, started on a 14" wheel and I have tried the 10" mTen and figured it was time to go in the other direction for a change. The thing really is a sexy beast too. It looks like a plastic leather fetish clothes modeling dummy. The pads even hint at a cleavage shelf. I also got an old ks18ay and was frustrated by its wiring which kept blowing the control boards. So it a compelling obsession decision and was only a matter of time after that. :efef015fe0:

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  • 1 month later...

nice review. i probably could have learned on the ks-18s but it was intimidating, and some “expert” on utube said u couldn’t. so after 9bot1s1 and s2 and e+ and ks-16s, the clear winner for me is the 18s. at 6’ tall the shell fits me perfectly. i feel like besides my feet on the pedals, i have extra controls with my upper legs up to my knees to bend the wheel. plus when i have a brain fart and need to exit, i can just grab the handle, no need for a strap. 27km , only 173km to go. just kidding. seems like 12.5 mph is what my top speed is, i don’t care what the top speed of the wheel is as long as it can reach 12.5 mph.

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That is a great point about the handle being better than a strap! The ninebot is a great training wheel, and it gives the feel of a much heavier wheel.

Yeah its a great EUC. I am taking it across L.A. today and then taking the steepest hills in Los Angeles for a little stress test with some drone footage tomorrow. I saw 'some guy' (Marty) on utube riding it like a dead body up a dirt hill to get it to overheat. Phooey! I am going to take it on a real world test, and I know how to ride it, so there shouldnt be any overheating. The firmware update fixed a lot of the ride feel too.

The firmware update gives a much better all around ride. Much more stable going down hills and much more stable over bumps and potholes. The speed upgrade is nice and stable on the roads where I do most of my riding. However it is a champ on the hills. People like that utube guy overlean and are not patient enough for the power of this humble miscreant of a EUC.

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On 2/15/2018 at 10:15 AM, Stan Onymous said:

That is a great point about the handle being better than a strap! The ninebot is a great training wheel, and it gives the feel of a much heavier wheel.

Yeah its a great EUC. I am taking it across L.A. today and then taking the steepest hills in Los Angeles for a little stress test with some drone footage tomorrow. I saw 'some guy' (Marty) on utube riding it like a dead body up a dirt hill to get it to overheat. Phooey! I am going to take it on a real world test, and I know how to ride it, so there shouldnt be any overheating. The firmware update fixed a lot of the ride feel too.

The firmware update gives a much better all around ride. Much more stable going down hills and much more stable over bumps and potholes. The speed upgrade is nice and stable on the roads where I do most of my riding. However it is a champ on the hills. People like that utube guy overlean and are not patient enough for the power of this humble miscreant of a EUC.

rode it again today a mile in my pasture which i would say is about the equivalent of a 15 mile road ride. mine, if u haven’t seen the pictures, is covered in a very lightweight 1” thick like mattress pad type foam, so if i do drop it, and i do, it’s a total non-event. i laugh, grab the handle and start over. i love it’s form factor. i wouldn’t want a lower shell like the proposed 18l. with it’s handy handle, i’m sure it’s gonna be the wheel i master mounting and dismounting first. i love it.  i’m pretty sure my pastures are too rough for my ks-16s but i may try it again. i just don’t wanna smoke it. the 18s, no problem. it looks like it has a good tire so soon, me and Bob will be making our ranch rounds using it.  can’t wait to see the surprised, puzzling looks from wiley coyote when Bob and i sneak up on him and his crew.

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12 hours ago, novazeus said:

can’t wait to see the surprised, puzzling looks from wiley coyote when Bob and i sneak up on him and his crew.

I chase the coyotes around my neighborhood, and yes they are surprised. You know the way they trot just out of throwing range and stop and look at you? Well this makes that turn around of theirs much more fun to watch. They get all "hey how did you... Whoa I am going to have to use evasive manuevers". They do, but I still chase them. I want to get a lion roar to play out of the speakers and really freak them out, but I havent managed to get it together yet. :w00t2:

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  • 3 months later...

Excellent review.  I loved the visual my mind was going through.  I have the KS18S too and the "expert" on Youtube was obviously wrong that you can't learn on it.  I haven't ever ridden any EUC other than this one.  It was my first and it only took me three days to get it figured out.  I also just put my review in too.  But apparently I didn't read the categories before I posted it, duh!  I should have posted it in the "Reviews" section.  Oh, well, maybe I'm not judged too harshly for it.  The comments on my review seem to show that everyone here is great about welcoming everyone and helping out as much as possible.  Not much trolling from what I'm seeing.  Thanks for such an entertaining review even though it I only just now found it, when I should have read it much earlier.

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I just got mine as well, and it's also my first wheel.   What a total body workout trying to figure it out. i felt the tire and assumed it was hard enough, and tried for about 2 hrs over 2 days only getting as far as 5 ft once before.  Then curiously i measured the pressure and it was reading 20 psi.  At a little over 5ft, i wonder how much difference i'll feel once i inflate to 30-35psi (which i will do after putting some slime in)....hope it'll make it a lot easier.

the only thing i don't like is lack of a trolley handle.  Since I'm so short, I don't want to install nor buy a full handlebar;  something temporary to give a few extra inches would be ideal. I like scubadragosan's jeep handle mod except that it makes the seat permanently attached, which means I have to lift the unit at a higher starting point to get it over any obstacles, thus tiring out faster.

glad to be hear and looking forward to the future

 

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@someguy152 welcome!

Enough tire pressure is important (rider weight dependent) as under-inflated will tend to pull the wheel left and right unintentionally.

PM me and I can join you to all the New York groups & FB chat if you're in the city!

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14 hours ago, someguy152 said:

I just got mine as well, and it's also my first wheel.   What a total body workout trying to figure it out. i felt the tire and assumed it was hard enough, and tried for about 2 hrs over 2 days only getting as far as 5 ft once before.  Then curiously i measured the pressure and it was reading 20 psi.  At a little over 5ft, i wonder how much difference i'll feel once i inflate to 30-35psi (which i will do after putting some slime in)....hope it'll make it a lot easier.

the only thing i don't like is lack of a trolley handle.  Since I'm so short, I don't want to install nor buy a full handlebar;  something temporary to give a few extra inches would be ideal. I like scubadragosan's jeep handle mod except that it makes the seat permanently attached, which means I have to lift the unit at a higher starting point to get it over any obstacles, thus tiring out faster.

glad to be hear and looking forward to the future

 

@someguy152 I'm glad to see someone else decided to use this as a first wheel. And yes, what a workout.  I blew through my calorie burning goals according to my Apple Watch by over four times.  I also noticed the tire pressure.  When I pumped it up to a more reasonable pressure it was much easier.  So definitely do that.  As @houseofjob said, it does pull left and right unexpectedly without the right pressure.

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being 120lbs, it is a monstrous effort....lol...as for my first wheel, was looking at the ks14s or v8, but I couldn't pass up a deal I saw on ebay, crossing fingers didn't get a lemon and that i can get used to this beast.

@houseofjob I'm not in nyc, but i'd definitely give you a ring when I'm there next time!

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