GQS Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I had a chance to ride my Gotway 18 (herein referred as “GW18”) a few times over the last several weeks now. I think I am ready to report on the experience and compare it to the Gotway 14 (Herein referred to as the “GW14”). You can see my other post comparing the GW14 and the Solowheel (herein referred to as “SW”) in this forum. Electric unicycle will be referred as “EU”. The Gotway 10 is referred to as "GW10". Please seek official advice and guidance from a professional, from a reputable distributor, or from the vendor, I am not responsible for any error and omissions or any harm that may result from you doing this sport. YMMV. I was able to take the GW18 up to 4 beeps wearing; body armor, a hockey helmet, motorcycle gloves, knee/shin pads, hockey padded hip pants. Since I was expecting to crash (but thankfully didn’t) I was not holding a phone to gauge my real speed (since I didn’t want to smash it if I crashed). I would guess I was in the >30km/h speed range. Everyone stared at me, partly because of my GW18 beeping constantly, partly because of seeing a man on a unicycle going fast, and partly because of my bulky armor. GW18 Pros: Stability – The GW18 feels unnaturally stable at medium and high speeds. Even the wind blowing will not really move you. Road disturbances will not force you to change directions. There is really no scary direction change due to regular external road abnormalities. Going down curbs in pretty easy, as is rolling UP some low curbs. If long straight forward travel is your primary usage, the GW18 is hard to beat. See cons for associated disadvantages as tradeoffs for this stability. Range – My model has a huge 680wh battery (it actually uses 2 x 340wh packs). There’s a model that is 850wh by adding a 3rd 170wh pack. Using the GW18 on my normal commute that completely drains the SW’s 130wh pack, the GW18’s battery indicator did not even decrease from its full 4 LED indicator. I have not been able to use up all 4 LED’s worth of energy on my normal routes yet. I suspect a custom route will need to be designed (with a lot of hills) to try to use up the energy. Speed – The version that I have goes up to (according to my distributor) is 44km/h. I think it is likely that I have the commonly regarded “fast” version that goes up to an indicated 40km/h. I am able to overtake mountain bike riders, and am able to slightly outpace road bikes. If the bike rider is sprinting, they can easily overtake you, but from an endurance factor, the GW18 will prevail. With the GW18, if you set your mind to overtake a “regular” bike rider on the street, you will be able to in the next few minutes even if they race you, and this “overtaking” victory was not ever possible before on the GW14 or SW. Of course if you accidently try to race the occasionally Olympian or bike messenger with calves larger than your thighs, you will still lose. Terrain Handling – the 18” wheels go over bumps, cracks, grass, and dirt with much more ease than the GW14. You worry less about having to dodge small obstacles than on smaller wheels. Just roll over that pine cones, roll over that large crack in the road, roll over potholes, nothing really fazes the GW18. It has large fat tires that go easily over most surfaces. Even directional carpet is easier to roll over with the GW18. Hill climbing – I have the “fast” GW18 version which means I am supposed limited to 27 degrees hill climbing. In my testing on slopes in San Francisco, the best I can find (nearby) is about 14 degrees (about 25 %/grade). For the SW and the GW14, when going up such a hill I would experience a noticeable voltage drop. The SW would go from green LED to red LED immediately upon going up the hill (skipping the orange LED). The GW14 would go from 4 LED’s down to 2 LED’s while going up the same hill. Granted this is for me (a 90kg load) up and slope of about 14 degrees. I would imagine the voltage drop would be greater on a steeper hill for someone of my weight. The GW18 did not have the same indicated voltage drop going up the same hill. It stayed steady at 4 LED’s the entire time going uphill. This is most likely because the GW18 has double the number of batteries to handle the increased current load. GW18 Cons: Low speed maneuvering – While this wheel is stable once it is moving, I found that low speed maneuvering where a lot of direction change is required is not ideal. It is much harder to do a low speed “slalom” on the GW18 than on smaller wheels like the GW14. You simply will have a harder time throwing this wheel around. The forward moving turning radius is increased. The increased mass will require more effort to “waist twist” a direct change at low speeds. Lack of Agility – You cannot throw this wheel around as easily as the GW14. This wheel is heavy and you will need to put thought into where you want to travel. You can still easily avoid road debris still, but the GW14 felt like an extension of your body. The GW18 feels like a wagon that you have to manhandle. Eventually I bet it can be intuitive to ride but the weight and stability comes at the cost of being able to do acrobatics as easily. Weight – Heavy. While you can still lift this around, it becomes a noticeable burden. The trolley handle is mandatory if you get this. This weight gives you lots of stability but is annoying if you have to carry it off the ground. Noise – There are several types of noise on the GW18. One is the constant beeping from the speed warning. This can be helped with a potentiometer modification that allows you to turn the volume up or down, although this sound adjustment does not come standard from the factory. You’ll need to either buy it from a distributor that can put it in for you, or you’ll need some soldering/splicing skills to get this installed. The beeping is incredibly annoying, it is almost as loud as the GW14’s siren, but not quite, maybe 80%-90% the maximum volume. A second noise is from wind. I had no idea that wind can be so noisy, but after 25km/h, all you’ll be hearing is the buffeting of wind in your ears, across your helmet, and from your lose clothing. A third noise comes from the motor at high RPM and from the tire contact patch. We calculated that the GW18 rotates at 484 RPM’s at 40km/h. At higher speed with the wind noise, you don’t hear much else aside from the wind, but if there was a tailwind reducing your wind noise, you will likely hear the tire contact patch noise and a slight whirl sound from the motor (and the constant beeping). Aerodynamics – Nobody ever thought about it, but you are like a giant square sale leaning into the wind whenever you ride your EU. You are not aerodynamic at all. This is especially noticeable at the higher speeds that the GW18 allows. With a headwind, I noticed that I was being pushed back and had to lead forward more to compensate. If top speed was a goal, I suggest wearing fairly slick tight clothing that does not flap in the wind. Pedals angle inwards – One the first ride, this hurt my knees. But I had to adjust my riding position. I would still prefer pedals that were less angled upwards, but still not quite parallel to the ground. But I felt that this angle was a bit much. Size – This is much larger than the GW14. You’ll need to be more conscious where you store it, what you lean it up against, how much room it is taking on the train/bus/metro. I have a guitar stand that struggles to carry this while at home in the closet. Charge time – It takes a whopping [FIVE PLUS] 5+ hours to charge the GW18’s pack from 1 bar to 4 bars. The stock 2a charger is the same one that comes with the GW10 and GW14, and is underpowered for charging the two battery packs inside the GW18 simultaneously. Consider upgrading to a slightly higher amp aftermarket charger in the future, even a 3a charger will be helpful. Overall, I think the GW18 is a well-executed EU. Though I would likely recommend this for folks who have long distance commutes and possibly after they’ve owned another smaller EU. I think my ideal EU would be the GW14 but with the 680wh battery option and only if the top speed was higher. While it was really fun to finally outpace bike riders, the wind resistance was a serious and unexpected issue. I don’t think a 50km/h or 60km/h EU would be practical due to the wind resistance alone. The speed felt good but also made me nervous that a crash at that speed would cause serious injury. The resulting mandatory body armor added additional time to my daily routine, and the helmet gives me hat hair going into work. Some folks still don’t wear body protection, not even simple knee pads, and I strongly urge GW18 owners to invest in good body protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Great review. Thanks. Really looking forward to mine arriving now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Really awesomely excellent thorough review GQS. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanosH Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Excellent review!!! Thank you very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Clegg Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Wow! I love the body armour story. Wish you had videoed that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GILLES Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Thank you for this very interesting test. Is there others differences between the two models except maximum speed and do you think there is a different engine in each wheel ? It should be very nice to have a long video about your wheels (on you tube they are to shorts) Excuse my english, I am french Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EUC Extreme Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Glad to hear the good experiences. Also, this to me is coming up, so I'm looking forward to the arrival Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MvM Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Do you have any pictures of this EU, just general or in motion and/or compared with other EU's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GQS Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Gilles, there are three models in total. Fast, balanced, and high-torque. The fast has a top speed of 40km/h but a top sustained hill climb of 27 degrees. The balanced model has a top speed of 34km/h but has a top sustained hill climb of 33 degrees, and the high-torque model has a top speed of 28km/h and has a sustained hill climb of 39 degrees. These are measurements in "degrees" not "percent slope" so is very impressive. Each wheel has a different motor, or rather each version's stator has a different number of wire wounds around it to determine the torque vs top speed issue. It is hardware and software difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GQS Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 MvM, ar6ee has a review with a number of pictures. You can take a look here: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GQS Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Sam, you can see my body armor in person once you get better. I go do my lap in the closed-to-cars section of GGP every Sunday afternoon between 2-3. I enter through the disco rollerskaters area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Gilles, there are three models in total. Fast, balanced, and high-torque. The fast has a top speed of 40km/h but a top sustained hill climb of 27 degrees. The balanced model has a top speed of 34km/h but has a top sustained hill climb of 33 degrees, and the high-torque model has a top speed of 28km/h and has a sustained hill climb of 39 degrees. These are measurements in "degrees" not "percent slope" so is very impressive. Each wheel has a different motor, or rather each version's stator has a different number of wire wounds around it to determine the torque vs top speed issue. It is hardware and software difference. So it is the motor windings that vary in each model. Just as I first suspected. Thanks for the clarification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
^tom^ Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Each wheel has a different motor, or rather each version's stator has a different number of wire wounds around it to determine the torque vs top speed issue. It is hardware and software difference. A thank you, from me to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
^tom^ Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 and the question now: Does the different motors affect the acceleration of each typ? So the 27km ist the fastet from 0 to 15mph? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tds101 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Excellent review. I do have a question,... Does anyone know of a USA distributor? I'd like either a GW14 or GW18. And I'd luv a huge battery in the GW14. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbking Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Hi, how can we contact GotWay factory? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
^tom^ Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I miss some information in here too! Looks like nobody is realy intressted to sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GQS Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 The higher top speed results in lower acceleration. The trade off is always in torque. The model with the lowest top speed will probably accelerate fastest. There is no USA distributor due to patent licensing rights issues. You will need to secure one yourself through an importer or overseas distributor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GQS Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Excellent review. I do have a question,... Does anyone know of a USA distributor? I'd like either a GW14 or GW18. And I'd luv a huge battery in the GW14. The Gotway 14 comes in a 680wh battery variant. This should give the massive range you are looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I found this very interesting Web page explaining the effects of the number of windings on brushless motors. http://m.instructables.com/id/How-to-Wrap-or-Upgrade-a-Brushless-Outrunner-Motor/?ALLSTEPS The important bit that concerns speed and torque is: A brushless motor uses a pulsed current that alternates between three wires. This fact about them can make it seem confusing about how to make one. There are a few different ways to wrap a brushless outrunner, but I will show you the easiest and most common way. Once you know how to wrap a brushless motor you can change the performance of your motors to have different outputs such as higher torque, higher RPM, and higher tolerances. You have a few different options when wrapping the coils of wire on the stator. More wraps or turns around each pole gives the motor more torque and a lower kv (rpm per volt). More turns will allow the motor to turn a bigger propeller, and fewer turns will limit the torque so it can turn a small prop at high speed. You can use any guage of wire that will fit the motor and you can wrap multipule wires at once for better performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
^tom^ Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 GQS: Did you find out how do you know when the maximum speed is close by to fail? The beep beep thing does'nt help if you have to middle or the high speed version I have the middle version but, if I am at three beeps I do not trust to go faster. But should be still 7kph left. Like the GW14, the sppedometer/odometer is not going right. The GW18 app tells me about 10% more then the GPS. So the maximum speed is now 33kph by the app or 33kph by the GPS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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