What Difference Does Suspension Make In A Electric Unicycle, If Any?

electric unicycle for sale near me, Suspension is still new and it took quite some time to develop. Not that it wasn’t attempted. When I was in China I was told by Gotway (aka Begode) founder that it was in development and several prototypes were made however they just couldn’t get it to work well enough for the market. They found it hard to balance two independent sides to work together.

Fast forward to last year, both Inmotion and KingSong came out with wheels with suspension. Those are of course the KingSong S18 and the Inmotion V11 shortly followed by Gotway EX.

Having ridden all three I went with Inmotion V11 because of my preference towards its looks as well as the noticeably larger battery size, translating to a better range. Despite Gotway EX having a larger battery it’s also more power-hungry and eats through its battery quicker. Inmotion V11 can do over 100km with my weight (74kg) when used conservatively (going easy on acceleration/braking and not going faster than 35km/h when cruising), with an average of around 80km with my style of riding (a slightly more aggressive acceleration and braking).

electric unicycle for sale near me

I love how light KingSong S18 is in comparison (21.7kg vs 27kg and you can feel the difference) and love the power of the Gotway EX (it truly is a technological marvel).

Gotway is not as maneuverable as the V11 however, with the S18 being similar in maneuverability to the V11 in my limited experience with two out of the three wheels. 

The suspension itself is quite different, too. While Gotway EX has an enormous amount of pressure in its tubes (I’m not fully familiar with the technicalities),

Inmotion V11 produced a trampoline-like design while KingSong went with a standard bicycle style shock absorbers in the S18, making it possible to switch those to better fit your needs (by adjust softness thus adjusting ride dynamics).

All three have the same type of suspension which is pneumatic. In short, the S18 to me feels like it was built around its main feature – suspension, while the V11 is the opposite

– suspension was built around the wheel. I like all three suspension systems – I’ll happily take any of the three vs none at all, which brings me to my opinion on it.

I’ve done tens of thousands of km on wheels without suspension and only have around 1,400km to date on the clock with suspension wheels.

I was very reluctant to switch to suspension because I wanted to make sure the new design is time-tested and because I just wasn’t overly excited by it at first,

having gotten used to my pre-suspension wheels and knee suspension. I was thinking that the difference it makes may not necessarily be worth the drawbacks (higher weight, lower top speed, and hindered repairability) and that using my knees as springs worked just the same.

While I still think I have had a point there, I have to admit that for the most part, I was pretty much wrong.

So what does suspension do and how does it affect the ride dynamics? Well, as my friend puts it, it just takes the edge off everything on the road. Every little bump on the ground, not to mention jumping off things,

with suspension you simply do it, without having to brace yourself for impact every time.

Because a non-suspension wheel is designed as a single system that has no provision for a softer ride other than the tyre and inner tube that absorb some of the impact,

you end up feeling every single bump going through your legs, then spine, and all the way to your teeth! With the suspension,

however, all you feel is a little vibration that’s soft around 90% of the time and that rarely travels past your legs if the system is set up correctly (which, admittedly, can be a bit fiddly). In addition, you can jump off curbs (or on to them, depending on your preference and skill level), and not be bothered about that as much (if at all).

Aside from comfort, there is also the aspect of safety. I’ve had a few falls due to potholes in the past,

where I was either on my phone or was just not paying enough attention to the road.

Having ridden over a thousand km on the V11 I’ve encountered a couple of unexpected speed bumps and potholes as well as curbs and all I felt was some vibration instead of coming off the wheel. When jumping off curbs you can do it with straight legs and you won’t come off. I found that suspension makes riding a lot more pleasurable! It elevates the wheel from the status of being an awesome but bumpy (thus tense in places) ride to just being an awesome (and relaxing) one and that’s just… great! 🙂

So, to conclude, I would suggest that you try it out for yourself,

and if it’s your first wheel you can indeed purchase one with suspension as long as you don’t plan on moving to one without it later on in your journey.

It’s easier to transition from no suspension to suspension than it is in reverse as a) you get spoilt and b) just don’t develop the same skills.

I just went for a ride on my Kingsong 18XL for the first time in about a month and can certainly attest to the difference suspension makes,

which is what prompted me to write this article.

While I still love riding and would certainly ride with no suspension if I have to,

now that I tried the latter I won’t be going back because that would quite literally be a step backward. Once you learn to fly you won’t be walking again. It’s just evolution.