I've never been one to shy away from trying something new, even if it's dangerous, scary, intimidating, daunting, and all the other adjectives that would make most people go "oh, hell no!"
My Experience (skip to the next section if you just want the meat and potatoes):
Inmotion reached out and said, "Hey, you wanna try an EUC?" Admittedly, I had to Google what EUC actually stood for before I replied (electric unicycle), but the second I saw it, I knew. I'd seen a couple of electric unicycles in the wild before ... usually with nerds riding 'em. But it looked fun. I replied, "Sure thing, but just know that I have ZERO experience whatsoever. I'm a complete and utter n00b. If that's cool, then I'm 100% 'bout it 'bout it!"
Suddenly, Inmotion's mid-tier commuter V9 EUC shows up at my door and I somehow have to figure out how to ride it.
Having ridden motorcycles for decades, I'm very aware of what the penalty for even a minor mistake is. I'm also very aware of the many years of training it took and the amount of effort I'd spent to become proficient at two wheels.
But one wheel? Oh gawd. I've never even successfully ridden a regular unicycle, but I was pretty good at doing wheelies, right up until I wasn't. Challenge accepted.
I watched a plethora of "how-to" and "let me tell you my secret-sauce-recipe to riding EUCs" videos. Funny enough, just like in the motorcycle world, much of the advice was conflicting and worth the exact same amount I'd paid for it: zero.
Things I saw prior to ever having ridden one:
- You should start with your pedals set hard ... but others say soft. At this point, I don't even know what pedal hardness means.
- Balance angle is best at X ... but it varied from -3° to flat. What's balance angle?
- Run softer suspension, no harder, no softer ...
Then I saw this video of a below knee amputee riding those Segway eSkates (totally unrelated to EUC), and I was like "Pffttsshhhfff, if he's doing that, I'm riding this thing! I'll figure it out myself!" I looked up the definition of stuff like "pedal hardness" and "balance angle" and "power assist," and just started twiddling knobs, taking note of what happened when I'd change settings to find a setup that worked for me.
I spent about 20 mins a day over the next couple days in my gravel driveway, holding onto a tall workbench, rocking back and forth, trying to get a feel for it. On the third day, I started making short ~10-foot (~3 m) trips between my parked vehicles on that same gravel driveway.
Lateral balance is harrrd. I stepped off the V9 more than once before I learned what the "spin kill on" function does. Why would anyone have it off?! The V9 has some zero-mph battle damage on it, for sure. Thankfully, it's built to be pretty resilient!
On day four, life took a very quick and unexpected turn (for the better!), and I shelved the V9 for the next five or six weeks while I attended to other matters.
Just a few days ago, I jumped back on it in my garage, riding back and forth from one wall to the opposite wall for about 30 mins. It was a million times easier on a concrete pad than it was in gravel.
The next day, I swallowed hard, like a cartoon character, said aloud, "I got this!" and headed out of the garage. I have a big circle driveway and just started doing laps. Granted, my new driveway is partially pea gravel, but nothing like the previous one with deep gravel. I did about a dozen laps and took a break. I could feel aches in muscles that I don't normally use. Also, I could tell that flippy-floppies were probably not the ideal footwear for distributing weight side-to-side and fore and aft.
I chucked some boots on and just started riding. The faster you go, the easier it is. Anything sub-5-mph (8 km/h) or so is the hardest. Get going about 10 mph (16 km/h), and things get much, much easier. I left my house and headed to the street ... it just sort of clicked. I rode up and down the street before heading to the grocery store a couple of blocks away, and did midnight laps around the store's empty parking lot. I came back about two miles later when my legs and feet were aching, presumably from never having actuated my unicycle muscles before (which are different than wheelie muscles, I must say).
The learning curve is steep. If you're a snowboarder, you'll understand what I mean about a steep learning curve. EUC is right there with it, except you don't have to deal with stuff like catching a backside edge and instant mouse-traps. Instead, it's asphalt. I'm not sure which I prefer for crashing ... neither, I suppose, but I love shredding and now I love EUC(ing?).
In the last few days, I've put over 60 miles (97 km) on it ... Hi, my name is Joe, and I'm a nerdy EUC addict.
My complete and utter n00b review on the Inmotion V9:
It's hard to learn how to ride ... but it's oh-so-worth-it when you do figure it out.
Also, from everything I've learned over the weeks about EUC in general, the V9 is the lightest wheel you can get that has suspension at "only" 50.7 lb (24 kg). Sounds heavy, yes, but the V9 packs a lot of stuff into that compact little body, like a 1,000-watt (2,000-watt peak) hub motor in a 16-inch wheel, suspended on 60 mm of fully adjustable air travel, with 750 watt-hours of glorious 84-volt go-juice powering it at 180 amps.
Inmotion says it'll do 28 mph (45 km/h), but I'm taking their word for it. I've hit 23 mph (37 km/h) with ease, but I'm deathly afraid of reaching the end of the rope, so to speak, and cartwheeling into oblivion. Thankfully, the Inmotion app has taken this type of scenario into consideration, and I have an alarm set at 21 mph (34 km/h) that yells at me, "PLEASE SLOW DOWN!" Literally. Not to mention, I have another setting in the app that automatically tilts back the pedals ever so gently when I hit 24 mph (39 km/h). I've given myself a 4-mph (6.4-km/h) walking pace buffer from oblivion.
Inmotion also says it'll do up to 37 miles (60 km) on a charge. This, I'm not so sure about. In my tests, riding exclusively flat ground with the most idyllic dad-bod around (I'm 6'3, 238 lb / 190.5 cm, 108 kg), and averaging 12-17 mph (19–27 km/h) at best, and I'm seeing figures of about a ~25-mile (40-km) maximum range. Though, the max load on the V9 is 265 lb, so I'm nearly maxing it out. It has 66.4 lb-ft of torque (90 Nm), which is helpful. I imagine a tiny human might get better range if they rode it the way I have (gingerly, but still having a blast).
Inmotion says it'll charge up in five hours, but it is capable of being charged in one hour if you have the extra fast charger for it.
The V9 is the very first EUC to receive a UL 2272 Certification, which covers the entire electrical system, not just the battery, which, honestly, gives me peace of mind. I charge a whole lot of big batteries, and I always have "what if?" in the back of my mind. The UL Cert on this is one less "if" in my head.
It has a pair of speakers in it that you can connect to via Bluetooth. Even when the unicycle is powered down. The concept seemed gimmicky to me ... then I fired up some tunes after I was more comfortable on it, and now I always listen to music while riding! I can admit when I'm wrong. It's not gimmicky, it's RAD. It can also do group ride audio sync, so you and all your nerdy friends that have a V9 can blast the same Party in the USA song together, in perfect harmony. I'm pretty sure I have the only EUC in a 100-mile radius, so I haven't used the feature, but I want to.
Inmotion's app features RideConnect that keeps all your ride stats and such, but more importantly, has anti-theft and recovery assist. You can remotely lock the wheel, and GPS track it via cell service should the unthinkable happen. And the first year of cell service is free.
It's built pretty tough. I've yeeted it about a dozen times so far – none of which have resulted with me upside down – all of which have been at a standstill aside for one, where I might have been doing all of a mile an hour, at best. If you don't buy some sort of aftermarket protection for it, dropping the V9 will give it character, no ifs, ands, or buts. It's all been cosmetic thus far, and nothing has broken or cracked. Even the flashy LEDs on the side still work, as does the brake light, adjustable headlight, and turn signals. Yes, it has lean-sensitive turn signals. The headlight, by the way, is surprisingly bright.
Another thing that's kind of nifty is the trolley handle. If you have to walk the unicycle anywhere, just pop up the handle, and it feels almost weightless as you ease it forwards or backwards. The trolley handle is a tad on the short side, so I have to hunch over a little bit to reach it, but if you're of average height, it'll be perfect. The V9 also has a convenient grab handle on the top if you need to pick it up and chuck it into your trunk or a bus or train.
My final thoughts:
Considering I had exactly zero experience on an EUC, I'd wager to say that the V9 is probably on the friendlier side. I know Inmotion makes other EUCs like the P6 that'll do 90+ mph (eeeeeeee!), or another that has knobby tires for serious off-roading like the V14 Pro (also eeeeeee!), and everything in between. In fact, one of our own, Paul, wrote a review on the E20, which is the most beginner-y EUC that Inmotion makes.
I have nothing to compare the V9 to, but I can say that it's a heap of fun! Scary as hell to learn, don't get me wrong, but now, after only a few real days of riding this little beast, I kind of choose it over my ebikes or scooters for my day-to-day errands. It's not nearly as fast or efficient for going to the store as my Inmotion RS Jet, but it's just more ... flowy. It's relaxed. It's happy-place.
I can see how beginner riders won't feel as intimidated with this machine as they might with something bigger or more powerful, and I can also see why advanced riders and racers all still have a soft spot for the V9. It's a cool, capable machine.
Something I never took into account, however, is the fact that you're simply standing in one spot for miles on end. There's no lifting your foot up to reposition it if it gets uncomfortable ... at least, not for my skill level yet. Every few miles at most, I'll stop and get off for a minute to alleviate my size 13 (48 EU) stompers. Maybe I'll get used to it? Or maybe it's just the nature of the beast? And regarding pedals, they're pretty aggressive. In a few unscheduled hop-offs, my shoe has gotten momentarily stuck to the pedal, nearly causing me to trip, but that was user error.
Another observation that I hadn't expected is that wind absolutely affects your ride. A stiff side-to-side breeze will have you weebling around to compensate for it. And a headwind really slows you down and requires you to lean much further into it. Tail wind? Wooo! All hands on deck status, we're MOVIN'!
The V9 is IPX6 rated, meaning you can absolutely ride it around in the rain. I haven't, but I did hit a big puddle once and ended up getting very wet.
I can't imagine what it would be like to ride an EUC without suspension. I'm guessing I probably wouldn't like it. The V9 soaks up all the little bumps, like cracks and whatnot, but when the road is rippled ... I'm not a fan. Just the sheer nature of being on a single wheel isn't conducive to road-moguls, and it can be a bit hairy.
Settings-wise – as I'd mentioned all the conflicting information I've come across – I've found that I like ~220 psi (15.2 bar) for compression, 55 psi (3.8 bar) on rebound, 33 psi (2.3 bar) in my tire, -1° pedal angle (leaned back), 69% power assisted accel with 50% decel, and 100% hardness on my pedals. After much playing around with various settings, that's what I find to be the most comfortable and stable for my skill level (which is, "I'll get to my destination, but not quickly, and not with style.").
I can't jump curbs or ride down a flight of stairs like you might have seen on YouTube videos. I still struggle with riding through grass or soft stuff. I do my best to ride around speed bumps instead of over them. I'm still a bit nervous when I clamber up onto it, and 99% of the time I'll ride up to something I can grab ahold of when I come to a stop because it feels safer ... but I'm working on it. We'll get there. I just might be a legit EUC convert now.
I will say this, though: every time I get on it, I know that I'm at the mercy of the software. Should anything glitch, it's going to result in a faceplant. That never leaves my mind, and is the main reason why I ride it so chillaxed. I've experienced a few hiccups on electric scooters and bikes, and I really hope I don't on an EUC.
Product Page: Inmotion V9 and Amazon
New Atlas may receive commission if you purchase through our links. This does not affect our reviews as our opinions remain our own.
