I picked this up a few days ago after my V11 died (fried mosfet or fuse when doing a tiny hop up a curb) because it seemed a lot more durable in performance testing videos.
I've already crashed it once when coming up to an intersection curb too fast, with no damage to me or the S18. And I've already tried hopping a bigger curb than what killed the V11. So far so good. I've also dropped it a few times while practicing riding backwards.
However, the "feel" of it is inferior to the V11 in pretty much every way except for suspension, although the 10lb weight reduction is nice when carrying it up stairs.
I've put about 40 miles on it so far, and I'm finding it more "snappy" than the V11 but less "tight". It rattles and gets speed wobbles a lot easier.
Overall I'm happy with my purchase but I do miss my V11.
I think my next purchase in a year or so will be the V22 Pro, once it's on the final batch and the remaining kinks are worked out (water proofing and suspension slider/roller issues).
Oh and the inmotion app was way better.
S18: 5/5 durability, 3/5 ride feel V11: 0/5 durability, 5/5 ride feel
The V11 died with a fried control board (either a fuse or a mosfet) when I went up a tiny curb at walking speeds. I was well within the amazon return window so I just returned it, no questions asked.
I preferred the V11 to the S18 before the V11 died. I considered rebuying it but I don't want to have to worry.
The S18 has been torture tested by tons of youtubers on trails and hills.
Totally understand. It'd be hard to trust it again after that, reliability is critical on these things
Exactly, and I'm very grateful that it didn't fail when I was testing how fast I could go!
Don't leave us hanging: How fast can you go?
I got the V11 over 25mph and it was terrifying since I was so new, but it was stable at that speed.
On the S18 I get wobbly when I go over 20mph, which I think is due to my tire pressure being too high (38psi)
Wonder if armor liner might help. After I got tannus armor in my ebike it definitely seemed smoother.
You just reminded me that I need to install the flatout I bought
For the tannus armor though, I'd rather wait till after a burst tire and just ride slower, because taking the tire out on suspension unicycles is a huge pain unfortunately
People seem to swear by flatout. I've been using some in my MTB for a while and so far so good. Just got some in my ebike along with the tannus armor so, fingers crossed, I'll stay flat free for a good long while. My ebike is a hub motor so getting that rear tire off is kind of a pain in the ass. Might eventually put in those tubes you don't have to take the tire off for but IDK how good they are or if it's possible to use flatout with them.