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View Full Version : Impressions of the i180, New Batts, V14 Software




Brooster
07-10-2005, 06:04 PM
Our friend Skip (Scoghill) was nice enough to come over today with his two new i180s (one red, one yellow), and we gave them a good long run along the lake Michigan shoreline on a beautiful summer morning and afternoon.

It was the first time I'd ever even seen an i180 in person, let alone ridden one, and I have to say I'm well impressed. Skip and I rode for exactly 15 miles today, and I also have to say that my legs were tired when we got back. We stopped at Moody's (a great hamburger joint with a nice outdoor beer garden) for lunch at the halfway mark, and did charge each machine for about 30-40 minutes (we only had one charging cord with us). At the end of 15 miles, and we didn't necessarily go slow, we were each just flashing on the third bar. That's incredible.

--The Lithium Phosphate batteries are wonderful. It's so great to be able to go out and enjoy the Seg for a good part of a day, go further than we'd ever dream of going with NiMH, and not worry a bit about having enough juice to get home. It's like the biggest source of anxiety is all of the sudden just not there.

--I'm still not crazy about the fenders and the wheels. The wheels are more difficult to clean dust from, and the fenders strike me as having been designed with scrimping on material costs in mind. I still think the splash guards look a little goofy. I do like the red and yellow colors, a lot.

--I was very impressed with Version 14 software. The red key "snap" has been dampened just a bit, but that's not entirely a bad thing. Outside of that, there was no appreciable difference from my beloved Version 11.0. I intentionally took the i180 up a couple of fairly steep grass hills and did a 360 spin on a steep incline, and there was absolutely none of the obnoxious stick-shake chatter that characterized Version 12.0 in those situations. Again, I'm well impressed, and wouldn't hesitate for a minute to have this code loaded on my machine.

All in all, the i180 with Lithium Phosphate batteries is a solid performer, capable of easily doubling the fun of a day out Segging. It was a whole new experience, one that I really enjoyed.


Brooster




hammyrocks69r
07-10-2005, 11:39 PM
quote:Originally posted by Brooster

Our friend Skip (Scoghill) was nice enough to come over today with his two new i180s (one red, one yellow), and we gave them a good long run along the lake Michigan shoreline on a beautiful summer morning and afternoon.

It was the first time I'd ever even seen an i180 in person, let alone ridden one, and I have to say I'm well impressed. Skip and I rode for exactly 15 miles today, and I also have to say that my legs were tired when we got back. We stopped at Moody's (a great hamburger joint with a nice outdoor beer garden) for lunch at the halfway mark, and did charge each machine for about 30-40 minutes (we only had one charging cord with us). At the end of 15 miles, and we didn't necessarily go slow, we were each just flashing on the third bar. That's incredible.

--The Lithium Phosphate batteries are wonderful. It's so great to be able to go out and enjoy the Seg for a good part of a day, go further than we'd ever dream of going with NiMH, and not worry a bit about having enough juice to get home. It's like the biggest source of anxiety is all of the sudden just not there.

--I'm still not crazy about the fenders and the wheels. The wheels are more difficult to clean dust from, and the fenders strike me as having been designed with scrimping on material costs in mind. I still think the splash guards look a little goofy. I do like the red and yellow colors, a lot.

--I was very impressed with Version 14 software. The red key "snap" has been dampened just a bit, but that's not entirely a bad thing. Outside of that, there was no appreciable difference from my beloved Version 11.0. I intentionally took the i180 up a couple of fairly steep grass hills and did a 360 spin on a steep incline, and there was absolutely none of the obnoxious stick-shake chatter that characterized Version 12.0 in those situations. Again, I'm well impressed, and wouldn't hesitate for a minute to have this code loaded on my machine.

All in all, the i180 with Lithium Phosphate batteries is a solid performer, capable of easily doubling the fun of a day out Segging. It was a whole new experience, one that I really enjoyed.


Brooster




I'm just wondeirng what Segway you recommend and what everyone else recommends too. I live in washington DC and am looking into getting the new Segway i180 but I'm not sure if thats the one I should be buying or not. I don't think the p133 would be worth whiel becuase I think there might be times where I want to make trips that are off road. Also I think the XT would be over kill becuase I am not going to take advantage of tires as wide as the ones on the XT. What do you think do you think the i180 is fine for someone that is jsut going to be on the road mostly and occasionally use it off road. Resason why I am running this by everyone is Segways are very expensive I fiugre be safe and get some opinions first.

Thanks,


Brian

pam
07-12-2005, 12:43 PM
Brian, I'd get the i180. I use the i167 for just exactly the same thing, and it works fine. The XT will be great if you're doing predominantly off-road stuff, but for on-road you take a big hit in the batteries. I'd definitely do the i180.
Pam

voiceguy
07-12-2005, 08:01 PM
I'd go with the i180 as the diameter of the wheels are greater than those of the P -- so that when you do any minor offroad jaunts (and even "on road" trips what with bumpy sidewalks and all) you will have a smoother ride.

You might try renting an i180 (and a P if they will let you do that) to get the feeling of each.

Indeed, if you are ready to purchase, the dealership might even set up a test course with "bumps" so that you can observe the difference.

If nothing else, if you get an i180 with the new Li-ion batts, you will likely value the much extended range over the P.

Voiceguy

"Every journey of a thousand feet ... begins with but a single lean forward..."

terryp
07-12-2005, 09:27 PM
The p has its place, but once you've ridden an i, the p will seem too tame. And once you've ridden an i with lithiums, the NiMHs will seem too limiting. You just can't go wrong with the Li-ion i180. The hardest part will be choosing the color.

Regarding 14.0 (and at least two previous versions) I feel that the power assist was thottled down too far from the original. I find that it no longer has enough power to climb a curb unless you assist the power assist by pulling on the handlebars, which usually causes them to extend, even with the collar tight. I regularly use power assist to walk it up a steep path to my house that has a lot of root lifts. With the original firmware it had plenty of power, and I could even run along behind it. Now, even at full throttle, I have to actually push it up the hill, and walk slower than I normally would.

Segway - What's holding you up?

lwillis
07-12-2005, 09:40 PM
The DC Seg group is a great bunch. I'm sure they would be happy to discuss with you and help you make an informed choice. Contact Bill Hopper. I think his user name is WHopper here on this forum.

Les Willis
Looking for a glide