What we know about the Veteran Sherman electric unicycle
The Veteran Sherman electric unicycle (EUC) is possibly named after the M4 Sherman tank used in World War II. When the United States entered the war in 1941, it began to supply China with M4 Shermans, which the Chinese used to successfully stop many Japanese attacks. The Veteran’s EUC looks like a tank, so despite the unconfirmed name origin, the description is fitting.
Guangzhou Veteran Intelligent Technology Ltd. is located in Guangzhou, China, situated along the Pearl River, 75 miles north of Hong Kong.
According to YouTuber Kuji Rolls, the company is made up of ex-Gotway engineers. An article published on the website of Russian EUC distributor Ecodrift, claims there was a rift between the marketing team and engineers over the vision of the company. Whatever the particulars are of the split, this pandemic born company is making waves in the EUC community. Private group orders for the new wheel have popped up in the U.S. and United Kingdom.
Veteran’s only marketing has been word of mouth, pictures and videos that have trickled through social media platforms. It has been a constant tease to those of us in the States as each picture or video is scrounged for piece-meal style.
More and more information is being released since Veteran has begun shipping the Sherman. While its website is not a wealth of information, a helpful spec sheet for the Sherman gives us the basics.
This article will only highlight unique details about the wheel from the spec sheet and information sourced from Veteran employees.
According to Veteran employee Linnea Lin, the Sherman has gone 112 miles on a single charge with approximately 3 miles to spare. I weigh a little over 200 lbs. with my gear and backpack. We will not get real range numbers for American weights until the demo wheels are released to reviewers. While max speed depends on a number of variables, Linnea confirmed that the Veteran can reach 50 mph. For the speed demons and long distance riders in the EUC community these numbers are very exciting.
The break light doubles as a turn signal and will blink based on the tilt of the wheel. The dual 5-pin charge ports can take a combined max of 10 amps, which means you can use one port for a 10 amp charger, or two chargers of any combination equaling 10 amps
}=\. Sherman’s 3200Wh battery would take forever to charge on a typical 1.5 amp charger, so Veteran is including a 5 amp charger with each wheel.
While the Sherman will not be released with an app, it does have Bluetooth capability and will be able to connect to Darknessbot (iOS) and EUC World (Android). However, the Sherman is unique in that it has an LCD screen that displays the speed, mileage, battery status, and voltage. You can also calibrate the wheel through the screen, change riding modes, and set speed limits.
This wheel is no lightweight, weighing a tad over 77 lbs. Metal bars frame the rear and front of the wheel, giving it added protection and convenient hand placement for picking up this beast. The Sherman does not have a lift sensor. Lift sensors keep the wheel from free spinning when picked up. It does have a trolling handle, but it is not designed to lift the wheel like the King Song 18XL. The wheel must be powered off in order to safely lift.
Compared to the King Song 18XL’s large 5 x 10 inch pedals, the pedals on the Sherman are a comfortable size at 5.11 inches wide, 9.84 inches long. The pedals sit 6.7 inches off the ground on a 20 inch wheel, which is even higher than Gotway’s Monster V3 at 6.45 inches on a 22 inch wheel. According to Drew Baughman at eWheels, the Sherman tire will be available in the U.S. with either the knobby or street H666 tire configuration. Power pads are included with the wheel, but appear to not come installed on the wheel in the box.
There are still many unanswered questions, as no one in the States has a Veteran yet. The good news is that eWheels is sending a demo wheel to L.A. based YouTuber and EUC enthusiast Marty Backe for review. Linnea Lin confirmed the wheel has already been shipped to eWheels.
I enjoy long distance rides, so I will be primarily interested in the comfort and range. I find my King Song 18XL comfortable and range decent, but would definitely dig a 100 plus mile wheel. This wheel is tempting, but I will wait to see how it does in the wild before I sell all my worldly possessions.
This article will be updated as more information is made known. Updates will be incorporated to the main text of the article and listed in summery below in chronological order.
Update 6/13/2020: Sherman can charge at 10A on one port.
