The King Song S20 Eagle is the most anticipated and talked about electric unicycle since King Song last released the Ducati like S18 back in 2020. Can the King Song S20 live up to the hype and expectations set by its predecessor, the S18?
Before the King Song S18, electric unicycle design was dull and unimaginative; just like before Tesla, all electric cars were boring and ugly.
Making a sequel to the super popular S18 suspension wheel was not going to be easy for King Song but the S20 was all the buzz when it was first announced.
King Song S20 Specs:
- Suspension: 130 mm travel, adjustable dampening and rebound
- Motor: 3300 W
- Top Speed: 70 kmh
- Battery: 2220 Wh
- Range: 200 km
- 126 volt
- 77 lbs
Instantly catching the attention of EUC riders everywhere, the S20 builds upon King Song’s trademark adjustable suspension and adds a bold black and red color scheme with an aggressive angled design. King Song is trying hard to maintain their title of best looking EUC in the world, with or without suspension.
But is there substance behind all of the King Song S20’s hype and good looks? It’s a love hate thing with some of the S20’s features. Let’s talk about it:
Aesthetics vs Durability
Aesthetics
When you first see one, the most striking thing about the King Song S20 is the beauty of the wheel. It’s the best looking EUC ever made. BUT… durability is an issue.
Durability
The King Song S20 may be the best looking EUC but it certainly has its glass jaw. One good tumble and impact in the right spot and some of the brittle plastic pieces will crack, such as the front bumper handle, the top red plastic trim accents, and the plastic kickstand.
Watch any video of any early test model King Song S20 that has taken any abuse and you will almost always find that the front bumper and kickstand are broken.
Verdict:
Delicate and sexy vs durable and sturdy. The King Song S20 looks great, but it certainly needs to be upgraded in the durability department. It sounds like King Song is already addressing some of the durability issues for production models that will be shipped which is great news. I hope that they can eventually make the King Song S20 just as sturdy as it is sexy.
Stock Pads
Locked in feeling
The pads on the King Song S20 are attached with adhesive and reinforced with some hard red plastic pieces. They are the best looking and best feeling stock pads to ever come with any EUC, but that is a low bar to surpass given that all stock pads up till now pretty much suck on all other EUCs.
Limited positioning
It feels like the main consideration when designing these pads was the appearance rather than the functionality. The hard red plastic boomerang that is screwed in on the front of the battery casing adds to the aesthetics but it really limits where you can position the pads.
Fortunately, the boomerang can be unscrewed and removed and the blank slate sides of the S20 is your canvas to attach whatever pads you prefer.
Ride Feel
Suspension
The King Song S20 has easy to adjust suspension that makes it the smoothest EUC ride ever. Potholes, bumps in the roads and trails, curbs, and even stairs which used to give me anxiety while riding, now are fun little features that I look forward to encountering on the King Song S20.
And don’t think for a second that suspension is only for extreme high fliers like Mike Leahy. Old conservative riders like my self will love the smoothness of the suspension which actually makes riding safer, especially when you hit an unexpected pothole or other obstacle at speed.
But, the ride is far from perfect and marathon riders or sprinters will find issue with.
Range
The range is mediocre. You’re definitely giving up long range in favor of suspension and aesthetics.
Marathon riders won’t be happy but most riders who travel less than 40 miles on a ride will be satisfied.
With a 220 lb rider, we got over 40 miles of real world range on our range test riding it hard, fast, slow, in traffic, and on light trails. Some have reported far less range while others have reported more range.
Throttling
If you are a speed racer, you may notice that the initial starting acceleration is throttled if you try to push the wheel hard. Reportedly, this is to protect the electrical system from being pushed too hard. Once you get going though, the acceleration is fast, powerful and smooth.
So if you plan on racing sprints with this wheel, be prepared.
Sounds
Beeps
The beeps are plenty loud to alert you that you may be pushing the wheel too hard or running low on power.
No Music
But there are no speakers for you to play your music. I like to play music during rides to alert cyclists and pedestrians of my presence. It’s more of a safety feature for me but with the King Song S20 I’ll need a portable bluetooth speaker to listen to my tunes.
Other sounds
While there are no speakers for your music, there are some other vibrating noises that I hear when accelerating and braking hard. It seems to be coming from either the motor or suspension or a combination of the two.
Display
Simple and beautiful
Some EUC displays are just cluttered with too much information. The S20 display keeps it simple. I love the retro feel of the dot matrix display which is bright and easy to see even in sunlight. The numbers are easy to read so I know how fast I’m riding and the battery gauge is simple.
Positioning
The problem with the display is the posterior positioning on top of the wheel which requires me to really have to look down to see how fast I’m traveling.
Taking my eyes off the road while riding is dangerous and because of the design on the S20, riders will have to look down a little further compared to other EUCs with displays if they want to see how fast they are going.
Headlights
Bright and Adjustable Lights
It seemed like headlights used to be an afterthought on EUCs but recently we have seen some great headlights on new models. The S20 headlights are bright and the beam angle can be adjusted. But…
Fragile Lights
The lights are made of a brittle plastic and they are exposed so during a fall, there’s a good chance that they will break.
Kickstand
Super Stable
As far as EUC kickstands go, this is the most stable kickstand I’ve ever encountered. Period.
Super Fragile
Unfortunately, the plastic foot of the kickstand is made in China… and probably also made of china. The plastic is brittle and easily shattered during falls.
Because of the larger footprint of the kickstand, be careful not to go over drops too slowly as the kickstand may catch the edge and break. Going down regular sized stairs is no problem.
Seated riding
Comes with a seat
The King Song S20 comes with a great looking seat that’s actually comfortable and attached to the top of the EUC using velcro.
Squatty potty
While the King Song S20 is the tallest wheel in its class and will feel comfortable for average height riders, because of the elevated pedal heights and the positioning of the seat, taller riders will have to really bend those knees when doing seated riding, similar to sitting on a squatty potty.
Charging
5 Amp Charger
It seems like a lot of EUCs, even the high end EUCs, are cheaping out on chargers, shipping painfully slow chargers as low as 2 amps.
The King Song S20 we received came with a 5 amp charger which is great news. The S20 even had 2 charging ports for faster charging if you have two chargers.
Blind access charging
The charging ports are hidden on top of the EUC under the front case, positioned on both sides of the power switch. You will have to blindly reach into the front top of the S20 to access the charge ports to plug in and charge. It’s a challenge at first, but gets easier with practice.
Here’s a list of things that we loved and hated about the King Song S20.
King Song S20 Pros
- Aesthetics
- Comfy suspension
- Easily adjustable suspension
- Powerful motor
- Strong rim
- Best stock pads to come with any EUC so far
- Bright display
- Bright adjustable headlights
- Most stable kickstand
- 20” Knobby off road tire does well off road
- Comes with a seat
- Pedal height is adjustable
- Good pedal height
- Good spiked hex pedals
- Dual Charging ports
- 5A charger
King Song S20 Cons:
- Lots of brittle plastic
- Lots of pieces and extensions make it beautiful, but fragile
- Acceleration feels throttled initially at the start
- Makes a buzzing noise during acceleration and breaking
- Power button is very sensitive
- Charge ports must be blindly accessed under the casing at the top of the EUC
- Headlights are fragile and exposed
- Kickstand is fragile and will break in its current form
- Display is positioned too far back to safely see when riding at speed
- Rear hinged switch is the kill switch, held in place by the seat
- Rear handle can pinch your fingers (see unboxing video)
- Boomerang red plastic support for looks and for pad placement but seems to limit how you can position the pads
- Velcroed seat comes off too easily in cold weather
- Short trolly handle placed anteriorly, no telescoping, no button, no locking mechanism, friction based
- No speakers
King Song S20 MEH…
- Tallest EUC in its class
- We got over 40 miles on our real world range test. Others have reported more range and others have reported less range.
- Turn signals are useless
- Currently only available in black with red accents
- New pedal hanger and pedal in one unit, adjustable height, and friction based locking
Conclusions
The year 2020 saw a number of innovative electric unicycles from the first ever suspension wheels, the S18, EX, and V11, in addition to the new kid on the block, the Veteran Sherman. 2021 was a relatively quiet year for new electric unicycles with the release of the InMotion V12 but now we have the S20, the Begode Hero, and the Begode commander.
The King Song S20 is the best looking EUC with the best suspension, but as we have already covered, the EUC is not for everyone. It won’t beat the fastest riders off the line in a race and it is not for marathon long distance riding.
But, if you are looking for an amazing looking EUC that has the best suspension for the most plush ride ever experienced on a single wheel, then the King Song is for you!
Special thanks to RevRides for lending us this King Song S20 to test and review. Check out pricing and availability at REVrides!
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