Looking for a full user review of the Begode Monster Pro? As the electric unicycle (EUC) world experiences a major upshift in technology, one thing holds true: People want power, comfort, and safety. Although controversial, Begode continues to provide the best wheels for the performance hungry riders.
In this article, Rob Fail provides his first-hand account with the Begode Master Pro, the biggest suspension wheel on the market today with the longest battery life.
Key Specifications for the Master Pro EUC
Here are the top specifications for the Begode Master Pro Electric Unicycle (EUC):
- 134V electrical system
- 4,800wh battery available in either high-powered or high range Samsung battery packs
- Battery pack redundancy (parallel configuration)
- Battery Management System (BMS) with temperature sensors and voltage alarms
- 22″ sized wheel
- 112 lbs gross weight
- 4,500w high-torque motor
- No-load free spin speed of 122kph (~75mph), e.g., 55mph actual top riding speed
- Adjustable shock system with up to 80mm of travel
- XL spiked pedals with additional height adjustment
- Other features include integrated seat, trolley handle, and kickstand
Summary (TL;DR): Big, Tall, and Fast
Shockingly tall, top heavy and…heavy. I have never ridden something this heavy or tall. The Master Pro is a 117lbs and a force to be reckoned with. The power is incredible. The motor feels responsive and powerful, able to take you up any hill without breaking a sweat.
The suspension gives great support while still providing a smooth ride. Handling is excellent, it’s easy to maneuver around tight corners and adjust speed quickly. Braking is strong and reliable too!
Be forewarned, if you’re under 5’10”, the size of the wheel may take some getting used to. Expect to add DIY foam padding and power pads to increase comfort and control over the Master Pro.
Despite this, I give this Monster EUC a 9 out of 10 rating, and highly recommend this wheel for those looking for performance, speed, and the stability of a large 22″ diameter electric unicycle.
Is this the perfect wheel for you? Read on and find out more!
Looking for a High Performance Cruising Electric Unicycle?
For those looking for thrills in an extreme performance electric unicycle, then the Begode Master Pro sits at or near the top of the pile. With suspension travel with a cushy rebound, and free spins that could only be imagined a few years ago, this beats most competition in so many categories except off-road, technical rides–a format that is better suited toward other wheel designs, e.g., lighter.
While I doubt anyone would have expected the size of EUCs to break the 110lb threshold for total mass, this is one of the first to make it to production. Don’t bother trying to carry this EUC up any stairs. The Master Pro is built for long rides, cruising the open road, and ready to overtake any other EUC or even it’s distant cousin the electric road bike (or moped).
Begode Master Pro Review and Features
Pedal Height
The Master Pro has the highest pedal height of anything ever released before. There are 3 settings, and out of the box it is set in the middle.
I’m 5’7″ and therefore on the shorter side. Because of this, I found the inside of my knees digging into the top portion of the seat. Some of this may be due to my early experience and it may go away if it hasn’t already by the time of this writing.
For now, I put baby proofing foam strips on that area to mitigate the EUC bumping into the side of my legs. Ultimately, this is a tall wheel and that will require some getting used to.
I raised the pedal height to the top in order to stop the knee-rubbing discomfort, which has definitely helped.
Which pedal height should one choose with such a tall wheel? Of course it’s up to you.
The low pedal height setting, although it is still tall, will provide the most stability. I experienced the fewest wobbles in this position. This position also also means you will have a larger minimum turn radius.
For shorter people like me, it is by far the most uncomfortable for the aforementioned reason. With the pedals in the highest position, the pedals are at the same height as the wheel’s axle. This was the most comfortable position regarding knee pressure, but also is the least stable position.
I found that the low speed turn radius is dramatically improved, but at speed it is much more squirrelly. Time will tell where I end up settling with pedal height, but it is nice that Begode have users that option to adjust the pedal height.
Free Spin Speed and Torque
The “off the line” speed is slow. You will not win any drag races with the Master Pro. That said, the power is still there– it just doesn’t come in the form of a “quarter mile drag race” EUC. It is still the fastest electric unicycle on the planet and takes proper leaning to dial into that power in reserve.
The same is said for braking: there is significant inertia with this heavy wheel, and it does take more leaning-backward effort to stop. This isn’t bad, it is just something that takes practice to build that muscle memory. It has no problem going any speed I ask it to.
Stability
As said before, the pedal height is a significant factor that dictates this wheel’s stability. The higher your pedal height, the less stable it will be. At its lowest setting, the EUC is very, very stable.
Any wobbles on this large diameter EUC will come on slower than they will on a smaller electric unicycle, and for me they felt more manageable. I never once have experienced brake wobbles. Riding at higher speeds does not feel nearly as sketchy like 35 mph feels on my V11.
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Suspension Shock System
The suspension is a dream–a mostly good dream, that is. I pumped my shock to 400 psi and I can still potentially bottom out. It feels no different than it was at 300 or 350. I will not pump it beyond 400 psi because this shock doesn’t have an official rating but 400 is the recommended maximum pressure from the community.
This is the same suspension fitted to the Master. Being that much heavier than the Master, it needs a higher-psi rating or a differently designed linkage such as a Kuba linkage so it doesn’t need to be pumped that high.
The Master pro comes with a cheap suspension pump that is rated for 300 psi, but I was able to get it to at least 350 psi using that pump.
I strongly recommend buyers of the Master Pro purchase a shock pump that goes to at least 400 psi. I got a RockShox shock pump which gets to 600 psi and that made it easy to get to 400 psi.
If one were to use a Kuba linkage for the Begode Master pro, it would eliminate the ability to use the taillight due to its location.
Torque Pads sells a rear fairing kickstand set that is compatible with the Kuba linkage. I personally find it ugly and awkward-looking, but it undoubtedly improves the suspension and will likely eliminate bottom-outs.
Comfort
The ride is the smoothest in the world, thanks to the 22″ tire and the plush suspension with 3″ of travel. I have to take away comfort points also because of the top seat rubber causing pressure on the insides of my knees.
I hope this issue goes away over time for me, but it is significant and worth discussing. As a shorter rider, the lower the pedal height setting, the wider one must hold their legs apart due to the height of the machine.
Additional comfort while riding is gained by having a higher pedal height because I need not ride bow-legged as much.
Build Quality
This is the controversial topic for all Begode wheels, isn’t it? The top mounted display screen is bright, beautiful, and informative. Note that the information require calibration with a -9% speed correction on the EUC World app (i.e., Android phones), and that this correction is not reflected on the wheel’s screen.
The plastic battery compartments are flimsy and thin, and require better protection. I am personally looking at Torque Pads Original ‘s fairings, which provide a few millimeters of protection around the batteries. The Begode EX20S has metal casings for the batteries, which would have been a much better move by Begode. It’s a shame they didn’t opt for that!
Can the Master Pro survive a crash?
There have been multiple high speed crashes reported, including the famous 60 mph crash from Mohamed Samir.
Thus far the Master Pro has survived quite well with minimal damage from all reported crashes. It seems that since Jimmy Chang had that catastrophic crash with the original Master EUC, Begode has stepped up their game with sturdiness on the Master Pro. Make sure when you’re ordering, do so from a vendor with good warranty coverage upon release!
A wheel of this weight should not necessarily be made out of titanium to be considered “good build quality” or “sturdy”.
The Inmotion V13 looks very sturdy and well built, and so does the Veteran Sherman S. Both of these high performance suspension EUCs compete directly with the Begode Master Pro.
I applaud both of these other companies, but with wheels this big and heavy, you should not expect a Lamborghini to survive a 60 mph crash, nor would you expect any car to either.
The charge that any EUC should survive a major crash isn’t a fair one. You should not expect your electric unicycle to survive a high velocity crash without major repairs or the need for new units.
Be realistic! You’ll pay for overconfidence in the durability of any EUC.
The Master Pro electric unicycle can take all the punishment you dish out to it in a road environment, which is exactly what it is designed to do. But you wouldn’t take a Lamborghini 4-wheeling, because that’s not what is made to do.
What about the wheel rim?
Many complaints have been made about the Master Pro’s rim. It is indeed not as thick as the EX30’s, for example. I do not find it lacking, however, because this is a road wheel.
This is not a trail wheel and one should not ride it that way! However, to protect the rim, I recommend pumping your suspension to the maximum for your ride style and body weight, and filling the tire PSI, appropriately.
I think it’s dumb to overinflate “to protect the rim”; you are only making your wheel less stable by doing so. Your suspension will protect your rim quite a bit, and beyond that, your tire should absorb what’s left of any impact, e.g., potholes, cracks in the road.
If you fly off a bunch of stairs, that’s a foolish risk because, again, it’s not built for that. That’s not to say this is a “build quality issue”; it’s an issue of buyers having unrealistic expectations of the Master Pro.
Headlight
The Master Pro has a 10,000 lumen official rating. I found it still slightly wanting. I am comfortable enough riding with it on the street, but an aftermarket headlight may be necessary to put on there. Here you can find a few other options for active lighting systems for EUCs, which may be useful for riding when it gets dark.
I have a few side-by-side pictures comparing the V11 headlight to the Master Pro headlight, and the brighter one is on the v11. I have not found that the Master Pro gets brighter as you start moving, but I have been told that it does get brighter. Maybe I am mistaken, but such is my experience with it so far.
Tire
The original tire is a Cheng Shin 2.75-17 “jack of all trades” tire. I don’t recommend it, though. It is barely rated for a rider of my and the wheel’s riding weight, and has a max speed rating of about ~65 mph.
This leaves one with not much margin of error, not to mention that the compound feels a bit on the soft side and the sidewall is not reinforced. I attempted to put a 2.75-17 Michelin City Pro tube-type tire on as a replacement, but I punctured FIVE inner tubes.
Trust me, you have no idea how defeating that feeling is when your tire irons pop so many and you know it’s your own fault. I threw in the towel and bought an 80/90-17 Tubeless Michelin City Extra, which barely fits side-to-side, but has shown to be very good on the street.
I felt glued to it at all times. There has been a report of someone having their 80/90 width tire rubbing significantly against the battery compartment plastic because of the tight fit. I have not experienced this, but I am staying wary of it, just in case.
Trolley Handle
it is made of flimsy, hollow aluminum that is loose and wobbly as can be. I don’t ever recommend walking around with it fully extended. It might be borderline fine-ish for a T4, but the Begode T4 and the Master Pro use the same handle.
Difference is that the T4 weighs far, far less. This is a major build quality issue that needs to be addressed by Begode, and it can easily be rectified in future batches with a part swap.
Battery
Let’s start with the limitation. Despite the huge capacity of 4,800wh, the batteries are encased in cheap, flimsy plastic. They are in an 8p configuration, which comes with the high-capacity Samsung 50E batteries. This is more than adequate for the Master Pro, and this wheel can travel at nearly it’s max speed at very, very low battery states.
Considering how many battery cells are running in parallel, this wheel performs quite nicely with very little voltage sag while running it hard. A Molicel or 40T configuration, in this case, would be a foolish waste of your hard earned money (in my opinion).
Thank You to eWheels
A big shout out to my sponsor which made this purchase possible: My bank account. Thanks!!!
Also a quick shout out to eWheels, who after I cancelled my preorder with them, they complained directly to Begode claiming that the vendor I purchased the MasPro from on Alibaba was a fraud company, and saying they sent me a pre-production demo wheel or a box of rocks.
Yes, and it happened without eWheels talking to me about it first. Then they refused to apologize for their corrective actions and slanderous complaint against the fraudulent company.
eWheels proactively solves problems! With free shipping and always in the moment to maintain quality over quantity, eWheels is the vendor to beat! If the Master Pro or any other EUC is in stock, you can expect them to ship within a day or so after you order.
Conclusion: Is the Master Pro Worth it?
The Begode Master Pro is a great EUC for those who want power and stability in an EUC. It’s not designed for beginners.
It’s very heavy, takes skill to control, and demands some physical fitness to operate. But experienced riders will appreciate the power and responsiveness of this wheel.
There are some build quality issues, including it’s larger size which poses an ergonomic challenge for shorter riders like myself.
However, with some DIY modifications and added foam padding, power pads and the like, you’ll have a full suspension EUC ready to take to the road and cruise for miles and miles. So if you’re looking for performance and comfort, the Master Pro is an excellent choice!
Until next time, happy wheeling!
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