So one morning a colleague walks up to my desk, hunches over and says
Get a One Wheel , it will change your life
Pierre
This was in early 2018, that quote stayed in my mind for a long time. What moved me was his level of conviction that I would love it. It wasn’t the garden variety sales pitch, it felt more like an intervention. I finally bought one about 3 years later and boy do I love it. It really has changed my life in the sense that I ride outdoors 2x more than I usually do. Buyers beware, if you are used to rollerblading or biking this toy will end up cannibalizing into their usual workout slots.
PROS:
- This has to me one of the most fun things you can do on planet earth , with a caveat that you have to get past the initial learning phase.
- On smooth surfaces it really feels like your hovering / floating, and riding a continuous wave.
- One Wheel entices one to explore. I find myself casually surfing around neighborhoods, discovering trails, neat spots and even meeting interesting people along the way
- Not a pro per say but folks will smile, wave, snap photos, even stop and inquire about the board and its functionality. People are most def amused by the site of it, so you might even make new friends this way. One fellow even asked if he could film me for a day for his channel.
CONS:
- The learning curve to carve
There is a learning curve, patience is required, I can’t say I enjoyed it at first, I found it amusing but balancing on the board took some getting used to. Carving is where its at but it will take some time to get the skills to carve like a champ. Riding in a straight line gets kind of dull and speeding on a One Wheel is def not recommended (above 18mph) as it can occasionally nose dive. - Your feet are going to hurt
Since riding a One Wheel involves a constant forward lean (since leaning forward is what makes the board accelerate) , the stance will cause your feet to hurt after some time, but taking a 3 min break can get you back up and cruising very quickly. For me my feet begin to hurt after 30 min (of constant s curve movements) - Eating pavement on a nose dive
Depending on the battery level, your weight, and incline , certain conditions or combination of conditions can cause the board’s self balancing mechanism to fail, which in turn will cause the board to nosedive into the ground. You then fly off the board and hope you land correctly because many have been graciously rewarded with broken bones and hospital visits.
Make sure the board is always fully charged before going out for a ride, these boards are sensitive to weight especially when the battery in under 30 and your over 200lbs (I’m 180 lbs). - One Wheel’s safety mechanism / Pushback
Pushback is One Wheel’s warning mechanism to alert the rider that boards limits are being exceeded. The One Wheel will begin to gently lift the front end of the board in hope that the rider slows down. I’ve experienced push back a few times, but in certain instances I couldn’t tell if it was the incline, or the pushback. - Get Fangs
One of the simplest way to defend yourself against the board having a failure is fangs. Wheels are installed in front of the board so that in a nosedive event the board will roll forward instead of abruptly slamming into concrete. These have saved me a couple of times already! Either the board will hit the ground and quickly catch itself & rebalance or you will roll forward.
Final Thoughts:
Overall , while this board is expensive, it’s absolutely worth it. It can be life changing even, once you get the hang of it, it is SO. MUCH. FUN. Surfing for the streets (when the ocean isn’t around) but for the love of gawd wear protection. That includes wrist guards, elbow pads, knee pads and helmet and install fangs, I personally wear a chest plate as well, and one time it may have saved me from a trip to the ER, at 17 mph on a turn board nosedived hard, I went from 17mph to 0 in less than a second, potentially because of a 19% battery in tandem with a sudden shift from flat surface to incline (weight also may be a factor, I’m 5’9 @ 185 lbs). I fell so hard, didn’t even have a second to react, I flew off the board and landed chest first into the concrete, because of the padded suit didn’t feel a thing, without it prob would have broken something or a few things. The board has its faults so suit up, other than that its one of the top 5 best things I ever purchased.
Im def in love with it… I may have bought 2…
Interesting review , can’t say I agree with your assessment.