The Onewheel is an electric board that is produced by the American company Future Motion. The Onewheel can be seen as an electric skateboard with one wheel. Others compare the Onewheel with a hoverboard because you control the Onewheel by self-balancing. When you use the Onewheel you will immediately notice that the product is unique. Nothing compares to the Onewheel.
The emerge of Onewheel
Since 2005, Kyle Doerksen, founder of Future Motion has been creating his perfect electric vehicle. Kyle Doerksen holds multiple engineering degrees from the University of Stantford. After eight years of tinkering with prototypes, the maker of Onewheel founded Future Motion in 2013. This is also when the first real Onewheel was launched. This Kickstarter exceeded all campaign goals by making a revenue of $630.000. At the time, Future Motion was based in Mountain View California, before moving to Santa Cruz in 2015.
How does the Onewheel work?
The Onewheel works entirely on body movements. The user of the Onewheel accelerates and brakes by leaning forward and backward. With the right balance and movements you will notice and you can turn and steer easily. For many people driving the Onewheel can feel uncomfortable at first, but soon enough you will notice you get the hang of it. This is because of the advanced operation system. The feeling of riding the Onewheel is like surfing or snowboarding on the road. This can be done on many different surfaces. Forrest paths, grass or the beach come to mind.
The different Onewheel models and their specifications
Since 2013, Future Motion presented 4 different Onewheel models. The Onewheel Original, the Onewheel Plus, the Onewheel XR and the Onewheel Pint. Only the last two models are still available for consumers.
The Onewheel XR and the Onewheel Pint could be called siblings. The Onewheel XR, the big brother, is the more expensive of the two. This is mainly due to the bigger range of the XR, 29 km. The Onewheel XR also has bigger footpads which makes controlling the Onewheel XR easier for a lot of people.
The Onewheel Pint is the smaller model. The Pint comes with a range of 13 km on a full battery. Significantly less than the Onewheel XR. However, the Onewheel Pint also has advantages. The Onewheel Pint is easier to bring along because of its lightweight and maghandle. The Onewheel Pint is also smaller which makes turning easier. Besides this, the stop-system of the Onewheel Pint is very user-friendly. You stop the Pint by leaning while with the Onewheel XR, you have to lift your heel. Do you want to know more about the Onewheel Pint? Read our article about the Onewheel Pint.
To sum it up, with the Onewheel XR and Onewheel Pint there is something for everyone. Do you want to drive long distances on higher speed? And do you like bigger footpads? Then the Onewheel XR is probably something for you. Do you want something playful and portable? Then the Onewheel Pint seems to be the better option. From our own experience, we notice that people make the best choice after testing both boards.
Conclusion
The Onewheel is a great alternative way of electric transport and suits people that like adventure. Go for a Onewheel if you want to have fun. Yes, you can reach a speed of 30 km/h but we are convinced that people should use the Onewheel in a playful way. Cruising on the beach or through the forrest for example. Or for commute in a chill and unique way!