Onewheel is a self-balancing single wheel electric board-sport, recreational
personal transporter
A personal transporter (also powered transporter, electric rideable, personal light electric vehicle, personal mobility device, etc.) is any of a class of compact, mostly recent (21st century), motorised micromobility vehicle for transporting an ...
, often described as an
electric skateboard
An electric skateboard is a personal transporter based on a skateboard. The speed is usually controlled by a wireless hand-held throttle remote or rider body weight-shifting between front of the board for forward motion and rear for braking. As fo ...
. Unlike the
electric unicycle
An electric unicycle (often initialized as EUC or acronymized yuke or Uni) is a self-balancing personal transporter with a single wheel. The rider controls speed by leaning forwards or backwards, and steers by twisting or tilting the unit side to ...
, the rider's feet (and body) are typically pointed at a perpendicular angle to the wheel and direction of travel.
History
The first device similar to a Onewheel was invented by Ben Smither in 2007. Future Motion Inc. founder and CEO Kyle Doerksen created a commercial version of the concept several years later.
Doerksen holds two engineering degrees from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, including a master's degree in mechanical engineering.
In 2013, he left his job at
IDEO
IDEO () is a design and consulting firm with offices in the U.S., England, Germany, Japan, and China. It was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. The company's 700 staff uses a design thinking approach to design products, services, environ ...
and started Future Motion Inc. in Santa Cruz.
He launched Onewheel on
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
on January 6, 2014; the Kickstarter exceeded its campaign goal of $100,000 and reached over $630,000 by January 27, 2014.
The original Onewheel was released in 2015.
It was followed by the Onewheel+ in 2017,
the Onewheel+ XR in 2018,
and the Onewheel Pint in 2019.
Future Motion Inc. was first headquartered in
Mountain View, California
Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376.
Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is the ...
. In 2015 the firm moved its headquarters to
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...
and operated out of the Old Wrigley Building. The Onewheel is manufactured in Santa Cruz at a facility within the city limits; Future Motion Inc. moved there in 2018.
In 2015, Onewheel held the first Race for the Rail event. During the event riders race each other on mountain bike trails, competing for a cash prize. In 2020, the event was held at an undisclosed Utah ski resort in order to keep spectator numbers down during the coronavirus pandemic. The finals were live streamed on YouTube.
In 2022 the race was i Reno Nevada where the riders had to descended hills of on Sky Tavern Resort to compete in a boardercross-style race. Racheal Cecil and Kyle Hanson was crowned to they 2022 champions.
Onewheel Models
Onewheel
The original model, Onewheel, had a range of and a top speed of . It was shown at the
Consumer Electronics Show
CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
on January 6, 2014; it has since been discontinued.
Onewheel+
The subsequent version, Onewheel+, introduced in January, 2017, had an improved range of and top speed of .
It was discontinued in favor of the Onewheel+ XR.
Onewheel+ XR
![Onewheel XR track](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Onewheel_XR_track.jpg)
The Onewheel+ XR was introduced in 2018 with a range of and top speed of .
In 2021, the Onewheel+ XR was discontinued in favor of the Onewheel GT, and was on sale at a $300 discount until the remaining XR inventory sold out on December 13, 2021. Or so we thought. In late summer of 2022, the onewheel+ XR was put on sale again on the Onewheel website for a brief amount of time due to extra inventory. It is a favorite in the community of riders due to its range, speed, durability, and ability to be modded.
Pint
Onewheel Pint with a range of and top speed of ; The Pint includes an LED light display that indicates battery status and a handle for ease of carrying. It is still in production as of 2022.
Pint X
In October 2021, Onewheel announced 2 new models, the Onewheel GT, and the Onewheel Pint X. The Pint X has a top speed of , slightly faster than the Pint; and a range of . It is slightly slower and has more notable pushback than an XR, but a similar range.
GT
The Onewheel GT, introduced in October 2021, has a top speed of - slightly faster than the XR - and a range of . It uses a 6.5" diameter hub, rather than a 6" hub as previous models did, preventing standard go-kart tires from being used.
![Onewheel-GT-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Onewheel-GT-2.jpg)
The launch of the GT has been criticized because of boards that were
dead on arrival
Dead on Scene
('' 'DOS' '')
Found dead before first responders get on scene and no medical treatment was given.
Dead on arrival (DOA), also dead in the field and brought in dead (BID), are terms which indicate that a patient was found to be ...
or boards that exhibited "ghosting," whereby the board would rapidly accelerate without a rider on it.
Operation
Onewheel’s single wheel contains a brushless electric motor that spins to propel riders forwards or backwards making constant small adjustments to keep riders balanced.
To use the board, riders place their feet on either side of the wheel. A rider's front foot goes on top of a pressure-sensitive pad that detects when a rider is on the board; there is also a back footpad.
To direct the board, riders lean slightly in the direction they want to travel.
To stop, riders lift their heel off the side of the front footpad.
If using the Onewheel Pint, riders can use the optional dismount system, Simplestop,
by leaning back to make the board stop slowly and disengage, allowing riders to step off. The safety feature can be turned off in the Android/iOS app. The new board, Onewheel GT, will come with the new Digital Shaping 3.0 include the Simplestop feature from the Pint and Pint X.
Each Onewheel has three internal accelerometers and gyroscopes that continuously measure the orientation of the board in space.
These monitors take readings approximately 14,000 times per second in order to tell the motor what to do to help riders balance and move.
All of the models use 'Pushback' to warn the rider that they are about to reach the maximum safe speed.
Pushback gently forces the nose of the Onewheel up when riders approach unsafe speeds, alerting riders that they need to slow down.
Riders are able to choose to use an app that displays battery charge and miles traveled, and regulates different modes for the rider.
The app also allows riders to control other board functions to personalize how the board responds to their riding style.
Criticism
Right to repair
The company that manufactures Onewheels, Future Motion, has faced considerable criticism in its hostility towards third party modifications and the inability to repair the board outside of their one repair center in California. The lack of cooperation to license various other shops to do repairs has made repairing a Onewheel or getting a tire replacement without voiding its warranty a difficulty involving expensive shipping costs which can be prohibitive.
Louis Rossmann
Louis Anthony Rossmann (born November 19, 1988) is an American independent repair technician, YouTuber, and right to repair activist. He is the owner and operator of Rossmann Repair Group in Austin, Texas (formerly New York City), a computer rep ...
, a right to repair YouTuber and lobbyist, has made several videos on Future Motion's practices.
GT issues
Future Motion has also received criticism for its response to the Onewheel GT "ghosting" issues, whereby the board launches itself without any input from the user. On August 11th, 2022, Future Motion announced a voluntary recall of approximately 20,500 Onewheel GT front footpads to address the issue.
Consumer Production Safety Commission warning
On November 16th, 2022, the
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC, CPSC, or commission) is an independent agency of the United States government. The CPSC seeks to promote the safety of consumer products by addressing “unreasonable risks” of inj ...
(CPSC) issued a warning stating consumers should cease operation of all Onewheel units sold from 2014, citing safety concerns that may cause the rider to be ejected from the product. Future Motion objected to the release of CPSC's statement, and stated that Onewheel products are safe when operated following basic safe riding principles common to any board sport, including wearing a helmet and other safety gear.
Future Motion has started a petition to try and change CPSC's statement. Over 5000 letters have come in from users all over the world about their positive experience of riding Onewheel's.
Third party modifications
There is a community of creators of third-party modifications for Onewheels, including larger battery packs, auxiliary wheels ("fangs"), protective plates ("bumpers"), third-party grip tape, and more.
See also
*
Electric skateboard
An electric skateboard is a personal transporter based on a skateboard. The speed is usually controlled by a wireless hand-held throttle remote or rider body weight-shifting between front of the board for forward motion and rear for braking. As fo ...
*
Electric unicycle
An electric unicycle (often initialized as EUC or acronymized yuke or Uni) is a self-balancing personal transporter with a single wheel. The rider controls speed by leaning forwards or backwards, and steers by twisting or tilting the unit side to ...
*
Monowheel
A monowheel, or uniwheel, is a one-wheeled single-track vehicle similar to a unicycle.
Hand-cranked and pedal-powered monowheels were patented and built in the late 19th century; most built in the 20th and 21st century have been motorized. ...
*
Personal transporter
A personal transporter (also powered transporter, electric rideable, personal light electric vehicle, personal mobility device, etc.) is any of a class of compact, mostly recent (21st century), motorised micromobility vehicle for transporting an ...
*
Self-balancing scooter
A self-balancing scooter (also hoverboard, self-balancing board, segway or electric scooter board) is a self-balancing personal transporter consisting of two motorized wheels connected to a pair of articulated pads on which the rider places their ...
References
Further reading
{{Commons category, Self-balancing one-wheeled boards
''The Mercury News''''Santa Cruz Sentinel''NBC MontanaTechCrunch
Boardsports
Personal transporters