Range vs competitors

[Andrew]

It seems that certain competitor boards of a longboard nature achieve both lower weight and greater range.

At first I thought their product was newer and used more recent battery tech but the LiFePO4 is about as good as it gets.

So now I am thinking it must be due to three factors:

1. Rotational inertia - the single wheel and motor on the OneWheel are dramatically heavier than the four longboard wheels. Significant energy costs in spinning up that mass.
2. Longboards can freewheel
3. Controlling OneWheel is more complex, requiring an ARM computer

All of these are inherent to the single-wheeled design. So there's not going to be any magic bullet as far as range is concerned (maybe I need to lose some weight).

[J-Glide]

@Andrew if it was just about moving forward and getting places, then yes there are other boards that may be better for that. onewheel is a very different and unique ride that no one else can offer.

[Andrew]

@J-Glide said:

@Andrew if it was just about moving forward and getting places, then yes there are other boards that may be better for that.

I don't know about that. The big wheel on the OneWheel gives it the edge on most (all?) terrain. Unless your terrain is billiard smooth then I'm not sure a longboard will do well. I'm not willing to ride on the road and mix it with cars so it needs to smoothly run over bumps and cracks and things on the sidewalk. Also I need to turn in tight spots and a longboard just doesn't have the turning circle.

I think the OneWheel is best for fun and for getting places. I thought that when I bought it and I still believe it now. Little skateboard wheels just don't seem like they can ride over much.

This post was more wondering about the range difference and trying to account for the possible causes.

[kbern]

@Andrew I'm betting that one of the biggest drains on the battery is keeping the board balanced. That most take a lot of energy to have the motor essentially be supporting the rider.

[Franky]

@Andrew interesting question and one I'm sure fm could easily answer.

I'd bet the wheel hardness plays a huge role. The more psi in your wheel the better range you will get so hard skateboard wheels probably roll a lot more easily than a soft tire not fully rounded due to a rider on top. I'm sure the other electronics like balancing play a role too but I don't think most other boards have regenerative breaking which might make the other aspects a wash.

[Andrew]

@Franky said:

I'd bet the wheel hardness plays a huge role. The more psi in your wheel the better range you will get so hard skateboard wheels probably roll a lot more easily than a soft tire not fully rounded due to a rider on top.

Good point, hadn't thought of that!

[dicorci]

it's everything put together

the onewheel definitely weighs too much, it's the worst part about it

yes the wheel hardness matters but since there's no suspension the big soft tire is worth the loss; particalurly when you factor in the terrain handling capability

the self balancing definetly takes power, and is AWESOME

but lets face it; each of these things is a trade off, a loss of range/speed for some benefit, and most of these benefits, in my mind, are worth the trade

[Andrew]

@dicorci said:

the onewheel definitely weighs too much, it's the worst part about it

The total weight isn't the problem there, the board and me together weigh 100kgs. If the board was 0kgs then the total system weight (including me) would only drop to by about 10%. In terms of total weight, I am the problem.

Rotational inertia - yeah the board has a heavy wheel to spin up.

[dicorci]

@andrew

correct the weight of the tire is what hurts the efficiency of the system; i was oversimplifying it.