Beginner Seeking Guide: Riding On The Street

[JayWhy]

Great questions OP

You asked all the ones I had for me ;-)

As I eagerly await my first board of any kind since I was a teen (early 30s now) I am both growing more excited and a bit anxious over the falls that will undoubtedly occur.

Another question for the experienced riders...

How worried should we newbies really be of sudden cut offs and/or nose dives? Are they truly 99% of the time human error or is there a real threat of getting tossed on pavement for not fault of your own. That's the main thing as I read throw all the forums that worries me.

Also...any one wheel couples aka those who now ride with their wife or gf? Any tips on precautions for over zealous better halfs? Proactive question for someone who has a wife that will need hers not too long after I finally get mine I'm sure...

Overall my plan is to practice daily in a large park by my house that has both tons of grass and paved walkways until I'm bored before I take it to the public streets...

[timvdp]

elbow&whrist protection!

[powderhound]

@JayWhy
I'm also waiting on my first onewheel and been having similar questions. I really appreciate the OP and everyone's detailed answers. Seems like a great forum so far, been spending a good amount of time reading posts, watching you tubes, etc. Looking forward to hearing how everyone does with their learning curve once onewheels are shipped.

[SC720]

Not much of a learning curve. My 3 year old can cruise around the house with minimal assistance.

[slydogstroh]

I think bottom line, be safe learning the sensor, motor capabilities, ect. and know with time it's definitely possible to conquer the streets, sidewalk, trails, beach and everywhere else. Remember you can always hop of the board and walk away if you don't feel comfortable riding in an area and most of all HAVE FUN! No lift tickets required :D

[mekon]

@slydogstroh

You still cray.

[Waterloo1wheeler]

@bazzingapunk where are you located?

[bazzingapunk]

@Waterloo1wheeler Downtown Toronto. I guess you're in Loo?

[Waterloo1wheeler]

@bazzingapunk yes sir! That's awesome! There's another guy here in missisuga, we will have to make a group here for ride meet ups.

[s2kboy]

Hey what's up I am in mississauga from what I understand I will have the first one wheel + in Canada LOL!

[jew_fro_1009]

the best advice i could is that you can't worry about your one wheel getting scratched its gonna happen and don't be afraid to push the limits of your board and really see what it can do the top speed is alot faster than it says on the site mine is just a little under 26 miles per hour but most importantly have fun customize it and make it your own.

[dcosmos]

@jew_fro_1009 What app tells you that your top speed is 26?

[Aaron Broward FL]

Mine goes 15mph safely and that's it.... go any faster and face goes into pavement. So, Mabe if you weigh 100 lbs...

[wr420]

@dcosmos New FM app shows me at 25.2 with several witnesses on this forum. That's my fast board, V1. My 2nd v1 OW will only go about 17mph before you feel death creaping up on you, and maxed out at 20mph pretty much free wheeling down a slope.. Not sure if it's a degradation issue, calibration,or just inconsistency in manufacturing/production but I have a v1 board that I'll put against a + any day. I've ridden the + and got 20mph off the bat and there is prob more there but it was someone else's + and it was a different feeling. With less/no push back your nose stays close to the ground so if anything happens it feels like you would have less time to regain balance.
How's that for a bunny trail

[wr420]

Oh ya, back on topic, look both ways before you cross the street.

[OffRoadOW]

@dcosmos @Aaron-Broward-FL @wr420 So our board was going fine and the top speed I had on that thing was 26.4mh(shown on the Owheelbuddy app), a week or so after that board stopped working and sent it back said something wrong with battery because no lights anything turning on. We got it back and the top speed on that app was still 26.4 and on the FM app it didn't have a top speed so I was cool with trying to get up to 26.4(or close) on the FM app I've gotten up to 24.4mph since we got it back high speeds aren't seeming impossible, its almost to easy to go over the pushback with the new digital shaping not sure if others feel this as well with V1's. I feel I can go faster on a dirt road or gravel lately because pavement hurts more than gravel, I think I'm more confident on gravel/dirt because my nasty scars and crashed have happened on the pavement and the more minor crashes happen on dirt roads. So @bazzingapunk if you ever feel like trying to beat your top speed but not get too beat up if you fall, go to a gravel road that isn't very bumpy and always be cautious of bumps because trust me you don't want to be going 23-25 mph and hit a huge bump, long story short my elbow has a couple more scars and my middle finger on my right hand will never close all the way and it's a bit crooked, also needed a new helmet.

[dcosmos]

@OffRoadOW Thanks for the explanation. This summer I will challenge the pushback and try for a higher top speed. My boards, now both one year old, really howl at around 17 mph so it seems right to me that pushback should activate at that speed. I still look forward to video of someone hitting 25 mph on a V1. I realize it's hard to prove absolutely (unless a radar gun is used).

[jew_fro_1009]

@dcosmos its the official onewheel app that told me my speed came in right at 25.7 mph with the gps tracking turned on I don't know why your board is going so slow try elevated mode on a trail and see what speed you get

[Cojo21]

@bazzingapunk @Waterloo1wheeler @S2KBOY I'm in Stratford. Waiting like so many others for my OW+

We should have a Southern Ontario meetup and ride!

[OffRoadOW]

@dcosmos we have a little trailer at a lake and we know the sheriff and the park rangers there, I volunteer with them a lot they all have radar guns in their cars so maybe this summer we could try to get some proof of going that fast on a v1 or maybe even a plus later on ;-) By the way all my top speeds are in extreme mode. I only use elevated going up super steep hills.

[timvdp]

@OffRoadOW said in Beginner Seeking Guide: Riding On The Street:

@dcosmos we have a little trailer at a lake and we know the sheriff and the park rangers there, I volunteer with them a lot they all have radar guns in their cars so maybe this summer we could try to get some proof of going that fast on a v1 or maybe even a plus later on ;-) By the way all my top speeds are in extreme mode. I only use elevated going up super steep hills.

Don't forget to tape you doing the hyper-jump from the roof!?!? We all want to see you fly:):)

[dcosmos]

@OffRoadOW i look forward to it. Should be a lot of good video posted in this forum this summer.

[jew_fro_1009]

@wr420 ive noticed the same kind of thing some v1s feel like they top out at 17 but mine can go 26 with a gps tracker on its intresting how slow can be so much faster than others i wonder if the v2s will be the samew

[slydogstroh]

@jew_fro_1009 Rider weight, psi of the tire, the temp outside, the road conditions, the "health" of the cells in the battery, the ability of the rider to push past the pushback, ect. There's a lot of factors that go into speed and range!! The discrepancy isn't surprising to me.

[jew_fro_1009]

@slydogstroh how much range do you get in Chicago

[slydogstroh]

@jew_fro_1009 I forgot to add incline and wind. Both are big factors, too. // I average 5-7... right now it's still cold (in the 30s) so closer to 5. I'm looking forward to summer to get back to 7+ miles.

[leodamico]

Anybody in Toronto to ride? Let's create a community! Join the group on Facebook! Cheers