New rider? Here’s how I learned to ride OneWheel XR, 400 miles and no significant injuries.

[lmuraro]

See Jan 2021 update below

Don’t buy a OneWheel if your primary motivation is speed thrills. The pleasure of the OneWheel ride comes from carving asphalt and riding relatively smooth trails.

I’m fifty eight years old and I’m having a blast. Here how I’ve avoided any visits to the Emergency Room

LEARN
Don’t get on your OneWheel without first reading the Users Manual, paying special attention to the subject of Push Back.
Then watch a couple of YouTube videos to thoroughly understand PushBack and the limitations of a one wheeled semi-stabilized vehicle.
Chris Richardson’s OneWheel 101 Vol 2:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=robiQjkQoZo
and
OneWheel’s What is Push Back?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WXYv3eq_9A4
Explore the fine YouTube videos by some of the best riders in the world like Slydog Stroh, The Float Life and many more. I think watching them shred helps program my mind for a ride the next day.

SAFETY GEAR
Wear a helmet and wrist guards at all times. I do wear knee and elbow pads on unfamiliar trails or when I’m trying to learn a difficult maneuver.

PRACTICE
I recommend spending at least half of you riding time for the first 100 miles practicing low speed maneuvers. Proper dismounts, balancing while stopped, increasing tight figure eights and forward and reverse 90 degree turns. I’m coming up on 500 miles and I still try to do this once a day. Mastery of these low speed maneuvers is essential for riding around other people and traffic.

TRAFFIC
Don’t be that guy on a OneWheel that scares pedestrians and is a traffic hazard. OBEY crosswalk signals, make eye contact with drivers before entering a crosswalk, don’t trust that they see you. At night, wearing a light or brightly colored top helps and it’s a good idea to use a headlamp on your helmet and a red flasher on your backpack.
Speaking of pedestrians and sidewalks, if you must pass, slow to almost their speed and politely alert them to you presence when approaching from behind, BEFORE you’re on their ass.
It’s worth mentioning here that you should try to be a good ambassador for OneWheel. You’ll be asked many questions about your board, be patient. Spread the good vibe your ride provides. Remember, The Dude Abides.

DIGITAL SHAPING
I began riding the OneWheel in Cruz mode. Others may recommend starting in Mission (and Mission is sweet) but I’m glad I started in Cruz because Push Back in Cruz happens at a lower speed and is very pronounced. You don’t want to experience push back for the first time at speed. It’s scary and you may not recognize it and slow down in time if your first taste of push back happens in Mission or Delerium where it is more subtle.
I recommend staying in Cruz mode until you find yourself bumping into speed limiting push back several times on each ride. This means you are comfortable enough for your terrain to move up to Mission.

TERRAIN HAZARDS
The Gemini firmware makes the OneWheel a very stable and predictable ride but there a a few hazards you should look out for.
Parallel cracks, bevels & uneven asphalt levels. On trails, roots, rocks or sticks aligned in the same direction as your travel. The OneWheel can handle perpendicular inconsistency just fine, even coming off a curb is easy. Running over sticks across your path, no problem. But a crack or uneven surface that is is the same direction as your travel is very tricky. You will quickly be pitched to either toe or heel side. Getting caught by something like this by surprise can be painful. Watch for these hazards. Another good reason to use a headlamp at night.

That’s about it. If you can think of any more good advice for new riders please contribute below.

UPDATE January 5, 2021
Well float brothers and sisters it’s now been over 4000 miles since I first gingerly stepped onto a Onewheel. Believe it or not I’m still basically injury free. I’ve taken a few falls at slow speeds on slippery surfaces. Bruises and minor scratches. Every fall has been my fault. I still wear a helmet, elbow and wrist guards.
My Onewheel has performed flawlessly. I replaced my XR tire with a Burris 11x6.0-6 slick in SS-33 compound. It really improved the handling of the XR. The harder compound makes a bit more noise but it picks up a LOT LESS glass, wears better and turns easier.
I really don’t have much new safety advice, this thread covers just about everything a new rider should know.
I’ve come to the point where being on the OW feels intuitive. My only two real concerns when riding is not to space out, ignoring the riding surface and watching out for traffic of all kinds.
My Onewheel had made a terrible 2020 bearable. I don’t know what I’d do without it.

[dajw]

@lmuraro nice post. I’m doing alright on my journey too. One fall from getting too cocky too soon (beer was involved).

Let me add to the list of dangers. Here in the UK it’s cold and dark now. Lots of slippery, wet fallen leaves on the pavement which makes control difficult but the real killer is uneven pavement where the tree roots have ruptured the asphalt. Those combined with slippery leaves in the dark are no fun at all!

[skyman88]

@lmuraro

Great post and pointers. I think everyone should and can enjoy a OW in a way that works for them. For some more risk = more fun; others not so much.

I might as well triple post this today... but this is also a great site to read the 5 Golden Rules from the @jeffmccosker who was the race and overall winner at Float Life Fest 2; which just means he's a good guy to listen to when it comes to riding advice. 5 Rules

[raz]

i don't like the way it describes responding to pushback, nor the cartoon picture used at all. its a good way to think you're on a runaway board. if you look at the pic the rider has their front leg straight and back leg bent to respond to the pushback. this does not work for me. could be my height, 6'2" or weight, 180# i don't know. but if i'm going really fast and need to slow down, i have to bend my back leg without straightening my front leg. i have to collapse my back knee in towards my front leg. attempting to straighten my front leg and leaning back ends up putting more pressure on the front end and the board gets a runaway feel. this is just when i'm about to get dumped kind of fast.

[scott_pdx]

I tried running in Cruz mode, but it wouldn't go up my steep driveway. It was good for the first few nights in the garage though.

[c.han8484]

LOL, I learned to not get overly cocky the first night. Ate it at about 15mph on asphalt. I don't know exactly what happened, but nose-dived. I don't bounce back up quite like I used to......

[Glyph]

@c-han8484 Get Fangs. And a helmet, if you don't have one.

[JackMacK]

@Glyph they been outs stock 😐➖🔵➖

[c.han8484]

I've got a helmet lol. Good ol Pro-Tec, but do the fangs really stop you from eating shit? If so, I'm down. That was quite an impact.

[Glyph]

@JackMacK - my understanding is you can still order, and they will ship as soon as available, which has been within a few weeks. YMMV of course.

[Glyph]

@c-han8484 Anecdotally, yes they can, in some circumstances. My buddy has ridden out 3 nosedives now on them. I added them to my board after a nosedive cost me a broken shoulder and six months' ride time.

I would not expect them to save you every time. There are scenarios in which they will not (cannot) help you. There are even some situations where they could theoretically cause you a problem. But I think for pavement riders, they are a net positive.

[JackMacK]

@Glyph we will see how long it takes

[freshbread]

@lmuraro

TERRAIN HAZARDS
The Gemini firmware makes the OneWheel a very stable and predictable ride but there a a few hazards you should look out for.
Parallel cracks, bevels & uneven asphalt levels. On trails, roots, rocks or sticks aligned in the same direction as your travel. The OneWheel can handle perpendicular inconsistency just fine, even coming off a curb is easy. Running over sticks across your path, no problem. But a crack or uneven surface that is is the same direction as your travel is very tricky. You will quickly be pitched to either toe or heel side. Getting caught by something like this by surprise can be painful. Watch for these hazards. Another good reason to use a headlamp at night.

That’s about it. If you can think of any more good advice for new riders please contribute below.

Good suggestions, and I will add that you can't trust grass. Now I know a few folks I've said that to say, "but you ride in the grass" and this is true but I either know the terrain, or the grass is very short. Tall grass is a terrain I would avoid. Leaves wet, or dry can be hazardous too early on. Loose material like decomposed granite, wood chips on play grounds etc can also be wreck inducing.

[Alohawheel]

@lmuraro ..Great post and I greatly appreciate your tips. I'm also interested that someone with age is riding these things. I'm older than you..by a few years. I know you were riding an XR and I could get either model but in your opinion do think it would be prudent to start out with a Pint as there is less of a learning curve..easier to ride..And perhaps safer?..I'm too old to get hurt and it took me months to recover from my Mountain bike crash with a Pig..Just interested in
your opinion

Aloha

[skyman88]

@Alohawheel

Which island are you on?

I think if you listen to push board and slowly learn the capabilities of the board, Pint vs XR will not matter. XR is going to be more stable for trails and has 3x the range but Pint is sporty and rides differently. Pint does come with a more rounded ("carvy") tire from the factory. So it is probably even more important to practice and learn how to balance while stopped and dismount properly.

Although the easy stop thing could be a nice way to learn, it's probably good to learn the heel lift method as well. At some point you may like to ride backwards or turn around or whatever. Practice near a railing or something you can grab onto and take your time, you'll be find. It's surprisingly quick to learn.

[Alohawheel]

@skyman88

Thanks for your comments..they matter. I live in Oahu/Honolulu. Given your imput I think I may be better off waiting for Pint. My one reservation with it is its limited range..wish it could go a bit farther than 6 miles

Other than that ..just need to make sure I don't get hurt..will take my time..learn all I can..and practice..

Thanks again and Aloha!!!

[lmuraro]

@Alohawheel,
Thanks I’m glad you liked the post.
I’ve never ridden a Pint but I’ve watched quite a few videos of others riding.
It looks to me that the Pint is more agile or less stable, however you want to look at it. It has a more narrow and smaller diameter wheel than the XR.
I don’t think I would like the Pint’s ride better than the XR.
But that’s just me, an old duffer who likes cruising around.