@Lia

steering for the speedboard does look pretty awesome.

I’m sure with practice the hand controls are decent, but balance-wise having the board react to you will always beat having to react to the board :-)

Have a fun build!!

That looks bad ass!!

The ultimate 2 wheel machine for me would include the intuitive lean to steer and accelerate like OneWheel.

I can imagine turning working if the platform rolled on the long axis. Roll right for right turn. Left for left. If both front and back wheel turned (ala 4 wheel steering cars), both tight turns and side “slides” could be achieved.

To get the accel/decel from leaning, just measure weight distribution between front foot and back foot. More weight on front foot means acceleration. More weight on back door to decelerate. Hmm... surely someone has done that on a skateboard :)

Lol - someone’s building this 2 wheel monster I was dreaming of :)

https://www.stator.com/product/stator-scooter-preorder/

Thanks @Lia and @biell - good to know I can stop dreaming of that swap option - figured it was a long shot anyway.

I left my XR on the charger for 10 days while I was away, without any change, but I can try leaving it plugged in all the time.

My XR is dying less than 1km from home, so I can add some air to the tire, turn back sooner (which I hate to do), walk up the giant hill it's surging on near the end of the ride, or just take it a little easier (which I also hate to do). App says my top speed is 32.5km/h (20.2mph) so I'm probably pushing it beyond what's "safe" anyway. (but isn't that half the fun?)

I might try that swap option Lia mentioned or just wait for a new model, which I'll undoubtedly feel compelled to buy (I have a OW, OW+, OW+XR). This XR has 1600km, which isn't huge but it's bearings are getting a bit loud too..

Anyway - thanks for the advice! Happy riding!

My XR battery is aging (surges uphill, konks out at 20%, ..) so I’m thinking of replacing or upgrading it. I guess I could just choose shorter rides, but what fun would that be?

Yet the battery isn’t that bad, so I’m wondering if I could stuff my XR into my Onewheel plus. I’m guessing not, but wondered if anyone here has tried, or has other creative ideas.

@SlyFoxxx
Thanks for your suggestions. I hear you on the trust thing, machines fail sometimes. I've only had 1 painful fall... on my OW+ a couple years ago. My fault, not the board, but any caution I learned has long since worn off...

For some reason, I trust my OW+XR and just ride like it's unfailable. Maybe it's the increase in torque over the older boards. Since it seems unlikely that I'll be more careful, I picked up a pair of fangs front wheels to help in the case I push the board too far :-) Looking forward to trying them out. Got a pair for my loaner board (OW+) too, so my friends are less likely to hurt themselves (which did happen once).

I definitely recommend a FF Hoosier Whisper 6" tire if you can afford it. I installed it myself. Breaking the bead by hand took some serious effort (going to a tire shop would've been a better idea), but everything else was easy enough. Just follow the instructions on YouTube. I opted not to replace the bearings... more work than I wanted to undertake.

The new tires is soft enough that I just used a bike pump to seat the bead.

Thanks for the comments. I didn't think about the battery getting worn down, or that a full battery performs differently and a discharged battery...

This board has 1300km on it and is one of the early XRs off the line (pre-order). And, the battery does sometimes drop from 20% to 0% without warning, so it's obviously a little worn.

I'll back off a little... and look for an upgrade when the next XR model comes out! Maybe the XXR? :-)

I’m curious if anyone else has had the motor do a little “cough” sound while pushing the board hard. It’s only happened a few times, but I’m wondering if it means I’m a moment away from overwhelming the motor and cartwheeling off the front end :-)

Today’s scenario - riding my OW+XR uphill on smooth pavement, fast, accelerating, 40% battery - marveling at how much more torque I seem to have with “aggressiveness” set at 11 and a slightly smaller tire (FF Hoosier Street "Whisper 6").

Everything feels strong then there’s a slight pause in the motor noise - a little cough, if you will - before full awesomeness resumes. I didn’t really notice the board nose dipping, but I’m not sure I would since I’d been riding full-on over road, dirt and grass since leaving my house. If it dipped, I probably just adjusted automatically.

Before you holler “idiot! You’re asking for trouble”, consider that I’ve ridden over 3000km on my OW, OW+, and OW+XR without experiencing a personal “nosedive” (which I’ve always assumed is rider error, not a board error...). I’m not a newbie.

But, I also recently swapped the stock tire (LOVE the Whisper 6!!) and switched from “mission” to “custom, aggressive 11” and noticed my top speed crept up to 29.4kph/18.3mph. (real speed or undersize tire?). I weigh 72kg/160lbs.

Loving the extra torque & speed, but wonder if I am an idiot asking for trouble...

And if anyone else has heard the motor cough... and what it means...

And if I should invest in some fangs - lol

Little update on these. The OW+ has 370km on it, and it in fantastic shape. I'll toss in a free stock fender (new unused) and a backpack to carry it in (old used).

The OW original has 1270km on it.

Here a video if you want to take a look. PM for prices.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/w2779j01oq405hm/OneWheelsForSaleInTokyo.mov?dl=0

My Onewheel + XR arrived, and it's time to shed my older one wheels :-)

If you're in Tokyo and interested, come by for a ride and pick one out. It's a good opportunity for you to save hundreds of dollars (or tens of thousands of yen if you prefer) on shipping and import fees.

The classic has 1200 miles on it. The OW+ has about 300, and is still looking new.

Send me a private note if you're interested. Thanks...