Posts made by 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.

I’m close to 900 miles on my XR and I’ve recently replaced my rear footpad with a Surestance Pro. Love the grip. My worn front grip tape felt weak in comparison.
I researched replacing the grip tape on the front footpad. If you’ve considered this, you’ll have seen people heating and peeling the old grip tape off.
It made me nervous to subject the front sensor to heat and mechanical stress. I didn’t want to risk damage to the sensor as that could mean intermittent sensor failure. In other words pain & injury.
Since FM will only sell a set of decks. I decided to refresh my front grip tape with some aerosol art/craft glue and some silicone carbide grit made for rock tumblers. Not super pretty but much more grip. Remove the front footpad first!

@aymon I agree with previous respondents, you’ve bought & ridden a OneWheel without understanding it.

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

@sk8bomb My iPhone 6+ still only works from a few feet away but yesterday I successfully recorded an entire ride in the OW app. My first complete recording since buying my XR. Maybe it’s just a better App, but I did receive a lot less “lost connection” notifications.

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.