@Motoproponent said in Snowboarder in (late) midlife crisis - is learning to ride One Wheel the answer?:

By the way, I'm biased in that the XR is really the only Onewheel in my opinion. everything else is a stepping stone to the XR :P

This!

@Motoproponent said in Snowboarder in (late) midlife crisis - is learning to ride One Wheel the answer?:

Having to constantly keep your weight on your front foot to move forward is incredibly fatiguing at first.

Agree, but only at first. Once you learn that you can float with even balanced pressure on both feet and your muscles get used to it, this goes away. I read some great advice early on in my OW career that said to not lean into the board but to treat your front foot more like a gas pedal and that worked for me.

I had the reverse issue. My back foot controlling all of the motion of the board would get fatigued after a few miles, so I never had an issue with my front foot. Of course, I got over that and then I NEEDED an XR!

@Franko said in Snowboarder in (late) midlife crisis - is learning to ride One Wheel the answer?:

i still think that if @midlifecrisis just plans on short cruisy runs in neighborhoods and parks, the Pint would be just fine.

Except this:

@midlifecrisis said in Snowboarder in (late) midlife crisis - is learning to ride One Wheel the answer?:

Is the range of the Pint good enough for a couple of hours of cruising fun around a local park/local streets

Which is where I started with my first board, the +. Once I got proficient, range anxiety was a big thing for me until the XR came out. Being able to ride twice as long was the whole reason I bought the XR, so I didn't have to go 3 miles, then turn back home (on a cold day). Warmer days, was more like 3.5 or 4 miles before worrying about getting back home. So, if cruising around a park for 30-45 minutes (if weight is say 175 or higher) works, then the Pint sounds fine. But once you start venturing out into your area/neighborhood, range anxiety will definitely set in, LOL.

That said, I'm actually considering picking up a Pint for shorter errands, as everything in my city is within the Pint's range and I can keep my XR for my longer daily rides.

@midlifecrisis tough decision you have there!

@midlifecrisis said in Snowboarder in (late) midlife crisis - is learning to ride One Wheel the answer?:

Just wondering why you say the Pint has a top speed of 16mph but that means you'd have to stay below 13mph (even though you normally ride at below 17mph). Is the board less stable at it's max speed? I can't really imagine what 15/16mph would feel like and am wondering if it's fast enough to enjoy cruising around once I'm competent?

At around the 600 mile mark in my OW riding career (LOL), I had a nose dive at around 21 mph. I was trying to stay around 18, but since the OW app has no speed alarm and I didn't have a watch, I breached my limit without knowing until it was too late. The board can only do so much and if you push past its limits, nothing good happens. It was not pretty, slid along the pavement for a few meters, all my knuckles were scraped up, my cheap elbow and knee pads both slid off on my left side, so had major road rash, bruised my left hip, and my left cheap wrist guard actually snapped! Luckily I had that on, else it would've been my wrist instead. Anyway, after that, I got some really nice Killer 138 pads, super protective, super dorky looking, but helped me get the confidence to ride again at higher (16/17) speeds. Which, I've decided, tops out at around 17 mph. I know when I'm going 12 mph on my XR, it feels pretty slow nowadays. Also, when I'm cruising on a path at 16 mph and hit a pothole or large bump that I didn't see, it's helps that the XR still has enough power left to get me over it!

Sounds like others are saying the XR has the more snowboard feel, especially on the longer carves. I do agree with that, as my whole riding style is to be constantly carving. If the stock tire doesn't carve well for you, you can swap in something better after you've ridden for a while.

As for the length of the ride, on my XR I usually ride about 12-14 miles and I'm back home in just over an hour, so, depending on your weight, I'm not sure how long the Pint will last . . . perhaps someone else can chime in with a weight/distance comparison on the Pint. I'm about 175, but I know distance depends on weight, temperature, terrain, tire, and perhaps other factors.

Anyway, this is the most fun I've ever had on a board. To me, I feel like Marty McFly floating around my city! I'm always finding reasons to ride and right now with all the take out food, I have the perfect excuse.

@midlifecrisis I got my first OW 2.5 years ago at 59. Learning to ride takes a week or 2 . . . learning to ride well, takes a bit longer. I'm the same, was seeking the snowboarding thrill and the OW is it for me. If you wear protection (knee, elbow, wrist pads and a helmet), you should be safe for most accidents while learning. I wore them the first 1000 miles and backed off to just the wrist guards and helmet ever since (I now have almost 5000 miles on my boards). If you're not careful, the risks can be high, but properly protected, you should be fine with mostly scrapes and bruises if/when you wipe out. I also don't do tricks, but I do ride streets, bike paths, and gravel/dirt roads/paths . . . mostly I just cruise around and I average a 12-14 mile ride almost everyday.

My first board was a + and now I ride the XR. I've never ridden a Pint, but it didn't interest me do to the lower range and the lower top speed. The Pint has slightly better range than my + had, but not as much as the XR. I keep my speed below 17 mph, knowing the board can handle 20-21 mph (look up my nose dive posts to see how I know!). With the Pint, the max is 16 mph, so I'd have to stay below 13 I think, which would be too slow for me.

Of course, resale on these boards is pretty good, so if you think the Pint may work for you, you could always sell it and upgrade if the range/speed isn't enough for you.

@jackiemoon I've done 3 tire changes and, yes, the first was REALLY hard and it took me over 2 hours. I used 2x4s to set the wheel off the ground and broke the bead with another board vertically. Look for the 20 minute tire change video with @jeffmccosker on youtube, it doesn't cut out during the removal or install. Once you know about the groove on one side inside the wheel, you can use that to your advantage on both the removal and the install. I didn't use any tools the third time and it took a total of about 30 minutes.

As for tire choice, I'm a big fan of treaded tires with over 3000 miles on them, either the Burris or the Hoosier. Both have excellent grip on pavement and inspire confidence on trails, grass, and even light mud. I rode the Burris for 2700 miles on my XR and loved it, but it does have a bit of vibration and noise. The new FlightFins Hoosier Terrain 2 is similar, but it's WAY quieter and while it rides smooth on a straight line, it carves quicker than the Burris. Overall, I prefer the Hoosier, but it's also pricier at $100 vs the Burris at $70.

@RUSH Looks like you can click on the user's name, which pulls up the details. From there, use the menu on the right to block them.

@OneDan Second ride confirms not only is it quieter, it's a smoother ride. It somehow almost eliminates smooth sidewalk gaps and small pebbles. Same good mileage as yesterday. Will be fun to live with this for a while.

I noticed long ago that after a nosedive or two, I became more cautious trying to climb steeper hills as well. I've never gotten over it, but what I do now is I carve left and right a bit while going uphill and it seems to allow me to gain speed more quickly without having to tilt the nose down as much.

@Sponge315 Could be, I was shocked at how great it's held up!
@Maverik I love the Burris too!

Took my first ride yesterday on the new Hoosier. It truly is whisper quiet. So quiet, I had to take my ear buds out and I could still barely hear it! Great, now even people without headphones/ear buds can't hear me coming up behind them, lol.

Compared to the Burris, it's very stable on straight lines and long carves. On sharper carves and tight turns is where it differs. When leaning the board into a carve, the Hoosier "catches the edge" sooner than the Burris, so you have to be a bit more careful, but I'm sure it's something to just get used to. I did notice I can make sharper, quicker, tight carves and turns tho, so as long as I'm careful, that's a good thing. :)

I took my longest ride path (just over 12 miles) that used to drain my battery down to around 23 or 24 percent to see how the mileage held up. With the new tire, I got to the 10 mile mark and still had around 40% battery, so I actually added in another 1.5 mile detour and returned home with 26% and 13.7 miles total, so the claim of higher mileage seems to be true. FYI, I'm running the exact same PSI (around 17) as I was before.

Overall, pretty impressed with the Hoosier, but I still have the Burris around in case I want to go back.

Following up, as I just changed out the Burris on my XR for the new FF Hoosier Terrain 2. I put the Burris on around the 300 mile mark and my XR now has just over 3000 miles. You can hardly tell the mileage from the amount of tread left on the Burris, as you can see in the pics.

I'm not expecting a huge difference in the ride as the tire profiles look very similar with the new Hoosier showing a bit more "aggressive" tread. FF does claim a quieter ride due to a new compound, lighter weight, and the tread pattern, but I'll post back with any significant impressions.

Side note: I did this tire change (my third) with no tools, just my hands, after watching @jeffmccosker's 20 minute tire change video and feeling "emboldened", LOL. I even forgot to use the glass plus when installing the new tire, but I got it over the rim with barely any problems. As for the 20 mins, mine was more like 30 if I leave out all the cleaning I did while the board was apart. The key is to remember to use the slot inside the rim to position the inside edge of the tire into while both removing and installing.

Here's some eye candy of old (Burris) vs new (FF Hoosier Terrain 2):