Onewheel [video] | Hacker News Reader

Onewheel [video]

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73 pointsstonlyb44 comments

Here's a fun report of making something (very!) like this from scratch:

http://transistor-man.com/flying_nimbus.html

I don't think they're related, but they're so similar it's hard not to believe there's not some inspiration in some direction. Dunno which direction it is, though.

There’s a link to the Onewheel at the bottom of that page, no indication they’re related though.

That is a surprisingly short code for the balancing logic.

Small world! The flying nimbus-thing is my contraption, feel free to ask any questions. Just moved servers so some of the photos may load artificially small.

any plans to make it commercially available?

The onewheel folks's prototype inspired a lot of my build, there's quite a bit of tech to keep something like this happy and safe to use, check out their manufacturing line:

http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/02/onewheel-assembly/

Textbook example of what a kickstarter campaign can do and how to run one.

Range: 4-6 miles = 6.437-9.656 km

Max. speed: 12 mph = 19.31 km/h

Recharge time: 20 minutes = 0.3803 microcenturies

You forgot the most important number!

Weight: 25 lbs / 11.3 kg.

I have an electric skateboard (Yuneec eGo) that weighs only 14 lbs and I still don't take it from place to place because I don't want to carry it.

Think of carrying before you buy it. Carefully.

Agreed. I also had a Yuneec E-go and realized that electric skateboards, despite their low weight, are very annoying to carry around. I'm personally waiting around for a good electric kick-scooter or small foldable electric bike. Mainly because it's easy to travel with it, e.g. you just roll it around.

The burning question I had since the start of the video was answered at 1:23 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=XN...

There are a number of these self-propelled things. I get it as entertainment, and plenty of people spend more money on their bikes or skis, but I can't wrap my head around people who suggest it as an everyday mode of transport. Like the Segway, it seems an overengineered toy that some may enjoy but few will find practical. By all means have a blast on the thing, though - that's what toys are for.

I'm really excited about this product, I'll probably buy one but I would like to try it first. My main usage for it would be to go from my house to the train station about 1 mile away.

It would be very cool if future versions included some kind of hook or latch so it can be chained to a bike pole or something similar, that will make it not only a toy, but an important piece of my daily commute.

This is similar to how I use my onewheel, public transportation is 3 miles away. You can put a chain on it as is but you can also carry it in with you (25 lbs)

I'm glad to hear that. The route from my house to the train station has a couple of gentle hills and my weight is 155 pounds. Should I be concerned that it won't have enough power to climb those hills?

on one of these, those hills will be your favorite part of the ride. I've been up and down very steep inclines and get the feeling of defying gravity.

Back to the Future was slightly off :)

I love electric vehicles of all sorts, let's enjoy them to the fullest, the hoverboard will be there soon enough.

> let's enjoy them to the fullest, the hoverboard will be there soon enough.

My feeling is that we've been enjoying this wheel technology for quite a while already :/

Contrast the design and price with the electric unicycles like Solowheel, Airwheel, Rockwheel and various knockoffs that have been around a while. I got a Uni-wheel [1] for $300 last month and it's pretty fun to ride. The specs for the weight, top speed, and run time are pretty similar.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF17hVc_VaM

Where did you buy it from at $300? How does it perform uphill?

I wonder if it'd be possible to use a smaller wheel (maybe a sphere), and also raise the deck? Suspension?

I would try it, but just like with boosted boards, I think I would still prefer a normal skateboard. Because I can still kickflip a normal skateboard. :)

Hmm - other thoughts. What would make this really cool is if it goes really, really fast. Like balls to the wall speed. 12mph is definitely not fast enough.

Probably, speed is really limited by the currently available tech for compact electric vehicles. Solowheel http://inventist.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=artic... is of similar size and weight and is rated at 10 mph. Even though it got 1500W motor. 1800 in the latest Extreme model, but rated speed is unchanged: http://solowheel.com/product/xtreme

Steering is achieved by deforming the wheel into a cone shape. A spherical wheel wouldn't allow steering by deformation.

Hmm, wouldn't a close-to-spherical material (something like tire rubber) work?

The thing I really like about Onewheel vs Boosted is the size of the wheel. Even when I skateboarded 10 years ago, the small size of the wheels would always get me into trouble.

$1500 is definitely too much money for me right now, but if I move further away from the office and the price comes down about $500 in the 6-12 months I may be picking one of these up.