My updated comparison of PEVs: EUCs vs Onewheel XR vs electric skateboards

[photorph]

About me: Just a regular guy who likes E-vehicles.  Started with boosted board back in 2014, have had many electric skateboards.  Currently lacroixboards.com is my preferred electric skateboard.  Have been riding onewheels for 2 years, have a onewheel XR.  Started riding EUCs this year, have about 300 ish miles on an inmotion v8 (learner EUC) and now have a gotway MSX 100v.  Here's my comparison.  

 

Fun factor: Onewheel XR and Esk8 > EUC

The onewheel XR has an unmatched floaty feel since it is balancing you, the big wide tire is like riding on a cloud. It's also the quietest by far of these 3 devices. E-skates you can carve on as well, I prefer lacroix but carving on something like evolve GTR would also be awesome. Both onewheel XR and esk8 are fun!  EUC you can carve on as well but it's not the same, overall just less exciting to ride.

 

Range: EUC > high end esk8s > Onewheel XR > budget esk8s

The EUC takes it, you all probably already know that.  Goway monster and things like the new nikola plus, range will be unbeateable. I get around 18-20 miles on the onewheel XR, and esk8 is highly dependent on which one you get.  Although the lacroix lonestar has a 12s12p pack of sanyo cells for 60-80 miles of range.

 

Portability: EUC > esk8 > onewheel

If you define portability in terms of the ease of moving the vehicle then the EUC wins by a long shot because you don't have to lift any weight. The game changer is the trolley handle that takes advantage of the balancing mechanism. It's just as easy as walking w/o anything since there is no force required to trolley the EUC. The physical footprint of an EUC is smaller than an esk8 or a onewheel as well.  For carrying up and down stairs though, a light esk8 is still best since you are physically carrying less than 18 lbs in most cases.  

 

Safety: High end esk8 > EUC > Onewheel > esk8 with urethane wheels

It's hard to define a clear winner here, for me it would be the lacroix which has a flexy deck, pneumatic wheels, and a reliable connection. But an esk8 with urethane wheels or unreliable remote connection would be the least safest option in my opinion. The EUC would be 2nd and the onewheel would be last. The onewheel once mastered though is pretty safe as long as you respect the limits and not speed faster than pushback, however most broken bones are on the onewheel. This is because the warning system for motor cutout is not as advanced as it is on an EUC. EUCs won't cut out unless you ignore the very loud beeps and strong pushback. On a onewheel many people ride faster than the pushback since the pushback occurs before the advertised max speed. On an EUC the pushback is actually at the max speed you shouldn't exceed.

 

Cool factor: Onewheel and Esk8 > EUC

You look kind of dorky with an EUC, at least most people think so. Whereas with the OW you're carving, doing tricks and just chilling. Same with esk8. This may vary though depending on who you ask.

 

Performance: High end esk8 > EUC > Esk8 > Onewheel

EUC wins here in most cases (minus boards such as kaly NYC and lacroix Nazare), top speeds of 30 mph are safe but others have taken certain models to 40 mph. The hill climbing on these EUCs is pretty insane, they can go up 45% inclines easily. On my XR my max speed is 22 mph which I just touched, but I don't feel too safe going above 19 and my pushback kicks in at 15 mph so I usually try to stay around 14-18 mph to be safe. Something like the lacroix nazare e-board will have the fastest acceleration.

 

Cost/Value: EUC > Esk8 > Onewheel XR

While the most expensive EUCs cost $2000, my mid level one was $800 and that price point it outdoes the onewheel XR in specs. Thus the cost advantage goes to EUC.

 

Build quality: Onewheel > high end esk8 > EUC > low end esk8

The onewheel feels like a tank, but there are many stories of them just dying out (bricking). The EUCs don't feel as tough as a onewheel, but I have not seen much about them bricking or having issues. So it's hard to tell here. I judged this category based on how well something will survive a crash at speed.  EUC has plastic shells compared to the metal onewheel.  

 

Offroad capability: EUC > off road esk8 > onewheel XR > esk8

Something like a bajaboard G4X is pretty good off road, but after my experience with riding my gotway MSX on trails I'm convinced nothing could touch it on trails. The EUC would murder the onewheel on technical trails as well. I've seen people riding the msx in ice, snow, and some crazy off road trails. The onewheel does decent on trails sa well, but the reason EUC edges out the onewheel is because it's literally just a tire you are standing on. On the onewheel footpads can get in the way and make contact with obstacles. Esk8s with urethane wheels...forget it.

 

Other things to note:

-if you like skating, then obviously an esk8 will be your favorite. 

-Onewheel is much better for stability at standstill compared to EUC. An EUC is like a bicycle. It's hard to balance while you are still. On a onewheel you can stop and let the motor balance you no problem

-EUC is much nicer to bring indoors, it just looks like a high tech luggage you are rolling around. You can walk around with it at a mall w/o issue. Carrying the OW through a mall would not be so fun, and even the lightest esk8 would get heavy after a while

-EUC is harder to learn. I learned the onewheel in 15 mins, took me a month to feel comfortable on the EUC. Esk8 you can pick up in minutes if you know how to skate, but if you don't know then this may be the hardest to learn.

-EUC is more of a physical work out when you are learning. Esk8 is the least amount of stabilizer muscles used.

-High end Esk8s have faster acceleration than the onewheel or EUC

-Esk8s with hub motors and stiff decks are my least recommended e-vehicle, would only recommend if you have perfect streets to ride on

-A onewheel XR cannot keep up even with the entry level Meepo boards on the streets, but will out maneuver them and can actually be ahead in group rides due to how nimble it is

 

Is there one I prefer?

If I had to pick one I'd think about how I plan on using it daily:

-I'd take the onewheel for just having fun or cruising, or if I'm the type of person who wants to try new things and learn tricks. Onewheel has a cult like community with a lot of after market accessories, and a lot of members that are helpful and friendly. If you like the community aspect of things, onewheel is great. It's also best as a snowboarding replacement and if you like the sideways stance.

-For practicality I'd take EUC since it has more range and it's easy to trolley around. The EUC is the best commuter vehicle once mastered. I'd also pick an EUC like the msx for technical trail riding.

- I'd take an esk8 like a lacroix or kaly nyc to group rides, or for an adrenaline rush because these accelerate the fastest. They are also majorly fun to carve on. I had the lacroix dss50 which was amazing, and the Nazare will be even better.

-If I was on a budget under $500 and had nice streets only then would I consider an esk8 with hub motors/stiff deck. A lot of good budget options from Meepo and wowgo exist at this point, they are impressive for the price.

 

Let's just say I'm gonna be buying another EUC or two, I'm hooked.  I hope they all are as amazing as the MSX is.  I'll leave you all with my 2nd ride ever on the MSX after learning on the inmotion, while my wife is on her first ride ever with a powerful e-scooter.  I usually gear up this much only for the MSX.  

 

 

Edited June 21, 2019 by photorph

[Daniel-Son]

Excellent! I couldn’t agree more. You forgot one more comparison, Their app’s. EUC have the worst apps and the Onewheel app is really good. I don’t own a Esk8 so don’t know how they fair, maybe you can enlighten me. 

Edited June 21, 2019 by Daniel-Son

[photorph]

1 hour ago, Daniel-Son said:

Excellent! I couldn’t agree more. You forgot one more comparison, Their app’s. EUC have the worst apps and the Onewheel app is really good. I don’t own a Esk8 so don’t know how they fair, maybe you can enlighten me. 

Onewheel and esk8 apps are WAY better than EUC apps, excellent point here.  Brands like boosted board or onewheel have real software developers that have the apps perfected.  

 

For EUC in my experience inmotion app has been pretty good, gotway is horrible.  

[LanghamP]

With its ultra wide tire the Z10 seems unique among EUCs for its ability to nearly self-balance like the OW. The OW isn't so wide that you can just stand on while stopped.

I will point out that the OW and the eSkateboards/longboards, and for that matter the eBike and eScooter have proliferated at my local park. I often see like seven OWs at once, and similar with the other electrics...except for the EUC. I've seen just a few of those, but the others will occasionally outnumber the regular bicycles.

One thing I love about electrics is that a lot of new people wobble on them, then mildly crash without injury. Do riders of electrics need helmets? Maybe. Certainly the OW crowd is entirely suited up, as you would expect of a $2000 device, but the others not so much.

I don't like the way traditional bicyclists treat these electrics, as indeed I've seen bicyclists scream, kick, and curse at the obviously new wobbling rider. That's just nasty, and indeed I've gotten into a few confrontations with middle-aged male bicyclists who are completely unaccepting of new technology. A surprising number of bicyclists are hostile to all electrics, even eBikes.

One interesting side effect of eScooters; you'll often see a dozen bunch up at a sidewalk red light while waiting for their corresponding number of car passengers also stopped. One group takes up a tiny space while the other group stretches way back along the street, and yet both groups are roughly the same number. It is for this geometric reasons that even crowded bicycle lanes seem empty.

[Mike Dobbs]

2 hours ago, LanghamP said:

The OW isn't so wide that you can just stand on while stopped.

Did you mean IS so wide?  I can balance at a standstill indefinitely on my Onewheel, and I have no great skill on the board- just a regular rider.

[LanghamP]

2 hours ago, Mike Dobbs said:

Did you mean IS so wide?  I can balance at a standstill indefinitely on my Onewheel, and I have no great skill on the board- just a regular rider.

I absolutely couldn't stand in the OW at a standstill without wobbling, that wide tire looks solid but it's rather squishy.

[photorph]

2 hours ago, LanghamP said:

I absolutely couldn't stand in the OW at a standstill without wobbling, that wide tire looks solid but it's rather squishy.

I think if it’s powered on anyone can stand on a onewheel at stand still, even first timers with no board experience. 

[Wonderwebb]

Nice comparison thanks 

[erk1024]

Nice summary! I agree with 90% of it. A couple of comments:

Agree that EUC's are safer than OneWheels. I've had a few crashes while learning on my EUC, and came away relatively unscathed (just watch out for those pedals!). Both my daughter and I have had hard falls on the OneWheel. When you lose your balance on an OW, the board tends to go out from underneath you and take your feet with it. She landed hard on her butt. I was riding at night and didn't see a speed bump until I was almost on top of it. I hit on my side and my head smacked on the tarmac. I'm getting over a mild concussion.

I'm not sure about high end e-sk8's being safer than EUC's. Sure you're not worrying about the balancing mechanism, but the smaller wheels (even the all terrain wheels) are more susceptible to road hazards. A rock you didn't see, or a cement sidewalk seam that's sticking up an inch or so can send you off the front. (I haven't ridden one, so I could be totally wrong.)

As far as coolness factor. I was riding the other night, and a guy and his son demanded that I ride back and forth a couple times so they could see it in action. With an esk8, it's just a skateboard. Everybody knows what they're about, so there is less novelty factor. People are intrigued by EUC's. This is the most subjective category obviously.

[Yunicycle]

And here I was thinking all along I was COOL riding my EUC as my daily commuter.  Thanks for giving me a reality check..  Enjoyed your assessment never the less.

 

"Cool factor: Onewheel and Esk8 > EUC

You look kind of dorky with an EUC, at least most people think so. Whereas with the OW you're carving, doing tricks and just chilling. Same with esk8. This may vary though depending on who you ask."

[Jimmy Chang]

Great update to your previous review!

17 hours ago, Daniel-Son said:

Excellent! I couldn’t agree more. You forgot one more comparison, Their app’s. EUC have the worst apps and the Onewheel app is really good. I don’t own a Esk8 so don’t know how they fair, maybe you can enlighten me. 

I completely agree with this statement. The app on my King Song is trash. 

1 hour ago, erk1024 said:

Nice summary! I agree with 90% of it. A couple of comments:

Agree that EUC's are safer than OneWheels. I've had a few crashes while learning on my EUC, and came away relatively unscathed (just watch out for those pedals!). Both my daughter and I have had hard falls on the OneWheel. When you lose your balance on an OW, the board tends to go out from underneath you and take your feet with it. She landed hard on her butt. I was riding at night and didn't see a speed bump until I was almost on top of it. I hit on my side and my head smacked on the tarmac. I'm getting over a mild concussion.

I'm not sure about high end e-sk8's being safer than EUC's. Sure you're not worrying about the balancing mechanism, but the smaller wheels (even the all terrain wheels) are more susceptible to road hazards. A rock you didn't see, or a cement sidewalk seam that's sticking up an inch or so can send you off the front. (I haven't ridden one, so I could be totally wrong.)

As far as coolness factor. I was riding the other night, and a guy and his son demanded that I ride back and forth a couple times so they could see it in action. With an esk8, it's just a skateboard. Everybody knows what they're about, so there is less novelty factor. People are intrigued by EUC's. This is the most subjective category obviously.

We have 3 Onewheels and our family has around 2000 miles experience. My son is the second most experienced on the OW in our family yet he had the worst fall to date the other day going at about 10-13 miles/hr on a smooth road. Onewheels are dangerous!

13 minutes ago, Yunicycle said:

And here I was thinking all along I was COOL riding my EUC as my daily commuter.  Thanks for giving me a reality check..  Enjoyed your assessment never the less.

"Cool factor: Onewheel and Esk8 > EUC

You look kind of dorky with an EUC, at least most people think so. Whereas with the OW you're carving, doing tricks and just chilling. Same with esk8. This may vary though depending on who you ask."

I was riding my EUC through a mountain town today and the looks and comments I was getting from locals and tourists alike were not unlike the comments I get on my Onewheel. They were in awe. It's fun to pretend I'm a time traveler from the future!

[gon2fast]

I personally feel like it is a evolution. My experience was Boosted Board to a One Wheel and now fat and happy on EUCs. 

Eskate - was great until I realized that performance was only obtainable on smooth, flat surfaces. Also, minor wheel wear translated into loss of traction which is not good in combination with speed and torque

One Wheel - fun, but due to speed/battery limitations nothing more than an expensive toy (when someone learns how to ollie on a OW I am back!). Also the fast mode was promoted in a way that put the riders at risk for serious injury 

EUCs - MSX, 18XL, MCM5, Monster, KS16, V10... all beasts! I do more on my EUCs than in my car(s). Clear winner IMHO.

[t33m]

I noticed when going from my V5F to the MSX that the perceived dorkiness changed to a quite a bit more positive encounters where people displayed jealously or even thought it was pretty badass (maybe just bc they see you at speed) anyways just an observation. Maybe the 16X and Z10 just look cooler than say a ninebot or ledless inmotion like the V5?

[BarrettJ]

On 6/21/2019 at 3:54 AM, photorph said:

You look kind of dorky with an EUC, at least most people think so. Whereas with the OW you're carving, doing tricks and just chilling.

What is preventing you from carving or doing tricks and "just chilling" on a EUC?  I've seen videos of people carving on eucs, doing tricks on eucs, and I'm not entirely sure exactly what you mean by "just chilling" but I think the dudes riding EUCs and drinking their coffee or texting on their phones are rather "chillaxed" (how do you do, fellow kids?)

Edited June 22, 2019 by BarrettJ
typo

[photorph]

On 6/22/2019 at 10:45 AM, BarrettJ said:

What is preventing you from carving or doing tricks and "just chilling" on a EUC?  I've seen videos of people carving on eucs, doing tricks on eucs, and I'm not entirely sure exactly what you mean by "just chilling" but I think the dudes riding EUCs and drinking their coffee or texting on their phones are rather "chillaxed" (how do you do, fellow kids?)

I suppose what I meant is onewheel is doing the balancing for you sort of, so it's a mental thing.  On EUC you're still balancing all the time and have to somewhat focus, where as on a onewheel I can be at standstill with my eyes closed and it holds you in one place.  On an EUC you would have to dismount in most instances where you can creep on by on a onewheel.  

[Jim Martin]

Are you going to get one of the new Lacroix boards?  I have 3 onewheel's, an evolve GT Carbon, and 4 EUCs.  I'm thinking hard about picking up a new Lonestar or Naz.  I think the Lacroix would be great to have on our big Dallas Onewheel/EUC rides where we go about 30+ miles at night through Dallas.  Still really learning the EUC so don't take it on the group rides and always take my OW XR, but speed and distance limitations are annoying.  The Lonestar would put the EUCs & OWs to shame with a speed/range capabilities.

[Darrell Wesh]

EUC is certainly far and away cooler than a OneWheel. And I live on a college campus so if anyone knows “cool” it’s young adults. 

In my college campus I sometimes ride with a onewheel “bro” (frat guy) and he gets absolutely no questions about his device while everyone is staring at me and telling me my Z10 or MSX is so cool. No one really notices the big onewheel tire in the middle; the sideways stance is just too familiar for them to care. 

In the grand scheme, cool is about how you ride it and where you ride it. The one wheel is too slow to be ridden on my roads here. 25-40mph uncrowded roads.

Even if I were riding completely static with my hands at my side and not carving or anything, just the simple fact that I’m flying down the main roads with cars facing forward at 30+mph is way cooler than a onewheel slaloming through a sidewalk at 15mph. 

[Darrell Wesh]

As far as fun factor, is it not that the most challenging to master is usually the most fun to ride? And that would be the EUC again. I’ve ridden the onewheel and a boosted board a few times and they paled in comparison to the freedom you felt on an EUC. 

The eskateboards suffer seriously from maneuverability issues (especially at slow speeds) and range anxiety, dampening the fun factor. 

The onewheel suffers from slow ass speeds and range anxiety. You don’t know thrilling until you’re traveling on the road with cars at 30mph. Obviously in cities like NYC you can travel on the streets with cars but the range anxiety is a deal breaker.

[Darrell Wesh]

On 6/21/2019 at 4:54 AM, photorph said:

The onewheel XR has an unmatched floaty feel since it is balancing you, the big wide tire is like riding on a cloud. 

I’ve just never heard such a description being used to label something as the most fun. In a car, this description would label the vehicle as a passenger car (like a Mercedes S class). To feel and to control would be a drivers car (the most fun car). 

[Jim Martin]

3 hours ago, Darrell Wesh said:

The eskateboards suffer seriously from maneuverability issues (especially at slow speeds) and range anxiety, dampening the fun factor. 

You must not have seen the Lacroix boards.  They can hit close to 50 MPH and a range of 80 miles.  Also, I hardly find eskateboards hard to maneuver.  Just like anything, it takes time to master.

[Mike Sacristan]

More wobble more fun!

 

[who_the]

1 hour ago, Jim Martin said:

You must not have seen the Lacroix boards.  They can hit close to 50 MPH and a range of 80 miles.  Also, I hardly find eskateboards hard to maneuver.  Just like anything, it takes time to master.

The Lacroix and Kaly are both fabulous boards. Tons of performance and fun, we ride with a number of them here. 

But facts are facts, none of them can turn anywhere close to what an EUC can do in the hands of a good rider. We can take much tighter turns much faster, and also U-turn with a very small radius where there is zero comparison to what an electric longboard can do. Maybe good riders can come close with bindings, but I don't know anyone who rides with bindings in an urban setting and I would never recommend it.

And if anyone thinks they can't have "fun" riding an EUC, they're just not doing it right... Once your skills develop, you can advance beyond riding like a statue and have almost total free reign of movement and positioning, including much more aggressive stances, bent at the knee and with less of a front-facing positioning. I ride leading with my right shoulder and a loose, bent, constantly variable stance. 

Truth is that there isn't a single objective metric that EUC doesn't prevail over every other type of PEV, other than this myth that you have to look silly when riding them, which is absurd. Speed, range, cost, reliability, portability, maintenance, and I would argue even safety, especially once you're experienced, all heavily lean toward EUC.

[Darrell Wesh]

1 hour ago, Jim Martin said:

You must not have seen the Lacroix boards.  They can hit close to 50 MPH and a range of 80 miles.  Also, I hardly find eskateboards hard to maneuver.  Just like anything, it takes time to master.

We’re doing a comparison here and quite frankly even in the hands of the BEST rider, a lacroix board is nowhere close to as agile as an EUC in the hands of a mediocre rider. Show me a video of an eboarder doing an on the spot U turn and I might reconsider. 

[Jim Martin]

11 minutes ago, Darrell Wesh said:

Show me a video of an eboarder doing an on the spot U turn and I might reconsider. 

 

[Darrell Wesh]

10 minutes ago, Jim Martin said:

 

Sigh... you must not know what on the spot means. Their turning radius is horrible, you would hit every pedestrian in the sidewalk attempting that. 

Also, I assume you’re talking about the Lacroix Lonestar, which top speed is unknown. Even if it could do 40-50mph, on 8 inch tires you would need perfectly flat road to ever achieve those speeds. It’s as useless as having a 700+HP Dodge Hellcat in NYC since you’ll never realize those speeds on but a racetrack. 

Meanwhile an EUC’s enormous tire doesn’t care. MSX 100v can do 40-45mph without worrying about the slightest imperfections or bumps in the road.

Edited June 24, 2019 by Darrell Wesh