Currently ride a one wheel XR, but saw the EUC and want one!!! What one do i go with?

[adrianjacobs08]

Hello and thank you for allowing me to join the forum. Im located in Fort Myers, Florida. Currently I have been on a one wheel XR for about 3 years and have loved it. Recently I had started seeing some EUC's online and they have absolutely fascinated me. Looks like a blast! That being said with the speeds they can go do you have to worry about wheel failures? The wheel not balancing and you face planting? Or the wheel falling backwards?

I have had 2 bad wipe outs on the one wheel. One was within the first 2 weeks of ownership when I thought I was ready for pushing it. I grew up on a skateboard, rollerblading, snow board and so started to push it. at 22.9 the board gave out and threw me. Thankfully I was somehow able to run that one out and avoided a bad injury. The second one the board was just under 20% and lifted up and through me on my back. That one hurt! 

The EUC can go much much faster than a one wheel and I can't imagine a wipe at 30+. Also, been looking at the V11, V12 and veteran sherman. My initial pick would probably be V11 or sherman, but I read somewhere that Sherman should not be a first wheel, is this true?  Just also watched a review on a kingsong 18 that said it was comparable to the V11. Thoughts from people experienced are greatly appreciated. Thank You!

[OldFartRides]

Hi there, and welcome ! There are so many wheels to choose from now, I can imagine it will be hard to decide.

Someone here just wrote on a crash thread, “ don’t ride faster than you are willing to crash at”.

Though the big wheels lend themselves to speed, you can have loads of fun at slower speeds on smaller wheels.

Suspension is nice, but adds to cost. 
Keep reading, and if you are on a budget, watch the FS sub forum here…

 Best,

[mrelwood]

5 hours ago, adrianjacobs08 said:

Hello and thank you for allowing me to join the forum.

Welcome!

5 hours ago, adrianjacobs08 said:

Looks like a blast!

It really is! It can be a lifechanger.

5 hours ago, adrianjacobs08 said:

That being said with the speeds they can go do you have to worry about wheel failures? The wheel not balancing and you face planting? Or the wheel falling backwards?

You do, which is why most riders gear up. Especially if they have a habit of riding faster than 20km/h, like the vast majority does.

 The difference to a Onewheel is that you’re facing forward, so you can run out some crashes or wheel failures. And even if you can’t, you are better prepared to take the impact than when landing onto your side.

 But wheel failures, while they can happen, are very rare. Most of us will never experience one. I have over 34’000 km under my belt, and the only wheel failure I’ve had was when doing something stupid and actually expecting it to fail, at walking speed on a really steep incline. Didn’t hurt myself one bit.

5 hours ago, adrianjacobs08 said:

been looking at the V11, V12 and veteran sherman.

Your size, weight, and how you use your OneWheel can be great guides in deciding which EUC to get. Suspension really is a game changer though, and I personally will never again ride one without.

V11 is a great 18/20” wheel, and has a great balance of speed, power and weight. And price. The current trend has been aimed towards much faster and heavier wheels, but we are again seeing new midsize wheels this year, such as the V14, V11F and S19. For me personally the V11 speeds are enough, as I never reach the limits.

5 hours ago, adrianjacobs08 said:

I read somewhere that Sherman should not be a first wheel, is this true?

Well... A guy in our local meets teaches a few dozen riders every year on his Sherman. It’s a pretty big and heavy wheel, aimed for long range street cruising, and beginners often benefit from smaller wheels. But it’s not at all unheard of as a beginner wheel either. Although a bit limited in it’s use case.

5 hours ago, adrianjacobs08 said:

Just also watched a review on a kingsong 18 that said it was comparable to the V11.

It is, although with a smaller battery, less power, and a little less speed. Unfortunately it has been plagued with suspension alignment issues from the start, although the latest versions should be better in that regard. I won’t trust it until I experience them first hand though.

 

The V11 is nowadays a solid choice. But if you want a cheaper wheel to try out what riding is, you can buy a learner wheel such as V8S, 16S, V10F, 16X. But be prepared to make another purchase within a month with the first two.

If you’re not in a hurry, you might want to check out how the V11F, V14 and S19 pan out.

 Note that I didn’t mention any Begode or Extreme Bull wheels, since I don’t think their design, functionality and dependability issues are worth it.

[Bustapalapno]

7 hours ago, adrianjacobs08 said:

That being said with the speeds they can go do you have to worry about wheel failures? The wheel not balancing and you face planting? Or the wheel falling backwards?

The Onewheel XR only gives you pushback as feedback for a nosedive (called a cutout in EUC world). I dislike this because it is a very subjective feeling and depends on a lot of variables. When an EUC is getting close to cutout/nosedive (15-25% power remaining), it will start beeping at you. Many of the wheels you mentioned like the V11 and V12 also have pushback. You can also connect your phone to the wheel and have it alert you at any power level you want. 

As with the Onewheel, there is always the chance that a key electrical component fails out of nowhere and causes a faceplant without warning. But I would call that situation exceedingly rare. I have had 3 speed related nosedives on my XR, and maybe 6 low-speed nosedives at ~25% battery. That is with about 2k miles on the board. I have almost 10k miles on EUC with no cutouts. 

For those that are going to point out all the holes in the above explanation, note that I am trying to simplify this as much as possible for our new friend!

7 hours ago, adrianjacobs08 said:

My initial pick would probably be V11 or sherman, but I read somewhere that Sherman should not be a first wheel, is this true?  Just also watched a review on a kingsong 18 that said it was comparable to the V11.

It is easiest to learn EUC on a lightweight wheel with low pedals. My first recommendation would be to buy/borrow a used, beat-up V8 or MCM5. You will drop/scuff-up the wheel a lot, but that is just part of the learning process. In my experience, learning to EUC has a very flat learning curve until you hit a "breakthrough." After the breakthrough, you will drop the wheel only occasionally up until the 100 mi mark where you basically stop dropping it on the ground. After you rapidly outgrow the learner wheel, the world is your oyster and your skills will quickly transfer to the V11, Sherman, V12, or any other wheel you wish to ride.

It is completely possible and very common for people to learn on the Sherman, V11, and S18. I've seen people start with big/tall wheels like the Sherman-S to great success. But expect your progress to be slow and frustrating. The Sherman is tough to learn on because it is so heavy. You are using small adductors and abductor muscles to control the wheel, which are normally only used for micro-balance. Suddenly they have to pull 80lbs of wheel left and right between your legs. New riders on big wheels often get tired quickly. It is tough to learn on the V11 because suspension wheels are so tall. Because your center of gravity is so high, every little move you make to try and stay balanced is amplified. As such, as a new rider you have to make finer, more controlled movements to stay balanced, which is tough as a 0 mile newbie. New riders on tall wheels have to spend proportionally more time training fundamentals before they are able to functionally ride their wheels. If you got grit, you can break through and learn on any wheel. 

I would recommend the V11 as your first "keeper" wheel. It is still unique as a lightweight, well built, reasonably fast suspension wheel. Even if you decide to upgrade to something faster/longer range in the future, you will likely be happy to keep the V11 as a commuter/chill/trail wheel.  The V12 is also an excellent choice for similar reasons. It lacks suspension but is also easy to find on the used market. The S18 is fine, but IMO worse than the V11 in almost every way. 

The Begode RS is a very solid platform to start on. It is fast and has a very reliable drive system (motor, battery, controller). It was my first wheel.