Reason why I sold my XR

  • Take it for what its worth but here is my onewheel story. I'm 40 years old and weigh 200#, pretty good shape with a long history riding skateboards. About 3 months ago I purchased a very lightly used XR (30miles) locally through Craigslist. It was everything I hoped it would be and more, a true love at first ride.

    The accident
    The second day of owning it we took a family ride on a smooth paved path. This is the first time I started noticing that the onewheel app had issues staying connected to the board (Google it to read lots and lots of story's). So being deathly afraid of exceeding max speed and nosediving I downloaded a speed app and kept a close eye on my phone. All went well on the way in (4 miles). On the way back I broke away from the family and started pushing speed. Was doing good at keeping it between 15-17mph when all the sudden I look up from phone and there's a small pothole. Hit the pothole and wobbled out of control. Felt a pop in my rear knee and went down into a roll. The pain in my knee/leg was excruciating. I could only lay there for a few minutes and breath. Probably worst pain in my life. Long story short I was able to get back onto my feet about 20 min later and aside from maybe an emergency golf cart, I knew I had to get myself off of that trail. Walking was almost impossible so I look over at the onewheel and knew it was the only way. So I got on and road very slowly and painfully back to the car.

    Skip forward to Orthopedic surgeon.
    Torn MCL and PCL along with a torn meniscus. There is also a chip of something that is showing up in the mri. Good news is I don't need ligament surgery but I may need meniscus surgery. I was pretty useless for the first month after injury. Second month Im able to get back to work. So 3 months later and I'm still limited in my left leg movement and about $1000 in Doc bills. Will be much more if I need surgery

    Why I decided to sell the OW
    I totally realize the accident was my fault for obvious reasons. I planned to keep it and just take it easy but then I had another issue. I got back onto my onewheel a little over 2 months after the accident and took it very easy riding every day for about 30-45 min. I put about 35 more miles on it. So a few weeks ago, I'm slowly riding through the grass at maybe 3mph and go to run over a palm frond stick (maybe an inch high at most). As soon as the board touches the stick the nose drops to ground and I hop off. That was weird, I walk over to the board and it's off? I turn it back on and it works fine. For the record I go over much bigger bumps from grass to sidewalk often so this concerned me. So much so that I decided it can't be trusted. I felt the pain of a nasty Wipeout and now I can't fully trust the OW.

    The problem with the onewheel is that when it does fail you and it eventually will, it could be very bad. In the mean time you need to be very careful not to goof because if you do, it could also be very bad. At 40 years old with a family and not the greatest medical insurance, it's not worth it for me. I so wanted it to work out but unfortunately I can't afford to get hurt like that again. Lots of stories like mine out there so be careful out there everyone.

  • I get it....I had my first nosedive about a month ago and I’m still feeling the effects of a broken rib. I’m 51....The bruising and such has healed. My crash was completely my fault as I ignored the warnings from the board. I’ll be off my board for a couple months coming up next week to have my shoulder repaired (not related).

    I’ve decided not to sell mine as I enjoy riding it but I get what your saying and the reason you sold yours. I hope you heal quickly!

  • @Maverik It worries me hearing all these stories of people coming off the OW’s, I’ll be honest, I’ve never actually seen one in real life but ordered a Pint. I’m excited and apprehensive. I hope you all heal ok.

  • @Mark-Vlogs
    Just to be clear my only intention in sharing my story is to tell about my experience and opinion. Not trying to scare anyone away from onewheel. There are a few guys in my neighborhood that I see FLYING down the street on onewheels. One guy yesterday was looking at his phone doing a min of 17mph. All I could do was feel bad for him because I honestly believe that it's not if, it's when for him.

  • @Maverik I felt the same way after my injury. I looked at that onewheel every day wishing I could get on it and ride. I got back on way to early but I didn't care, I loved it and knew that I made a mistake. When it just shut off for no reason that was the straw that broke the camels back. The injury gave me no respect for the machine but the malfunction made me lose all trust.

  • @Carvinthings29 I’m a 53 yr old excited newbie, I’m sure I’m in for a fall or 2. Definitely protective gear on the list before it arrives. Currently shipping is 25th June!

  • @Mark-Vlogs I’ll be back on mine eventually. But the shoulder surgery needs to be done before I retire this summer. I’ll be more careful next time and heed the pushback!

  • Totally understand your story, I went through the same thing with sportbikes, when I finally decided it wasn't worth it to continue track racing when I had small kids at home and a budding business. It's all about how much you're willing to put out there as acceptable risk. I'm even more so in that position now since business is great and I can't afford a crippling injury, but the OW is too much fun to stop, so I just don't push speed so much and gear up. You take the precautions you can to help mitigate the risk. Life's too boring to just put the fun things like this away.

  • Well....@Carvinthings29 it seems you had a bad startup with the OW. I'm 43 this year and currently owning my 3rd OW, I own one since the V1 and upgraded to the XR in september. I also had 2 nosedives at beginning when I started to ride and wanted to push the limits of the board, in fact I never had bad falls because of the board, it has always been because of me. Since I got the XR, I had few falls, but I was expecting them as I was riding offroad, so I had all the necessary protective gears and so on, so no issue.
    What I see when I read your story is it's just a bad circumstance and not enough experience issue.
    When you are used to the board, you know how it will react and you can predict the falls.
    Also, looking at your phone while riding was honestly some kind of stupid thing to never do...if you go too fast, you will have the pushback to warn you, so you don't need to check the speed all the time.
    Note that i'm 230lbs, so can't ride like some legends here because I'm missing torque due to my weight/power ratio, but I find the onewheel quite safe compared to some other board sports I practise.

  • @Tartopom yep as stated above it was my fault. But for the record there are a LOT of people that make the similar mistakes and pay for it. The random shutoff was not my fault and I am not the only one to experience this phenomenon (Google it). It was a fun toy while it lasted but just to dangerous for me. I'm just not in the situation that I can afford to be bed ridden for a month or more. I am very lucky I didn't fully tear my MCL or my acl which would have been 10s of thousands of dollars and 6 month full recovery after surgery.

    The majority of people will push the speed once they get bored of 10mph. Once you start getting up into the 15 plus mark, you face serious risk. Protective gear will definitely help but will not protect you from ligament tears, ribs, ankles, face......

    There is no room for error unless you always go slow and that gets old quick in my opinion.

  • I feel your pain. I fell at about 17 mph and hurt my knee but I am 36 so I guess my knees have a little longer in them. I didn't need hospital and was back on the board in about a month (mostly a confidence thing). I have to say to anyone riding a OneWheel, be respectful of what 20 MPH can do if you fall, As long as you respect the danger that is always there and wear the proper gear (helmet, gloves, durable jacket, and pants) and of course flat shoes. You should be fine. What I am learning the longer I ride is that the board is a little too smart for its own good esp if you road boards before a e board. You have to let the board do everything and as scary as it sounds you have to trust the board to respond to your will. It seems like doing that really makes it easier to operate. Still, it is a dangerous toy that is stupid fun! Use with caution!

  • Have you sold it yet? If the surge of power going over a bump causes it to shutoff, the controller is defective and it needs to go back to FM for repair. The next owner could easily experience a serious nosedive that is not their fault if it is not repaired.

  • I read in your story you bought a slightly used XR on Craigslist. Did the previous owner give any reason for selling?@Carvinthings29

  • @HanahsDax yes he was in a car acci and couldn't risk reinjuring himself.

  • @Carvinthings29

    It’s easy to get hurt on these things. I never look at my phone while riding one. Not sure th purpose of your post.

  • @Carvinthings29 I read a lot of Facebook groups on the OW, and every single nosedive I’ve read about in the past year, without fail, has been the owners fault. As the discussion goes on they admit to pushing speed, battery or temperature for their given weight. Basically they overload the board and go down. Sometimes they get pushback (not always) or feel a small surge in the board beforehand, but they are always exceeding 15mph and usually sudden accelerating or pushing up a hill or something. Or they hit an obstacle in the road.

    What I have not read is the board shutting off (dark LED) for no reason. I know it has happened in the past. I heard rumors of early board or firmware versions having this issue, but just haven’t heard it happen.

    If I ever start reading credible reports of the boards shutting down for no reason I’ll sell them both (I have a Plus and an XR). Until then, I keep the speed under 15mph, have a blast carving on and off road, and am always looking at the road ahead of me. I didn’t buy this for speed, I bought it for all terrain carving which is where it excels.

    I do think OW needs to better educate owners on wrecks. The 19mph top speed should only be a guide. People have to know that weight, wind and charge capacity affect it. Also the little cartoon of the stick figure guy ignoring pushback isn’t enough. People don’t get pushback on every situation. If they accelerate suddenly when the board is near capacity they go down. If riders are better educated, less people will be wrecking themselves.

    Oh, and this thing is awesome! ❤️

  • How did your knee pop before the fall itself? (I don't think I read it wrong, did I) Jesus!!!!

    I love the onewheel but you are right, these things are extremely unsafe to a point where it is insane hazard that makes me worry about these getting too popular and in the hands of the wrong crowd. They seriously are meant for carving and enjoyment of riding and CASUAL trips.... but I feel like any single-wheeled vehicle, not just onewheels, are extremely irresponsible to market as any kind of long-distance commuting tool or alternative because that is not safe at all (unless taking great care).

    I've been lucky with my wipeouts and I no longer try to push the speed anymore.

    I got my 2nd OW coming (the pint) because I realized the top-speed is not going to be a problem with me. I absolutely LOVE the XR but the room for danger is so ginormous....

  • @Carvinthings29
    Sorry ya got injured, that sucks. But dude, no texting and driving. Stop that!
    “when all the sudden I look up from phone”

    The minute you start day dreaming and stop paying attention you’re toast.

  • Did you bust your phone? I used to Kiteboard a lot and the two most popular questions were: How much does it cost? and Should I use a life jacket and helmet. If you ride a Onewheel or any skateboard you will fall. Risk vs reward. Sorry you got hurt but at least you didn't have a stroke from being a couch potato eh? I've had two aortic aneurysms and open heart surgery with a upper aortic reconstruction. So far I've lived though both. I'm 61 and one of the things I really want to do is ride again. I have a 1st generation Onewheel with a little over 600 miles on it. I love it. I know there are a lot people who have gone further with fancier, but I guarantee no one loves their Onewheel more. It's the coolest toy ever . I rode till 3 in morning before my last surgery and by 10am my heart had been stopped. They told me I couldn't eat the night before but they didn't say I couldn't ride . I thank God for having the chance to experience Onewheels along with all the other cool toys I've had. I am now recovering from my last surgery again. One of the cables busted that was holding my breastbone together after the first six weeks of recovery. Two weeks ago they opened me back up again and now I have titanium plates screwed in my chest. I can't wait to get back on my Onewheel, paraglider, SUP, and kiteboard again someday. I love the Onewheel so much because it's so accessible. If I had to choose one , it would be it. You have respect these activities. No more chasing the wind and waves if I don't want to. Maybe leave your cell phones at home? Offline is not a bad thing. There are lots of ways to monitor your batteries with other devices. Also, I don't think they designed Onewheels for speed. There are definitely toys for that. I agree with the guy who said keep your eyes on road and pay attention to what your doing and have fun. These activities are already really dangerous when we are paying attention. They aren't for everyone. Just my 2 cents...

  • Btw, A heavy sneeze attack broke the cable. Sh$t happens. Recovery starts all over. It's all good. I don't have good balance again yet and I'm not supposed to use my arms for 6 weeks. I'm riding my modified recumbent trike now with a 1000W Bafang electric motor to help me up the hills. It ain't the Onewheel but it's a start! Later on

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