[benatkin]

Or a Boosted Board.

I see people riding by on Boosted Boards and sometimes think that I want one. I never think that when I see someone on a scooter. I like to ride the scooter now and then, but I don't want to own one, nor do I want to carry one into my home or office.

[15155]

I'm absolutely in love with the Onewheel: it may seem gimmicky, but having a massive, air-filled tire means you can go over serious obstacles and off-road (off-sidewalk) very easily.

Having a single wheel also means the wheelbase/turning radius is extremely small - you can turn in-place with enough skill.

[benatkin]

I think I like the Boosted Board because it looks like an ordinary skateboard, and you can use it unpowered mode. https://blog.boostedboards.com/blog/practice-riding/

[on_and_off]

I have a boosted board and I have been wanting to exchange it for a onewheel. I am a bit more worried about the OW failure states though :

For example what happens if the battery dies ? since the OW balances itself, I fear it would be worse than a boosted (for which you are already potentially in a tight spot but you might be able to slow down manually) .

[15155]

I've ridden the OW to 0% battery: you have plenty of warning before it gets dangerous.

The OW has a feature called "pushback" - when the battery is nearly-depleted or you are going too fast, it will aggressively adjust the angle of the board backwards, forcing you to slow down.

In the event of a low battery, you'll end up traveling at extremely low speed until the back end of the board touches the ground, forcing you to stop.

[on_and_off]

oh that's interesting .. I definitely need to try one one of these days.

[dominotw]

I ride a unicycle. I wasn't really comfortable with side riding angle of onewheel.

[gonehome]

If you're in Palo Alto and want to try one sometime I'd be happy to let you use mine.

[benatkin]

I live in Miami but am going to the Bay Area for a week or two at the end of July (lived in Oakland, SF, and Redwood City from mid 2014-early 2018). I'd love to try it while I'm there. I'll send you an email :)

[spike021]

How difficult are they to use if your balance isn't necessarily optimal? I tried to ride a cruising board back in college and.. well, broke my wrist when I fell (shrug).

I have fine balance normally so I've always wanted to try a Boosted because it'd be handy when I go into our SF office or when I do stuff in San Jose.

[gonehome]

I rode a skateboard (badly) when I was in middleschool so I'm not sure how hard it is for a completely new person. I'm not super athletic, but I find it pretty easy.

The trickiest part of skateboarding is foot breaking and pushing, with the boosted board you really don't have to do either so it's generally a lot easier. I'd guess given a couple hours and a week cruising around a bit you'd be comfortable going pretty fast.

I wear a helmet and sometimes wrist guards depending on how risky I'm feeling. If you're in town and want to try it let me know.

[benatkin]

Pushing the board accounts for a lot of the opportunities to lose balance. I don't have much experience with a powered board but I think it would be easier for me to keep balance on it.

A scooter's handlebars help but not as much as a bicycle, and I think it lulls you into a false sense of security.

[Cerium]

In my experience learning to ride a regular longboard takes about 10 hours of practice across 5+ sessions. Learning to ride a boosted board to the same level of competence is a half hour endeavor. Really, the hard part of skateboarding is pushing, not standing.

[on_and_off]

I have meh balance and I still learned boosted just fine.

You also get a lot better at it with time. Shocks that would have thrown me to the ground 1 year ago are not that scary anymore.

Just find a park or a parking to learn to use it.

[bko]

Boosted Board range is much lower at up to 14 miles on the top end model ($1,400) compared to 30 on a scooter.

[btbuildem]

Do you really want to stand on a scooter for 30 miles tho?

[on_and_off]

yes.

On a boosted, I can go to the other side of my city, but I cannot do the return trip.

I can do the 6 miles to go there (since there are slopes, we are far from the theoretical and inflated max range) Spend several hours .. and I would love to be able to go back on my skateboard afterwards.

[benatkin]

That's unpalatable for most people, and probably unpalatable for everyone if you consider the wear on your joints. I'm not an expert but I think that even if you feel fine you're probably setting yourself up for osteoarthritis. Running a full marathon on a single day is more dangerous than running two half marathons on different days, and riding that far has gotta be sort of like running a marathon in terms of moving the joints.

[on_and_off]

interesting point.

My main worry on an eskate is to fall and gravely injure myself. Even if you are extremely skilled, you might still miss a pothole one day or a car might do something very stupid.

As far as wear on my joints .. I dunno .. most of the riding involve no shocks, the only fatigue is to have to stay on a slightly bent position.. your calves are the muscle that fatigue the most during eskating.

[nradov]

There is no proof that long distance running causes osteoarthritis. Please stop spreading that myth.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22632690

[benatkin]

I’m right there with you. I’ve been running long distances and it only seems to help my knees. However, when training for a full marathon I realized I had to work my way up to that level or my joints would be sore. I don’t think someone who overdoes it on a scooter has a training program to follow.

I’m not spreading that myth by suggesting that people consider choosing a half marathon rather than a full marathon, gradually increase their training level, or avoid something that might have the risks of running without the rewards.

[benatkin]

If it runs out battery, you can still push a boosted board manually. It's technically true of a scooter but it's impractical and I think the boosted board is lighter.