So you finally did it! You ordered a Onewheel and now you wait for it to come to your door. In the meanwhile you spend all your free time watching Onewheel YouTube videos. And when you’re not watching every YouTube video there is on the Onewheel you are constantly tracking the shipping status of your Onewheel.
I get it. The wait is killing you. Here are 5 beginner mistakes you should avoid as you get ready for your first Onewheel:
The first mistake beginners make is this…
They Buy every accessory available on the Future Motion website and on third party sites.
I often see enthusiastic soon to be Onewheel owners purchasing every Onewheel accessory available even before having ever taken their first ride. They purchase unnecessary and ridiculously expensive Onewheel bags and stands. They spend big money on Onewheel accessories reserved for advanced riders like Flight Fins, high end Fenders and custom foot pads.
While I love the enthusiasm, really there are only a few Onewheel accessories that I would recommend to new owners. Here is what I recommend: a Onewheel fender.
All other Onewheel accessories are unnecessary for beginners.
You can consider getting sidekicks or rail guards and float plates to protect your Onewheel. You can also consider Fangs to protect yourself.
Think about custom footplates and flight fins after you have a better idea of what type of riding you will be doing and when you know you will be committed to this hobby.
You should really be saving your money for the next beginner mistake…
They Don’t wear the appropriate safety gear.
Safety should be paramount when it comes to riding. At a minimum I recommend a good helmet and wrist guards. If you feel the need for extra protection, consider knee and elbow guards.
I try to always wear a helmet and wrist guards and they have saved me on several occasions. For a list of my favorite safety gear, checkout my article on safety gear.
Wearing safety gear minimizes the damage that could have happened when you fall. I say “when” you fall because you will fall!
They Don’t learn how to safely dismount.
The dismount can be challenging for beginners. The natural instinct is to step off your board one foot at a time instead of jumping.
Unfortunately, stepping off a Onewheel leads to a teeter totter effect which results in the board running away from you. The resultant injury is often a strained groin from doing the splits or a sprained medial collateral ligament in the knee. Trust me… I know this one from experience.
They Focus all their efforts to break personal and world speed records.
One of the most common questions I get with the Onewheel is, “How fast does it go.” People love to go fast and they love to break records.
Speed wobble will probably be the cause of fall for most brand new riders as they try to go fast. Because they have yet to acquire the skill to ride at high speeds, they encounter a speed wobble which ends up tossing them off the Onewheel. I know this from experience too.
Once riders become more comfortable on their Onewheel, nosedives become the most common cause of devastating injury from a fall. This happens as the rider tries to set new speed records and the fact that the Onewheel app rewards you for breaking your own personal record with an audible alert and a popup notification on your phone just feeds the need for speed.
They Get discouraged and give up on the Onewheel after their first bad fall.
The healthy market of lightly used Onewheels is fueled by the shattered dreams and clavicles of beginner Onewheeler’s who tried to break speed records on their Onewheels.
They disobeyed the 5 rules to stay safe on the Onewheel. When you fall, and you will, learn from your mistake and keep riding. The Onewheel is amazing. I know I’ve been spooked by a nosedive in the past but I eased back into it and I’m glad I did.
If you’ve ordered your Onewheel and now you are waiting for it to arrive at your doorstep, don’t make these common mistakes that beginners often make.
- Don’t spend a ton of money on unnecessary Onewheel accessories. Really, a Fender is all you need to get started. Save some money for #2.
- Buy the appropriate safety gear.
- Learn how to safely dismount.
- Don’t go for speed records.
- Don’t get discouraged when you fall.