The Onewheel is expensive but in this guest article, Nate from the YouTube Channel Fordged, will share how he actually saves money because of his Onewheel.
Once you factor in how fun it is to ride the Onewheel along with the money saved in gas and therapy sessions with your psychiatrist, the Onewheel can pay for itself.
Special thanks to Nate for writing this article:
Buying the Onewheel saved me this much money!
The first thing I thought when I saw the $1800 price tag on a Onewheel was “Yikes that’s expensive!” While my assertion was correct it was not fully understood…
The Onewheel is more than just a fun toy. It can actually be used for commuting.
With the high price on the Onewheel comes the ability to ride thousands of miles while potentially saving tons of money on gas, auto insurance, and parking and toll fees. Not to mention the time saved not being stuck in traffic along with the enjoyment that comes with riding a Onewheel or other PEV versus traditional commuting.
And if you drive your car like me, you’ll be able to avoid speeding and parking tickets.
A quick formula I use for figuring out a break even point for any electric vehicle is this:
# of miles you plan on riding per year / Cost of electric vehicle = _____ cost per mile
Cost per mile formula
Pit that against the average cost per mile of taking an Uber ($2) and see where you end up!
Riding a Onewheel or other PEV could save this much money
In order to determine a savings rate we need to find out how much the average worker is traveling for their job. I live near Chicago, so let’s use that as an example.
Taking an average Chicago worker commute of 16 miles per day x 5 days per week = 80 total miles per week. Multiply those 80 miles by 52 (weeks in a year) and you get 4,160 miles. This means on average, someone working in Chicago needs to travel 4,160 miles per year to their work.
Now we can take that mileage and divide it by the average mpg of an automobile and figure out the amount of fuel needed for this commute. The average cost of fuel from 2019-2020 was $2.60 (eia.gov).
4160 / 21mpg = 198 gallons x 2.60 = $515.04
If you were to replace that commute with a Onewheel, electric unicycle, or electric scooter, that would have you $515.04 a year in gas money.
This means the break even cost of an $1,800 Onewheel XR is 3.5 years of daily commuting based on fuel alone. Now that may sound like a decent amount of time… and it is… but not when you start factoring in all the time saved from traffic… the road rage… the fender benders.. the parking tickets… the list goes on.
So what will make you a few hundred will also save your brain and energy from negative road nonsense that comes with driving a car.
How much money I saved from choosing to ride a Onewheel
So what are my personal savings sitting at over 2 years of ownership later?
I have ridden my Onewheel XR 2350 miles and bought it used for $1,300. To learn about how to buy a used Onewheel, be sure to check out this article.
Taking the average 2019/2020 gas prices of $2.60 and assuming a 21 mpg vehicle, by riding my Onewheel, I saved 111 gallons of fuel from having to burn through my vehicle.
These gallons add up to a savings thus far of $290.95!
With these savings I was able to gloat to my wife about how my Onewheel purchase is actually MAKING us money! She was skeptical until I pulled up the calculator. This is when she promptly rolled her eyes and said “Very nice dear.”
The math doesn’t lie. I’M MAKING MONEY ON THIS PUPPY!
How much does it cost to charge a Onewheel?
In the city of Chicago, it costs 3 cents to charge a Onewheel XR from 0 to 100%.
It costs 1 cent to charge a Onewheel Pint from empty to full.
So we’re saving on dinosaur based fuel… But the Onewheels still use electricity right? They absolutely do and I wouldn’t be doing my hard-hitting e-vehicle journalism job if I didn’t give you all the information your little heart desires, right? Here we go…
The Onewheel XR has a 324 Watt hour battery and the Onewheel Pint comes in at 148 Watt hours respectively. Cost of electricity is an average .09 in Chicago (electricitylocal.com) so charging a Onewheel XR from 0 to 100% costs $0.03 and for the Onewheel Pint it costs $0.01.
If you rode your Onewheel to work and back for an entire year (assuming 18 miles round trip), that would cost you less than one day’s worth of lunch.
.03 x 252 (working days per year) = $7.56 per year in electricity costs per year.
What will cost you $7.56 in electricity can save you over $500 in fuel costs alone. It’s in these savings that we start getting a better understanding for how The Onewheel and any other electric vehicle can impact your financial standing AND your quality of life AT THE SAME TIME!
Onewheel Therapy is Priceless
Are these savings substantial? To some, yes.. to others… perhaps not. BUT while costs are interesting to figure out, there really is no monetary value you can place on getting outside and experiencing your normal every-day places in a new way.
The amazing people I’ve met through Chicago Onewheel have improved my life substantially and I can only imagine when you get involved in your community you will feel exactly as I did.
Getting involved in the community and creating YouTube videos has also had a dramatic impact on my life that money can’t really replace.
I was able to learn how to shoot and edit videos and even started my own freelance videography business here in Chicago! I create small business advertisements for local companies and weddings. My Onewheel has done a LOT more than simply save me some gas money that’s for sure.
When I first stumbled into the Onewheel scene I had some money saved up from birthday gifts and a college graduation sitting around. I had no idea what I was going to do with that cash until the Internet told me what I wanted. A Onewheel.
Why wouldn’t I want to float through a forest on a go kart tire like I’m in Back to the Future or on a beach near the ocean with the sun setting in the background? … and yes, yes.. I know… “THOSE BOARDS DON’T WORK ON WATER!” nor are they waterproof.
My wife was split on the idea but knew since it was my personal spending money, I was free to use it as I wanted. I will say being on the same page with your spouse/your personal finances is super important. You don’t want to have to hide something that brings you so much joy, as my Onewheel did for me!
It’s been a fun couple of years learning new skills and exploring new locations with my Onewheel and I can definitely imagine more electric vehicle purchases being made… in the name of saving money, of course!
Buy it right and don’t go behind anyone’s back to do it. Take all this into account and go to your mom with this HARD HITTING MATH to buy that electric vehicle your heart truly desires.
TOO LONG DIDN’T READ, NATE! : Onewheel XR saves you $500 a year in fuel but also +500 life enjoyment points. If that were a quantifiable metric…
Be sure to check out Nate’s Onewheel adventures on his YouTube Channel!
About Nate from Fordged YouTube Channel:
My name is Nate and I run the “Fordged” YouTube channel and help moderate Chicago Onewheel group on Facebook. I’ve been riding electric vehicles since 2018 and have an amazing wife and 1 year old that support my 23+ hobbies and never ending supply of nonsense business ideas.
I also own an on-site kettle corn company in Chicago and serve it freshly popped at music venues, farmers markets, and even online! https://lincolnlandkettlecorn.com
My favorite color is red and I like long walks on the beach and Dairy Queen Dipped cones. Vanilla DIPPED in chocolate and definitely not the other way around.
Want to learn more about my nonsense life and get bombarded with electric vehicle memes? Follow me on Instagram https://instagram.com/fordged
… ok honestly it’s mostly just memes on there… You’ve been warned.
References
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=42435
https://www.electricitylocal.com/states/illinois/addison/