Is A Onewheel Good Exercise?

About two weeks ago, I bought a Onewheel. For those of you that don't know, a Onewheel is essentially the hybrid offspring of a three-way between a snowboard, a unicycle, and a Segway. The Onewheel is all-terrain, fast, and pretty darn fun. Although they aren't cheap, the lowest price point model comes in a little over 1000 with the necessary accessories. And the more powerful model is a bit over 2000 all in.

This article isn't going to cover the type of Onewheel you should get for your needs, or if the price point is worth it. After all, Future Motion advertises the Onewheel as "the funnest thing on earth," and who wouldn’t want to ride the funnest thing?

The advertising also touts that this is a product for board sport enthusiasts who want to practice off-season. Whether or not it's the "funnest thing on earth" or just another electric skateboard is for you to decide. This article is going to focus on one question and one question only:

Unfortunately, not really, the Onewheel is awesome for many reasons, but being good exercise isn't one of them. Riding your Onewheel is only a challenge at the beginning, and it quickly becomes second nature.

The app is designed to look like a fitness app, which it is not. It is more akin to an odometer for a car dressed like a fitness app. I don't knock Future Motion at all for it. After all, I found the badges you earn by covering certain distances to be very encouraging. It made me want to explore longer routes with it. However, if the routes were on smooth concrete, there wasn't much effort exerted on my part.

It is undoubtedly an excellent way to exercise your feet and ankles. After a long Onewheel session, I still feel it the next day. In addition to being a great way to practice balance.

Although if you are purchasing this for balance practice, it is not worth the price tag. A top-notch balance board only should run between $50-$250. My favorite for board sport fans is the whirly board (not pictured).

The Onewheel does engage your feet, ankles, calves, core, and balance. In addition, the Onewheel is heavy, so carrying it up the stairs is a workout too. But at the end of the day, good exercise can be defined by the calories expended during the activity. This begs the question:

Does a Onewheel burn calories?

Yes, everything burns calories.

Simply existing burns calories, but the question is, how many calories does riding a Onewheel burn?

The Onewheel like snowboarding's calorie expenditure depends greatly on the terrain that you ride on. Trail riding or any uneven terrain burns a lot more calories than cruising concrete.

Generally speaking, the harder you have to work to stay on the board, the more calories you'll burn, but here are a few ways to burn more calories Onewheeling:

Carve More: Riding straight on smooth terrain on a Onewheel is essentially effortless. It is likely standing on an easy balance board. However, when carving on a Onewheel, you engage your core a lot more.

Ride Switch: This one won't work forever, as eventually, you'll be just as good riding switch as riding regular.

Ride Uneven Terrain: This tip is where you can get a workout in, but it's not for beginners or the faint of heart. Riding the Onewheel on uneven terrain or trails is demanding both physically and mentally. Stability takes effort, and effort expends calories. Staying on a Onewheel off-road is a lot harder than on concrete. On challenging enough terrain, you can get a pretty decent workout in.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get science-based calorie estimates for Onewheeling. Standing on a balance board at work for an hour will burn between 60-100 calories. While snowboarding is estimated to be 300-600 calories per hour while shredding(excluding chairlift time). I'd say a fair approximation for the Onewheel from those two figures would be between 100-250 calories an hour. Depending once again on terrain and carving frequency.

By those estimates, walking is better exercise, as it burns 200-350 calories an hour. Which leads us to the conclusion that Onewheeling isn't great exercise.

Why get a Onewheel?

In my opinion, it is the ultimate commuter vehicle. For someone living in the city, you can get to work without breaking a sweat and not have to ride public transportation. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather shred on the way to work than sit in a crowded bus or train car. And I don't know if it is "the funnest thing on earth," but it is undoubtedly a delightful way to get around.

You can take it anywhere, and you don't have to worry as much about potholes, uneven terrain, or grass in your path. The Onewheel can ride over, around, and stop on a dime. The Onewheel is a fantastic toy and way more fun than one of those e-scooters lying around cities. In addition, even though there is a very high price tag, if you use it to get around enough, it pays for itself. It's much cheaper than an Uber, faster than the bus (in the city), and more fun than any other way to commute.

In addition, if you have an exceptionally well-behaved dog, you could use the Onewheel to walk your pup, but I wouldn't try this on day one.

Is a Onewheel safe?

Meh, wear a helmet and pads. At slow speeds, 9-14 mph, I'd say it is just as safe as a bike, or scooter, as the Onewheel brakes very well and can go over obstacles. However, at higher speeds, the Onewheel is the more dangerous vehicle. If you push the Onewheel too hard, the engine will essentially cut and cause you to "go over the handlebars," so to speak. It doesn't just glide out like a bike when you stop pedaling. The Onewheel nose dives. Which caused me to take a pretty rough fall on my 4th day of riding it.

The manufacturer put in a safety measure called 'pushback' where the board's nose starts to come up if you accelerate too fast, but in my opinion, the feature could be less subtle.

Summary

The Onewheel is not good exercise while carving concrete. However, you can get a decent workout in by taking it off-road.

It is an entertaining toy that is a joy to ride, and it's an excellent commuter vehicle as you can arrive at places without breaking a sweat.

It isn't for the faint of heart. The balance is a challenge, the board goes fast, but it is very responsive, customizable, and allows for excellent maneuverability.