Onewheel pushback is a safety feature that lifts the nose of the board when you are approaching the limits of what the board can safely handle. When you feel pushback, slow down and shift your weight back. Do not try to push through it as this can result in a crash.
Pushback can happen because of speed, low battery, steep terrain, rider weight, tire pressure, or other conditions that increase the load on the motor. The feeling also differs between Onewheel models, with the XR having a much more subtle pushback than boards such as the Pint, Pint X and GT.
Understanding what pushback feels like and why it happens is important because continuing to accelerate into pushback can leave the motor with less power available to maintain balance, increasing the risk of a nosedive.
What is pushback and why do we need it?
The pushback of the Onewheel is the motion when the board pushes the nose of the board upwards to lift the rider and slow down the board. The pushback is implemented to stop the board from going too fast or riding with a low battery where the power to lift the rider has been drastically reduced.
Let’s get a bit more technical.
When you lean forward the board has to accelerate to generate the lifting force to keep you from nosediving. If the rider keeps pushing the board will try to balance the board and speed up until the power from the board is not sufficient to hold the rider, nosedive. As the motor needs to speed up to generate there will never be a top speed limit placed on the Onewheel.
The problem the engineers face is that the board itself can’t just stop you or slow down. If you are leaning forward it has to speed up to stay under you. The pushback is where the board lifts the nose to put you in the slow-down position.
| Onewheel Model | Pushback Type | Pushback Strength | Customization Options | Notable Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onewheel Pint | Distinguished Lift | Powerful | Limited | New rider-friendly, prominent pushback |
| Onewheel Pint X | Distinguished Lift | Slightly Increased Power | Limited | Improved battery, slightly higher top speed |
| Onewheel XR | Subtle Lift | Subtle | Customizable | Allows riding past pushback, customizable settings |
| Onewheel GT | Distinguished Lift | Enhanced Power | Customization | Digital Shaping 3.0, increased torque, addressing safety concerns |
| Onewheel GT S-Series | Distinguished Lift | More Power | Customization | Digital Shaping 3.0, increased torque, addressing safety concerns |
What should you do when you feel pushback?
When you feel pushback, you action should be to slow down. Do not try to accelerate through it. Shift your weight back and allow the board to slow down. Once the board is no longer being pushed to its limit, the nose will return to the normal riding position.
The important part is not to fight the board by continuing to lean forward. When you lean forward, you are asking the motor to accelerate while it is already close to its available power limit.
This is the reason for why the manual and Future Motion Inc. recommends leaning back when pushback occurs and warns against leaning forward into it.
If you experience an unusually aggressive pushback, Capatain Morgan, particularly together with a warning or error indication, slow down, stop and check the board rather than continuing to ride. This can be the resut of bad battery cells or that the board is unbalanced.
Why does Onewheel pushback happen?
Pushback does not happen at one fixed speed, situation, battery level or riding condition. The limit of the board changes depending on how much power is required to keep the rider balanced.
Several factors affect when pushback can occur:
- Speed: Riding faster requires more from the motor.
- Rider weight: A heavier rider puts more load on the motor.
- Terrain: Riding uphill requires more motor torque than riding on flat ground.
- Battery level: A low battery reduces the available power.
- Tire pressure: Tire pressure changes how the board behaves and can affect the load on the motor.
- Riding conditions: Acceleration and sudden changes in load can also bring the board closer to its limits.
This is why there is no single pushback speed, its a result of all the factors above.
The key is that the board needs enough available power to the motor to keep the wheel underneath the rider. As the available power decreases, there is less headroom for the motor to respond to any additional load, like you leaning forward pushing to speed up. Pushback is designed to give the rider a warning to reduce that load before control is lost.
Pushback and Haptic Buzz
All modern Onewheels, Pint and newer, have another safety warning called Haptic Buzz.
The Haptic Buzz was introduced through a firmware update in 2023 for the Onewheel Pint, Pint X, XR and GT. It gives the rider an audible and physical vibration warning when the board is approaching situations that can result in a loss of control. Haptic Buzz can occur during high-speed riding, high-torque situations such as steep climbs or hard acceleration, and certain low-battery or error conditions and can be seen as an updated pushback warning system.
Pushback and Haptic Buzz are related, but they are not the same. Pushback changes the board’s attitude by lifting the nose, while Haptic Buzz uses the motor to create a sound and vibration that the rider can feel.
Both should be treated as warnings to reduce the load, lean back on the board and slow down.
Boards and their behaviour
Onewheel Pint
As the Pint was launched as the more new rider-friendly board one of the key features was the more distinguished and powerful pushback. This was implemented to make it easier for the rider to feel when they are hitting the limits of the board.
This was implemented as many new riders were overpowering the board and not feeling the nosedive on the XR.
Onewheel Pint X
The Onewheel Pint X has the same pushback as the Pint, a hard aggressive lifting motion of the nose. The good thing about the new board is that the top speed where pushback hits has slightly been increased with the new better battery.
Onewheel XR
The pushback on the Onewheel XR is a lot more subtle and it’s possible to ride past it. This has been a risk for new and inexperienced riders who have tried to beat speed records on their first rides.
For more experienced riders this subtle pushback and the possibility to ride past it will gain several MPH at the top speed. There is also a way to manipulate the pushback point by lowering the nose in the custom settings. This will make it even more subtle and make it possible to ride the spot between pushback – nosediving.
Onewheel GT & GT S-Series
The Onewheel GT introduced Digital Shaping 3.0, along with updated electronics and a more powerful battery and drivetrain. This gives the GT more available torque than the XR, while the maximum speed is only slightly higher. Still the boards have the same pushback, it will just happens later as the board have more power.
The additional power gives the motor more headroom when balancing the rider, particularly during acceleration, climbs, and other situations where more torque is required. This reduces the chance of the motor reaching its limits compared with the XR.
“Everything about the GT riding experience is different from Pint, including Pushback”
Future Motion Inc.
The GT was rated at up to 3 hp, compared with around 2 hp for the XR. The increase in available power is one reason Future Motion could increase the GT’s performance without simply making it a much faster board. The additional headroom is more useful for maintaining control under load than increasing the top speed by several miles per hour.
“Pushback will still be present as it is a vital safety feature to riding any Onewheel, but we are still fine-tuning how that will feel when riding”
Future Motion Inc.
The Class Action Lawsuit happening against Future Motion is based on the lack of safety features present on the XR platform. Seeing the statement and the design of the new board it’s clear that the GT is made to fix this problem. It looks like FM is trying to make it impossible for the average rider to overcome the pushback, the 50% increase in torque will make pushback much harder to overcome.
At this point, it seems more probable with a distinguished and hard pushback like the Pint than the subtle XR. This is most likely for legal reasons to fix the problems with the lawsuit and move on.
Onehweel compared to EUC
There is a big difference between the EUC and Onewheel’s when it comes to the force the rider puts onto the vehicle. Due to the foot placement on an Onewheel, the rider will have way more leverage over the lean angle and will be putting a lot more force down into the motor. The foot placement on an EUC makes it more natural than the rider’s center of gravity to become above or slightly above the wheel. That and the more powerful motor and battery make it easier for the EUC to balance the rider when compared to the Onewheel.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Onewheel pushback feature plays a crucial role in maintaining rider safety and preventing accidents such as nosedives. The distinct characteristics of pushback vary among Onewheel models, with the Pint and Pint X boasting a powerful and distinguished lift to alert riders of their limits. On the other hand, the Onewheel XR offers a more subtle pushback, providing experienced riders with the opportunity to push the limits within custom settings.
