A DIY One Wheel as Good because the Actual Deal

For those who reside in a hip city space, you’ve got most likely seen somebody zipping round on a Onewheel. That is a model title for a type of electrical skateboard that balances on a single massive wheel. However a Onewheel is a fairly costly automobile, with essentially the most inexpensive mannequin beginning at round $1,500. Fortuitously, John Dingley and Nick Thatcher had the talent and expertise to create their very own DIY Mega-Wheelie that’s simply nearly as good.

Dingley and Thatcher began constructing one-wheeled self-balancing skateboards approach again in 2008 and have been impressed by an identical mission accomplished by Ben Smithers in 2007. The Onewheel firm wasn’t based till 2014, so it could be inaccurate to referred to as the Mega-Wheelie “a DIY model of a Onewheel.” As a substitute, it could be extra honest to say that “the Onewheel is a commercialized model of the prototypes constructed by Smithers, Dingley, and Thatcher.”

Timeline apart, Onewheel electrical autos are fairly well-liked nowadays. However the Mega-Wheelie, constructed in 2019, appears simply as succesful. Like a Onewheel, it balances on a single massive tire. The rider mounts the automobile by inserting one foot behind the wheel and the opposite foot in entrance. The rider can speed up by leaning ahead and switch by shifting their weight to both facet. A handheld “lifeless man’s change” acts as a security measure to cease the motors if the rider lets go or falls off. The big tire makes Mega-Wheelie notably adept at touring over tough terrain, like gravel roads and sandy seashores.

A robust 450W gear motor drive’s Mega-Wheelie’s enormous wheel by means of a sequence and sprocket. It will get energy from a 24V LiFePO4 battery pack and an Arduino controls the motor through a Dimension Engineering SyRen driver. The Arduino displays an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) to allow the self-balancing capabilities.