Onewheel doubles the range of its electric skateboard

There’s nothing quite like the Onewheel. The electric rideable is like a skateboard, unicycle and balance board rolled into one; a chunky tire sits in the middle while your feet rest on wooden panels — like the nose and tail of a skateboard — on either side. The Onewheel+ was one of my favorite devices at CES last year, and today manufacturer Future Motion has announced its successor: the Onewheel+ XR. It ships with a new battery system that doubles the range to between 12 and 18 miles (the variance depends on the terrain you’re riding). That’s a huge difference which the company hopes will make it more viable as a mode of transportation.

The Onewheel+ XR is more powerful than its predecessor, with increased torque for hill climbing and “higher performance for all riders.” It’s not clear, however, if these improvements are a result of the battery or further refinements to the “Hypercore” motor. Regardless, it should give the rideable some much-needed oomph while you’re carving across sand, fields and stick-riddled tracks. The riding experience is otherwise unchanged — you press on the nose to accelerate and lean with your heels or toes to turn. There’s a lot to learn, but I was able to ride the older Onewheel+ fairly comfortably after just a few hours in a parking lot.

The Onewheel+ XR costs $1799 and is available for pre-order today. The older Onewheel+ can still be bought for $1499 — at that price, though, you could buy a second-gen Dual+ Boosted Board. Decisions, decisions.

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