Safety gear for your Onewheel may not be the cool thing to do, but it certainly provides riders with more rides in the future. You don't have to be going super fast to do damage to yourself. Just think of all the scraped knees on a simple bicycle. Of course, you're not a kid anymore and a bruise or scraped elbow isn't the end of the world anymore, but you can go pretty fast on a Onewheel and can do a lot more damage to yourself. Even if not going fast, a knock on the head doesn't require a lot of force when not wearing a helmet.
No one is trying to fear monger or play parent, but the protective gear is really important for a safe ride and helps make sure you can continue to enjoy your Onewheel life long. It's unfortunate that we have this kind of "dork" image of a bubble-wrapped rider, but safety gear can be fashionable and communicate serious rider energy. Let's take a look at some of the safety gear for the Onewheel.
Why Onewheel Protection?
The Onewheel Pint and XR go 16 mph and 19 mph respectively, that doesn't sound super fast till you realize it doesn't take much to get sent to the emergency room. Injury isn't always about speed, it's also about what you hit and how you hit it. Why flirt with ending a joyride because of not wearing the right safety gear? No one looks cool in a hospital gown after all.
It's not that the Onewheel is inherently dangerous, no more than a bike or riding in a car, but we use safety gear with both to help lower the risk of injury. What is a seat belt if not protective gear? Besides, isn't it better to put on knee pads that flow with your outfit rather than practicing how to walk correctly? An extreme example, but if it saves you from some wear and tear, so be it.
The Safety Gear Explained
There are several types of safety gear for your Onewheel and plenty of places to get it, you can even make it cool and your own by looking for protective pads and helmets that shout your style while zipping around town. Let's take a look at some:
The Helmet
Your brain is the most important thing in your body and while our skull is a built-in helmet, doesn't hurt to give it more protection. It's better to crack something you've paid for rather than something you're born with and need for life.
Wrist Guards
Wrist injuries are super easy even at low speeds. People tend to get them from trying to catch their fall and it's a long healing process because of all the parts in your wrist. Better to slap on a wrist guard so a hand isn't out of commission.
Knee Pads
Scraped knees happen and they aren't the tear-jerker they were when we were all kids, but a cracked or bruised knee is something else entirely. Knees are complex parts of our body and, like wrists, can take a while to heal. I don't know about you, but walking with ease is a lot of fun.
Elbow Pads
Now this one is always a struggle to get people on board with, but elbows are important to protect too! Think about how terrible it is when you hit your funny bone, now imagine falling on it. Elbows are wildly important for your arm to function and you don't want to skip out on a Onewheel day because you didn't want some elbow guards or some safety gear for them on.
Shop Before the Ride
You're probably thinking that this is just a way to upsell some accessories, but if you go to that page on our website you'll only find fender protection. This is to make sure our fellow Onewheel riders continue to be Onewheel riders and stay safe. There is too much fun to be had to cost yourself some because some protection on your body isn't cool or you think you're too skilled for something to happen. Things do and sometimes you can't do anything about, so wear your safety gear and stay a Onewheel rider!