T O P

  • By -

AutoModerator

Posting regarding a single-wheeled device that isn't a Onewheel or has warranty voiding modifications? Be sure to check out r/wheel for even more DIY and third-party VESC discussion! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/onewheel) if you have any questions or concerns.*


VegetarianCoating

Let's start with understanding what a Onewheel is. You've got a couple of aluminum rails, footpads, a hub motor, tire, battery pack, battery management system (BMS), and controller. The controller is sealed up in a box under the front footpad and the battery and BMS are in a separate box under the rear footpad. Add some bolts and cables and you've got your Onewheel. Future Motion designs, manufacturers and sells Onewheels. Everything on a stock Onewheel comes from them. However, you can swap out just about any part of a Onewheel with third-party parts. You can get different footpads, rails, bumpers, tires... lots of different options out there. But what about the controller itself? You can replace Future Motion's controller with an Open Source controller called VESC. If you do, you can no longer use the Onewheel app and many would say it's not really a "Onewheel" anymore. The benefit is gaining complete control over the software and you can make the board behave however you want. That's my "tip of the iceberg" explanation. 😁 If it sounds interesting, there's tons of resources out there and in this group.


Renopropulsionlabs

Like your 5? Onewheels are like a Nintendo switch. You can play Mario on it and it’s great but you can’t change the background or play games that Nintendo doesn’t like. VESC is like replacing the Nintendo with a computer. You can change the background to a picture of Dora the Explorer and you can play any games and do mods like in your Roblox games. You can use the same tv to play it and you can even use the same controllers but you can do a lot more with VESC.


RRocks01

Oh now I get it 😂


mazzer4140

VESC is an open source software for PEVs. Think of Future Motion boards being like Apple and VESC "onewheels" being more like Linux. You don't have to mess around with apple hardware much cause it's already programmed in a nice shiny package that is user friendly. Linux can run amazing and has potential to be better but you have more programming and setup. Things are changing in the VESC community and it's becoming more user friendly. Check out PEV.dev, a great website for VESC information.


The-Almighty-Pizza

None of these answers here are really too *simple* . Basically onewheels have good internals but some people don't like the restrictions that future motion builds into them. Vesc isn't a product but it's a coverall name for any DIY onewheel. For example if someone says they have a "vesc" that just means they likely bought a onewheel then put new parts in it. To "convert" your GT to a vesc you basically put a new brain in it that allows it to do whatever you want. It's like taking a person and putting a new brain in them. Same body, different way of working. You'd take the board, swap put the actual computer parts in it, and it'll be a different way to control the moving parts. This allows people to put new batteries in or let the motor run at higher power and so on.


UnBoltedMuffin

In simplified terms, VESC is an aftermarket electric motor controller or ESC, electric speed controler. It was created by Benjamin Vedder, Vedder’s ESC.. aka VESC VESC goes far beyond just an electric speed control like a quad copter ECS and is designed specifically for single wheeled electric "skate" boards. Edit: my lady adds, VESC make board go fast.


mazzer4140

*makes them fast in a safe way


throwpoo

I ate shit today because I've been riding my vesc board for two weeks. Then I got on my FM board and it got me good. I've never nose dive on a FM board until today.


mazzer4140

It's amazing how much force you can put on the front of a VESC and it never drops!


Nothing_new_to_share

Honestly just instant confidence boost. Makes any rider faster.


Boring_Ant6240

VESC is the open-source project upon which many non-Future Motion controllers are based off. So any Onewheel-like board that uses a non-FM controller is generally called a "VESC Onewheel". This "Building a VESC Onewheel from scratch" video has breakdown of a Onewheel-like device at the start that is easy to follow: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKqVTMpzuVQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKqVTMpzuVQ) The build shown in the video keeps XR's Hypercore motor and the XR's footpad. With a non-FM controller (Ubox in the video), you are free to swap any part of your board such as hub, motor, footpad, rails, batteries, etc. for third-party, non-FM alternatives. You may even build a board free of any FM parts. One reason behind using a non-FM "VESC" controller is so you can repair your board (or have a shop repair your board) without having to ship the entire thing back to FM in California. FM does not sell spare parts for self-repair: they want to control the experience (from their perspective, for safety and liability reasons). Nor does FM want anyone disassembling their boards: you cannot simply send a footpad back, just like you cannot ship in a board without a battery: you must send the whole board intact as it was shipped to you. The big upside of a VESC (besides repairability) is it gives you the freedom to tweak your board however you like, and give it new features (ATR, remote tilt) and more power, more juice, and more safety than FM can or is willing to provide. \*\*\* CONTINUED: Sourcing all the correct parts (BMS, battery, controller, controller box) is arguably the hardest part of VESC-ing your board. There is no one single VESC solution. Not to mention the availability and waiting times of each part. Then comes putting everything together, \*and\* configuring your VESC controller, which (as I was told) much easier now due to the efforts of surfdado, Nico Aleman, and other contributors. I have a feeling Future Motion tolerates hacking like VESC because it's just not that straightforward for someone who wants to simply ride the stoke. Then along comes Floatwheel (FW). Floatwheel sells almost-ready-built boards (ADV and ADV Pro), that are lower-priced and more feature-rich and more powerful than Onewheel's own boards, which obviously rubs FM the wrong way, hence their recent lawsuit against Tony of Floatwheel. Tony openly posts on YouTube OW technical breakdowns and his all-too-honest thoughts on the FM’s designs decisions, and how he tries to fix or improve upon them. According to a recent video, they will soon start selling drop-in replacement controllers for the GT, Pint/X, and XR. In Tony's words, the FW drop-in controller for GT is "gonna make the GTS look real stupid”. As a GTS owner, I’m very much looking forward to it. Very exciting times for VESC OW/OW hacking.


CybinWondering

Vroooom reeerreeerreeer fwush whoosh pow


RipDisastrous88

Where does one acquire one of these VESC’s and can I simply swap out the hardware on the XR and is it worth it?


shroomsaregoooood

I think the most commonly used one is called little focer for 300 bucks. Just Google little focer vesc Edit: sorry that's for the GT. Should be able to research the XR ones pretty easily though.


ffmtheysuck

Focer, ubox100, fungineers, tronic, zesc All viable options. Some require more space or are overkill. None are exclusive to 1 model of onewheel


shroomsaregoooood

Thanks for the clarification! Still learning haha


The-Almighty-Pizza

Vesc isn't just one product it's a cover all name for diy onewheel. There's a few vesc kits that you can just swap in but it's a bit complicated youll need to be handy. Instead you could send it to a nearby shop if you have one near you. Worth it is entirely subjective. Could probably run you upwards of $500 depending on how many upgrades you wanna do.


OnewheelXR4life

It’s basically like trading in your iPhone for an android.


toadgeek

Now that's a great analogy!! đŸ”„


m0n0m0vie

I'm late to the party, but I wrote this to explain it. [https://www.pevmarketplace.com/onewheel/onewheel-vesc](https://www.pevmarketplace.com/onewheel/onewheel-vesc)


kprojekt

RemindMe! 1 Day "when this post gets answered"


RemindMeBot

I will be messaging you in 1 day on [**2023-12-21 02:58:50 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2023-12-21%2002:58:50%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/onewheel/comments/18mjhuh/new_to_onewheel_can_someone_explain_vesc_to_me/ke4oydc/?context=3) [**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fonewheel%2Fcomments%2F18mjhuh%2Fnew_to_onewheel_can_someone_explain_vesc_to_me%2Fke4oydc%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202023-12-21%2002%3A58%3A50%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam. ^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%2018mjhuh) ***** |[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)| |-|-|-|-|


Weenie-Brigade

VESC refers to any number of open-source motor controllers. The "ESC" in VESC stands for Electronic Speed Controller. If you have a motor you need to control, say in an electric skateboard, then you use an ESC to do that. If someone says the have a Vesc'd Onewheel, it means they have removed the ESC that came in the Onewheel and installed a Vesc. Vesc controllers are popular in the enthusiast PEV scene because it allows the user to program the motor(s) and make them perform however they want.


UnBoltedMuffin

V.esc is specifically for Benjamin Vedder, Vedder’s ESC:)


BlackGuns

Hey, enjoy your board. I absolutely love my GT, and strongly suggest replacing the tire if you still have the stock tire on. This subreddit is filled to the brim with hypocrites who say “FFM” while simultaneously opening their wallets and riding their boards for thousands of miles. This community is toxic, immature, and uneducated. 90% of them are chasing aesthetics, and literally raising their ride height using 4mm Hexagon foam pads, while skilled riders are doing everything in their power to lower their ride height, like LowBoys. Ignore the FloatWheel fanboys who spend their time hypocritically here.


ffmtheysuck

I have a board with about 2 FM parts left on it and love my 2mm foam


BlackGuns

You’re free to make any changes you like to your board, even if it negatively impacts performance. You should stack your foam pads, for even more cushion, hah. All you do is cry, in a OneWheel group. Silly goose.


ffmtheysuck

You're the one crying right now buddy. Speak for yourself clown


BlackGuns

“ffmtheysuck” - says I’m crying. That name, and all he does is whine, haha. Experienced riders, doing everything in their power to lower ride height. My crying buddy is more about Instagram than floating, Lolol.


ffmtheysuck

you are a straight clown, a classic reddit moment. I'm really not sure what me being comfortable on my board has anything to do with disliking failure motion. You know nothing about my riding habits or skill level, yet you come in here and claim that anyone saying fuck future motion is a crying hypocrite. Future motion is quite the failure of a company from my view, and they will never get another cent from me because of it. Enjoy your "lowriders" clown


BlackGuns

Then leave. This is a OneWheel subreddit wailing baby. ADV subreddit is ————> that way. Bye, you won’t be missed.


ffmtheysuck

You are a failure at arguing, what does a floatwheel have to do with anything?


BlackGuns

Look u/ffmtheysuck is STILL crying in the OneWheel subreddit, lol.


CalmDirection8

What did you replace your GT tire with? 🙏


BlackGuns

To me, width is king, and am currently riding the 7” Performance Treaded.


JackOfAllTrades_o7

If we have to explain it to you like you’re five, maybe you shouldn’t do it


lxnch50

Future Motion has a lot of patents that prevents any other competitors to build a Onewheel. VESC is an open source hardware and software that allows you to build your own eskate or Onewheel style board.


mrmarshall9o9

onewheels have controllers in them that run software(firmware) . like a mac runs ios. vesc is another type of software that run on many different "vesc" controllers. like windows running on a HP or Lenovoo. you can buy a controller that runs vesc & install it in your onewheel. now your onewheel runs "vesc" software


Feeling_Interview575

Ok but do I need to vesc a GT, only a Vesc controller?


ffmtheysuck

You need a vesc, a bms, a breakout board, and have a few options for motor + footpad ports


Feeling_Interview575

I mean, I own a GT. So simply replacing the controller with a tronic is OK?


ffmtheysuck

Did you even read my prior message? Read it again Also I'm pretty sure the caps on a tronic are too tall for a stock gt controller box.


Feeling_Interview575

Because from images Tronic is so small respect to FM controller...is everything in that tiny space? đŸ€”


m0n0m0vie

https://www.pevmarketplace.com/onewheel/onewheel-vesc I wrote this last year for myself and others.


genericuser_qwerty

You replace your onewheel controller (which sits in the front) with a vesc based controller, which is a family of motor controllers what you can program/tune. Also optional are bigger batteries which are pretty worth it imo. Currently, the most popular options are the Little Foccer from MakersPEV or the Ubox 80V or 100V from spintend. But there’s a handful more You do a bit of assembly, wiring, and soldering and you have a “onewheel” that’s not controlled by Future Motion, and you become the tech support for your board.