Float History

Dean Kamen, Robert Ambrogi, Robert Duggan, J. Field, Richard Heinzmann, Burl Amesbury, and Christopher Langenfeld invent automatically balancing vehicles.

Predating Future Motion, Inc.‘s debut of their Onewheel Kickstarter Project by 7 years, YouTube user bensmither, posts Balancing Scooter / Skateboard.

You can read more about the build on the robosys.co.uk website here.

Future Motion, Inc. launches the Onewheel :: The Self Balancing Electric Skateboard Kickstarter campaign.

Within the first 24 hours, the project reaches 40% of it’s initial $100,000 pledge goal.

After 25 days, the original Kickstarter campaign for the Onewheel is fully funded by 1,015 backers for $630,862.

The first Onewheel is hand-delivered by Kyle Doerksen and Jack Mudd.

Future Motion, Inc. holds the first officially sponsored Onewheel competition at the GoPro Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado, which occurred June 4-7, 2015. “Onewheel” was listed as a “Demo & Expo Partner” for the event.

(If you know who won this competition, or any details about this competition, please send me a message!)

Future Motion, Inc. was granted an ex parte temporary restraining order and seizure order against Changzhou First International Trade, which prompted US Marshals to raid their booth at CES 2016 (video), confiscating their Trotter single wheel electric skateboard devices and all associated promotional material.

Future Motion, Inc. previously filed a complaint of patent infringement against Changzhou First International Trade on January 5, 2016.

Future Motion, Inc. voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit against Changzhou First International Trade on Feburary 4, 2016.

Future Motion, Inc. announces Onewheel+. Most notably, Onewheel+ features the first iteration of the “Hypercore” motor, which allows the axle to act as a heat sink for the motor. Onewheel+ was initially priced at $1,499 and shipped in April 2017.

(If you know the exact date the Onewheel+ arrived to the first customer, please send me a message!)

On, or about a month prior to June 22, 2017, the first “bonk” is performed by Jeff McCosker.

A “bonk” is the single wheel electric skateboard equivalent to traditional skateboarding’s “ollie”, where a rider uses a small obstacle to get air time with their board.

(If you have a better description for a bonk, or proof of an earlier bonk, please send me a message!)

FloatLife Fest, which eventually becomes the longest running Onewheel community event, began with their first event hosted on October 13-15, 2017 in Asheville, North Carolina.

Future Motion, Inc. announces Onewheel+ XR. Compared to Onewheel+, the battery voltage was increased from 48V to 63V, and the range more than doubled from 5-7 miles to 12-18 miles. Onewheel+ XR was initially priced at $1,799 and shipped in March 2018.

During the life of the Onewheel+ XR, Future Motion, Inc. updated the Onewheel application so that it no longer displays pack or individual cell voltages in diagnostics. Being able to see each cell’s voltage is an important safety feature and can help riders identify faulty batteries before they cause a ride failure. This feature also allowed riders with non-stock batteries to monitor their remaining charge by inspecting pack voltage in diagnostics.

(If you know the exact date the Onewheel+ XR arrived to the first customer, or the exact date or version the Onewheel app was updated to no longer show voltages, please send me a message!)

In Miami, Florida, Cory Boehne witnessed a serious hit and run while riding his Onewheel+ XR. Boehne was able to chase the driver down on his board, break their driver’s side window, remove them from their car, and detain them until law enforcement arrived. (additional sources)

Future Motion, Inc. announces Onewheel Pint. Onewheel Pint is a more compact and affordable addition to Future Motion, Inc.’s product lineup, featuring a slower top speed of 16mph and shorter range of 6-8 miles when compared to the Onewheel+ XR. The Onewheel Pint was initially priced at $950 and started shipping in May 2019.

(If you know the exact date the Onewheel Pint arrived to the first customer, please send me a message!)

Mitch Lustig lays the foundation for self-balancing devices controlled by VESC through his contributions to VESC Tool. Lustig later releases several video tutorials on his YouTube channel, outlining configuration, usage, and key concepts around the application.

VESC Tool is an open source brushless direct current motor controller tool with an intuitive user graphical interace, which enables users to configure their VESC-based boards.

As early as November 2021, Hannes Schatzmann, aka @vesc.mann on Instagram, discovered through independent trial and error that utilizing high Mahony KP (a tuning setting that distorts pitch angle readings when under heavy acceleration/deceleration) and ditching many typical tuning conventions produced much more intuitive, smooth, and predictable ride feel more similar to Future Motion, Inc.’s proprietary Onewheel motor controller software.

When surfdado learned of this in March 2022 from Schatzmann in private group chats and made this information public through his “VESC Balance Firmware – Magic Settings in v5.2” video, these tuning adjustments were widely adopted and became the basis for further iteration by a growing community of rider-developers.

The largest issue introduced with this new tuning methodology was “nose hunting,” where high frequency bumps or rough terrain could cause the nose of the board to slowly rise or lower as these conditions can cause the motor controller to “lose sense” of what is level.

On this date, surfdado integrated a new IMU filter developed by Mitch Lustig into the VESC firmware which eliminated the nose hunting issue introduced earlier in the year when the VESC rider community broadly swapped to using Hannes Schatzmann’s high Mahony KP tuning methodology.

This update marks a major turning point where VESC boards became more broadly recognized as being just as, if not more, capable than Future Motion, Inc.’s proprietary Onewheel boards.

On this date, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) posted a warning about the risk of death and serious injury with all models of Future Motion Inc.’s Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards. Siting at least four reported deaths between 2019 and 2021 and multiple reports of serious injuries after the product failed to balance the rider or suddenly stopped while in motion.

CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka stated “Immediately stop using all Onewheel electric skateboards—they are not worth dying for.”

According to the CPSC, Future Motion, Inc. refused to agree to an acceptable recall of the product. Future Motion, Inc. issued a press release and public message regarding the CPSC statement on social media, calling CPSC’s warning “unjustified and alarmist”.

Utilizing the new “packages” feature in the upcoming VESC Tool v6.0 release, which allow easily installable extensions to the VESC Firmware, Nico Aleman releases Float Package on pev.dev.

Float Package replaces Mitch Lustig’s Balance App and is heavily based on surfdado’s ATR firmware. Key features greatly improved usability through organized configuration menus, safe default values, min/max ranges for all parameters, and descriptive help texts.

Float Package also introduced the “Remote Tilt” feature, which allows a handheld controller to be used to adjust the “level” angle of the board in real time. This enables riders to traverse much steeper inclines and declines while maintaining precise acceleration and deceleration control.

After its release, Float Package became the foundation for the continued development on the ride feel of VESC-based single wheel electric skateboards.

In conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Future Motion, Inc. voluntarily recalls 300,000 Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards, involving all Onewheel models. At the same time, Future Motion, Inc. released the Haptic Buzz alert functionality (release video), which addresses the safety concerns in the recall via a firmware update that was available by September 29, 2023 to Onewheel GT, and available via a much later update on Onewheel+XR, Onewheel Pint, and Onewheel Pint X.

According to Future Motion, Inc., the original Onewheel and Onewheel+ models are not eligible for the firmware update, so they should not be used. Onewheel and Onewheel+ owners can confirm eligibility and possession to receive a $100 credit toward the purchase of a new Onewheel.

Although Future Motion, Inc. originally stated there would be a way for Onewheel Racing League members who met a mileage minimum to disable Haptic Buzz, this feature never actually launched. It is commonly speculated that the feature was scraped in order satisfy the CPSC.

(If you know the exact date the Haptic Buzz firmware was available for Onewheel+ XR, Onewheel Pint, or Onewheel Pint X, please send me a message!)

Float Hub, a “solution to an easy and streamlined setup process for your VESC-based board.” is released by The Float Life for iOS and Android.

Float Hub significantly reduces the barrier to entry for users to get started with VESC-based platforms.

Get Stoked Media, LLC launches the first issue of their Get Stoked! Magazine, a new quarterly publication “about adventure, articles, PEV lifestyles, Artwork, and culture.”

Though there has been no official communication from the company (and so this is ultimately speculation), Craft & Ride, a once prominent 3rd party accessory vendor and frequent sponsor of many community events over the years, seemingly dissolved on or around June 10, 2025.

On this date, the craftandride.com website began redirecting to onewheel.com. Despite this, Onewheel Factory Team Rider Austen Silva confirmed Future Motion, Inc has no involvement with Craft & Ride.

Several community members reported their final purchases from Craft & Ride were never fulfilled. Their business address and warehouse was available for lease as of June 26, 2025.

Additionally, the Onewheel Owners Group on Facebook, the largest Onewheel Community of over 38,000 members on the platform and administrated by Craft & Ride, removed all other admins and moderators and paused the group indefinitely the next day. It remains paused today.

On September 3, 2025, the craftandride.com website returned, but only as a generic plug for their social media accounts and an Instagram story feed, despite their last social media post (as of Sept 3, 2025) being in April 2025.

(If you have any additional verifiable evidence of what happened to Craft & Ride, or if you’re a vendor who has verifiable unpaid invoices with Craft & Ride, please send me a message!)

Future Motion, Inc. hosts Race for the Rail (recap video), the finale race of the 2025 Onewheel Racing League season at Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area in Hollister, California from August 14-17.

Race for the Rail 2025 saw significant changes from past year’s formats where only top-ranked Pro class riders were invited to compete on a downhill-focused course.

This year’s race featured an open qualifier and separate competitions for each rider class. Instead of a downhill course, participants competed on a motocross course with varied elevation and an abundance of kickers. Also new to this year, a separate mass start race and freestyle trick competition.

Controversially, Race for the Rail 2025 was also the first Race for the Rail that featured board footholds, however only Future Motion, Inc.’s “FST” footholds were permitted.

Race Winners:

• Pro Men: Jahfari Silsley (results)
• Pro Women: Zayne Carter (results)
• Expert: Max Post-Leib (results)
• Legend: Ryan Walker (results)
• Clydesdale: Dee Montes (results)
• Grom: Cody Thornton (results)

Freestyle Competition Winner: Bodhi Harrison (results)

Mass-Start Race Winner: Cody Thornton (results)

Over the course of the Onewheel Racing League 2025 season, riders competed at up to 8 ORL Season Events to earn cumulative points via a new dynamic event scoring model. Concluding with the Season Finale at Race for the Rail, the finalized season results are as follows:

Pro Men (full results)

1. Hayden Bolling (213.3 points)
2. Jahfari Silsley (185 points)
3. Josh Ledford (154.7 points)

Pro Women (full results)

1. Zayne Carter (239.4 points)
2. Ashley Gnann (205.1 points)
3. Emma Stewart (163.5 points)

Clydesdale (full results)

1. Sebastian Cusick (208.1 points)
2. Dee Montes (164 points)
3. Andrew Coleman (135.5 points)

Legends (full results)

1. Richard Stovall (197 points)
2. Timothy Vandehey (190.7 points)
3. Charles Leib (151.2 points)

Expert (full results)

1. Nicholas Meeker (183.5 points)
2. Max Leib (180 points)
3. Joshua Rivera (151.7 points)

FloatLife Fest hosts the annual “Rider of the Year” awards recognizing standout individuals in the sport. These awards feature nominations and voting from the community.

• Male Rider: Hayden Bolling
• Female Rider: Zayne Carter
• Rookie: Hazel Bueno
• For the Sport: Austen and Mercedes Silva
• Wipe O4ut: Nico Aleman (video)
• Trick: Chris Richardson’s Mystic Flip (video)
• Photo: Alex Mononen
• Film: OLD TIMES by The Float Life (video)
• Clip: Hayden Bolling (video)