Quick answer: A single-wheel hoverboard is usually one of two machines: a single-wheel board, which you ride side-on above one wide central tyre, or an electric unicycle, ridden facing ahead with the wheel between your legs. Both level themselves front to back, as a two-wheeled hoverboard does; an electric skateboard has no self-balancing at all.
What is a single-wheel hoverboard?
Usually not a hoverboard at all. The word is stretched to cover many self-balancing machines, and a search for a one wheel hoverboard or a one-wheeled skateboard mostly means the same thing: a deck with one wide tyre in the middle, ridden side-on. Some riders call it by a brand name; this guide says single-wheel board. Others mean an electric unicycle, ridden facing the direction of travel, its tyre running between your calves.
Both sit on our page for single-wheel machines, and neither is the two-wheeled board that the word hoverboard normally describes. Put them next to an electric skateboard and a hoverboard and the differences come down to four things: how each balances, how you go and stop, how you learn, and how you carry it.
How does each of the four balance?
Three of the four keep themselves level in one direction and leave the other direction to you.
- Single-wheel board. Sensors keep the deck level from nose to tail. You handle the side-to-side balance with your ankles and knees, much as on a skateboard, and you lean into turns.
- Electric unicycle. The wheel keeps itself level front to back beneath you. Side-to-side balance is all yours, and you steer by twisting and tilting the wheel with your legs; the first hour on a forward-facing wheel shows how a beginner gets there.
- Electric skateboard. No self-balancing at all. Four wheels keep the deck stable, and a hand remote controls speed and braking.
- Hoverboard. A wheel at each side, with a footpad beside each. It levels itself front to back, and you steer by pressing one foot further forwards than the other.
How do you go and stop on each one?
| Machine | Stance | To go | To slow and stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-wheel board | Side-on, one foot each side of the tyre | Lean onto the front foot | Shift weight onto the back foot until it stops; many boards switch the motor off once you lift a foot from the sensor pad at a standstill |
| Electric unicycle | Facing forwards, the tyre between your calves | Lean the whole body forwards | Lean back gradually, then put a foot down |
| Electric skateboard | Side-on, on a deck with four wheels | Thumb on the remote | Ease the thumb control back to brake |
| Hoverboard | Facing forwards, a foot on each footpad | Lean forwards on both feet | Stand upright, then lean back a little |
The electric skateboard is the odd one out: speed and braking come from your thumb, not from your stance, so how thumb braking on a remote works is worth reading before a first ride. Bigger-wheeled boards for grass and gravel are covered under four-wheeled electric boards with a remote. How a single-wheel board stops varies between makers, so check the manual for yours. An electric unicycle also warns you itself as it nears its limits, and why a wheel tilts back before top speed explains those signals.
Which one asks the most of a beginner?
The electric unicycle, for most people. Nothing helps you with side-to-side balance, so the first sessions go on staying upright at a walk. A single-wheel board handles the nose-to-tail part for you; riders who already skate or snowboard tend to find the stance familiar. An electric skateboard is easy to stand on, and the skill to learn is gentle use of the brake on the remote. A hoverboard levels itself under both feet, so standing still is less of a balancing act; turning and stopping smoothly are what take practice.
How do they compare to carry and store?
- Single-wheel board. Compact, but heavy for its size, and usually carried by a handle or by the deck.
- Electric unicycle. Tall and narrow. Many have a pull-out handle, so you can roll them like a suitcase.
- Electric skateboard. A long, flat deck; carried under an arm or by the trucks.
- Hoverboard. Short and wide, and often carried in a bag.
All four carry lithium-ion battery packs, so each needs its own charger, a hard floor to charge on and someone nearby while it charges.
Is the legal answer different for any of the four?
No. Each one is a powered transporter. The sentence for each type is worded differently, but all three lead to the same place: private land, used only with its owner's agreement:
- The two single-wheel types. Electric unicycles and single-wheel boards are powered transporters, which the law treats as motor vehicles. Ride one only on private land, with the landowner's permission. Not on roads, pavements, cycle lanes, footpaths or bridleways, or in parks.
- Electric skateboards. Electric skateboards are powered transporters, which the law treats as motor vehicles. Ride one only on private land, with the landowner's permission. Not on roads, pavements, cycle lanes or in parks.
- Hoverboards. Ride it on private land, with the landowner's permission. Not on roads, pavements, cycle lanes or in parks.
What if a two-wheeled board is what you were after?
Then the board you want is a hoverboard in the everyday sense, the type in our own range, and you can see them all under boards that roll on a pair of wheels. Our compact 6.5-inch board, named after its wheel size, is built for riders weighing up to 100 kg and has its own carry bag; its top speed goes up to 7.5 mph (12 km/h).
Before the first ride on any of them
Wait until everything below is in place:
- a piece of private land with no public access, and the owner's yes;
- a helmet for every rider, with padding at the wrists, knees and elbows;
- the maker's manual read, including how the machine stops and what its warning sounds mean;
- an adult on hand each time a child rides.
Electric unicycles and single-wheel boards are powered transporters, which the law treats as motor vehicles. Ride one only on private land, with the landowner's permission. Not on roads, pavements, cycle lanes, footpaths or bridleways, or in parks.
Questions riders ask
Why is a single-wheel board sometimes called a hoverboard?
Because hoverboard came to stand for nearly every board that balances on its own. A single-wheel board levels itself from nose to tail, as a two-wheeled hoverboard does, so the name stuck in searches even though riding one feels closer to skateboarding.
Is a single-wheel board a kind of electric skateboard?
Not really. Both are ridden side-on, but an electric skateboard rolls on four wheels and is controlled with a hand remote, while a single-wheel board balances on one tyre and responds to how you lean. Skateboarding experience helps with the stance, not with the throttle.
Does riding a hoverboard first help with a single wheel?
A little. A hoverboard teaches you to lean to go and to slow down, and that carries over. It does not teach balancing side to side on one tyre, so expect to start that part from scratch, at walking pace.
Why is the electric skateboard the only one of the four with a hand remote?
Because it is the only one that does not balance itself. The single-wheel board, the electric unicycle and the hoverboard sense your lean and drive to keep level under you, so your body sets the speed. An electric skateboard reads none of that, so going and braking are left to your thumb.