Does Everything Count as a Wheelie When Riding This EV Monowheel?

Serious question, guys: Would you have a go on this thing?

25:05

Janaki Jitchotvisut

By: Janaki Jitchotvisut

Jul 18, 2024 at 9:39am ET

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"Custom" is such a broad term.

Slap some new aftermarket turn signals on your bike that you just got from a random shop? You've customized it. New mirrors? Same. Contrasting-color rim tape? It's a customization hat trick!

But then you have folks like the guys at the Make It Extreme YouTube channel, where bolt-on and repurposed existing parts for this EV monowheel build were very much the exception.

That's probably to be expected, though. It's not like there's a wide choice of existing monowheels out there that you can comparison shop between, purchase, and then bring home to 'customize' with bolt-on accessories.

Anyway, this build is powered by electric motors out of a hoverboard, and a few other things like the seatpan and foam padding from a discarded motorbike saddle get incorporated into this build. But by and large, there's a whole lot of measuring, fabrication, and welding going on. And tube bending. You've never seen so much tube bending, unless of course you've built something like this yourself (and you have both the skills and the equipment).

Sure, you can look at something like this and dismiss it as silly, or ask yourself what purpose this build could possibly serve. Is it practical? Not really, but we do get to see the guy who built it take it through a drive-thru, pick up some McDonald's and roll away on it. He has nowhere to put the bag and has to hold it in his hand, but since it's a motor vehicle, they don't chase him away from the window at least. Which they will do if you walk up, believe me.

Sometimes, though, people build things just to experience the joy in the process, and also the joy of solid plan execution. Can't we just have a little joy? I think we've all earned it, personally.

What do you think?

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Think about all the joy that anyone watching this thing roll around in their neighborhood probably gets. To bastardize Ralph Waldo Emerson just a little bit, sometimes joyous is its own reason for being.

I hope we collectively never lose that.