Zandman wrote: ↑Wed Nov 14, 2018 8:18 pm
can you please tell us a bit more about that? Tried both? How do they compare?
I tried both as a kiter friend purchased the Trotter first to try, then got a Onewheel, then bought another (new XR model) Onewheel to share with family and friends. After he got his first Onewheel and was waiting for the second, he let me borrow the Trotter to learn and catch up on how much time he had put into. He also wanted me to buy one so we could ride together.
The first time I tried the trotter before he let me borrow it, I screwed up my ankle just from learning to get onto it and ride it slow. It was pretty "jerky" and my bad ankle(s) did not like that. So without even falling on the trotter, I was messed up for about a week. Still kited 3 days after, though.
A few weeks later, when he got his Onewheel, he let me borrow the Trotter. That is when I started to learn it. It took me a solid 8 sessions for me to get to the point where I could get on it without too much wobble. However, at this stage, I had tried the real Onewheel and was able to get on it right away. So the first difference is:
1. The Trotter takes much more time to learn the first basic step (getting on it), but the Onewheel is easy to learn as it has settings that allow a "soft start" that just about everybody picks up almost in the first session. - I would not have messed up my ankle on the Onewheel.
Then I used the Trotter on pavement for maybe 20 battery charges. It was fine for power for me (100kg), but did not have any off road or grass riding capabilities like the Onewheel XR or even the regular Onewheel. And that is the second issue with the Trotter.
2. The Onewheel is waaaayyyyyyyyy better at off road. If you get the trotter, at least if you weight around 90kg, you will be sticking to pavement only.
Along with the power issue off road, the Onewheel (I am pretty sure, so someone correct me if I am wrong) has a steeper entry angle. That means that you can climb over a low obstacle at a steeper angle head on.
3. So if you are off road with the Trotter, you will hit the front of the foot pad on a bump/ramp at before you will hit on the Onewheel.
But because of the lesser off road capabilities of the Trotter, you will likely be sticking to pavement anyway. Pavement is enough fun for me, but my friend is obsessed with off road and wants nothing to do with pavement anymore.
And over all, I think the Trotter is like a bad hydrofoil that still "works". Enough to get you into it, but you will be changing out to a better one later. And the catch here is that the better one (Onewheel) is easier to learn on as opposed to the lesser one (Trotter). So I cannot see any reason to get the Trotter.
So lastly, I would recommend the Onewheel over the Trotter so you don't wind up like my friend that spent money 3 times. I am going to borrow the Trotter from him again soon, but I am not spending money on the Trotter or the Onewheel. My price for getting my own would be around $400. I could not justify taking anymore money from kiting. And given it's size/weight, and the small van that I live in, it would likely not be the best thing to travel with me.