Everything We Know About the floatwheel adv Boards
floatwheel adv pro from floatwheel.com
Announcement
On December 5th, Tony Lai - co-founder of floatwheel - took to YouTube to announce two new boards: adv and adv pro. The new floatwheels look to be a promising option from Future Motion’s Onewheel. Here, we’ve gathered everything we know so far about the new products. This article will be updated as we get more information. You can watch the announcement video here:
Pricing and Availability
Right now, pre-orders are available for both boards:
The full price of the floatwheel adv is $1599 or $1749 depending on the battery you choose. The pre-order deposit is $500 or $650, respectively.
The full price of the floatwheel adv pro is $1799 with a $650 pre-order deposit.
The floatwheels are slated to start shipping in February of 2023. Lai has repeatedly assured YouTube commenters that the orders are on schedule to ship in February.
Payment
Right now, floatwheel is only accepting payment via Coinbase, a cryptocurrency platform. As Lai explained in their YouTube video from December 7th, they are only accepting crypto as payment so that they can avoid being shutdown or seized by Future Motion. Lai goes on to state that floatwheel hopes to eventually take on Future Motion in court to challenge their patents, but only after they have established themselves in the market. This would ideally open up other payment options.
If you consider this to be a red flag, that is understandable. But, it should be noted that floatwheel is not a new company and they have successfully fulfilled multiple products in the past.
Specifications
adv pro and adv specifications from floatwheel.com
adv pro
20S2P P42A battery
36 mile range
22 mph top speed
6 hp CannonCore motor
840w HyperCharge
-40°C to 60°C operating temperature
760 lumen headlight*
Five adjustable axle height positions
adv
20S2P 2170LA battery
34 mile range
22 mph top speed
6 hp CannonCore motor
840w HyperCharge
-20°C to 60°C operating temperature
760 lumen headlight*
3 adjustable axle height positions
*On the floatwheel website, the boards are listed with 760 lumen lights. But in the announcement video, they are stated to be 1600 lumens.
Components
Rails and Enclosures
The adv pro and adv, side by side.
The floatwheel boards will be similar to Onewheel+ XR in size. In the announcement video, Lai emphasized a priority for a lower center of gravity and ride stability. The adv pro has a trussed rail design with five axle mounting positions - pretty much a clone of Tech Rails. The adv has a W shaped rail with three axle mounting positions - again, very similar to The Float Life’s WTF rails. Both rails have a 3 degree tilt in the front and rear. The controller and battery enclosures are made from injection molded plastic and will be air tight and waterproofed.
Footpads
Both boards will feature the same dual concave (front and rear) footpads. The front footpad will have a pressure sensitive dual-zone sensor, similar to the sensors on all Onewheel products. In their December 9th video, Lai explained that they have identified some issues with the GT and XR sensors and have designed their footpad sensor to account for these issues. Instead of a wire, the front footpad will connect to the controller using contact leads mounted on the upper side of the front enclosure.
Motor
CannonCore stator compared to Future Motion's HyperCore.
Each board will use the same newly designed CannonCore motor. It will have a 6 inch rim and will be compatible with standard go-kart and Onewheel+ XR tires. The stator is 53% larger than that of the Onewheel GT. It also has a larger canon shaped axle that should allow for better cooling. The CannonCore axles will be fit into place using a liquid nitrogen process that cools it to -170°C. This shrinks the axle to allow it to fit inside the stator. Once it warms to room temperature, the axle will expand to fit. To also assist with cooling, the motor will include ferrofluid from the factory. The hub is advertised as operating at 6 horse power, twice that of the Onewheel GT’s 3 hp. According to a YouTube comment on the announcement video, the motor will be shipped separately and will need to be installed by the user. floatwheel claims that this is necessary for unstated legal reasons.
Controller and Lights
The adv series will use a VESC based controller. The controller has a double decker design to allow for more room in the front enclosure. It will operate at 84V 100A, peak 200A. There will be an integrated buzzer and the device will connect to your phone and Apple Watch. The head lights are listed on the website as being 760 lumens, but Lai stated that they are 1600 lumens in the announcement video. The head lights and tail lights will automatically switch based on the direction you are riding. On the top side of the boards, there will be a light bar display that indicates your battery level and footpad sensor status.
If you’re interested in a detailed breakdown of the controller electronics, I highly recommend that you watch floatwheel’s YouTube video where Lai discusses the design decisions and component choices.
Tire
The Forza+ tire.
The boards have been seen on video and pictured with a Vega tire, but some of the renders also show a tire that looks very similar to The Float Life Enduro. The website lists this tire as the Forza+ 11x6.5-6. We know that the rim size will be six inches, which will allow for the use of standard go-kart and Onewheel+ XR tires.
Battery
Both devices will feature a split battery design, with 34 cells in the rear enclosure and 6 in the front. The adv pro will ship with a 20S2P P42A battery and the adv will have a 20S2P 2170LA battery. Both batteries operate 84V, but the adv pro will have slightly more range, about 105% compared to the adv.
Parts and Accessories
The floatwheel website currently has listings for all the individual parts that you would need to repair or replace on your adv series, as well as rail guards and a drop top fender. Lai took care to emphasize their commitment to right-to-repair and they even have the following statement on their website:
We are a team of PEV maniacs, we understand that our riders take this sport to the extreme, we like to tinker on our own boards, I know you do too! that's why we supply each and every parts that's on our boards, just in case some uneventful things happen, we got you! no need to send it all the way back for service, just have us send you a replacement and plug it back in, you'll be back on the road!
Miscellaneous
Deep Dive Videos
Lai has stated that they will be releasing videos to provide more information on the boards and their components. Check them out on the floatwheel YouTube channel.
