Abstract: The Airwheel Q3 is a dual-wheel self-balancing electric unicycle. Portable and powerful as it is, it still has its pros and cons. Here’s a user’s review.

Electric unicycles are getting popular in recent couple of years. My first model was an Airwheel Q3. When I first saw this design by Airwheel, I fell in love. It looked like it came straight out of the movie. The portable device is very powerful and I now have 150 miles on the unit, and feel like I can go over the big highlights of this unit, as well as a couple of shortcomings.

The pros:

1) It is beautiful with streamlined design, and the light ring display is outstanding.

2) The dual-wheel design makes the riding far more stable than the Airwheel X series.

3) It is very powerful. I took it up a hill that exceeds its rated capacity.

4) It is very durable. Unfortunately, on the way back down the hill, being relatively new to this model, I lost my balance, and instead of hurting myself, jumped off. The unit was severely rocked on the way down the hill. I thought it would certainly be damaged. Much to my surprise, other than a few scratches that were no big deal (you are going to scratch these), it functioned normally. I couldn’t believe it. If it could handle that, it can pretty much take anything I can throw at it.

5) Very maneuverable. The single wheel is very quick in turns.

6) The pedals are vastly superior to the other models in wet weather, and in general riding. Most e-cycles have flat pedals. When you hit bumps, your feet move, and you have to reposition while riding. When you are in wet weather, it can get downright dangerous. The raised rubber grips significantly improve riding performance.

7) The pedals deflect well before the top speed. The precaution system is good.

The Cons:

1) Not the best on really bumpy surfaces. I ride on a college campus with a lot of bricks. If I am cruising along and hit an area of uneven bricks, or where the bricks have been raised from tree roots, I have to slow down very significantly. The pedals want to deflect down (to the front) which puts you in danger of going over the front. I have been told this will be improved in the upcoming firmware release, but for now, it is a problem. Not huge, but annoying.

2) One of the biggest annoyances on the Airwheel was the stupid beeps that it would constantly emit after you went above 8-9 MPH. I hated it. You had to bother everyone with loud beeps. 

intelligent self-balancing scooter, intelligent electric unicycle