Inmotion E20 unicycle review – an electric unicycle made for beginners

REVIEW – I was biking several miles up a bumpy mountain trail a few months ago when I was passed by a person riding an electric unicycle. I was astonished at how fast they were going, and that they could keep balanced over the ruts, rocks, and roots. That memory has tickled the back of my brain until recently when the Inmotion E20 unicycle review offer came in, and I definitely wanted to see if an electric unicycle could be easy. I also wanted to know if it would offer any other benefits over a traditional electric scooter (of which we’ve reviewed many).

What is it?

The Inmotion E20 unicycle is a beginner-and-budget-friendly self-balancing electric unicycle. The motor helps balance the scooter front to back, and the unique double wheel design is purported to give more side to side stability, especially at low speeds and when standing on it while stationary.

What’s included?

• Inmotion E20 unicycle
• Manual
• AC charger

Tech specs

Design and features

The Inmotion E20 unicycle is an interesting gadget. My first impression was that it looked like an egg, especially with the footrests folded up for transport. It feels solid, it definitely has better build quality than the entry-level scooters from some other companies I’ve handled. The exterior is pretty much all plastic, but has survived multiple dismounts and falls with just scratches so far. On the front we have the power/lights button (long/short press), a set of four LEDs to indicate power level, and the front headlight. The battery level LEDs are nice, but I wish they were on top so I could glance down while riding and see them. The headlight provides good illumination for night riding.

On each side are footrests and leg pads (you can grip these with your legs for balance or use them to assist with turning and mounting/dismounting).  The central part of each side is just begging for stickers with that large white canvas.

The black ring on the side is semi-translucent and has LEDs that have customizable animations including color, pattern, and speed.

Up top is a handle that felt more than sturdy enough while mounting and dismounting, even when I was putting a lot of my body weight on it. The side foot rests have a rubberized surface and feel sturdy (there’s definitely metal in there to hold the 220 lbs max load, which I’m dangerously close to exceeding).

The twin 14 inch tires peek out from the bottom. They’re a good size for minor road bumps and pebbles, but definitely not for off-roading.

The unicycle is one of the most compact electric mobility devices I’ve tested so far. You could fit 6-8 of these in the back of our compact SUV. The back of the unicycle (pictured above) has a brake light, charging port, and speaker grill. The Bluetooth speaker is fine but not very loud. At max volume, it doesn’t distort, but it was barely audible while moving or if there’s any ambient noise.

Assembly, Installation, Setup

Setup includes inflating both tires to the pressure recommendation on the tire sidewall, and plugging the AC charger in to charge the battery. The valve stems on the tires are curved to allow easier access, but even with that it’s a bit tight getting the inflator connected.

The app (tested on Android but also available on iPhone) is solid and had no bugs or issues during testing. It connected to the Inmotion E20 unicycle without fuss, performed OTA updates, and allows for all sorts of setting changes (like speed mode, stats, and lights).

Performance

The learning curve for the Inmotion E20 unicycle was harder than I expected from their website (“master it in just 3 minutes”). It took several sessions of practicing mounting and dismounting, then several more trying different techniques to turn at low and medium speeds. The video above shows my skill level after several total hours of riding and practicing, and as you’ll see I’m still no expert.

That said, it’s a lot of fun and very portable. It’s feeling more and more intuitive the more I ride, and at least for now the 20 kph top speed is enough for my abilities while not feeling super slow (it sounded very slow compared to the regular scooters I’ve tested, some of which can go 50+ kph). When you’re balancing while riding (at least maintaining a side to side balance while the unicycle handles front to back), 20 kph for a beginner feels just right.

The hardest part for me is low speed turns, I think the dual-tire design makes it harder to turn sharply compared to a single-wheel unicycle. This unicycle is great for gently curving walking paths, but you’ll want plenty of practice before you take it on narrow sidewalks with sharp turns.

I jumped off the unicycle many times to avoid ankle injury when losing my balance, and each time it tips on its side and beeps, indicating the auto-balance function has been disabled for safety. The sides have been scraped up a bit after these bailouts, but everything seems to be superficial surface scratches.

What I like about the Inmotion E20 electric unicycle

• While it wasn’t the 3-minute-mastery suggested by their website, it was fairly easy to learn how to get on and scoot around
• Decent range and hill climb ability for a beginner unicycle

What needs to be improved?

• I’m not sure about the dual-wheel design after using it for a few weeks. It did help balance from side to side when starting, but as I learn to turn and balance better, it sometimes feels like you have to tip the E20 up onto one wheel to do anything besides a very gentle turn

Final thoughts

I have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy riding the Inmotion E20 unicycle. I hope to get good enough to confidently grab it when I need a last-mile option for a random trip (for now, I’d still grab a traditional electric scooter; I’m much more confident on most urban paths). I am loving taking nightly rides during the summer on the E20, though, and every ride feels a bit more intuitive and less unstable/unpredictable.

Price: $399.00
Where to buy: Inmotion and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Inmotion. Inmotion did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.