How to balance on a hoverboard

When people see a hoverboard for the first time, people often ask us, "Is it hard to balance?" or "How long did it take you to learn?" To the initiates, these seem like silly questions, but they all started here at some point.

The fact is that a real "hoverboard" will float above the ground without touching it. What we are talking about here is actually a gyroscopically balanced platform that will only move when it is “told” to move. Like it or not, over the last year these have become known on the internet as hoverboards. Name drama aside, the way you use one is about standing on it, just like you would standing on flat ground. With your weight evenly balanced between your heels and toes, the device will not move even if someone pushes you. You need to tilt your feet a little toe down to get ahead.

This does not require much pressure and you will find that you actually have to lean a little forward to prevent the hoverboard from moving forward without you. It takes about a minute for your brain to learn the algorithms of how much to lean forward for a given amount of toe pressure, and about 5 minutes to become good at it.

Most people who fall do so because they try to step on the board before they understand how it works. Since the motors are activated by tilting the platform, you can not step on it like going up a flight of stairs. Instead of using the ball on your foot as you do on the stairs, only be careful to step on and off with "flat feet" when the device is not moving. If you step on or jump off your feet, you are in for a short and wild ride.

The first time you use it, we recommend that you stand near a wall, a counter or a friend for support and activate one of the gyros by placing only one foot gently on the board with the other foot still securely on the ground. Try moving your toe up and down, and get a feel for how it moves before placing full weight on it. Once you have found the neutral position, step up with your other foot and be careful not to move the incline either the foot up or down.

Once you get it, it's so intuitive that you'll never remember how clumsy you felt at first. The learning curve is fast and you get an explosion of getting around in no time!