MagWheel T3 Gozmilo FOCstrot V2 VESC Upgrade Kit – Worth the Work?

I picked up my MagWheel T3 a while back for $195, which is a crazy deal for a one-wheel style board… assuming it works.

The previous owner thought the battery was shot because he was getting terrible range and low power. After I got it home and had a closer look, I realized the real problem was much simpler: the tire was almost completely flat.

I pumped it up and suddenly the board woke up. Range went back to normal – easily around 10 miles, maybe up to 12 – which is right in line with what you’d expect from the stock 7Ah battery. So the good news: the battery and motor were fine. The bad news: the original non-VESC controller definitely wasn’t the best.

Why Upgrade to a VESC Kit?

The older MagWheel / Trotter style controllers work, but they’re not exactly smooth or confidence-inspiring—especially if you’re used to riding a Onewheel.

People say once you get used to the stock controller it’s okay, but for me it never felt like that “locked-in” Onewheel feeling. The board was rideable, but not something I fully trusted or really enjoyed pushing.

That’s where the Gozmilo FOCstrot V2 VESC Upgrade Kit comes in.

A VESC controller lets you:

• Get a much smoother, more Onewheel-like ride

• Fine-tune how the board responds (stiffness, tiltback, acceleration, etc.)

• Calibrate everything properly for your specific board and riding style

The kit cost me $350 USD, and by the time you factor in exchange to Canadian dollars and a bit of shipping, I’m into this build for roughly $650 CAD total. For a board with a solid battery, a powerful motor (around 1500W), and a VESC brain, that’s still very good value compared to a lot of ready-made boards or eeven entry level used OneWheels.

What Comes in the Gozmilo FOCstrot V2 Kit?

The kit is designed to be mostly plug-and-play for the T3:

• FOCstrot V2 VESC controller (pre-wired for this style of board)

• New front double sided sensor footpad

• Spacer plates that sits on top of the pad so you have a flat surface for the grip tape

• Grip tape sheets that go on top of that spacer plates

• New on/off power switch (latching type – stays in when on, pops out when off)

• LED light strip font and back

• Screws and hardware for mounting everything

The only thing that arrived a bit sketchy was the front LED strip – the wires had been pulled off in transit. I tried to solder them back on, but my soldering skills and cheap soldering iron didn’t do me any favors. I probably cooked it. I’ve asked Gozmilo to send a replacement strip so I can clean that part up properly.

The Install: Mostly Easy… Until I Broke the Software

Physically, the install isn’t that complicated – it’s more time-consuming than technically difficult:

1. Open up the board and remove the old controller.

2. Install the new VESC controller in its place.

3. Install the new power switch (the VESC requires a proper on/off latch, not a momentary switch).

4. Replace the LED strip (rear LED worked fine, front one will be swapped once I get the new strip).

5. Swap in the new foot sensor plate and top plate, then add the grip tape.

Where things got interesting (and frustrating) was on the software side.

The FOCstrot V2 controller is pretty new, and I ran into some firmware mismatches between the controller and the VESC Tool. The result: the motor detection and setup routine wouldn’t run properly. The system wasn’t recognizing the motor, so I couldn’t complete the normal calibration process.

While troubleshooting, I basically overwrote the original build that came preconfigured for this exact wheel. That meant I lost the nice, easy, “plug-and-play” setup that would’ve sped everything up.

To recover, I had to:

• Find a compatible VESC firmware build online

• Flash it to the FOCstrot V2

• Manually go through and re-configure all the important settings for the MagWheel T3

That meant motor setup, current limits, angle limits, and especially sensor and accelerometer calibration.

Dialing in the Ride – Calibration is Everything

At one point in the process, the board was technically working, but it felt awful:

• The nose adn rear would dive way to easilys

• The board felt mushy and loose

• My inputs didn’t translate cleanly into what the board was doing

I also had a couple of hard falls while testing bad settings, which is not something you want, especially once you’re over 50 and don’t bounce the way you used to.

The big turning point was getting the sensors and geometry properly calibrated:

• Leveling the board correctly

• Making sure the accelerometers knew which way was “up”

• Setting sensible tiltback and angle limits

• Tightening up the responsiveness so it didn’t “wash out” or nosedive under load

Once those pieces were dialed in, the board completely changed. It went from sketchy and unpredictable to smooth, stable, and confidence-inspiring.

Now it genuinely feels very close to a Onewheel in how it rides – maybe even snappier in some ways, and the best part is I can see and tweak everything in the VESC/reFloat app.

First Real Ride – How Does It Feel?

Once I got it all running properly, I took the T3 out for a proper test ride with my DJI Neo 2 drone tracking me.

A few ride impressions:

• Smooth power delivery – no jerky surges, no sudden weird dips

• Stiffer response – I’ve tuned it so the nose doesn’t drop much, even going up hills

• Confident carving – corners feel predictable instead of “will the nose randomly dive this time?”

• The board now feels like something I can trust, not just something I’m “managing”

I still ride within reasonable speeds. On one-wheel type devices, I’m happy in that 15–20 mph (25–30 km/h) zone at most. Once you start going much faster, any fall becomes a lot harder to run out. For me, especially at my age, it’s about fun and longevity, not trying to set land speed records.

Was the Upgrade Worth It?

Short answer: yes – for the right person.

If you:

• Want a smooth, Onewheel-like ride

• Don’t mind doing some tinkering and learning software

• Like the idea of fine-tuning your board instead of being locked into factory profiles

…then the Gozmilo FOCstrot V2 VESC upgrade is a really solid option.

If you want something you just unbox, charge, and ride with zero setup, a VESC build may not be for you. There is a learning curve, and if you mess up like I did and overwrite the original build, you’ll spend some time digging yourself out and learning as you go.

For me though, that learning was part of the value. I now understand:

• How a VESC one-wheel style board is set up

• How to calibrate sensors and geometry

• How to tweak settings to match my riding style and comfort level

So now I’ve got a $650 CAD VESC MagWheel T3 that rides great, feels safe, and didn’t cost anywhere near what a brand-new premium board would.

Will I keep it long-term? We’ll see. If it starts bucking me off again, maybe not. But right now, I feel very confident on it and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

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