Wired publishes a Boosted Story

Just saw this article about Boosted Boards on wired.com. I think it's a little funny. The title is that the board of the future has arrived. But at the end of the article, they bring us back to reality and mention it's on pre-order. I still haven't ordered my Boosted Board yet. And I'm still waiting for my repaired Evolve board to return to me.

Minor Design Flaws In Evolve?

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you might’ve seen the pics I took of how my board currently looks. It’s got an orange bungee cord going around it. The reason why is simple, and hints at a minor design flaw in my Evolve board.

The battery and electronics case is flat. It screws into the board in six places. Normally, that would be the end of the story. But a longboard flexes as you ride it. The amount of flex depends on many things, including the weight of the rider. But when it flexes, it puts stress on those screws. Those metal screws that screw into plastic.

When I got my board resurfaced months ago, they had to remove the battery case. I noticed that one of the places for a screw was broken. Didn’t seem like a big deal. Especially since a few months later, they wound up replacing the entire battery case.

But now, with this new case, the same thing has happened again. Even more so. Now only two of the original six screws are left. The bungee cord is an easy fix for the minor problem. But let’s be fair, this is a victory for Boosted. Because if you look at where they place their batteries, they do it at the front and rear of the board, closer to the trucks. In other words, inherent to their design, they don’t have that problem. Go Boosted. In other news, I’m about to order my Boosted Board, and give it a thorough review. I can’t wait.

My Carbon series board is still in the shop. I think it’s obvious by now, but those boards seem to have some kind of electrical problem. I told the tech that I wouldn't mind if he replaced it with one of their new bamboo series. We’ll see where that goes.

Remember a clicking sound coming from my motor that I blogged about? Well, while I had the tech on the phone, I asked him about it. He told me that it was probably a loose drive belt. I took apart my board, and sure enough, it was caused by a loose belt.

But loose belts are tough to repair. I’ve tried twice now, and each time I only managed to make the belt looser. If I make the belt too tight, the board won’t even go. But too loose, and it wears out the belt and the gears and won’t break like I want it to.

I really like the get your hands dirty, fix it yourself, style of boarding. It’s the other half of the engineering degree I never finished, and I love it. But if you’re thinking about buying an electric skateboard, you should know that it’s not a hands off project. You’re going to have to get your hands dirty. Which is a good thing. When I took the cover off of my belt cover, I found a few twigs in there.

Soda Fall

The other day, as I was riding to work along the usual route, I fell. I was happy to get up and realize it was my best fall ever.

My hands were only slightly raw. I wasn't bleeding anywhere. But most significantly, my legs were pristine. Instead of sliding on my knees, I had slid on the tips of my shoes. Just like the pros do in their fancy pants sector nine videos on YouTube. Knee pads? We don't need no stinking knee pads.

The culprit of my fall? A crushed soda can. It seemed flat, as a sheet of paper when I cruised over it. But somehow, that little fucker managed to take me out. I picked it up at the end of a long streak it had drawn on the ground before I rode on.

It's just the reason why I wish I had my all terrain, carbon series back. No way that board would have been stopped so easily. Also a good argument for a remote integrated into gloves. Such a device would force the wearer to use safety equipment. And my hands would still be soft as kittens.

In other news, it looks like I will be able test out a Boosted board. I don't have my hands on one yet, but as soon as I do, you'll have the first hand review.

Golfboard

Just in case you didn't think that electric skateboards were mainstream. My mom told me about this one. I had a picture of it on my instagram, but here's your formal link. Golfboard. With famous surfer Laird Hamilton endorsing. 

It has the off road wheels, something to hold your golf bag, and something to hold onto. Pretty cool stuff. It *almost* makes me want to play golf. Almost.

At four thousand dollars, this qualifies as the most expensive electric skateboard on the market. I'm a little sad to see they give no details about their batteries. Or nearly any other technical specifications, for that matter. 

Carbon Boosted Evolve

So here’s the update. My Carbon series is broken. Again, meaning for the second time. The first time, it broke after only 25 miles. The second time, after about 50. Evolve has been really cool about it, even picking up the shipping costs. The board is currently on its way back to them. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen the photos of what the inside of it looks like.

Then there’s Boosted. Because now that I’m down to a single board, I’m tempted more than even to buy the Boosted Board and give it a whirl. But I have to be honest, I feel like I am knowledgeable enough now, about electric skateboards, to know more or less exactly what I’ll be getting.

I’d be getting a board that is balanced. Which means it would get less speed wobble during the downhill rides that my orthodox longboarder friends are so fond of. It would be lighter than my Evolve board, and look more like a regular old skateboard. But the motors are still hidden under the board. Whereas it seems obvoius now that the superior location for the motors is behind the board. With the motors in front of the wheels, you have to be much more careful about the surface you ride over. But most importantly, I’d be getting a faster charging, but smaller battery. As a commute board, you’ll be bringing your charger with you. But for those fun runs, the fun would be over early.

But the real reason why I feel the Boosted Board isn’t the best fit, is my local conditions. The surface around Gainesville, Florida is terrible. And I’m still sold on the all terrain wheels for use in an electric skateboard.

Then, Evolve releases an email showing off *their* new board. When I consider the timing, it must be a shrewd business move. Because I feel Evolve has stolen the spotlight again with this video.

It is, essentially the board I’ve been wanting. All terrain wheels, to free you from the limitations of orthodox skateboard wheels. Shorter design than the carbon series. It looks amazing. They’ve even got a new remote to go with it. Still doesn’t have a car horn build it. And the remote isn’t integrated into slide gloves. But I’d say their new board design looks like the best to date.

Boosted is Ready

I wanted this post to be about my new Carbon series. I wanted to write about how cool it is. How much attention it gets. How it allows me to skate down roads previously unskateable. How it got my girlfriend to finally come skating with me.

I wanted to write about how there seems to be a minor issue with my Snubnose. How the remote seems to loose signal and engage the brakes at random times.

But then Boosted went and sent me an email. They’re ready to make me a board. And just like that, they’ve stolen the thunder from Evolve.

I go back to their webpage, and it looks so great. Boosted’s Ted talk is the whole reason why I ever got into electric skateboards in the first place.

But the price tag! They want two thousand dollars. Which is slightly higher, than the Carbon series convertible. They now sell the most expensive skateboard in the world. The problem is, I already have two electric skateboards. One for me, and one for my girlfriend, or if she doesn’t want to skate, one for a friend.

How do I justify a third? Especially now that I’m all in love with the all terrain wheels. When you really love the design of one board, it’s hard to go back and select the board with the tiny wheels.

I suppose the crux of the problem lies in what each skateboard is. The Boosted Board is an orthodox skateboard with the motors and batteries most artfully hidden away. It is light, and it is portable. Without ever having used it, I am confident in saying it is every bit the last mile vehicle that they say it is. But it also has less battery than either of the boards I currently own. I’d have to get used to only half the skating time.

So I have the Carbon series, too big to take on the bus. Indeed, there’s no way I can comfortably take it into the Wendy’s where I’m typing this post. It’s taking up an entire booth, getting its big, dirty tires where they have no business being. The Boosted Board wouldn’t have that problem. The Boosted Board is the kind of board I could take on the bus, tuck under an arm, or otherwise bring just about anywhere.

Decisions, decisions. Last night, I wasn’t ready to buy. But out of curiosity, I clicked on the link anyway. And I saw a game changer. Boosted’s money back guarantee. Then I remembered, Sanjay, the CEO of Boosted, invited me to try the board personally. I almost don’t have an excuse not to get the board, try it out, and write a review for you, my loyal reader.

Usually I don’t pull that kind of stunt. I don’t think it’s moral to buy stuff just to return it. But with the freaking CEO’s invitation, and a credit card in my pocket … well, I am the Electric Skateboard Enthusiast, aren’t I?