The Waiting Game and AirWheel

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If you want to get into electric skateboarding, you’re going to need to be patient. Because you’ll be doing some waiting. A lot of it. I was just browsing through my posts last year.

I remember waiting around for my evolve board to come. I remember the time well. My daughter was coming to visit, and I wanted to have my evolve board to skate with her. I was also going to visit some friends in San Francisco, and I really wanted to bring the board with me on vacation there.

But alas, the board took a while to come, and I didn’t have it before my vacations. I got it afterwards.

Now, here we are, one year later, and I find myself in much the same position. Where last year, I was waiting for the Evolve board, this year, I find myself waiting for both the Evolve *and* Boosted Boards.

Like last year, my daughter will come to visit in August. And I really want to skate with her. Having two electric skateboards would be really nice.

But I have little hope that I’ll get my wish. Evolve has promised me one of their new Bamboo series. They say to expect them in July. But after having pushed back every other date they’ve talked about on their web page, how can I possibly trust July? I’d say it will come in August, at earliest. I really don’t expect it to come before then.

The Boosted Board is much the same. After struggling with whether or not I should buy one, and finally putting my credit card down, I’m signed up to have one. But they have given me absolutely no indication as to when they might deliver. It’s the credit card debacle all over again. They have my money.

Now all I can do is wait. It’s a race of sorts. Who will deliver first? Evolve with their new bamboo series. Or Boosted, with their powerful double engine?

I’ve learned about a new form of electric commuting that has almost had me change the name of the blog to Electric Commuter. They’re called a one wheel. More popular in Asia, this device lets you ride around like Gizmo Duck. I think they have potential because they use a gyroscope, but with a single wheel, they may actually have some advantages over skateboards. I’d love to get my hands on one, but they’re just as expensive as an electric skateboard. And after having paid for two boards that have yet to be delivered, I’m strapped.

Still, it’s probably worth checking out.

Worst Skate Ever

The other day, I got together with my usual longboarder friends, for a skate. It was the session that would be remembered as the worst skate ever.

If you’ve been following me @maulakai on instagram, you’ve seen that the screws holding my Evolve Snubnose battery and electronics to the bottom of the board have all broken. Which has forced me to get creative with how I hold that box onto the bottom of the board. At first, I used a bungee cord. Then I used plastic wrap.

Well last weekend, I had the bright idea to replace the plastic wrap with zip ties. The worst skate ever, was the first skate using zip ties, one big loop for the front of the battery, one for the back, and a third to hold it in place when the board is vertical.

We’d hardly skated down to the corner store when I heard something grinding against the asphalt. I thought I must’ve ran over some garbage. I saw a small bump I knew would dislodge it. But when the bump failed to dislodge the garbage, I lost the connection to my remote.

Then it hit me. My zip tie had come undone. Or, more accurate, it had slid off, allowing the back of the battery box to fall. My board was broken, and I had to carry it home. Even worse, my friends had continued on to skate without me. It was the first time ever that my Snubnose had failed to let me skate, due to a technical error.

What felt really bad was that it was my error. I was the one who secured the battery in place using zipties. But in a way, maybe it’s a little Evolve’s fault too, for the minor design flaw that caused the screws to break in the first place.

While walking the board home, it started to rain. I met my friends back at the house, and we had to play Mario Kart instead. One of my friends reminded me of the deal Boosted’s CEO, Sanjay, had made with me, “You should get that Boosted Board.”

Later, I was able to add more zip ties and fix the board. I have plans to go to another friends house, someone who has a drill and a dremel. With the right screws, washers, and bolts, we should be able to fix it right and proper.

But my friend’s words wouldn’t leave my head. I’m the electric skateboard enthusiast, and I’m here teaching myself mechanical engineering just to hold the board together?

So I ordered the Boosted Board. Now, I can be as cool as this guy, who has reviewed both boards. His review is about what I’d expect.

Plastic Wrap and Electric Skateboards

While installing the new drive wheel on my board, I noticed that the bearings I had weren’t rolling quite as smooth as I thought they should be. So I bought a new set and installed those, as well. What a difference it makes

Between the two, my board really feels like new. Once again, I’m skating and feeling the power of the coast. I’m able to take my finger off the remote trigger, and simply roll the rest of the way. I didn’t quite roll like that with the old bearings and drive wheel.

But with those repairs, something else has broken. The final two screws holding the battery case onto the bottom of the board have broken. Now, there’s nothing holding it in place. Before, the last two screws and a bungee cord worked well. But without those screws, the bungee just doesn’t cut it.

I tried using rope. I tried plastic wrap. The current winner is plastic wrap. I didn’t think holding this one part in place would be so difficult, but it is. Again, I would like to take a good look at Evolve’s new bamboo style board, to see if the new design addresses this issue at all. Because the boosted board doesn’t look like it would have this problem.

I don’t know what the solution is, but it probably involves my drill. Until then, it’s plastic wrap all the way.