Goodbye Emad

Goodbye, Emad.

When Emad finally returned my skateboard to me, I knew I’d had enough. My complaint? That the board only goes three miles, while the box advertises seven to ten. They told me the 225 weight limit on the box was what the board could withstand without breaking. But that to get seven to ten miles, I’d have to weigh more like 125-150. Those numbers appear nowhere on the website or the box. They had one of their guys test my board, by riding it on a five mile track. Not twice around for ten miles. Once around, for five miles, and told me the board was working.

I disputed the charge on my credit card. I’d kept records of the board and of my returning it three times. The credit card company gave me full credit for the board. $425. Then the scooter shop I bought the board from, asked me to return the board to them. Which I did.

Normally this would be the end of the story. But mine has a bit of a twist. When my mother heard that I returned the board, she was sad. She wanted the board. It rides like a tank, and that made it the only skateboard in the world she could stand on with confidence. The only board she could ride.  She called the scooter shop and bought the board ‘as is’ for $200.

I bought a board for $425. Returned it for $425. Then my mom bought the same board for $200. I picked up the same board the next day. What a crazy world we live in. This only goes to show, that while Emad boards are cheap and made in China, and lie on the packaging, they do serve a purpose. They are great beginner boards. Great boards for our elders.

Kickr

So I’ve found some of the other electric skateboarders in my city. Namely, the man behind Red Rock Board Shop, and his friends. Together this weekend, the five of us all went on a cruise around town. It was awesome.

Zipping around as a group, we finally got to yield the power that most longboarders only dream of. Light changes before you can quite make it? No problem for our critical mass. The cars had to wait for us! We even found a large parking garage, with perfect surface, no speed bumps, and completely empty! How the gods of the boards shine upon us!

If you want to see some of it, check out my Instagram. I took some of my most liked vids ever, due to the Weekend Hashtag Project being #whpwhatmovesme

While we were there, I learned about a new Kickstarter. It’s called Kickr.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/424686603/kickr-electrify-every-longboard?ref=live

It’s kind of like the Rubbee, but for skateboards. It’s a very simple motor that doesn’t use a drive chain. It attaches directly to the skateboard wheel. It attaches and comes off very quickly and easily. For an elegant devices that can turn any board into an electric board.

One of the biggest differences is that it doesn’t use a remote controler. Instead, it has a pressure pad to step on in order to throttle.

But the only downside is that there aren’t any brakes. This makes me sad. Brakes are perhaps my favorite part of electric skateboards. They are a major selling point, because they make boards *safer*. They gives me confidence going downhill. They allow me to charge the battery (a little).

Kickr is basically a board with more power, but no brakes.

So for an experienced longboarder, the Kickr is the best thing since slide gloves. But for someone who only ever rode on electrics with brakes like myself, it’s really a deal breaker. I trust that in the future, however, they’ll add the brakes in, and I’ll sing praise of their more elegant design.

Red Rock FTW

This weekend I met up with Aaron, the mastermind behind Red Rock Board Shop. If you didn’t know, they’re a small company that makes the one component in an electric skateboard you can’t find anywhere else. The custom trucks. http://www.redrockboardshop.com/

Together with another friend, the three of us engaged in my first ever, electric only shred session. I had the carve of my life!

First thing I noticed? His boards were light. Much lighter than my Evolve board. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to weigh them. Because a Red Rock Board involves buying so many parts from other manufactures, I’m sure he’s picked his parts with weight in mind.

The next big advantage is that the motor sits behind the wheels. I’m not really sure how big of a deal this is. But on my Evolve board, the motor sits in front of the wheels, and this simply doesn’t feel optimal. Even the new Evolve model changes the motor to the rear, so kudos to Red Rock for getting that part right.

Riding the board was remarkably similar to the Evolve board. I want to say the motors Evolve uses are ever so slightly stronger than the motor Aaron had on the board he let me ride. But when you consider his board was about $400 less … well the Evolve motor isn’t *that* much better.

And it really isn’t fair to knock the motor, because if you wanted a stronger motor, you would just buy a stronger motor and use that one. It’s the beauty of Red Rock Board Shop. You get to decide exactly what you want on your board.

The only real drawback to Red Rock is waterproofing. There isn’t any. Not that you’d want to take an electric out in the rain. But I’ve splashed through puddles on my Evolve that would make me worry on a Red Rock. Also, the waterproofing seems to act as a muffler for the motor. Other than that, the Red Rocks are very comparable boards, for ⅔ the cost.

There is a slight issue about where the battery goes. The board I used had the battery on top of the board, which limited my foot space. You also have the option to mount the battery on the bottom of the board, which is more standard. Or to run a cable and keep the battery in your backpack. When I build a Red Rock, I’m probably going to have the battery sticking out of the back of the board -- like a dog’s tail. This should keep it out of the way, and also help onlookers to identify me as an electric longboarder.

If you’re a skateboarder who wants to upgrade his board, then Red Rock Board Shop is the place to go. If you’re a father who wants to work on a project with his son, Red Rock Board Shop. If you want an electric board, but want to keep the bill under a thousand -- Red Rock Board Shop.

Pivot Cuffs

So the other day, I’m carving home. Going past the volleyball courts, where the biggest downhill is. I used to break like a sissy there. But after riding on Hawthorne Trail, I’ve matured. Instead, I was thinking, this isn’t much of a downhill at all. I looked to my right, at the volleyball courts. College girls in short shorts a plenty. I enjoyed watching one serve a ball before looking back at the road.

At which point I saw the curb at the end of the downhill. Oh yeah, I thought. That’s the reason why I usually break. Not for the speed, but for the transition to the road. I hit that transition a little faster than usual. It didn’t feel like a big deal, except at that moment, something in my board changed. A wobble that shouldn’t have been a problem had me off the board. I came close to falling, but managed to stay on my feet, and laughed as I picked up my board, and continued home.

I finally got around to taking my board to the shop. Freeride Surfshop, just a few blocks away from UF campus. Their man behind the counter spotted the problem in a second flat. It was my pivot cuffs. I’d blow out three, and either completely lost the fourth, or my board never had a fourth. Either way, my board was fixed in no time flat and I headed home.

Back at that same downhill, something was different. There was a barricade up … for no apparent reason. Along the downhill, a bunch of sand that looked completely out of place. I don’t mean to be some kind of ego maniac, thinking all those obstacles were put there for my ‘safety’. But why else would they be there?

I wonder if any other longboarders have a similar story?

Balance, Evolve, and Boosted

So I’m riding with my longboarder friend again, trying to master the art or riding downhill without hitting the breaks.

The secret, he tells me, is to lock my legs in a funny position with my feet very close to the front of the board. I’ve seen him do it a million times, but for me the technique seems to need some work.

No matter how close I inch my feet to the nose of the board, no matter how I lock my legs, I hit about 20 miles an hour and I feel the wobble, and puss out and hit the brakes.

After the run, I let him try my fancy new Evolve Longboard and guess what? He felt a bit of a wobble, too. Then a lightbulb goes off in my head. Maybe it’s not my technique that’s wrong. Maybe its the board.

While he was riding my board, I took a few kicks of his board. I couldn’t help but notice how balanced it was. My board almost can’t be balanced. It has this asymmetric brushless motor and truck on the rear wheel. Inherent to its design, it really can’t be balanced.

Then another light bulb went off in my head. Boosted Boards. They’re currently the only electric skateboarding company that I’m aware of which has both rear wheels motorised. At first, I wondered why they would go with such a radically different design than their competitors. Supposedly, if you have two motors, it gives some kind of elaborate engineering problem with turning.

But what about balance? Supposing they fixed the turning problem, their board would be perfectly balanced. It makes even more sense when you consider that they’re based out of San Francisco, where there are downhills a plenty.

Now, suddenly, I want my boosted board. Of course, they’re not even shipping their first run until next year. By then, I could have an Evolve Carbon Fiber, if I wanted.

Emad Fails Again

The first board I bought was the Emad 400w Concrete Carver. It advertises a 7 - 10 miles range. But I soon learned that it didn’t have enough juice to take me to work and back. (I live 3 miles from work)

Shortly afterwards, the controller broke. I sent the board back, and they fixed the controller. But now the board could hardly even make it to work one way. I tried to get the board fixed, but nothing worked. Until I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. After that, the owner, Jerome Claxton, promptly took my board in for repairs, where they installed a new battery.

But the board still never went much more than 3 miles for me. And that’s being generous, as the board really ‘limps’ when its charge gets low. I sent the board in a third time. But Jerome, aka Emad, claims it is working just fine.

His logic? That I’m too old for the 400w model, and that I should have purchased the 600w model. Despite the fact that I weigh 170 pounds and the board says it can carry a load of 225. He put an employee of his, who weighs 150 pounds, on the board, and had him go 5 miles on the board around the lake. Then, he declared my board to be in working order.

How Jerome Claxton can bullshit this hard, I’ll never know. 75 lbs under weight, and half the advertised distance, and he thinks everything is fine.

TL;DR

The bottom line about the Emad 400w board is simple. It’s a very heavy board, which is good if you’re a beginner. The weight makes it easy to step on and off from. It’s cheap, which is good for anyone. But it won’t go half the range of what the box claims. Use it, have fun with it, if you want a good idea about how far you can go, please watch this youtube video I made, draining the battery from full, going once around my neighborhood. It’s not really a watching video, just a documentary on the battery life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5N57j964Dc&feature=c4-overview&list=UU9SqB3KdC5gse8Fv2RNRnsQ

Hawthorne Trail

This weekend, for the first time, I went long boarding with a friend. Until now, I’ve just been a nub on his new toy. But finally, I had a real skater, showing me the good spots and, in general, how the sport is done.

We went to a Hawthorne trail, mostly bicycles. The advantage to this place was that there are plenty of hills.

I honestly don’t know how orthodox skateboarders manage to kick their boards. I still don’t really know how to do it. But my friend, he managed to kick, even up the hills, like a pro. All the while, I didn’t even break a sweat, simply squeezing the trigger of my skateboard.

He would prove the winner going down hill.

I’m still somewhat of a pussy when it comes to down hills skating. The first time I ever stood on a skateboard, I was in a parking garage. And quickly ate asphalt when I tried going down the ramp. The time after that, it was Center drive on UF campus. Similar result.

So there on Hawthorne trail, on a downhill, I still had some fears. Even giving me a head start, I didn’t really want to use my accelerator at all. Soon I found my self using the break. Then holding the break for the entire wild ride. My friend passed me. He’s good. Even manged to do a few tricks while he was at it.

From using the app MyTracks, I’ve been able to determine that I don’t feel comfortable going any faster than about 18 mph. He went over 25!

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hzcXVjgDF6E