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.