How to attach a battery pack?

So the other day, I invited a friend over to have a skate. Don’t bring your board, I told him. He could use my Evolve Snubnose.

So we go outside, and everything looks good. You ready? I ask him. He’s ready. I hopped on my All Terrain Bamboo series, and begin to roll off. He was holding my Snubnose vertical, and slammed it down to riding position.

The only problem was, the battery pack was being held on by zip ties. He slammed the board down so hard, it actually broke the zip ties. He apologised, he didn’t realize he shouldn’t have slammed the board down. That’s how he was used to doing it with every other board he’s ever skated.

I was a bit upset. Despite being an older electric skateboard, and being a discontinued model, it’s still a great board. It still has a great, run roll to it, and I really love that board. I thought I had fixed the problem of the battery pack with the zip ties and a few nails a long time ago. But when he slammed down the board and broke the zip ties, it was like opening an old wound.

So I took the board inside, and put on even more zip ties. Four this time. We go out for a ride, and wouldn’t you know by the time we were back home, only two of them remained.

That board had gone months with only three zip ties, no problem. I guess the problem lies in the differences in how people skate. He was trying to dance on the board, while most of  my electric riding involves stationary feet. In other words, inexperienced with electric boards, he innocently was doing everything you probably wouldn’t want to do on an electric.

Like most orthodox skateboarders, he didn’t want to ride on the all terrain wheels. And in a way, I can understand that, because the all terrain wheels do give a very different feel to one’s skate. But I know he didn’t like getting the orthodox wheels stuck in a gap in the sidewalk pavement. I know it’s not fun to roll over tactile pavement on those wheels.

At the moment, the Snubnose is laying belly up in my living room. I want to throw on more zip ties. But I really want a better solution. How incredibly difficult this slight design flaw has been, on what would otherwise be a fucking awesome board. A friend of mine offered me $400 for it. I’m not sure if I want to sell or not, because I feel that $400 is a little low. I think it’s worth more. But certainly not if the battery case keeps coming off.

So in the end, I’m happy that they discontinued the Snubnose. Look at the bottom of all the current models, and you won’t see a boxy design like that anymore. I mean, I have a Bamboo series two, but I can’t even figure out how they attach that battery pack on there.