Cars and walking, it’s over! In 2022, urban mobility is motorized and electric, and one of the best ways to get around is still electric skateboarding. To find your way around this jungle, follow our guide to choose your board!
Electric skateboard: how to choose your board?
In recent years, we have seen a small revolution in the world of urban mobility. If transport solutions were previously limited to the metro/car/bicycle, the progress made in the field of electric motorization has clearly changed the situation. If the electric bike (or VAE) is the spearhead of this conversion, all around gravitate many alternatives: Segways, electric scooter and now even the electric skateboard. Here is an example:
How an electric skateboard works
The electric skateboard is simply a skateboard that has electric motors to drive the wheels and a battery to power the motors. Between these two elements, we find a controller, the real brain of the skateboard, which will be responsible for calculating the power necessary to send to the wheels, controlling the state of the battery cells (to avoid overvoltages for example) and making the interface between the skate and the user.
Paired with a remote control
To do this, each electric skateboard is paired with a remote control to control acceleration, braking, and even driving modes for the most advanced systems. Unlike a scooter or an electric bike, it is not necessary to “launch” your skateboard by performing a kick-start. Electric skateboards are electric vehicles and not electrically assisted, in the same way as Segways for example.
If having skated will logically be an advantage in terms of getting started, it is not necessarily necessary to have rolled your bump in skateparks to master the mysteries of electric skateboarding. Beginner’s word, the grip is rather instinctive and if the Segway offers the most difficult progression curve, the skateboard is closer to the scooter, a few minutes will suffice to get your hands on it in the vast majority of cases, a few hours for the most recalcitrant.
With prices fluctuating between 300 and 400 dollars for entry-level models and which can climb up to 2,000 dollas for high-end skateboards, combined with a really nascent market, it is still difficult to know which skateboard to choose. See more to get more info.
Longboard, cruiser or classic
The longboard is the most popular format among electric skateboard brands. As the name suggests, a longboard is… a long board. Measuring an average of 38”, longboards are the most comfortable boards and the easiest to handle.
The cruiser is an intermediate format, shorter than the longboard, it retains its width and the wide wheels. There is quite often a kicktail, very practical for making quick maneuvers or descending/climbing sidewalks. This format, more nervous, is more easily transportable, but sacrifices, in part, the comfort of gliding. The cruiser adapts well to short urban trips (< 5 km), but beyond that, I recommend switching to the longboard format.
The classic skateboard (and its dwarf version the Penny board) is much less common in an electric version. Indeed, its small wheels, its concave deck and its relatively short size are not suitable for long distances.
Whatever the type, the electric skateboard is a technological revolution in urban mobility.
