For some reason I have become extremely interested in eSkateboards. At first it was the very low weight, many are at 13 lbs and some are coming online at 10 lbs. But it has gone beyond that for me, this weekend I went to a store that sells boostedboards, they did not let me ride it and I bought an unpowered longboard instead. My thinking being I might as well learn the skills unpowered first. I have been practicing riding it (new to boards) when I take out my three year old son to parking lots when he practices on scooters and training bikes. So what I have learned really fast living in a hilly area is that skateboards don't brake well. They don't have brakes and the braking maneuvers all kind of suck. Using the tail to stop chews up the tail and takes balance, especially on anything steep. Otherwise you are using your foot which destabilizes or even worse, slicing perpendicular to the road and sliding like a snowboard, but way more difficult to pull off requiring hand dragging and all kinds of stuff taking weeks to months to learn.
Now, eBoards have brakes built in that use regeneration. I'm surprised that there are not manual boards that have manual brakes like scooters? I would probably have a boostedboard pro+ right now other than I don't know when I would ride it. Maybe to lunch and back at the office? Cannot pull a kid like an ebike can. I do this this 25 miles a trip 4 times a week.
Why I like eBoards :
1. They can be super lite. Most portable type of transport. eScooters for the most part weight twice as much. You can strap them to a backpack.
2. Fit in overheads, can travel with you. This is something that is much harder to pull off on ebikes.
3. Are very thrilling to ride. Hard to explain, like snowboarding or surfing if you have ever done that. I know this from watching videos and my initial practicing.
4. Are cool, their cousins eScooters are kind of dorky. These things radiate coolness.
5. There are some high quality offerings, the quality seems higher than eScooters other than maybe the m3/m5. Boosted especially seems to be quality. E-Go seems very good as well.
6. Price points are reasonable for the experience. The experience of these things is way fun.
7. Actually more accessable than regular boards. Braking and no need to kick.
8. Seems to really click with a certain type of person, I'm that type of person.
Why Not:
1. Dangerous. As a noob who snowboards, falls are on asphalt are way less forgiving than snow. By nature, the platform is unstable and requires a higher degree of balance. You can tighten things up but it takes away from cornering. I think part of the coolness comes from that fact that they are dangerous. I rode motorcycles for years, this is more injury prone for sure. Not sure if the fatality rate is as high.
2. In 3 months a better mouse trap is going to be available for the next forever. Super rapid rate of advance.
3. Limited range, most are around 8 miles or so.
4. Hills require more expensive boards.
5. Don't work well unpowered. Too much cogging.