TRADITIONAL SKATEBOARDS VS ELECTRIC SKATEBOARDS

Maybe you want to spend your leisure evening showing off your buddy skateboard and travel around skating with style and ease. You may also want to be the next Skateboard League champ and get popular over social media (also rich!!) by showing cool moves and tricks. But it all starts with the most difficult decision where you’ve got stuck – which skateboard should it be; a traditional one or an electric one?

No worries! We are here to get you out of this hesitation. This article will walk you through everything you need to consider before buying your next skateboard.

How Do Electric Skateboards Exactly Work?

Electric skateboards look similar to normal skateboards. They have an electric motor to drive you forward. You just need to open the throttle, control the speed and brake with a hand-held remote control.

When you go to shops, you’ll find lots of electric skateboards with different specifications and shocking price tags on them. But for today’s discussion, we’ll use one of the coolest and most affordable e-skateboards out there in the market- BASE CAMP Electric Skateboard.

Range (Battery Vs Physical Capability)

Regular skateboarding is physically tiring. You need to continuously push it while riding or climbing uphill. Your journey is over once your body gives up.

On the other hand, electric skateboards with high capacity batteries provide more range and the motor carries you without any physical effort. The BASE CAMP electric skateboards adopted UL 2272 certified 4000 mAh battery that can take you up to 9 miles. It is equipped with a high-current charger that supports only 2-4 hours to fully charge— an ideal for commuting or running errands.

Even if your battery runs out, you can still push it like a regular skateboard and enjoy a fast stable ride.

Size & Weight

There are different sizes and weights for both regular skateboards and electric skateboards. If the skateboard weighs more than 6-7 kg, it’ll be hard for you to carry it around.

Usually, regular skateboards are only 3-5 kg as there are no battery and electric components (and also no technological advantages) with it. On the other hand, sometimes electric skateboards weigh 10 kg and you cannot take it everywhere with you.

But, in the case of BASE CAMP e skateboard, it weighs only 5.5 kg. Moreover, it comes with a skateboard bag featuring user-friendly pockets, making it even easier to carry around with your other necessary stuff.

Deck

You must consider the length, width and height of the deck into consideration. Because, the height and width is important for stability and balance while a long deck gives you more distance with every push.

Deck height and length is not a problem for e-skateboards because you won't need to push them, unless you run out of battery. For non-electric skateboards because the lower the deck, the easier it is for you to push. A 71-75 cm long deck will take you a good distance with every push.

Your deck should have a width of at least 20 cm for giving a proper balance. Usually a skateboard’s deck is 19-23 cm wide. The BASE CAMP e-skateboard gives you a 23.5 cm wide deck for having a good balance while riding fast. Even if you run out of battery, its 74 cm long deck will give you more speed than most other skateboards.

Wheels

Small wheels are slow and more prone to getting caught on cracks or rocks, The most common range for street and park skating is between 50mm and 60mm, while wheels larger than 60mm are usually used on longboards or cruisers. BASE CAMP e-skateboard is equipped with 90 mm wheels with a 85A durometer hardness, that gives you not only fast but also a stable and safer ride at the same time.

Besides, these are powerful 300W hub motor wheels- which is reasonably better than the other kind— belt-driven wheels.

Because the hub motors are quieter and do not require maintenance. The polyurethane on the hub motor is durable and lasts long. And when it’s necessary, you can replace the urethane to repair the wheel easily.

With hub motors, even if you run out of battery, you can still push the skateboard easily like normal skateboards.

Stability

Stability of your skateboard depends on the wheelbase, deck height, weight, wheels and road conditions. You can have a stable ride with a large wheelbase, low deck height, heavy and big wheels on a normal skateboard.

E-skateboards are always more stable because of their wide deck, durometer hardness, technological advantage and the extra weight from the battery pack.

Durability

Electric skateboards have batteries and circuits, so you should take care of them. Battery capacity will drop to around 80% after 1-2 years of long rides, which is still good. But, you may need to change your battery after 2-4 years.

Non-electric skateboards will not have those problems and will last for a long time. With a little maintenance, they can run for years.

Speed

A battery-powered skateboard runs way faster than a board you are pushing with your legs. You can drive up to 10 mph (16 km/h) with BASE CAMP electric skateboards.

The 74cm long deck and 90mm large wheel also carries you faster than a regular skateboard while pushing.

Safety

If you are not careful and don’t follow the rules, neither are safe for you.

The braking system on an electric skateboard is more accurate and effective than braking on traditional skateboards. BASE CAMP e-skateboard is designed with four speed modes and four brake modes.

But if you run too fast, you can lose control, go over a rock or even get thrown off the board. So, you should always be careful.

Commuting

Regular skateboards were a very popular way for short distance commuting. After the invention of electric skateboards, it is now getting famous for commuting over longer distances.

With an electric skateboard, now you can commute faster, longer even without putting in any physical input.

Ease of Riding (& Ease of Learning)

Electric skateboards are way more easy to ride than manual ones. That’s why it also takes less time and effort to learn.

You have to learn pushing, balancing, and braking and maintain them carefully so that you can properly ride a regular skateboard.

On the other hand, an electric skateboard runs on its own. You just need to use a hand-held remote to control the speed and brakes. Advanced e-skateboards like BASE CAMP features four speed modes and four brake modes that can be freely switched forward, back, brake or acceleration modes; Easy to use by beginner, teens and commuters.

Tricks

A regular skateboard has some curves and design aesthetics that make it the better choice when it comes to doing cool moves and tricks.

An electric skateboard is not designed to do tricks. Its weight makes it harder to flip and do any kind of tricks.

The Joy While Riding

Though you can do cool moves and tricks, when you’re pushing your skateboard, you have to focus on the road, incoming traffic along with your speed, balance, brake and physical movements.. Sometimes, especially when you are in a hurry, it takes away the pure pleasure of travelling.

But on an electric skateboard, you don’t need to worry about focusing that hard (but you do need to keep an eye out for your safety). This gives you more opportunities to look around, enjoy the scenario and breathe the air as you are quickly passing against the wind.

Electric skateboards make climbing uphill look so unbelievably easy; it takes almost no effort except the push of a switch. But this is not the only reason you want to climb those hills. You want to go down them.

Because, when you’re pushing traditional skateboards down a hill, the gravity will take you down without too much physical effort. But when you bring your electric skateboard down from the hil,l you have the additional speed from the motor along with the force of gravity— it’s hard to describe the feeling of being able to go down with that much speed.

Price

The regular ones are way cheaper than the e-skateboards as they don’t require any electrical components.

People usually don’t want to buy electric skateboards as lots of them cost more than 1000-1500$. But there are affordable skateboards like BASE CAMP that cost less than 500$.

Things You Need To Keep In Mind While Riding An Electric Skateboard.

# Find out about your local laws regarding e-skateboards. There are few cities with restrictions on the types of electric personal mobility devices that people can use. Some devices may need licences, or places may be restricted for driving..

# Practice before you go down the road. You don’t want to face any unwanted situation caused by an unfamiliar skateboard.

# Be sure to check the user manual for technical specifications and riding suggestions.

# Before taking any route, make sure to find out if it’s suitable for electric skateboards.

# Always charge your electric skateboard before you hit the road.

# Check out the weather forecasts. If it’s raining or snowing outside, it’s good to avoid riding your electric skateboard as the water and snow can cause your electric components to malfunction.

# This tip is for every skateboard, specially for electrical ones. As electric boards go very fast, there is great risk of falling into injury. So, make sure you always wear protective gear.

Final Thoughts

Technology always wants to lessen our physical labour, make tough jobs easier and more fun to do— just like the electric skateboard. It is also a small step towards the world's transition to a zero-emission future with sustainable energy as it is completely run by electricity without relying on any kind of fossil fuels.

Considering all the facts mentioned above, riding a good electric skateboard is way faster, safer, easier and more enjoyable than a regular one. It may cost more, but you cannot always put a price tag on happiness.

Here’s our opinion. Which one do you think is best for you— a traditional skateboard or an electric skateboard?