Today I wanted to share the best and worst things about riding an electric skateboard.
It's been two years since I first rode an electric skateboard. In this blog, I'll help you decide if electric skating is right for you and something you can keep loving!
I want to give you a clear idea of whether you can continue to love it or not by sharing the problems I've encountered in my two years of skating, and I don't want you to spend your hard-earned money on something you don’t love.
The first as well as worst thing is the limited ranges, which depend on the battery of your electric skateboard. No amazing ranges, especially when you compare them to electric scooters which usually have a range of 30 or 40 miles, while electric skateboards typically have a range of 10 to 25 miles. You will get more ranges in some higher-end boards. And because your battery needs to be recharged, that means you have a limited range away from home, and if you want to get home before your battery runs out of juice you have to know the maximum range of your electric skateboard.
In addition, you have to be aware of the different types of roads in your area cause some roads you really shouldn't ride an electric skateboard like the highways or big main roads where electric skateboards are not safe to skateboard, stick to suburban roads or minor roads or bike paths.
One thing you should know, although some electric skateboards claim to be waterproof, in fact, most electric skateboards are just splash proof and it’s not completely waterproof. And as with all electronics, you don't want to get them wet because you don't want to ruin them. In order not to get short circuits, I always avoid riding an electric skateboard in the rain. If skateboard bearings get wet, it's important to dry them out as soon as possible to prevent rust and squeak, or even damage. I've ridden a board with rusty bearings that are really annoying. Moreover, riding an electric skateboard in the rain is not safe due to the really slippery road, worse on street wheels. So I hardly ride an electric skateboard in the rain. It's dangerous nowadays there are inherent dangers when riding an electric skateboard, partly because they are very fast, and If you're not wearing the right protective gear it can be very dangerous to fall off. You also have to be aware that even potholes in the road, rocks, tracks on tram tracks can make you eat shit and cars. I always make sure I'm wearing knee pads, a helmet and thick clothes in case I fall. I've fallen a few times and not been hurt because I were wearing protective gear. Falling down is not fun, especially when you're going 20+ miles per hour, it sure doesn't feel good!
Electric skateboards need maintenance. If the electric skateboard you choose is hub drive then it will require less maintenance than a belt drive, which is also the board I ride most often. Belt-drive electric skateboards sometimes easily get rocks or glass shards or whatever stuck in the belts. I have to jump off the skateboard, unscrew my wheels, remove the rocks, put it all back on and back riding, which is definitely inconvenient and a bit annoying. Belts wear out over time, which means they break from time to time, which has happened to me a few times, but you can replace them fairly cheaply, maybe $20 per belt.
Electric skateboards are very bulky, a standard electric longboard I think almost 19KG. Thankfully now you can get a mini electric skateboard. I actually really like my mini electric skateboards, because they’re very convenient and much smaller than the longboards. Longboards are not light and easy to carry, this basically means that you sometimes always feel like you're carrying something. You can't very easily take your skateboard to a cafe with your friends because you have to let it sit a little awkwardly next to you due to its size. Note that if you go out you have to always carry your board with you when it’s not in use. You either carry it easily or have to pick it up with the truck in front of you and then tow it which is the easiest way to take it depending on your board type. You hear all these negative sides sound like I dislike electric skateboards. Don’t get me wrong, I love riding electric skateboards. I simply don't want to only talk about the good things about electric skateboards, I also want to talk about the bad things, hopefully, that can help you to decide.
There is an obvious fact that riding an electric skateboard is cheaper than driving a car. I figured out over the last two years that the skateboard has saved me the insurance costs, maintenance costs, and of course the costs of buying a car, which also includes public transport costs. It's much cheaper to ride an electric skateboard than it is to drive and take public transportation, which would probably cost me 8 to 10 dollars on public transportation in Chicago, definitely a huge benefit of electric skateboards.
Also, riding an electric skateboard it's faster than driving. It probably depends on where you live, but for me, I live about 4 to 5 miles from where I live, so during rush hour it takes me about 30 - 40 minutes to drive from home to work, on my electric skateboard it takes me about 10 - 15 minutes, end up saving a lot of time. Another huge time saver is not having to find a parking lot. Especially for where I work, there's limited parking space around here. Sometimes it can take 10 minutes to find a parking space and then I have to move it every couple of hours, whereas having an electric skateboard means I can put it under my desk, I can even lock my mini skateboard in the closet and then forget about it all day until the work is over I can jump on my skateboard and go for a 10 minutes ride back home.
Overall, it feels really good, the greatest thing is that electric skateboards are really fun, sometimes it feels a bit cliché but it feels like floating/flying. Another good thing is riding an electric skateboard makes me feel relaxed. Whenever I feel frustrated, I'll hop on my electric skateboard and cruise around town.
After reading it and still insisting you want to try an electric skateboard you can borrow it from your friend or buy a very cheap one, like BASE CAMP F11 mini board for yourself. I have an F11 board, it's really easy and fun to ride.
It's been two years since I first rode an electric skateboard. In this blog, I'll help you decide if electric skating is right for you and something you can keep loving!
I want to give you a clear idea of whether you can continue to love it or not by sharing the problems I've encountered in my two years of skating, and I don't want you to spend your hard-earned money on something you don’t love.
The first as well as worst thing is the limited ranges, which depend on the battery of your electric skateboard. No amazing ranges, especially when you compare them to electric scooters which usually have a range of 30 or 40 miles, while electric skateboards typically have a range of 10 to 25 miles. You will get more ranges in some higher-end boards. And because your battery needs to be recharged, that means you have a limited range away from home, and if you want to get home before your battery runs out of juice you have to know the maximum range of your electric skateboard.
In addition, you have to be aware of the different types of roads in your area cause some roads you really shouldn't ride an electric skateboard like the highways or big main roads where electric skateboards are not safe to skateboard, stick to suburban roads or minor roads or bike paths.
One thing you should know, although some electric skateboards claim to be waterproof, in fact, most electric skateboards are just splash proof and it’s not completely waterproof. And as with all electronics, you don't want to get them wet because you don't want to ruin them. In order not to get short circuits, I always avoid riding an electric skateboard in the rain. If skateboard bearings get wet, it's important to dry them out as soon as possible to prevent rust and squeak, or even damage. I've ridden a board with rusty bearings that are really annoying. Moreover, riding an electric skateboard in the rain is not safe due to the really slippery road, worse on street wheels. So I hardly ride an electric skateboard in the rain. It's dangerous nowadays there are inherent dangers when riding an electric skateboard, partly because they are very fast, and If you're not wearing the right protective gear it can be very dangerous to fall off. You also have to be aware that even potholes in the road, rocks, tracks on tram tracks can make you eat shit and cars. I always make sure I'm wearing knee pads, a helmet and thick clothes in case I fall. I've fallen a few times and not been hurt because I were wearing protective gear. Falling down is not fun, especially when you're going 20+ miles per hour, it sure doesn't feel good!
Electric skateboards need maintenance. If the electric skateboard you choose is hub drive then it will require less maintenance than a belt drive, which is also the board I ride most often. Belt-drive electric skateboards sometimes easily get rocks or glass shards or whatever stuck in the belts. I have to jump off the skateboard, unscrew my wheels, remove the rocks, put it all back on and back riding, which is definitely inconvenient and a bit annoying. Belts wear out over time, which means they break from time to time, which has happened to me a few times, but you can replace them fairly cheaply, maybe $20 per belt.
Electric skateboards are very bulky, a standard electric longboard I think almost 19KG. Thankfully now you can get a mini electric skateboard. I actually really like my mini electric skateboards, because they’re very convenient and much smaller than the longboards. Longboards are not light and easy to carry, this basically means that you sometimes always feel like you're carrying something. You can't very easily take your skateboard to a cafe with your friends because you have to let it sit a little awkwardly next to you due to its size. Note that if you go out you have to always carry your board with you when it’s not in use. You either carry it easily or have to pick it up with the truck in front of you and then tow it which is the easiest way to take it depending on your board type. You hear all these negative sides sound like I dislike electric skateboards. Don’t get me wrong, I love riding electric skateboards. I simply don't want to only talk about the good things about electric skateboards, I also want to talk about the bad things, hopefully, that can help you to decide.
There is an obvious fact that riding an electric skateboard is cheaper than driving a car. I figured out over the last two years that the skateboard has saved me the insurance costs, maintenance costs, and of course the costs of buying a car, which also includes public transport costs. It's much cheaper to ride an electric skateboard than it is to drive and take public transportation, which would probably cost me 8 to 10 dollars on public transportation in Chicago, definitely a huge benefit of electric skateboards.
Also, riding an electric skateboard it's faster than driving. It probably depends on where you live, but for me, I live about 4 to 5 miles from where I live, so during rush hour it takes me about 30 - 40 minutes to drive from home to work, on my electric skateboard it takes me about 10 - 15 minutes, end up saving a lot of time. Another huge time saver is not having to find a parking lot. Especially for where I work, there's limited parking space around here. Sometimes it can take 10 minutes to find a parking space and then I have to move it every couple of hours, whereas having an electric skateboard means I can put it under my desk, I can even lock my mini skateboard in the closet and then forget about it all day until the work is over I can jump on my skateboard and go for a 10 minutes ride back home.
Overall, it feels really good, the greatest thing is that electric skateboards are really fun, sometimes it feels a bit cliché but it feels like floating/flying. Another good thing is riding an electric skateboard makes me feel relaxed. Whenever I feel frustrated, I'll hop on my electric skateboard and cruise around town.
After reading it and still insisting you want to try an electric skateboard you can borrow it from your friend or buy a very cheap one, like BASE CAMP F11 mini board for yourself. I have an F11 board, it's really easy and fun to ride.
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