Electric skateboards...

I know it's a non-emtb topic, but does anyone here ride electric skatboards? I just got a Backfire Zealot X. This thing if frigging amazing. Almost scary fast.

I have skateboarded since about 1968 and I want one of those.

I used to skate a lot, just not in the past few years and never rode an electric board until this one came a few days ago. But, these things are absolutely a thrill and actually scary at first. Acceleration just on eco is quick. It''l go 24+ miles on a charge, do almost 35 mph. You have 3 power settings...eco, sport, turbo. Just like an emtb. You use a hand held speed controller with a thumb wheel to vary your speed. It displays power, speed (mph or kph), battery etc...It even has braking. The entire perimeter of the deck lights up for riding at night. I have yet to get it out of eco mode when riding...lol.

Used to skate with a windsurf sail attached to the front of the skateboard in the 90s was a lot of fun would get speed wobble from the small wheels these days would feel safer on a scooter, something to hang onto

MOTO13 said:

I used to skate a lot, just not in the past few years and never rode an electric board until this one came a few days ago. But, these things are absolutely a thrill and actually scary at first. Acceleration just on eco is quick. It''l go 24+ miles on a charge, do almost 35 mph. You have 3 power settings...eco, sport, turbo. Just like an emtb. You use a hand held speed controller with a thumb wheel to vary your speed. It displays power, speed (mph or kph), battery etc...It even has braking. The entire perimeter of the deck lights up for riding at night. I have yet to get it out of eco mode when riding...lol.

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Do you have a link for these for sale. Maybe I can get one in the U.K. I hope the wife never joins this forum other wise I will need a good solicitor.

Hobo Mikey said:

Do you have a link for these for sale. Maybe I can get one in the U.K. I hope the wife never joins this forum other wise I will need a good solicitor.

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Backfire skateboards Zealot X... google it. or...

A few months ago seen a guy riding down some of our green/blue trails on one of these…


I saw him later at a coffee shop.
And then I saw two guys on electric unicycles on our access roads. They were too fast to take any pics. Full face helmets and protective gear.

Yesterday was the beginning of a long weekend With the weather being abnormally nice for February, the trails on this mountain were active with mtb’s , eMTB’s and e-unicycles. (about 8).

This group mostly stayed together and rode the lower MTB trails.

The guys were fully protected and a few carried first aid kits. I had a chance to talk with some of them. One had to leave because of a minor hand injury.

These guys were different sizes (145lbs-200lbs) and so were the unicycles. I don’t know the operation of these units but they were definitely high quality and I understand that they range between $3000-$4000 CDN.

I had a backfire board a few years ago, when my boys used to ride scooters. Great fun and the look on people's faces when your flying up steep bank's is priceless.

I was definitely impressed with their ability. They hit most features and landed 3’+ jumps and drops. They offered me a try…”f*** that”!

Stihldog said:

A few months ago seen a guy riding down some of our green/blue trails on one of these…
View attachment 122927

I saw him later at a coffee shop.
And then I saw two guys on electric unicycles on our access roads. They were too fast to take any pics. Full face helmets and protective gear.

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I’ve had a OneWheel for about 7 years now. I’ve got the original from Kickstarter, which doesn’t look quite as sleek at that one.

Used to go on it quite a lot - it was good for practicing snowboarding when there was no snow! I could carve on the concrete!
Had a few offs from being stupid… but one day it just randomly stopped and threw me off - resulting in some nasty holes in my hands and holes in my trousers.
I used to go on it with my daughter, and cruise back and forth the beach front. That stopped after that accident, as I didn’t want her flying off!

Haven’t used it in anger for a long time. It occasionally comes out and the kids of the neighbourhood have shots of it, but they’re going at low speeds.

I did read something about OneWheel being forced to do a product recall because of danger of death with the older models… but their solution was to offer me something like $50 off a new one.

Stihldog said:

the trails on this mountain were active with mtb’s , eMTB’s and e-unicycles. (about 8).

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A man after my own heart

This is my summer hack - Begode EX30. 134v, 3600Wh, suspension and tops out around 55mph. Just a joy to ride and I love it. Nothing like an EUC except maybe skiing!

55mph! Wow, how do you stop from that speed?

VWsurfbum said:

55mph! Wow, how do you stop from that speed?

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Ive never found stopping a problem its the methods that change sometimes from the norm

VWsurfbum said:

55mph! Wow, how do you stop from that speed?

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Lean back. Or if more is needed, squat down and lean back. Basically it's all about how much weight you can get behind the CoG.
I have to confess I've never done 55mph though, I think 47 is my max. But I'm in it for the ride, not the speed. Also our ride group is 100% focused on consideration for others and we yield to everyone and everything. The last thing we want to do is tear-arse around and wind people up given what we're doing is illegal. We strive to be positive ambassadors for micro-mobility and not be like the twats who ride like morons and are too thick to understand that they will ruin it for everyone including themselves.

Shjay said:

Used to skate with a windsurf sail attached to the front of the skateboard in the 90s was a lot of fun would get speed wobble from the small wheels these days would feel safer on a scooter, something to hang onto

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Me too. Scary fun. And I could jibe so much better on the skateboard than in the water. ;-)
Now I have a wing that I use on my (frozen) lake with either ice skates or snow skis. It's a hoot (and can also be scary at times).

p3eps said:

I’ve had a OneWheel for about 7 years now. - it was good for practicing snowboarding when there was no snow! I could carve on the concrete!

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Have you tried the new "carving" skateboards? They are amazing. I have a few from different brands.
Not only is the turning ability now what skateboards wanted to be when they were invented, but the turning action actually propels you forward. It's a "pumping" action just like when surfing. I have gone over a mile (on relatively flat roads) without ever touching the ground to push. I can even "pump" uphill to some extent. It's very fluid and fun and probably happens to be good exercise also. Getcha one!
I think Yow surfskates are more common on your side of the pond than here and are highly praised.
1st video is "shortboard". 2nd video is "longboard".

I used to snake board in early 90s

Shjay said:

I used to snake board in early 90s

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Woah. Never seen those. Cool.