Created Monday 06 January 2020
See also: Autos, Transportation
Micah Toll - Jan. 6th 2020 8:04 am ET
Electric skateboards are fast, efficient, and thrilling ways to commute around town or just cruise for fun. And the Revel DIY electric skateboard kit helps you build your own e-skateboard with almost zero technical skills.
https://electrek.co/2020/01/06/revel-diy-electric-skateboard-kit-review/
Megan Rose Dickey / 3:14 pm PST • March 4, 2020
Boosted, the startup behind the Boosted Boards and, more recently, the Boosted Rev electric scooter, has laid off “a significant portion” of its team, the company announced today. The company is now actively seeking a buyer.
Boosted attributes the layoffs to the costs of developing, producing and maintaining electric vehicles and the “unplanned challenge with the high expense of the US-China tariff war,” Boosted CEO Jeff Russakow and CTO John Ulmen wrote in a blog post.
“The Boosted brand will continue to pursue strategic options under new ownership,” they wrote.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/04/boosted-lays-off-a-significant-portion-of-team/
Boosted was an early Kickstarter success story but is now basically defunct.
Marc DeAngelis - 17 April 2020
Electric scooter company Lime is buying the designs, software, parts and test equipment of Boosted, according to The Verge. While neither Lime nor the electric skateboard company has made an announcement, some Reddit posts and patent files seemingly have confirmed the news. Additionally, two former Boosted employees have also told The Verge that Lime has been working on buying Boosted’s IP since late last year. It’s unclear whether Lime is interested in continuing to manufacture electric skateboards or if the company simply wants to leverage the insights and engineering behind Boosted’s technology.
Micah Toll - May. 26th 2020 11:47 am ET
The Spectra X from Walnutt is not your standard electric skateboard. It uses bodyweight shifting instead of a hand remote to control acceleration and braking.
Does it work? Definitely. Is it odd feeling? Also definitely.
If you’ve been following my Electrek reviews for the last few years, you’ll know that I have a bit of a reputation for trying any electric vehicle, no matter how “out there” it may be.
https://electrek.co/2020/05/26/spectra-x-review-the-weirdest-electric-skateboard-ive-ever-ridden/
Micah Toll - Jun. 4th 2020 9:41 am ET
The WowGo AT2 all-terrain electric longboard has just been unveiled by WowGo, introducing a new budget-minded option for off-road electric skateboarding.
WowGo is a Chinese electric skateboard company known for its reasonably priced electric skateboards, like the WowGo3 that we tried late last year.
https://electrek.co/2020/06/04/wowgo-launches-new-3000w-all-terrain-electric-skateboard/
Hunter Boards are built to order, made to last, and thanks to an ingenious suspension system, should handle better than conventional electric skateboards.
Craig Wilson - 8.27.2020 3:44 PM
Electric skateboards are incredibly fun to ride, but don't always offer the smoothest or safest ride if the surface they're speeding over is rough, pockmarked, or covered in debris. Which pretty much describes New York roads and pavements. The team behind the Hunter Board thinks it has the solution: an all-aluminum, water-resistant, battery-packing board with custom-designed suspension instead of rigid trucks, and tire-like wheels. That combination means better board handling, which in turn means you've got more chance of staying on it. It also means a $1,949 price tag.
No more wipeouts
By Andrew J. Hawkins - Sep 9, 2020, 10:54am EDT
Electric skateboards can be incredibly fun to ride, but they tend to be less popular than scooters and bikes because most people lack the confidence to zip around at high speeds in an upright position without holding on to something. And when the road conditions are bad, riding an electric skateboard can quickly go from fun to dangerous.
Hunter Boards, based in Lisbon, Portugal, thinks it may have a solution to get more people interested in electric skateboards. The company claims to have built a unique suspension system that can increase stability, minimize vibrations, and reduce a rider’s risk of falling and hurting themselves.
This new tech can make skateboards a viable and practical mode of transportation.
Alex Ramos - 3 November 2022
Electric skateboards are becoming increasingly common in urban environments. They're not as common as e-bikes, which have catapulted to extreme popularity as of late, but they're getting there. E-skateboards offer many of the advantages associated with normal skateboards, but they have the added convenience of electric motors and a battery.
These e-mobility devices are even more convenient to carry around than an e-bike, and they'll get you to your destination in more style. Check out this article to find out more about e-skateboards and why they're so popular at the moment.
Compact and lightweight, is the Isinwheel V8 a good alternative for commuting? Probably not, but it's a fun and beginner-friendly option nonetheless.
James Hirtz - 7 August 2023
The Isinwheel V8 electric skateboard offers an exciting way to increase your skating distance with a swappable battery system. Plus, with improvements to motor power and off-road wheels, you can even tackle previously inaccessible riding environments.
But is an electric skateboard as a worthy alternative to escooters or ebikes?
https://www.makeuseof.com/isinwheel-v8-electric-skateboard-review/
The Onewheel Pint X, meanwhile, is an upgraded version of the Pint.
Kris Holt - October 27th, 2021
Two more Onewheel electric boards have arrived to expand Future Motion's lineup. The Onewheel Pint X is an upgraded version of the Onewheel Pint from 2019. It has double the range of the previous model at up to 18 miles per charge and a faster top speed of 18 mph (compared with the Pint's 16mph limit).
https://www.engadget.com/onewheel-gt-pint-x-future-motion-180021707.html
Despite the CPSC's concerns, Future Motion has refused to agree to a full recall of its products.
Andrew Liszewski - 16 November 2022
After eight years of being available to thrillseekers and those who feel just a single wheel satisfies their transportation needs, Future Motion’s Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards are facing calls for a full recall from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This comes after four reported deaths over the past three years, and several serious injuries.
The Onewheel debuted in 2014 after a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign and provided a faster and safer alternative to the popular two-wheeled hoverboards at the time, at least when it came to rechargeable batteries that didn’t spontaneously catch fire. With price tags that currently range in price from $1,050 to over $2,000, Future Motion, the company behind the Onewheel, didn’t cheap out on batteries, but concerns have been raised about the electric skateboard’s self-balancing technology: a critical component given the devices roll around on just a single wheel, with some models hitting a top speed of 19 miles per hour.
https://gizmodo.com/onewheel-self-balancing-electric-skateboard-cpsc-recall-1849791102
Posted by BeauHD on Wednesday November 16, 2022 04:45PM
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned Americans against buying or using any Onewheel self-balance skateboardings, ranging from the original through to newer models like the GT and Pint X. Engadget reports:
The vehicles can forcefully eject riders, the CPSC said. The Commission added that here have been reports of “at least” four deaths and multiple serious injuries between 2019 and 2021 after the boards either stopped balancing properly or came to an abrupt stop.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Future Motion are recalling 300,000 Onewheel self-balancing skateboards over four reported crashes where riders died. The company challenged previous warnings.
Umar Shakir - Sep 29, 2023, 1:29 PM PDT
Future Motion, the maker of the Onewheel electric skateboard, is recalling every one of them, including 300,000 Onewheel self-balancing vehicles in the US. Alongside the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the company now seeks to remedy the products after four known death cases — three without a helmet — between 2019 and 2021.
The recall comes a year after Future Motion took issue with the CPSC’s calls for recall and claimed that it tested and found nothing wrong with the Onewheels. At the time, the company issued a press release in objection to the CPSC and called the agency’s statements “unjustified and alarmist.”
Now Future Motion is moving forward with a voluntary recall it chose not to do almost a year earlier. The company is asking owners to stop using their Onewheels until they take appropriate action. For the newer Onewheel GT, Onewheel Pint X, Onewheel Pint, and Onewheel Plus XR, a software update with a new warning system is the remedy.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/29/23896151/onewheel-cpsc-recall-future-motion-crash-death
Onewheel denied its e-skateboard models were unsafe nearly a year before it issued a worldwide recall.
Nikki Main - 3 October 2023
All Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboard models are being recalled following reports of at least four deaths and multiple injuries between 2019 and 2021. The recall was issued on Friday and includes 300,000 of the skateboards sold worldwide and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers to stop using the skateboard immediately.
The CPSC warned in the recall notice: “The skateboards can stop balancing the rider if the boards’ limits are exceeded, posing a crash hazard that can result in serious injury or death.” It noted that the e-skateboard deaths were caused by head trauma, and in three of the four cases, the rider was not wearing a helmet. Those who were injured while riding the e-skateboard suffered a “traumatic brain injury, concussion, paralysis, upper-body fractures, lower-body fractures, and ligament damage,” the CPSC reported.
https://gizmodo.com/onewheel-e-skateboards-global-recall-deaths-injuries-1850894764
Rob Webb - 15 March 2023