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I'm glad to see "The Bluetooth radio that connects the board to the remote is upgraded for improved signal strength and security." I read an article a while bac

by muraiki 10y ago

I'm glad to see "The Bluetooth radio that connects the board to the remote is upgraded for improved signal strength and security." I read an article a while back about hacking into a few brands of electric skateboards: https://www.wired.com/2015/08/hackers-can-seize-control-of-electric-skateboards-and-toss-riders-boosted-revo/ https://www.wired.com/2015/08/hackers-can-seize-control-of-e... Also, be sure to wear a helmet. Unlike riding a bicycle, various seemingly small obstacles can cause a longboard to come to an immediate stop, sending you flying. I'd love to see a board that address this problem somehow, as that's a big safety concern for me.

6stringmerc 10y ago
I was thinking that adding some basic 'suspension' components or re-vising the wheels from hard polyurethane skateboard type to "miniturized rim/tire combo" would offer numerous different potential terrain and handling dynamics. I like to think many would be improvements.
- muraiki 10y ago
  There are actually various types of off road longboards, which usually also add a manual brake. I don't think any of them are powered, though. Living in a hilly city makes longboard commuting not worth it.
  - 6stringmerc 10y ago
    I've visited SF and NYC, not frequently but I know how to get around, so I'm surprised they sound like such target markets (other than $$$). Where I live and work (Dallas area), there are actually quite a surprising number of longboard riders in various areas. For a very car-centric culture in Texas, there is a big local push to make things more pedestrian / low-key friendly - best example being the music & arts hotspot (now gentrifying yay) called Deep Ellum. Lots of Ruckus scooters, long boards, beards and piercings kind of area. Honestly I think the Boosted Boards would be great for the general North Texas terrain - flat! - but the condition of the pavement / concrete and gaps caused by high heat and brief winter freezes leaves the conditions very sub-optimal. I have friends into RC cars and seeing the different wheel rim & tire combinations made me think "Why not apply this kind of tech to this board here?" because with a general upgrade I think a Boosted Board would work a whole lot better. Offhand and all, but gut instinct.
  - LeifCarrotson 10y ago
    Off-road longboards with pneumatic knobby tires are fun on downhills, but like the difference between a mountain and road bike, the flexion of the tires and rolling resistance of the treads would seriously cut into the range on a Boosted Board. The urethane wheels on a skateboard, longboard, or roller blades are really very efficient.
    - 6stringmerc 10y ago
      Fair points, and I was thinking something that looked more like a DOT legal "racing compound" [1] than an all out "Off Road" knobby tire. That might need a bit of 'suspension' though to work effectively, I'm not certain. Sidewall flex to consider/design/etc. Yet another thing I've seen would be an integrated tire/wheel/flex approach like shown in some larger scale, experimental use cases [2]. Also, wouldn't higher grip/friction ratios enable using less tire material to get the same contact patch/grip otherwise achieved? Kind of seems like a logical hypothesis to me, though if there's a reasoning flaw hey would be game to see it for sure! [1] http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/toyo/toyo_proxes_r888_pdpcrop.jpg http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/toyo/toyo_proxes_r888_p... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wAvxQfusWU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wAvxQfusWU
      - LeifCarrotson 10y ago
        Decreasing the tire size increases the internal air pressure and ground pressure (a problem if you want to go over dirt), but modern tire construction is up to the task. Also, grippier rubber is usually a trade-off between tread wear and friction. Though with the price of a Boosted board, I imagine their customers would prefer more grip and a few percent of their purchase price for new tire replacement every couple hundred miles.
bryanlarsen 10y ago
Although not exactly a board, onewheel has a pretty awesome solution to the small obstacle problem.
- arm 10y ago
  Whoa, looks pretty nice: https://onewheel.com/ https://onewheel.com/ If it had a range that was further than 10 km, I might’ve considered getting one.
david-given 10y ago
I have to admit that when I saw that their remote used Bluetooth my jaw dropped. As a radio protocol suitable for controlling a moving vehicle, it's not one! Aside from security issues (although it's gotten better) it's hardly what you'd call robust. I notice someone upthread who mentions hurting themselves when their remote lost connectivity, and I'm only surprised there's only one. I wonder what made them pick Bluetooth?

by muraiki 10y ago

6stringmerc 10y ago

I was thinking that adding some basic 'suspension' components or re-vising the wheels from hard polyurethane skateboard type to "miniturized rim/tire combo" would offer numerous different potential terrain and handling dynamics. I like to think many would be improvements.

muraiki 10y ago
There are actually various types of off road longboards, which usually also add a manual brake. I don't think any of them are powered, though. Living in a hilly city makes longboard commuting not worth it.
- 6stringmerc 10y ago
  I've visited SF and NYC, not frequently but I know how to get around, so I'm surprised they sound like such target markets (other than $$$). Where I live and work (Dallas area), there are actually quite a surprising number of longboard riders in various areas. For a very car-centric culture in Texas, there is a big local push to make things more pedestrian / low-key friendly - best example being the music & arts hotspot (now gentrifying yay) called Deep Ellum. Lots of Ruckus scooters, long boards, beards and piercings kind of area. Honestly I think the Boosted Boards would be great for the general North Texas terrain - flat! - but the condition of the pavement / concrete and gaps caused by high heat and brief winter freezes leaves the conditions very sub-optimal. I have friends into RC cars and seeing the different wheel rim & tire combinations made me think "Why not apply this kind of tech to this board here?" because with a general upgrade I think a Boosted Board would work a whole lot better. Offhand and all, but gut instinct.
- LeifCarrotson 10y ago
  Off-road longboards with pneumatic knobby tires are fun on downhills, but like the difference between a mountain and road bike, the flexion of the tires and rolling resistance of the treads would seriously cut into the range on a Boosted Board. The urethane wheels on a skateboard, longboard, or roller blades are really very efficient.
  - 6stringmerc 10y ago
    Fair points, and I was thinking something that looked more like a DOT legal "racing compound" [1] than an all out "Off Road" knobby tire. That might need a bit of 'suspension' though to work effectively, I'm not certain. Sidewall flex to consider/design/etc. Yet another thing I've seen would be an integrated tire/wheel/flex approach like shown in some larger scale, experimental use cases [2]. Also, wouldn't higher grip/friction ratios enable using less tire material to get the same contact patch/grip otherwise achieved? Kind of seems like a logical hypothesis to me, though if there's a reasoning flaw hey would be game to see it for sure! [1] http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/toyo/toyo_proxes_r888_pdpcrop.jpg http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/toyo/toyo_proxes_r888_p... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wAvxQfusWU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wAvxQfusWU
    - LeifCarrotson 10y ago
      Decreasing the tire size increases the internal air pressure and ground pressure (a problem if you want to go over dirt), but modern tire construction is up to the task. Also, grippier rubber is usually a trade-off between tread wear and friction. Though with the price of a Boosted board, I imagine their customers would prefer more grip and a few percent of their purchase price for new tire replacement every couple hundred miles.

bryanlarsen 10y ago

Although not exactly a board, onewheel has a pretty awesome solution to the small obstacle problem.

arm 10y ago
Whoa, looks pretty nice: https://onewheel.com/ https://onewheel.com/ If it had a range that was further than 10 km, I might’ve considered getting one.

david-given 10y ago

I have to admit that when I saw that their remote used Bluetooth my jaw dropped. As a radio protocol suitable for controlling a moving vehicle, it's not one! Aside from security issues (although it's gotten better) it's hardly what you'd call robust. I notice someone upthread who mentions hurting themselves when their remote lost connectivity, and I'm only surprised there's only one. I wonder what made them pick Bluetooth?