4 ms·

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

by 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.

by muraiki 10y ago

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.