The addition of electric power to the humble skateboard appears to given it a new lease of life. Electric skateboards are seen as a legitimate means of getting from A to B and are being designed specifically for that purpose. The Bolt is one such board and is claimed to be the smallest and lightest.
Gizmag has covered a fair few electric skateboards over the years and it has to be said that they do tend to be on the bulky or large side. The Caseboard and Marbel are two boards that have tried to offer something a little more portable and now the Bolt joins them.
The Bolt was conceived by Italian Lorenzo Cella, whose commute to university included an hour-and-a-half of walking every day. Cella decided he wanted to get around more quickly and with less effort, but using something that was also very portable.
Working with his father Giuseppe, Cella has prototyped and tested the board over the course of a year. The final design is 23.5 in (60 cm) long, 10 in (25 cm) wide and weighs just 8.8 lb (4 kg). Its size is kept to a minimum by having the battery and electronics integrated into the wooden body of the board (at present only the developer is able to swap out the battery, the ability for the rider to do so has been added as a stretch goal for the crowdfunding campaign).
The Bolt is controlled by a hand-held remote control with a joystick that allows riders to accelerate and brake. It is powered by a 2,000 W motor that delivers a top speed of 13 mph (21 km/h) and the 5,000 mAh LiPo battery, which reportedly takes an hour to charge, delivers a range of 6.5 miles (10 km). Cella says that a year's worth of recharging will cost as little as US$5.
In addition, the Bolt has front and rear lights for use when it is dark and a USB port that allows users to recharge mobile devices. Cella has revealed that he has plans for an accompanying mobile app using the board's built-in Bluetooth LE connectivity and for integration with wearable devices.
A crowdfunding campaign is underway on Indiegogo for the production of the Bolt. At the time of writing, it's possible to pledge from US$549 for the electric skateboard. Assuming all goes to plan with the campaign and production, deliveries are expected to begin from October.
The video below is the Indiegogo pitch for the Bolt electric skateboard.
Sources: Bolt Motion, Indiegogo
There are a lot of people my age who rode skateboards back in the day. My first skate board was made from a couple wooden slats I got from a fruit crate (yeah, real wooden fruit crates) and had the ends of a broken roller skate nailed to it. That was in '64. Things have certainly changed an awfully lot since then.
The price is decent, too. It might be a lot for teenager, but this is right in my toy budget range! This would make my travel between the bus depot and my office a whole heck of a lot more fun!
How about another article about the more modern, high performance electric unicycles? They are taking off in China at the moment. There are now plenty of other alternatives besides the Solowheel, like the Airwheel, Ninebot or the Gotway. More compact and much more rugged and offroad-capable than the generic electric skateboard.
Boostedboards had a kickstarter in 2012 and was 12-15 pounds with a 6 mile range for $1,200. They raised $450k on kickstarter. Gizmag link: http://www.gizmag.com/boosted-boards-skateboard/24111/
Marbel was launched may of 2014. Stats are 10 lbs, 2.68 hp (2000W) motor, 20 MPH top speed, and 6 miles of range. The price was $1,099 and they raised $366k Gizmag link (also above) is: http://www.gizmag.com/marbel-worlds-lightest-electric-vehicle/32202/
ZBoard 2 came out Jan 2015 but its still bigger at 16 lb with 16 mi of range. It raised $490k on indiegogo Gizmag link: http://www.gizmag.com/zboard-2-electric-skateboard/35513/
Monolith was march of 2015 and used motors in the wheels an a swappable battery. Stats are 12 lbs, 10 mile range, 24 MPH top speed. Kickstarter price was about $1,199 unless you were super early and retail is $1,400 and they raised $422k on kickstarter. Gizmag link is: http://www.gizmag.com/monolith-electric-skateboard-hub-motors/36463/
Bolt looks like a good value if they can pull it off but I'm not sure if it comes with a handheld remote like the Marbel and Monolith or not. I don't think I would want to use just my phone to control the skateboard I am on. The $549 price is for the early kickstarter backers but but it looks like the $999 retail price still comes in lower than the other boards.
A lot of progress has been made in electric skateboards in the last few years it looks like. Maybe soon we will see some better inexpensive electric bikes or like mhpr262 said even something like unicycles.
Please list the system voltage (the amp draw and the battery life are easy to figure out from there).
THANKS!
When looking for an electric skateboard, take this into consideration. Water will splash in the motor. Tiny pebbles and stones will get lodged in the belt. Every now and then you'll bottom out and your motor will get scraped.
http://www.linkyinnovation.com/
And provide 20Km of autonomy, with regenerative braking system .
The product will be commercialized soon , take a look here : http://www.linkyinnovation.com/shop/