Urban Transport

Electric longboard aims for 100 km/h

Electric longboard aims for 100 km/h
Mischo Erban (Guinness world record holder for fastest skateboard speed from a standing position) recently test-rode the Next Board in Vienna
Mischo Erban (Guinness world record holder for fastest skateboard speed from a standing position) recently test-rode the Next Board in Vienna
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Mischo Erban (Guinness world record holder for fastest skateboard speed from a standing position) recently test-rode the Next Board in Vienna
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Mischo Erban (Guinness world record holder for fastest skateboard speed from a standing position) recently test-rode the Next Board in Vienna
The Next Board's deck is made from nine layers of maple veneer
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The Next Board's deck is made from nine layers of maple veneer
The Next Board is powered by a 6-cell lithium-polymer 22.2-volt 8,000-mAh battery pack located under the deck
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The Next Board is powered by a 6-cell lithium-polymer 22.2-volt 8,000-mAh battery pack located under the deck
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Some Gizmag readers may remember the Monolith. It’s an electric skateboard with in-wheel hub motors, that has a spritely top speed of 39 km/h (24 mph). Well, Slovenian startup NGV (Next Generation Vehicle) has built a similar board of its own. It’s called the Next Board, and its creators are aiming for a we’ll-believe-it-when-we-see-it top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph).

The current Next Board prototype has modified outrunner brushless DC electric motors in each of its wheels. These are powered by a 6-cell lithium-polymer 22.2-volt 8,000-mAh battery pack located under the deck, which is made from nine layers of maple veneer. A handheld remote is used to control the speed.

The Next Board is powered by a 6-cell lithium-polymer 22.2-volt 8,000-mAh battery pack located under the deck
The Next Board is powered by a 6-cell lithium-polymer 22.2-volt 8,000-mAh battery pack located under the deck

Charging the battery takes 1.5 hours, and the board has an approximate range of 10 to 15 km (6 to 9 miles) – if you aren’t going too fast.

On which topic, NGV’s Tina Mahovlič tells us that the prototype has already been taken up to 65 km/h (40 mph) on flat ground. The team now has enough components to build seven more boards, so the top end could yet reach the 100-mark as development continues.

Mahovlič says that a Kickstarter campaign may begin sometime this autumn (Northern Hemisphere), although pricing and commercial availability estimates aren’t yet available. NGV also doesn’t have a website yet, although you can check out its Facebook page.

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11 comments
11 comments
zevulon
for a man ridden electric board, it's totally pointless, but more realistically, the tech they build, if ANY of it is new in the control systems, might be useful in remote controlled projects. likely not, as they are likely just building nothing new but it could!.
Milton
man, I am having a really hard time deciphering ZEVULON's comment. But I fail to see how a device as exciting and fun to ride as this is "pointless".
I guess in the MACRO sense, it is.... along with everything else we do or purchase.
hum...
frogola
lets see 60 MPH on maybe 2" wheels, better put on a bomb suit.
Beachhawk
Anyone who really wants to travel 60 mph or more on a skate board really needs a psychiatric evaluation and some serious medication. People kill themselves every day in automobiles going less fast and they're surrounded by seatbelts, air bags, and a steel cage.
Bruce H. Anderson
MIlton, I too am flummoxed.
I wonder about the small wheels, though. Unless you are riding on brand new asphalt any small defect in the surface could send you flying. Maybe that is the meaning of "pointless" since any protrusions from you face/body will get rubbed off by the pavement.
Don Duncan
As an experiment to determine top speed on a board it is exciting. The first horse-less carriages were criticized as too fast, endangering riders/foot traffic. That was a valid criticism. But the "need for speed" was tempered with safety measures. This new high speed board is no different.
Some early adopters will be killed. The deaths are a result of the spirit of adventure and exploration. That is not valued by some who would like to live in a world where every action, every thought is controlled by consensus. They are called statists/collectivists. This is the age old battle of individualism vs. collectivism, freedom vs. slavery.
Pikolina
Such type of skateboards are firstly made for longboarders, downhillers and speed enthusiasts. They are born for speed and they have the opportunity to get to the higher speed.
This is more a sports product/item than just one more electric skateboard.
StWils
Best they try this bad idea out in eastern Europe where the tort laws are nowhere near what would be encountered in the modern world. Going really fast is only the first problem. Stopping safely will be rare and most riders will spatter at the first bump in the road, first intersection, bus, car, light pole, you all get the idea.
JasonPotter
Its really cool that they are trying to go 100km/h! I also think that its ridiculous, but cool...
actually you can design the skateboard to go whatever speed you want, its all in the gearing (in this case there isn't any gearing its mostly about wheel diameter) & the way the copper is wound in the motor!
the problem with such a high top is you have very little torque at low speed, so getting started on flat ground might be a problem, you might need a slight down hill slope.
there is a great place to learn how to build your own electric skateboard at home, its actually fairly easy! Check out the electric skateboard forum www.electric-skateboard.builders
Pikolina_
They made it, 95.83 km/h is new world speed record!
You can watch full video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XptB3rC7EZs
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