Urban Transport

Electric rollerblades go off the beaten track

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Designed for the dirt: The electric "off-rad rollerblades" by Jack Skopinski
A wheel to the rear is driven by an electric motor positioned behind the boot
Designed for the dirt: The electric "off-rad rollerblades" by Jack Skopinski
The "off-road rollerblades" each have 42 cm of rubber track
To the rear of each boot is a 350 W DC motor that's juiced from 26 V/26 Ah Li-ion batteries and 36 A controller
The "off-road rollerblades" can zip up to a top speed of 15 km/h (9 mph) for about 20 km (12 miles) before the batteries need topping up
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There are a good many ways to get from the train station to work in motor-assisted style, including folding bikes or scooters and one wheelers or skateboards, but last mile transport choices are not so plentiful if your journey includes zipping through dirt tracks and forest trails. Poland's Jack Skopinski, the force behind the EV4 tilting electric quad we covered last year, has come up with a stand-up contender for the off-road-with-ease crown – some electric off-road rollers with rubber tracks.

Skopinski says that his so-called "off-road rollerblades" were designed and built in response to customer demand for personal transportation that can be thrown in a bag between trips. To the rear of each boot is a 350 W DC motor that's juiced from 26 V/26 Ah Li-ion batteries and 36 A controller. This combination drives the rubber-tracked blades to a top speed of 15 km/h (9 mph) for about 20 km (12 miles) before the batteries need topping up.

Speed is controlled by a cabled, handheld controller, with the system specs showing a 1:4 gear ratio. Bladers change direction by leaning into the turns.

To the rear of each boot is a 350 W DC motor that's juiced from 26 V/26 Ah Li-ion batteries and 36 A controller

Like the EV4, the tracked blades have a somewhat rough and ready aesthetic, the design certainly not as consumer-focused as motorized skating solutions like the spnKiX. Tipping the scales at nearly 5 kg (11 lb), these funky electric track boots are likely going to be quite a weighty haul between trips, too. But if the off-road antics in the promo video below are anything to go by, it might just be worth the effort.

The "off-road rollerblades" are available now for PLN 5,500 (about €1,300/US$1,400). Skopinski told us that he "plans to build normal electric rollerblades with 2 x 8 wheels" for inner city electric rolling in the near future.

Source: Aero Service

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4 comments
Bill Bennett
Fool, no knee pads, no wrist guards, no brain bucket. 9mph? Yawn
DanielSouza
Thundrblade seem a lot better https://youtu.be/ScQqishafIo
Paul Anthony
It's interesting they mention spinkix as I had a pair and sold them. My biggest complaint was that they did not each travel at the same speed and even worse they did not start at the same time. I wonder if these have some sort of feedback loop so that the two can operate in unison.
dsiple
The skater was always looking at what was in front of him. He appeared to have no idea of what was in his periphery. I don't know if that was because it was his first time on the skates and he was just getting used to them, or because that's what was demanded by the skates. Didn't appear they were safe.