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Boosted Boards (YC S12) Unveils Its Magical Electric Skateboard

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Re: Boosted Boards (YC S12) Unveils Its Magical Electric Skateboard

#111

Post by mbreese »

guelo wrote: post #87
jdietrich wrote: post #82

These contraptions are illegal to use in public and if they become popular the laws against them will be enforced immediately, because they're incredibly dangerous. It is impossible to provide effective braking on a skateboard. The rider has absolutely no means of impeding their forward movement, so even if the board has effective brakes it's just going to throw them off. This is a minor problem if you're rolling aro…

Over the years I have seen all kinds of contraptions used by SF SOMA commuters[1] including plenty of flimsy electric scooters and skateboards. It's possible that it happens but I haven't heard of any deaths or seen cops hassle anyone. My objection to this business would just be that their marketing is probably overselling the idea a bit, but that's par for the course. [1] SF SOMA commuters seems to be the perfect ma…

I haven't heard of any deaths or seen cops hassle anyone

It's a matter of probabilities. The probability may be pretty high for lethal accidents, but the number of people currently riding them is pretty low. Additionally, those that do ride them are probably pretty skilled, since there isn't (currently) a mass market way to get one of these boards. And since the people riding them generally aren't a problem, cops have no incentive to really enforce existing law.

Now fast forward a bit when this board comes out. Now we have the potential for many times more people on electric boards, which are likely very over-powered. The already higher probability of accidents, multiplied by an increased user base means that there is more potential for a lethal event. And as soon as this thing gets popular, existing laws will be enforced.

I'm all for options in urban commuting, but I see lots of problems for this one. Who knows, maybe they figured out a way to make it controllable enough to make it safe. If that's the case, then they might have a shot at getting it approved under a new law. But that will take time to determine.

Re: Boosted Boards (YC S12) Unveils Its Magical Electric Skateboard

#112

Post by mbreese »

dreeves wrote: post #89
jdietrich wrote: post #82

These contraptions are illegal to use in public and if they become popular the laws against them will be enforced immediately, because they're incredibly dangerous. It is impossible to provide effective braking on a skateboard. The rider has absolutely no means of impeding their forward movement, so even if the board has effective brakes it's just going to throw them off. This is a minor problem if you're rolling aro…

With the caveat that I'm not a skateboarder (I inline-skate), I don't think your assessment of the braking is right. As the brakes engage you shift your center of gravity back and you end up with, I reckon, even more stopping power than a bike, since you have more rubber-to-road surface area. The same applies to the "tiny rock pitches you forward" argument, which I can speak to from experience. On inline skates I can…

It's a bit ironic that the last comic ends up with the electric longboard in an accident.

Re: Boosted Boards (YC S12) Unveils Its Magical Electric Skateboard

#113

Post by christiangenco »

jdietrich wrote: post #82

These contraptions are illegal to use in public and if they become popular the laws against them will be enforced immediately, because they're incredibly dangerous. It is impossible to provide effective braking on a skateboard. The rider has absolutely no means of impeding their forward movement, so even if the board has effective brakes it's just going to throw them off. This is a minor problem if you're rolling aro…

One more counterpoint to the "no brakes" argument:

    Power and braking, even on hills
    
    We can electronically limit the top speed without sacrificing the
    power you need to tackle hills. Steep San Francisco hills become 
    easy to climb.  And on top of that, we've added regenerative 
    braking, accomplished using the motors.  That means it's easy to 
    learn, easy to maneuver, and easy to control your speed, all while 
    recharging the battery.
    ...
    How it works
    
    You start with a handheld remote with throttle and braking control 
    and a battery gauge readout

Re: Boosted Boards (YC S12) Unveils Its Magical Electric Skateboard

#114

Post by sbierwagen »

Those battery housings are pretty small. That, and the 2KW motor, make me worry about range. (They say 6mi, but it's trivially easy to lie about range) The kickstarter page doesn't mention capacity, so let's do some wild ass guessing.

  It’s boards are just 12-15 pounds, only twice as heavy as the 
  lightweight, top-of-the-line 7 pound Loaded boards they build their 
  electric motors into.
12-7=5lbs of equipment. Assume the motors, drivetrain, and casings take up 3lbs, that's 2lbs for batteries. Assume 200Wh/kg Li-on batteries, which work out to 90.6Wh/lbs, for a total system capacity of 181.2 watt-hours.

The watt-hour is a simple unit. A 1 watt-hour battery can run 1 watt of load for 1 hour, or a 6 watt load for 10 minutes, or a .5 watt load for 2 hours.

A 181.2 watt-hour battery will be discharged after running:

  A 2000 watt load for 5.436 minutes.
  A 1000 watt load for 10.872 minutes.
  A  500 watt load for 21.744 minutes.
  A  250 watt load for 43.488 minutes.
  A  100 watt load for 108.72 minutes.
The worst case scenario is even worse than you'd think, since electrochemical batteries don't have a flat discharge curve: the harder you discharge them, the less capacity you have.

Boosted advertises their 2000 watt motors in bold print, but if you actually ran them that hard for any length of time, you'd discharge the battery.

Re: Boosted Boards (YC S12) Unveils Its Magical Electric Skateboard

#115

Post by k33n »

jdietrich wrote: post #82

These contraptions are illegal to use in public and if they become popular the laws against them will be enforced immediately, because they're incredibly dangerous. It is impossible to provide effective braking on a skateboard. The rider has absolutely no means of impeding their forward movement, so even if the board has effective brakes it's just going to throw them off. This is a minor problem if you're rolling aro…

This comment is proof that no matter how awesome the product in an article posted to HN, somebody will always find a way to declare that it will certainly fail.

Your comment contains so many factual inaccuracies that it's not even worth debating. I hope that comments like this will start to be deleted in the future because they are the reason many people, including myself, refrain from participating here more.

Re: Boosted Boards (YC S12) Unveils Its Magical Electric Skateboard

#116

Post by bmj »

GuiA wrote: post #88
jdietrich wrote: post #82

These contraptions are illegal to use in public and if they become popular the laws against them will be enforced immediately, because they're incredibly dangerous. It is impossible to provide effective braking on a skateboard. The rider has absolutely no means of impeding their forward movement, so even if the board has effective brakes it's just going to throw them off. This is a minor problem if you're rolling aro…

>Short-range urban transport is a solved problem in all but marketing - Americans remain inexplicably certain that cycling is not for them. As someone who has both biked and longboarded to work/local grocery stores/etc., I infinitely prefer longboards (in fact I don't even own a bike anymore). Much lighter, easier to carry around (if you have a backpack that can accomodate it, then it's ideal), you don't have to find…

I've seriously considered using a longboard and public transportation as a replacement for my bicycle. Sadly, the geography here in Pittsburgh is rather hilly, so a skateboard isn't practical unless you're commuting within one of the "plateaus."

Still, for flatter locales, I could see longboards being viable modes of transportation.

Re: Boosted Boards (YC S12) Unveils Its Magical Electric Skateboard

#117

Post by 001sky »

iyulaev wrote: post #110
guelo wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SF actually has streets that reach over 30 deg incline.

Wrong. 30% grade != 30 deg incline.

Converter for those interested.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Gra...

Re: Boosted Boards (YC S12) Unveils Its Magical Electric Skateboard

#118

Post by branchan »

Seems like a lot of users not familiar with skateboard/longboarding are weighing in their opinion on the safety issues presented by this product.

This product presents no more danger to the user or the general public than does a normal skateboard/longboard.

So obviously yes, just like a bike or skateboard, don't expect to just be able to hop on and cruise from day 1.

Re: Boosted Boards (YC S12) Unveils Its Magical Electric Skateboard

#119

Post by rickdale »

This is so cool. I don't even care about the practical implications of using the board in the city. I just want it for walking my dog. $1199 to you. First kickstarter project backed.

Skateboarding today is forever evolving and the electronic skateboard should evolve with it. Way back when the mega jump was created guys would hold onto motorcycles to gain enough speed to get super air and do insane tricks. I wonder if this technology could give professional riders the ability to gain infinite (or seemingly) amounts of speed.

Re: Boosted Boards (YC S12) Unveils Its Magical Electric Skateboard

#120

Post by nikatwork »

jamesaguilar wrote: post #27

Something I've always wondered about longboarding as a form of transport. What do you do if you're going downhill like in San Francisco?

There are various basic braking techniques like dragging your foot or reverse pushing. More skilled riders will periodically slide the board sideways to create friction and control speed.
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