Choosing and taking care of your electric skateboard is more than just the design and keeping it fresh; the colors and keeping them vibrant; the techiness and keeping it updated.
These are important things to keep into account. But, the insides of the e-skateboard is equally needy of your attention and care.
Whether you are choosing for new boards to add to your collection or just getting your first one, you need to know and understand its fundamental parts: how it works and how it can affect your ride.
The deck
First stop, the deck.
This the platform where you ride or step on and also where every other part is attached. The deck is made of different kinds of wood depending on the manufacturer. Among the most common material are plywood, bamboo, and maple or a combination of these.
Plywoods in itself are a stack of woods glued and placed alternately lengthwise and crosswise. This material is useful to prevent wood warping, which is advantageous when the board is exposed to water.
Another material the manufacturers is the bamboo wood. Surprisingly, bamboo comes from a grass family rather than a tree. The wood from bamboo is processed into sheets, which are also suitable for cabinets and other furniture.
E-skateboard manufacturers love using bamboo because of its flexible but sturdy nature. It gives skaters a spring while doing mild jumps and flips.
There are also e-skateboards that are made from maple. Sugar maple is the best kind of skateboard decks. This material is also efficient as aside from its sturdiness; it is also easy and eco-friendly to manufacture.
Attached on top of the deck is the grip tape. It is the sheet of sandpaper-like material that is in direct contact with your feet. This material is very useful in ensuring that you have a ‘grip’ on your e-skateboard as you ride around with it. That is, it will keep you on your skateboard.
The wheels
The wheels of the electric skateboard spell the difference between safety and accidents. Most wheels are made of polyurethane (polymer), but there are also those made of rubber.
The two characteristics of the wheels that can affect it are size and hardness.
According to Mellow, large wheels roll faster than the smaller ones. The smaller wheels, however, accelerates faster than the bigger wheels. Now, you when looking for electric skateboards, you need to consider whether you prefer speed over acceleration or the reverse.
Wheel hardness likewise influences how wheels roll through their grip on the road. The softer types of wheel have more traction than the harder ones. It means that if your electric skateboard’s wheels are softer, the more they grip on the ground, especially on the streets. Hence, it can be said that it helps in minimizing slips keeping you safe.
The wheel’s width can also affect the kind of ride that you want. A wide wheel has more ground grip for a steady ride. But, the narrow or thinner wheels allows you to slide and drift. Thus, depending on your activity, wheel width is also a part that you pay attention to.
When I wasn’t too familiar with electric skateboarding or skateboarding, I’ve always wondered how the wheels turn so fast. Answer? The bearings.
The bearing is composed of steel balls enclosed in a round ring (the race). It is the part that is responsible for the turning of wheels with no friction.
The trucks
We have the deck, and we have the wheels.
So how do we put these two parts together?
Through the trucks.
Your electric skateboard’s trucks are where you attach or mount the wheels of the skateboard. It is also screwed on the deck both at the nose and tail of the skateboard.
However, more than just a thing that connects the wheels and the deck, this part is essential for the twist and turns of the electric skateboard. It serves as the axle of the skateboard allowing the rider to turn left or right.
Here is a short clip showing the movements of the trucks.
The motor and battery
On to the mechanical part of the electric skateboard, we have the motor.
Generally, the motor is a mechanical tool which converts it into mechanical energy.
It works similarly with the electric skateboard. Every e-skateboard has an attached motor connected to a battery (we’ll talk about it later) and a pulley system and then towards the wheels.
As a converted, the motor gathers energy from the batteries. It is then converted into mechanical energy to move the pulley system causing the wheels to move or turn.
Electric skateboards used a lightweight motor instead of the usual motors we can find in vehicles. This is, of course, necessary to adhere to the function and purpose of the e-skateboard.
To complete the electronics of the e-skateboard is the battery and its wirings. The manufacturers used the Lithium-Polymer battery for is a lightweight feature, rechargeability, and energy discharging rate. The battery supplies the energy to the motor, which is used to convert it to mechanical energy.
The power of the battery varies regarding charging time and range for single charging. When searching for e-skateboards, you can always check these battery features in relation to your usage and preference
The remote
The remote controls the movement of the electric skateboard. It has the basic operations as the joystick or a button (depends on every brand) which launches the board forward or backward. This controller also has the brake for stopping the e-skateboard.
Most controllers are connected with the skateboard through Bluetooth connectivity. There are also other brands that offer mobile application to give information to the status and condition of the board using a smartphone.