Founder here. Happy to answer questions.<p>One of the most interesting things we've learned about recently is the temptation to cut corners using cheaper parts or processes or relaxed quality control procedures. It's easy to get quoted prices much lower than what we currently pay, but the long-term cost of choosing those parts (greater failure rates, manufacturing problems, and warranty costs, not to mention unhappy customers) is hard to quantify at decision time.<p>This is where experienced supply chain and hardware engineers are especially valuable. They understand the implications of these decisions and know the right way to account for them. For example, major manufacturers set aside "warranty accruals" as liabilities in their financials to cover the average future cost of servicing a unit that ships today.<p>I suspect this is a problem facing many hardware startups, Kickstarted or not. It feels non-intuitive to build hardware carefully and at such high initial costs, especially in the "move fast" culture of software development. And it's especially dangerous if a company goes "in the red" without realizing it by shipping many units that may fail or incur high warranty costs that exceed the margin on the product, but at a later date.
As someone who commutes 3 miles each way 4 days a week on a Yuneec E-GO, I'm laughing at the article's "Unfortunately its 1000 watts will only get you up to 18mph". Either the writer hasn't actually ridden it, or they're an experienced downhill longboarder :)<p>Even on the E-GO's (larger) 90mm wheels, 12 MPH is quite enough on a lot of the uneven pavement I encounter.<p>FWIW, the E-GO is a great deal for $700, and the range is considerably more. Maybe if I had to replace it I'd consider Boosted's product.
As a (very happy) boosted rider as of July, I'm a little concerned about the "single" model. I've blown through three belts already, and find that it's usually while breaking that a belt will fail. Having two is safe and redundant, but having only one is a double whammy since you double the breaking force on that single belt while also relying on it entirely.
Love the idea but not sure about the use in denser cities. I saw my first boosted in action on the streets of SF during my morning commute. Seems cool but the gentleman was riding in the bicycle lane at around 10mph which is much slower than all other traffic on the road, including bicycles.<p>I really want to love these types of transportation but I have a hard time seeing how they can scale without cities adopting to them. We already have enough trouble getting proper bicycling safety and then we introduce electric longboards on top of the existing skate/longboards and push scooters that already roll around on the streets and worse, sidewalks.<p>Maybe I am just biased because I dislike push scooters on sidewalks but then where is the push scooter legally able to go?
I have had an evolve board for 12 months, it was the first generation and I have had loads of fun. The newer models have a bigger motor and are better at climbing and stopping by all accounts. I haven't had any reliability issues and have been able to ride it every time I wanted to. Recently though the range has reduced and I am hoping its just a single battery cell that needs replacing or rebalancing. I haven't opened it up to look and will most likely send it to evolve to diagnose. It still gets more range than the boosted board so its very usable.<p>I think battery problems will be discussed more frequently as electric boards age. They make up a significant portion of the board cost and I hope suppliers have a good strategy to help customers when problems arise.<p>Boosted boards look awesome and I can't wait to try one someday. I only ride for fun and its typically 45-60 minutes at an average speed around 14-16mph, so a boosted board falls a little short in their range. I was wondering if Boosted had considered having an 'eco' mode that only runs one of the motors enabling extended range?
I'm curious about this statement. Is there any electronic workaround for that?<p>"BRAKING DOWNHILL ON A FULL BATTERY WILL CAUSE BOARD SHUTDOWN since the regen will overcharge the battery. To prevent this from happening, the remote will warn you by beeping, and you’ll lose your braking power. Safely come to a stop before this happens, and ride on flats or uphill to drain the battery."
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1scP9uZP9Y" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1scP9uZP9Y</a><p>Seems more informative and less salesy-pitchey
How do Boosted Boards compare to Evolve Boards?<p><a href="http://evolveskateboardsusa.com/collections/carbon-series-electric-skateboards" rel="nofollow">http://evolveskateboardsusa.com/collections/carbon-series-el...</a><p>Boosted seems to be slightly cheaper, but Evolve boards have longer range and replaceable wheels for different terrains.