Buy how

On the market, there are electric boards suitable for everybody, the price and specifications range is huge but with a short research, you will find the one for you.
Things, you should consider when choosing an electric board:

1. WHAT WILL YOU USE IT FOR?
Will you use it for transportation or just for fun? Will you ride it on smooth terrain or you will hit the dirt roads too? Or you want to do all of above with your electric board?
There are electric skateboards that will take you from A to B and there are others that will make this ride a real fun and give you nice surf feeling every time that you use it.

2. THE PRICE
The price range is wide, the good electric skateboards start around 400 dollars and the highest quality boards, build with the latest technology, having the best specifications can cost up to few thousands.
A cheaper e-board is usually a compromise on quality and performance, so it is not recommended. Logic advice is if you can spend a little more upfront, go for it – it will pay back with the time.
Electric skateboards are new on the market and for something that you use often on the street and other terrains, they have to be well-built to survive this tough life. Another thing is the electronic components in them – for something that combines electronics with daily use in hard conditions, it is a must to be built with quality parts. Nowadays on the market you can find many e-boards for a cheap price, it is really not a good idea to buy a cheap version of this product – it will break soon and you will end up with another thing that you don’t know what to do with.
So, in conclusion – if you want your purchase to be worth, it is better to invest more and buy a quality product – this way you will enjoy your board from the beginning and you will save money in the long term.

3. THE RANGE
Depending on your intended use you can look for the range that suits your needs. For example, think about how much distance do you usually go on a normal day. There are different days with different distance, but the average is easy to calculate. Let’s say you usually go somewhere 4 km from your home. Back and forth – that’s 8 + 2 km for fun : ) this is 10 km, so this will fit your needs and you can find what is on the market in this range.
All the companies give an estimated range of their product – keep in mind that the weight of the rider, the inclines, the wind, the smoothness of the terrain, the riding speed, and other circumstances have an effect on the performance. Logically if the rider is heavier, the range will be less. Nowadays the e-boards have enough power to make you through your daily commute. It is better to have a board with more range but if your city is not so big or you plan just to have fun in the park a medium range e-board will do the job.

4. THE SPEED
Some electric skateboards have a maximum speed of 15 km/h and other 50 km/h. Keep in mind that you will be riding on hard terrain and protective gear is a must. My personal opinion is that max speed of 30 km/h is enough to move fast in the city, to have fun when riding and get some adrenaline too.
Most of the quality electric boards have different riding modes which control the maximum speed and help to learn to ride safely step by step. These modes can be set from the remote control or from a smartphone app and are: beginner, intermediate (normal), advanced (pro) etc. It is good to check in advance what options do you have with the specific e-board that you are considering buying. *This information can be found for every e-board in our section: “more specs”

5. THE WEIGHT

In most cases, lighter is better, but sometimes if the board is a bit bigger it will be more stable on the road and the riding feel can be nicer. The more power, the heavier the board is. It all depends on your needs, if you want an electric skateboard for the streets, on the market, there are now e-skateboards which are less than 4 kg, but if you want an off-road e-board the weight is minimum 9 kg and it can be 25 or even 40 kg. The universal e-boards which are stable and have a good performance are between 5 and 10 kilos.

6. DECK SIZE, SHAPE AND MATERIAL
The deck size is also very important for your ride. If you plan to ride longer distances a longer deck with some flex is recommended. If you will ride just a few kilometers/miles and you will take your e-skateboard often in the public transportation, something more compact will fit your needs.
Depending on your riding preferences you can choose the shape of the deck – twin longboard, kick-tail, pin-tail etc. Nowadays you can find all sizes and many different shapes decks, the choice can be hard but at least you have a lot of options.
The most used materials are wood and composite. You will usually find maple wood and bamboo boards which gives really nice ride feeling and future looking carbon e-boards.

WOODEN DECKS ( Maple, Bamboo etc. )
Advantages:
– A natural material with nicer feeling riding it
– Cheaper price
– Can have flexibility
Disadvantages :
– A little heavier

CARBON DECKS
Advantages:
– A little lighter
Disadvantages :
– No flexibility
– More expensive
– If damaged, it is harder and more expensive to repair

7. MOTOR TYPES
There are different types of electric motors used in the e-boards, but to make it simple – at the moment the most used motors are two types – belt and hub motors. Both of them have their advantages and disadvantages. Some companies say that belt is better, other say hub is better – there is truth in both. It is up to you which type will be your type. Bellow, there is a comparison of the belt and hub motors, just keep in mind that some of the advantages and disadvantages are hardly noticeable when riding.

BELT MOTORS
Advantages:
– Better performance in bad terrain conditions
– Better torque feeling and better speed control
– Better brakes in continuous downhills
– Easier to replace the wheels
– May have better performance when climbing hills
Disadvantages:
– Noisier
– Needs regular maintenance ( the belt has to be replaced regularly and the pulleys wear after some time )
– If the battery is empty, there is a noticeable resistance when pushing it like a normal skateboard

HUB MOTORS
Advantages:
– They are lighter
– They are simpler and need less or no maintenance at all
– They are less noisy
– When you have no power in the battery, you can push the board as a normal skateboard with almost no noticeable resistance
– Most of them are cheaper
– They are inside the wheels are not easily seen
Disadvantages:
– Cooling is harder
– Can have slower acceleration
– Can not swap with different wheels
– Can have more vibration feeling when riding

8. INCLINATION
Most of the e-boards companies give an estimated hill climbing % of their boards. If you live in a hilly place you should check these numbers. The truth is that the quality electric skateboards have no problem climbing very steep hills. It is important to know that some e-boards can conquer so steep hills that if you ride downhill at inclinations like this the brake may not be able to hold you. ( Some manufacturers write this in their user manuals )

9. BUY A COMPLETE READY TO USE E-BOARD, BUY AN E-BOARD KIT OR DO IT YOURSELF (DIY)
If you want to ride as soon as possible, get the complete e-board.
If you want to make your normal skate or longboard electric, you need just a kit which can be installed on the deck that you already have.
The third option is to buy all the parts separately and build your e-board yourself. To make sure all the parts will fit together, it is better to do a detailed research before buying what you need (It will help if you have some technical abilities) The downside of DIY ( do it yourself ) is that it may take a long time before it is completed. The advantage is that you can really build a custom electric skateboard, choosing every part according to your preferences.

10. WARRANTY AND SUPPORT
This is one of the most important things you should consider when choosing your electric board. The longer warranty the better : ) Some brands have really good support and some not so much. There are topics and discussions on the internet, that can give you some information about the customer support of the different companies. In general most of the top shelf companies have good support (this is one of the reasons which made this companies leading manufacturers)

11. INTERACTION WITH WATER
If it rains often in the region where you will ride your e-board and you intend to use it on a wet terrain, you should look closely at what the manufacturer says about interaction with water. Some of the boards are splash resistant, which is probably enough for the normal use, while others claim to be water resistant , which means you can ride it for some time under rain (I don’t think it is the smartest thing to do, but if you want to finish your ride for some distance after the rain starts it should not be a problem, just make sure you dry and clean your e-board well when you arrive ) There is even a brand on the market that says their board is sealed and is water proof, time will tell if this is true.
Most of the electric skateboards have polyurethane wheels, which really slips a lot on wet terrain. When wet you should not ride downhill or use the break at all ( pulling the brake can make your e-board uncontrollable ) If you ride in wet conditions, the wheels have to be replaced with specific ones made for a wet road )

12. AIRPLANE TRAVELING WITH E-BOARD
Every airline has their own rules about the maximum power of batteries allowed to be taken with you when flying. Most allow batteries up to 160 Wh (watt-hour), but with some, the maximum is 100 Wh. Some of the companies ask that you inform them in advance that you will take a powerful battery with you. Best advice is to read the rules and regulations on this topic for the airline that you will fly with. I took airplanes many times with my e-board, I never had a problem, but every time it was inspected carefully from the security and the watthours was checked if they fit the requirements.

13. THE LAW REGULATIONS IN THE REGION WHERE YOU INTEND TO RIDE
In some places electric skateboards are allowed, in some, there are certain regulations and in some, they are forbidden. It is recommended to check your local laws about e-boarding and It is up to you to ride safely and respect the other people and vehicles around.

14. SPARE PARTS AND ACCESSORIES
It is smarter to buy some spare parts together with the board. Things like the wheels and if the e-board have belts, wears out first and in some time you will need to replace them. Usually, these things are not expensive and if you add them to your first order you will save time and shipping costs later. ( if your board comes from different continent it is much better to order these things and after not need to wait and pay for shipping just for few wheels )
Things you should consider:
it is best to find an electric skateboard that is manufactured in your continent
– this way you save the VAT and duties ( usually between 20 % – 30 % )
– shipping is usually cheaper and faster
– if you need some parts in the future, they will be delivered to you much faster
– returns and warranty claims are much easier – shipping back and forth is cheaper and faster
– customer support is easier if you are closer to the manufacturer.

15. PRE-ORDER INFO
There are some electric boards on the market that you can pre-order. This means that you will pay for the e-board and then you will wait few months to receive it. In this case, you pay less than what the price will be when the e-board is in stock. By pre-ordering you help the company to accomplish their project. Many of the first companies that are now the best manufacturers of electric boards had started this way – by collecting in advance the money to develop and build their e-boards. Most of these companies were correct to their backers and even after a long wait, the people who trusted them received their e-boards. Unfortunately, some could not fulfill the expectations and the people never received what they paid for. Before pre-ordering search info about the company. At Electric Boards.com we list only the companies that have good reviews and can be trusted.

We hope this info will help you to choose your electric board and you will have good times riding ; )