Hi! Ive been wondering - do you get to see a lot of riders on streets where you live?
Im from relatively non dense population country, so esk8 is rare but I have found a few people over internet and actually one on street by pure luck (he had built it from a lot of enertion parts, the deck was only made by a guy he knows, for the purpose of fitting space cell which should not bend under flexy deck)…
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So yeh, if you got comments to leave about this, would be cool to hear them… I suspect in bigger US cities it might be a common sight now to see at least a few esk8’ters every day… but how is it with smaller places?
On the little Island I live on there is less than 1 person per square/km…quite a few tree huggers with electric cars, but no esk8’s… If I go to town on the mainland I know a few.
Denmark - nearly unknown, at least in my area. Know one guy in my town that was Koowheel and that’s pretty much it. Probably mostly because we have a lot of rain and we dont have many boards that can properly handle it. And because of bikes, danes love bikes.
This is a very good question @Okami! I live in vienna/austria (1800000 people) and i’ve never seen any esk8 in my town. I think this is the reason why 98% of the people stare at me like i’m an alien
But there are many kids with 5 km/h balance scoooters here and i enjoy their faces when i’m passing by…
Yep a lot of balance scooters here too… somehow people find money for them, even if they dont go faster than 15kmh or so and does not seem to be made for uneven / bad roads
I assume we could as well start a new thread about.how we found about esk8’in.general…
For.me it started when i saw a video couple of years back.where some people.were riding mountainboards with fat tires and dc motors through sand n.such terrain. (This is where idea was born that one day i would want a similar thing)
After some more time i wanted to.build something electric, ebike was first.choice but it looked like there is still mechanical.complexity and it still might end up.costing a lot and then i found about esk8 and this forum.and thats.how everything started.
Not sure anymore did.i.watch.a video.and.there was a link.to.forum or what but i ended up.here
You make me laugh because i started when i read the article “How to build an electric longboard for 300$”
Well, in the end it was more than 1000,- and i’ve learned it’s better to wait, doing more research and join this community!
In my area (Charleston, SC) - I haven’t seen a single one. However I wouldn’t doubt that some college kids downtown have some. It is a heavy driving area with little biking/alternative transport so I assume that is why it isn’t popular.
I think I will be the first one, once I get my board together…
In my area (Caledon, Ontario) there is only a few longboards.
In downtown Toronto, I haven’t seen any esk8s either which is unfortunate as that where I would have expected to see plenty.
Provo, Utah: The univeristy I attend (finishing my Electrical/Computer engineering degree) doesn’t allow any skaeboarding (much less the fast electric variety), so I don’t see any on campus, but I know of a few.
I built my board together with a friend of mine (fellow electrical engineer), and I know of one other in the engineering college who built one about a year before we did ours (last summer). And I think I’ve seen 1 boosted around town (off campus). That’s about it. There is a skate shop that sells boosted boards, so I imagine there’s probably one or two more, but I haven’t seen them.
I’m a student at California Baptist University, and I’ve seen a Boosted Board or two, and one DIY one that the ASME team made. I would imagine there will be more in the future. Only seen one board back home in San Diego.
in madrid-spain i meet a few guys maybe 8 (two of them are from this forum) but this shit is starting to grow because now boosted boards are shipping to spain.
i really liked to meet these people because i was able to try some eboards without spending billions: magneto, carbon gt, bamboo gt, onewheel, diy… and i hope in a few weeks try the gtx and boosted board
i’ve a little whatsapp group with 12 guys from madrid but we didn’t meet all at once yet.
I can’t speak in terms of actual statistics but from what I’ve personally seen over the past few years in NYC as well as throughout the parks and recreational areas within the NY tri-state area, the esk8 community is slowly but surely growing.
What was once considered a “luxury toy” for only those with deep pockets, has now become a much more mainstream and affordable sport. This is undoubtedly due to in part of “brand x” boards that essentially cost as much as your typical gaming console. It is allowing those who want to get into the sport an opportunitiy to do so without breaking the bank. Naturally, this is also playing a huge part in the amount of esk8 riders we are seeing out and about.
One of the biggest drawbacks or I should say thorns to the sports for this perticular area are the roads. Unless you’re on a bicycle path or some kind of designated commuter / skater pathway, the roads around here suck! Uneven surfaces, cracks, pot holes, poor repairs, metal grates / covers, and general debris make it a real life obstacle course. Then you have the pedestrians who are in la la land and drivers who all seem to have gotten their drivers license yesterday. It’s pretty crazy to say the least.
If the board you’re on is not properly setup / built to tackle these issues or if you do not have the expertise and experience to overcome them, you are not going to enjoy “the ride.” It’s for this reason I also believe we are seeing a big second hand market on esk8 equipment in the area.
Nevertheless, on a daily basis, it’s not uncommon to see a handful or more esk8 riders in and around the NYC area, and thanks to Kaly, I’ll be adding myself to that list in a few short weeks!
Atlantic City, NJ: I’ve seen one other person in Margate. Of course he wasn’t wearing a helmet, so had to school him on the dangers and showed him my TSG Pass. Wish there were more peeps to ride with locally, might hit up that Baltimore/DC group for one of their rides.
But there are many kids with 5 km/h balance scoooters here and i enjoy their faces when i’m passing by…
