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So it’s another post not strictly about electric bicycles – but the electric skateboard is probably its closest relative! Thanks to xkcd‘s latest comic (pictured and linked above) I now know that Nathan Fillion does indeed have an electric skateboard – an 800w one from this EW account, and after a little bit of web ferretting, I’m going to guess he most probably owns a board from Altered because they seem to be the best known and apparently are the originators of the vehicle. And when I say vehicle I do mean it, because 800 watts is a serious amount of torque, much more than any of the eBikes I own! Those boards are designed for all terrain and can go over grass and rough ground. Yikes! Below is one of the more standard street versions:

There also seems to be one manufacturer in Australia, Kronik Boardz. They also do a couple of 800w models including one with foot locks – and I wonder how on earth they manage to get away with that in this country! I guess maybe electric skateboards are yet to be classified? If 800w electric bicycles were legal here, we’d probably have a hell of a lot more converts… see below for a Channel 10 intoduction to Kronik electric skateboards in Oz!

While they don’t look too exciting on video, I’m a bit of a nanna when it comes to riding, so seriously, I could even consider getting one of these. I’ve never been keen on skateboarding, and my very brief flirtation with a Razor scooter ended in several bruised bits (including my ego), but an electric skateboard might be something I’d be able to pick up a fair bit quicker. And while I really enjoy my Trikke, it’s a whole lot more effort than a bike to ride, so it’s stayed in storage for a while. An electric skateboard would be considerably more portable than either, too. Plus I could say yeah, Nathan Fillion has one of these, when people ask me about it in the street. *chuckle*

Looking forward to Part Two from xkcd tomorrow!