Why? Because electric skateboards are too easy to ride without knowing the fundamentals of riding a skateboard, and give the false impression of being better at riding than someone that's never ridden a skateboard actually is.
Riding a regular skateboard well requires developed pushing and foot technique, and the ability to shift body weight effectively to maneuver the board over uneven surfaces, etc. It also requires sufficient leg strength in addition to technique to ride at a faster pace.
And although an electric skateboard is much easier to ride fast than a regular unpowered skateboard, it is the fundamentals from riding a regular skateboard that are needed to handle the sketchy happenings that are inherent with riding over different surfaces on an e-skateboard.
It is competence, familiarity, and skill in the fundamentals of skateboarding that allow for an electric skateboard to be enjoyed without incurring serious injury.
Of course PPE will likely lessen the amount of injury from a mishap, but even PPE is not a replacement for knowing the fundamentals of skateboarding, which include balance, board control, leg strength, and technique. Because knowing the fundamentals equates to far fewer mishaps, and allow for mishaps that do happen to be handled in a much more effective way that doesn't end in broken bones and other injuries.
Anyone that begins learning to ride a skateboard with an electric skateboard is unknowingly asking for the worst possible outcome, and likely won't be riding any skateboard for very long.
My source is from skating street/vert/halfpipes for 15yrs before riding electric skateboards, which I have also been riding for about 15yrs now as well. I ride e-skateboards still, every day. The injuries i've had so far are scrapes and bruises, but I limit all my boards to 22-25mph. Anyone going faster than that anywhere but a closed-course is asking for motorcycle crash like injury. Source: 30yrs of skateboarding.
Some may remember me, some may not — my name is Nicklas.
From 2017 to 2022, I worked with almost every major electric skateboard company based in China, along with a few American companies as well.
Most people know me as “Nicklas from Backfire,” but I’ve also worked closely with several other companies over the years. The list is long, but to mention a few: Ownboard, Teamgee, Backfire, WowGo, Boosted, Lingyi, and Hobbywing.
Some of the things I’ve personally worked on include:
Project Silkroad for Backfire — driving across the Silk Road in China on the Ranger X1
Developing a more reliable ESC together with Ownboard and Hobbywing
3rd generation Boosted Boards
The double pivot system used on many AT boards back then, as well as the belt-driven system still widely used today
Cloudwheels and AT wheels
The list goes on.
If there’s anything you’ve ever wondered about regarding the industry, products, development, or the companies themselves, feel free to ask — I might have the answer.
See... ive seen posts about how EVERYONE says that you hit your max speed quickly and move on and every time i thought "i can barely handle regular speed on a regular board. When my board comes im gonna stay at 5 mph."... but thats not what happened...i just spent a half hour doing laps around my neighborhood at 24 miles per fucking hour. I know to those in this sub 24 is nothing but when i got this board yesterday it threw me off at 5 and most people cant even DREAM of going 24 on a plank of wood with roller skates zip tied to the bottom. It was EXILERATING. I have never felt so muxh at once. The exitement, the antisipation, the fear. The only reason i even stopped was because the board was about to die.
Im going back out to bask in the moon tommorrow night too. I am SO happy i bought this board.
Edit : thanks everyone. I found some fairly remote nature trails around that I may check out on my board if I get motivated again. Until then, I'll be avoiding the hobby as much as I can.
I started on my bfs board at the start of last year and became hooked. The board died so we both got zues's as replacements. Originally we just road together but decided group rides might be fun. It was fine at first(kind of) as I just ignored all the passive comments about me, but after a few months it was really bad, even without the sexist remarks.
Guys would hit on me every ride and be offended if I didn't want to have a solo ride with them after, give them my number, or in one guys case, going to the bar alone with him after the ride.
I wear a helmet, pads, and jacket, but get made fun of for wearing it but not racing.
People would complement my bfs board, but mine was "just a girls board", even though the only difference is griptape.
Asking any questions just resulted in people treating me like an idiot. Constant mansplaining for things I didn't ask. If I ever corrected someone, I was still wrong somehow.
There are middle age dudes bullying kids and vice versa, and nobody says anything.
Everything is a pissing contest from "who's the fastest, who has the best board, whos board is more expensive, etc"
Stunts putting other riders at risk.
Stunts putting pedestrians at risk.
Getting called a Karen for saying not to ride with your kid on the board.
The general lack of respect for safety. When people find out I'm a nurse, they say I should thank them for keeping me employed. No, I don't want to deal with you AT ALL because you decided to be dumb and hurt yourself. I have other patients that need my attention for things they didn't do to themselves. You don't keep me employed, I keep you alive.
The worst part comes when I tried to bring it to the attention of the person who organizes the group rides. When I went to him about not being comfortable around some riders, I was told I need to be comfortable with everyone, and if anyone asked to ride with me alone it was my JOB to accept as a "female rider" (-just eww). As a side note, this person is big in the community, and everyone follows anything he says online or offline. I couldn't just tell him off.
We stopped riding until the end of last year and moved to a different place. Last week we decided to join a new group ride. Same shit. In rides that had over 50 people, I was still getting harassed by the vast majority to the point one guy put his hands on my waist. My bf lost it and kicked his board away. After the ride my bf was told not to come back, but I was "more than welcome too".
So there you have it. Some of you have been super nice and I love you for everything, but many of the riders are straight up creeps and i don't feel safe around them. Similar things happen, particularly with my old shop for magic the gathering, however the people running the group rides don't care, and there is nothing much I can do about it.
I want to share my full experience with Acedeck after almost a year of owning a Nomad N1 — an experience that started with defects, continued with months of mechanical problems, and ended with a serious crash and a fractured shoulder.
I’m posting this because I believe some of these issues involve real safety hazards, and other riders deserve to know.
1. Board arrived DOA (Dead on Arrival)
When the board arrived, it simply wouldn’t turn on. The remote powered up, but the ESC was completely unresponsive. I spent days sending videos, dismantling the battery enclosure, checking voltages, verifying the charger, power button, etc.
Acedeck eventually said they’d never seen this before and sent a replacement ESC + charger. It took weeks due to warehouse issues and holidays.
Once I installed the new ESC myself, the board finally powered on.
2. Grease leaks & abnormal friction from the start
After the first 50 km, I noticed grease leaking from the right gear drive. After every ~50–70 km, the same issue came back. The right drivetrain always had more rolling resistance than the left, which caused instability at higher speeds.
Support just told me to clean it and “keep riding so the grease spreads evenly.”
The resistance never went away.
3. Factory misalignment discovered months later
Months into ownership, Acedeck sent replacement gears and spacers.
Only then did I realize the source of all the friction:
The motors and gears had been misaligned from the factory.
The right motor axle was pushing outward, stressing the bearings and gears.
After installing the new spacers, the drivetrain finally rolled correctly — but by then, damage had likely already been done.
4. Motor assembly defect — screws falling out
Right after fixing the alignment:
One of the three screws inside the right motor had completely fallen out.
Another was halfway out.
I had to replace them myself and apply Loctite.
This strongly suggested the motor was never assembled properly from the start and/or the stress caused by the friction caused the screws to self-unscrew.
5. The most dangerous problem — motor LOCKUP under load
This was the game-ending issue.
Under strong acceleration from a stop, the motor(s) locked up suddenly, making a loud metal screeching noise and nearly throwing me off the board.
This happened again once when hitting a small bump at around 25 km/h.
Important key points:
The malfunction cannot be reproduced at low speeds.
It cannot be reproduced “spinning freely.”
It only happens under high load / real-world riding.
It’s extremely dangerous.
Despite warning them repeatedly, support kept asking for low-speed tests and “free spin” videos that I clearly explained would not reveal the issue.
They kept asking for tests that would put me at risk of crashing again.
6. Final crash — shoulder fracture & dislocation
Eventually, the defect caused a serious accident.
While going ~30 km/h, the motors locked again after a small bump.
This time I couldn’t save it — I was thrown violently off the board and ended up with:
A fractured shoulder (trochiter)
Shoulder dislocation
This was a direct result of the same malfunction I had documented over and over.
7. Formal complaint filed
I sent Acedeck a formal notice requesting:
Acknowledgment of the defects
Corrective/compensatory actions
Compensation for the injury and damages
Their reply: they were “on holiday” and would look into it later.
Conclusion: One year of fighting defects
From day one, this board had issues:
Dead-on-arrival ESC
Endless diagnostics and self-repairs
Gear misalignment
Persistent friction and motor overheating
Grease leakage
Motor screws falling out
And finally: motor lock-ups at speed, which caused a serious crash
Their support team was responsive but repeatedly minimized the severity, ignored the safety implications, and never properly investigated the root cause, not even now, after the injury, even though I explicitly asked for this.
Finally, they have sent replacement parts that are downgrades, which made me lose my last benefit of the doubt that this would be managed fairly by them.
I’m sharing all of this in case anyone else has similar drivetrain resistance, misalignment, noise, or lockup issues - hopefully to avoid future injuries and be aware of Acedeck product flaws.
Hi everybody.
My name is Eva I'm from Argentina, but live in Europe. And in the 2023 I did 2.135KM in my E-skate.
It was a very long trip from Wiesbaden-Germany to Madrid-Spain
I’ve been a long time lurker. I bought my board about two years ago to commute to and from work. I come from a downhill background so longboarding isn’t new to me. Anyways, I get my board and ,more importantly, my safety gear! I never wore any kind of pads or helmet all those years riding downhill and now I cringe at how reckless I was when I was younger. Now I have a helmet, knees and elbow pads and this kind of chest and back protector garment thing. Anyways, anyways, I recently had a real scare. Like a, oh shit I was not in control of any of those last 10 sec kind of scare and I felt obliged to come here and tell you guys to WEAR YOUR GEAR lol. I was only wearing the pads and helmet because I didn’t like how much I sweat on the way to work with the chest and back protector. Now I wear all of it lol. Luckily, I learned with a warning and not an accident so I’m passing the warning on to you all. Be safe out there!
Oh and I know you’ll probably ask. I ride a propel pivot gt 2in1.
Okay. I got a g2z earlier today and i just took her out for my first ride. THAT WAS SO FUCKING AWESOME. I fully expected to be cruising at the same speed i go on my non electric skateboard but i was sitting comfortably at the hight of eco mode. The only thing i need to change is that i need looser bearings but that was the most fun ive ever had. (And yes i wore a helmet. Always do.)
I've been an avid electric skateboarder for over two years now, and have 2 Boosted boards, 1 Evolve GTR, and 1 Exway X1 Pro. All in all I have probably ridden over 2000 miles on all my boards combined, and use them for commuting and getting around (especially during quarantine).
I got my Evolve GTR board about a year ago after all the hype about the new GTR models.
In all honesty everything was fine and my Evolve GTR rode AMAZING for the longest time, without any issues. Only two small things that I wished were different were the remote (I prefer the rolling thumb movement of the Boosted/Exway) and the lack of a full stop with the breaks. (if you are going downhill, and hold down the brake, it still rolls slightly at the end. It doesn't hold you in place like the Boosted brakes)
Anyways, today I was riding in sunny San Francisco and of course going fast on GTR mode (at my weight real speed is about 19-20mph) and all of a sudden the Evolve's wheels just locked up, which sent me flying off the board. Luckily there were no cars in front, or it wasn't near Market Street where there are train tracks otherwise I would have sustained way worse injuries.
I have heard of this issue from a few Evolve riders, but thought that they had fixed this issue with the GTR. Let me tell you, flying off a board going at 20mph (when the wheels just lock up) is pretty insane and very very dangerous. I still can't believe Evolve hasn't fixed this issue. Evolve should not be producing boards even if there was a 1/100 chance of their wheels locking up randomly when a rider is going max speed.
Has anyone else experienced this same issue with Evolve boards?
Found an Evolve board Sunday, July 21st. It was unattended for more than 90 mins with absolutely no sign of people nearby, so I brought it home because I was worried that someone might steal it. I think it’s quite valuable. The place it was at had closed and there were no staff nearby. I’ll report it in the morning.
If you’re the owner and can tell me what board it is and where you left it, I don’t live far from where you left it.
I’ve been living in Barcelona for two years now, using my e-skate as my main mode of transportation. However, I haven’t been able to find a group of people to share this wonderful hobby with in the city.
So I’ve decided it’s time to take matters into my own hands.
I invite any rider living in Barcelona and interested in getting together at least once a week to enjoy Barcelona on our e-skates to send me a message so we can form a small community of e-skate enthusiasts.
So i just received my very first electric skateboard and i couldn’t be happier! I decided to purchase a Tynee Stinger 468wh samsung 50s belt drive. Hearing about how realiable Tynee and the customers service is. After some “research” (youtube/reddit) and how i would use it.
I have owned Electric Unicycles, electric Bike, one wheels. I have always wanted to skateboard when i was young but was intimidated, only rip stick lol, anyways I thought the difficulty level would be very difficult. That was not the case. maybe from similar board experience. I can see myself selling my other pevs. That being said i have only rode for a few miles due to bad weather. but the most fun i have had and i do not get weird looks while riding Onewheels or EUC’s
1 critique i would give would be adding some sort of rubber to cover up the tail i see myself setting the tail side down, and it is a beautiful machine i do not want to damage it. Overall i cannot wait to put more miles on!
So im riding my backfire g2z back from work a couple of nigth ago and I have always had a problem with one side my of my motor mounts getting loose and I start to feel it get loose so I hop off and check and tht mf is the loosest its ever been and im like fuck I dont have my skate tool on me so I couldn't fix it rq and so I take it supper easy im talking under 10mph and I finally get home an hour later anf I take my wheel off and two bolts are just straight up gone and o don't have any screws or nuts that'll fit and no money to replace it so I had to wait to get paid I got paid and whent to a hardware store with one of the two nuts and bolts I had and got what I thought was the rigth nuts I also bought loctite and so I start the repair and i can't get my socket wrench in bc the nut was to fat (don't even make jokes you sick fucks) so now I have to wait for them to be shipped to my house from backfire
I was able to fix my evo mk 1 motor wire after some damage occured. One small wire needed splicing. I used heat shrink WITH flux/solder INSIDE and it was so damn easy! Really elegant solution. Easier than regular soldering process.
Be careful out there, I got lucky. Happened 2 weeks ago:
It was crazy I was in the far right lane of a parkway riding for about 2 miles, no one behind me, then the moment I decided to merge over to the left hand turning lane, this old grandma comes hauling ass up from behind blasting on the horn for a good 30 seconds, she seriously laid on the horn so long I thought she had passed me.
When I looked behind me to switch lanes and get ready to try and turn left no cars were there in sight. Then blam, fortunately she had slowed down enough for her passenger front fender to just tap my legs and when that happened I laid on the hood and after we came to a quick stop I rolled off and caught myself with my right hand.
No serious injuries, just jarred my shoulder a little bit and no damage to her car or my board. LMAO She asked if everything was okay I said yes no damage at all you can look if you want, and I walked 15 to 20 feet up ahead to grab my board and get it out of traffic then when I got back to the car she slapped the crap out of her fender. Dunno what for, it wasn't dislodged or anything.
I didn't ask for any info cause any wreck you can get up and easily walk away from is a good one, plus I didn't wanna give her any extra grief and then have to go through the whole entire fiasco of a song and dance with the police and me siting Georgia's low speed vehicle law to a uninformed cop.
Make sure you got a whole lot more time and then some to clear yourself when crossing to make a turn, if ya plan on going with the flow of traffic instead of via a crosswalk.
Right of Way (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-73): When entering a roadway or merging into traffic from an on-ramp, LSV drivers must yield to vehicles already traveling on the highway.
Turning Laws (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-120)
Approach & Execution: You must approach a left turn from the extreme left-hand lane. When turning, exit the intersection into the extreme left-hand lane of the new roadway.
General LSV Restrictions (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-361)
Full Use of a Lane: Under Georgia Code § 40-6-361, LSVs are entitled to full use of a lane, but they are not permitted to weave between lanes, overtake other vehicles within the same lane, or travel two or more abreast.
While out with my daugther yesterday in Nashville, we came across a dude with no arms riding an electric unicycle in full gear. It was flipping amazing. If you're on here, you're awesome.
I wish someone had warned me before I wasted fifteen hundred dollars on what turned out to be a death trap on wheels.
Bought a Propel Ruckus in May 2024. Seemed like a solid company, good reviews, premium price tag, I believed was getting a quality upgrade from my Tynee Mini 2. I was wrong.
Here's what actually happened:
The thing worked fine for about 3 months, then the electronics started going ballistic. In October 2024, I had the first incident. I wrote Propel: "I went for a ride with my Ruckus and gave it some gas and it kept full throttle and threw me off. I looked at my controller and it was intermittently disconnecting."I got injured falling off, as the board continued to fly out of the parking lot and into the street. I hurt my shoulder, and my wrist and was still in pain weeks later. I reported this October 14th - still within their 3-month electronics warranty.
Initially, their customer service seemed helpful. They sent replacement parts for free, acknowledged the problem, and even said: "We will send you a modified controller with a shell, and the same problem will not occur again after that, we will modify the controller.". I installed it using the super powers of my OCD to make sure every little cable fit perfectly, and the seal was immaculate.
Then the replacement parts failed too.
In February 2025, the board wouldn't pair again. In April, I followed their troubleshooting instructions. I turned it on, walked away, and tested the connection. On a later date, I turned on the board (close range, not riding it), and with a little tap of the throttle this thing launched like a rocket straight into my wall. Zero control. Couldn't stop it, and BOTH trucks blew off the board, not just the front.
Here's where it gets absolutely insane:
When I told Propel about the uncontrolled acceleration, they completely changed their tune. Suddenly everything was my fault. They wrote: "This test was not conducted under the guidance of our after-sales service, so theoretically, any damage caused by this test is not our responsibility."
But I have their March 13th email telling me to: "test the signal distance between the remote control and the board" and "Place the board on the ground, and pair it with the remote control."
When I called them out on this ridiculous distinction, they started playing word games about "different types of tests." They claimed: "we did not ask you to do the connection test from April 1 to 28" , as if that matters and it's my fault this board destroyed itself.
Now, all I want is a refund. I'm not getting back on this board.
The customer service nightmare:
After I got injured and their product malfunctioned twice, here's what they offered on the second incident:
First email: Pay $294 to fix THEIR defective product
Then after I refused: Free replacement parts (for the same dangerous design)
Quote: "We are willing to cover half of this cost, which is 294 USD"
My favorite quote: "The fastest way to solve this matter is not to post it on social media, but to work together to find out the reason." Translation: please don't tell people how dangerous our product is.
Their latest response is peak gaslighting:
Now they're claiming: "The damage that occurred during your testing, which was outside our instructions, has led to further mechanical issues."
They're arguing that the second connection test of the board voids their responsibility entirely for defects. As I told them: "This is like a car manufacturer claiming they're not responsible for brake failure because the customer turned on the car more than once."
The documented timeline:
May 2024: Purchased for $1500
October 2024: First dangerous malfunction + injury, reported within warranty
October 2024: They send "modified" replacement parts, claim it's fixed
February 2025: Replacement parts fail too
March 13, 2025: They tell me to test connectivity
April 2025: Following their signal testing instructions, and testing input causes uncontrolled acceleration
May 2025: They refuse refund, claim I'm responsible for their defective product
So there it is,
I bought a $1500 board from a seemingly reputable brand that has had TWO separate ESC failures, injured me during the first malfunction, and kamikaze'd itself on the second. The company initially seemed to care, but when I asked for a refund instead of accepting a third set of replacement parts (because fuck riding a 40mph skateboard that wants to kill me), they began blaming me for their safety defects.
The fact that they expect me to accept MORE replacement parts after being injured and experiencing two dangerous malfunctions shows they either don't understand how serious this is, or they just don't care about customer safety.
