The idea of swappable batteries for more types of races is awesome! We could do an esk8 enduro with pit stops!
6 Likes
Bout 15 at an absolute stretch here in Australia
3 Likes
Damn, I’m sure you’re guys laws don’t help the situation.
Europe looks to be pretty small turn outs at their races as well.
And I’ve only seen a few races in Asia, but always looks like they just put downhill skaters on stock Eboards.
I would be really think the total of esk8 “racers” has to be sub 300.
1 Like
The official rules refer to a complete esk8 build as a “deck”? The deck is what you stand on. It’s a component.
We all know what they mean… but… ya know?
4 Likes
The laws aren’t that bad. As long as you’re not going flatout through areas full of pedestrians the police leave you alone. Diy is just dead here. It’s a struggle to sell and even give away some parts at the moment.
*edit: realized that was numbers at esk8con from international I think
1 Like
Its still illegal in several states here
Does anyone actually get hassled if you’re not being a fkwit though…
4 Likes
Depends on how the copper woke up that morning i suppose
1 Like
I doubt it’s what’s really holding the sport back here though…
This is us tonight… be awesome if half of those interested turned up
5 Likes
Agree. Population density and distance between capital cities probably plays the biggest parts
1 Like
We tend to get around 30 competitors if we are including EUCs, but yes, we need it to grow rapidly. I hope people step up for the national championships in September 
6 Likes
Doing my best dude. Gonna let whoever wants a go have a crack at my boards tonight. Maybe someone will get the itch. Local YouTuber is gonna try get some footage too, fingers crossed it’s a decent turnout.
7 Likes
We’re getting there… last night went ok. The usual evolve randoms and a few diy guys. I’ve definitely got a team mate now too for the championship. Jamie, guy who does a bit of YouTube brought along his drone and 360 cam. Hopefully got some decent footage to promote the meets.
Was a bit frustrating lol, he was keeping up with me on my 12s beater board.
6 Likes
Some folks are just naturally gifted, and it ain’t us lol
4 Likes
Haha yeah man. I’ve got no doubt at all there’s far more talented guys in my area but it’s just these cheat code boards that we’ve got under our feet making us look good.
Was a welcome change to actually lead with pressure and chase and make passes without just being waved past.
2 Likes
sounds like is hould quit my job and yeet over to the down under!
3 Likes
We got ~80 riders at the last xErace, with ~40 esk8ers which is nothing compared to what esk8con was but already pushing our scheduling limits as the events are only single day due to cost constrainst (afaik). I’d also reccomend to check out @davidpilny baby: https://xerace-1270ac0ee0af.herokuapp.com/ which has most of the historical data from the European races, and live data from upcoming races if anyone is intrested.
12 Likes
Yep, 70-90 riders is currently what we are able to raise here in Europe.
The racing is evolving so as historically we got a lot of Onewheels, now they moved away to the offroad tracks and we get much more EUCs. They seem to be the fastest growing group for the racing as its usually possible to race with whatever they have as a daily use machine. Lets see if the current VESC Onewheels will change anything back as they might feel more powerful on the track aswell.
But I see some positive movement in the OPEN eskates aswell. People are slowly moving away from the urethanes (but we have a special category and some riders simply love riding both of them, because urethane race is different and fun - but you need to be able to reconfig your board for it). As stock boards get more powerful, more people are starting to feel they have the power for racing and show up. So I think we could see more riders in the future for sure.
We are able to have around 50 eskates, people from different parts of Europe. Travelling is an issue of course so we have a margin of available people but can never get 100% attendance. For this year we are starting a kind of tour around Europe with our standardized system and the Pro riders travelling around and allowing local riders to compete. So lets see if we find even more audience.
I am trying to push out any kind of videos from the events and riding because I believe it might motivate some people to give it a go and the more they see, the less unknown it will feel for them. We need to build the hype around it. Thats why I am super happy about Europe riders results at Esk8Con because I think it might bring more people in knowing they can race at home with riders that were able to keep up with the top of the world.
There are two choices for us - outdoor tracks with good grip but unstable weather, or indoor tracks which have usually more requirements for tyres. The Prague event is the biggest we have because its a good location and we know the race will happen even with heavy rain. Also when the weather is ok we try to do similar to Esk8Con, bring people in not just for the race but also group rides, track sessions and generally a trip to Czech Repulibc (Prague being a really good place for that) that you can potentially do with your group or family. That way the race is just an icing on the cake, but we try to move the pressure away of just the race event a bit, especially for foregin travellers. I hope in the future we could plan an outdoor race with indoor as a backup.
11 Likes