I’ve been to a few different intro groups and host one in AZ. Anytime we have first timers or obviously new beginners we all give them plenty of space and encouragement on track. I think most groups are similar. This really makes it more welcoming but at the end of the day most are nervous the first time no matter what. But we all want these newbies to love it when they come so our group grows.
As far as actual race events and competing, classes really do the work of making it more welcoming imo. Giving beginners a chance to practice/qualify/compete without the fast guys buzzing them is super important. A big reason why I’m bummed esk8con is no more is that it was the most approachable event compared to TEF and Full Send. It’s overall vibe started as a community first event not a race first event. And even that missed the point when it came to open track where you had the top dogs practicing around the beginners.
I’m hoping to see more small scale races pop up at intros. And what we really need more than races is MORE INTROS that hold sessions regularly. It’s a big commitment to do it but it’s what’s grown our sport the most so far imo.
And I’d LOVE to see a SPEC beginner class with more grip (sorry MAD, no hate) to make it safer for beginners/everyone lol. Those Hawks/meepos but on simple 6” pneumatics or even a solid wheel of some sort with a little more grip would be so fun and way less sketchy. SPEC would be such a good beginner class with grip. So far Moe has literally provided boards to riders to compete, about as welcoming as one could be towards growth.
Long story short, we need more intro sessions with positive vibes springing up imo. The top boards are only going to get faster and more expensive etc. But intro can always be a welcoming spot for all levels.
Radium is an ESK8 and won so are you going to make a point or just here to spread some Stooge hate? This whole recent shitshow could have been avoided if we all would just lighten up a bit. The world is toxic enough, especially in the USA so please not here also. To everyone here, please leave your toxic Pseudo-masculinity at the door.
Any time we have damaged parts from a wreck I want to see bent parts, not broken parts.
The hanger in this case here took a heavy impact.
We checked it in the lathe and it is also bent between the rod mount and carrier heim.
Updated parts were made and sent out to people using this setup. For Andys, we replaced and updated his bent and broken parts at no charge and replaced all attatching hardware involved with the bent hanger.
Like stated above, bent not broken is always the objective.
Andy raced the Cactus Cup a few weeks later placing 2nd in the pro division and was running 4th in the pro finals at Willow Springs full send when his Hoyt St remote stopped working.
Dispite @jack.luis constant berating SRB on social media and this forum. We have a strong customer base. We are an all American made manufacturer of for racing electric skateboard chassis. We assist and support both our customer base as well as riders of other manufacturers at the track. We are at the forefront of racing technology and crowd pro open podiums on 3 continents. Its what we do.
I agree with some of your points, but I’d argue the sport shouldn’t just grow, but it should also have a pro class that’s centered around development of getting faster around a technical track. Besides, there isn’t much left on the table as we are already close to rental kart times or even faster at some tracks here in europe.
Most european pro level racers (including me) just weren’t even interested in flying out to this race for this exact reason, even though some of us would have went to esk8con again if it have happened. I personally don’t want to see long track racing become popular until we have well estabilished short track racing series.
In Europe we have a lot of short tracks, and specifically select kart tracks for race organization that have a straight of 90-100 meter (~300ft) absolute maximum, ideally even less. Right now even the fastest top speeds for pros are just about touching 70 km/h (45mph), and then it’s braking right after. I want to race tracks where we can not reach top speed, top speed for most race setups here being around that 70km/h /45mph spot. Short straights make it much more approachable for beginners and intermediate riders as well as reducing risk for everyone including pros.
Agree, we need more I2S locations that organize I2S worldwide. That’s the entry point. We also need prebuilt brands to promote races.
We also run urethane class at every race, making racing approachable even for beginners on beginner boards (as long as they can turn).
I think you would find that the SPEC racing class hits most of your points. It is a chess match, not a dog fight. Really entertaining to watch. And its exclusively urethane.
Fast enough where aero matters and slow enough to safely come off the board.
Our youngest racer is 9. The racing is fantastic.
Spec racing in Canby Oregon June 6 at Pats Acres
Bring a helmet and race or build your own. Base cost is about $700
I was number one for fear of long straights but that was purely due to fighting an unstable board. I think the high speeds are here to stay as It’s not hard to hit 50+ mph on an 80m straight. Personally I find tight tracks with hard barriers right on the track edges much more unsafe especially for head to head racing. At least on the larger established tracks like Willow springs there’s safe runoff.
Fair enough, now that inrunners on vesc are becoming more popular it’s going to be the new norm for pro level. Still, at an 80-100m straight the advantage from going 50-55mph instead of 45mph will give little benefit, at that point your cornering performance is still by far the main decider of who’s faster, therefore you can afford not to focus on your straight line speed so much.
Also, not only are you getting diminishing returns, but it’s going to be exponentially harder to go faster.
Once you are on a track like willow springs though, with a straight of around 200m if I recall, you are punished quite significantly in your laptime by not going 60mph+
Also since we are at wheel to wheel racing. It doesn’t even have to be you that wobbles out. If someone wobbles out in the middle of the straight right in front of you, you are very likely to go down with him. I’ve seen it happen even at esk8con last year.
That said I agree some runout next to the track surface is good. There’s some outdoor tracks in our lineup that manage to be short/medium tracks but still have runout area. That said most indoor tracks don’t have much if any runout. I know first hand what going into the tire wall is like from a few years ago…
I agree with this. I really hope to see less of the solid barriers in our racing. By the final year of the con guys were hitting 50’s surrounded by those barriers. Solid barrier perimeter is awesome to protect spectators though.
Willow was great. Rumble strips are a stressor but is what it is. Just don’t hit em
And for outside-of-the-sport spectators to wanna watch, speeds are going to need to stay high in the pro class. It looks at least 50% as slow from the outside compared to how it feels. Even worse on video. Ever do a jump off something and film it riding anything? Always looks tiny compared to how it felt.
Pivot cup tech is low tech and dated. Its not back handed or slanderous to point out that it Is pretty dang cool to see old dated tech on a pro podium racing againsed precesion setups.
As a fact it simply does not work as well as a precision truck setup does.
Thats my true to life humble opion.
The point was Dylan is the Bomb and someone here needs to have their mommy change their shorts.
@Mbrady PEV lap record holder at Willow Springs Raceway
Full Send April, 18 2026. Making Esk8 once again as the FASTEST pev on the planet. Were talking closed course track racing for those who cant handle the "Fastest On the Planet"concept.
If skate boarders dont want to call it sk8boarding or esk8.
Call it what you like. We race electric powered lean tilt steer devices that defy most people’s comprehension of what a skateboards performance is capable of.
Pro Division: @HAIRYMANJACK A great run for you this weekend.
Congrats on the “W” you continue to show the relavence of the origional Long rod sphericsl setup on the BRP 6x3 wheel and using
inrunners.
Been fun watching you progress and stick with the 35deg deck setup. You definitely have it performing top level.
Morgans outrunners thermaled with 1 to go running 2nd but was one hell of a race between OG 3-link and V-6 bigwheel.
Also the battle for 3rd was a 3 person battle between @tuckjohn@esk8speedster and @DINA_KATCH.
Andys H-puck quit, Dinas legs quit, Tuckers BRP quit but tucker did not, landing him a solid 3rd on his V-5 awd Ankle Wreacher..
Congrats @tuckjohn a great run
Thank you Moe!! Another thank you as well for all the people you helped over the weekend. Notably getting Gia’s board ready to go for the day in the linkage setup, pinion replacement too I believe since his OG’s were literally less than 2mm thick at that point. That help is priceless and I can’t thank you enough.
I do thing Long Rod’s are still the way to go for long track. They along with the 30*(SRY SMALL CORRECTION :))) ) degree deck provide a feel that I havent been able to feel on any other setup. Will be continuing to use these for the forseable future! Along with BRP’s, I’m waiting on a ~6 inch tire that is on par with grip and weight. the Exway tires almost do that but the weight is still a bit high. Karting tires are too big for my taste.
Also, if you’d ever like to get some of your own people on VESC or make boards that are set-up and good to go with VESC. I’m more than happy to help out, I really do think it’s are the future for pro class. MT12 still works with it too, not just puck.
