Seems as if DKwan made a board he wanted, and he’s not a beginner. Also not sure I’d call a $1K board a beginner board. I think a light, quality board like this would fit in many collections, I’m certainly interested.
3 Likes
Firmly in the beginner range IMO.
Other beginner specs:
- 10s
- 97mm thanes
- belts
- carvy setup
It’s 14S btw. A carvy setup doesn’t make a setup a beginner setup. Loose trucks save lives! Thane also doesn’t necessarily equate a beginner setup. And belts aren’t always a bad thing either. Having the ability to take off belts in 10 seconds is a legit feature that you have no way of achieving with gear drive. And gear drive doesn’t even roll as far as super loose belts.
As someone who has a couple boards already in the quiver, some of them with absolutely crazy specs, I’d love to own one of these.
12 Likes
Reminds of Bustin’s electric offering. Lightweight, sleek, and RKP. But with belt drive instead of hub. A lot to like here. I know DIYers are not the target audience but would love a rolling chassis that I can run electronics of my choice. I am firmly in trigger remote camp, so most of the prebuilts are off limits for me. And I don’t want to be locked into manufacturer’s BMS/ESC/motor/remote combo.
4 Likes
14S
80mm thanes I believe
I run belts
I like carvy
I’ve bought cars for less than 1K so I don’t consider that beginner board money, mine was around $600, and I still have it and still ride it sometimes.
1 Like
Ahh I guess I totally missed the 14s.
Might be a nice chill board. Still doesn’t really seem like something I’d ride every day even.
Honestly though the setup is exactly what I’d recommend to anyone thinking about getting I to the sport.
Yeah exactly! A chill / commuter board. Practical to take into places. Can be pushed in case it runs out of battery.
It happens to be a good beginner setup as well when put into a lower power mode, but it can easily fit into most quivers.
My progression in esk8 was that I started out with an 8kg board that was practical and fun at the time. Then I outgrew it and kept building bigger, heavier, much more powerful boards. But then I just stopped using them for anything other than recreational rides due to how unpractical they became. Then I’ve built a 12kg hub board with 100km range for practical stuff and chill rides but it’s still a little heavy to be that practical, so it’s also mostly being used for recreational rides, but at least sometimes used for practicality. Something at 7kg that doesn’t suck to ride would fit into my quiver well.
5 Likes
Remember what is practical where DKwan is (metropolitan, compact, dense public transport) is not practical in many parts of the suburban US (sprawled out, long distance and high speed roads, non-existent public transport).
Yes, but there are millions of those other types of boards to choose from. This segment of the market is under-represented in my opinion. Both from a perspective of folks who want this, and from a perspective of folks who would want this but don’t know it because they only have experience and advice on the other types.
7 Likes
I’ve had idlers for more than a year on my DIY, more than 1000km on them.
There’s no good way to mount them actually. I you have them mirrored, you will lose the brake on one side, or acceleration on the other when you get belt slip. If you want to secure the brakes for example, you should have one upper and one lower, which looks weird. Conclusion is, when your belts start slipping you need to change, idlers just prolongue their lives a little bit. And in this situation enable the quick swap which is a pretty cool trick.
It’s definitely not for suburban areas. I get that many people want fast, long-range, and HV Esk8 but as he said in his newest video, Esk8 is the best platform for short commutes and portability. Like the boosted, it was meant to be carried and stored at the office.
As the community grew, people wanted more speed and range, which led to many boards getting heavier. Rn, the trend for esk8 is for all terrain. Dkwan mentioned that e-bikes and euc would be better for that side of the field. I have Cafe Ebike, and I use it to get groceries or take it on gravel. As for parking it, I chain it. I also have a 20s gear drive build coming up, and I tend to use that for group rides and cruising around. However, I would never take that board to class or for grocery runs bc it’s close to 40lbs and is huge. I also can’t chain it.
Of course, you can still have fun with all-terrain boards, and HV builds are awesome. However, again ESK8 is the easiest platform to make light and portable PEVs. I’m glad this board is coming bc it’s built around its original intentions.
For example, with longboarding for 6 years now, and having this board being pushable, that is a huge plus for me. Second being able to carry it into class or grocery stores due to it being 17lbs is great. Also being able to bring it on the train (where it would be a pain to bring my bike and 20s) is another plus. As the weather also gets cold, taking the bike to class is an absolute pain. With this board, I can skate to the train and then skate to class. I can also strap this board to my bag so I can walk. Also, when I return to NYC to visit family, this board would be great to bring on Amtrak and carry up four flights of stairs.
Overall, I’m excited to get this board. 14s1p or 2p is still powerful and is suitable for my needs. If I need speed I got my 20s.
10 Likes
14s2p means I should be able to fit 28s1p in this thing right lol.
On a more serious note, to handle that bit of shitty pavement I wonder how SR125s would do on this.
2 Likes
On the discord, Dkwan mentioned he ran 120 clouds and got no wheel bite but they’re chances of foot bite. Also on his insta he slapped some dadbods 105 and they look strange to me. So it would be possible to try the new radium. I’m probably gonna run boosted 105.
3 Likes
I feel like they need a second version of this board with much more than 1p CF keeps the weight down so does RKP vs dkp .
But if it’s only 1p it’s the sexist last mile commuter but I feel like I would be taking the belts off a lot just because I would run out of battery. Generally targeting 40-50km of range would make this the ultimate urban sleek commuter
1 Like
They have a 2P version as well.
1 Like
No kidding. Okay if it was standard 2p, and had a 4p option I’d be sold for
that form factor
and weight
Because no one’s done that yet. 2p will only get you so far. I like to travel somewhere and back again on single charge minimal.
Still it’s a fantastic product and could be the first to nail that nieche as it’s a profit to be made and a gap in the entry level
Sneak peek
5 Likes
That’s an unusual request -80m is the perfect size for the board.
Key feature: weight is low - small wells weigh less.
For the urban areas people commute that he’s targeting 80mm does fine. In some counties with poor roads I see why you’d want bigger but it definitely defeats the point of the board. - I even get why 2p was not originally considered thought I’m glad it is. Beats other companies range
Bigger wheels are nice but ob street when carrying your board a lot smaller is better
When you buy a car do you source your wheels somewhere else?
1 Like
No in fact it makes the board more usable. If you have mostly nice smooth roads then great, stock 80’s will work. For the rest of us, not so much. And yes I, and many people, buy different wheels and tires for their vehicles, there is a whole industry of aftermarket based upon that. Same thing with skate wheels.
Extensive review from Kami
9 Likes