[Mischo Erban], a Canadian speed-freak, just broke a world record on an electric skateboard. 59.55mph! That’s almost 100km/h.
We’ve covered a lot of electric skateboards over the years, as well as some commercial versions — like the Boosted Board, one of the few actual Kickstarter success stories — and of course, people have hacked them as well. But this board from Next Generation Vehicles (NGV), seems to have taken speed to the next level.
Made by a Slovenian tech startup, the board features direct drive motors built into custom wheels. The article is a bit light on details, but we imagine they must be a few kW each in order to reach those speeds. No mention of a range (we can’t imagine it’d be very far at those speeds), but it is just a prototype.
Being 4WD and having an intelligent motor controller it makes for a pretty stable system even at high speeds — though if you watch the video, he does take a pretty good tumble at one point.
[Thanks Annie!]
As someone who hit a pothole longboarding down a hill and faceplanted at around 15-20mph, doing 60mph on one sounds like a deathwish.
See that suit he is wearing? Padding and skid protection.
Crashing at 60 and 20 is pretty much the same thing, if you don’t hit something.
@Graham
I’d have thought so, but I’ve seen videos of guys in suits like that (and the motorcycle versions) skid merrily along on their butts at ungodly speeds, only to pop up and walk away like it ain’t no thang. As long as you don’t launch *into* something, or go into a limb-shattering tumble it actually looks kinda fun.
Over at the geek group they are working on a ducted fan street luge. They are calling it a jetjuge. Current version made something like 30 MPH on relatively flat ground. Just find the captains blog on YouTube.
“Jet Luge” is the right term… Wow, just wasted half an hour on Youtube.
“Wow, just wasted half an hour on Youtube” – as if that has never happened to anyone before :D
He blew a wheel off if I’m speculating correctly. I don’t think any motor controller would be able to compensate enough in those condition to keep him stable. That’s all on him at that point.
And that was him all over the runway, ouch!
LOL
Obliviously Li-Po batteries are being used. At the high discharge rate needed, “Crash and Catch fire” has new meaning.
Hope they have a good battery monitoring system.
Shouldn’t that be, “Crash and Burn!” ?
halt and catch fire
Somehow a burning skateboard outdoors on pavement does not seem particularly scary. Especially if they are lipos without a gas-tight metal case that would explode.
I was thinking of both sayings. So I mashed them up.
He does not need very powerful motors if long run (slow acceleration) is used. He will get to high speed, but it will take more time.
I don’t know about that: Air drag alone will count for about 5-10 kilowatts here, depending on how aero he can get. Even at 5 kW it will take him around 200 metres just to get up to speed. The battery he’s using can deliver close to 50 kW though (for maybe a minute…).
I don’t see it on a quick skim through the site, but I’d guess he’s pushing around 3 kW to each wheel motor, say 80A to each ESC from his 12S pack.
(while we are tossing numbers around: those poor wheels are screaming at 6000 rpm, and their tread is experiencing 1800 gravities of acceleration trying to rip them apart. yikes)
Is he using standard trucks? How do they keep the board stable at that speed?
Been a skateboarder for 33 years now and that’s pretty f’n crazy! I was bombing a hill once and hit a toad, didn’t pitch me but locked up a front wheel and slid for about 30 feet. Left a toad stripe on the road and flat spotted my wheel so bad it wouldn’t roll anymore. So I can’t imagine hitting a toad at 60mph.
Also can’t imagine bothering to wear the motorcycle leathers and still use low top Puma shoes. Exposed ankles could be shredded.
Reminds me of that joke about James Bond breaking out of a prison cell with the laser in his watch, and then not getting through the window because of his backpack filled with batteries :-)
I like how marketing is used here in the form of still shots that make it look like it’s climbing an incline..
Those hub motors do make the design more efficient, the problem i see is in the traction replacement. how expensive are they going to be, how do they attach to the motor, how often do they need to be replaced?
now all we need is for colin furze to make a gas powered one!
“Electric Skateboard Reaches Neck-Breaking Speeds” If you are dumb enough to ride a motorized skateboard, anything over 5 MPH is considered “neck-breaking” speed.
The board has four 2600W electric motors and a 400Wh battery.
http://plugin-magazine.com/driving/next-board-skate-or-die-for-the-next-generation/
Mischo is a class act. His demonstration of skill and speed is a testament to his dedication to redefining what you can do with a skateboard. He is actually faster without motors. Over 130kph powered by gravity https://youtu.be/YvR3OReRTb4.
This is all in a days work for some and a dream for others
Be Safe, where the gear.
Bob
http://www.jetluge.net