Things To Consider When Buying An Electric Skateboard?

If you’re here looking to buy your first electric skateboard, I know exactly what you’re going through. That feeling of being completely confused about the different types of motors, board length, wheels, batteries, ESCs and other specs.

That feeling I had and what you’re feeling right now is the exact reason why I built this website in the first place. To try and make this process as easy as possible.

To be honest, you could buy any one of the electric skateboards on this list and be extremely happy. You’ll get the adrenaline rush you’ve been looking for and you won’t want to ever stop riding.

But after riding for a while, you might realise that there is a certain style of eskating that you prefer over the other. At that point, you’ll feel like you made the wrong purchase. 

Don’t worry, electric skateboards sell really fast on websites like eBay, Craigslist and Facebook marketplace so you’ll be able to upgrade pretty easily.

But, my aim is to help you make the best decision from the very beginning so that you can enjoy your e-board for many years.

The first thing you want to think about is what kind of roads you will be riding on. If you’ll only ever be on smooth, sealed roads and paths then street PU (polyurethane) wheels are what you’re after. They’re the slick wheels that you see on the H2X.

If the roads where you live are less than perfect then you might want to consider getting something with AT wheels or hybrids. Something like the  H2X. These will help absorb more bumps and cracks in the road and you can even ride on gravel trails.

Lastly, if you’re into heavy trail riding, consider getting an e-board with full AT wheels, like on the DBSSK8 Mountain boards. These can go almost anywhere. Street, gravel, dirt, grass, you name it, it can probably handle it. The only place that it will likely struggle is on the sand.

The type of motors that an electric skateboard uses is important to consider. The two main types and the only ones seen on this list are hub motors and belt-drives.

Hub motors are great because they don’t require any maintenance, however you do lose a little bit of performance and you don’t have any options for wheels other than what they come with.

Belt-drives, on the other hand, require a bit of maintenance because belts can sometimes break depending on how hard you ride. debris can also get stuck between them so you’ll want to give them a good clean every now and then.

On the plus side of belts, they offer more performance with higher low-end power meaning you’ll get faster acceleration and better hill-climbing ability.

You’ll also be able to swap out the wheels whenever you feel like it. This is great for going from street wheels to all-terrain wheels when you feel like taking it to the trails. Keep in mind that you’ll need to do some research on gearing so that’s you get the best performance from each type of wheels.

The deck is a very important component of an electric skateboard because it’s going to dictate your ride comfort.

A stiff deck is going to be easier to turn and stays more stable when riding at high speeds. However, you’re going to feel more vibrations from the road.

A flexible deck, on the other hand, is going to absorb a lot more vibrations giving you a very comfortable ride. But you’re going to lose stability at high speeds. Some of the best beginner decks are flexy decks because it makes the ride so smooth and is easy to learn on.

Maple and glass fiber decks tend to be the stiffest, while bamboo will be the most flexible. You might find some composites that contain a bit of maple and a bit of bamboo. This is to get a nice middle-ground of flexibility and stability.

Last but not least, let’s talk about specs. The two main ones people care about are top speed and range. Manufacturers will always state this on their websites. 

A good top speed for a beginner would be anything up to 25mph/40kmh. Beyond that, you’re playing with fire and ideally want to be a more confident rider.

As for range, that really depends on where you want to ride and if you’ll get a chance to recharge before your next ride. Think about places you might ride, like work, school, the shops, cafes or friends houses. Maybe you just need to be able to get to the closest train or bus station.

So, that’s a pretty basic overview of what you need to think about when buying your first electric skateboard. I hope it’s been a little helpful. If you have any other questions, be sure to email me or message me on Facebook, down in the bottom right corner of this page.