Hasta La Gadget!

I was always pretty good at the Tony Hawk: Pro Skater games, pulling off mad combo moves thanks to generous use of manuals between tricks. Unfortunately, the second I hop on a real skateboard, forget about it. A 200-pound guy falling face-first off a skateboard isn’t a pretty sight (thought it could be popular on YouTube.) For those of you who’d rather keep the skate trucks off the ground, maybe you should go for one of these instead.

This whimsical skateboard ceiling lamp is actually designed for a kid’s room, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for anyone into ‘boarding. Though with its thin 24″ acrylic deck and narrow aircraft cables suspending it from its chrome canopy, I wouldn’t recommend trying to hop on it, unless you’re a hamster – or maybe a kitten. A skateboarding cat – now that’s something I’d like to see. Oh, Internet.

Skatepunks can Ollie on over to ELights, where you can grab one of these boards for about $178(USD).

Gorilla Glass 2 and a chassis forged from magnesium lend Microsoft’s Surface slates some durability, but the firm’s decided to prove just how tough its tablets are by turning one into a skateboard. The wheeled slice of Windows 8 is said to have been rolled out during a tour of Redmond’s Surface skunkworks, but Windows chief Steven Sinofksy couldn’t resist hopping on the board today and tweeting a pair of photos. You can pre-order your deck now, though something tells us this mod isn’t covered under Ballmer and Co.’s warranty.

Filed under: Microsoft

Microsoft turns Surface tablet into a skateboard, Windows chief Steven Sinofsky takes it for a spin originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boosted Board isn’t the first powered skateboard to grace these pages, but it is the lightest. In its current prototype form, it weighs just 12 pounds, thanks to a high-end Loaded Vanguard longboard, 2,000W brushless electric motor, 100W/h Lithium polymer battery pack and regenerative braking and drivetrain bits. That hardware will move you along at up to 20mph, provide about six miles of range and tackle up to a 15 percent grade. The company is also evaluating different battery chemistries and cell sizes for folks looking for longer range. We were told that the board is capable of much higher speeds, but it’s been limited for safety reasons. However, that reservoir of power is put to good use when rolling uphill, as the Boosted Board’s got some custom firmware that aims to make cruising up inclines feel the same as riding on flats. Adjusting the speed is accomplished through a custom handheld, thumb-operated throttle that’s still in development.

We got to lay our hands (and feet) on one today in San Francisco, and we spoke with Boosted Board’s builders, too. The board’s lightweight design, with the battery pack and motor components nestled at either end, is quite different from other electric decks we’ve seen with a massive power pack centered underneath. This design is made possible by that power-dense brushless motor, and it allows the Boosted Board to maintain the flexible feel that regular longboarders know and love. For now, the drivetrain and components are left exposed (as you can see in our gallery) but a more integrated design will go to the Kickstarters who pledged the $1,200 needed to get one when they start shipping next May. Folks looking for more info can find it in the source below and the video after the break.

Continue reading Boosted Board electric longboard is lightweight enough to carry, powerful enough to haul riders uphill

Filed under: Transportation

Boosted Board electric longboard is lightweight enough to carry, powerful enough to haul riders uphill originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 18:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Grinding down flights of stairs isn’t always easy when you are on a skateboard, so Po-Chih Lai decided that skateboards could be improved so that they would have no problem going down steps.

The Stair Rover skateboard uses extra pivoting trucks with two wheels on each side to follow the contour of stairs, allowing the board to ride down smoothly. While the video shows a skateboarder using the Stair Rover successfully, I wonder if it has enough ground clearance for all kinds of stairs. Nevertheless, it looks like it works well on a variety of bumpy surfaces.

For now, the Stair Rover is just a working prototype. There’s no word if it will ever be mass produced, but I can think of people who wouldn’t mind having the extra wheels that they can thrash down stairs.

[via Dezeen]