Last year we told you about ZBoard, a wonder of an electric skateboard that can hit 17 miles per hour and reportedly gets the carbon footprint equivalent of up to 1500 miles/gallon. The people behind it are now back with a new model set to debut later this year which adds new some new slickness to the design to make your experience even that much better.
The ZBoard SF Special, according to Engadget, was part of a crowdsource funding push, but as of this publishing moment it easily hit its goal. Pricing around $1,200, it is designed to be a sort of commuter product, having a maximum range of up to 20 miles and a top speed of 18 MPH. It sports, among other things, a larger battery – 20Ah lithium-ion (LiFePO4) – then its predecessor, giving it double the capacity for energy storage.
image via Zboard
At the heart of this electric skateboard is a weight sensing design which controls movement. If you lean forward onto the front foot pad, the Zboard accelerates down the street. If you lean back onto a rear foot pad to activate brakes, it not only slows you down, but also goes into a form of regenerative braking to return energy to the battery for a longer run time.
Other features of the Zboard SF Special include a 400 w electric motor, 32 pound weight, 40- x 10.5-inch deck length/width, a plug into the wall recharge time of around five hours, off-road tires, custom printed grip tape, padded carrying handle and LED headlights and tailights.
The board, which is built at the designer’s manufacturing studio in North California, should be available by December. Those who own a more basic model can upgrade via a special kit, but will have to send it back to the shop “for installation and custom tuning.”
* Nino Marchetti, EarthTechling
