The electric skateboards we are talking about not are the ones that have to be controlled by remote control. When you are riding the electric skateboard, through the remote you can control your speed or brake. If it comes to changing your direction while riding an electric skateboard, all you have to do is put your weight to the side of the skateboard where you want to turn. Generally, an electric skateboard is meant to have a speed of 15 mph to 30 mph and a weight of 22 lbs. The range of the electric skateboard really depends on certain factors like the motor power, terrain, or the weight of the rider. On average, this tool has a range of almost 10 miles to 25 miles.

What is an Electric Skateboard Exactly?

In the late 1990s, Louie Finkle invented the electric skateboards. As he was a great fan of skateboarding, he thought to combine both the experience and his love for skateboarding with technology. With the first invention, the electric keyboard has quite some of the flaws that had to be looked up to. As soon as time passed and technology got its way to advancement the electric skateboard also became flawless.

As we have talked about earlier that the difference between a push skateboard and an electric skateboard is that the electric skateboard moves by a motor. Whereas the push skateboard requires kick for keeping it in motion. The electric skateboard does not require any kind of effort to make it more as it is completely controlled by a remote. The motor, in short, does everything for you, which includes start, accelerate, and stop.

How Does an Electric Skateboard Work Exactly?

Even though the electric skateboards give you a complete ride with a thrill. But at the same time, one should know that how it exactly works, so that whoever rides an electric skateboard is careful while riding it.

As told above, electric skateboards have motors attached to it and thus are controlled by remotes. While the throttles are triggered on the remotes electromagnetic waves are sent to the skateboard, making it move. The electronic speed controller or the ESC gives away the command. The electric skateboard moves with the speed which is given from the remote to the motor. Whenever you want to turn in a different direction, you just have to put your weight on that side of the skateboard, and thus the direction would be changed.

Moving down we are going to tell you about the parts of an electric skateboard. In this manner, you will have knowledge about your electric skateboard and will even get to know how to repair it.

Basic Components of an Electric Skateboard

A Deck

The deck is the most important part of the skateboard. The rider is meant to ride while standing on the deck. Usually, the decks of skateboards we see are made up of wood but some with better quality is made up of carbon and fiberglass so that the deck becomes strong and thick. The carbon and the fiberglass are used for the deck making it stronger, long-lasting, and tougher and so it is lightly weighted too.

Trucks

This is one of the most important parts of an electric skateboard. Trucks are made out of metal and they are meant to send down the weight of the rider’s body to the deck and then to the wheels. Additionally, it assistances the rider to turn his directions while riding.

The truck is made up of the bushings, the hanger, axel, and the kingpin. The truck is meant to assure that the electric skateboard gives out a quality performance to its riders.

Wheels

Wheels are very essential when combining all the components to make up an electric skateboard. Wheels vary according to every skateboard. They are usually made out of polyurethane but come up in many colors, sizes, and shapes.

Big wheels are better for riding on rough and uneven surfaces it is because they roll easily and move fast. Smaller kinds of wheels have a fairly low center of gravity but do not need hard force for acceleration. Though the speed does get slower.

Grip Tape

Grip tape is meant to be a two-sided tape, one side sticks to the deck while the surface of it acts as the surface of sandpaper. Through the grip tape, all of the force and energy of the rider moves from the feet to the deck and then to the wheels. This grip tape helps and supports the rider to keep his balance while riding, putting a brake, or stopping the electric skateboard.

Ball Bearings

All the wheels of the electric skateboard are connected to the axel through two of the ball bearings. Usually, the ball bearings are made out of steel but some of the electronic skateboards can also have silicon nitride ball bearings. These ball bearing help the wheels in rotation. The maintenance is key, you have to clean and lubricate the ball bearings on a regular basis so that a good performance of the skateboard is not hindered. You can easily purchase the maintenance kits which will help you in maintaining the ball bearings. If not done so, then you will face disturbance regarding the skateboard on an everyday basis.

Mechanical Parts

Motor

The motor is very important for the electronic skateboards as it keeps it going. While there are two types of motors that are used in the electronic skateboards. Let us head to both types;

Hub Motor

The hub motor is fixed in the wheels so that wheels can get the power directly. Professional skateboarders choose the hub motors every time for their skateboards. The performance of the hub motor is always compared to the bell motor. The hub motors needless repairs and give riders better results.

The hub motors’ performance can be affected due to the heat trap. There is a huge chance that the hub motor gets overheated as in the wheels there is no place for air to cross and keep it cool. Even though the casing of the motor has some holes so that less heat is trapped in the wheels but these holes in the motor can endanger the skateboard. These electric skateboards are not designed to be waterproof. So it is important for the rider to keep it away from wet surfaces.

Belt-Driven Motor

The belt-driven motor is the usual kind of motor that has been used in electric skateboards since forever now. The motor pulley is interlocked with the wheel pulley via a belt. This belt-driven motor is waterproof as there are no holes made in the case of the motor.

Battery

The battery in the electronic skateboard helps to speed up the skateboard. The battery size of the electronic skateboard truly tells about the range of the skateboard. Bigger batteries attached to these can give you a large distance. If you want to know how long do batteries of an electric skateboard last for, you should know about the different types of batteries that are normally used in an electric skateboard. Mostly, there are two types of batteries that are used in electric skateboards. They are a Lead acid battery and a lithium-ion battery.

Lithium-ion Battery
This battery is known to be the costly one but is very beneficial as it is a very long-lasting battery. This battery has an age of almost about 2 to 3 years if maintained properly. It gives a better range than that of its counterparts. It just required 5 to 6 hours to get fully charged.

Lead-Acid Battery
The lead-acid battery is of a lesser price than that of a lithium-ion battery. It requires 12 to 24 hours to charge completely. Also, it has a short battery life of 9 to 10 months. It covers less distance as compared to the lithium-ion battery.
You should always have a good quality of battery in your skateboards so that you don’t face any unseeing incident.

Remote Control

With the help of the remote control, you can move your electronic skateboard wherever you want. You can either accelerate, speed up, or stop the skateboard. Different types of skateboards have different remote controls. Some of the electronic skateboards have a remote control with buttons that are rotatable. Here you can push that button the make the skateboard move and pull it to make it stop. While in the other type of skateboard models you can find a trigger, if you pull the trigger it starts to move where removing your hand from it will make it stop.

Electronic Speed Controller

It is known to be the brains of the electronic skateboard. All the decisions are taken here about what has to be done about how much power is to be transmitted from the battery to the motor. It gives away respective signals.
The signals coming from the remote are transmitted to skateboard which tells the skateboard what to do and how much speed to apply.

Bluetooth

The Bluetooth technology has made it pretty easy for transmitting signals from the remote to the skateboards. This Bluetooth technology has brought up the skateboards to a more emerging level.

Additional Parts

Lights

There is a great option of lights, there are red lights on the back and white lights on the front. These lights ensure the complete safety of the rider.

Nose Guards

The nose guards are an exception as they keep away the nose of the skateboard from damaging. These nose guards are mostly made up of plastic material that is pretty heavy duty. The nose guards are found in many shapes and so the rider can select those guards according to his skateboard.

Wheel Guards

The wheel guard saves your clothes from getting dirt especially when you are moving on a muddy or wet surface.

Additional Battery

There are some of the skateboards which have options for removing one battery and then putting the other. There are only some of the electric skateboard models that offer the opportunity of removable batteries.

Rain Wheels

Rain wheels by its name depict that they are those wheels that help you move on the wet or watery surfaces. These wheels take away the water from them.

Final Words for learning how electric skateboards work

Electric Skateboards are gaining market with every passing day. It is because they are remote controlled and very safe to use. There are a number of skateboards provided by loads of companies, the rider can pick the one that suits best.

We gave our best in compiling information and writing about how the electric skateboards work. We hope that you are clear with the aspects of an electric skateboard and how they work

Christina Mark

Christina Mark is the admin and senior editor at ridetowheels.com. She loves to do research about the two wheels vehicles. She also has a large collection of hoverboards, skateboards, and electric scooters.