As someone who's been longboarding for years (including commute), I would be interested in something that:
* Would let me ride normally, without using the motor at all (e.g. gear in neutral).
* Would recharge going down hill.
* Would assist me going up a steep hill.
My current board is 40+ inch Arbour board that I got for around $200 5-6 years ago. Every couple of years, I spend ~$40 on new barings (too lazy to maintain).
I don't actually want an electric board most of the time, as it's one of few sources of exercise for me, but it'd be nice to have an assist going up hill.
Got mine a few weeks back and can address this from my experience.
• Yes, you can ride normally but not the neutral gear scenario. The motor only adds a 2 pounds or so and is barely noticeable, but it has a switch under the board and on the hand control. You could turn everything on and only use when you wanted though since the charge is lengthy.
• It has regenerative breaking, so only recharges on break. But any real hill and this option is kind of a godsend.
• The motor shuts off if it goes beyond a certain degree up hill. Not ideal for this. But great for moderate or small hills to keep speed up.
* Would let me ride normally, without using the motor at all (e.g. gear in neutral).
* Would recharge going down hill.
* Would assist me going up a steep hill.
My current board is 40+ inch Arbour board that I got for around $200 5-6 years ago. Every couple of years, I spend ~$40 on new barings (too lazy to maintain).
I don't actually want an electric board most of the time, as it's one of few sources of exercise for me, but it'd be nice to have an assist going up hill.
Not sure I'd spend more than $400-$500 though.