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Recently, I bought a RazorX Electric Longboard Skateboard so that I could cut down on the miles on my car for short trips. Riding my bike is ok, but it’s big and it could get stolen while I’m at the grocery store. A skateboard with an e-drive solves a lot of issues. For one, the board is easily carried right into the store and I can just put it in the grocery cart. Secondly, it’s electric and I can just ride it in the bike lane right on the street.
Electric skateboards are the perfect solution to short trips where it does not make much sense to call an Uber or Lyft for a one mile walk. These last mile trips are why electric scooters are so popular these days. I’m all for scooters, but owning an electric board means my costs are less than renting all of the time and I don’t have to try and find a nearby scooter.
Features
- Product Link
- Price – I paid $149.99 on Amazon
- Deck
- 37.5″ (952.5 mm) long
- 5 ply bamboo with grip tape
- Battery
- Capacity – 2.15 ah (2150 mha)
- Model – RS2202 Li-Ion by Scud
- Voltage – 22v
- Replaceable with a single allen wrench in 5 minutes
- Charge Time – around 2 hours (manufacturer claims 6 hours but after charging it every day for a week with aggressive riding, I found it does not take this long )
- Motor – 125W DC gear drive
- Remote – 2.4 GHz with variable fast forward and regenerative e-brake
- Range – 40 minutes or in my tests – 1.5 to 2 miles riding mostly level surfaces on the street
- Speed – 10 mph – weight and hill dependent
- 220 lb max load
- Wheels
- 80a x 80mm ( 80a is the hardness, 80mm is the diameter)
Wheels
Skateboard wheels are specified by the durometer hardness and the diameter. The hardness is important since this determines the ride, speed, and grip. The durometer range is from 73a to 101a. The higher the number, the harder the wheel but the less grip it has.
The RazorX Longboard has 80a wheels which are perfect for cruising, rough surfaces, and have excellent grip. If you watched the video above, I showed you just how good these wheels are flying over bumps, cracks, and other common street obstacles. The board handled great and I had a blast. Now 80a are not the fastest wheels, but this board is not designed for a lot of tricks and perfect surfaces found at skateboard parks.
Longboards are designed for cruising and they demand large wheels. The RazorX has 80mm diameter wheels and work great for this purpose. The factory bearings are as smooth as silk and they roll a long time. I was really impressed with the setup right out of the box.
E Drive
Electric boards have 3 drive options.
- Belt
- Hub
- Gear
The RazorX is a gear drive system and has a couple of advantages but some disadvantages over the other two. For one, there is less maintenance over a belt drive. The gears are fully enclosed and you never have to replace a worn out belt. When compared head to head with a hub drive, they are considerably louder and everyone will hear you coming. On the positive side, they are far less expensive than hub drives and have better torque at the low end of the speed at startup. If you need stealth, then don’t get this board, spend a little more money for a hub drive like this one. It’s only $289 and has a longer range and higher speed.
Kick Start
The board is a kick start system so you cannot just hop on and hit the throttle. It is electrically disengaged under 3 mph. To start, just give it one kick, hop on, and go. Easy as can be. After a few times, you won’t even think about it.
Dead Battery Mode
If you run out of battery, then there is some extra resistance from the gear drive, but I found that it’s minimal. I was easily able to use this as a regular board by kicking it with my foot.
Battery
The battery pack is replaceable and only takes one allen wrench. I popped it out and put it back in in under 5 minutes. The battery is a 22v Lithium Ion pack with a rating of 2.15 ah (2150 mah). The model number is RS2202 and at the moment can only find it on eBay but I’ll update this post if I can locate another source. This give you a range of up to 40 minutes of riding. I never have depleted it to zero. My typical rides are around 1.5 miles but it can go to 2 miles if you don’t do excessive stops and starts. Frequent starts take a lot of power and can quickly deplete the pack.
Trucks
The factory trucks handle really well. It’s been a long time since I was a kid, but I found the board a piece of cake to make sharp turns and navigate your typical obstacle course on the city streets.
Deck
The deck is made from 5 plies of bamboo. It’s the first time I’ve ridden a bamboo deck and so far I really like it. It has a fair amount of flex to smooth out the road, but it’s strong enough to take up to a 220 lb rider.
Speed
The max speed is 10 mph. This is fine for commuting and cruising around the neighborhood but you won’t win any speed competitions. It’s on the low end for adult sized electric boards but consider that you are under $200. Faster boards require bigger batteries and motors which all cost money. If you need something faster, then here are some good options.
Summary
This longboard is a good option for anyone 9 and up that weighs less than 220 lbs. It’s fun to ride but not the fastest board on the market. If you need something inexpensive for short trips like catching the train or running to the grocery store, then this works great. It’s also a good option for younger riders who are just getting started and want a stable, easy to ride board.