Learning to ride an electric skateboard– the basics

Learning to ride an electric skateboard is quite straight forward and in some ways is easier than an unpowered skateboard.

Foot Position and Stance
So this is a pretty important aspect of learning to ride an electric skateboard. First of all, you need to work out your stance, traditional or goofy. Traditional stance is with your left foot forward, goofy is with your right foot forward. If you’ve skated or snowboarded before you’ll know which you prefer and decent skateboarders can ride both ways but most have one preference.

Acceleration
When accelerating you want to move your weight forwards so about 60% or more of your weight is on your front foot. As you accelerate your weight will be forced to your back foot. Once you have overcome the initial inertia you will feel comfortable to shift your weight around on the electric skateboard. Accelerating sharply when you aren’t ready or prepared can be dangerous and send the eboard flying out from underneath you. It’s a good idea to lower your centre of gravity too by crouching down slightly. I prefer to lean on my front knee a little with my left hand and use the controller in my right hand.

Braking
Essentially you want to do the opposite of accelerating. Shift weight to the back of the electric skateboard and prepare for your weight to be shifted forwards when braking. Slick Revolutions brakes are graduated i.e. like a car – the more you move the brake lever the stronger the braking force. Slick Revolution have recently toned down the brakes and so they’re much less harsh than they were before.

Carving
Carving or turning is controlled by shifting your weight from side to side just like a normal skateboard or longboard. The trucks turn opposite ways and allow you to turn, plus you can adjust the tightness of the bolt on the trucks which affect how sloppy or tight your turning is. Carving can be done easily by beginners but controlling the angle and speed in different circumstances is a skill that improves over time.

We will soon be releasing a short demo video on the basics of riding an electric skateboard and we may look to introduce an intermediate and advanced blog and video.

Stay tuned.

Check out our eboards here