![]() The battery is also far easier to swap out on this than other boards, literally taking just a few seconds. Urban areas make it more difficult to hop on and off buses and trains with your bike and with the skateboard there’s also no messing about finding somewhere to lock it. Inboard are marketing the M1 as a mode of transport for a new generation. Quieter roads with less traffic for late night cruising are the best. The rear lights also brighten as you brake. The LED lights can be switched off via the Inboard app if you don’t always want to ride around feeling like Michael J Fox, but they are very useful at night… which is when riding this board is the most fun. ![]() There’s no denying that the M1 is utterly beautiful. Not only are they more bulky, but they’re less silky smooth and more cumbersome. The motor is built into the wheel, whereas as other electric skateboards utilise an exterior belt to drive the wheels. Holding that kill switch in for a few seconds before trying to operate the joystick makes the power transition to your wheels much smoother. The remote control operates with a kill switch that must be pressed in with your forefinger before the joy stick that’s operated by your thumb will work. The joystick fits neatly in my hand and is curved so I don’t need to grip it tightly, which makes me feel looser in my riding style. ![]() ![]() I use mine almost every dry day for the short commute to the office now and have done for the last few months. I use the intermediate setting much more in and around traffic. In contrast, the top setting has a far quicker acceleration. The middle setting is fantastic, with a smooth pick up in speed, but then a generous top speed as the M1 in this intermediate setting seems able to constantly wind itself up faster and faster the longer you hold the accelerator. The acceleration is, literally, electric but if you’re in an open area, then once up to speed, the speed management is less severe in that top gear as you’re then just feathering the control. The fastest setting on the other hand has a far more aggressive pick up in speed. The beginner mode is slow and there’s no jerky take-off at all. The learning curve is actually very steep because the three speed settings are very progressive. You find yourself more willing and able to ride further and through busier areas, so you actually end up carrying it less, and feeling far less like an almost 40-year-old on a whacky electric skateboard! Whether I do or not is another matter. You do get used to that once you gain more confidence in your riding, though. Yes, it’s super fun, but it’s relatively heavy for a skateboard and at 95 centimetres long and 6.5 kilos, it’s not the handiest of sizes to carry around, at the shops or through town. Paying over US$1,000 and almost $200 per battery (I have two), this is not a spur of the moment toy purchase and as it sat staring at me by the front door each day, I found I had to consciously bring it into my life. However, after initially using it on a wide, private road, things suddenly became a bit more ominous when I actually had one of my own that I’d invested money in. The M1 felt approachable, exciting but not too wild. I’d had a quick go on one at the Surf Expo trade show a year earlier the smooth acceleration and incremental control of the joystick an immediate thrill. ![]() I was super excited when I ordered mine, but at the same time when it actually turned up, I was a little apprehensive. Most of the initial core Inboard team were all kiteboarders… and the rest is an exciting history that also involved the company soaring past their six figure crowd funding target within hours of going live, such is the appeal of this mode of transport.Īnd frankly, that’s what the M1 is a vehicle. In an obvious departure of testing purely kitesurfing gear in this magazine, there is a less clear connection to this electric skateboard review than the apparent cross-over in riding skills. THIS TEST FIRST APPEARED IN ISSUE #94 IN JULY, 2018 Is this the best land-based toy in existence? ![]()
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