Electric Skateboard Safety
Accidents are always unexpected. In general, electric skateboarding is safe, but it is important to be prepared for the worst. So we need to take care of ourselves and our board( which does the same thing as taking care of ourselves), here are some necessary precautions before you ride.
Get yourself ready before you ride
Wear the Protective gears
Many people hold an opinion that riding an electric skateboard just a harmless hobby, some of them even regard it as an electronic toy and don't take the protective gears seriously. There are also some electric skateboard riders who were aware that wearing protective gears is necessary to cope with an unexpected accident, some of them even owned some protective gears, but barely wear it for it is uncomfortable or inconvenient to do so. However, some electric skateboards can reach the top speed 42kph, which will cause serious injury to riders or even threaten their life if a major accident does happen.
A helmet is the most important protective gear for rider due to the human brain is like a computer which is too sophisticated and fragile to withstand a critical hit. Therefore, a helmet is necessary for it complements the skull in protecting the human brain.
Helmet comes in many shapes and sizes.
1) Some people might use a motorcycle helmet on riding an electric skateboard, but this type of helmet is too heavy and can make you sweat a lot since the electric skateboard's speed is not enough to cool you off as the motorcycle does.
2) Some helmet has full-face design and face shield that can protect the rider's chin, face, and head. But can also block your line of sight on right or left, which means you need to turn your head a lot on riding to check the road condition. However, there is a new shape of the helmet without a face shield that can protect your chin and wouldn't block you sight at the same time.
3) The commonly used one is a semicircle helmet, which is far lighter and breathable than the full-face type.
In a word, you need to choose a helmet according to your riding habit(Are you a rider who focuses a lot on speed and stunt or not?），personal preference and road condition. Don't forget to measure your head circumference to find the right size helmet. It could be annoying if your helmet keeps moving around or struck on your head.
Notice: Replace your helmet after encountering a huge impact. Because the helmet may not strong enough to protect your head against further impact even though the breakage is invisible. Or you can send the helmet back to its producer for inspection.
And there are some other protective gears like kneel pads, wrist pads, and elbow pads, gloves( prevent your palms against bruising) and even a leather moto jacket.
Those who choose to wear full protective gear sets are the safest. Because doesn't matter how hard could the impact be, the rider will get maximum possible security or protection of his head and body. For those who ride with just a helmet or at very low speeds, be sure to cover exposed skin in case of a fall. When you’re riding in the morning the sun can be super bright, protect your eyes and skin from the sun with sun protection cream and sunglasses.
Get the board ready before you ride
Use a T tool to tighten up the screws of wheels
You need to check your wheels nuts before your ride to prevent the nuts unscrew off the wheels along with your riding. When you tightening the nuts, don 't tighten it down hard and assure your wheels has minimal resistance. A good tip is tightening it until the wheels can't move side to side, and then untighten it a little bit.
Grease the wheels regularly
Between the motor wheels' metal convex part and the PU sleeves' concave part has friction when you riding, which will wear the PU sleeves. So applying grease to these parts can lessen the friction between them to prolong the PU sleeves service life. The PU sleeves may fell off on your riding if the PU sleeves are badly worn, which can be very dangerous. When you want to grease the wheels, you need to remove the 6 screws by using a hex key from the T tool and remove the sleeve by pulling upwards, then apply one drop of grease to each concave of PU sleeve or each convex of the metal part.
Clean the bearings after riding in the rain or over a puddle
This is not necessary to clean it frequently, but you need to check the condition of the bearings after riding in the rain or over a puddle. Because the bearings tend to seize up after a long period unrotated. This is because the water entering the bearings makes them rust in place, which can eventually seize up and may throw you off your board. Don't apply too much oil to bearings and remember to wipe the oil dry as much as possible when the oil into the pinion balls due to the oil can generate dust and mud, which could also seize up the bearing and lead to board malfunction.
Be visible at night riding
Riding an electric skateboard at night is dangerous due to our poor night vision. It is not only about knowing the road conditions but also important to let other people know you are there. This is why you need to have a headlight and rear light. Moreover, you can have some gears or some clothes with reflective stripe to let others know you are on the road.
