I think I’ve watched all available YouTube videos people have posted about the BoardUp folding kick skateboard. Playlist.
BoardUp seeded a lot of YouTubers with their board. So there’s a variety of videos with it being used in different places.
Braille Skateboarding abused the hell out of an earlier version in a video. That board can take a lot of punishment without breaking.
My jaw dropped when I hit this video:
Meepo swap with BoardUp folding longboard
All of the Meepo board components are bulkier than the Mellow Drive setup, yet the BoardUp still folded. He also did a photo album of the work in progress. eSk8 Science!
Reading the BoardUp specs, I was surprised to find it uses 6-inch trucks. Ronnie Sarmiento’s Mellow Drive has 7-inch trucks. This puzzled me. So, I compared two video images. One is from a Justin Bravo video, the other from Ronnie’s. And I discovered something.
Justin Bravo:
Ronnie Sarmiento:
That’s weird. The front truck with the Mellow wheels seems to be the same size. I got suspicious and saw the answer in this:
Notice the Mellow Drive rear truck (left). It’s black. The front truck (right) is silver. Ronnie kept the 6-inch BoardUp truck and just swapped the wheels with the ones from Mellow. He confirmed this at YouTube:
Yeah, I didn’t want to mess with the folding mechanism in the truck
I didn’t even know just swapping the wheels and using different-sized trucks like that was a possibility.
I think the BoardUp is what I want for a skateboard. It has the portability that’s been the highest priority for me. I think all other boards I’ve been considering are no longer valid choices.
What I need to decide on is what electric drive to use with it. I can’t afford the Mellow Drive. The Ride Unlimited R Kit is still too new to risk. The Onan Booster is a possibility. But so is the DIYeboards swappable battery kit.
Previously here:
Reference: eSkateboard Weight Frustration
Mellow Drive On A Folding Skateboard
eSkateboards category
Mike Cane's Atomic Supermen 