MellowBoards reached out to us to try its Cruiser electric skateboard (e-skateboard). After a 25 year break on a skateboard and then two e-skateboard reviews, I couldn’t wait to try it out. After some hiccups on my side, I put four miles on the Cruiser on the first outing and now can’t imagine not having one with me at all times.
MellowBoards Cruiser & Surfer
Electric MellowBoards Skateboard — Mellow Whenever, Electric When Needed
After spending only two days on the MellowBoard Cruiser skateboard, I can already feel that giving it back is going to hurt. I can’t get enough of its smooth and linear acceleration. It offers a mellow ride when needed, but slide that thumb forward and you better lean into it because it will briskly take off, pumping a wild adrenaline rush with each gliding forward movement. This promises to be fun!
MellowBoards was imagined and created by German skateboarders. MellowBoards offers skateboard parts, kits, and complete boards at different price points. As far as the price, I feel it reflects the quality of the board and smooth operations. How much exactly? MellowBoards states its price kits directly on its website, starting at €999.
MellowBoards Cruiser
MellowBoards Drive and Remote
The Cruiser MellowBoard I am testing, shown above, came with the Cruiser board and the Drive unit. MellowBoards also offers the Surfer board, shown below. The unit includes the battery pack and the rear in-hub electric motor wheels, called the Drive and Remote.
Although I pride myself on having owned a high-profile IT company in NYC, after a series of misunderstandings, mostly on my part from your typical guy-won’t-read-manual issue, MellowBoards savior Klaus had to walk me through pairing the skateboard to the remote. I was trying to pair them with the battery outside its Drive unit.
MellowBoards Surfer
Lo and behold, once everything got sorted out, I profusely apologized to Klaus and rushed out the door, grabbing a helmet (getting older, you know, in more ways than one) and eager to test this board.
Finally, I am on the MellowBoards Cruiser. And … nothing happens. Slide my thumb as I may, nothing happens until I remember what Klaus said. “It won’t work until you start going the first 2 or 3 km/h.” And there I was — down the road all smiles and grins in Rookie mode feeling the electric rush of the e-skateboard.
That first day, I put 2.3 miles on the MellowBoards Cruiser by going to downtown Long Beach. After a mile of getting to know each other, the Cruiser’s trucks loosened enough for a finer ride. The MellowBoards Cruiser proved great for downtown riding and smooth road with plenty of up-curved edge control. It will offer a better ride on smoother roads, something lacking around here. The wheels are probably better suited for Europe and Asia, where roads are in better conditions generally. You might consider beefier and smoother wheels for North America.
MellowBoards Electric Skateboards Quick Specs:
Mellow offers two battery packs and a few options:
- Speed: 25 km/h (~15.5 mph) or 40 km/h* (~25 mph)
- Range: 10 km (~6 mph) or 15 km (~9.3 mph)
- Price: €999, €2,050, or €2,090 ($1,160, $2,380, and $2,426)
MellowBoards lists all of the components sold, where you can mix, match, and create a very good e-skateboard for just about any occasion.
Overall, the price matches the build quality and feel of this excellent MellowBoards Cruiser. This is just the start of our MellowBoards Electric Skateboard review. We are looking forward to many more days of fun, but will report back honestly however it goes. Stay tuned for more.
In the meantime, you can check out its Kickstarter here.
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