If you’ve ever watch Casey Neistat, you’ll notice he travels around on an electric longboard made by Boosted Board. The Boosted Board starts at a heart stopping $1,299 for the base Boasted Board Dual, while the Dual+ is $1,499. Unless you have a grand laying around it’s a hard sell for an electric skateboard. Many urban dwellers justify the purchase by using the skateboard as their primary mode of transport. Even then $1,300 to $1,500 is a hefty sum to come up with these days. Juiced Board launched a new Indiegogo campaign with two price conscious electric longboards. The Juiced Single is $649, a $650 difference from the Boasted Dual, the second one, Juiced Dual, is $799, a $700 difference from the Boosted Boards Dual+.
Juiced Board’s feel and look similar to Boosted Boards, with most reviews noting the similarities. The similarities between the two companies are eerily similar, but at the end of the day, they are vastly two different companies. Juiced is focused on creating an electric skateboard on a budget while Boosted is focused on the establishment of a premium board that’s easily repairable.
I was sent one of the pre-production Juiced Dual boards back towards the middle of June, but I’ve held off on writing a review. I didn’t want to write a review from a few rides and a couple of miles. Since receiving the board, I’ve put hundreds of miles, fallen off, and ran into a few hiccups. I had a review ready to go on the first of the July, but Juiced announced they were changing the pricing from the original $449 to the new prices that I wrote about above. The price change and introduction of improved boards altered my thoughts and overall review of the board.
This review of the Juiced Board Dual is a rewrite of the original review which focused heavily on the low starting price.
Price
Originally priced at $450 the Juiced Board was a solid deal, one that would appeal to everyone and anyone. The adjusted price of $649 and $799 for the improved boards is a significant price jump. While the new Juiced Dual is a major competitor to the Boosted Board Dual+, with top speeds, battery range, and build quality coming close together. Juiced still managed to keep a budget consensus price, but I cannot stop thinking how appealing the Juiced Single would be if they had kept the $450 price tag.
With the new updated prices, I’m still astonished at how close they achieved to the Boosted Board quality. There are other electric skateboards and longboards around, but the Juiced Single and Dual are still priced under them. Even compared to the Stray Board at $899, Juiced undercut the price. That’s a feat considering how the board’s specs are the same as what you’d get with Boosted Board.
Riding experience
It takes a lot of riding to adjust to an electric skateboard. I’ve ridden longboards before, and adding a motor is a life changing experience. You’re never prepared for the board to move when you’re sitting still on it. I had to start moving on the board before I started using the motors. I had an even harder time adjusting to the brakes when I was moving 15 to 20 mph. After a few dozen miles I was able to adapt to the extra power that I had.
I did fall off the board countless times, but the worse was when I was trying to cruise around at top speeds and had a car pull out. I hit the brakes on the controller, but I still wasn’t prepared to go from the maximum speed to almost zero in a few seconds. Beyond my one major spill, the rest of my rides were smooth.
Quality
The biggest selling point of an electric skateboard is the board’s flexibility, the bearings durability, and the wheel sizes. The board has a maple and bamboo deck, so it’s flexible so the longboard can absorb bumps along the way. The 83mm wheels allow for one of the smoothest rides around and helps you avoid falling off over a little bump in the road. The ABEC 11 bearings are some of the best around which will provide the best performance and durability.
While most of those parts don’t mean much to anyone who doesn’t obsess with skateboards, it is important to note how Juiced is using the highest quality parts.
Specs
The big selling point about the Juiced Boards is the high top speed, long range, and regenerative braking.
The specs of the Juiced Board Single:
- Speed: 17 MPH
- Range: 7 Miles
- Motor: Single
- Charge Time: 45 Mins
- Weight: 12 LBS
- Deck: Maple & Bamboo
The specs for Juiced Dual are:
- Speed: 20 MPH
- Range: 7 Miles
- Motor: Dual
- Charge Time: 45 Mins
- Weight: 13 LBS
- Deck: Maple & Bamboo
The difference between the Dual and Single comes down to top speed, the motors, and braking power. The Dual offers more braking power thanks to the two motors, but the single is still more than powerful enough. When you compare the specs to Boosted Board, you’ll see just how similar they are. The top speed is the same, the range is the same, and the motor count is the same for the respective boards.When you consider the lower price you’ll wonder just how Juiced manage to get these high specs in for such a low price.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cejeqW0usIU&feature=youtu.be
TL;DR
The Juiced Board is the closest experience you’ll get to the Boosted Board. I cannot help but compare the two companies because Juiced is so excruciating similar to Boosted Board. There is nothing wrong with mimicking a company’s success, but Juiced does take it one step forward, the lower starting price is one way they’re going to get more eyeballs. For $449 I would have told everyone and anyone to buy a Juiced Board. Unfortunately, at $649 it starts to become a harder sell.
When you do compare the Juiced and Boosted boards against each other the specs from speed, battery life, and quality are so similar. If you are in the market for an electric longboard for either your main mode of transport or for recreation, I’d save the money and buy the Juiced Dual. Even if you want to save the money and buy the Juiced Single, you will get a quality board with a lower top speed. In the end, the price change from $450 to $649 is detrimental to the boards selling point, but it’s not a deal breaker.
Let me know what you think! Are you going to pre-order the Juiced Board Single or Dual?