Boosted rolls out squishier wheels for smoother, faster rides
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Reported today in The Verge.
Boosted rolls out squishier wheels for smoother, faster rides
Electric skateboard and scooter company Boosted has launched a new set of urethane wheels for its longboards that will offer smoother, faster rides. The new wheels are called Boosted 105s, and they cost $169 for a set of four.
The wheels are 30 percent bigger than the ones that Boosted ships on its longboards, measuring 105mm in diameter (hence the name), 65mm wide, and 72 durometer — a measure of hardness. They should add about 2 miles per hour to the top speed, meaning the Boosted Plus would be able to reach 24 miles per hour, and the Boosted Stealth can hit 26 miles per hour.
The wheels are also compatible with Boosted’s second generation longboard, but the company says there’s only “limited compatibility” with the Boosted Mini short board. (The company recommends users who want to try to adjust the tightness of the Mini’s trucks to avoid wheel bite.)
Boosted also announced Thursday a headlight / taillight combo pack called Beams, which costs $199. The headlights reach 600 lumens of brightness, and the taillights illuminate any time the user brakes the skateboard. Both are powered by the board’s battery, and the headlight even has a pass-through USB port for charging devices, which is neat. The lights appear to be compatible with both the newer longboards and the Boosted Mini.
Boosted has sold accessories in the past, but the two new products are the most full-throated attempt by the California company to take a bite out of the ancillary market that exists around its products. While there’s a wealth of Reddit threads and YouTube how-tos dedicated to swapping wheels or adding lights to Boosted’s boards, the pitch here is obvious: spend some more money, and you won’t have to put in as much of the work. Considering the high price tags of Boosted’s boards, that’s probably not the worst bet.