It might not be the most practical thing to drive to work every day, but if you ever start to doubt your purchase, just take it out on a curvy road for a few minutes and you’ll fall in love all over again. Take it out on a curvy road for a few minutes and you’ll fall in love. The upside? It’s also so long that you can just lift up the front and drag it behind you like a roller suitcase. Without any handles or anything to hold onto, it’s a pain in the ass to lug around - especially in the tight confines of a bus or train. Quatro is a leviathan of a longboard, so if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to carry it, be prepared for a bit of an arm workout. Here’s why:įirst and foremost, it’s massive. A cumbersome commuterĭespite the fact that this board is undoubtedly one of the most powerful and enjoyable boards we’ve ever set foot on, it’s also not the most convenient commuter vehicle. Without this suspension, riding this all-metal board would probably be quite jarring - but thanks to the shocks, it’s like riding on a cloud. This ingenious design element helps the board absorb small bumps in the road, and ultimately makes for a smoother riding experience. Most trucks are simply a swiveling crossbar that attaches the wheels to the deck and allow you to turn by leaning - but Acton’s “Tension Suspension” trucks take things to a whole new level, and incorporate a clever C-shaped spring that allow the deck to travel up and down a few centimeters. Bill Roberson/Digital TrendsĪcton also equipped the Quatro with something we’ve never seen before on a longboard: a set of shock-absorbing trucks. It’s definitely still possible to accelerate or decelerate too hard and send yourself flying onto the pavement (especially in “Pro” mode), but Acton’s throttle and brakes are far less touchy compared to most other eboards we’ve ridden. Both acceleration and deceleration are incredibly smooth, and actuated in a gradual manner that doesn’t throw you off balance - even if you’re quick and heavy on the throttle. In addition to the board’s fantastic coasting abilities, the Quatro’s throttle is exquisitely well-tuned. Unfortunately, the Quatro’s massive weight (24 pounds) means it’s a bit of a chore to push even with the low-friction drive mechanism, but to be fair, the board has such a ridiculously long range that you’ll rarely need to kick it manually. This essentially means that the Quatro’s wheels roll with less resistance when they’re unpowered, allowing you to coast freely when you let off the throttle, and also push the board manually if necessary. Unlike some other boards on the market, the Quatro sports a set of hub motors, meaning the motors live inside the wheel and don’t need to be attached via a belt or chain. The Quatro is easily one of the most feature-packed eboards we’ve ever stood on.įirst and foremost, there’s the motors. To hold all that battery, the board is constructed from aircraft-grade aluminum, and feels extremely sturdy as a result. On top of that, it’s also equipped with a massive battery that fills up the majority of the board’s 39-inch deck, and provides over 22 miles of range on a single charge. It also has insane amounts of torque - enough to push a car on flat ground, or propel a 165 pound rider over a hill with a 30-percent grade. This monstrosity of a skateboard carries four hub motors (one in each wheel) that collectively provide 2,000 watts of power, and propel the board along at speeds up to 23 miles per hour. It’s called the QU4TRO (henceforth referred to simply as “Quatro”), and we rode it around Portland for a few weeks to see how it stacks up against some of the bigger names in the electric longboard space. Nearly two years ago, a Californian startup named Acton launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a four-wheel-drive skateboard.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |