E-scooter? E-board? A new ‘carving’ e-scooter has gone on sale from an e-bike shop in Leighton Buzzard after hitting its crowdfunding target inside 24 hours.
The Yawboard was launched via an Indiegogo campaign in September 2020, raising over £45,000.
Inventor Ray Reynolds (a former world record holder for ‘most table tennis balls bounced against a wall with the mouth in 30 seconds’) told Leighton Buzzard Online that the idea was to combine the best components of a skateboard and scooter.
“Our mission is to provide a unique vehicle with incredible performance, safety and stability,” he said. “Using my background as design engineer and snowboarder, I focused on taking the unique carving experience from the slopes and bringing it to the streets to ride every day of the year.”
The result looks at first glance like a four-wheeled scooter, but the flexible bamboo and fibreglass deck allows the rider to ‘carve’ as you would on a skateboard,
Two 700W motors can get the Yawboard up to 22mph, while the 14Ah battery is said to be good for up to 20 miles.
"It is incredibly easy to learn and gives an awesome carving experience with minimum effort,” said Dave Allen from Allen’s E-Bikes, the first retailer to stock the vehicle. “The board also has a removable handle so you can choose to use it as a 'scooter' or an electric skateboard. It’s two products in one."
While trials of rented scooters covered by a motor vehicle insurance policy are currently taking place in a number of towns and cities around the UK, the use of privately owned e-scooters on public roads currently remains illegal.
Reynolds said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the support and excitement we’ve received since launching the Yawboard All-Terrain' this September; we’ve received amazing feedback from our test riders from all around the UK and we are keeping a close eye on the current e-scooter trials and will be fulfilling all our orders in the spring.”
He added: "As use of public transport is decreasing, and with the government’s increase in cycling infrastructure, we are very excited about the timing to deliver a product we think will be the future of urban mobility.”
