Nothing is safe from electric motors anymore. And I love it. I used to rip around on a monstrously powerful electric scooter in Guadalajara, Mexico. And now I see more and more people doing the same on electric skateboards.
But I've never seen anything like Cyrusher's Ripple electric snowboard. I mean, who even thinks about mounding a motor and snow paddle on the back of a snowboard? The engineers at Cyrusher, apparently.
Powering the world's first electric snowboard is a 3,000-watt motor, which the rider controls via the V1 handheld remote controller. That's enough power to give this 33-pound snowboard a 32 mph top speed and propel riders along slopes with gradients of up to 20%.
But instead of being a wild machine that'd scare the daylights out of all but the most experienced snowboarders, the Ripple is designed to help beginner riders and aid those with physical limitations. Since you can control the speed and increase it if necessary, it's easier to maintain balance and momentum.
So, in theory, this should lower the barrier of entry for new riders.
But lowering the barrier to entry is just half the Ripple's story. Since this model has a 9-12 mile range, suspension, and can climb slopes, it opens owners up to exploring terrain that'd never be possible on a regular snowboard. And this is in no small part thanks to its Molicel 21700 P42A 4200mAh 45A battery cell.
The snowboard features a wooden core and fiberglass exterior and has a maximum weight capacity of 250 pounds. You can pick it up for $2,499 with one battery or pay another $700 for an extra battery.
There's no question we at RideApart love shredding snow at every opportunity. But this is a question for the powder surfers among us: is this something that you'd be interested in? Or would you prefer that gravity and momentum alone are the only things moving snowboards?
