Chargeboard

Yet another student design project turned into a Kickstarter. Bjorn van den Hout’s Chargeboard uses two dynamos in the rear axle to generate electricity and store it in the battery box attached to the bottom of the board. The battery box doubles as an iPhone dock with speakers, while the usb port can be used to charge a phone or other device. Goofy lifestyle shots aside, I actually think this is a good idea for those who use their skateboards primarily for transportation, campus cruisers, even campers and the like. However, there are two glaring problems with this. Chargeboard could use removable covers for the speakers, or the first pebble that kicks up or pudddle you run through is going to wreak havoc. Also, How to account for different size phones without a janky adapter that would be prone to rattling loose? I’d really like to see this concept adapted to a bike, although I’m sure it has been already.

[Source: Daily Mail]

This is is one of the first photos I saw of the Chargeboard, and from this angle it looks like they had used an old Tracker truck with the oversized Tracker coper on back.

Excellent gratuitous 3D animation showing you how the bearings and axle nuts come off!