Perfect Skateboard Project Journey (Bamboo GT + Waterproofing, Splash Guards, Safety Gear & Other)

Hello,

I have searched far and wide and managed to find some information on all concerning topics. I will share my project idea here and will look for feedback.

First, a bit about myself. I live in London and ride Bamboo GT. I love my street setup for fun but it sucks for the daily commute. So AT is my commute and preferred set up. I travel approx 13km one way and I have a few major drawbacks. My maximum AT range until ECO is forced on me is 8-10km on FAST mode. I can push it to 16km range until the battery is at 0%.

Problems:

1. Pedestrians crossing randomly without looking
2. Damp or wet surfaces after rain. Or mild drizzle, light rain.
3. Visibility in front of cars (especially at night)
4. Navigation without knowing the route
5. Leaving it behind safely

Solution to problem 1 & 3 - Safety - So Here is my Triple 8 modified helmet set up

1. Helmet mounted Front Light + Horn (Detachable to recharge, super bright, super loud 140db) 10£
2. Helmet mounted Backlight (Detachable to recharge, not too bright) 10£
3. Triple 8 Helmet 45£
4. Horn button attached to the helmet strap
5. Corkscrew with double foam sided tape reinforced using super glue to hold my main light 5£

I'm considering of buying a High Visiblity jacket from Amazon. Those range from 5-30£ for night riding.

Total Cost: 70£ + High Vis Jacket cost

Pros:

1. Easy to carry
2. No batteries involved
3. Easy to charge
4. A way to signal annoying pedestrians
5. Cars can hear my horn
6. Bright and adjustable light for night riding
7. Visibility from the back
8. Strong helmet to protect my head

Cons:

1. Bulky
2. Not sure how durable my corkscrew mount is
3. Looks odd
4. Horn button is far from my hand, takes 2-3s to reach. Not long but can be a problem if a dangerous situation happens
5. Heavy-ish

Solution to problem 2 - Damp Surfaces & Rain

This is the biggest project by far. If I can get this right, my board will be nearly perfect. It rains A LOT in London. Not for long but often. This leaves roads damp and wet even when the weather is bright. I know Evolve does not promote wet riding for safety reasons but I am very confident with All Terrain Wheels actually. So here is my idea.

All Terrain setup only to be used here.

Part 1: Seal the sensitive areas using Black silicone, the cost is 8£ on Amazon. Following this tutorial on youtube. He used blue tack but I think black silicone will work better and less effort. I will do all the gaps.

This will prevent water from going inside the board. The guy has been riding in the rainy weather for a year and still no problem.

Part 2: 3D printed splash guards. I'm deciding between two options:

1. Option 1: Mud/splash guard for EVOLVE skateboard -"FRONT AND BACK"- by Laleyenda
2. Option 2: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2603666

Option 2 is more dear to me as it looks better. I could print it using Treatstock APP for 50$. Which is about 37£. Not bad. But there is a problem. I might not fit as it was designed for Carbon GT. I've seen someone using it for GTX so I'll try and hope for the best. Washers, bolts and other parts will cost around 10£ to have it mounted and ready.

Total cost: 55-60£

Pros:

1. Ability to ride on wet, damp surfaces
2. During mild drizzles and light rain
3. Emergency ride during proper rain (not something I plan to do but an option nonetheless)
4. Puddle proof (no more freakouts when I see a small puddle in the middle of a pavement)
5. Allows me to use nearly throughout the entire year without worry
6. No mud or water picked up from the asphalt to splash on my pants or shoes keeping my good looks in tact

Cons:

1. Makes my AT Bamboo even bulkier
2. Not ideal when its raining heavily as no way to protect myself
3. Probably will be quiet disgusting after riding during wet-ish times as it will get dirty
4. Splash guards might break soon as not sure how durable it will be
5. Taking splash guards on and off might be impossible due to permanent set up
6. Makes changing Street set up to AT setup even more difficult to nearly impossible
7. Silicone will not look nice underneath
8. When trying to remove silicone it will likely rip off some colour making board look worse

Solution to problem 4 - Navigation


Option 1: Bluetooth headphones with google maps navigation in 1 ear. Good but not great. Works for the most part but hard to know when to turn sometimes and not helpful in difficult intersections.

Option 2: Smartwatch paired with Google maps. Works really well and by far my favourite solution. I can see how far is the next turn at a glance and the snippet of the map too. Works good by itself but needs monitoring. Pair it with 1 in ear bluetooth headphone and you are good to go.

I won't list the pros and cons as this is starting to take much longer than initially planned...

Total Cost: 200£ +

Solution to problem 5 - Parking Safely


This the option I haven't really found a solution yet.

Option 1:

1. 2x Padlocks + Strong wire lock
2. Wrap the wire around the trucks and a pole or any metal railing.
3. Lock the padlock around the trick and have both wire ends inside the padlock.

Total Cost: 30£ ~

This is the best method I have found so far. But anyone who would want to steal it, they could without too much problem.

Other options are to drill holes in the wood deck (not my favourite), add a custom metal hole.

But nothing really safe unfortunately.

My favourite method is to leave it with reception / cloakrooms or safe spaces. That unfortunately is not always available so have to either try and hope for the best or be dissapointed. I would say Option 1 is plan b and only if you have a line of sight / short period of time.

Chances are people won't know its very expensive but it can be stolen within minutes.

If you think otherwise, go on youtube and type Casey Neistat bike theft experiment. It takes them a heavy duty drill to get someone's attention. They stole bikes during bright daylight without anyone caring or calling the police.

This wraps up my thread here.

If these 5 major problems can be solved for good, I would be the happiest rider ever. I will my journey here and let you know how it goes. If anyone has already found better solutions to solve these major problems, please share! Looking forward to hearing from you guys!