Extended Range Pack Update - Boosted Boards
Extended Range Pack Update
Q4 is just days away and we have some exciting news to share! We’ve made significant progress toward getting extended range packs in your hands and are targeting a first-customer ship date in December. Feedback from our testers has been incredibly positive as the additional range opens up a new level of freedom with many new opportunities and use cases.
As Jeff, our new CEO, shared in his first Reddit AMA, “We have set out to take the bar up a notch with the extended range battery. Rather than just doubling the existing battery technology and design, which would have also doubled the size and weight, the new pack will be very similar in appearance and only one-third heavier, and not compromise our exceptional acceleration and braking performance – while still doubling the range. So it has been a major product effort for our customers, versus a ‘more of the same’ exercise.
We also hold ourselves to incredibly high standards of quality and reliability. That means we put our packs through rigorous tests that replicate daily riding conditions, as well as all known edge cases. Many of you rely upon your boards every day, and we want to make sure that our products can be depended upon as a daily vehicle.
Many of you rely upon your boards every day, and we want to make sure that our products can be depended upon as a daily vehicle.
Lastly, since we announced the extended range pack, industry standards for battery design, safety, and shipping have gone up dramatically, which we see as a positive direction for the industry. It means that the level of rigor and regulation has increased significantly. We very much welcome that and today would hold the engineering we have put into battery performance and safety against anyone in the electric vehicle industry with confidence and pride. But it does mean that we’ve had to build adequate time in the schedule to make sure we adhere to the updated regulations as well as the additional guidelines we have established ourselves. We’re just about there.”
What does that mean? We are through the prototyping phases and are now focused on putting actual production packs through a rigorous series of tests designed to ensure vehicle-grade safety and reliability. While not an exhaustive list, the summary below should give you an idea of what safety and performance tests are currently being conducted on the packs:
Cycle Life Tests: In this suite of tests, we evaluate the packs’ longevity. The exceptional power the Boosted board is known for demands a lot from a battery. We test our packs under accelerated and highly aggressive conditions to ensure that the final product will perform reliably through years of daily use. While we only build with quality, top-tier cells from reputable manufacturers, even the highest quality cells require constant monitoring and control. Our proprietary battery management system is truly vehicle-grade and ensures that cells never go into unsafe or damaging conditions, maximizing their life.
Simulated Failure Tests: While the pack is designed to be highly reliable in the first place, we simulate various failures as a precautionary measure to make sure the pack handles them as gracefully as possible. In order to meet the demanding requirements of these tests, we have redundant protective measures designed into the software, electrical circuitry, and mechanical pack itself. The level of care we put into these safety measures is unparalleled in our industry.
Mechanical Tests: We design our boards to be used in real life, which means they must withstand massive mechanical shock and vibration, temperature changes, UV exposure, dirt and debris, and impact. That curb you just dropped off of? Those railroad tracks you bombed over? Not to worry. We simulate all of these conditions (and more) in an accelerated fashion to ensure quality and reliability. For example, we subject our batteries to sudden and extreme temperature changes to make sure the metals and plastics can expand and contract without breaking. In addition, we slap, shake, drop, vibrate, and slam our boards repeatedly to ensure the board and battery’s structural integrity.
Ride Tests: There’s no substitute for the real thing. While we’ve gotten very good at designing tests to simulate every possible riding scenario, there’s nothing more realistic than getting out and riding. Ultimately, this is where we can fine tune the control to get the intuitive, responsive feel that Boosted is known for.
Well, that’s the update! We’ll provide another one by the end of October. At that time, we’ll share testing results as well as a firm shipping schedule for everyone who has already purchased or placed a reservation for an extended range pack. If you are looking for a more logistical update, please read our extended range pack FAQs.
We hope you are ripping up the fall riding season. We’ve really enjoyed meeting many of you along the way during our summer and fall demo tours. We’re excited to get you double the distance very soon.
Extended Range Pack Update - Boosted Boards
Extended Range Pack Update
Q4 is just days away and we have some exciting news to share! We’ve made significant progress toward getting extended range packs in your hands and are targeting a first-customer ship date in December. Feedback from our testers has been incredibly positive as the additional range opens up a new level of freedom with many new opportunities and use cases.
As Jeff, our new CEO, shared in his first Reddit AMA, “We have set out to take the bar up a notch with the extended range battery. Rather than just doubling the existing battery technology and design, which would have also doubled the size and weight, the new pack will be very similar in appearance and only one-third heavier, and not compromise our exceptional acceleration and braking performance – while still doubling the range. So it has been a major product effort for our customers, versus a ‘more of the same’ exercise.
We also hold ourselves to incredibly high standards of quality and reliability. That means we put our packs through rigorous tests that replicate daily riding conditions, as well as all known edge cases. Many of you rely upon your boards every day, and we want to make sure that our products can be depended upon as a daily vehicle.
Many of you rely upon your boards every day, and we want to make sure that our products can be depended upon as a daily vehicle.
Lastly, since we announced the extended range pack, industry standards for battery design, safety, and shipping have gone up dramatically, which we see as a positive direction for the industry. It means that the level of rigor and regulation has increased significantly. We very much welcome that and today would hold the engineering we have put into battery performance and safety against anyone in the electric vehicle industry with confidence and pride. But it does mean that we’ve had to build adequate time in the schedule to make sure we adhere to the updated regulations as well as the additional guidelines we have established ourselves. We’re just about there.”
What does that mean? We are through the prototyping phases and are now focused on putting actual production packs through a rigorous series of tests designed to ensure vehicle-grade safety and reliability. While not an exhaustive list, the summary below should give you an idea of what safety and performance tests are currently being conducted on the packs:
Cycle Life Tests: In this suite of tests, we evaluate the packs’ longevity. The exceptional po
wer the Boosted board is known for demands a lot from a battery. We test our packs under accelerated and highly aggressive conditions to ensure that the final product will perform reliably through years of daily use. While we only build with quality, top-tier cells from reputable manufacturers, even the highest quality cells require constant monitoring and control. Our proprietary battery management system is truly vehicle-grade and ensures that cells never go into unsafe or damaging conditions, maximizing their life.
Simulated Failure Tests: While the pack is designed to be highly reliable in the first place, we simulate various failures as a precautionary measure to make sure the pack handles them as gracefully as possible. In order to meet the demanding requirements of these tests, we have redundant protective measures designed into the software, electrical circuitry, and mechanical pack itself. The level of care we put into these safety measures is unparalleled in our industry.
Mechanical Tests: We design our boards to be used in real life, which means they must withstand massive mechanical shock and vibration, temperature changes, UV exposure, dirt and debris, and impact. That curb you just dropped off of? Those railroad tracks you bombed over? Not to worry. We simulate all of these conditions (and more) in an accelerated fashion to ensure quality and reliability. For example, we subject our batteries to sudden and extreme temperature changes to make sure the metals and plastics can expand and contract without breaking. In addition, we slap, shake, drop, vibrate, and slam our boards repeatedly to ensure the board and battery’s structural integrity.
Ride Tests: There’s no substitute for the real thing. While we’ve gotten very good at designing tests to simulate every possible riding scenario, there’s nothing more realistic than getting out and riding. Ultimately, this is where we can fine tune the control to get the intuitive, responsive feel that Boosted is known for.
Well, that’s the update! We’ll provide another one by the end of October. At that time, we’ll share testing results as well as a firm shipping schedule for everyone who has already purchased or placed a reservation for an extended range pack. If you are looking for a more logistical update, please read our extended range pack FAQs.
We hope you are ripping up the fall riding season. We’ve really enjoyed meeting many of you along the way during our summer and fall demo tours. We’re excited to get you double the distance very soon.