Quick answer: An electric skateboard motor drives the wheels either through a belt or from inside the wheel as a hub motor. Belt drives suit big off-road wheels but wear their belts; hub motors are quieter and roll more freely. On the battery, compare watt-hours (volts × amp-hours), and charge it with nothing but its own charger.
How does an electric skateboard motor drive the wheels?
An electric skateboard motor (riders often say e-skate motor) sits in one of two places. On a belt drive it is bolted to the back truck and turns a wheel through a toothed belt and two pulleys. On a hub motor it is built into the wheel, with a urethane sleeve or a tyre around the outside. A few boards use enclosed gears instead of a belt.
A controller between battery and motor turns the remote's signal into power, and also uses the motor as the brake. Braking and pairing with the remote have a guide of their own. Boards for rough ground (see our page on off-road board types) mostly use belt or gear drives, because big off-road wheels and changeable gearing suit them.
How do belt drives and hub motors differ for the rider?
| What you notice | Belt drive | Hub motor |
|---|---|---|
| Sound | A hum or whine from belt and pulleys, rising with speed | Quieter: mostly the wheels on the ground |
| Pushing with the power off | Harder, because the wheel turns the motor through the belt | Easier, though the motor still adds some drag |
| What wears | Belts stretch, crack or lose teeth; pulleys wear; grit gets in | The urethane sleeve wears thin; the motor is enclosed in the wheel |
| Wheel choice | Wide: any wheel that takes the pulley, pneumatic included | Narrow: the wheel is the motor, so usually only the sleeve changes |
| Gearing | Set by the pulley sizes, trading pull from a standstill against top speed | Fixed by motor and wheel |
| Failure on a ride | A snapped belt leaves that wheel with no drive and no brake | Motor faults go back to the maker or a repair service |
Neither layout wins on everything. For grass and gravel the wheel usually decides it, so read the three off-road wheel types compared before you weigh up motors.
What do the numbers on an electric skateboard battery mean?
An electric skateboard battery is a pack of lithium-ion cells wired together, with its figures printed on the pack, the board or the box. Each one answers a different question.
| Marking | Tells you | Does not tell you |
|---|---|---|
| V (volts) | How the cells are wired, and which charger output matches the pack | How far the board will go |
| Ah (amp-hours) | The charge the pack can hold at that voltage | A fair comparison with a pack of another voltage |
| Wh (watt-hours) | The stored energy (volts × amp-hours), and the figure for comparing two packs | Range, which depends on you, the ground and your speed |
| W (watts) on the motor | How hard the motor can work; some makers give a steady figure and a higher one for short bursts | Top speed, which also depends on voltage, gearing and wheel size |
| S and P | The cell layout: how many cells sit in series (S, adding voltage) and in parallel (P, adding capacity) | How good the cells are |
If a label gives only volts and amp-hours, multiply them: Wh = V × Ah. It is the quickest fair comparison of two boards on paper. The same watt-hours take you less far on grass or gravel than on a smooth, firm surface, and less far again with a heavier rider.
What does the battery management system do?
Every e-skateboard battery should have a BMS (the letters stand for battery management system): electronics that watch the cells while you ride and charge. It ends charging when the cells are full, cuts power when they run low, and guards against short circuits and overheating. Trading Standards guidance groups powered transporters with e-bikes as personal light electric vehicles, and says makers must fit their battery packs with a BMS to reduce the risk of thermal runaway, overheating that feeds itself and can spread from cell to cell.
A BMS cannot undo damage, though. A pack that has been dropped, crushed or hit hard underneath can fail without warning, so never open it, add cells or fit a pack from another board.
How should you charge an electric skateboard battery?
UK government battery advice is aimed at owners of electric bikes and scooters, and the same habits make sense for a skateboard pack:
- Its own charger. Use the one supplied with this board, or one its maker names for that battery. Not every charger suits every battery, and a mismatch is a fire risk.
- Cool down first. Plug in only once a hard-ridden pack has cooled.
- Awake and nearby. Never overnight, and never with the house empty.
- Clear of the way out. Away from hallways, stairs and any door you would need in a fire, and well clear of anything flammable.
- Uncovered, with an alarm. Nothing over the charger or pack, and a working smoke or heat alarm in the room.
- Unplug when full. Disconnect the moment the charge completes.
- Dry and mild. Away from damp, direct sun and very hot or very cold places.
Heat well beyond the usual warmth, swelling, hissing, crackling and a strange smell all mean stop: turn the socket off and step back from it. The full list of lithium warning signs also covers the next steps. Smoke or flames mean leave it alone: get out, take everyone with you, and call 999 once you are clear. For weeks off the board, see keeping a lithium pack through the off-season.
How do you tell wear from a fault?
A lithium-ion pack loses capacity gradually with use and age: shorter rides on the same ground, an indicator that falls faster, and a board that slows sharply under load when the charge is nearly gone. That is wear. Heat, swelling or a smell are warning signs instead, and a reason to stop using the pack. On the drive, look out for cracked, frayed or toothless belts, a thinning hub sleeve and any new clicking or grinding.
Set it aside and ask the seller
Unplug, power off and stop using the board until its seller or maker has inspected it, if:
- the battery casing is swollen, cracked or dented, or the underside has hit something hard;
- the pack heats up far beyond normal, crackles, hisses or smells of chemicals, on charge or on a ride;
- the board cuts out suddenly while the indicator still shows plenty of charge;
- a belt has frayed or snapped, or a motor grinds, clicks or smells hot.
Electric skateboards are powered transporters, which the law treats as motor vehicles. Ride one only on private land, with the landowner's permission. Not on roads, pavements, cycle lanes or in parks.
Questions riders ask
Why does a belt drive whine, and when is a noise a problem?
The hum comes from the belt teeth meeting the pulleys, and it rises with speed: that is normal for a belt drive. New clicking, grinding or squealing is not. It can point to a worn or loose belt, a damaged pulley or a failing bearing, so stop riding until a repairer has looked at it.
Why does my board feel weaker as the battery runs down?
As a lithium-ion pack empties, its voltage drops, so the motor gets less push at the same throttle. Many boards also limit power near empty to protect the cells. Head back gently once the indicator gets low, rather than running the pack flat.
What happens if an e-skateboard battery goes flat mid-ride?
The motor stops pulling and, with no charge, there is no electric brake either. Step off once you have slowed on level ground, then carry the board or push it slowly. A belt drive is noticeably harder to push than a hub motor, because the motor turns with the wheel.
Does the motor wattage tell you the top speed?
No. Watts describe how hard the motor can work. Top speed depends just as much on the battery voltage, the gearing or wheel size and the limits the controller sets. Two boards with the same wattage can ride very differently.