[Tutorial]: How Hard is it to Learn to Ride a Hoverboard?
If you're wondering how hard is it to learn to ride a hoverboard, then you've reached the right page. If you already know how to ride a hoverboard, then you're probably not going to get much out of this page.
Scroll down to see a full video example of how to ride a hoverboard.
Where to Buy a Hoverboard
Don't wind up being one of those people that get ripped off when they order a hoverboard from a shady company or person. Do your due diligence!
People seem to think that they can order on eBay or Amazon and that these boards are "the same" as any other board.
However, they are not!
Top name brands like ours and various others have to protect their brand. A lot of research has been done to achieve the highest quality and best value for our customers.
Hoverboard Protection
Hoverboards are designed to roll when the rider jumps off, crashes, or dismounts in any other way.
They basically roll around on the top of their sides.
To protect a hoverboard, you can apply tape to these common points of contact. In the video, you'll notice that our friend Adam suggests hockey tape.
Styles of Riding
Foot Placement
There are different places you can place your foot when you ride.
When you get on the board, where are you going to put your foot?
Some people prefer to center their feet in the middle, while others prefer to place their feet in other locations.
The location of your foot is mainly personal preference, but you should know where you are going to place your feet prior to hopping on your hoverboard.
The instruction manual tells you to keep your heels on the inside and your toes pointed outward, which gives you a natural feeling and gives maximum impact to the sensors.
You'll figure out your favorite foot placement by riding.
Learning to Ride
Mounting the Board
Before you ride, you need to get into the right mindset. Know what you have to do before you do it!
Take your dominant foot and mount that foot first.
Feel the board wiggling?
Go ahead and grab something nearby for stability, its okay!
Once you've gotten your bearings straight, put your other foot on the board and stand straight up.
Make sure that your weight is distributed equally on both legs after you mount the board or you will begin to turn.
If you're still holding onto a pole, move your legs around and get used to the directional motoring of the hoverboard.
Before you know it you will be free-mounting and will no longer need to hold onto anything when you are mounting a hoverboard for the first time.
Moving Straight
There are multiple ways to move forward and backward.
In the video, Adam suggests using your ankles to move around.
Move your ankles forward like you are getting on your tip-toes to move forward, and move your heel down to move backward.
Turning
Turning is simple as well. There are two general methods.
1) Push harder on the toe of the opposite foot from the direction you want to go.
For example, to turn left, push your right toes down harder. To turn right, push your left toes down.
2) Lean your body left or right.
Simply leaning your body will automatically put pressure on the correct locations of the board to turn you in the direction you want.
Lean left to turn left, and lean right to turn right.
Spinning
To spin in a circle, simply push the toes and heels of your feet opposite of each other.
To spin left, push your right toe down and your left ankle.
To spin right, push your left toe down and and your right ankle.
Speed Wobble
If you are going to fast, your board may begin to wobble.
Don't panic!
When your hoverboard wobbles from too much speed, make sure that your feet are flat with even weight, lean back and slow down.
This will return you to a stable board.
Riding Effectively
Riding a hoverboard effectively means that you have to be prepared for all types of terrain!
Get used to riding different terrain such as concrete, carpet, bumps, hills, curbs, ledges and yes even grass!
Handling Curbs Ledges
Tilt your feet forwards to get up a curb.
If you run into a tricky curb, you can take a curb or ledge by putting up one side of your hoverboard and then doing a 180 to get the other side up.
Getting Through Small Areas
Sometimes you'll be confronted with an area that is too small for you and your hoverboard to fit through.
So what do you do?
In the video, you'll see Adam making S-type movements to get through those small tight spaces.
Wiggle through by moving into position and taking your self-balancing scooter in a side-to-side motion.
Related: Hoverboard Riding Tips
Advanced Hoverboard Tricks
There are a few fun tricks that you can do on a StreetSaw hoverboard. We are going to teach you about the Figure-8 and the Moving 180/360.
Figure 8
The figure 8 is a fairly simple trick to perform on a hoverboard. This will teach you how to make tight turns on a hoverboard.
To practice this trick, put some tape on the ground in the shape of a figure-8.
Now that the tape is down, follow the tape with your hoverboard in a figure-8 style movement.
Keep practicing until you have perfected this. Once you have, its time to learn how to do a 180 and 360 on a hoverboard.
The 180 and 360
This is one of the more complicated hoverboard tricks for beginners.
Learn the 180 first, then move onto the 360.
The 180
To do a 180 on a hoverboard you will first want to be moving. Then, in the middle of your movement, push down your feet opposite each other so your board does a half-spin. That is how you do a 180 on a hoverboard.
The 360
The more complicated spin here is definitely the 360.
You're not stopping in the middle of moving to do a 360. No, that would be too easy.
What you're doing instead is the 180, then leaning backwards to gain momentum again, and then another 180 to follow that, completing your 360.
Conclusion
I hope that helped you answer your question about how hard is it to learn to ride a hoverboard.
Its time you actually hop on one. Go to our store and pick from one of the many hoverboards we have in stock.
If you're just beginning, you might want to buy a basic hoverboard with 6 inch tires for beginners.
However, if you want to ride in style with LED lights, music playing through bluetooth, and bigger tires, then check out our StreetSaw AlienSaw hoverboards with 8 inch tires!
