Updates On The New Linky Deck

Our team is currently putting the early prototypes of Linky 2.0 to the test on the streets.

In this article, we will share a few updates regarding the new Deck, which will look and feel completely different. We won’t use any carbon fiber this time, and we’ll explain why.

Wood over Carbon Fiber: why?

For years we’ve been using a sandwich structure made of 3 mm of carbon fiber and 3 mm of bamboo, glued together by an external plastic to smooth the corners of the deck.

For the new linky, we chose a more traditional solution. From the tests we had run over the past months, we came to the conclusion that the type of wood used improved the maneuverability of the product, favoring the absorption of the vibration coming from the road, and improving the overall driving comfort.

Why traditional wood was a tricky material?

Wood is usually abandoned in traditional electric longboards because the coupling between the plastic containing the battery and circuit board and the deck can be a weak point when the deck undergoes significant bending due to weight.

For this reason, wood is usually coupled with fiberglass or carbon fiber to increase stiffness, however, causing problems with riding comfort because the structure being stiffer no longer absorbs road vibrations, which are instead absorbed by the skater’s feet and legs (if you ever experienced numbness on your legs while riding, now you know why ;-))

Over the past few months, we have focused on studying this issue in depth, looking for a solution that can offer more comfort but also use sustainable materials. Our efforts have been particularly focused on:

1. eliminating gluing
2. decreasing the number of components
3. trying to limit the use of composite materials that are difficult to recycle.

What’s the direction we’re taking:

The solution we’re testing now is a mix between wood and a particular kind of plastic.

The structure of Linky’s deck is made by coupling plywood wood with a structural plastic tub that contains the battery and electronics, and the coupling is designed to ensure the solidity of the components without compromising their flexibility, thus improving ride comfort.

Another advantage of using wood and reducing components is more extraordinary overall lightness.

What woods are we testing?

1. Maple: Affordable and ultra-durable. It can take a beating and look great for many years to come. Because it takes dark stains well, maple is often used to mimic more expensive woods. Cons – Because of its ability to mimic pricier woods, it puts maple trees at risk from deforestation.

2. Birch: Birch trees are at home in Europe, Asia, and Japan. Birch is harder than other hardwoods and has great durability. It has excellent benign properties, with good crushing strength and shock resistance. Reasonable availability, but more limited if selected for color.

3. Beech: it is hardwood, moderately solid, with good mechanical properties. It has particularly high resistance to compression, though less so to bending or tension because of its short fibers. Very fine texture. The problem we are trying to overcome is the tendency to warp substantially when exposed to changes in humidity.

Linky has been reimagined, redesigned, and remastered from the ground up.

That’s just the start. More specs and capabilities of Linky 2.0 will be added as we work on bringing the electric skateboard to life – so keep an eye out.

Ready to join the rider revolution?

Linky 2.0 will be launched in the fall of 2023.

Got a dozen burning questions? We’ve got you covered.

Drop your questions below!