How to Learn To Ride a Hoverboard

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Learn to ride hoverboard

Hoverboards are the most fashionable toys you can give to your friends nowadays. These self-balancing scooters or wheel-less skateboards can be used for personal transportation. In 2015, Ebay reported 5,000 hoverboards sold in just one day during Black Friday. There’s no doubt it’s a craze that kids and adults have fallen into.

There may have been safety issues in riding hoverboards, yet they do not entirely stop the people from patronizing these flying machines. Well, some boards fly, some don’t. When the user fails to read or watch the instructional materials, he is at a high risk of getting injured especially that these are considered levitating machines. There’s a recently released class of high-powered hoverboards that claims to be capable of reaching up 10,000 feet and running a speed of 93 mph. The impact of the fall can be fatal. To avoid accidents, here’s a simple how-to-guide for your hoverboard first-timers.
Clear the path

Before mounting up on your board, double-check if there are obstacles on the ground that can hamper your flight. This is because some hoverboards can malfunction on uneven surfaces. For first timers, finding your balance can be tricky so it is best to have a pole or any supporting structure you can hold on to.

Wear Safety Gear
Never think you are indispensable when riding a hoverboard. Even experienced riders still encounter accidents, which can be fatal. Protect your head, knees, and elbows. Where possible, wear stretchable or comfortable clothes to allow movements and wear pants instead of shorts to avoid scraping your skin.

Mount up
The key to a successful and safe hoverboard ride is balance. If you are sleepy or not feeling well, you are better off postponing your first ride. Before mounting, make sure that your board’s battery is fully charged and properly turned on. Usually, the power button and charging port are at the board’s rear section. It is extremely difficult to stand on a board that’s turned off, since it has an embedded mechanism for self-balance.

To mount, place one foot first and find your balance. Other brands flash a green light to signal that you can now step the other foot onto the board. If the light is red, then you still have to stabilize. As a tip, position your feet wide apart for convenient maneuvering. Stand still for a good 30 seconds to 1 minute before making any movements as your body needs this time to adjust to the change that it is no longer on the ground, but on a machine.

Moving Forward
The hoverboard is sensitive to pressure. Press your toes down to get the hoverboard moving. Remember not to bend your knees or torso, but your ankle only. Leaning your body can cause you to fall and hurt yourself. Meanwhile, pressing down your heels signals for a stop. If you wish to move right, press down your right toes only. To go left, press down your left toes only.

Really, in principle, riding a hoverboard is easy. But in practice, you have to be in complete control of your body, especially your foot movements, lest you affect the direction and speed of the hoverboard.

Lastly, choose trusted hoverboard brands for safety and good ride quality. Some hoverboards have been publicized on television as exploding toys and the fault is largely due to faulty batteries. It is for this reason that Amazon and other e-commerce sites have become picky with the brands and manufacturers, and so should you.