All hail the Capybara! It’s only been a few months since electric skateboard brand Defiant Board Society introduced the Defiant: One. I recently got my hands on one to see this beauty of a board up close and give it a spin. Despite its best efforts to knock me off, I was able to eventually carve this electric skateboard around town and had a blast doing so. Here are my thoughts.
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Defiant Board Society wants to recruit you
Defiant’s name is an excellent summation of its entire ethos. It is more than just another eskate company, but a social club that describes itself as “inclusively rebellious.” I love that. Here’s a blurb from its website to give you an idea of what this group is all about:
Across the board, we stand for human rights. We’re not afraid to have an opinion. If that doesn’t sit well with some people, that means we’re doing something right. Although we’re against-the-grain, we have a supportive ethos for our community. We’re always seeking to build people up, create an approachable atmosphere, and help people do what makes them happy.
Defiant makes people happy by delivering electric skateboards designed to give experienced riders a rush back to their youth, where consequences (and blatant risk of injury if you’re me) are overshadowed by the sheer thrill of skating fast and living faster.
Long before the company even delivered its first board – the Defiant: One – this past February, it was working behind the scenes to ensure it delivered a flagship product curated and tested using the highest quality parts available.
Behold! The Defiant: One.
The Defiant: One sets new rebellious tone in design, function
We’ve covered plenty of electric skateboards on Electrek, many of which have impressed us and are worth a ride. While the segment continues to grow, a community of riders has begun to blossom. However, this world is still missing a tremendous element, in my opinion – culture.
I grew up pretending like I could kickflip on traditional skateboards, donning my favorite Spitfire or Zero tee while brandishing a subtle middle finger to every imaginary defiance my teen angst could drum up. Man, those were the days. Skating is just as much a state of mind and style as it is kicking, pushing, falling, and in the electric world, cruising… fast.
The Capybara logo with a safety pin through its ear (so punk) and thick chain strengthen a company name that already says it all – Defiant. The Defiant: One brings a fresh and welcomed rebelliousness to the world of electric skateboards that has previously skitched parallel to traditional skate culture but has rarely crossed over.
Although there are a few kinks to work out, this brand is off to an awesome start.
40 miles of range and speeds up to 38 mph? Sign me up
I talk a big game, but I admittedly did not get the Defiant: One all the way up to 38 mph, but I got close! My helmet is in storage as I’m in the process of a move, so I had to gear it back a little bit to ensure I stayed alive for my next skate review. You’re welcome.
As I said before, the Defiant team is no stranger to skateboards, and it did its homework when designing the One. After you get past the unique center logo and the beautiful deep cherry stain on this ten-ply maple deck, the next thing you’ll probably notice is its massive motors.
To reach such high speeds, the Defiant: One is propelled by two 6396 4,550-watt motors, which are powered by a 930Wh Molicel P42A battery pack – designed in a modular accordion style to flex along with the deck.
Moving along the side, you’ll notice the board’s big shiny, white wheels (which didn’t stay that way for long – trust me!). These are 100mm 76a duro urethane wheels, chosen by the team to deliver a smooth and grippy ride on any street.
Where the rear of the Defiant: One shines in pure power, the nose stands out in innovation. Defiant Board Society has implemented a “digital dashboard” at the front that offers real-time ride data such as speed, remaining range, plus odometers for a given trip and the lifetime stats of the board.
This was easily the coolest feature on an overall unique board, but it could use some fine-tuning. More on that below. Before that, here are some more specific specs of the Defiant: One:
Adjustable trucks can be set to 50-, 43-, and 36-degree angles
Three different ride modes of varying speeds
Top speed: 38+ mph (depending on height and weight of rider)
Range: 40+ miles (depending on height and weight of rider)
The One is defiant in both look and speed – can you tame it?
Defiant Board Society describes the One as a skateboard designed by seasoned riders for seasoned riders, and that couldn’t be more apparent. If the nearly 40 mph top speed wasn’t a dead giveaway, this is not a beginner-level board.
It is built in the USA with materials of the utmost quality from what I could tell, but every chance it got to knock me off, it tried and often succeeded… at least at first. As you’ll see if my full video review below, the sheer flexibility of the board took some getting used to, and I found the trucks (although great for carving) far too loose for my ride style. I had to tighten those bad boys up to stop them from wobbling at speeds above 15 mph.
The duro urethane wheels are stickier than they are smooth, gripping the road around each corner and wide carving sessions. However, they don’t absorb as well as some other wheels I’ve ridden, especially on all-terrain boards. Still, I felt zero vibration and never even got close to that uncomfortable sensation like my feet were falling asleep.
When I first saw the puck remote control, I was intrigued because I’m used to longer, more slender remotes, but I learned to love how the puck fit in my hand, although it was a bit trickier to switch ride modes.
The board’s brakes were really good… too good, actually. As you’ll see below, my first couple of attempts to stop in front of the camera sent me lunging forward, with the board suddenly taking off in reverse behind me. This is due to a unique feature Defiant Board Society added called “Smart Reverse.”
After you apply the brake trigger and the board comes to a halt, it will transition into reverse if you hold it long enough. Defiant says the feature is great for backing up out of a crosswalk or stopping on a hill, but I’m used to stopping and staying there, so there was a brief learning curve. Cool feature, though.
The digital dashboard is a truly unique piece of tech on an electric skateboard, but I found it a lot more useful when stopped and especially in the shade. Riding in the sun, I couldn’t really see the screen, and honestly, I wasn’t really looking at it as much as I thought I would. I was just enjoying the smooth, curvy ride it delivered.
I hit a couple of bugs with the display as well. When I first booted it up, it said my speed was 62 mph, and I didn’t even have the motors engaged. Later on, after riding outside for a while, I got red and blue police lights blinking at me on the screen, saying, “VESC fault: OVER CURRENT.” I think it had something to do with the speed controller, but it didn’t affect the ride of the board as far as I could tell, just the display.
This review process was a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions with the Defiant: One. When I unboxed it, I thought it was the most beautiful electric skateboard I had ever seen, but then I rode it for the first time and could not stop wobbling and fearing for my life. I tightened up the trucks, steeled myself, and learned to truly enjoy the smooth, quick ride this board can deliver.
If you’re a first-time rider, I would not recommend the Defiant: One. If you’ve been riding for a while and are perhaps looking for a second or possibly a third board to replace your old ones, this one is definitely worth a look. Like all boards, it really depends on your local terrain and how you intend to use it.
The 40-mile range is awesome as a commuter board, but your route better be smooth as you won’t be cutting through any dirt or grass. This is a street board for sure, and it’s designed and priced as such.
Pricing, discounts, and our video review
As a top-tier model built in the US with power and craftsmanship in mind, the Defiant: One is priced a tad higher than other boards, but you pay a premium for its beauty and function.
It starts at a price of $2,999, but you can use Promo Code SCOOTER100 for $100 off your Defiant One order or click the following link.
Now onto the video review. Watch me whip, wobble, and win below.
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The first US-built offshore wind substation is complete and headed to South Fork Wind – a major milestone for the US offshore wind industry.
Offshore substations collect and stabilize power that the wind turbines generate, preparing it for transmission to shore. South Fork Wind’s 1,500-ton, 60-foot-tall substation was designed and engineered in Kansas, and built near Corpus Christi by Kiewit Offshore Services, the largest offshore fabricator in the US.
The first US-built offshore wind substation left Kiewit’s factory on a ship late last week. It’s going to cross the Gulf of Mexico and then sail up the East Coast for installation off Long Island in a few weeks.
David Hardy, group EVP and CEO Americas at Ørsted, said:
The completion of South Fork Wind’s offshore wind substation is yet another first for this groundbreaking project and moves us one step closer to the project’s first ‘steel in the water.’
South Fork, which is being jointly developed by Danish wind giant Ørsted and energy provider Eversource, is expected to be operational by 2023, when it will become the first completed utility-scale offshore wind farm in US federal waters.
Cable laying is currently under way, and the installation of monopile foundations will begin in coming weeks.
The 132 megawatt (MW), 12-turbine project will produce enough clean energy to power 70,000 homes in New York.
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Swedish marine propulsion startup ZParq announced it has successfully completed a seed round led by cleantech investors, totaling 2.5 million euros ($2.68M). With the fresh funding, ZParq looks to bring its compact electric marine motors, powertrains, and other adjacent technologies to market to help decarbonize the segment.
ZParq is a young startup founded in Sweden in 2020, which, according to the company, was founded to challenge the limits of marine propulsion by providing the most compact and scalable systems for propeller-driven watercraft. Furthermore, the startup is striving to deliver products that are designed to be sustainable over the entire value chain. Per the company site:
Our founding team covers the span of electromechanical design, hydrodynamics, electronics and product design. We’ve been developing our technology to fill the gap where compact submersible electric propulsion systems are needed for high performance applications.
As you’ll see below, ZParq has already developed and sleek and compact portfolio of marine technologies, including electric motors, battery packs, inverters, levers, and even a steering joystick. Early on, ZParq joined the portfolio of EIT InnoEnergy – the largest impact cleantech investor in Europe, who was the startup’s first institutional investor.
Now, EIT InnoEnergy, along with a couple of other capital venture funds, have opened up their checkbooks to help get ZParq’s electric marine motors out to market and beyond.
Credit: ZParq
ZParq’s electric marine motors are sustainable end-to-end
The startup recently shared details of its successful seed round coled by Santander (via the Santander InnoEnergy Climate Fund) and Almi Invest GreenTech. EIT InnoEnergy also participated once again.
Each of these funds is focused around investments in early-stage companies developing new technologies to support a circular economy and combat climate change. Clearly, they see potential in ZParq – which is touting all-electric marine motors that are significantly smaller and more efficient compared to everything else on the current market.
ZParq states the motor’s light design reduces raw material and CO2 footprint by more than 50% in the production phase, and the circular design approach of its products helps reduce their environmental impact and climate footprint throughout their entire life cycle. ZParq CEO Jonas Genchel spoke to the successful seed round and the venture capitalists that have shown their support:
We are very happy to get Santander and Almi Invest GreenTech as new investors, they will provide us with the support required to finalize development of our first products and enable shipment to our customers already this year. Our scalable and modular technology has generated an overwhelming interest from boat manufacturers and ship builders globally, and we have customers within the complete range from small leisure boats to commercial vessels waiting for our powertrains. The company is currently in pilot phase with several OEMs and boat builders who are testing its 10kW and 50kW motors. It aims to have several units operating in water by this summer
It appears ZParq already has plenty of exciting electric marine technology in the works, including more powerful motors, so we will be sure to track its progress as these products approach market launch. A fresh 2.5 million euros should certainly help it continue to innovate and hopefully find success. More to come.
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