Project Overview
The BajaBoard is the most powerful, off-road, all-terrain, electric powered skateboard. With top speeds of 55km/hr, and enough power to tow a car, our board is a unique, one of a kind adrenaline toy. Unlike other electric skateboards and mountain-boards, the BajaBoard features a chassis design with a fully sophisticated suspension system. Coupled with high power, this board is designed for superior off-road handling and durability.
Most current electric skateboards have a conventional single axle skate truck design, and only suitable for use on hard surfaces - like roads or footpaths. The suspension design of BajaBoard gives riders the freedom and adrenaline of riding anywhere, from open fields, to windy mountainous tracks, all the way to the beach.
BajaBoard introduced the world’s first fully sophisticated suspension system into e-boards. We’ve also included high power motors, making our board four-wheel-drive, as well as independent steering, traction control, and electronic differential. Each of these combine to provide a stable, smooth, and durable ride. 80% of our board (including mechanics) is custom designed. With these features, we can ride just about anywhere!
At BajaBoard, we’re all about quality, status, and prestige. Our riders choose us because of the adrenaline rush they get from high speeds, pulling off great tricks, shared camaraderie with fellow BajaBoarders, and sharing in the beauty of the terrain they are riding in.
Organisation
Team
BajaBoard started as a hobby project in 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. James Murphy, a mechanical designer and former-semi-pro RC car racer came up with the concept of an electric board that featured independent steering and suspension. He wanted something that could take on any terrain whilst pushing the boundaries of mechanical engineering. The original concept designs were tested, proven, built upon and developed over a number of iterations.
Since then, BajaBoard has grown in both product and team. Last year we launched to the public with a sophisticated product backed by a tight knit core team supported by strong partnerships in manufacturing.
Today, BajaBoard is underpinned by four main pillars. George Li (CEO) is the former Business Development Manager for a niche engineering company. With his experience in project management, business sales, procurement and contracting, George handles BajaBoard’s distribution and procurement. James Murphy (CTO), as mentioned above, the original designer of the board, is consistently improving the mechanical architecture, and developing new models and products. Alessandro Noccioli (Electronics Technician) has extensive experience in programming, PCB design, and hands on assembly. Alessandro designs the electronics for the board including lighting, controls, and special ride modes. Michelle Mannering (Media & Marketing) has a wealth of experience in events, marketing, communications, and media. She runs BajaBoard’s media and marketing strategy as well as our corporate development.
With this team comprised of complimentary skill sets, and a combined love of outdoor sports and adrenaline fueled adventures, it’s no wonder our team is just as passionate about delivering a high-quality product as it is about the experience and use of our products.
Project Brief
At approximately AUD$5K a piece, BajaBoard is not your everyday e-board. Think adrenaline seeking, adventure-filled, extreme sports goers. Our target demographic have the cash to splash and want to hit any terrain.
Electric rideables currently have a global market share of US$15.7billion. BajaBoard aims to tap into US$370million of this over the next three to four years. Along with our standard boards, we create custom, limited edition, “signature” boards. These were made in response to corporates and organisations taking a strong interest in our high quality boards. These “signature” boards are designed to showcase brands in a fun and unique way. They are our top of the line, luxurious, premium products, fully customised to suit the needs of the brand, featuring company logos and distinct colours. We work with businesses on these boards to not only make a great product to drive their own goals, but to develop and share stories around our collaborative partnership.
The future of BajaBoard is even more exciting. With many strategic partnerships in the pipeline, and extreme sports on the rise, we’re aiming to create the BajaBoard action sports event series; races, tricks, and fun competitions are the next step in our company’s development timeline.
Project Need
We built BajaBoard to create a machine that will tackle any terrain, to be a player in the extreme sports market, and take electric vehicles to new heights. Currently, electric skateboards are on the rise, but lack the ability for off-road use. Not only are e-boards increasing in numbers, but extreme sports are also widening. They are on the rise, fueled by innovation and pioneering; expanding and creating new fields of competition, and in 2015, we saw the first electric-skateboard world cup. Combine this with a huge influx of electric rideables and BajaBoard is moving forward with this growing “radical innovation”.
We bring you, not just a fun off-road vehicle, but an experience to be shared; shared with friends, mates, and even the world through videos. It’s no longer about living in the moment and enjoying it, but capturing the moment. With 100 hours of GoPro video uploaded to YouTube every minute, the extreme sports market is exploding with fun content, both by pros and amateurs. At BajaBoard we’re paving the way for innovation and technology.
The current generation of electric skateboards are derived from a conventional single-axle skate truck design. They are usable only on compact, hard surfaces. At BajaBoard, we wanted more! We wanted the adrenaline and freedom of riding across any open field and windy trail. The current boards lack the power, traction, stability, and ruggedness required to tackle off-road terrain. We solved these issues by introducing the sophisticated suspension system mentioned above.
User Experience
Our boards are designed for superior off-road handling and durability, and our riders think so too:
•Pete “Coming from a pretty avid snowboarding, surfing and wakeboarding background all I can say is I think that this e-board fills a huge void in the industry that has yet to be filled.”
•David “The BajaBoard is simply amazing. Boosted board can't compare”
•Paul “[other boards] just couldn’t match speed, turning and the terrain I was taking”
•Steven “I actually found I can do terrain on this I wouldn’t do on a mountain bike… really impressed that I've yet to find something this board cannot handle!”
•Harvey “I'm just super impressed with your board… my DREAM BOARD… I will be riding my BajaBoard far more then i drive my car”
•Pete “You guys really knocked it out of the park with this board, it's everything I expected and more.”
•Gokhan “the board is amazing !! Very happy with it. Unbelievable power and super comfortable to use.”
•Will “Handles unlike any other electric board I’ve tried (4 to be exact) and this is the most fun I’ve ever had on any board. It's absolutely above and beyond my wildest expectations… congrats!”
•Wmharvey “Just got my BajaBoard and I have to say it's the most fun I've ever had on a skateboard. Love my Boosted but this thing is in a class by itself. Can handle anything I've thrown at it. And the speed and response are phenomenal!”
Project Marketing
Customers are targeted through social media advertising (including paid and organic), key events (including the Formula 1 Grand Prix, and National 4x4 Expo), and alignment with strategic brands for corporate clients and endorsement.
We also have contacts in many of the local and international media markets (including NewsCorp, DriveTribe, and others) which we aim to leverage. We've already been featured through a number of online subscription sites including:
- The Awesomer
- TheArsenale
- D'Marge
- UnCrate
- HiConsumption
- ManDesager
- BlessThisStuff
- UrbanNews
- Gear Hungry
- Bouncy
- elEconomista
These have widespread and international coverage. They approached us through organic means, including web inquires. We have been approached to sell on retail sites such as Touch of Modern.
Further marketing is done through our international distribution partners, which are currently being finalised for the European market. We have corporate partners who we leverage for media and marketing including the Australian Government, MtM, Red Bull, and TomCar to name a few.
Project Privacy
Privacy does not really apply to BajaBoard, however we will openly state that our hand control system which controls the speed and ride modes of the board are fully encrypted. The control uses radio frequency with a wireless connection at 2.4GHz. We reduced the range of the communication between the board and remote to 10 metres maximum. This ensures interference with other electronic signals is not a problem.
SportTech
Tech is revolutionizing the way exercise and play sport. Performance trackers and the resulting analysis in transforming the performance of Olympic marathon runners to weekend joggers in equal measure - and it's not just limited to one or two sports. SportTech covers wearable trackers and analytics apps to route mapping - any technology applied to a sporting context.
More Details