Shane Chen has just pushed the concept of hoverboarding even further with his hovershoes. The American inventor never seems to run out of ideas when it comes to developing means of urban mobility. This time it’s a pair of motorized rollerblades that give the impression of having a mini-hoverboard on each foot, with the difference that each part operates independently of the other. According to Shane Chen, hovershoes are safe and easy to control, especially for skateboarders who can easily control their position. However, Hover Store does not recommend their daily use and still recommends putting on knee pads when trying them on. In this article, Hover Store reveals the specifics of these new devices.
Hovershoes seen by Hover Store
In simple terms, hovershoes are shaped like two motorized skates resting on a wheel. The wheel electronically maintains the skater’s balance. The skates are in fact equipped with the same electric motor as the Hovertrax produced by the company Inventist, created by Shane Chen. Moreover, these hovershoes have easily found their way into the hearts of fans of the new mobility machines, especially freestyle fans.
Their operation is quite simple. Once mounted on them, you just have to change the supports to activate the engine of each hoverhoe. You can thus control each foot individually by moving forward, backward or even turning. There is no synchronization between the two feet, which allows various movements. Hovershoes can be said to work in the same way as a hoverboard. But as far as feeling is concerned, hovershoes are more like what is called drift skate, also known as free skate. They are mini boards made for each foot of the rider.
The technical characteristics
With 3.5-inch diameter wheels, or about 9 cm, these hovershoes are not designed to get around town or to take the bumps in the road. According to Hover Store, the top speed is about 8 km/h. These hovershoes consist of two stabilizers and are powered by 250 Watt electric motors. The weight of each machine is 2.8 kg or 5.6 kg for the pair. Recharging takes about 1 hour and a half. These mini-wheels are also IP65 certified, which means that they can be used without fear if there is water on the ground. In terms of autonomy, each hovershoes is equipped with a 54 Watt per hour battery, which would offer a range in terms of distance of about 8 km. They are already available for pre-order at the public price of about 500 €.
However, Hover Store points out that it is not a real urban mobility vehicle. The expert strongly advises against the use of hovershoes for daily urban travel because this type of vehicle has a little trouble with stairs and slopes. They are therefore reserved for lovers of figures, skates parks and slow-moving rides.
