Something new skates under the sun
Friday, September 14, 2001
JOSH SENS in San
Francisco Chronicle
Totally radical. The phrase means something different on Sproul Plaza than
it does in a Berkeley skateboard park. Except in the case of Jonah Most,
Tom Burchill and Daniel Holtmann-Rice, three young skaters who've dreamed up
an innovation that's part four-wheel transportation, part political act.
Their Solar-Board is just what it sounds like: a skateboard powered by the sun.
"You hear a lot about solar-powered cars," says the 12-year-old Most. "A solar-powered skateboard seemed a little less mundane."
The trio began tinkering three months ago to stave off the summer doldrums.
What they've come up with should please anybody who voted for Ralph
Nader as well as anyone who worships Tony Hawk.
The 7-foot board can carry three riders, one of whom wears a backpack with
a solar panel strapped inside. The panel is hooked up to a pair of
high-torque motors, which are linked to the rear axles, which in turn drive
the wheels.
The cost of the board, which was covered by donations from local businesses and city council members, came to $740.
A small price to pay for a two-pronged objective: promoting solar power, and
persuading the public that not all skaters are baggy-panted
ne'er-do-wells.
"Actually," Most says, "the skateboard image problem is really secondary."
Most and his companions will test-drive the Solar-Board at this month's How
Berkeley Can You Be parade. After that, Burchill says, they'll break it
out for Earth Day celebrations, and "anywhere else where people have an
open mind."
Holtmann-Rice, 15, is building a Solar-Board
Web site. But for now, you can find out more by e-mailing solarboard@hotmail.com.