Rationale

This is my final skateboard concept. These renderings were done in V-ray/Rhinoceros. I used Rhino to model my design as I was unable to successfully model the framing details and paneling of the deck in Google Sketch up.

I am quite pleased with how my final design turned out. I wanted to draw inspiration from KTM motorcycles, and Lamborghini. I like the strong use of sharp linear lines to create flowing panels and surfaces. The Lamborghini Reventon and the KTM RC8 were the main designs that had an influence on my design.

I wanted this board to be more of a downhill/all terrain board, that can handle various terrain. Sharp maneuverability and the ability to perform such tricks as ‘ollies’ and ‘kick flips’ etc are not going to be incorporated in this design.

The key design features I wanted were:

• A solid board that can handle smooth to medium terrain with ease (tar-seal and smooth gravel/grass)
• Ability to handle and feel stable at high speeds
• Low center of gravity

I really like the sharp panels created on the fairings of the KTM motorbike and the front grill/bumper of the Lamborghini Reventon. Although it looks very sharp and aggressive, they are still very function and seem to be very popular and fashionable at the moment. I wanted the main body to have this panel/linear/sharp look but still keep functionality in the design. I focused on the main areas that the rider would contact and control the board from. These are obviously the feet and along the rails where the rider might grab the board during a sharp corner to stabilize them self. I formed these two panels were the rider can stand on (one for each foot). The front panel is larger than the rear as most of control is of the front foot. The deck has a moderate concave in these panels to ‘lock’ the rider into the board, giving more control at speed and though sharp corners. The second layer to the deck acts as a base platform to keep the structure ridgid and adds to the panel look.

My design has a chassis which the whole board is connected, similar to a car. The chassis supports the main deck for the rider to stand on, a base for the front wheel support arms and house the rear wheel.

These arms/wheel supports are a key part of my design. This structure would be very strong and allow direct translation from the rider to the wheels and from the riding surface to the rider. I used strong triangular shapes to keep this structure light and rigid. I like the look of this framing, especially the contrast against the paneling of the main body.

The main chassis also supports/houses the rear wheel. I found this part a little trickier to look natural and still give enough clearance for the wheel to spin freely. I wanted to have the pipe running parallel to each other. I ended up having to angle some pieces slightly more to allow for the clearance.

2-1 Wheel design. I chose to have two wheels in the front and a single wheel in the rear for two reasons. First having two wheels in the front means that there is more wheel is in contact with the riding surface than the rear. This means there is more grip before the wheels start to drift. By having slightly less grip in the rear means it will over-steer (rear wheels losing traction under heavy cornering), as appose to under-steering (front wheels unable to track a corner-losing traction) which is a lot harder for the rider to control.

The second reason is purely aesthetic. I really like the way the design is more front heavy, kind of tear-drop-ish. This front-heavy-look is obvious in the KTM motorbike RC8. The front fairing is very chunky and boxy. This chunky-ness fades out through the rear to a point.

Hub-less wheels. I struggled to decide on what style of wheels I wanted on this board. I really liked the look of the wheels on the Lamborghini cars. They are sharp and aggressive, and I think something similar would have suited well. However I decided to go with something a little more futuristic. The hub-less wheels could well be a lot lighter than a traditional ‘mag’ wheel, and I think they suited the deck style better.

I think I successfully incorporated the design direction I wanted to go in, into my skateboard design. I think the contrast of the paneling deck and the strong framing/chassis works well. I think in comparison to the framing the deck looks a little basic. Possibly a bit more detail and layers would have fixed this.

I wanted to push my design forward. However resulting in this, some features many not be completely possible to bulk manufacture as a commercially viable product. This could be an issue, but it is merely a conceptual assignment.