The Ben Buckler Boards team takes LA

Are you gonna sit there and read this whole article with your 2020 depleted attention span? Maybe. Probably not. But our trip to LA was so sick, we’re gonna tell you about it anyway. 

Last month the Ben Buckler Boards team headed over to California to check out all the latest arrivals, tech developments and updates from OneWheel, Super73 and Boosted. 

After battling LAX (what peanut designed that airport?) we hit the road and headed over to Santa Cruz. Curving our way round the cliffs of Big Sur, we got our share of rugged cliffs, elephant seals and mind-blowing ocean views. First stop, OneWheel. 

The guys at OneWheel clearly know their stuff, and the worldwide demand for their Pints and XRs continues to grow. Soon, OneWheel are hoping to start investigating options to share support responsibilities with us in Australia, but for now are still keeping repairs and support in one central location. 

As for the million dollar question for when OneWheel are going to release a new model? Sorry guys, their lips were sealed. 

Twenty minutes north of Santa Cruz is Scotts Valley, home to the Zero Electric Motorcycle. We weren’t going to pass up a demo ride of this bike. Totally silent, and full of torque, the Zero ebike rides like a motorcycle. When it comes down to it, traditional petrol burners won’t be able to compete with the exhilarating gear-free acceleration of the Zero ebike. Getting them in Australia is going to be a task – but no one should miss out on this, so we’re putting pedal to the metal to make it happen.

Next stop, Boosted in beautiful Mountain View, where we got a tour of their top secret workspace. What can we tell you about that? Absolutely nothing. But we did get to borrow their new Rev scooters for a cruise around the hills of San Francisco. Talk about covering ground. We chalked up about 30kms that day, recharging batteries (and bodies) over a slice of pizza. Lastly, we stopped over at Last Mile in San Francisco, a great local retailer for Evolve, Boosted, Super73 and Monday Motorcycles. 

We also hassled the guys at Onyx for a test-ride on their Onyx electric moped. So fun, so fast, and so legal in California due to its pedals. The operations behind Onyx were impressive – a team completely dedicated to delivering better transport alternatives to the world. 

Our final stop was a catch up with the team at Super73, including a pretty sizeable group ride. 

A group ride with sixty people is, as you’d expect, insane, and featured riders from all across LA, including special appearances from the Japanese and European Super73 teams. The theme of the day? Customisation. Riders got so creative with their bikes it was tricky catching one that hadn’t been modified. Even without all these expressive custom jobs, cruising around the streets en masse would’ve been eye-catching. Let’s just say we got plenty of stares. Who cares, right? As they say, no publicity is bad publicity.

At the Super73 launch night, the hype was real and contagious, especially after the Super73 team unveiled – yep, I’m gonna say it – the best electric bike we’ve ever seen, the unprecedented Super73 RX. One short test ride and it was all over, I had to have this bike. Half motorcycle, half bicycle, powerful, light, fast, comfortable, with game-changing front and rear suspension making cruising for hours over all types of terrain a new reality. 

At the Super73 launch night, the hype was real and contagious, especially after the Super73 team unveiled – yep, I’m gonna say it – the best electric bike we’ve ever seen, the unprecedented Super73 RX. One short test ride and it was all over, I had to have this bike. Half motorcycle, half bicycle, powerful, light, fast, comfortable, with game-changing front and rear suspension making cruising for hours over all types of terrain a new reality. 

For now we’ll stay tuned to Super73 to advise pricing and timing as it comes to hand. It’s likely the SG2 model will be around $4.5k, the R model around $5.5k and the RX model will be around $6k+, with delivery in Australia looking like the end of this year, 2020. The SG1 will still be a part of the model line up for some time and the bike pricing will remain consistent. You can pre-register your interest for the RX on our website here.