Skateboarding in the UK

The biggest downside of commuting on an electric longboard in the UK is the rain and resulting puddles. My board manufacturer not only states that it is dangerous to skate in the rain but also that the electronics are at risk of being damaged.

Typically, I wake up and look out of the window to see if the roads are wet and if they are I forget about any idea of travelling on my long-board.  However, I've been caught out a couple of times  travelling to work on my board. For those occasions there hadn't been any rain on the day but it had been raining in the very early hours of the morning. The streets from my house would look pretty dry.  I would then elect to travel on my trusty long-board and  beeline to the park which forms the majority of my long-board commute to the train station.  But upon entering the park I would discover the path had not dried off due to the wind shield from the numerous surrounding trees. The result: when I got  to the train station, my trousers from ankle to knees would be covered in brown speckled mud. Goodness knows what my fellow passengers would have been thinking.

As a result my board has mostly been hibernating because of the  weather this winter. Instead of road surfing I am forced to surf on the internet to get my long-board fix. As such, a recent discovery for me is that you can get mud guards for skateboards!

The supplier/manufacturer called Wheelshields (no longer online) is an American company and you can buy them for under 100USD (around £80 pounds at the time of writing). Interestingly, the shields are mounted on the outside of the wheel using the wheel nut to secure them.
The shields are reported as definitely working with boards that have wheels of 76 mm in diameter and under. But also wheels as large as 80 mm can also be accommodated depending on the board.

The manufacturer reports additional advantages of using their wheel shields other than just for splash protection. This includes eliminating wheel bite and increasing bearing life. A review of the wheel sheilds by 14Degrees (no longer online)  claims these are a positive game changer.

Alas, the manufacturer will not get my immediate request for purchase as my wheels are 90mm in diameter. I have sent them an email to enquire if they make a solution for bigger wheels. In the mean time it's given me an idea to try and make my own guards. Watch this space :)