Today’s skateboards are actually marvels of engineering, but they have been so refined that they are quite simplistic by today’s high-tech standards. Maybe that’s why they work so well, since they keep it simple; a fundamental principle of good solid engineering. There’s not much to a skateboard once you have the board, axles, and wheels, it’s all pretty straightforward. The boards are made of plastic, composite material or composite material. The trucks are made from a combination of alloys and the wheels are made from urethane.

Not only are there few pieces, but the manufacturing allows for some high profits when brand marketing techniques are applied to the mind of the teenage consumer. Everybody wants a “cool” skateboard, right when you were young? I know I did. Perhaps why is the skateboard industry approaching the billion dollar mark during peak industry subsector cycles of 10 years? Some say high fuel prices drive up the costs of skateboards, as parents are less willing to take their kids to various activities in the gas-guzzling truck or SUV.

Hoverboards are a bit more complicated than real skateboards. You see, hoverboards must have their own powertrain and radically new design in order to fly. A hoverboard on its own is pretty easy to make, but making one that supports a human is much more complicated.

For a very small board to lift a human using current technologies is not completely impossible, but the board must also support its own weight, engine, fans, electronics, and fuel before it is ready for the human rider. Even if the unit is powered by a battery, the batteries still support weight.

Making the hoverboard very light is a must, but you can only get so far before you hit a hyperbolic curve of diminishing returns. It would be nice if skateboards weren’t that heavy and lost a bit of weight, but we can’t count on humans watching their diet judging by the current obesity of American societies.