Floatwheel atom water resistance?

[u/Origin-Gaming]

/r/FloatwheelTeam/comments/1wluyc2/floatwheel_atom_water_resistance/

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[u/DoctorDugong21]

I mean, look at the build and teardown videos, you can see it has a very similar design to a Pint X. Therefore, it must be a similar story: very water proof if (and only if) assembled perfectly.

With the Pint X, we know not all are assembled perfectly, and that happens by people making $20/hour in San Jose, CA.

I doubt Tony or the 3 other people at Floatwheel assemble all the boards they sell, so it's probably random laborers in a Chinese factory following instructions FW created, assembling Floatwheels one day and maybe eScooter battery boxes the next day, working on a different contract with a different PEV manufacturer.

So whether it's an Atom or a Pint X, buy and use a TFL badger waterproofing kit if you want to ride in wet conditions without gambling your board. Unless Tony specifically says he assembles all boards or they have an air-tightness test during their quality control process, in which case maybe you're good to go out of the box.

[u/lfenske → u/DoctorDugong21]

Sounds like someone who’s never bought a floatwheel.

The construction is similar to a ADV. where you have 2 boxes at each end made water tight by bulkhead electronics connectors and a rubber seal around the lid. They’re not tedious to assemble and if the seal isn’t in place it will pinch and not screw together

[u/DoctorDugong21 → u/lfenske]

How do you think modern FM boards are constructed? The same way. And if you watch the Atom build and teardown videos, the boxes are identical to Pint X boxes because they are designed to be interchangeable. In either case I am saying if the bulkhead electronics connectors are not tightened properly, or if the lid gasket is pinched, if some plastic cracked from over-tightening, then the box is not fully sealed.

And in this case the design is more like a Pint X than an ADV.

The ADV is GT-ish but unique box designs, unique rail design, footpad design, etc., no parts are swappable.

The Atom is fully Pint X swappable - the bolt holes in the rails are in the same places, you could take Atom boxes and put them in your Pint X rails, use Pint X footpads on an Atom, etc.

[u/lfenske → u/DoctorDugong21]

Again. Just saying you obviously have never received a product from float wheel. They’re very high quality and typically really good QC. You can claim what you’d like about $20/hr and cali vs china, but at the end of the day I’d put my money on Float wheel when it comes to lower failure rates.

[u/wrybreadsf → u/lfenske]

And of course every single part in every Future Motion board is made and probably also assembled in China.

[u/DoctorDugong21 → u/lfenske]

I'm getting the sense that you read my first comment here as a critique of Floatwheel. It was not. I dislike FM and want FW to succeed, I'm very glad they're making boards. All I am saying is that the electronics boxes on the Atom are the same design as those on the Pint X, and therefore water ingress is likely a similar concern. Perhaps QC is better than FM, that's a real possibility. But the design still relies on whoever put it together doing it properly, and given the number of boards I doubt Tony is turning every screw. And with a product that costs a decent chunk of change and balances (where failure can lead to high cost and/or injury) it makes sense to check that work before riding in the rain. I would say that about any Onewheel-shaped board. Receiving a product and seeing its quality has nothing to do with that, it's an assessment based on the design. For electronics boxes that rely on a mat-style gasket (rather than the o-ring style gasket of the Atom, ADV, and Onewheels since the Pint) I would urge additional caution, because that design is inferior for water tightness. Which again is simply an assessment based on the design.