Overview

Back in November, I picked up the Future Motion Lowboy Footpads. Are they worth the upgrade for your GT? The short version is: yes, absolutely. Get the soft version!

Ridefeel

Underfoot, the Lowboys have a nice concave with great flaring pockets towards the nose/tail that give you a locked-in feel. Once you get moving, the stability improvements are immediately noticeable – that 5mm of drop, being about half of what you get from WTF rails, does more than I expected. I had the opportunity to test several GTs in different configurations side by side, and I was surprised to find that having the Lowboys felt nearly as much of a stability improvement as having WTF rails! This is good news because new footpads are far cheaper and easier to install than new rails.

That said, a setup with both WTF rails and Lowboys really unlocks the GT. As a Growler rider, I really prioritize low center of gravity on my boards, and the combination of these footpads and rails makes the GT genuinely enjoyable to ride. If you like the feeling of riding low, these are a must have!

Additionally, the Lowboys are more comfortable than the stock concave GT footpads. Foot fatigue is definitely reduced on longer rides, especially with the soft version. The edges of the footpad are also not as sharp as the stock concave GT pads, so if you're a rider with a larger shoe size and the sharp edge of the concave bothers you, either Lowboy option are something you should consider.

Necessary Modifications

On several Future Motion sensors I've had, I have needed to remove the top layer of plastic on the board to get consistent engagement. In order to prevent annoying false-starts on the hard Lowboy edition, that top layer of plastic had to come off. Once removed, the sensor is extremely reliable and I have not experienced any issues with ghosting. However, my experience with the soft edition of the Lowboys has been much smoother – I haven't needed to remove any plastic at all to get consistent engagement. Working straight out of the box is what I like to see!

Who are these footpads for?

If you want to upgrade your GT footpads to gain some stability, this is a cost effective way to do it. The alternative of building a custom set of footpads with a sensor will be much more difficult and expensive. The soft Lowboys will give you all the of that riding benefit for a very competitive price.

Overall, I highly recommend these footpads for virtually every rider. The added stability will benefit everyone with a GT, and if you already have and love WTF rails then I'm pretty sure you'll be stoked about these footpads as well. I would be very surprised if anyone ended up with buyers regret after their first ride on them.

Lowboy Soft

I couldn't help myself once I saw the announcement for the soft version of Lowboys, so I quickly ended up with the a set. Having built a custom set of Kush Hi footpads (both front and back) for my XR, I am pretty familiar with the challenges and benefits of using soft footpads – and I gotta say that I am impressed with the soft Lowboys quality thus far! Coming in at the same price as the regular Lowboys with hardly any weight difference, the choice is clear for anyone looking to buy a set today. The soft option feels great and has immediately noticeable benefits for foot fatigue, especially on longer rides or shorted, more aggressive ones.

If you have any questions or comments, reach out to me on Mastodon or by email. Thanks for reading!