This is my first e-longboard, however I have been boarding now for the better part of 20yrs. The controls are intuitive and easy to get a hang of; acceleration is good enough for me to ride this confidently in NYC traffic. Brakes are ok- but good to get on them early if you really need to stop- if you need to stop immediately and you are moving quickly, you will need to combine with foot-braking. But for all intents and purposes, if you know your way around a longboard, you'll be fine. Trucks have enough flexibility to navigate around the city, and generally stable enough at speed- I always ride loose and am pretty easy going in this regard. All in all, a solid board- constructed very well and I feel safe/confident riding it around. I'll check back in if something goes wrong, I've only had it for about a month.