January 22, 2018January 22, 2018 by Paxson Lim

Audit: Electric Skateboard Crowdfunding 2017

2017 is the year of electric skateboard crowdfunding.
Around 34 products were crowdfunded in either Kickstarter or Indiegogo.

However, there is a saying – Back an Eskate crowdfunding campaign only if you believe in Unicorn.

The pessimism is warranted as crowdfunding campaigns for electric skateboards have always been ridden with problems.
For starters, delays are the rule rather than the exception while overstating the performance is just too common.
As if that is not bad enough, there were outright scams! Anyone remembers Tinboard?

Here are the most common problems in Eskate crowd fundings.

Delays

Delays are the rules rather than the exception when it comes to eskate crowdfunding.
20 out of 30 boards had their delivery delayed for more than 1 month.
That is 66%!
And if you counted out 4 of those boards which were existing products (Ivory, Nuff, Maxfind C, Backfire G2), the statistic of delays would be 19 out of 26 boards, 73%!
If you are not willing to wait an extra 6 months, don’t back an eskate crowdfunding campaign.

Offenders: Most of the campaigns.

Overstating the performance

Eskate crowdfunding campaign is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.

The price is too good, you think.
This must be due to an early bird discount, you think.

But more likely it is because the board is just a POS and the marketed specs straight-up lies.

Influencers may be influenced or did not give the board a rigorous test.
Even if they did, what’s stopping the company to produce something weaker than the prototypes?

Offenders: Buffalo, Leafboard, LouBoards, Enskate FiBoard.

Poor Quality

On the other hand, even if a board could hit all the numbers, but broke the very next day, what is the use?

Too many boards end up having disappointing quality.

Offenders: Longrunner, Leafboard, LouBoards, Acton Blinks, Enskate Fiboard.

Problem with import custom and delivery

Electric skateboards are very difficult to ship mainly due to the batteries they carry.

A lot of campaigners underestimated the difficulty when it comes to getting their products to the customer’s doorstep.
There are delivery companies that failed to deliver, or outright refuse to deliver the electric skateboards, which in turns leads to an unexpected increase in both the delivery cost and the duration it takes.

Be extra wary if you are not from the States because international delivery are often problematics.

Offenders: Mellow, Leafboard, Acton Blinks, Elwing, Juiced (can’t post overseas), Linky, Enskate Fiboard

Need to top up cash

Besides underestimating the complexity of delivering the board, many campaigners underestimated the import tax or shipping cost.
They either end up requiring the backers to shell out extra or leave the backer in shock when their custom inform them to pay a significant amount to have their board to have clearance.

Offenders: Acton Blinks, Walnutt Spectra ($19), Backfire G2 (Initially asked for it, then decided not to), Leafboard.

Did not deliver

Some campaigner straight up never delivers.
Sometimes, some backer receives their boards while others did not.
This might also be something to do with the delivery company.

Offenders: Longrunner, Leafboard, Kuickwheel (went missing before delivery).

Poor post-sale service

Nothing is going to stop a new company to just disappear after delivering the boards.
They delivered the board as promised, and now there are nowhere to be found.

Luckily, not all of the offenders went MIA. Most just straight-up suck in post-sales service.

Offenders: Buffalo, Longrunner, Leafboard, LouBoards, Elwing, Enskate Fiboard, Huger Boards

Spec or design change

Spec changes are not always bad, but it is often unexpected.
How do you feel if the board doesn’t come with the deck that you ordered?
Or if the range was sacrificed in favor of more stable voltage output?

Design changes often come with good reason, but it might not be “your” reason.

Offenders: Acton Blink, Backfire G2.

Obsolete Specs

The board that we chose to back is most often state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line new tech that came with an unbelievable price.

However, after waiting 4 months for the due date we were hit by another 3 months of delay.
By the time the board reaches our hand, it has lost its edge in specs and pricing to the latest set of new boards in the market.

New boards are always better, and this industry moves fast.

Notable board coming out from Crowdfunding

With all that said. There are actually a few great electric skateboards that came out of 2017 crowdfunding campaigns.

Mellow

Mellow only took almost 2 years and multiple design changes to finally deliver.
Costing somewhere around $1800, Mellow is super pricey, but those who have it absolutely love it.

2 years back, Mellow is state of the art. By the time it delivers on 2017, the competition definitely has caught up.

In particular, Onan took the concept of the electric booster and ran with it.
By the time Mellow was released, Onan was already in its third iteration.
My review of Onan X2 is here.

Though as pessimistic as I may sound, the proud owners of Mellows are mostly very satisfied with their purchase.
Why wouldn’t they, Mellow is powerful, packed with useful features and most important of all, of great quality.

For those who are flying with their boards, Mellow is also considered the best travel board ever, as you can just remove the battery and introduce it as your XXL power bank.

Check out Mellow

Arc Aileron

Arc Aileron is one of the few crowdfunding projects that delivers somewhat on time.
It also marks the second time Arc team has successfully delivered Kickstarter project, both times with flying colors. (After their first project, Arc Board)

Arc Aileron made it on my list for being the best portable shortboard available.
It only weighs 9.5lbs(4.3kg).

Equipped with VESC, the acceleration and deceleration on Arc Aileron are very smooth.
It uses small 70mm wheels, so in exchange for a responsive and agile feel, the board has problems handling rough roads.

By the way, Arc team has just teased about their new project, Arc Finix.

Nothing much has been revealed about Finix yet but if they choose to go to Kickstarter with it again, I definitely feel safe recommending it.

Check out Arc Aileron

Raptor 2

Raptor 2 needs no further introduction.

Although it has seen some delays, the final product did not disappoint.

In fact, Raptor 2 has made into many blogger’s lists as the best electric skateboard of 2017, that is how good it is.
It is good all around! Quality, range, torque, speed, you name it!

Michael Gatti has the best review for the Raptor 2.

My affiliate discount (200 AUD off) for Raptor 2 is here.

Linky

Linky is an interesting board.

It is an electric skateboard with a foldable deck.
It also has a swappable <99wh battery.
The combination of these 2 features makes Linky the most portable travel board on my list.
Well, I just mentioned others say Mellow is the best travel board but well, I guess everyone has their own favorite. (Read: I am poor)

Anyways I digress.
Linky is still new and not much user feedback has surfaced, so the quality and riding experiences are still largely unknown.
Linky nonetheless brought a new concept to the electric skateboard market and wasn’t that the whole purpose of crowdfunding? To support innovation?

Check out Linky

Bad fails of Crowdfunding

Leafboard

Really really portable board

Leafboard was a Kickstarter darling when it launch.
Cute size, good price and crazy powerful (marketing specs).

Well, not many people are still expecting Leafboard to deliver after they stop responding to Kickstarter comments and shut off their webpage.
They were, however, still somewhat active in their Facebook group with updates now and then, and,
finally, to most of our surprise, Leafboard delivered in September 2017.

Too bad the woes didn’t stop there. It starts with complaints of backer getting hit by surprised import charges. Then there were complaints of how the boards under-performs and felt cheap in quality.
Well…What a shame.

LouBoard

Turns out Louboards are not a real deal.
After a few months of delay, backers who received the boards were largely unimpressed.

The final product under-performs it’s marketing specs and break easily.
There were also multiple complaints about SoFlow’s customer services.

Turns out a misogynistic company wasn’t that trustworthy after all.
(Much like a misogynistic politician.)

Acton Blink Series

For Acton, the first clue of troubles was when the Indiegogo campaign ends with a 2651% funding.
How are they going to produce that many boards?

Initially, I was one of those who applauded Acton for setting a new standard for affordable high performing electric skateboards.
Their Indiegogo pricing for Blink S, S2 and Qu4tro all undercuts the competitions in value for price.

Then the Acton starts to announce delays, that was to be expected.
What was not cool was how Acton straight up lie about the delivery dates.

It frustrated the backers when Acton told them that they are shipping the very next month -failed to do so, then proceed to give the same promised for the following month and then repeats.

International backers have it worse as they have to wait another few extra months (like 3 months) for the board to finally arrive.
To add insult to injury, at one point Acton’s site listed Blink S as having ready stock for purchase while their international backers still waiting to receive their board.

Blink S and S2 are meant to be the best affordable boards.
However, it took so long for Acton to deliver that, by the time they were out, better budget options like the Meepo and Backfire G2 were already roaming the streets.

It is even more disappointing if you consider that Acton already had a Kickstarter experience (which they somewhat screw up too) under their belt.
Speaking of not learning from experience.

Final Thoughts:

Backing a crowdfunding campaign can be a very tricky ordeal.
Considering the risk mentioned above, most of the time, it is not worth the risk.
However, a successful crowdfunding campaign usually has a few characteristic.

The company/ team had done it successfully before.
Arc, Enertion
The founders are reputable in the Eskate community
Enertion, Riptide
The product already somewhat exist.
Backfire G2, All those Onan clones
It’s not Acton

January 8, 2018January 6, 2020 by Paxson Lim

Best Electric Skateboards – ElectricSkateboardHQ’s Recommendations

update 4th May 2019:
Winboard Panther is out, Backfire G2T is in.
Updated Budget Longboard Section.

update 21st August:
WINboard Panther and Lynx.
Backfire G2s and Ranger X1.
Exway X1.

update 1st June 18:
Added Boosted Mini.
Updated Gen 2 Meepo. 
Update Arc Aileron V2.

Update 2nd April 18:
Removed Spectra Series from portable board recommendation after reviewing them myself. 
Most Anticipated Penny/Nickel Board list is empty for now.

update 24th February 18:
Add in UnikBoards, Kaly.NYC and DIYeboards AT kits are valid choices in for the all-terrain needs.

update 9th January 18:
Mentions Metroboard Micro Slim in place of Metroboard shortboard as consensus is Micro Slim> Shortboard.
Winboard & community feedback -Winboard GT-M8 2.0 not for sale anymore.
Backfire G2 back on the menu as feedbacks are their customer service doesn't suck anymore.

There are a lot of “Best Electric Skateboard” posts out there, most of them, however, are more sensational than helpful to someone who is looking to purchase an Electric Skateboard.

Sure, Enertion Raptor 2 might be the best electric skateboard in consensus right now, but it would be insane for me to simply recommend it to anyone who emails me, without first understanding what they want out of their Eskate.

“Hey, I great blog! I just want to ask…”
“Enertion Raptor 2. Say no more.”

Among the hundreds of electric skateboard that I’ve researched/ tried on, there is often one or a few electric skateboards that fit best for certain people.

This is that list.

And of course, the list will be updated when a better option comes around and old boards fell out of favors.

So let’s get to it. The best board for those who are looking for the …

1) Best Penny/ Nickel board

To a lot of people, an electric skateboard is mainly a means to commute, and among these people, some value portability above everything else. There is no use to ride to a mall and ends up carrying a 20lbs longboard for the next 2 hours you are there.

There are portable options for both longboard and shortboard too, but for those who are looking for penny/nickel size board, these are the boards that are best in their categories.

Best in general:

Arc Board (899 SGD ≈ $699 + $80 FedEx international shipping.)

Arc Board is simply the best electric penny board you can get on the market right now.
It is penny board size with a 22 inch(55.9cm) deck and only weighs 7.7lbs(3.5kg).

The range and speed is nothing to write home about but it gets the job done.

With the help of the VESC, the acceleration and deceleration of Arc Board are very comfortable.
70mm wheels, however, means good roads and sidewalk only.

With that being said, electric penny board is best to be considered by those who are experienced, as balancing on such a narrow wheelbase is not going to be comfortable for beginners.

Every Arc Board is manually assembled by the Arc team in Singapore and hence the quality is assured. They also come with a 6 months warranty.

Check out ArcBoard

Best budget option:

With 28″ Meepo Campus discontinued and being replaced by 32″ Meepo Campus 2, there isn’t really any small budget electric skateboard that I can recommend on the market.
If there is any board that you feel fit this category, please let me know in the comment section so I can check it out!

These are the other boards that were considered but weren’t picked:

Bolt, Louboard, Winboard GT M8 Mini, Maxfind C

Acton Blink Lite is now known as Blink Go, it is a small, cheap, single hub motor Eskate. There was simply no reason to pick Acton Blink Lite over Meepo Campus as, for the similar price, the Campus has better performance and Meepo are way more reliable than Acton.

However, now that the Campus is discontinued, it left the $200 Acton Blink Go the only board

I still wouldn’t dare to recommend an Acton because of their poor reputation on how they take care of their customers.

Acton Affiliate Link, if you wants to go against my advice and buy it anyways.

Bolt -899EUR ≈ $950 USD

At its price, there is little to pick Bolt over Arc Board. Arc Board has more range and bolt has a slight edge in speed.

But at the end of the day, I would choose Arc Board which has proved to have good product quality and customer service. Saving extra 200 bucks is just the icing on the cake.

Check out Bolt

LouBoards –$449, $790, $990

Turns out, Louboard is not the sure thing.

After months of delay, the backers of Lou board was disappointed by the actual product.
Quality, customer service aside, the main complaint is the board doesn’t perform as it boasted.

Outside of Kickstarter campaign, Lous don’t have that attractive of a price anyways.

I don’t think anyone is looking for a highspeed penny board but Lou 3.0 is basically the penny board with highest top-speed if you are into that kind of things… …

Check out Lou …

Maxfind C

Reviews had shown that Maxfind C is weak, has poor quality and breaks easily. It is more like a toy than an Eskate.

Check out Maxfind C

WinBoard GT-M8 mini – not for sale anymore.

2) Best Shortboards

Shortboard lovers are in luck.

There was a time when there is not much option in the electric shortboards market.

Not anymore, there are a lot of new players joining the shortboards niche and it is a red ocean out there.

Best in general:

There are so many good shortboards in the market that it is difficult to pick a best in general.
So I will cheat a bit by subcategories them into different motor drive – Belt, Geared, and Hub and pick the best amongst them.

WINboard Lynx ($699-829) -Hub drive

At this point in time, still relatively unknown, Lynx is a treasure to be discovered.

One of the first product put out by Eskate manufacturing giant WINboard, it has all the benefit of a China Board – Great price for performance; while not suffering from the lack of finesse in control, build and design that is characteristic of Chinese electric skateboard aggregator company.

And that unibody carbon fiber design that is shared by the Predator Banshee? Gorgeous.

Light, powerful, refined, there isn’t much of the Lynx that I can pick on.
Well, perhaps the lack-of kick tail might be the deal breaker for some.

With their customer support now properly set up, I wouldn’t hold back to say Lynxes are the best electric shortboard available right now.

Check out our review on the Lynx Challenge

Boosted Mini X ($999) -Belt drive

Boosted Mini X is the exception from the high price, high polish but low-performance stereotype that we know Boosted for.

At 20mph(32kmh) top speed and 14miles(22.5km) range, the Boosted are just slightly behind its competitor in specs, something that the quality, polish and brand name definitely more than made up for.
Comparing to it’s weaker brother Mini S($749), Mini X has better value/dollar ratio as it has 2 times the range for just $250 extra and should be the first consideration.

The only downside of the Boosted Mini X would be the weight. At 16.8 lbs(7.6kg), it was really heavy, especially for a shortboard.

If weight is not an issue for you, (then why not buy a longboard?!), Boosted Mini X should be among your first consideration when shopping for an electric shortboard.

Check out my summary on the Boosted 3rd Gens

Arc Aileron V2 ($1249 + $80 FedEx international shipping)

– Geared Drive

Arc Aileron V2 is one of my favorite electric shortboards!

The board from reliable Arc team nailed almost every aspect that makes a good electric skateboard from quality to performance. The big 90mm wheels (which is compatible to 107mm wheels upgrade!), a light 12.1lbs(5.5kg) weight, and geared motor that free-rolls like dream, Arc Aileron is the perfect board for a lot of people.

Its only weakness should be the torque. As always, a single drive has its limitation.

Check out my review for Arc Aileron V2

Best Budget Option:

Meepo Campus 2 ($299 US only)

For those who are in the US, Meepo Campus 2 at $299 is a no-brainer for anyone looking for a budget electric shortboard.

Besides the limitation in torque, the Meepo Campus 2 has an all-rounded spec, making it a fine choice for anyone who doesn’t care about speedy acceleration and crazy top speed.

The polished that came with the 2nd Gen Meepo’s also is something rarely seen at this price range.

My 2nd favorite boards of all time, I would recommend the Meepo Campus 2 to anyone who is not looking for torque.

Check out my full review of Meepo Campus 2.

For those who need more torque or if Meepo Campus 2 is yet to available in your area, my budget recommendation would be the 30″ Meepo V2P, or the Wowgo Mini 28″depending on which deck suits you best.

(Wowgo remote seems to have finer control than that of Meepo, but with some sacrifices in features. Meepo has the better track record in post-sales service, that’s why I always suggest Meepo first.)

These are the other boards that were considered but weren’t picked:

Pulse Echo, Predator Banshee, Arc Aileron V1, Riptide R1 and R1 Elite, Metro Micro Slim, DIYelectric Torque Speedster, Acton Blink S1, S2, Yuneec Ego-2, Huger Classic, Huger Travel.

Pulse Echo ($999) – Hub Motors

At one point, Pulse Echo was considered best shortboard on the market right. It is fast (25mph/40kmh), it has a decent range (12mil/ 19km) and has all the important features such as VESC, swappable battery, swappable PU sleeves and water resistance.

However, it seems like the board was never ready for purchase. Early reviews have been positive for this boards, but it is still undergoing refinement and improvement. The lack of availability really makes it a difficult board to recommend.

Pulse founder is from the Eskate community so there is a lot of faith in the product and company.

Check out Pulse Echo

Predator Banshee ($1099)

Predator Banshee has a problem- Winboard Lynx exists now.

Q’s Predator Banshee has a different philosophy than the Winboard Lynx.
Catering more to speed demons and thrill seekers.

Similar looks aside, both of them are only sharing deck and battery.

With Winboard Lynx undercutting Predator Banshee in price while also being equal in performance…

Check out Predator Banshee

Riptide R1 and R1 Elite – ($599, $729)

Eric Birkemeier’s Riptide R1 and R1 Elite are dual belt-motors electric shortboard.
They are powerful, fast and light in weight.

It rides pretty well too.

However, priced @ $599 and $729, the Riptide R1 are the victims of a new Boosted Mini series.
It’s hard to see anyone pick the R1 over Boosted for $150 and a few pounds lighter. The quality, customer service, and comfort of the Boosted brand make going the Boosted way a more logical and common choice.

The long-standing concern of battery quality and recent woes of quality concern wasn’t helping too.

Check out our Riptide R1 Elite Review

29″ Metroboard Micro Slim – $1099

Metroboard has been around for a long time and is known to build quality belt motor boards.

Unless you are in love with the design, there is little reason to go with the heavy 29″ Metroboard Micro Slim today. The other boards I mentioned were either faster, lighter or cheaper or in some case just better overall.

Check out 29″ Metroboard Micro Slim

Acton Blink S1, S2 – $449, $999

Ughh, Acton…

When I first came to the eskate scene, Acton’s board is a company I like. They have boards in every tier and always edge out the competition in pricing.

As more and more good budget eskate came to the market, Acton no longer has the edge in pricing.
On top of that, the bad reputation of Acton for their customer services and board quality makes me uncomfortable in recommending any of their board.

While there are a lot of “this is the best board I have ever ridden” video, there is, even more, posts of “My Blink S2 broke…”

Would not recommend.
However, if you want to buy at your own risk: Here is the Affiliate link & discount code<— XD

DIYelectric Torque Speedster -$774

At one time, DIYelectric Torque Speedster is my go-to recommendation for a budget electric skateboard.

A year back, it was the best performing budget board.

Nowadays, there is a lot more budget and better boards, leaving Torque Speedster without a niche.

And as mentioned, Diyelectricskateboard are putting the production on hold for now so you couldn’t buy it anyways…

Check out Torque Boards

Huger Classic -$449

Only a few have received Huger Classic after a 2 months delay in their Indiegogo shipping.

So being a new brand (that I have no confidence in), I would not start recommending it before the review comes in.
Even if it is all it promised, at $449, Riptide R1 would still be an all-around better purchase.

Check out Huger Boards

Huger Travel– $799

Poor riding experience due to the short wheelbase. Preview and early review are all negatives.

Just avoid it.

Check out Huger Boards

Yuneec Ego-2 ≈$340

Yuneec Ego and Ego-2 have been the staple of the budget electric skateboard for a long long time.

There are quite outdated at this age.
In comparison with the new budget boards, it is slow with unreliable quality and customer service. There is no reason to recommend Yuneec Ego-2 to anyone anymore.

Check out Yuneec Ego-2 on Amazon

3) Best Longboards

Too many grounds to cover here, we will go down the price list:

Cost: A Kidney

La Croix ($2299)

You know what’s costing 2 grand yet sells like a hot cake? La Croix.

Range: 37.5 mile/60km
Speed: 18mph-22mph (30km/h to 35km/h)

All terrain wheels, very flexy deck, carbon fiber enclosure.

And a waiting list.

Check out La Croix official page

Custom Trampa Build ($2200 Onwards)

You can build a powerful beast with Trampa deck, and the most known way to do it right now is to go to Kaly.nyc for it.

Check out Kaly.nyc

Premium Tier:

Enertion Raptor 2.1 ($1785)

I have to agree with the consensus that Enertion Raptor 2 is the overall best electric skateboard on the market right now.

Fast, Powerful with great range, Enertion Raptor 2 is the complete package.
The ability to switch between 90mm, 98mm or 100mm wheels is just icing on the cake.

Early reviews of the Raptor 2 are overwhelmingly positive.

I think the best on-hand review of the Raptor 2 is done by Michael Gatti.

All in all, a great performing board that is made of quality parts by a reputable company.
Raptor 2 is an easy recommendation.

Affiliated discount link for Raptor 2.

Boosted Stealth ($1600)

As long as the Boosted Stealth’s rather limited range can get you where you need, it should be among the first consideration when shopping for a premium board.

Going Boosted is about putting all your money in to ride comfort, board quality and … well… brand name.

My buddy Samuel James has a very good article written about his rationale on getting a Boosted Stealth, take a read to see if that resonate with you.

Boosted Stealth – The Decision (by Samuel James)

Best middle high-end:

Exway X1 ($900)

Exway X1 has been around for a while, and it has largely flown under the radar.

In a world that China Boards are frown upon for being raw, unrefined with poor customer care.
Exway X1 is none of that.

With the performance, ride feel, control, quality and service that rivals that of the Boosted, while asking only for two-thirds of the price. Is EXWAY X1 THE BOOSTED KILLER? (Oh my gawd what did I just said, I sound like the rest of them now!)

Check out our Review on the Exway X1

Best mid-tier:

Backfire G2T ($599)

Backfire G2T has made alot of noises this year, and rightfully so.

It has a perfectly smooth control thanks to the Hobbywing ESC.
It has a powerful torque when the Turbo mode is activated.
It uses great Samsung 30Q batteries which provide range while eliminating voltage sag.
It uses Caliber II trucks that delivers stable and comfortable rides.
It comes with both 83mm and 96mm wheels which allows the board to be versatile in any road type.

It’s hands down, the best board at $599.

Check out our Review on the Backfire G2T

Best Budget Option:

I define a budget board as a board that are asking for less than $500. With the rise of Chinese brands, we are spoiled with choices and for that, I have made a separate list introducing and comparing boards in this price range.

You can click here to read about it.

But my personal favorite in this segment goes to Meepo Classic ($399)

Click to read the review of Meepo Classic here.

Best for portability:

Linky (999USD)

*Marketed as a longboard, the Linky is only 31.4inch(80cm) in length, it is more like a shortboard actually.*
*credit to Armin from Discord community who spotted this*

I think it goes without saying that the only electric skateboard that can be folded and put into a backpack is the most portable electric longboard.

After few months of delays, Linky was finally delivered to fellow Indiegogo backer in December 2017. Too bad there wasn’t review out to know how well the board rides.

It is 12.1lbs(5.5kg) in weight only, and can be folded into a 15.8inch(40cm) package that can be easily stored in backpacks.
Linky is also packed with features – phone app, swappable battery, LED lights and is waterproof.

It is the most special electric skateboard I have researched on so far.

For your information, there are a lot of fold-able decks in the China Market, an attempt to copy Linky’s design. A friend who tried out those board reported that those counterfeits were very very heavy, definitely not on par with Linky in the portability sense.

Check out Linky

Best off-road:

1) Evolve Carbon and Bamboo series

If you are looking for doing any real off-roading, Evolve Bamboo and Carbon AT series is about your only choice.

Unless you are planning to break the bank and go for a custom build Trampa. Or the La Croix.

The Evolves are great performing board made by a great company. (With a known case of remote connectivity issue and notorious problem with voltage sag on battery.. well.)

Check out Evolve Boards
Buy it from Amazon Here.

2) Backfire Ranger X1 ($699)

Early reviews of the Ranger X1 has all been positive, making it the most affordable option for All Terrain.

Check out Backfire Ranger X1

3) One Wheel

Is one-wheel an electric skateboard? Well …it is electric and we skate on it so.. yes?
Check out our review on OneWheel here.

Note: In the more DIY side, many Eskate makers offers custom all-terrain builts, famously with Trampa boards. You can check out UnikBoards or get in touch with Kaly.nyc for that.
These makers tend to provide top of the line service and quality.

On the other hand, although I am not particularly a fan of www.diyeboard.com, their 6″ Wheels All-terrain Electric Skateboard DIY Kits 10S2p @ $599 is probably the cheapest AT setup available. I have strong opinions against how they conduct their marketing campaigns, but consensus is that their products and customers services are solid.

Most anticipated longboards:

1) JED Dual wheel drives & All-Wheel-Drives ($1199, $1599)

JED Board was founded by Jeremy Bogan and incorporated in Singapore.

JED Boards are designed to be outstanding.

JED boards have a lot going for it.

Minimalistic design
It uses a self-designed direct drive which enables it to
1. Allow the use of standard longboard wheels (=thicker PU in motor wheels)
2. Eliminate the use of belt
3. More efficient power delivery
4. Better Free-rolling
Using very good parts for Trucks, Bushing, Bearings, Remotes.
Very light.
2-year warranty.
Good specs with good price.

With the downside of being very loud.

JED board is due for early 2018 delivery.

Check out Jed Boards

2) Carvon Evo and REVO 4WD ($1999, $2999)

Carvon Evo and Revo 4WD have booked their place as the champions of high-speed electric skateboards.
After months of delay in their Kickstarter delivery date, they are estimated to ship in February 2018.

The Carvon Evo and REVO 4WD are too rocking a different kind of direct drives and have most of the same benefit such as power efficient and allow the use of standard longboard wheel.

Best on-hand review for Carvon Evo from an early backer can be found here.

(This time, I am not going to list down all the electric longboard that were considered because there is just too many of them!)

Check out Carvon

Final words:

If there are any boards that you felt should be the better for any section, please let your opinion be heard in the comment section.

Again, this post will be updated from time to time as new boards releases.

I did not mention most of the electric skateboard from the China market, you can read about them in my piece on China Board where I tried to cover all the big name electric skateboard brand from China.

Wanna see how all electric skateboards spec charts and how they stack up against each other in a big top speed vs range chart? It’s on the Comparison Chart and the infographic page.

December 9, 2017December 13, 2017 by Paxson Lim

StarkBoard- A bumpy start for a hands-free ride

StarkBoard, a new electric skateboard by Stark Mobility launched their Indiegogo campaign on 8th November 2017.

They have concluded their Indiegogo campaign successfully as of today (9th Dec 2017), and if everything goes swimmingly (which is rare in the case of crowdfunding), we will be seeing the first Starkboard on road by February 2018.

I had been given the opportunity to interview the co-founder Kamil Banc to get a feel of the team behind this new brand and their philosophy in developing StarkBoard.

My plan to publish this piece took an unexpected turn when some controversy regarding StarkBoard the company surfaced but we shall talk about that last.

So what about Starkboard?

Short introduction

Starkboard is a dual-hub electric longboard.
It distinguishes itself for using posture sensor as the way to control the acceleration and braking, quite similar to the hoverboard or the Walnutt Spectra.

The ability to ride it without needing a remote is their main selling point.

What is StarkBoard about?

Well, StarkBoard is not named after Tony Stark or the Stark Industries.

“Stark in German means strong, and we want that to be the quality of our board.”

Starkboard is meant to be the ‘Tesla Model 3’ of electric skateboard world – an affordable option for everyone who wants something good but wouldn’t buy a thousand dollar Eskate.

After the likes of Boosted Board, Evolve and Inboard have shown the world what electric skateboard can do, StarkBoard aims to bring that awesome experience to the masses at an affordable price.

Starkboard main purpose is to be the vehicle for short distance commuting.
Something that brings you from point A to point B comfortably. A quality mobility device for the last mile.

During the Indiegogo campaign, StarkBoard is available for around $500 for the backers. With it’s suggested retail value at $999.
It is still available for $599 for Indiegogo-in-demand for now.

For now, Stark Mobility couldn’t quote a reliable price for the time when StarkBoard hit retail. The team just hopes to have it be affordable for the masses.

Specs

StarkBoard is made as an electric mobility device in mind and the specs reflected that –
Good range, just fast enough for commute and light enough for its size.

It is also one of those boards that are pack with features.

Top Speed: 20mph (32kmh)
Range: 13mil (21km)
Weight: 17.4lbs (7.9kg)
Charge Time: 1-2 hours
Features: Posture control, Swappable battery, 2 hub motors, dust and splash proof, handles up to 15% slope, LED lights, Phone Apps, 3 driving modes.
Price: Around $599 Indiegogo price. (retail price to be decided)

Speed:

Aiming as a tool for commute and not for sport, StarkBoard is configured to have a top speed of 20mph (32kmh).

“There is a dilemma when commuting on an eskate – You can either just keep a casual speed or go fast. But if you were to go fast, you had to go really fast so you could zoom past a bicyclist, or you would be in an awkward position where you were slightly faster than a bicyclist but not quite fast enough to overtake them comfortably.”

That’s why Starkboard chose not to design for higher speed but for more of a functional and stress-free commute.

It was a sound decision in my opinion, as the goal of StarkBoard was to be a mobility tool for the masses, many whom are not skateboarders, and for that 20mph is fast enough.
Well, fast enough for a person to hurt themselves definitely. (Please wear a helmet.)

And seeing that country like Singapore explicitly limit the top speed of the e-mobility device to 25kmh (15mph), it is clear that StarkBoard is fast enough for its intended purpose.

Also, California Electric Skateboard Law AB-604 outlaws any electric skateboard that has a top speed >20mph.

Range:

13mil (21km) range, if not inflated, is in the middle of the pack in the world of the electric skateboards. Long enough for most commutes, and considering it has an easily swappable battery, the range is not going to be a concern.

Starkboard pit against all boards. Click to enlarge.

For metric units of the above chart, click here.

Weight:

Considering that the hub motor weighs about 1kg each, Starkboard had tried their best in shaving down it’s weight to 17.4lbs (7.9kg).

The board is aimed to be a mobility device hence the weight is an important factor for it to be good at that. I sure am reluctant to carry a heavy eskate around.

17.4lbs (7.9kg) is a pretty standard weight among electric longboard.

For reference:
Enertion Raptor 2: 20lbs (9kg)
41″ Metroboard Slim 17.6lbs(8kg)
Evolve Bamboo GT: 17lbs (7.9kg)
Boosted Dual: 15.5lbs(7kg)
Meepo Board: 15.2lbs(6.9kg)
Backfire Galaxy 13.6lbs(6.2kg)

Battery:

StarkBoard uses 194.4 Wh Battery @ 36V/5.4Ah.
It is compliance with the UN38.3 and UL2272 worldwide industry standards.

The estimated charging time is 2-3 hours.

194.4Wh also means that you probably couldn’t carry it with you on flight.
Most airlines don’t allow battery with a capacity of more than 160wh on board.

See my guide to bringing an electric skateboard on a flight here.

Wheels:

Starkboard is rocking 90mm wheels that can handle most terrain well.
Starkboard also chooses to use treaded longboard wheel in order to better handle rough terrain.

It’s a shame that the PU sleeve on the motor is not replaceable.
That means when the PU wears down, you will have to change the hub motor with the wheels.

Stark Mobility will offer full replacement wheels and hub motor in the future.

Deck:

The deck is made of 7 layers of Canadian maple plywood and 3 layers of fiberglass so is stiff with little flex.
For those who are looking for a flexible deck, this might be a letdown.

The deck also has handle cut-out on both sides, which to me, is a must as it makes carrying the board around so much easier.

The handle cut out also provides a means to secure your electric skateboard on railings or bicycle parking rack with a bicycle chain.

Features

As mentioned, Starkboard has lots of special features, and the posture control is the one that garners the most attention.

Posture Control

“It would be great if our rider can ride the board while eating an ice cream or taking a selfie.”

StarkBoard uses gyroscope sensor & weight and motion sensors to control the acceleration and deceleration. According to Kamil, it is not the same technology from the hoverboard but the experience of riding one may be similar.

To me, it sounds very similar to what Walnutt is doing with their Spectra series.

The control is said to be very intuitive, and most people take about 3 minutes to master it.

We all, however, still remember how Casey Niestat couldn’t figure out how to ride the Walnut Spectra, so hopefully, StarkBoard’s posture sensor is more intuitive than that.

In fact, it should be as unlike Spectra, StarkBoard doesn’t require the rider to stand on a certain area of the deck and hence allows for a more natural stance.

Swappable battery

If you need extended range, you will definitely appreciate swappable battery.

StarkBoard’s battery is very easily swappable.

LED lights

Front and back LED lights that let you be seen.
Always nice to have the LED lights integrated with the board.

3 riding mode

I just recently had a conversation with a fellow Eskater and he explained to me on the usefulness of having different top speed settings.

It is convenient if the eskater can change the top speed when riding on different setting or at different traffic.

Starkboard has 3 riding mode, Beginner, Normal and Master that differs in top speed and acceleration-deceleration rate.

Not quite the 5 riding mode that you are looking for but I hope you are satisfied with this, Paul!

Phone Application

Available for both iOS and Android, Starkboard’s app can do a lot of things.

It allows you to:

change driving modes
track your route
distance
average speed
control the LED device
see the working of your Starkboard including
- sensor status
- motor temperature
- etc.

This also means future OTA firmware updates are possible.

However for now, the application is still in early stage of development with only the core feature available.
More extensive features will be developed down the line.

Dust and Splash proof

StarkBoards are IP62 dust and splash proof. So puddle will not be a concern but still, wheels are slippery when wet, so don’t ride in the rain.

—

I hope that at this point, we have established that StarkBoard is going to be a cool addition to the big electric skateboard family.

However, as I often emphasis, the company behind an electric skateboard is sometimes more important than the eskate itself as an electric skateboard, much like a car, needs regular maintenance and even repairs.

In a crowdfunding setting, the company behind the project is of course even more important, as we are putting money for the company to develop a product that hasn’t exist yet.

I did mention that there was a controversy, so, what’s the story?

What is Stark Mobility about?

Stark Mobility is a small the team of 7 people.

The team members came from various backgrounds, a few of them are engineers who designed the board, one owns a hoverboard business.
There are also team members who have a background in renewable energy.

Although StarkBoard is their first project together, the team from various background brings their own knowledge and expertise that they are confident that could make the product, and the Indiegogo campaign a success.

Most of the team members are based in Germany while the company is incorporated in the USA.

Controversy

Laurens Laudowicz and Hannes Reichelt, 2 of the co-founder of StarkBoard was previously involved in Juicies- a Kickstarter project for iphone cables that failed to deliver.
Let just say, it ended poorly with backers who didn’t receive the product calling for their heads.

Juicies. The Kickstarter iphone cable that failed to deliver.

With the damaged personal credibility of 2 of their founder, Stark Mobility was under attack since day 1 of their campaign and was being labeled as a scam project.

I’ve followed up with Kamil about this.

“Lauren is and was always involved in Stark Mobility. However, he is also working on sunsetting Juices and need to focus on that.”

He conceded that Laurens and Hannes had a failed project but stood behind them as a person.

Juices was a failed project but weren’t a scam. And their experience with crowdfunding, even if from a failed crowdfunding project is important in helping to make this one a successful one.

Indiegogo?

I wonder if any other market has the same crowdfunding fatigue as the electric skateboard market. Every other month, there will be a new electric skateboard launching their crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter or on Indiegogo.

Unfortunately, not many of those campaigns deliver without major issues.
Delays, spec changes, problems with tax and delivery are few of the common issues that we are just too familiar with.

From my interview with Kamil, it is clear that the team at Stark Mobility is aware of all those possible problems that plague most crowdfunding campaigns.

They tried to be very conservative by setting their estimated delivery date in February 2018.

Hopefully, the team can learn from the mistake of others Eskate crowdfunding campaign and from their other crowdfunding project and marks StarkBoard campaign a smooth one.

Final Thoughts

Initially, I was approached by Laurens Laudowicz to cover Starkboard at its Indiegogo launch.
I decided that an interview with the team member is a bare minimum to get a feel for how StarkBoard as a company is. And that, in turn, is important to predict if the crowdfunding campaign is legit.

After some back and forth, I get to interview the very charismatic co-founder Kamil Banc.

Just before I was to publish the article, the controversy regarding Laurens and Hannes with the Juices Kickstarter campaign surfaced.
Though I am satisfied with the clarification from Kamil regarding the issue, I couldn’t really recommend anyone to back a crowdfunding campaign unless they are 110% confident on the project, and I am at most at 70%.

With that being said, StarkBoard’s Indiegogo campaign had blow by its goal despite the controversy.

So, here is my current thought:

Starkboard is a great addition to the electric skateboard market.
It is innovation that electric skateboard market desperately needs.
Not another assembled-with-generic-part electric skateboard or “Meepo-alternative”. It is only the 3rd electric skateboard we have that is posture controlled and it is different than the pressure pad controlled Z-board and the smaller size Walnutt Spectra.

And it is definitely affordable with it’s $500 price tag.

Could it be the best board to buy at $500? Time will tell.

Starkboard has enough bells and whistle to distinguish itself from your typical generic electric skateboard.

Swappable battery, smartphone app, LED lights, IP62 water & dust proof and a changeable urethane for the motor wheels is all very neat feature to have, but the success of Starkboard mainly rely on 2 factor: The riding experience and the built quality.

If it can be as intuitive to ride and as well made as promised, it could very well be the go-to board for a ≈$600 last-mile vehicle.

Those are things that we won’t know until the board shipped so if you are interested, saved up and wait for the on-hands review to come in.

Goodluck Starkboard!

October 26, 2017October 26, 2017 by Paxson Lim

Onan X2 Review- The booster to electrify your skateboard

The most popular thing to do in the electric skateboard world right now could probably be – swapping the deck of the Meepo Board.

Sometimes I wonder, if you already have a good longboard deck lying around, why not just buy a booster to convert it into an electric skateboard?
It’s a 15 minutes work and voila, an electric skateboard with your favorite deck!

So, for electric skateboard booster, there are actually quite a few of them in the market.
However, only 3 of them seems to matters.

1st and for most, people talk about how Mellow is great but super expensive.
2nd, people talk about how Landwheel is very ambitious but unreliable.
And last but not least we have the Onan.

Onan – Background

Onan is manufactured by Guangzhou WOW Electric Technology Co., Ltd.
A company founded in 2006.
They do Electric skateboard, Electric scooter, Electric Bikes etc.

On April 2016, Onan arrived at electric skateboard scene with their Onan X1 Booster.

Onan X1 is rather unexciting.
Not going fast enough for most of the people and not going far enough either.
It was, however, reliable and affordable. (Looking to buy one? Too bad it was discontinued.)

Onan X2 arrived at the market at Oct 2016.
It was made for people who demanded a powerful booster.
It has a top speed that, for me, are well into the ‘danger zone’ and it also has more torque compares to the X1.
This is the Booster that Onan sent me for review.

Onan X3 arrived at the market in April of 2017. It was meant for people who didn’t need to go that fast or to climb that steep. (Someone like me, actually), and doesn’t need the big 93mm wheels that Onan X2 has. It is $100 cheaper than X2.

Distributors:
To facilitate their sales and service, Onan has enlisted a few reseller such as Griffin Boards, Ivory Boards, Nuffboards and Flight Mode.

The wonderful part of this arrangement is, the reseller could and did work as an extra level of quality control, and also act as an intermediary between the manufacturer and the skaters – something that other China Eskate manufacturers could very well use, seeing that they are known to have their PR efforts backfire on them.

Onan and Mellow

Let’s address the elephant in the room.

Some people say that Onan is just a copycat of the Mellow Drive, for obvious reason.
They look similar, share the same color scheme and have similar features.

Mellow first made popular the concept of Electric Booster back on 12 May 2015 when they launched their Kickstarter project.
However, delays after delays, they only manage to ship the Mellow Drive around August 2017.

Meanwhile, Onan took the concept of the electric skateboard booster and designed the Onan X1. Without missing a beat, they started shipping Onan X1 in April 2016, more than a year earlier before the day Mellow Drive finally arrives.

Onan claims their design is not a copy of the Mellow Drive (of course it wasn’t, the designs of those boosters are very different).
Today, Onan also is very reluctant to be associated with the Mellow (probably for legal reasons), but I doubt their similarity with the much more recognizable Mellow is bothering them that much.

I mean, if it’s hurting them somehow, why don’t they just… you know.. don’t use blue and black?

Anyways, I believe no one will mistakenly buy a $600 Onan thinking it is a $1600 Mellow, so I don’t see any ethical problem just for being born from the same concept.

Competition benefits us all, after all.

Onan X2 Review

China Boards always comes with amazing specs with an amazing price.

Onan X2 is no exception, especially if you intend to compare it to the Mellow Drive:

Top Speed: 25mph (40kmh)
Range: 6mil (10km)
Weight: 9.9lbs (4.5kg)
Charge Time: 1.5-2.5 hrs
Features: Swappable battery, Flight compatible, 2 hub motors, waterproof, Regenerative braking, handles up to 25% slope.
Price: Around 600 USD

Riding Experience:

The great thing about electric skateboard booster is, you can slap it on any deck and it will automatically turn it into an electric skateboard.
But this is exactly the exhibit A for a case of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”.
There is a reason why Meepo-deck-swap is such a trend right now!

The absolute truth of electric skateboard is, the deck is one of the most important deciding factors of the riding experience, and a shitty deck is going to give you a shitty ride.

Allow me to share with you how I started playing around with the Onan X2.

I tried putting the X2 on my penny board.
I couldn’t get it to fit, the battery case is just too big to also fit in the front truck.
(A nickel board is the smallest deck it could fit, I think.)

So I got myself a second-hand regular skateboard and put X2 on.

And damn, the riding experience is HORRIBLE.
The wheelbase is so narrow that each acceleration and deceleration threaten to throw me off the board.

Every acceleration, the nose will lift and with every brake, the tail will lift, and I struggle to balance on it.

The stiff deck of the skateboard also makes poor road UNBEARABLE.
I was riding outside hospital carpark with poorly maintained asphalt and it’s so AGONIZING I feel like admitting myself into the hospital.

Obviously, it is totally unfair to Onan X2 if I don’t give it a serviceable deck for review.
I don’t have a good longboard deck lying around so I did what I could… I gutted my Meepo’s Deck and put on the Onan X2.

Well, with a longboard deck, Onan X2 rides significantly more comfortable.
With the wider wheelbase, I no longer feel that the acceleration and deceleration were too jerky.
The rides were basically very similar to Meepo’s.
Vibration problem on cobblestone road also much reduced with a more flexible deck.
(Yes, as average as Meepo’s deck maybe, it is still better than a cheap skateboard deck that my friend probably bought from a supermarket.)

The take-home message here is – The Deck Matters!

Eventually, I get used to riding on the Onan X2 on that stiff cheap skateboard deck. On smooth roads, and after learning to position my body weight better, the rides become more relaxed.
Still, wouldn’t recommend it for beginner eskaters to put the X2 on a small deck. It’s just not as comfortable.

Acceleration and Deceleration

I felt like the acceleration and deceleration of Onan is a tiny bit joltier than other boards like Backfire and Meepo. Perhaps this is also due to how the remote was designed, more on that later.

However, with time, I actually find myself getting used to the acceleration and deceleration.
Still don’t like the remote though. Never will.

The brake will give a soft electrical buzz like “eeeeeeee” when you are applying it.
The harder you apply the brake, the louder the buzz.

I am not sure if the braking noise a side product of the regenerative braking or it was by design, but I love that the sound was there.
It gave me feedback on how hard I was braking, useful especially when braking downhill.

I feel that the brake of Onan X2 wasn’t that strong. The brake doesn’t lock the wheel but just increase the rolling resistance. I could not trust the brake to stop the board completely when riding downhill.
It could slow almost to a halt alright, just not completely stopping to a halt 100% of the time.

Onan X2 doesn’t brake downhill if it has a full battery, same as most of the board.

Wheels

It’s kind of personal preference but I love big wheel more. (Probably because most of the road we have here are bad).

93mm wheel means water hose, small branches aren’t going to throw you off the board. A poor road is much more manageable with bigger wheels too.

The urethane on the motor wheel on Onan’s Booster is exchangeable, they even gave you a pair of them out of the box. Awesome.

Remote

Not a big fan of remotes that uses a dial to control the speed.

With this kind of remote, I feel like I am controlling the speed, not the acceleration.

Pushed the dial all the way up from standing still and the board tried to get me to the max speed at that very instance. Scary as hell.
Accidentally removed my finger from the dial -> the dial sprang back to center position -> the board decelerated significantly at that instance that it was also scary as hell.

I get very anxious with this remote. But no disconnection, no delay (unless the battery is low.)

Overall

The riding experience of Onan X2 could be good or could be bad, depending on what deck you married it to.
I would love a different remote and if the acceleration and deceleration are 10% gentler, but with a longer, let’s say 44 inches deck, the acceleration, and deceleration might be just right the way it is.

In short:

Riding experience of Onan X2 is basically decided by the deck that you put it on.
The jerkier acceleration and deceleration means beginner won’t like it as much, but one would get used to that.

Built Quality:

Onan X2 has a premium feel from the get-go.

The packaging is nice. The finishing is pristine.

The steel that they use for the motor unit & battery case is very heavy, giving it a sturdy and expensive feeling.
The trucks also look and feel strong and beefy.

Not bad, in fact, quite good!

Except the remote somehow breaks open for no reason, I don’t remember ever dropping it…

Range:

All the Onans can be fitted with 2 types of battery.

X-BP10 battery pack with 90WH battery cell (making it flight compatible)
the marketed range is 7.5-9 miles (12-15km)
X-BP20 battery pack with 158.4WH,
the marketed range is 15.5-17 miles (25-28km)

The range of Onan’s boosters really varies according to riding condition, but the consensus is the range was grossly inflated.

The one that I got was the larger, X-BP20 battery pack.
For me, I get it at around 8 miles (12.8km) before almost fully drained the battery.

The range may not be the best but considering that you can carry extra batteries with you ($139.99 per battery), this is forgivable.

Speed:

I am not one that is comfortable to challenge 25mph(40kmh) on an electric skateboard, especially with the smaller deck I have.

The highest speed that I felt comfortable is around 20mph (30kmh) and I could reach there with Onan X2 with a lot of holding back. I weigh 75kg. (165lbs)

That speed 20mph (30kmh) however, is my friend Arne Bernheim’s max speed in his youtube review. However, he weighs 90kg+ (200lbs).

The top speed from the community varies between 20mph to 25mph (30-40kmh).
It definitely is fast enough for me.

Onan X2’s range and top speed amongst all boards. (Click to enlarge)

Torque:

During normal riding, Onan X2 can handles most hill no problem.

However, when I did the stop and go test on a parking lot incline ramp as I did for Backfire Galaxy, it actually couldn’t do it.

[WPGP gif_id=”827″ width=”250″]

It could definitely climb through it if I maintain the speed, but Onan X2 can’t start it’s climb in the middle of the slope.

The torque seems to suffer most when the battery is low. When the battery is at its last bar, it can’t climb hill nearly as well.

I heard of worries that the motor might overheat after a long uphill climb.
So I found myself a small hill that has an over 10-minute climb, to test that out.

The motor wasn’t even warm to touch at the end of the test, so I don’t think it would cause any problem in real-world use.

Customer Service:

Onan’s customers’ service is quite good. Had heard praises of them, haven’t heard any complaints.

As I have mentioned, the presence of reseller also adds to the customer service.
It’s worth mentioning that one of their reseller Griffin-Boards is very active in Reddit and always shows up to answer questions and provide information.

You could definitely have peace of mind if you choose to buy from Onan themselves, or from one of their resellers.

Other Features:

The swappable battery is definitely the best ‘other features’ Onan has.
I am a bit surprised that it hasn’t become an industry standard.

If you plan to bring your eskate on the plane. The smaller battery pack X-BP10 is a 90WH battery, making it flight compatible. Even the larger X-BP20 battery pack is 158WH and is allowed by some of the airlines.
(See my guide on flying with electric skateboard here.)

Onan’s boosters were also graded to be waterproof.
I did not try to submerge the booster into the water but the way it was designed, it can definitely handle splashes no problem.
You don’t want to ride an electric skateboard in the rain anyways, skateboard wheels are very slippery when wet and you will probably damage your deck when the moisture seeps in.

Issues:

The earlier version seems to have a problem where there were sparks when charging. It was said to be solved now. I did not encounter this problem.

As mentioned, the earlier version of Onan X2 also seems to have the problem of motor dying due to overheating when climbing hills that are too steep for too long. Haven’t heard of that problem for awhile. Again, I didn’t experience that problem.

As mentioned, Onan X2 also can’t brake downhill with a full battery. This is most definitely true.

Verdict:

Onan’s boosters is an easy recommendation for someone who already owns a good longboard deck and wants to convert it into an electric skateboard.
For most of the people who don’t exactly need high torque and high speed, Onan X3 is probably the way to go. By going from X2 to X3, you save $100 and shave 500gram off the total weight.

Go for X2 if you don’t want to sacrifices on speed and torque.

However, if you don’t have a good longboard deck sitting around, there is little reason to spend $600 on an electric skateboard booster when there are a lot of good ‘Completes Electric Skateboards’ in the market right now.

For a budget longboard, there are the Meepo Board, Backfire Galaxy.
For a budget shortboard, there are Torque Speedster and the Arc Aileron or you can back the Riptide.
For a budget penny board, there are the Meepo Penny, Arc Board and the Walnutt Spectra Mini.

But that is the point, isn’t it? Onan’s booster may not be the best choice for electric skateboard of any size, but it could be at any size at different times.

TL;DR
If you have a Sector 9 or a Loaded deck lying around that you want to make into an electric skateboard, and you want the board to go fast, and you don’t have $1500 to buy a Mellow, Onan X2 is kind of the only legit choice right now.

Links:
Onan official site
Onan as Griffin Board
Onan on Amazon
Onan on Alibaba

September 22, 2017November 8, 2017 by Paxson Lim

Backfire Galaxy (Backfire G2) Review

Backfire is one of the most well-known Chinese Electric Skateboard brand in the market.
It is a brand that I’m very familiar with. (I wrote about them in my Comprehensive Guide for China Boards and also when they launched their ill-fated Kickstarter campaign for Backfire G2.)

Long story short, I’ve been approached by Backfire to do a hands-on review on their new Backfire Galaxy, and this is it.

On the rare chance that you aren’t familiar with who Backfire or what Backfire Galaxy is, let me catch you up to speed.

Backfire – Background

History

Backfire is one of the most well-known Chinese electric skateboard brand.
It is a brand by Shanghai So-Fun or Helloskate.

Backfire release their first Backfire Board at around 2013.

With good specs on a good price tag, Backfire Board was very popular both inside and outside China market. In fact, it has been cloned into multiple brands such as Falcon, Luuov, Melon and Lectric.

Considering the China Market and how many of its clones have been sold from Amazon and Aliexpress, Backfire might actually be the most sold electric skateboard on earth.

Backfire Galaxy or Backfire Gen 2

So at the end of June 2017, Backfire went to Kickstarter with its new Backfire Generation 2 or Backfire Galaxy.

It was a controversial move as many suspects that Backfire G2 was already available and ready to be purchased by that time, and the Kickstarter campaign was just a marketing ploy.

The Kickstarter campaign ends up being unsuccessful and the backers were converted into pre-orders. But it nevertheless got people’s attention.

So, is the $500 electric skateboard with an eccentric grip tape worth buying?

Backfire Galaxy Review

China Boards always comes with amazing specs with an amazing price.

Backfire Galaxy is no exception:

Top Speed: 25mph (40kmh)
Range: 18.5mil (30km)
Weight: 13.6lbs (6.2kg)
Charge Time: 3hrs
Features: 2 hub motors, waterproof, Regenerative braking, handles up to 25% slope.
Price: Around 500 USD

Riding Experience:

Overall

There are worries that boards with pretty specs sheet and even prettier price tag translate poorly into riding experience.

This is definitely NOT TRUE in the case of Backfire Galaxy.

The riding experience of Backfire Galaxy truly stands out from other budgets electric skateboard and one of the big reason is the deck.

Backfire Galaxy has a long and flexible 8 ply Canadian Maple deck that makes riding on it a very enjoyable experience.

To quote Preston from Press Reset(Youtube):
“This board rides like a longboard. (and the other electric skateboard in this price range doesn’t)”,
and riding on my Backfire Galaxy I feel what he meant.

The board felt low, stable and very easy to carve around in.
Riding on it is just a very relaxing and enjoyable experience.

Acceleration and Deceleration

The acceleration and deceleration on Backfire Galaxy are very gentle in slow mode.

You can go 100% full throttle from a standstill and not be thrown off the board.

You can also apply 100% brakes when going around 12mph (20kmh) and almost not be thrown off the board.
Backfire Galaxy will try to be gentle in braking even when you are reckless.

Braking on high speed, however, is another story.
Somehow, when going at the speed of fast mode (>12mph or 20kmh), the braking becomes very dramatic.
I tried applying slightly more brake when going around 20mph or 35kmh and was surprised when the brake bite more than I prepared for.

The braking jolt threw me off the board and gave me some road rashes.

I then never re-attempt that again.

Wheels

80mm PU wheels on Backfire Galaxy handle bumps and cracks fairly decently.
I really wish there were >90mm though.

Obstacles like water pipes that my 90mm wheels boards can roll through safely are not as safe for these 80mm wheels.

and I knew the cobblestone path would be that much less rattling if Backfire Galaxy’s awesome flexible deck is paired with bigger wheels.

Remote

Backfire use a 2.4GHz radio control remote controller.
There were no disconnection and no delay for me.

It works like it should. Forward, reverse, fast mode slow mode.

The remote felt cheap, but no issue with it.

In short:

I love the riding on the Backfire Galaxy.

Built Quality:

Backfire Galaxy looks like a good quality product and it rides like a good quality electric skateboard.

The finishing is done well, the trucks look beefy and confidence inspiring, the PU wheels well… looks like PU wheels.
I couldn’t tell if the internals is from good quality parts, but from the outside, the quality of the board definitely felt good.

The only thing that is and felt cheap is the rather generic remote.
But it works as it should, so all was forgiven.

Backfire Galaxy’s range and top speed amongst all boards. (Click to enlarge)

Range:

The range on Backfire Galaxy is CRAZY.

The marketed range is 18.6mi or 30km, surely an inflated stats right? Wrong!
8miles or 14km later I still have 3 out of 4 bars of battery left.

The board definitely can go 18 miles if you stay on slow mode.

Speed:

The spec that I care least about is the top speed.

The highest speed that I felt comfortable riding on is around 20mph (30kmh) anyways and I reach there on fast mode easily with a lot of holding back.

The Backfire Galaxy can go 21mph (34kmh) according to Eskate community members that own Backfire and actually dare to throttle to the max.
(Thanks, ArmanTamzarian)

I for one is content with slow mode and no injury. Thank you very much.

Torque:

Backfire Galaxy advertised 20% hill climb. That is an 11.31 degrees upward slope.

To put that to test, I went to the multistorey car park of my condominium.

The incline ramp is around 14% or 7.8 degrees.

Riding the Backfire Galaxy over the ramp is of course not a challenge.

So what I did was to do a stop and go in the middle of the climb, and see if Backfire Galaxy can climb the slope from a standstill.

Answer: Yes it can, in slow mode nonetheless.

I think it is safe to say the Backfire Galaxy can handle most of the hill that you dare to climb.
Because it actually gets scary beyond 15%

Customer Service:

I couldn’t vouch for Backfire’s customer service.

However, it is safe to say that Backfire’s customer service is better than other no-name electric skateboards from China.

In fact, Backfire now have a service center in Hamburger Germany for Europe market and Richmond USA for USA market.
Customers from Europe and USA can easily have their issue sorted out without needing to have their board sent to China.
This is definitely a good step forward.

On the downside, there are issues that may shake your confidence in the board and the company.

The early batches of Backfire have problems with the battery. (serial number 730-770)
Some of the battery can’t absorb the voltage immediately causing it to disconnect, some board couldn’t charge, some have spark on charging.
The problem was said to be fixed and regular customers wouldn’t encounter it but I would still prefer an electric skateboard company to test their board super rigorously before attempting to put it on the market, considering it could be dangerous if something went wrong. (And things did go wrong, more on that later.)

Due to the battery issue, the delivery date of the board has been delayed up to 45 days for some of the buyers. The buyers also may or may not need to pay extra-import tax on top of that.
Then there is also mixed message coming out from different reps from Backfire. Some rep told the customer that they can pay extra to get the board air-shipped to them right now, at the same time another told the same customer that they couldn’t do that.This result in some of the buyers to cancel their order in rage.

This confusion in communication and tax issue results in some of the buyers to cancel their order in rage.

[I spoke to Randy the CEO from Backfire, they are shipping every order by air now without extra pay.
Kickstarter orders have been sent and all order numbers before #240. All orders from their website will be shipped on 15th Oct.]

On a more serious note, there was one experience rider Bahman Afsardir that has been seriously injured when going downhill.
It was said that the brake suddenly stopped working.
It was still not clear if it was caused by disconnection or battery overcharge.

Backfire did reach out to Bahman Afsardir after the incident.
The PR and handling of the case, however, is not the prettiest.

At the end of the day, pre and post sales service of Backfire is at least present.
If you have a problem with Backfire Galaxy after the purchase, Backfire will likely to be there to help you work through it.

You may not feel as if Backfire have your best interest in mind but they do at least try to fulfill their responsibility toward their customers.

Other Features:

Not much bells and whistle for Backfire Galaxy.

The urethane on the wheels can be changed, it is IP55 waterproof and that’s pretty much it.
(Don’t ride on wet ground. The wheel is not meant to handle wet surface. I know because my buttock is still hurting.)

Issues:

The board won’t brakes if you go downhill on a full battery.
This is the problem that all electric skateboard with regenerative braking has.
Including Backfire Galaxy.
It won’t.
Be careful.
[Update: Backfire informed me that their new board with new battery & BMS has solved this issue.
Validation from buyers are still needed to confirm this claim.]

Verdict:

Is Backfire Galaxy worth $500?
Sure it does, the riding experience of Backfire Galaxy is so good it is on par with the premium board such as the Boosted board.

I would say Backfire Galaxy is the perfect board for someone that use it for leisure riding.

If you are going for a more dangerous speed, I would advise spending more for something premium such as the Enertion Raptor 2 for a better acceleration and deceleration control in high speed and for the peace of mind.

On the other end of the spectrum, there is always the Meepo Board – the current reigning champion of the budget electric skateboard.

Comparing to Meepo Board,
Backfire Galaxy has a better deck (but too bad doesn’t have the handle) that made the riding experience better, and also have the changeable urethane for a motor wheel that Meepo doesn’t offer.

Meepo Board, on the other hand, has bigger wheels, is more modular (you can disassemble it for replacement or upgrade very easily) and is under $400 after tax and shipping (for most people) and has a more personable approach to customer service.

At the end of the day,

Backfire Galaxy offers great riding experience, awesome range with an affordable price tag.
You will love the purchase once you are carving on the Backfire Galaxy – provided if you can get your hands on one.

Update 1: Backfire now is now rocking a smaller battery, It is said to have more stable voltage output. The new range is said to be around 9 miles or 14km.
Update 2: Backfire is now launching an Indiegogo campaign from now until 30th November. Estimated time of delivery would be January 2018.