Category: News

Posted on by Paxson Lim

Backfire Zealot Preview – Troubling or promising?

Backfire decided to start their 2020 conquest with a belt drive release: the Backfire Zealot. I guess we all sense that belt-drive is coming back to fashion and now every major Chinese brand has a belt board, well every brand except Meepo, which I bet will soon join the movement too. By the way, I think Zealot is a pretty appropriate name for a belt board seeing those who like belts are often very fanatical about it. =P

The board is now pre-selling at $699 and is due to ship on 30th April 2020. Its official retail price will be $899 but seeing that competition is pretty tough in this product segment (Exway Flex & Wowgo 3x), I seriously doubt that it will ever be sold at full price.

So what about the board?

First things first, here are the specs:

Backfire Zealot specs infographic

Looking at the product photo it is very easy to see that Backfire Zealot is practically a “belt-driven Backfire G3” so much of what Zealot will be can be known by referring to Backfire G3 (click to read review) .

Breaking it down:

Backfire Zealot has the usual good things going for it. A good top speed (28.5mph/ 46kmh), a flexible bamboo deck with an aggressive concave that has proven to be very comfortable.

Backfire longboard deck flex test
Same deck as the Backfire G3

Then, there is the Caliber II Front truck. The back truck that mounts the motor is unfortunately not from Caliber but is Backfire’s proprietary truck. No worry though, Backfire’s proprietary trucks are usually pretty good.

(Edited at 22th May 2021: The motor has been updated)
Backfire Zealot is using 2 x 5255 5250 motors. These are slightly smaller than 5255 that are pretty standard in production boards and are seen in the likes of Exway or Wowgo 3x. They are rated as 650W 750W each and are from Hobbywing., so I assume they are the same set as the pair on Wowgo 3X, which had proven to perform well.

Going with belt-drive also means we can be very flexible with wheel choice. The stock wheels are 96mm 78A with ABEC core. And soon they will be 105mm Cloudwheels option available. (It will be the updated Discovery core, for those who are following the latest eskate news.)

(Eskate historian here: Did you know, despite Backfire’s focus on hub motor all these years, their first board was a belt-drive?)

The original Backfire!

Things that I’m not optimistic about:

The things that I’m really worried about will be the range. Backfire Zealot has a marketed range of 22miles (30km). This is very likely inflated to some extent seeing that the Backfire G3 Plus with a more efficient hub setup and a bigger battery was only making 15 miles (24km) in our range test – That was only 60% of the marketed range. I’m pretty pessimistic about the range for Zealot.

Backfire Zealot, Battery

Even trying to get a theoretical estimate of the range is difficult as the disclosed battery specs are pretty confusing. For instance, I really like to know what cells Zealot is using as the numbers don’t quite add up.

  • 21700 cells
  • 12s2p
  • 4000mah per cell

This should bring us to a 346wh pack and not 311wh given by Backfire. Oh well, maybe just a typo somewhere. I wish I know what cell they use though.

For reference, Backfire G3 Plus is using 12s2p setting with 4000mah 21700 cells (Samsung 40T) and gives a 346wh pack.

So would it beat the current top choices?

Regardless of the nitpicks, Backfire Zealot is pretty promising. All the parts should come together to give a great riding experience and the promised new smartphone app is just the icing on the cake.

In short, I’m pretty excited for the Zealot and would like to see if it can snatch away the throne of the “Best mid-tier belt board” from Exway Flex.

You can check out Backfire Zealot product page by clicking here.

Posted on by Paxson Lim

Yecoo Boards gets updated

Yecooboards

New kid on the skating block: Yecooboard tries its best to improve continuously in line with customer preferences, Yecoo’s original four skateboards have become five, and each of its skateboards has its strengths. Three of its boards have been upgraded to match for skaters’ tastes.

Let’s have a look at what remains the same and what has changed:

Yecoo GT

Upgraded Battery

Working on the customers’ feedback on original Yecoo GT’s substandard battery performance. Yecoo has updated its battery from the originals Samsung 6s4p 8.8ah 25.2v to Samsung 10s5p 11Ah 36V and Samsung 10s5p 15Ah 36V.

Now, the marketed top speed goes up to 25 miles with the extended range battery (the actual range may be affected by road conditions, the rider weight, temperature, etc.)

Climbing proficiency of the board has increased from 20% to 30%.

The new battery will reduce voltage sag, allowing the rider to maintain high speeds, even as the battery runs low.

What is more, N5055 motor sees an upgrade to the high speed N5065 motor. 

With a change in the battery, the battery box also changes to occupy its upgraded tenant. Of course, the weight of the board also increases relatively; the current board weighs about 10kg.

Upgraded ESC

Yecoo has also refined the ESC algorithm to make acceleration and braking very smooth and optimized the efficiency with which electrical energy is converted into mechanical energy at high speeds.

The brake has four gears to facilitate the setting of brake flexibility.

The most prominent feature of the ESC is the smart boot, which powers on automatically when rolling more than 3 feet/ 1 meter, so you don’t have to bend down to press the power switch.

Price

Yecoo GT is priced at $719. Yecoo is doing a lot of promotions recently, and thus you can get 10% on your purchase. 

Deck theme

In the pre GT deck pattern, it was black grip tape with lines and spiders. Some skaters quite liked the old design as is resisted dirt. The new, improved pattern is yellow color-block covered by black lines, which still has a spider pattern in the middle.

Yecoo GTS

Upgraded Battery

The Yecoo GTS battery capacity has been increased from 6.6Ah to 9.0Ah and 10.5Ah. A significantly improved battery helps maintain high speed even when the battery is low. So the range of the board increases from 25km to 33km.

Upgraded Motor

Yecoo GTS upgraded the N5055 to N5065 high-speed motor, making the belt motor more flexible and torque more powerful.

Upgraded ESC

They have deeply optimized the ESC algorithm and made the acceleration and brakes very smooth; they also tuned the conversion efficiency of electrical energy to mechanical energy when it’s at high speed.

The brake has four gear positions, and these settings make it convenient for the rider to set the braking flexibility.

The most outstanding feature for this ESC is the intelligent boot which automatically powers on when rolling for more than 3 feet / 1 meter so that you don’t have to bend down to press the power switch.

Price

Yecoo GT is priced at $699. Yecoo is doing a lot of promotions recently, and thus you can get 10% on your purchase. 

Yecoo XJ

 Upgraded Battery

The Yecoo XJ battery capacity has been increased from Samsung 10s3p 6.6Ah 36V to LG 10s3p 7.8Ah 36V and LG 10s3p 10.5Ah 36V. So the range has increased from 25km to 34km (actual range will be affected by road conditions, the rider weight, temperature, etc.)

Upgraded Remote Control

The existing remote control has been replaced with a new model, from Hobbywing. From the original thumb ring structure into the shape of a more proper handgrip, making it more comfortable. 

Upgraded ESC

Now they use Hobbywing ESC to replace the old one, as we all know that Hobbywing is famous for the smooth acceleration & braking system.

Price

Now, the pricing of GT is $429.00. The actual price is subject to the website.

Deck theme

They have two choices of the deck themes, the beige pattern and the black classic.

Yecoo X2

The X2 is a basic model from Yecoo and features a high cost/performance ratio, with a price tag of just $399, this board’s a real bargain. All PCB electronic components of the upgraded Yecoo X2 are covered and protected by special solid glue to prevent damage caused by water, dust, or shock. 

Concave is similar to Yecoo 2S, and it is convex, black deck covered by shallow honeycomb texture, with hornet pattern in the middle. The deck is two layers’ bamboo+6 layers of maple with a size of 38*8.85 inches.

X2 wheels are available in two colors, black, and orange. It’s 90 mm diameter high elastic PU wheels are comfortable, anti-vibration, wear-resistant, and silent. X2’s wheels have 7mm larger diameter than ordinary wheels.

Look at its other specs:

  • Range Goes up to 12~19 miles(19.3~30km) with the extended range battery (actual range will be affected by road conditions, the rider weight, temperature, etc.).
  • Speed  Top speed of 23 mph(38km).
  • Hill Climbing 20%~30%.
  • Ride Modes 3 ride modes, from Beginner to Expert.
  • Battery Yecoo X2 provided battery is LG 4.4Ah, Samsung 6.0Ah, and Sanyo 8.5Ah. Aluminum alloy battery housing.
  • Remote The new remote has a display that measures speed, battery life, and mileage.
  • ESC Uses Hobbywing ESC which is famous for the smooth acceleration & braking system.

Checkout Yecooboard by clicking here.

This post is sponsored by Yecoo

Posted on by Nancy Desai

Wowgo releases Wowgo 3X

When a big brand like Wowgo released a product, we are compelled to notice it. More so, when the product is an extension of an already successful product. This is precisely the case with the launch of Wowgo 3X, a welcome addition to the electric belt longboard market.

Wowgo as a company has made a name for itself by designing skateboards with cutting edge technology and offering top of the line products at rates cheaper than its competitors. With 3X wearing the price tag of 749 USD, Wowgo expanded its line-up in term of price range by offering an electric belt skateboard the high mid-tier segment. Wowgo 3X is available for pre-bookings and will start shipping for 15th of October, 2019.

A brief introduction to the Wowgo 3 series:

For all those who aren’t in the electric skateboard loop, Wowgo 3 is Wowgo’s bestselling skateboard and has garnered fantastic reviews from experts and users alike. Armed with Paris V2 Front Truck, Bamboo and Fiberglass deck, new, improved wheel design, smart LCD remote, new Hobbywing ESC, new design case, powerful Samsung batteries, Zealous bearings, enhanced performance and speed settings and a 180-day warranty, Wowgo 3 was indeed very well received by both customers and critics. 3X is a further upgrade of this line and comes with enhanced technological advancements and improvements over its predecessor.

Wowgo 3X at a glance:

Wowgo 3X is largely similar to the Wowgo 3, but there are of course updated and improved features, namely the bigger battery, updated ESC and the change to belt-drive.

New- Samsung Batteries

Sporting an overall upgraded power system with higher voltage and more powerful output enabling smooth riding experience of up to 14 miles or 22.5 kilometres. It achieved this by going with excellent Samsung 30Q cells in a 12S2P setting (259.2WH)

New- Hobbywing V2.0 ESC

Hobbywing V2.0 ESC comes with overall upgraded hardware, which was needed to handle the high voltage of the 12S2p setting. In recent months, different vendors have released product using this New Hobbywing V2. We are expecting great things from it, but its performance and reliability have yet to be proven.

New- Powerful High-level motor:

Wowgo 3X’s 2*600W rated power, high quality, high precision motor ensures excellent dynamic balance while making less noise when on the go.

New- High Precision & Strength Self-Designed Rear Truck:

One of the highlights of Wowgo 3, and now 3X is the uses of branded Paris front truck. Wowgo 3X also comes powered with a Self-Designed Rear Truck which is compatible with the Paris front truck. The duo of the self-designed rear truck should work well with the Paris front truck to give a fantastic carving experience.

Smart LCD Remote:

Wowgo 3x uses the same remote as the Wowgo 3. The remote control comes with LCD screen empowered with a display with on/off symbol, speed, and battery levels. It’s pretty elegant in look, everyone likes it, except left hander maybe.

Bamboo and Fiber Glass Deck:

Wowgo 3X continues to use a Bamboo and Fiber Glass Deck that gives plenty of flex and shock absorption. This is to provide a very smooth ride mimicking the experience on a Boosted.

Receptions so far:

Daniel Kwans’ initial impression of Wowgo 3X. Sums it up pretty well.

Initial reception of the eskate community is primarily positive. Wowgo 3X offers excellent torque and speed. The control in both acceleration and braking are as smooth as expected, and it freeroll quite well for a belt-driven board.
On the flip side, there were finding where Wowgo X3 while high on torque doesn’t reach the top speed easily, which might be a downer for those who love speedy accelerations.

Final Word

With all this said, Wowgo X3 as the potential to become a category leader as far as the electric belt skateboard segment is considered. We have said that Wowgo 3 was heavily inspired by Boosted, the new X3 takes that a step further by going with a belt-drive. Would the imitator finally catch up with the OG? Only a full review could probably tell.

Wowgo 3X is available for pre-booking and according to the official website will start shipping from 15th of October.

Check out Wowgo 3x by clicking here and
use $5 off of your purchase.

Please be aware that pre-orders in the Eskate world are more often than not ends in delay. Shit happens, even for a seasoned brand like Wowgo.

Only pre-order a product if you can afford the wait.

Posted on by Paxson Lim

Backfire releases Ranger X2

On 9th August 2019, Backfire releases Ranger X2, a new iteration of their successful all-terrain lineup – Ranger X1. At this point in time, X2 is already available in stock and early buyers has begun to receive their X2.

The new Ranger X2 has a higher price tag at $1199, a $200 price bump from the Ranger X1 which is still available for $999. It looks like the increase in price is very justified as the new Ranger X2 came with a number of improvements. Just look at Daniel Kwan’s introduction of the Ranger X2, he would know, the man travels across the silk road on the Ranger X1!

A short introduction to the Backfire Ranger series

For those who aren’t in the loop, Backfire Rangers is an affordable priced all-terrain electric skateboard. While a 4 digit price isn’t exactly affordable in the strictest sense, this is almost the minimum entry price for an AT board with good performance.

Ranger X1 garnered a lot of praises and for all intent and purposes, it was the best off-road electric skateboard at its price segment. Backfire obviously learned a lot from user feedbacks and not resting on their laurels, the new Ranger X2 is set to smoothen out some of the rough edges of the X1.

Improvement list:

  • Shaved 8.8lbs(4kg) off! Wow, what kind of sorcery is this!
  • Change of battery from 10S4P to 12S3P.
  • New Hobbywing ESC
  • Turbo mode is now available in Ranger X2.
  • Leaner yet stronger motor 900W -> 1200W
  • Wheels are 0.78in (2cm) thicker!

Bigger Battery with 12s configuration

The premium line up of Backfire (G3 Plus and Ranger X2) will go with 12s configuration. For Ranger X2, Backfire actually went with a smaller pack of Sanyo NCR18650GA battery in 12s3p configuration. (454WH). The idea is that a higher voltage will increase the efficiency and hence provide the same range while reducing the weight of the pack. However, I will repeat myself here: not many production boards had gone with the 12s setting as higher voltage might cause a higher components failure rate (if those component are not up to par), and it remains to see if the new Backfires can handle this configuration.

New 12S Hobbywing ESC

The new 12S Hobbywing ESC is 2 iterations ahead of the original ESC on Ranger X1 and should provide a significant improvement over the last-gen. Expect both acceleration and braking to be stronger while being just as smooth. The new ESC also means Ranger X2 will be getting the Turbo mode, a 30-second increase of power that comes with a 30-second cooldown. I ain’t a big fan of the Turbo mode when it debuted on Backfire G2T (due to the sudden jolt when it transition into cooldown) but who knows, it might have been improved on this new iteration?

Stronger yet leaner Hub Motor

Ranger X1 (left) vs X2(right)

Hub motor and airless wheel usually don’t make the smoothest off-road ride as Rigid hub + Tires without air cushion = the board will bob and bounce with every bump in the road. Ranger X1 still performs fairly well off the road, but X2 improves on that by using smaller yet stronger hub motors, which saw the increases of power from 900W to 1200W per motor. More importantly, smaller hubs mean room for thicker rubber, 0.78in (2cm) thicker in fact. This is going to significantly improve the smoothness of rides and allows the wheels to grip to the floor better.

Hub VS Belt has always been the argument, more so in the AT realm. Belts have the torque that Hub simply couldn’t match; while Hubs have better protection against the elements. Backfire took advantage of this property and the Ranger’s motors have always been fully water-resistant and dustproof.

And the deck is now a little bit more flexible.

Same shape, same design, but more flexible.

What stayed the same?

Well, the double kingpin truck that was proven to be very good stayed the same.

Final Word:

We thought the Ranger X1 was the best affordable AT, and Ranger X2 is obviously gonna be a pricier but better version of it. However, unlike a year ago, Ranger is no longer the only player in the thousand dollars AT market with the likes of Ownboard Carbon AT, Radley Carbon AT and Miles Rampage crashing the party. What’s more, with a heftier price tag ($1199) Ranger X2 no longer has the price advantage, especially when you consider Meepo City Rider, a semi-AT is priced only at $719.

With that said, seeing how good the Ranger X1 is, Ranger X2 will likely rise to the top as the best AT option amongst its peers.

Ranger X2 is now available in stock and will only take 7-15 business day to arrive at different countries.

Interested in a Backfire? Click our affiliate discount link here and use ESKATEHQ during check out to receive $10 off.

Posted on by Paxson Lim

Verreal releases Verreal RS

On 21st August 2019, Verreal releases a new line of electric skateboard, Verreal RS.

With a preorder price starting on $749 (and a regular price of $800+), Verreal RS does not try to hide where they get its design inspiration from – the Evolve Bamboo series. Looks like every brand came to the idea that they should do an Evolve clone with the recent availability of double kingpin trucks on the electric skateboard market.

Taking a few pages from Evolve

I always like the riding experience of Verreal boards and thought their ‘looks’ or the lack there-of was what holding them back. This time around, by following the template of Evolve Bamboo, Verreal RS sure has gotten the looks right.

To truly match up to Evolve, Verreal is also looking to develop off-road tires for RS. And for that, they emphasized that all their DKP trucks will come from a new mold, leaving no doubt that they are going to be strong for AT uses.

  • Double kingpin for maneuverability,
  • future AT conversion kit,
  • drop-through deck

Better than Evolve?

There are a few things that I really like about Verreal RS:

  • Verreal RS uses 10s4p cells and you can get Samsung 30Q battery for $799 (preorder price).
    • Wheres the earlier version of Evolve Bamboo GT is using prismatic packs that are notorious for the sag, and the newer GTR is using Samsung 35E which on paper aren’t as good as 30Q.
  • Verreal RS uses Hobbywing ESC, which is perfectly smooth, albeit some may think that the brakes could be stronger.
  • It uses big 6368 motors (Dual 6368 Belt Motor 1500 Watt*2 170KV)

It is not without concerns, though.

However, there are a few things that I have doubts on:

  • The enclosure is a full-length aluminum enclosure, this is going to make the deck stiff with zero flex. And nothing pass-on vibrations as bad as metals.
    • Verreal justifies this by saying stiffer deck helps with stability in top speed, but why the emphasis on stability when you already went for DKP? Might as well as maximize on the riding fun by allowing the deck to flex.
  • I wonder if this set up translates well to All Terrain uses.
    • 20R battery pack gives you 88A continuous discharge and 30Q 60A continuous if the settings aren’t right, there might be a noticeable voltage sag here.
I’m expecting this enclosure to have zero gives.

TL;DR

Verreal RS looks to be the board to get for those who like the idea of an Evolve Bamboo but doesn’t like the idea of shelling out almost $2,000 for it.
However, only a test ride can tell if the deck is not too stiff to enjoy.

Stay tuned for our future review!

It is now available for pre-order with a pre-order price of $749 ($100 off). Verreal RS is set to ship on 20th September.
Use our affiliate discount link here and use ESKATEHQ during check out to receive $99 off.

Please be aware that pre-orders in the Eskate world are more often than not ends in delay. Shit happens, even for an established brand like Verreal.

Only pre-order a product if you can afford the wait.