News - Electric Skateboard HQ

July 22, 2019July 25, 2019 by Paxson Lim

Meepo Classic 2 leaked

As we all know, Meepo products have the iteration cycle of a fruit fly.

6 months after the Meepo Classic was released back in December 2018, Kieran is now already testing the updated version of the Classic 2.

Apparently, Classic 2 is going to be an upgrade over the original Classic and hence the price point, which is going to be moved up from the entry-level price of $400 to somewhere around the $649 price point.
As of today, reviews of the Classic 2 by KAMi JUINs are already available on Youtube.

What changed?

The most obvious change on the Meepo Classic 2 is that it is now using a flatter single enclosure and larger 97mm wheels. Both of these are great news because bottoming out was the number 1 complaint of the original Meepo Classic. With these changes, the Classic 2 now has a 4inch(10.5cm) ground clearance.

The bigger wheels also should bring on a higher top speed. KAMi JUIN’s test put the top speed to 28mph or 45kmh.

The battery size also has more than doubled from the 4AH(144wh) to 10.5AH(378wh), which by my estimation, should take you more than 20miles (32km) in a single charge.

In regards to the remote, my guess is Meepo is going to ship Classic 2 with the NR remote until the new smaller N2 remote becomes available, much like what they are doing with the Mini 2 series.

Other than that, most of the parts have been kept the same with minor updates. The Hobbywing ESC used in the Classic 2 is likely the newer version that is now used on NLS Pro, which gives stronger braking. The trucks have also been updated with newer Macroon bushing.

To think about it, the only thing that Classic 2 is sticking with is the same drop-through maple rocker deck with nice concave, which is my favorite deck from any Chinese brand. (Yes, more than NLS, Wowgo 3’s or Ownboard’s).

Summary:

Despite the likely price of $649, Meepo Classic 2 is shaping up to be the board that has the best value for money proposition. This is after considering that Classic 2 will have a 378wh battery pack – a battery pack that is larger than Meepo V3 with ER battery (288wh), which is selling only $30 cheaper. And, with the gap between LingYi ESC and Hobbywing ESC closing, the difference between V3 ER and Meepo Classic 2 might very well just come down to which deck suits you best.

What do you think about Meepo Classic 2? Let us know in the comment section below.

July 14, 2019July 14, 2019 by Zafrie Izzat Zakaria

Bajaboard releases Bajaboard S2

On 10th October 2019, Bajaboard announced the Bajaboard S2.

For those who are new here, Bajaboard is an Australian brand famous for its super expensive off-road electric skateboard. It is actually, pushing the limit of what can be defines as an electric skateboard because many had felt it rides more like an electric vehicle than your typical eskate.

They have made a few changes this round

This new Bajaboard is notably smaller than the previous G4/G4X.
This makes the S2 is much more portable if you need to transport it in cars or on public transport. That is, as portable as something that weighs 35lbs(16kg) can be.

Bajaboard is renowned for its stability thanks to its proprietary shock-suspension design, making it one of the best off-road vehicles. The new S2 uses a brand new mono-shock suspension design, which should improve on that of the previous versions. In addition to the coil shocks, lighter air shocks are now in play!

The S2 has a few key difference as compared to previous versions

Key Differences in the Bajaboard S2:

S2 has 8″ tyre option, as well as the 10″. Larger for extra ride height off-road, smaller for better efficiency on the tarmac.

Comes with super bright headlight, tail/brake lights, and INDICATORS. Make your commute that little bit safer.

Lighter than the G4, the lightest possible weight is 15.5kg (34lbs). It is more suitable for bunny hops and jumps if that’s your thing.

The Bajaboard Specs:

Top speed: 53kph – 32mph

Range: 30km – 18mi

Weight: 16kg – 35lbs

For any Bajaboard model, there is the option of customizing possible by the ‘build your S2 board’ system offered by the site. The options include a bigger motor, 8 inches VS 10 inch wheels, bigger battery, and foot binding option. You can also buy the standard built.

Pricing

Full Price for the Bajaboard S2 is USD 3299

Considering the price, you should know that the Bajaboard S2 is one of the most premium products in electric skateboard space, right up there with Lacroix and Trampa custom builds.

Luckily, the preorder for the Bajaboard S2 price will be cheaper at USD 2399

It is only slightly cheaper than standard build Bajaboard G4, which is now selling for $2899. Price is not inclusive of shipping, as the company is from Australia, overseas buyers should be expected to pay hundreds on top of the listed price for shipping.

Shipping

Bajaboard is currently only offering to ship in October. While we generally advise against pre-ordering any eskate, seeing that its Bajaboard we are talking about here, it’s up to you if you want to grab the pre-order price and pull the trigger.

July 11, 2019December 11, 2019 by Paxson Lim

Unlimited X Loaded: A new entity is born

UPDATE: Read our review on the Icarus Race by clicking here!

On 10th July, Loaded and Unlimited announced that they will be (or rather, have been) joining forces. Like some sort of power-ranger fusion, Unlimited X Loaded allows the combination of Loaded skate parts with the electronics of Unlimited and voila, an electric skateboard is born.

This is pretty sweet as Loaded’s status in longboard wares needs no further introduction and we already know the Unlimited kits are pretty great from our review of its prototype version.

Wait, what is Unlimited?

For those who are not familiar with Unlimited drive kit. Unlimited is a booster drive kit which allows you to convert any skateboard into an electric skateboard.

While the most famous product in this category would be Mellow drive, we, however, think Unlimited might actually be better. Again, to understand how we arrive in this conclusion, you can read our review of Unlimited Race kit where we made a direct comparison of Unlimited to the famed Mellow drive.

There are 3 lines of unlimited kits:

Solo ($769) – (or $949 with Omakase complete)
- One Battery.
- One Motor.
Cruiser($1099) – (or $1349 with Tesseract or Icarus complete)
- Two Battery.
- One Motor.
Race Kits ($1349)- (or $1599 with Tesseract or Icarus complete)
- Two Battery.
- Two Motor.

The beauty of Unlimited Kits is that it allows flexible configuration according to your need. Let’s say you have a Race kit which has 2 ESC and 2 batteries – when in need for maximum portability, you can choose to run 1 ESC and 1 battery, which will give you the lightest set-up with 1 extra battery ready to be swap in; when in need for maximum range, you can choose to run 1 ESC with both batteries essentially running the ‘Cruiser’ set up and squeeze every mile out of it.

What changed:

For those who had known about Unlimited, what’s the news after this 2 walked down the aisle? I mean, even before this we could have bought an Unlimited kit and buy a loaded complete separately, so what changed?

Unlimited Kit’s PU sleeve for the hub wheel is now made out of the same happy thane formula of the Orangatang wheels. Great.
You also get Caguamas with Loaded Jehu V2 Bearings for the none motor wheels, (3 for Solo and Cruiser, 2 for R Kits). This also means that the wheel has been slightly upsized from 82.5mm to 85mm.

In addition to the improvement, there is also a price drop of around $100 for Solo and Cruiser, while Race kit became 50 bucks pricier.
Considering Loaded completes cost around $350, buying an Unlimited complete set-up will save you another $100 as compared to buying them separately.

Last but not least, the last and most important news to come from it all is that Unlimited kits are finally available for purchase. You can check out Unlimited X Loaded here.

July 4, 2019February 5, 2020 by Paxson Lim

Ownboard releases Carbon AT

It seems like 2019 is the year of $599 & All-Terrain line-up.
Late June, Ownboard join the party with their own version of AT board in Carbon AT. After putting it up for pre-sale for nearly a month, it is now officially available.

From the appearance, Ownboard Carbon AT heavily resembles to Evolve Carbon series. As a matter of fact, it has almost the same spec as the new and highly anticipated Evolve Carbon GTR.

Here’s the breakdown. Ownboard and Evolve both are rocking 14AH battery which translates to 19 miles(31km) of range. Both use double kingpin trucks that pair with big wheels, with Evolve’s 7″ pneumatic while Ownboard went with 6″ honeycomb. If length matters to you, the carbon deck that Ownboard uses is slightly longer measuring in 40″ while Evolve is an inch shorter. Both markets similar top speed which is 22mph(36kmh) for Evolve vs 23mph(38kmh) for Ownboard.
While Evolve is clearly superior when it comes to customer service, polish and brand reputation, Ownboard Carbon AT is arguably better on paper as it uses bigger 6368 motor (vs 5065) and better Sanyo cell (vs Samsung 35e).

While early reviewers (cough cough Daniel Kwan cough) seems to like the board quite a bit, we are still waiting to hear more feedback from the eskate community. I for one, am interested to see how well Ownboard Carbon AT performs, seeing this is the highest price product coming from a Chinese budget brand.

Oh, by the way, you will need to resort to some DIY solution in order to switch from AT to street wheel set-up. The switch is possible if you can find a belt and pulley set that’s compatible with Ownboard Carbon AT. Currently, there is no in house solution from Ownboard but I suspect it will be developed in the future.

So, what do you think? Would you pick Ownboard Carbon AT over Evolve Carbon GTR? Does Evolve worth the extra $600?

June 25, 2019June 26, 2019 by Paxson Lim

Event: Paris – Electric Skateboarding Cup 2019 (11-14th July 2019)

In the heart of one of the world’s most alluring cities, electric skateboarders from across the globe will make their way to Paris, France for the 2019 Electric Skateboarding Cup, the largest electric skateboarding event in Europe. Together, ESK8FR and the Carve Electric Skateboarding UK Group have coordinated the jam-packed, three-day festival spanning from July 11th-13th.

The 2019 Electric Skateboarding Cup will consist of two race competitions: one of street competition and one all-terrain competition across the beautiful Auvers sur Oise, made famous by the painter Vincent van Gogh.

On Friday, July 12th urban street races will take place on closed-off roads through the city of Auvers sur Oise, a competition that will require precise riding skills that go well beyond just having a fast electric board.

The all-terrain races, on the other hand, will take place Saturday, July 13th. This event will be held in a unique underground tunnel system that is certain to be a lifetime experience for all riders.

For electric skateboard riders who are not interested in competing in these two races, a casual entry ticket option is available to allow riders to watch all event races and enjoy all of the other event activities, including a non-competitive group rides through beautiful Central Paris and Auvers sur Oise allowing riders to experience the local heritage.

When not competing with one another, riders will have the opportunity to push their equipment to its limits or to participate in impromptu sliding sessions, longboard dancing or similar events to allow riders to showcase their skills beyond racing.

Sponsorship booths will be available for riders to test out products, snag some gear, or to have the opportunity to ask sponsors any questions you may have.

Also, There are prizes!

The 2019 Electric Skateboarding Cup is open to riders of all experience levels.

If you haven’t got your ticket yet, you can snag one today on the It’s Electric France website. Prices range from 15€ to 80€ depending on events you would like to participate in.

View the most up to date 2019 Electric Skateboarding Cup schedule of events here.