On 14th May, Meepo released the newest iteration of their budget line-up Meepo V3. Ever since the first original Meepo Board, this $400 line-up has been their best selling line-up and likely the best selling budget Eskate product, period. The new iteration V3, is looking to continue that trend by building on what the previous gen was known for, torque and acceleration.
The claim of being “the no.1 powerful hub motor electric skateboards on the market for the budget board market.”, is backed by some impressive numbers. Comparing to V2, V3 halves the time it takes to go from 0 to 19mph(30kmh), (4.5seconds from 8seconds). V3 also boasted better uphill ability to be able to reach 9mph(20kmh) on a 15% incline.
I’m sure that we will be seeing a lot of reviewers putting those claims to test; we know we would.
Other upgrades include a new version of Meepo ESC 3.0 (LingYi ESC), stronger hub motors (2 X 540 Watts) -30% increase from V2, complete sealing with glue for water resistant, moisture & dustproof, and the remote now has a screen on it.
Standard
Extended Range (ER)
Meepo is guaranteeing that, once the order is placed, it will be shipped from their warehouse in China within 3 days. As usual, free shipping to selected countries.
There is no doubt that V3, with all the upgrades, is going to pick up the torch of V2 and continues to be one of, if not the most popular budget board on the market.
Stay tuned for our full review as we put the torque and smoothness claim to the test.
Last Tuesday (18th April 2018) Boosted sent a shockwave through the eskate world by announcing not one, not two, but 4 new products.
Boosted Mini X
Boosted Mini S
Boosted Stealth
Boosted Plus
They are:
Boosted Stealth – $1599
Boosted Plus – $1399
Boosted Mini X – $999
Boosted Mini S – $749
A keen eye can tell that the Boosted Plus looks exactly like the old Boosted board and the Boosted Stealth is nothing more than a grayscale version of it, but there are definitely some changes from the old 2nd Gen Boosted to the Boosted Plus and the Boosted Board is still selling the old 2nd Gen Boosted Dual+ XR at $1399.
As a dedicated follower of the eskate scene, there is only a small chance that you have not read hundreds of articles on the new Boosted boards, so I will just briefly go through the changes Boosted made and then will talk about how the new Boosted lineup relates to other existing boards on the market.
As the Boosted Plus is going to be the new default Boosted Board, we will begin there.
Boosted Plus
Introducing the new Boosted Plus.
As you can see from the stat chart that they are exactly the same board, for the most part.
There are a few changes on the material used:
a) Deck: Flexible Bamboo -> Super Flex Composite Deck
b) Wheels: Orangatang 85mm -> Boosted Stratus 85mm
c) Trucks: Composite Steel -> 190mm CNC Precision Machined
Are these changes upgrades or a move to streamline production to cut down cost? or perhaps a little of both?
We can’t know how these changes impact riding experience at this point and we will be waiting for early adopter’s feedback to know for sure.
But in short, Boosted Plus is basically the old Gen 2 Boosted Board Dual+ with the extended battery.
Boosted Stealth
Snap a photo of the Boosted Plus with a black and white filter and you get the Boosted Stealth.
Jokes aside, the Boosted Stealth gives you an extra 2mph (3kmh) higher top speed than the Boosted Plus.
It also comes with 5 riding modes as compared to Plus’s 4 riding modes, and that’s about it.
The significance of the Boosted Plus and the Boosted Stealth
The Boosted Plus and Boosted Stealth are just refreshes of the old Boosted Boards.
Those who are going to buy Boosted Boards will still have the latest version of Boosted Board to buy and for those who have never considered Boosted Boards as an option, will still be able to buy the same overpriced fancy board with weak specs.
Basically, these 2 boards have not changed the buying decision for consumers however, the next 2 might…
Boosted Mini S
The Boosted Mini S is almost the same exact classic Boosted Board but in a smaller package.
“Almost” because it uses a 1000W motor instead of the 2000W motor on the regular Boosted, and has a smaller air-travel friendly 99wh battery with a measly 7miles (11.3km) range.
From tester'[s early impression, the dual belt motor Boosted Mini has enough torque to meet most needs, but the main drawback is the Boosted Mini is as heavy as some its larger cousins at 15lbs(6.8kg)! Some airlines almost wouldn’t allow it as a standard carry-on just for that weight!
Frankly speaking, the Mini S is so bad on paper that it wouldn’t be competitive in the current market if it didn’t promise the refinement and brand name that comes with a Boosted product.
Boosted Mini X
The Boosted Mini X is the grayscale version of the Mini S.
With $250 extra, you get a tiny bit higher top-speed and 2 times the range.
It is also heavier at 16.8lbs (7.6kg) and like I said, some airlined won’t let you carry on anything with that weight – even if you manage to get the non-airline compatible 199wh battery on-board.
The significance of the Boosted Mini S & X
All of the sudden, we have two sub $1000 Boosted Boards that challenge the mid-range market.
Before this, those who are on a budget would have look elsewhere for a board. Now with the industry king Boosted offering its cheapest Mini S at $749, many will consider getting a Boosted Mini S instead.
I did a comparison of the Boosted Mini with some of the brands that I think worth considering, and to the relief of Boosted competitors, it wasn’t a clear-cut Boosted domination.
In fact, when compared, the recurring theme is that the Boosted Mini S is too weak in range and too heavy in weight to compare to boards of the same range, and at $999, the Boosted Mini X is up against boards that outperform it while also being on-par in quality and customer service.
For example, the Meepo 30″ at $399 is nearly half of the price of the Mini S yet outperforms it in range and top-speed. Of course, it definitely is not in the same league in terms of refinement and looks.
To put it simply, they serve different needs.
On the other hand, Riptide might be in real trouble as it’s lineup doesn’t differentiate themselves enough from the Mini S besides being a tad bit lighter.
The $999 price bracket is a crowded space and the Boosted Mini X will go head to head with the likes of Arc Aileron, Predator Banshee, Pulse Echo, Evolve One, and 29″ Metroboard Micro slim.
This time, to my surprise, Boosted Mini X doesn’t slack too much in specs, but the brand name itself doesn’t lend Boosted that much favor, as all of these boards are either made by well-loved brands, eg: Metroboard, Evolve and Arc or popular start-ups such as Predator and Pulse.
At the end of the day, the crowded mid-tier market definitely welcomes Boosted Mini X as one of the many good choices for an electric shortboard.
Summary
At the end of the day, the new line-up put forward by the Apple(r) of the electric skateboarding world is less impactful than the initial hubbub would have you believe.
3 out of 4 of the new lineup- the Boosted Plus, Stealth and Mini S continue to be products that charge above-average for their specs due to the refinement, brand name, and customer service the Boosted brand is famous for.
The Boosted Mini X however, landed right in the crowded mid-tier market and is actually competitive enough in specs that it should be considered by those who are otherwise jaded by the magic of the Boosted brand.
That’s something refreshing from the Boosted, isn’t it?
New Boosted in the grand scheme of things. Click to enlarge.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The original Backfire launched at 2013 was among the more famous ‘China boards’ that offers good specs with good price. It has clones all over the market – Luoov, Magneto, Lectric, Lecdec, Melonboard etc…
The compromise, of course, was the quality of the board.
1.Good specs with good price
Backfire’s top speed and range are really good for a sub $500 electrics skateboard.
Specification wise, Backfire G2 is right there in the middle of the pack. See comparison chart at my comparison page.
The specs are better than Boosted/ Inboard M1 (on paper) and right there with the Evolve’s boards.
2. Waterproof, exchangeable wheel
Those are good features to have.
Every electric skateboard should be waterproof by now, duh…
But how ‘waterproof’ is Backfire’s waterproof?
Truthfully, I don’t have much confidence in the waterproofness but it should be at least more splash-proof than if not marketed as such.
3. Worries
The Tinboard fiasco taught me to be more skeptical toward Kickstarter campaign. Although Backfire is not a new name to the market, it being a ‘China Board’ raised some concern for me.
a. Original Backfire has some issue with the ESC (Electronic Speed Controller).
Hopefully, this won’t be the issue here in Backfire G2, but it goes to prove that Backfire did have some issue with its previous board.
b. Some inconsistency on current Backfire campaign.
i)The board was listed to have 25% climb in the Kickstarter page while 20% on its official website.
ii)The board also was listed as ready to ship in 24hour at $499 on the official site, while Kickstarter campaign schedule to ship the boards in September.
Hell, the board is even available now at $699 at Amazon!
(So I am guessing the Kickstarter campaign is more like a mass-drop campaign instead of a ‘mass-funding-needed-to-create-this-product’ campaign …
These aren’t major issues but it was weird mistakes for Backfire – a veteran e-skate company to make.
It really shakes my confident for Backfire.
Conclusion:
At the end of the day, Backfire G2 is a budget electric skateboard with great specs.
For a person that was on a tight budget and still want great performance out from the board, Backfire G2 is going to be a good choice.
If cheap “China Board” is the type of board for you, Backfire G2 should be at the top of your choice.
Update 28/6/17: Jason Lee from Backfire G2 reached out to me clarifying that the Backfire G2 is indeed not available yet.
The error was on their website as it is under construction right now. He also clarifies that there is no Backfire G2 in Amazon store right now, and they will remove it from Amazon listing. (Which they already did by now)
