Evolve has just recently announced the Evolve Bamboo GTX series, which will be available for pre-order on 22 June 2017.
Evolve Bamboo GTX was said to be based on and improved from Carbon GT series. Both All Terrain mode and Street mode will be available for Bamboo GTX, consistent with bamboo GT and Carbon GT series (*cough cough… Bamboo One …cough)
So what are the numbers for the new boards?
This board is plenty fast
Evolve Bamboo Street GTX is as powerful as the Carbon GT, as they practically have the same 3000-watt brush out-runner motor. It can go as fast as 26mph/ 42kmh which is among the faster tier of all electric skateboards. (See comparison chart here.)
This board has one of the best range
Evolve Bamboo Street GTX offers as much range as Carbon GT. Again, as they practically have the same 36v Lithium Ion battery. Bamboo Street GTX should be able to give the range of 18 miles or 40-45km in a single charge.
[I refuse to believe that it can go as far as 31miles/50km (the marketed range) as feedback from owners of Carbon GT said that 50km range stated by Evolve for Carbon GT was exaggerated and they only were able to get around 18miles/45km on a single charge for Carbon GT.]
Of course, riding on All Terrain wheel will seriously reduce its range to around 18miles/30km, still a good range compares to any other boards on the market.
Wait, is everything the same compare to Carbon Series?
Number-wise, almost.
Bamboo Street GTX is going to be a tad bit heavier than GT, 2 inches shorter and 200 bucks cheaper.
However what makes GTX exciting are these new features:
1. 97mm wheels
The 97mm wheels are going to make riding GTX smoother than it’s 83mm and 90mm counterpart. Rolling over cracks is going to be safer, rough sidewalks are going to be significantly nicer to ride on.
2. Flexible Deck
Many praised Boosted Board for being a significantly more comfortable ride than the Evolve Carbon as the stiff Carbon Deck will really wear out your legs after a long ride.
The GTX is going to have a flexible deck that rivals the Boosted Board’s and hence give an awesome riding experience.
3. Prettier Look
Honeycomb designed deck. Gold-plated motor, golden logo.
GTX looks nice. Really Nice.
4. New remote?
Actually no. The old remote is back. A new firmware update is here though. Hopefully, it can stop the notorious (and dangerous) issue of disconnection that some Evolve owner encountered.
They also introduced a safe-mode which will be engaged when and if the remote somehow disconnected again. Safe-mode was supposed to slowly brakes the board so that the rider won’t get hurt. How
Safe-mode was supposed to slowly brakes the board so that the rider won’t get hurt. How safe is the safe mode though? Nobody knows yet.
Conclusion:
Evolve Bamboo GTX seems like an exciting addition to the Evolve line-up.
However, rather disappointingly, instead of showing groundbreaking innovation, the GTX gave us only some minor upgrade on the design, deck and the wheels.
The board still isn’t waterproof, there will not be a swappable battery, the remote is still of the same design that we loathed (too sensitive. Unsure if will still disconnect).
With that being said, there is no doubt that GTX, as an improved version of Carbon GT is going to be a great electric skateboard as Carbon GT is already a great electric skateboard as proven by its popularity.
But, wait a minute…
If Bamboo GTX is going to be an improved version of Carbon GT and is costing $200 cheaper, doesn’t it makes Carbon GT obsolete?
ps: You can see how GTX compares to other boards at the comparison page.
I want to buy the GTX
And I’m sure it will be a good purchase!
Great Breakdown. I love the radar charts for simple comparison. On the edge between the GTX and the Raptor 2, what do you guys think?
Hello Jack! Thanks for the praise!
I wish I could give you a simple A or B answer but it is difficult to make a recommendation without truly understanding your needs.
Firstly, where are you from? Australia? US?
It matters because I think ease of getting an after-sale support is very important factor in buying an electric skateboard. Evolve and Enertion both are from Australia but Evolve has branch at US and other places. So if you are not from Australia, Evolve gets a point for.
Second, what do you plan to do with this beast?
I don’t think you are planning to do all terrain riding as if that’s what in your mind, you would have gone for GTX AT without asking for an opinion.
Speed, range, price, and features are pretty similar so that shouldn’t be a deciding factor. (check out https://electricskateboardhq.com/boards-comparison/ for their radar charts if you haven’t already.)
Third, do you prefer Hub motor or belt motor?
Evolve GTX AT has 2 belt motor and E raptors2 has 2 hubs.
If you like the reliability of belt motor to deliver torque, then GTX AT is what you want.If you like to be able to kick-push your electric skateboard and don’t want to replace belts, then Raptor2.Enertion Raptor has shown that their Raptor 2 delivers more torque from stop than belt driven CGT. So you definitely don’t need to worry about Raptor 2’s hub motors.
Fourth, do you want to earn me some affiliate reward? I have referral code for Enertion Raptor at the discount page but not for Evolve GTX. Haha.
Jokes aside, I personally will choose Evolve Bamboo GTX over Raptor 2. I trust an established Evolve company to deliver consistent good product over our friendly DIY-root Jason @ Enertion (he is a great guy though). And the ability to go All Terrain is just a huge plus.
Hope this helps =).