Maxfind, a Chinese brand that has been around since the beginning of time. A brand that delivers budget boards in nice packages for casual eskaters, but has always been ignored by eskate enthusiasts, as their price vs value proposition was not as high as the other Chinese brands. If you have read my previous takes on Chinese brand, you might have sensed that I hated the brand, that’s because their product and marketing strategies made me feel that they are just preying on the less informed buyers.
Well, that idea of mine has been shaken up with the new lineups that Maxfind introduced awhile ago, and today, we are going to talk about the Maxfind Max 4 Pro.
Maxfind Max 4 Pro
The specs are the least interesting part of the Max 4 Pro, so we’ll just quickly run through them.
Top Speed: 26mph/ 42kmh
Range: 15mil/ 25km (4.4AH Samsung 22p, 10s2p)
Weight: 16lbs/ 7.5kg
Charge Time: 120min
Price: 619USD with shipping included. (Ships from USA or China)
Features: IP65 Waterproof, hot-swappable battery, remote with telemetry, swappable PU-sleeves
Wait a second. You might be saying, “all the numbers sound like a typical entry-level board, EXCEPT that last one. The price!” Yes, the Max 4 Pro is retailing $200 pricier than your typical entry-level budget board, so what is Maxfind doing to justify the price?
Max 4 Pro is not actually, not your typical eskate, it’s more like a Drive Kit
First, the Maxfind Max 4 Pro is actually not a regular eskate, instead, it is a removable drive kit, marketed with a complementary deck. They are selling the DIY drive kit for $569. Drive kits that are designed to be slapped on any deck and instantly turn them into an Eskate have always been pricier. Mellow, Unlimited, Revel. All pricey.
The battery is hot-swappable
The Max 4 Pro comes with all the benefits of being a drive kit. It has an easy hot-swappable battery, you just need to undo a thumbscrew, and voila, the battery can just slide out. Maxfind also included an extra charging cable to charge the battery separately, which is a nice touch too!
It’s waterproof
The second justification of the price is that the Max 4 Pro is waterproofed. (IP X7 on the ESC, and IP65 on both the battery and hub motors). I don’t know how much faith you can put into any eskate company’s IP rating claims, but at least you don’t have to worry if you accidentally spill coffee on it.
It’s pretty well polished
Finally, Maxfind did show their manufacturing prowess and gave their boards a good polish. The Max 4 Pro is beautifully packaged, and it’s 8 ply maple deck with carbon fiber coating is just beautiful. It uses a metal enclosure. The trucks, bushings, and bearings are not branded but look high quality nonetheless.
Premium = Customer service?
In Maxfind’s case, I’m not sure about that. It’s not to say that the company has any bad reputation, it just that I have never heard anyone singing their praises, and for a brand that’s been out there for so long, there should really be people singing their praises.
Field test: (Did all this translate into good ride feel?)
Deck:
I know, it looks pretty flexible but it’s maples.
The 8-ply maple deck is flat, without concave, but still does a good job keeping my feet comfortable. It has only a mild flex in it, which helps maintain stability, but unfortunately does not improve vibration.
Speed control:
Acceleration and braking are intuitive and smooth, as expected from a Hobbywing ESC. Maxfind did make some adjustments, however, especially on the braking for the Max 4 Pro. Unlike generic Hobbywing ESCs, which traditionally have dangerously weak brakes, the strength and smoothness on the Max 4 are exactly how we like it.
Carving:
Carving on these pairs of Caliber II clones is a pretty great experience, and fairly stable, even when riding at top speed.
Range test:
The removable battery pack is made of 4.4AH Samsung 22P cells in 10s2p configuration. It has a marketed range of 15miles (24km) but – our range test got us to only 11.5 miles (18.5km) riding in top mood throughout. I know, the result surprised no one as these are pretty standard numbers for most 4AH entry-level board.
Top-speed:
We hit the 26mph (40kmh) top-speed, which surprised no one. After all, the Max 4 Pro has a pair of 750W hub motors (with removable sleeves) and that’s stronger than most entry-level and mid-range hubs. The stronger hubs did translate to our ride when it comes to conquering rougher terrain and hills.
Misc:
By the way, I like how most boards have bigger wheels now. The board uses large 96mm wheels, which are safer for beginners but can also help ease the vibration on rough roads. We’ve said that Max 4 Pro wasn’t GREAT when it comes to handling vibration, so imagine how much worse it would be if they chose to use the 80mms on it.
Did he die?
Verdict:
Max 4 Pro is still not about price vs value proposition. Think of it this way –
For $619, you get a package that:
Shares the same spec with regular $400 entry-level eskate, but
Waterproof,
Hot-swappable battery,
Easy deck swap (It’s a drive kit!)
Slightly better ride feel (and torque)
Better polish
I’d say it’s worthy of the price.
All in all, the Max 4 Pro is a nice board that we enjoyed, but I suspect that many buyers would opt for the $569 Drive Kit Pro, as it’s actually the real MVP here.
If you are interested in buying a Maxfind, be sure to check out our affiliate discount link here and uses code: “ESKATEHQ” during check out. It will help you get a small monetary discount and helps us out too. On top of that, you’ll be tagged as an Electric Skateboard HQ customer and probably be treated better. Cheers!
Oh, one Quick note on Max 4 normie (AKA not Pro)
The Maxfind 4 standard (without the ‘Pro’) is $100 cheaper, but it has weaker hubs, smaller 90mm wheels, and a generic Hobbywing ESC without the OLED Remote. Just think of it as your typical Hobbywing budget board with a $100 price premium for also being a drive kit and having good polish.
When you look at the MaxFind Max 2, you may be struck by its appearance. This board looks more like a piece of stolen alien technology or a prototype government aircraft than it looks like a skateboard. The all-black diamond-cut fiberglass deck is sleek, sexy and utterly smooth to the touch, and the grip tape is…not there.
Instead of traditional grip tape, MaxFind has elected to have their board’s riding surface comprised of a synthetic PVC material.
After riding it for a couple of weeks, I am confident in its ability to hold you to the board for light cruising. I would not take this board into a downhill race or attempt to do any slides with just this material for grip, but for fair-weather commuting, it should do the job while avoiding scuffing your favorite pair of sneaks.
While we are looking at the exterior of this board, get a look at THESE:
To keep up with the prototype aircraft aesthetic, it appears that MaxFind have elected to bolt two jet turbines to the back of their latest board. I have to admit that even I was a little intimidated by these formidable hub motors. It is worth noting that this particular model runs 90mm wheels, and it seems that a good 80mm of them is taken up by these enormous cheese-grater vents.
This all makes sense when you take size of the dual 1000w motors into effect. Motors like this need to be kept cool, and in order to keep cool they need to breathe, and breathe, they do! I was able to find a (long) bike path and run this board at full speed for nearly 2 minutes at 21mph without experiencing a reduction in speed. (MaxFind advertises this board’s max speed as 23mph, but I found the top speed to be a bit lower with my 190-pound frame on it.)
The big vents in the wheels should not be a problem for water intrusion however, as the board is IP65 waterproof. I was concerned about water getting into the hub motors when I first got the board, but was assured that the motors are fully encased inside the wheels. This seems to be the case, as I have not had an issue with moisture yet, despite riding this board on several wet days and this awesome bit of footy released by the manufacturer:
(Note: I do not condone trying to empty your home pool with this board.)
While looking at the beefy motors, your eye might also be drawn to the equally beefy trucks. I have to admit that these cast trucks look GOOD. The stealth black, sharp angles and geometry reminiscent of Caliber make for a seriously impressive truck, and I haven’t managed to snap or even really dent mine yet, so it looks like they can really take some abuse!
MaxFind could really benefit from some in-house skater expertise though. When my review unit arrived in the mail, the trucks were tight and unresponsive. After a quick switch up of the stock bushings (dead and reboundless), I had the MaxFind turning a bit better. I hesitate to make this setup more carvy, as the 90mm wheels are definitely a risk for wheelbite, one of my biggest skateboarding demons. Luckily, the unique shape of the MaxFind deck gives you some wheel-wells to help avoid this particular problem.
This is probably a good spot to talk about the ride. Right off the bat, I noticed that this board feels like it is geared HIGH. For those of you that do not drive manual cars, this means that the board has less torque at lower speeds, and achieves a higher top speed. I vastly prefer this type of ride to boards that have jerky low-speed acceleration *cough* WinBoard *cough* as it allows for a much smoother takeoff, and a higher cruising speed.
Once you fix the trucks, this board carves well, and rides really smooth on the huge 90mm wheels. I found myself really enjoying light carving, even at higher speeds, though the lack of concave on the deck was a little unsettling. I chalk this more to my downhill background than anything, I know that people have been beach cruising on pin-tails for a long time and carving without concave since before I was born.
Speaking of board feeling, this board feels LIGHT! At 13.6 pounds, this bad boy comes in even lighter than its Meepo and Boosted counterparts. I loved having this board as my commuting buddy for a couple weeks, as it was exceedingly easy to jump on a bus, train, or up a flight of stairs without too much hassle. I will often not bring an eskate or EUC into the city when I am meeting up with Muggle (non-riding) friends, as I know that I will be schlepping whatever I rode around with me all day. This was not the case with the MaxFind, as it was easy enough to pop under my arm and walk around with.
NOTE: Before closing out this interview, I am compelled to note that the reports of support for MaxFind’s customers have been…sketchy to say the least. We have had multiple reports to EskateHQ of customers who have reached out to MaxFind about issues with their boards, only to be met radio silence. I did not have an issue with my board over the 3 weeks that I tested it, but the lack of support is something that should be taken into effect when making a purchase decision.
I think you’ll agree with me that there are tons of cheap electric skateboards with weird or no brand name. We saw them in electric skateboard Facebook groups, on Amazon, Craigslist, Aliexpress, and of course on Alibaba.
So what is the story behind these China Boards?
I have researched 8 of the most famous Chinese Electric Skateboards in the market right now, and I am going to tell you everything about them.
What exactly are the China Boards?
When we say “China Boards”, we don’t mean electric skateboards that are made in China.
If that is what we meant, China Board would have included Enertion Raptors 2, Walnutt Spectra, Actons and Louboards (although things can become a bit gray with some of them, more on that later.)
So as you can see, that’s not quite what were referring to.
What we mean by “China Boards” is: Electric Skateboard made in China that are built with no investment on their brand and hence are often cloned, rebranded,or sold without brand at all; they are often poor in quality and with minimal or no customer service.
China boards are already amongst us.
If you are out of the loop, you might not know there are a few ‘scandals’ in the esk8 circle – companies are and have been rebranding China Boards to sell at Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
They claim they need funding for the development and innovation of a product, but what they did was just sending factory their logo to stamp on an existing China Board.
Disgusting!
And of course, there are also companies that simply rebrand Chinese Electric Skateboards and market them as their own creation.
I guess not every board’s origin story is considered cool.
Acton Blink Lites, Elwing-E1, Atom is E-Wheelin I4!
Acton has gotten itself a bad reputation by repeatedly lying about the shipping date. There are also people who accuse Acton of not designing its own board and being ‘just a middle man’.
Well, the accusation is not unfounded. Take a look at Acton’s ‘world lightest electric skateboard’ the Blink Lite and the E-Wheelin I4.
They are really similar, even using the same remote, aren’t they?
Even their specs are similar.
Well, Acton did add the LED to Blink Lite, I guess that’s what they mean when they claim that they engineered the board, right?
Elwing E-1 is reported to be originated as E-Wheelin too. They surely use the same remote.
Bolt is I-Wonder SK-A
Bolt is another “world smallest electric skateboard”, that launched an Indiegogo campaign back in May 2015.
It received $211,950 in funding.
With a closer examination, we can see that Bolt is probably a rebranded I-Wonder SK-A.
Lorenzo claimed he created Bolt. I think what he meant was, he created Bolt from I-Wonder SK-A.
And I wonder where Bolt gets its marketing photo ideas from. (See what I did there?)
Haloboard, Tinboard(dead) are WINboard GT-M6
Haloboard is a very well loved Electric Skateboard; it ranked no.2 in Slant’s most recommended Electric Skateboard List. (Which I think is a shit lis, as it ranked Mellow as no.1. I am not saying that Mellow is bad or anything, it is just that by the time that it ranked, Mellow wasn’t even available yet!)
However, I wonder if any of the buyers know that Haloboard is basically WINboard GT-M6 with 2 times the price.
Look,
It may not really matter that Haloboard is WINboard GT-M6; they are proven to be quality boards (‘China Boards’ are often but not always poor quality) and Halo Board provides customer service to their customer, in a way China based WINboard are unable to do, hence, this just might justify the premium.
But it does make me question the integrity of THIS statement:
Yeah?
By the way, the now dead Tinboard went to Indiegogo campaign with the exact WINboard GT-M6 too.
Remember me?
Tinboard is the worst example of how low a company can get when rebranding electric skateboard. They didn’t get consent from Winboard, lied about the spec of the board, and lied about the features of the board; they even made up a fake team.
There is no WINboard GT-M7 on WINboard’s official site. Did WINboard skip GT-M7 and go straight to GT-M8 from M6?
What is the real story?
Word in the street is, Louboard bought the exclusivity of WINboard GT-M7, added some design changes and went to Kickstarter with it.
Introducing Louboard. She is a sure thing!
Introducing WINboard GT-M7! He is surely similar to Lou!
I suppose we should give Lou the benefit of a doubt. They may very well have put in efforts and gave the board some upgrades.
Too bad, we will never know.
Enough for the rebranding, who exactly are the China Boards?
Ah, where are my manners? I haven’t introduced the players that I’ve been rambling about.
Chinese Electric Skateboard scene is a messy place, but there are a few of major players that are more recognizable.
These are the names that you will come across again and again when navigating the China Board market.
Koowheel/ Genesis Hellfire/ Magneto
Koowheel is a brand under Shenzhen JOMO Technology Co., Ltd. The company has been in the electric mobility business for quite some time now. Besides electric skateboard, Koowheel also sells Hoverboards and Electric Scooters.
It has branches around the world. (China, US, Europe, Singapore?)
Koowheel D3M Electric Longboard is one of the most known China Board in the market. It has been rebranded multiple times and was sold as Genesis Hellfire & Magneto and other brands.
For a long long time, Koowheel D3M is the first choice when it comes to cheap and powerful electric skateboard that one can buy on Amazon.
And the reason is obvious:
Koowheel’s specs are incredible!
It has 2 hub motors to handle most hills. It has more speed than most people need.
And although the marketed range (25miles) are HUGELY exaggerated (10miles are what most people get), most people are good with 10 miles.
Plus, it is somewhat water resistant and has SWAPPABLE BATTERY!
The downside of Koowheel is the quality of the board. It is very hit-or-miss. You can ride your Koowheel to the office every day of a year with no problem, or the board can fail you the second week you get it.
Remote disconnection, loose trucks, locked up wheels, battery problem, and various other issues have been noted.
Koowheel was said to have fixed most of their quality issues early 2017, but problems continue to pop up here and there.
The same story goes with the customer services. Some customers received good help from Koowheel but more complaints about poor after-sale service. A number of customers have had their board vanish after they sent it back to Koowheel for repair.
Look,
Koowheel D3M might have been a good buy years-ago.
However, with the choices that we have today in the Eskate market, you shouldn’t have to buy a $600 Koowheel anymore.
Benchwheel is produced by HangZhou Bench Technology Co. It is a small company founded in 2013. It claims to be in the market on e-transportation but for now, Benchwheel seems to be their only product.
Benchwheel has a strong presence in Amazon. Although the cheapest way for an international buyer to get it, is from their Alixpress shop.
Benchwheel is the typical “China Board”. Great price with quality issues.
It is the same stories: Bluetooth disconnections, weak trucks, poor built quality, and unreliable customer service.
There are Eskaters who got lucky and have had ZERO problems with their Benchwheel. For them, the performance at that price point makes it an awesome purchase.
On the flip side, more than a few people have had problems with their boards; got it repaired and still have the board broken down immediately during the next ride.
That would suck.
Bottomline? Benchwheel is more like a toy than a vehicle. Again, at this day and age, you don’t need to buy a Benchwheel.
Backfire has been around for some time, since 2012 I suppose. Backfire board is manufactured by Shanghai So-Fun or Helloskate.
Being one of the more successful China Boards, it has a lot of clones including Falcon, Luuov, Melon, Lectric, and those unbranded generic electric skateboard that we saw in Facebook groups.
The quality of the board is good enough, but the advertised range is super inflated. As usual, don’t put too much expectation in the after sale service.
Backfire has been trying to get into the US market by setting up an office in Virginia.
It also has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its Backfire Gen2. Which is again most likely to be a marketing trick to sell an already available board through “Kickstarter funding” as opposed to getting funding to develop a new board.
All that being said, the early impression of Backfire G2 has actually been very positive. Good performing board, great specs, great riding feeling – all with a sub $500 price tag.
However, all this would mean nothing if the board has quality issues, something we will only know after the fact. During my research on Backfire II, I noticed a lot of inconsistencies in the marketing copy throughout different sites. Not exactly helping my confidence in the board.
Backfire is a budget board with great specs. The downside is the unreliability of the customer service and the quality of the board.
It feels like I am repeating myself here.
Update: I have got in touched with a representative from Backfire team. I was informed that they have put on effort trying to upgrade their after-sale service. They have set up a service center in Richmond, USA and Hamburger, Germany to take care of customer service in the US and Europe. Repairs and service do not need to be done in China anymore. For international buyers, Backfire China will still be handling all the services. This could really help, i’ll be watching.
Maxfind is a product of Shenzhen Maxfind Electronic Co, Ltd. One of the more famous Electric Skateboard brand that you can find in Alibaba.
They make a name for themselves with their first generation electric skateboard Max A and Max B.
It is a rather generic electric skateboard honestly. Average in all aspect, speed, range,and weight. It has 2 hub motors to provide enough torque and the inclusion of LED lights is a nice touch.
A sub $550 price tag makes Maxfind A&B the cheapest dual hub motors electric skateboard on the market for a long while, hence, the popularity.
But… Let’s just say the cheap price comes at the expense of the boards quality and after-sale service.
Amazon may have given this board mixed review but forum reviews on this board are mostly negative. In fact, this board seems to have the poorest quality among all China Boards.
ONAN is a brand by a group of companies including Guangzhou ONAN Electronics Co., LTD.
People accuse ONAN of being a copy of Mellow Drive, and I would have to agree.
But Mellow is too expensive for most of us anyway…
Everything you can be, I can be … similar.
So, what about this ONAN guy?
ONAN is probably the most bought electric skateboard drive train at this moment (as Mellow has just begun to ship).
It has been rebranded by a lot of resellers. ONAN has been sold as Griffin Boards, Ivory Boards, Nuffboards, and Flight Mode.
Griffin Boards particularly have been doing a good job in communicating with customers – testing the ONANs before they commit into reselling, providing after-sale services, giving feedback to the manufacturer for issues and for improvements.
Anyways, up to the time of this writing, ONAN has 3 different electric skateboard drive that you can buy. ONAN X1, X2 and X3.
Basically, Onan X1 (launched in April 2016) is the entry level, beginner level drive train; cheap but slow. Reviews show that it has been reliable, yet unexciting. It has now been discontinued by Onan as they feel that the performance couldn’t satisfy the market.
Onan X2 (launched in Oct 2016) is the most powerful out of the three. It has been ridden with issues early after release but Onan seems to have fixed them, and now X2 wouldn’t just die within 1 week of riding anymore.
Onan X3 (launched in April 2017) performed somewhere in between X1 and X3. So far, not much quality complaints have been heard.
X1/X2/X3 battery pack have two option:
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)
While I wouldn’t say Onan is exemplary in the quality department, the after-sale service seems to be pretty good. Onan has been doing a good job fulfilling their warranty promise and their reseller is doing an equally good, if not better. Good for them.
At the end of the day, being $1000 cheaper than the Mellow Drive, while still having features such as swappable battery and being waterproof, Onan is undeniably attractive.
I especially like the fact that the drive train doesn’t need a big package box and can be shipped internationally easier and cheaper.
So, if you can find yourself a reliable reseller nearby and think that a drive train is a good idea, I wouldn’t deter you from getting an Onan.
Landwheel is produced by Shenzhen Landwheel Technology Co.,LTD. I couldn’t get much information on the company as their website is broken – just like their product.
So let’s just be quick.
Have you ever thought about buying a $800 $600 drive train that is fast, waterproof that breaks down on the first use? No?
Then I guess Landwheel isn’t for you then.
The board has just been released this month (July) and there are already multiple complaints of broken motor.
And it is not uncommon for Landwheel to break down just after the first 10 minutes of riding. Even if the motor survived, you will be dealing with broken screws, burnt battery, etc.
It’s just horrifying.
Landwheel is the worst example of Chinese electric skateboard- Not cheap yet not good! Granted, Landwheel is still new at this point but I seriously don’t know how they should redeem themselves in the future.
Although the latest version of Landwheel V4 seems to bring more durability while actually being able to deliver the promised performance, there are still accounts of it breaking down here and there.
I would only start to consider Landwheel if most of them start lasting over 1 year without issues.
For now and in the near future, just do yourself a favor and stay away from Landwheel.
I-Wonder is a brand by Ningbo Wonder Power Tech Co ., Ltd. They are a manufacturer for electric skateboard providing ODM and OEM service.
As I mentioned, Bolt is very likely manufactured by I-Wonder based on its SK-A. I-Wonder SK-B also has been rebranded to Slick Revolution and Pure Energy boards.
Although I-Wonder’s main customer would be the resellers, they do sell individual boards on Alibaba.
Their products don’t have names but serial numbers. SK-A, SK-B, SK-C, SK-D and of course SK-E.
Unlike your typical Chinese Electric Skateboards, I-Wonder builds good quality boards. There weren’t many complaints on the boards, except that they don’t actually go as fast as advertised.
You won’t get much after-sale support from I-Wonder. However, US based Pure Energy which sells rebranded I-Wonder actually provides good after-sales support for their customers.
If one is buying an I-Wonder, I think it is worth it, to pay the premium to have that after-sale service from the reseller.
WINboard Intelligent Technology Company has been winning in Electric Skateboard business since 2015. They are mainly a manufacturer for hub motor electric skateboards.
WINboard uses quality parts. As I mentioned, their WINboard GT-M6 has been rebranded into Haloboard and has been one of the best quality electric skateboards out there.
The upcoming Louboard was said to have bought the exclusive rights to produce WINboard GT-M7 as Lou boards, and from the marketing material it looks to be one hell of a board.
Too bad for us, WINboard only sells to distributors and not individuals (so don’t expect after-sales service directly from them). So unless you are ordering in bulk, you probably couldn’t get a board directly from WINboard.
See, these are the products from WINboard and they all look good:
Let me know if you are making a bulk order on Winboard GT-M6, because Haloboard is seriously … too expensive.
Update Jan 2018: I’ve dropped the quality of Winboard from “Great” to “Fair” as some of the complaints on Winboard surfaced. The quality of Winboard seems to be inconsistent and it is usually up to the company using Winboard as OEM to ascertain the quality. Moreover, as they’re more focus on being an OEM, their customer service to individual buyers is quite bad.
So, Should I buy a China Board?
For those of us who are ‘international customer’, sometimes it is just easier to get a China Board than something like a Boosted board. Aliexpress, unlike Amazon, usually ships internationally.
If you actually find Chinese Electric Skateboard that calls to you, you still need to observe the first and here is the only principle for buying an electric skateboard:
Always go for a quality. A poor quality board that breaks down after 1 week aren’t worth a dime.
Why does this matter?
The truth is, poor quality boards can’t be upgraded one piece at a time even if you are good at tinkering. If the ESC blows, you may not find a good quality ESC that fits the space. If the motor blows, you may have to stick with a small motor that will blow again because the motor mount wasn’t designed for larger motors. (words from evoheyax)
You want a portable vehicle NOT a toy, right?
With that being said, I felt ONANs, I-Wonders, and WINboards are worth buying.
Where could I buy a China Board?
Amazon, Aliexpress, and from the Resellers of course.
Aliexpress is cheaper and often ships internationally. Amazon is more familiar to most of us and has its own return policy to protect buyer. The price is usually cheapest in Aliexpress, follow by from reseller’s site and the highest on Amazon.
