So I’m visiting SoCal for the week and had the pleasure of meeting up with Jerry of Carvon Hubs so I could give the new V2.5’s a test drive.
I’ve been riding the V2 Single for a month or so. I’ve found that it does lack some in the torque and braking department, but that was expected. It’s perfect for cruising, going fast (really fast), but you don’t have to brace yourself when you smash on the accelerator and you’re not going to stop on a dime. Given that, the power is instant and smooth. It doesn’t have any belt drag since there isn’t any belt. I’m not sure exactly how to explain it, “snappy?”, but it feels like there’s less mechanics between you and your drive wheel. Overall, it feels a lot like I’m skating on a regular longboard except for the pushing part. For how I skate, it’s nearly perfect. So when I was given the chance to try out the newest version, I jumped on that.
I took the V2.5 single hub setup for a nice ride around park and my first impression was DAMN!!! this thing has power to spare! An impressive amount of torque. Enough to get you up to speed with ease. 25mph without even blinking. It could definitely go faster, but I wasn’t used to the setup, so I didn’t feel comfortable pushing it too much more. From a standstill, it’s not like a Boosted that will throw you if you smash the throttle. It needs a push or just the right combination of weight shifting and throttle to get going from a standstill. Once the wheel is rolling even a slight bit the power is all there and you have to adjust your stance to compensate for the acceleration as you would other boards with good torque. This is the nature of hubs vs. a belt setup, so it was expected. Once moving the power is responsive and consistent all the way up and there’s plenty of it. Much more than I expected for a single drive. Compared to the V2, it feels like more than twice the power. I can only imagine what the dual will feel like.
As for brakes. The brakes are strong and will stop on a dime and will throw you if you smash on them at high speed, but at the same time, it has a feel like anti-lock breaks. The wheels don’t lock up if you smash on it. It quickly eases you into the brake so you don’t get any jerking. Compared to the V2’s, it’s night and day. At no point did I feel like I was needing any more stopping power and it effortlessly brought me to a complete stop and held me there. That’s always nice for those who commute and have a lot of stop and go.
The ride and feel is excellent. Obviously everyone has their own preferences, but that’s the beauty of DIY. You can use whatever deck, remote and electronics you want. The Funbox trucks feel great. A lot like Calibers. Very responsive and center well. I have double barrel bushings on my set. The V2.5 set I tried had the generic wheels. They didn’t feel as soft or as grippy as the Flywheels, but they still felt solid and held on very well when carving hard. I like that you can mount Hubs drop-thru so you can get a lower center of gravity. I had no issues with clearance on the V2.5 setup and I just needed to carve out a wheel well on my deck.
The only negatives I can see on these is that you don’t have the ability to change out or rotate your drive wheel. The bearings are not easily accessible so while they don’t need a lot of maintenance, they would be harder to pull out and clean if you wanted to. When it comes to trucks, you don’t have the option of switching them out if you have another preference. Same goes for wheels.
Overall, the V2.5’s are fantastic. I’m on the lighter side at 135, so the torque and braking are perfect for me. If you’re much heavier, you may want to consider that dual version. When it comes to performance, belt drive systems no longer have the same edge.