It will be a slow release whether or not a better battery is selected. I don’t see the big deal with everyone complaining about waiting a little longer. I also ordered mine in December. Yes, it sucks I have to wait longer, but I would much rather wait to get a fully functional board with no problems, then to rush it out and not be able to use it. This is the problem with society these days. I am totally for having the better battery by the way. I saved a crap load of money by pre-ordering I don’t care about a measly $50-70
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I think, from all the feedback that has been collected so far, most raptor2 owners want to go with the upgraded battery. $50-$70 really isn’t that much when talking about the cost of new eboards or their batteries. And a 20% increase in battery size is a sizable gain. The only issue is the few people who are but hurt about shipping delays or price increases…
1st: Almost all (if not all) electric skateboards have shipping delays!!! Jason has been super transparent with us about the updates within Enertion. A month delay (which he said might be shorter) doesn’t seem that long in the main scheme of things. Additionally he explained why he was doing it (reduce risk of first-run mass-production errors) and gave over a month and a half heads up (most eskate company release delays only after they missed their target ship date).
2nd: This is a nominal price increase. Considering most premium 10s4p batteries packs cost around $400, a 20% increase of $400 would be $80 (in the same ballpark of what Jason is saying $55-$70 for the upgraded battery). This is a very reasonable price to be asking investors to donate to receive a better product (for christ sakes the guy works out of his garage, he not a millionaire… at least not yet)
Jason seem like he really cares about his product and wants to give his customers the best boards he can using the highest quality products. These new 30Q cell are the best available for the raptor2 compared to the 25r, which are 5 year old and 20% less power. Im all on board with spending a little more to help future proof my battery
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So first 30 are beta testers in May and then the real batch rolls out in June.
The first recipients are not beta testers. We already have testers who have been receiving samples and are doing real world tests since January. Also, if time permits there will be another round of beta testers before the first shipment.
The ramp up batch is designed only to test & tune the production process. It is not a method to determine the functionality of the product and our customers are not required to do test rides on our behalf. (However we will always listen to feedback)
The primary objective of ramping up production is to de-risk bulk production and eliminate stupid mistakes.
Some Examples: Over torqing screws. Not applying enough thread lock glue. Missing parts. Routing wires incorrectly. Connecting motors incorrect. Using test jigs incorrectly. Skipping assembly steps. Order of operation adjustments.
The idea is to find little problems and resolve them before they become big delays.
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Onloop,I am getting the sense from reading above that it might be difficult to convince all 300 pre orders to pay the extra money to get the battery upgrade.
I imagine you want this upgrade to happen, as much as we do as it will make selling future inventory easier by having a more current consumer product offering, without having to create a larger battery Raptor 2.1 version in the near future. It sounds like not having multiple variants of Raptor 2’s is one of your prime objectives for production efficiency reasons.
So might it make sense to charge everyone a bit less (something like $40) and use your your profit margin to partially subsidize the cost of the upgrade in order to ensure unanimity among the current pre orders? You could then adjust the price of the product for all future sales to recap any lost margin and ensure that you have a product that is cutting edge and at the top of the industry for the longest period of time without needing to upgrade.
Just a thought… Either way I am on board for the upgrade.
The 30Q test graphs, that were linked to in the original battery upgrade post, are dated 9/27/2015. So, going by that, I do not believe that these cells were just recently introduced. It is ashamed that the 30Q was not included in the original specs. I am all for the upgrade and the resultant price increase.
However, I had to pay a $29.75 USD foreign currency conversion fee when I ordered my Raptor 2. I’m in the USA. This was a surprise to me when I logged into my credit card account. I DO NOT want to pay another conversion fee. I don’t know if it is a percentage of the original amount paid. I have to do some research to find out about this fee. My bank’s website had no info on it. I am going to have to spend time on the phone to find out. I would have gladly spent the additional $55 to $70 when I originally ordered.
Is there an alternative payment method to avoid the conversion fee?
I am really looking forward to actually riding my Raptor 2.
In fairness to Jason it may not have been a viable option when he started this project and I think we would all agree his intentions on providing the upgrade option are good… didn’t notice the foreign conversion fee, but I think I remember reading somewhere in the fine print that something like that might apply
I am not criticizing Jason in the least. I’m all for more range. It is just unfortunate that this upgrade situation seems complicated. A 432Wh pack sounds good to me. I just want to ride.
As far as I can tell, the fee was charged by my bank. It is the first fee that I have been charged in my 33 years with them. I don’t like fees. I have never paid interest on any credit card either.
Given you have already assured everyone that you are overseeing QA and this check of this small run, alll users should be happy come May/June.
I’m feeling confident. 96% have said they want it and 89% said they are willing to pay for it.
This is a very positive sign.
I will send out the direct emails to everyone in a few days and let the offer run for a few days.
11% cheap ass MF’s. These are the same people that are too much of a tight wad to kick down for a full face helmet.
The irony in that statement is that I am not paying more for mine, yet I just opened my new Bell Star RSD helmet and its sitting here next to me. I have more money in motorcycle riding gear than several raptors cost.
still doesnt mean that I wont draw the line and say “this is how much I am willing to spend, and no more”. You seem to assume my reasons for not paying more are based on not having the money, rather than other reasons.
Or… Some people just don’t like looking like a retard with a full face helmet on a skateboard. I mean its a skateboard. Not a motorcycle. Think about it. It’s personal preference at that point dude. Million bucks says its not about the money for most. Its probably about the fact that they paid for something and now the price is changing. I’ll pay the extra. But the next guy might not.
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What happens to the guys who don’t want to pay? Can Enertion cancel their orders?
Sorry guys. I was piss assed drunk when I posted that, and pissed off over something else. I took it out on you, and for that I apologize.
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happens to the best of us 
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The question is, would you have payed 70$ more in the beginning if 30Q would’ve been the standard battery? Plus do you wanna be the person who blows the party for the rest?
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Yeah, I got hit with the foreign fee as well. The good news is that it is a 3% fee (on most cards). So you won’t have to pay $29.75 again… more like $2-$4 (some cards have a $5 min. though).
What is this delay people are talking about? I must be blind because I haven’t seen anything about it.
If early June, I’m fine with that… if late July, I might rethink this since most of my spring & summer will be gone by then. In another month, torqueboards might have a non-carbon-only board out…
haha, yes, obviously