That’s the thing; competition and innovation. You copy and improve. Not saying Evolve are particularly innovative, but to their credit, they seem to have one of the most efficient drive systems.
After you test both boards I look forward to your experienced review.
Lol indeed I will @Jinra Evolve said (in an email to me) they would be getting their shipment early this week, weeks ago. Hopefully mine will get shipped by the end of the week assuming they get the boards on time as planned. I have a lot of videos in store, although it may be a little longer until I do the top speed test as I waited too long to get the 97mm and now they are on backorder. Could get from evolve but then I miss out on the 83mm.
I will be posting all Raptor and GT videos on my youtube channel – eSk8 – my friend also has a Boosted coming back from service around the same time so I will be comparing all three as well…exciting things to come 
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Didn’t you say you ordered the last 97mm wheels?
I had gotten clones but someone with the board confirmed that none of the clones sold anywhere will fit due to the thick spokes – they would have to be modded which I didn’t feel like doing since I paid $60 for them and some people paid $27…would rather fuck up a cheaper pair later. Wanted to avoid green but it is my only option now
oh i thought you said you got the green abecs haha
I thought I did a few days ago but then the place I bought it from told me they were sold out and asked if I wanted to be on their wait list lol
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I ordered extra abec gear drives and modding those to fit the clones. I hope it works so i can use various colors and not be stuck with abec 11 green wheels…
Hmmm…thats not a bad idea, modding the gear…one gear for clones one gear for regs, might actually do that instead tbh with this lead time being so long and Evolve will likely charge out the ass for them. How much did you pay for an extra gear? Can you link where on their website you got it
Edit found it: https://evolveskateboardsusa.com/collections/spare-parts/products/drive-wheel-for-83mm-and-90mm-abec-11-wheels
$60 for two gears, hmm…Found clones on eBay for about $28 shipped, so combine that together and its about the same price as retail 97mm. If you want anything between 80-97mm in another color it is as cheap as ~$30 after that. Not bad…
Please do post pictures and measurements if you successfully mod them.
They want to push their product and with that often comes a lot of marketing BS. Anyone who does their research will easily come to the conclusion that going the DIY route is not as difficult as it would seem. With a little know how, you can put together a board of the same level of quality for less, and get exactly what you want. On the other hand, some people are getting exactly what they want in an Evolve.
I rode an Evolve Gen2 Bamboo for a bit, but ended up selling. Didn’t like the sidewinder trucks or the trigger controller. Sold it to a guy who rides sidewinders and liked the trigger. To each their own. I started with an E-GO and thought the Evolve would be a nice upgrade. Turned out, after a few mods, I liked riding my E-GO more.
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Hey kind of random, but I’m one of those fence riders you were talking about just a minuet ago and am needing a little convincing to build my own board vs buying the evolve. I was about to buy the Evolve straight up no questions asked after months of research and years of dreaming of a board like this. A few years ago got hooked on the idea when I saw the Zboard but it’s been left in the dust. So I guess my questions are, if I pay top dollar for my own handmade custom wooden board can I potentially reach the range and distance the new Carbon GT can? Also that Evolve remote is so sick, is there a way I can use it on my potential DIY board? Finally is a wooden board going to be too heavy to have the speed, distance, and torque the carbon fiber delivers? cause lets be honest, wood will always look nicer and be more aesthetically pleasing.
Well judging by how doubtful most people here are of its range due to what they can currently reach with their own builds with a similar battery, I’d say no. But then again, that max range advertised on the GT is done via a slower mode that limits you to around 16mph with reduced torque. So in GT or Fast you could expect to get a range of around 22-25 miles I’m guessing. Will test when I get mine. [quote=“riftboard42, post:32, topic:4918”] Also that Evolve remote is so sick, is there a way I can use it on my potential DIY board? [/quote]
Probably not without doing quite a lot of modification, even I don’t think it would work as it is quite complex like the Boosted remote. I have no experience messing with remotes so I’m not the best source – but someone else is trying to do the same with the Boosted remote and it looks like it is fairly difficult. Evolve remote has an LCD and an interface – so I imagine there’s a lot more to it and you’d probably have to write your own software.[quote=“riftboard42, post:32, topic:4918”] Finally is a wooden board going to be too heavy to have the speed, distance, and torque the carbon fiber delivers? cause lets be honest, wood will always look nicer and be more aesthetically pleasing. [/quote]
Weight of the board does not really affect speed/distance/torque. Ask @Photorph he has a wooden board from @longhairedboy that can hit 38mph with around 20 miles of range – it weighs about 21 lbs I think. If anything more weight means more of those things as you can pack in more battery power. I’d be worried about portability though.
Keep in mind, the US pre-orders for the GT will be opening up potentially in a few days as they get their first shipment. So be ready to make a decision if you want a board this summer. One thing to also note is wait time can get ridiculous, but it could all be worth it in the end. Personally I decided to go the complete route first and do my own build later. Mainly because I need something reliable to get to work on, and I don’t want to be without an eboard all summer waiting for parts.
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@riftboard42 My complete board is 21.2 lbs of solid maple wood, mainly because the board itself is huge and heavy. I am pretty confident it can beat the evolve in range. The last test I did I got 23.4 miles or something along those lines and that was with 23% battery left. When comparing range you also have to look at the speeds you were going at. The first test I did got less than 20 miles of range, but I was also going 30-37 mph pretty frequently and that eats batteries.
Using a lighter board than mine and the same components (enertion R spec, ollin VESCs, enertion mounts, 12s4p battery with BMS) you can build a dual drive board to beat the evolve GT in any way possible. You can tune the throttle response to whatever you want using BLDC software for the VESC…I have no idea how to do this yet but I hear it’s not that hard. There’s also gear ratios and pulley sizes.
I opted for a gentler start (less acceleration) and more top end. Something like the raptor has more low end torque but less top speed. So you can really get a board tailored to your needs if you build one yourself, or have someone build it for you. My board is 440 watt hr. I just saw something on ollinboard’s youtube that has a 750 Wh battery. The DIY world will always be ahead of the commercial boards, there is no way they can compete in performance or range. But what they do offer is ease…you just buy the board and be done with it, and if you have any issues send it back to them for warranty repair.
The evolve GT is no doubt an awesome board, the best complete commercial board in the market most likely. So you can’t go wrong either way.
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Their statement is true. Wait for parts : check Waste time: check Get frustrated: check
Evolve (and Boosted etc…) are aiming for riders who just want to ride as hassle-free as possible. Those chosing to go the DIY route generally know what they’re getting into and like to tinker with stuff. But doing DIY aint cost effective by a long shot. I’d love to see the budget people eventually end up spending on their hobby. I probably could have bought two Evolves with the money I spent on stuff to tinker with.
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Depends on what you want. If you buy an Evolve and it turns out to not be your thing, you lose a lot of cash there. If you go the DIY route, you may end up spending more in the long run, but you’ll end up with the perfect board.
If you get an Evolve and don’t like the remote, you’re kind of screwed. If you go the DIY route and don’t like your remote, you just go out and buy another one like.
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I bought a Yuneec, was nice I bought an Evolve, great, but needs to be modified Next board will be DIY (still waiting for space celll and vescs) I don’t think I’ll go back to complete boards, I love my Gen 2 Evolve but I need the freedom of DIY
btw. I like the Yuneec-Remote more than the Evolve and I like the sidewinder trucks, I usually don’t go faster than 30 km/h.
Those few lines of text from Evolve are the most pathetic attempt at trying to move people away from any kind of DIY passion they may have. Hopefully whoever reads that will gain even more motivation to build their own board. Much respect to Jason, he was even congratulating Evolve in a recent vlog for how far they’ve come. There will be people that simply don’t have the time to build a board, which is fair enough. For those that can and do want to go the DIY route, rock on! 
Going the DIY ESk8 route has been the most fun and interesting rabbit hole I’ve gone down in a looong time. As well polished as the Evolve is (or any other pre-built for that matter), it could never satisfy my desire to customize and my urge to DIY something. All things that would surely impact the resale value, I’m sure. Lol.
I guess if you REALLY don’t have time to spend researching, building and tinkering, AND have the $1k - $2k to drop on a complete all at once, AND have the ability to keep your hands off everything besides the remote, AND don’t mind riding the exact same board as your neighbor, AND don’t mind being patient for months (years?) for your “perfect” board to be released, AND don’t mind being bored(less) for weeks (months?) should you have to send it back for warranty repair, AND don’t want the ability to easily scare or humble yourself by trying to make it go as fast as you can handle, AND have a matching iPhone (no offense, but kind of what I compare a complete to, adjustability wise), then I say GO FOR IT!! I can’t honestly say that I’m not a little jealous of those that end up with a Raptor, Scarlet/Phat Matson, Flux, Evolve and maybe a few others, but I don’t fit ANY of my made up description above, so it would have to be a 2nd or 3rd or 4th board for me, and I’ve kind of already annihilated my initial budget and then some. 
For roughly the price of a new Evolve, over the course of about 3-4 months, I’ve already amassed enough parts to build about 3-4 complete, working boards (running 2 so far), and have almost endless possibilities of configuring different setups on 6s-12s, single or dual drive, hubs or satellites, big wheels, bigger wheels, kicktail, drop deck, long range, short range, etc. This is just with the parts I have now, plus the ability to swap components if something breaks, if I get bored with a setup, or just need to repair something. Plus, I had my first board up and running in less than a month after placing orders for parts, through a combination of buying parts I verified were in stock locally/domestically, and avoiding potential problem areas that could delay my first build, e.g., VESC’s, international purchases, pre-order items, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I do plan to get VESC’s sometime soon, and have pre-ordered some items internationally, but the waiting game is sooo much easier when you already have a working board(s) to play with. I don’t mind extended delays to complete my NEXT build, but not on my FIRST build. Plus, most tried and true DIY parts seem pretty easy to sell, if need be.
So, to each there own. I know there will be plenty of people out there buying up completes, and more power to them if it makes them happy. We can all still ride together (and hopefully keep up 
), and be part of this awesome industry/community. But as long as there are people (and vendors) like us, and forums like this, no amount of marketing, technology or bullshit will beat the DIY spirit and make me lay down my skate tools and soldering iron. 
Just sayin’ 
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That’s basically my customer. They want custom but they don’t have $1500 for soldering irons, spot welders, heat shrink tube, wires, pliers, strippers, allens, wrenches, glue guns, nickel strips, screws, bolts, washers, fiberglass consumables, solder, connectors, meters, diy jigs, deck presses, and other bullshit required to build a board. And they don’t want to spend their time researching motors, ratios, BMSs, cells, chargers, drive systems, remotes, and other stuff. They just want to ride and they know what they want and they want somebody else to build it, but they don’t want the same board everyone else has.
My other customer would be the enthusiast collector tinkerer who wants to start off with something they can ride now and be able to mess with and tune more later.
Fortunately some of these people have money.
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