So I decided to buy a cheap chinese knockoff instead of building a board, BUT I HAVE A GOOD REASON! i think (LOL JK, no chinesium boards for me :P )

Might as well went with this

$379 is super cheap! Until you spend it, then get nothing in the mail, then never get a refund.

If you want decent chinese board it would be better to choose I-WONDER board instead of falcon/lectric/luoov clones.

I say go for it, for science. Looking forward to your findings.

Lectric is kind of dodgy on instagram. I publicly asked them for specs and at first they responded with marketing gibberish, then they sort of answered my question, then when i pressed for more i was told that this was a fan account and not associated with Lectric.

I fully expect to see naked barely legal women rubbed in oil standing on their boards next because that’s what people do when trying to sell stuff to the young male demographic when they know its not going to end well.

Hopefully that board is hackable, and i totally want to see the guts, so hopefully you’ll get it soon and we can see what’s going on in there!

Hmm i had typed up a response but then it got deleted/didnt post???

anyways:

This is their instagram that is linked from their website: https://www.instagram.com/lectriclongboards/ And this is a fan one that some idiot named almost exactly the same: https://www.instagram.com/lectric_longboards/

I have emailed them with a couple questions and they are usually quick to respond.

Sent them this on the 19th:

Isn’t this just a copy/rebranded version of this board: http://www.melonboard.com/#!product-page/jis7r/975bc5ac-c45f-f81c-fd5c-c909f20d89fa

Got this reply the next day:

We basically took what they had and then improved it. We increased the speed, motherboard, motor, and braking system. Looks the same externally, but the internals is now a whole new story with this board. Levi Lectric Longboards

Sent them another question about specs, so it will be interesting to see if/how they respond

The fact that he didn’t launch on kickstarter after all, says a lot. There’s no way he “improved” anything on his own that previously wasn’t available from China.

Do you guys think this is looking more like a straight up scam instead of just middleman trying to make money?

I’m gonna send another email today just asking about the kickstarter, hopefully I hear back from them soon.

It just likely the hoverboards getting rebranded and sold for more once they slap a logo on it

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@Karmannghiagirl If you can find it on Aliexpress, go for it. Aliexpress is verified mostly. youll always get your money back if its not what you expected.

You also shouldent have mentioned that you want to buy a Chinese board on this forum because you knew everyone was gonna chew you out XD i say go for it! dont let others influence what you want to do.

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Also why dont you just buy the benchwheel or backfire? Those have alot more positive feedback than this brand.

The ones that exploded in the hover boards were li ion batteries actually.

LIPO is only dangerous if you don’t know how to take care of them.

Well I think you have all helped to sway me. The more i thought about it, the bigger the knot in my stomach got about the board. So i just sent them an email to cancel my order and I think I am going back to looking at the DIY route.

P.S. @onloop @torqueboards and any other people selling DIY eks8 stuff. If you put together a full entry level package (motor, controller, mount, batteries, etc) to convert a longboard, and were able to price it around $300-400 I have a feeling it would sell very well…

They used unprotected cells which are already banned/illegal from what I understand. Quality cells adhere to current regulations and contain an internal fuse.

Yeah man LiPo is fine, and prismatic pouches offer a lot of flexibility. I’ve been running them for a couple years now.

Its when you mix them with shit electronics and/or don’t provide adequate physical or electrical protections to them that they present a problem. And we all know the same damn thing happens with li-ion 18650s. Just because they come in a can doesn’t make them less likely to fall prey to shit installations, they just direct their fire toward the caps like a pipe bomb and are less puncture prone.

I had a lengthy conversation with a gentleman at UL about them, these hoverboard fires, and the fact that some of those jerks were falsely claiming UL status and using their mark without permission.

I’m glad you chose the diy route. The truth is, a lot of those china boards can’t be upgrade one piece at a time. Your esc blows, you might not find an esc that fits the job (or the space requirements) that would classify it as an upgrade. You blow a motor, you may have to stick with a small motor that will blow again because the motor mount wasn’t designed for larger motors.

Basically, I would equate this idea to that of a government saying “we don’t have enough money to build this bridge using concrete and steel, we’ll just make it out of wood”. If the circumstances are right (its a small bridge, for people only, with suspension), it might work for a while. But what your talking about is driving a car on it. And that bridge won’t last long before it breaks.

15+ miles means your going to do some serious commuting with this board. Its not a toy to get you 2 blocks to the corner store.

The false economy @Karmannghiagirl is something almost everyone on here has fallen into. You buy whats the cheapest possible, and think it will work. Even if you expect to replace parts, how often do you expect to keep replacing parts? You may be stuck replacing the motor with another shitty motor, because the motor mount can’t fit a larger motor. At the end of the day, you may spend $400 on the board + $50 for a new motor + $50 for an esc + $100 for a new battery and still have a board that will easily break again. This is the false economy, and with eboards, very little details can mess up expensive parts. A splash of water, a pothole, user error (to a small degree), hard braking or acceleration, ect. these issues don’t break a good board. But with cheap parts, they will brake.

At the end of the day, your talking about long commutes. I commute 10 miles per day, and it really does take a toll on your board. My first board lasted less than a mile, new esc and new motor, maybe 1000 miles. On to my third build, 200 miles so far, and I’m expecting the motors and escs to last at least 5000 miles, batteries much less than that. But I can’t say that about every motor or esc. Certain motors which are heavily recommended on this forum (i.e sk3 for one) seem to hold up. But splurge, spend $600 on a board that will last you more than a year, instead of $400 on a board that may not last more than a few trips.

Also, be wary of an max range numbers. Its like the mpg rating of cars, its usually bs. It all depends on hills, how fast you accelerate, are you accelerating as you approach a stop sign just to have to stop., and road conditions, just to name a few factors. I’m telling you from experience, 1000 mAh = about 1 mile give or take. I had a 16000 mAh battery before, and got about 15-20 miles of range. Now on the space cell (which correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe its around 5000 mAh) and I get about 5 miles of range. If I were you, I would be aiming for 20000 mAh if you really want a 20 mile range. And those size of batteries, even with cheap lipos in parallel, will set you back $200+.

Airwheel is DC motor . not BLDC motors we are using . most cheap eboards are DC motors . and they break down after few weeks .

Wouldn’t it be more accurate to measure range with watt hours? 10-12s would probably get you more than a mile per amp hour, due to less amps and heat.