To buy an electric kit or to buy a small board only for components (my budget is $250)?

General Discussion
#1

I own and I built myself several longboards but never an electric one. So for my first electric I would start the easy way and upgrade eventually later. I want to start with a kit or something similar where all components fit together. Later I will upgrade it depending on my needs and depending on my future acquired knowledge about eskates (after using it and working with it).

I’ve read the article about “build or buy, false economy” and in order to reduce the risk on my first built esk8 I would either buy a kit (up to 250euro) or an already built small board for the same price (like Acton or Maxfind) and move the electric components on one of the large longboard decks I already own.

Which one solution is more cost effective? Buying an electric kit or buying an already made small and cheap board just for getting its components and to move them on a large deck that I already own?

#2

The 250$ kits are usually cheap chinese crap. For that price you need to either buy a premade board (which could very well also be crap) or try and piece things together yourself, which will take a lot of work, but is certainly doable to get something moving. You can search on this forum for 200, 250, 300$ builds and see what others have managed to accomplish. Can you make a board to safely commute on the streets with that money? No. But you can make a lightweight cruiser to get you from A to B on the sidewalk a bit faster than by just pushing :wink:

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#3

Get a used meepo

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#4

Would Acton Blink S be such premade board that I should buy for components? If not, please recommend me some decent premade small e-cruisers (in 250-300 price range) or a decent quality electric kit to buy for building my first electric longboard.

#5

Please save up for quality parts it will save you a lot of hassle and even money in the end trust me ive been there :wink:

#6

I know what you say, but even good quality parts may not fit together, I tell you from my experience in building a desktop computer. Some parts may get out of stock, some parts may not fit with the rest of the parts. Getting a high quality part for upgrading after you already have a working build is much safer to fit with the rest of the board, especially if one doesn’t have experience because is his first build. And is easier to test it when you already have the rest of the components.

If I buy parts without buying a kit or premade board I might ending paying twice as much if we include the components ordered that might might not fit and components that I might burn until I learn how to set up the board.

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#7

I agree, a kit is good for a beginner. Just up your budget a little to get a kit with better quality :wink:

#8

I’ve never ridden an e-skate, so I am not sure if I would like more that the longboards I already have. That is why I would not start with an expensive kit and I try to find an affordable solution to start. If I like it I will buy only good quality components to upgrade the build.

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#9

Sounds good! I basicly did the same tbh my street build uses detachable parts so I can use it as a normal longboard. https://www.electric-skateboard.builders/t/bear-first-esk8-build-with-detachable-enclosure/89568

Good luck with your build!