I need your advice: TO buy or NOT to buy... THAT is the question

Hello to everyone at this fine forum... thanks for a great place to gather
In 80+ minutes i could press BUY on a Carbon GT from EVOLVE USA...
but, i'm a bit worried
The remote has been universally PANNED by everyone here and elsewhere
There have been more than a few dangerous "events" concerning sudden reversals, etc
____________________-
I'm 54 years old... an i know only too well the trappings and pitfalls of the internet
but... it makes no sense that EVOLVE has no yet disabled the REVERSE DURING RIDING FORWARD on their BT remote

so...
this is THE MOST EXPENSIVE electric skateboard on the market
do i buy i today or is a REMOTE CONTROL SOLUTION coming... and, IF so.... WILL it be COMPLETELY backward compatible with anything i DO buy today?

thanking you, in advance
greg

 

I bought the AT Bamboo in early Nov and haven't had a problem. Most of glitches seem to be with Carbon model, possible shielding issues?? I do wish they would just do away with "reverse" mode. Never use it for one thing. In one thread guy actually did it to himself by accidentally thumbing into reverse while going forward in "Slow" mode. Remote is the weakest part of system IMHO, but that said, I have over 200 miles on mine on mostly flat pavement and some hard packed sand at the beach. I don't shift too much and mostly roam around in "Eco" at 13-15 mph. Our roads are rough with a lot of potholes so don't want to go much faster. Love the product and hope I don't have any future remote issues. Most runs are 5-6 miles with 60-70 percent batter left. Best, albeit, most expensive board out there I think. Plus it's the only one I could find with the AT tires except for a cheaper version that weighed 60#!!!!!
Paco in Texas (72 years young)

 

Im the same i have a gt bamboo but even though iv had a few things go wrong i still absolutly love this board so much fun i honestly think bamboo is the way to go anyways i really dont think the extra 500 is worth it just for carbon and yeah u do get a few extra miles and stuff but trust me wat the bamboo can do is really enough plus if it isnt its alot easier to customize to get that bigger battery and bigger deck

 

I purchased a Carbon GT about 3 weeks ago & I have no regrets. I've had a Bamboo GT since 9/13/16 & it's been flawless, almost 1000 miles later. Had to replace the AT tires once because they were worn from carving so much
BTW - I'm almost 50

 

Greg, got my CGT last september and had lot's of fun with it. Haven't done 1000 miles yet (weather and all) but did not had any mishaps or faults. Board rides smooth, yet FAST if you want to. If you take it easy and start in Slow mode, you will soon get over it and go to ECO or ... Just wear your helmet and if needed other pads. If you want a versatile ride, Evolve is the way to go. Maybe the most expensive, but it's in a category of its own. And you can easily start with AT wheels and get the Street kit after. AT is the max. Go for it!

 

I want to thank all of you for your responses and insight
at almost 200 pounds with gear on.... I want to get the carbon model because it has 50% better battery life in theory
I'm not sure it's worth $500 more, either and I do understand the shielding issues with the carbon fiber and the Bluetooth module for the remote control

The bamboo board just doesn't work for me
I can't spend that kind of money on something that's going to give me 9 miles of range with the all-terrain tires
just not worth it... To me

Nothing in the world is perfect
I also own electronic unicycles costing just as much
another new technology with inherent dangers

None of us will benefit from a board that suddenly stops at 15 mph
I appreciate all of your information
I will try to make an informed decision
I know I will enjoy every moment on the board, but the carbon unit because of the increased battery strength and range is the only board that makes sense for me and my almost 200 pounds of weight with gear

again,
thank you
greg

 

Greg, same here... I weigh around 200 lbs (no gear on) and my board doesn't even give a blink. I even didn't go top speed yet because it's too fast for me!!

 

that's awesome news above.... i appreciate it
and... i'm sure i'm OVER 200# WITHOUT gear after the lunch i just had

 

I also weigh almost 200 with gear & the CGT os totally worth the extra $$. I have both GTs!!

 

I cannot thank all of you enough for helping me make my decision. I know this is a growing community and most members have not been here for very long. I look forward to being an active member and watch and help this place grow into something more amazing every single day. Thank you very much for allowing me to be a member.

 

Coming from a Carbon GT that's been nothing but trouble and gave me injury I'm one of those I guess rare unhappy customers. I've bought lots of consumer gadgets and this by far is the worse that has hit me with injury the most. You can read my threads of multiple issues I've had with mine. Still hurting from my 1st injury of a dislocated shoulder from when the board took off on its own in GT mode. Having a product injure you is very uncool. Its one thing to get hurt from your own action and decision, but another when a product has faults that surround rider safety.

I'm fed up with my GT and will be trying to get my money back or at minimum ask for a complete swap of the entire board. It went to Evolve for diagnosis, worked good for a week then it decided to jump into reverse / brake hard as I was moving forward telling the board to go forward. Even though Evolve has been trying to resolve it, I feel they have no understanding on how to troubleshoot some of these issues with the board honestly. And I see some design issues that should never have happened, such as putting the bluetooth antenna enclosed inside a fully carbon fiber housing which acts as an RF shield. And the board has no safety measures that could protect the rider, such as monitoring when your going fast and to never ever engage reverse nor the brakes when your going over a certain speed forward.

And if something does happen with your board that's a defect Evolve will try to get you to pay for the shipping back to them. Its actually in the warranty terms. I've never had a good company make me pay shipping on their defective product before. I had to fire back at them to say this is ridiculous.

Having an electric skateboard take off without you wanting it too and stopping / going into reverse when your moving forward are some serious issues to think about. So if you do buy a GT, make sure you have a helmet on, get pads if you can, and don't wear a backpack at all when riding it. That's how my shoulder became dislocated. I put too much trust in this damn thing to use it as my daily commuter board. I came from 4 electric skateboards that I also used for commuting and never had one single issue with those.

Possibly I'm the unlucky one out of the bunch? I don't know. But the way things have been turning out I'm not happy one bit. I'm 44 years old and getting hurt like this where all you're doing is trying to enjoy life and have some fun can result with a life long injury that you may have for the rest of your life. So when as we're getting older we need to demand safer well tested products that we trust our lives with.

I also emailed the owner of Evolve regarding my issues and how significant they are, that I'm here to discuss them in detail so they can iron them out. No reply, I mailed it back over the holidays. Lets hope that he's just still on vacation for the holidays. I really would love to see Evolve take these issues seriously to prevent anyone else from getting seriously hurt as I did.

 

i appreciate your words of wisdom above, as well
please let us know fi you hear from the owner of EVOLVE
good luck
please find the strength to full recover

 

Hi! I bought a bamboo and carbon gt and I had problem with both and if I can get my money back I would take it right away. The carbon gt have more problem than the bamboo (cut off, signal lost, random acceleration, ect..) and I seriously think that the problem is bigger than some people think, I personally think if you recieved a none defect board you are lucky. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm very curious to know how many people had zero issues with there carbon gt. We are on EVOLVEFORUMS.COM a forum where all the evolve enthusiast are and I read a lot of post from unhappy (or complain against issues) owners and I think it's very unhabitual on this kind of forum. IMO If you can wait to buy a board from an other company when one release an AT option, WAIT. I ask to the owner of Metroboard if he have an At option and he respond to me that he work on one but he didn't told me when it will release it.
Sorry for my bad english

 

buy it. Don't look back.

Just turned 50. 210#. Bought for large battery now and in future when battery is less effective. Have 200 mikes in < month in hills. Totally satisfied

Remote is touchy but has been reliable for me. Very easy to accidentally switch/trigger... I've launched the board when adjusting gear and have learned to be very careful and intentional.


Endless wave!!!

 

Here I thought I was going to be too old for this sport. I'm 39 years young and it's fantastic to hear that there are members older than me. I hope I'm lucky enough to even make it to my 70's.

 

Damn you are old man

 

Mentally I'm only 14

 

Grow old is easy. Growing up is what's difficult