Need help, should I buy?

Hello everyone,

I'm Brian from Switzerland and today I'm looking to buy a evolve bamboo gtx.
I was so excited to get now before I read somes reviews about it.

Is there really issues with the remote controller pairing ? Someone says that is very dangerous if you ride fast or down hill.
Where I leave it's not flat and I would'nt be confortable to ride it in down hill.

Also the seconde question is about the battery life. I read also many think that says the battery is bad quality.

Thank you for your help it's an expensive board and I want to be sure before buying it.

Ps. Sorry for my english

 

I'd be interested to know this too. It seems on the evolved site there is not one negative review, however, outside the site there are numerous negative reviews citing this exact issue.

 

I live on the top of a very steep hill. I rode my gtx to work and back every day this year as long as there was no snow and ice on the streets and I sure took some joy rides in my free time.It is winter now, but as soon as the temperatures hit 5+ °C there's gonna be some serious eskating going on again.

I did have an issue where I think one of the motors disconnected at times but evolve fixed it beautifully fast and free of charge. I noticed it when I first got the board, I sent it back to evolve workshop and as I said, those guys there provided me with a stellar service.Thank you Evolve Germany.
The board performed beautifully ever since.

As for the disconnections, I had none. Not once have my remote disconnected from the board.
The hill where I live is that steep that if it disconnected while riding downhill I would potentially be in a serious trouble. But it never happened.

As for the uphill, it takes me up ca 20-30 % incline at 20 + kmph(probably even faster)on abec 107 wheels, no problem.
I also have a set of AT wheels but I did not tested them much, as I really love the 107s.

I have also waterprooved the board, and it seems I did a good job with that as it serves me really well in very wet conditions. There is a post on this forum on what I did.

As for the battery I had no issues at all. The remote does show the "voltage sag" when I'm riding uphill for a long time in GT mode, but if I didnt look at the remote, I wouldn't be aware of it at all as it has no impact on the riding experience whatsoever.
Never has my board swiched to ecco even when I pushed it really hard.

As for the range, I believe it's somewhere around 40 clicks for me. The longest ride I took was 18 kms and I would think the battery was with around at least 50+% juice left, as it took well under 3 hours to recharge it.
I dont think I'm gonna be doing much longer rides than that as it would probably kill my feet.

So I would say buy.
In my experience the gtx is a great board.It's fast,confortable, reliable with great range and a fantastic custommer support if you'd ever need that. I'd give it 9,5 out of 10 as for now.

 

I love my GTX. I had an issue were my remote/board would intermittently switch to safe mode about once a week (about 10 rides a week). Was not a big deal to me, because I as I am rolling on the board, I can switch back to fast mode or break to a stop. I eventually did send it back to EvolveUSA. They checked it out and replaced my motor controller and issue seemed resolved. A couple weeks after receiving back I had another issue with board one day, when I first accelerate it would switch to safe mode then turn off. EvolveUSA said to check power button wires. I found one wire was loose. The solder broke and was only held on by heat shrink. They sent me a new power button (I could of just soldered the wire back) and board has been great ever since. Not sure if second issue also partially cause of the first issue. Kind of makes sense that board would switch to safe mode on loss or low power due to the bad wire connection. I am thinking wire was slowly coming loose until it broke. I never had issues were remote completely disconnecting or had issues were board suddenly unknowingly breaks/locks the wheels. I love riding the board and ride it with full confidence.

I get good range on the battery. I am 230 lbs and get about 20 mi on street wheels. I do experience the battery sag only when the battery gets to about 40% and lower. When the battery gets below 20% and you let go of the accelerator, the remote automatically switches to eco mode. So for me, the battery would sag below 20% on hill climbs (starting at about 40%) or on hard accelerations (I am probably below or close to 20% to 30% already). So I think the battery cells they use do suck. I hear and read the 18650 cells are better and have less sag. But since the GTX does have such a big battery the range is not an issue. I just ride in eco mode at about 15 mph the rest of the way.

I agree with fuuz. Its a great board. Very comfortable with the board flex and concave (I also recommend the 107mm wheels if you go street version). The turning radius is great. I can turn sharper than my friend on his koowheels board. I easily get double the range than him per charge. I do not regret my purchase.

 

I love My GTX, no disconnects anywhere. Only issue Ive had is the board pairing initially before riding but thats it, after that, easy and fast ride.

If youre up a steep hill, use fast and GT mode. The GT modes torque curve is insane so lean into the hill as far forward as you can, in GT mode, it doesnt need your help lol. Conversely, use the brake to decel down a hill, it has regen brakes so It'll give you a bit more charge down hill.

In terms of the battery, I havent had issues thus far, though I baby my board and its battery. Anytime I'm not using it its on the charger, once its charged I immeadiately take it off the charger. I check for anything that might be out of place or dirty and clean it when I can. Its my second form of transportation at the moment so just like the car, maintaining it is the best way from having any issues.

 

My personal impressions about my GTX and other boards I know the owners.

Yes, there are connection issues. Easy to realise it in a quick search. But I've had none, my board has always been stable with both R1 and R2 remotes. Even riding in the wireless busy CBD, or in group ride with 40+ riders. Not one single disconnection. But I know more than one true story. Skateboarding IS DANGEROUS. Be careful.

I'm no specialist, but quality in general is low. Very common cracked wheels, soldering issues, many motor bearing issues, remotes given up. Battery is special crap. I have a background on electric RCs and I'm used to LiPo batteries with high discharge rates, so these evolve ones sit well below expectation for me. If you can cope with it you'll be fine, just get your expectations right. I'm 80kg, carving hard all the time on hilly parks, temps here are never below 0 celsius. I normally get around 22 good kms on 97mm38teeth and 12 good kms on AT 175mm66teeth (50 PSI). If you cruise below 20km/h on a flat smooth surface you would probably hit the advertised 50km on street setup and 30km on AT for the GTX.

I don't use my board for commute, so any issue I can just hang it for a week or two and sweet no problem. I absolutely LOVE riding it, carving hard all the time on very loose trucks, cruising low speed enjoying some music. But it's hard to blindly recommend it for someone I know nothing about.

Ride safe!