Thinking about buying Evolve GT Street Carbon Series

Hi,

Even though I have already pre-ordered Boosted Board Dual+ plus Extended battery that will arrive end of this year... I'm also thinking now about the possibility of Evolve GT Street Carbon Series.

BUT, what "scares" me, it´s that even though I read that Evolve has more range, more acceleration... that they give many problems, that the board is sometimes "unpredictable", that the remote sucks.... bla bla bla.

I mean.... Boosted Board I saw that has a really flexible deck vs this GT Carbon Deck that I think it´s not flexible at all(does it affect in a bad way or not?), and the remote of the Boosted Board also that it´s very good vs the "cheap looking" remote of the Evolve, etc etc..

I mean... I don't want to buy this Evolve GT and have problems with the remote, batteries, or even worse.... to "kill myself", because the board or the remote gets crazy and suddenly do something unpredictable and I have an accident...

Mmmmm I don't know what to do. I read that the Boosted Board has a better overall experience, that you feel "safe" riding it, but yeah, it´s range sucks... and I also read that Evolve range it´s something close to 50 kms, nice high speed, acceleration... but yeah, that the remote and it´s trigger it´s like something "crazy" and that you have to be very careful if you don't want to have an accident. So really.... I don't really know what to do.

Obviously, I suppose that I could get used to this Evolve remote, starting with beginner modes and so on, with practice, maybe it´s not that bad, but yeah, I don't want to have problems with broken deck, remote, batteries or whatever.... because I suppose every board will have problems (Boosted, Evolve, etc), but if I give a good use to the board, I just want to know if the evolve will give me more range, if it´s also a SAFE board, because seriously, reading comments about it´s remote, that it has no kill switch and that it´s so sensitive.... I don't know which one I should buy right now. I can still cancel my preorder of the Boosted Board and receive my money back.

So... what do you recommend me? Obviously, this is an Evolve forum, but, seriously, considering what I read with the remote thing, the sensibility thing, that it can be unpredictable sometimes... and other unknown issues for me, what do you recommend me?.

I also saw that there´s the AT option, but range decreases from 50km for Street model to 30km for AT model.

These CONS for Evolve also doesn´t help(are all of them truth?):

Slant - Boosted Dual (2nd Gen.) vs Evolve Carbon GT Street detailed comparison as of 2017

Thanks in advance I'm from Madrid, Spain, by the way. And they would send me the board from UK I think. Cheers!

 

You just have to pay attention when using the remote. Get a feel for the sensitivity & how your finger muscles should react to get the acceleration or braking that you want. You also just need to be conscious of how you are standing on the board - Evolve has a vid on tips on how to ride safely.

The range is necessary IMO. I am not buying an expensive E-Board to ride for only 6 miles. With the Evolve, I've ridden up and down two different beaches, and then inland back to a friends house nearby. Still had like 67% after riding all afternoon.

There are hardly any issues, though I had one where the set screw for the motor-gear was loose and was rattling around while I was riding. Loctite fixed that up real fast.

Also, while the speed and acceleration on the Evolve can be fast, the maneuverability of the board is amazing. With the braking and acceleration, you can maneuver yourself out of any danger. Last Sunday, I was riding a little fast out of a grocery store parking lot in Newport Beach, and a car was driving pretty fast as well while heading to the exit. I was perpendicular to it by about 15 yards away at 10 mph, but I just gently pushed the brakes, turned to the right at a 45 degree angle, and then sped out of the area. Heart was beating fast, and I am glad I watched the safety vid on how to brake quickly in an emergency.

Lastly, Evolve recently made two announcements - the Bamboo GTX board, and a firmware update for the remote. It now has an auto safety feature for when the remote is not in use or when it is below 5% (which will automatically slow the board down to a slow stop).

Forget about the Boosted. The only thing that is being "boosted" are the wallets of the manufacturers, without you getting all you wanted in an e-board.


Consider the Bamboo GTX btw. I just got the Carbon 2 in 1 and now want the Bamboo QQ.

 

Thanks for your tips / information

Yeah, the "you just have to pay attention when using the remote" sounds good xD but I'm not the one saying that the remote sucks, I mean, I read everywhere, here, in this forum, that the remote sucks big time, that people lose connection, etc etc (and all the cons that appear on the url I put at the beginning).

Obviously, if Evolve GT gives me 50 kms range vs the future 20 kms range of Boosted Board Dual + Extended Battery, it´s a lot of range, but if the remote or the board are going to do unpredictable things and put my integrity in risk... that´s what I'm scared of xD

But yeah, of course I like also Carbon GT. I will have to think about which one I should buy.... It´s not about just range, but overall experience.

I will also search info of that GTX

 

My remote has never been unpredictable. Every "connection" issue has only been when my board goes to stand-by mode & the remote loses connection, which only requires you to press to power button on the board twice - once to wake, a second to connect to the remote.

Overall, I have never had remote issues that I can not trace back to a rational cause. Others may just have the same experience as me & just chalk it up to "faultiness". What issues have you heard about the remote?

 

Sure, this is what I found:

Cons that appear here: Slant - Boosted Dual (2nd Gen.) vs Evolve Carbon GT Street detailed comparison as of 2017

This thread also: Evolve GT | Problems & Solutions

Also, these comments:

"
It's built very poorly. In your hand it feels cheap and the trigger has very little resistance. It's loose and sloppy. If you toss the remote in a back pack or something, it won't be long till you find your trigger twisted to one side or the other.

It also has lots of disconnection issues ranging from micro cut outs where you retain control of the board but the battery meter disappears and you can't change mode to full blown disconnections that power cycle the remote and board and leave you freewheeling on the board with no warning.

At times it has lag. You will hit the button to change mode and it won't change mode for a few seconds.

Another problem that comes to mind is that evolves solution to a poor quality battery issue was not to replace the battery with a higher quality battery, their solution was to program the software so you are automatically forced into eco mode and don't have the ability to use fast mode once the battery level is below a certain percentage. This solution will also result in auto downshifting when taking on big hills that cause the board to work hard and use a lot of power.

The last thing that comes to mind is that the programming for the remote is pretty god awful in regards to acceleration and braking curves. It's like all the acceleration and all the braking happens in the first half of the throw in the trigger. This means it's super sensitive and takes off and stops pretty hard but there is little difference in the second half of the trigger and half trigger and full trigger are very similar. Super sensitive at the low end and unresponsive at the top end.

Would you like to hear about the decks cracking, the trucks breaking or how evolves gears don't even have a flange and they use a plastic cap to keep the belts on?"

Apart from many other comments that I can find in forums.

But the only thing that I can read over and over again, is that the remote sucks, that it´s so unpredictable, and maybe you can have an accident easily, or you can lose control while riding. Those are my concerns

 

You're gambling with the GT's remote drop-out issues. And if you're having them, they won't just go away. They're there for good and part of your environment. The GT has some of the highest defect/issues I've seen in terms of multiple forums and people posting their experience, I saw posts before I bought mine, bought mine, and it was a nightmare of a board. I won't go into details but I've documented on this forum from when I was stoked in getting the board to the very end where I was glad I was given a full refund. As for the CF deck cracking, I wouldn't worry about that. That was an issue with the vendor making their decks in the early stage and they resolved that issue. I haven't heard of any decks breaking/cracking from normal riding. As for the trucks, they're crap. They're very brittle and a a cheap cast job was performed when they were made. If you see a picture of a split GT truck, right up by the deck, its horrible in terms of quality and you'll go holy crap, I'm riding on that!? As for battery and range, I didn't find the GT to have that much range honestly and for sure not even close to its 31 mile street / 18 mile AT setup its rated as. Only way to hit that is that you have to be in ECO mode the entire time and on flats. You also don't get 100% of the performance from the board/pack due to the terrible voltage drops the pack has. I could only hold the rated 26mph speed with 97mm wheels for only 2 miles, then it dropped down to 24 mph. After 3-4 more miles I was then down to 22 mph. Also note that the board will drop you down to granny/eco mode when the battery is own to 20%. You're then crawling and the ride is painfully slow and not that much fun. And beware about going up hills when you're down to 30-40%, the board may just decide to drop down into ECO mode and throw you off. I never had that issue of riding in GT and having the board drop you into ECO, but other's have. The board I had would show on the remote ECO and as soon as you let off the remote throttle it dropped into ECO. But that sounds like another Evolve firmware bug for those who had that issue.

If you read up and do your research you'll be able to decide in your gut what board you want.

The Evolve GTX appears to now have a fail safe mode when an issue occurs between the remote and the board. Not sure if that helps out with the RF interference or just if the battery dies first in the remote that it falls into fail-safe. All remotes / boards I've owned have that feature already built in, but it was vague what Evolve described it was from what I read. So possibly the GTX might be a better choice than the GT for you if you're concerned about remote issues. Note that Evolve has not done one thing to fix any of the issues reported by customers regarding the remote, so it for sure didn't get better.

 

Wow man.... definitely I think I will buy Boosted Board xDDD

I really like the range of Evolve GT, and it´s acceleration... but I don't want to have issues with the board, or have an accident because the remote disconnects or things like that.... what a pity....

Ok, thanks!!

 

Have you researched boosted boards losing connection - it is also an apparent frequent occurrence - with known places where it reliably happens and owners alerting each other.......

Boosted use Bluetooth - which would be more susceptible to RF interference as this protocol and frequency is obliquitous. That said it does have a audible warning when connection loss is detected (but how much use this is when you no longer have control and are traveling at 20mph i am not sure)

I have read with interest all the posts about connection issues too - and wiztecy's crusade - which I agree with by the way - if his product was faulty and they could not repair it - full refund or replacement seem obvious to me, I am glad he is now happy.

However his theory of RF interference does not convince me - as this would mean it would equally effect all board and all users, which it does not. There is more likely faulty components on some boards, and effect some users - and if I was one of them I too wold shout from the rooftops (people complaining are always louder than happy customers)

I have never had a single issue with connection, and hope I never do.

Just bear in mind connection loss can occur on boosted / evolve or any other remote control system - I hope you are happy and safe with whatever board you chose - they are both great in my opinion - I just could not live with the limitations of the boosted personally.

 

Errrmm... boosted boards have no losing connection problems, as they have 2 signal connections with the board, never read anything related to connection problems for BB at least.

Ok thanks for your post. Yeah, maybe you are right(or probably, you are right), and maybe, like you say, sometimes people complaining are always louder than happy customers, and maybe if I buy Evolve GT, I could receive a board without any kind of issues, or a board with 9999 issues, I don't know, just talking about what I could read in this forum and in other forums.

So yeah... I will think about it, it´s not easy to make a decision

 

quick google search =
That link is for older version before second channel I believe - but it was well known

And official information and other reviews all echo the following "Boosted also added a second Bluetooth radio to the remote to cut down on dropped connections with the board. I definitely noticed the difference that made here in New York, where the overabundance of wireless signals used to make the remote’s connection to the board drop out."
Notice "cut down on dropped connections to the board" !!

The second channel is great and should reduce the chances of interference as much as possible - but it cannot eliminate it.....bluetooth is a crowded space with more and more powerful and frequent devices increasing chances of interference.

I prefer the boosted remote definitely in some respects - but also the evolve in others, like the LCD screen - which is a double edged sword - as it has increased peoples queries as they have access to more information. (e.g. i have occasionally noticed my battery readout displaying "--" without any effect on connection or control, but some users confuse the two. Everything is hidden on the boosted if you know what I mean, just some light.....and a audible alert if connection is dropped past a certain threshold.

Based on the amount of complaints about connection issues evolve vs boosted i have read - evolve without doubt has a worse record. However this is a subset of boards - not all boards. Boosted has also had issues - and in fairness has addressed them better in my opinion. Any evolve user with a connection issue should have the entire board including remote exchanged free of charge if no definitive cause can be determined.

I wish you luck with whichever you chose - both are amazing and so much fun, without doubt my best purchase of many many years

 

Thanks!! I will make a decision this month

 

The issue with the Carbon Fiber GT is that Carbon Fiber is a *shield* to RF signals, that reduces your signal strength. Any engineer or person designing a radio system understands this! Its fact. Secondly, the GT does NOT use bluetooth and there's a long thread on that. Lastly, all wireless communication can be vulnerable to RF interference if the plan was not thought out to locate things. I have one of my MetroBoards that I was able to reproduce the RF interference areas that the GT horribly couldn't handle. This was due to me moving the radio receiver antenna in the battery box to a non-ideal location that reduced its signal. However the board didn't do stupid things like the GT did that put me in danger. I ended up moving the antenna back to the ideal location and its fine. Also my latest Trampa build has zero dropouts and the remote throw is super smooth and predictable. However this is NOT a consumer board, its built with opensource VESC and off the shelf remotes / receivers that the E-Skateboarding DIY community has been testing, trialed, and found to work best. I have the ability to modify the response of the remote to make the throw tighter or longer, I can calibrate the remote, I also can change the acceleration and brake curves as well as where I want the battery to reduce power when the voltage drops low from drain. So no more wacky behaviors from some stupid "canned" configuration that a consumer company thinks they're an expert at. Sorry about the rant, but that GT I had was the worse product and most dangerous product I've ever owned. Period.

If you do go for the GT, make sure that Evolve WILL refund your money back if something goes wrong. It was like pulling teeth from those guys getting my money back, even after dislocating my shoulder from the GT having a mind of its own. Same with Boosted, ensure that they'll back you up as a customer if you're not happy and if you don't feel safe on the board due to a bad design.

What really bugs me about Evolve is that they know and knew about these drop-out issues from the beginning, I and other's gave them recommendations to patch this in an very inexpensive way. Cheapest would have been to do what Enertion boards did with the Raptor 1, they made the same mistake, enclosing the radio receiver fully in carbon fiber. They ended up changing the composition of the top battery box lid, making it out of fiberglass rather than carbon fiber and their issue went away. Evolve, well, not so much. Evolve would rather put that time, money, and mind-power into marketing which in my own opinion feeds their pockets. I did want to help Evolve by just asking for a new GT that didn't exhibit the issues I had experienced. However they said that there was NO change in any design or firmware from the board I had back in November to that day in April with the board or radio. So with that, the issue won't magically disappear as I would have hoped. When Evolve swapped out my remote first and my controller second to debug this mess, I thought that my issue was magically going to be fixed. That's bad actually, you really will make it feel like its fixed, but in all reality you are just dropping your guard to get injured. I became very cautious after not trusting the repairs and not trusting the board, that saved me from getting hurt again in the future when riding that thing.

Again, there are some who have GTs that work fine, but note that there are those like me who have had a terrible lemon type experience with them. And its not a good combination to have when something can go over 20mph.

Last bit of advice, always wear a helmet. You never know when something can go wrong when your riding. So be prepared at least with that.

Good luck in your decision.

 

....also beware of Evolve's "biased" 5 star reviews on their Evolve USA site. Appears Evolve is filtering out those reviews and only showing the positive feedback. I ended up putting a 1 star review, I'm a verified buyer, and discussed my issues I had with the board and that I got hurt using it. Well guess what, its not posted up on their site.

Fishy if you ask me. Why have reviews if you're going to filter and put up only the ones you like?

 

Ok, thanks man Yeah, I already bought a helmet, I'm not that crazy to ride one of these boards without it, I appreciate my life

The bad/worst thing about Boosted Board is... it´s range. If I want to go for a ride, and without breaks, I'm sure, until I receive extended battery, I won't be able to be riding it even 30 mins... that really sucks. But with Evolve... I'm sure I would be able to be riding for more than 2 hours for sure if I wanted. So.... I don't really know which one I should buy. A friend that has BB, is telling me that just for the remote, the flex of the deck, how smooth it goes... that I should buy Boosted Board, because Evolve Remote sucks, it´s really dangerous to be riding and maybe something unpredictable happens and you have an accident.... bla bla bla. But yeah, at the end.... that range for Boosted Board... oh well..... I'm sure if you are riding and enjoying.... 30 mins it´s like nothing, so it would be like... ok... I start riding.... and 20-25 mis after.... mmmm.... ok.... now I have to stop because I need to charge the board....

I don't know man... arggg

 

Fair points about the Carbon, I have no experience of the Carbon GT myself, but CF does behave like medal and if enclosed and connected to ground will theoretically form a faraday cage (not as efficient as metal but a very bad good choice). I did not know the top cover was also carbon fibre, thought it was plastic....and i am a radio engineer. I would need to physically have one and carry out some tests before I could comment........

Regards bluetooth - yeah i know - I wrote a long breakdown of the protocol evolve uses in previous threads. Pros and cons and tests id recommend and theoretical explanations for the observed malfunctions including your own. My comments were directed at bluetooth controller for other skateboards - and the downsides of using a crowded frequency range - i.e. signal issues.

You had a bad experience, you got refunded, and you have explained your situation many times. I agree anyone with a product that does not behave as it should is entitled to full refund / replacement - and in the EU this is not a choice for the company. It is law - unsure about the states or Australia - but they have some weird practices.

That however is very different from balanced commentary which I try to make - had i experienced the same or got injured as a result I might have another view - but my experience is 100% positive and reliable and feel I should make that clear. Like I said complaints are always louder than happy customers - case in point yourself (no offence)

 

Have you check out MetroBoard? I own 4 of them, two from 5 years ago and two I bought last year. I ride those everyday and the long range board is my daily commuter. You can buy the board with a 40 mile range pack, and yes, its real 40 miles of capacity. Independently tested, you tube on that with a guy in NY. I use mine for riding across San Francisco and it climbs up all the hills along the way. He also sells a 20 mile dual motor board. The owner of the company has been in the DIY community and building boards since 2003, so before anyone heard of these things and was one of the first in the industry to run the lithium ion batteries. The owner is always able to be contacted via Facebook chat or calling him, he's very very responsive and his customer support is A+++. He also supports and has upgrade packages for the older boards, I had an infared remote on my boards and upgraded it to the 2.4Ghz RC style remote which is badass. He also upgraded the motors which you can do, from a 90KV motor that did 21mph top speed to a 110KV movor that does 24mph. If you want to go faster you can buy a later motor drive sprocket and reach 26mph. Thing is you can ride this top speed for quite some time before you get affected by voltage drops like the GT. He also DOES NOT filter the reviews on his website and is a very honest guy. #1 priority is to build a quality product that's safe for the user. He has little kids that ride these boards, so safety is definitely a priority. Lastly Metroboard uses a steel motor pulley and an aluminum wheel pulley unlike Evolve's aluminum motor pulley (that's known to wear) and a plastic rear pulley (again known to wear). The steel holds up very very well, Metroboard at first ran an aluminum pulley but daily riders were wearing them out fast, so he engineered it to be better. The rear aluminum pulley does not rotate as much as the smaller motor pulley, so wear is less there, but plastic pulley's do see wear there if you do indeed use the board every day.

 

No offense taken. I for one won't filter nor will I wear rosy glasses either about my experience if it was bad. I also will voice very loud and clear if I had a great experience. You can see this in my threads on this forum, however things turned bad and kept getting worse for me with the GT. I do feel that if you do have a bad experience, especially one that leads to injury, that it should be called out and a proper company would address and fix the issue.

As I mentioned, there are those who have had great experiences and no issues with the GT, but there are others, more customers than just myself, that have been hurt and had horrible experience both with the board and the customer support.

Whats odd is that Evolve had NO interest, ZERO, in learning more about the issue. I talked to them on the phone offering as much insight and help in identifying the issue and resolving the problem. No interest on their side at all.

 

That all sounds great, and delighted you are happy. I am also happy, and have owned my Bamboo GT for over 6 months and love it. Been perfect and exactly what I wanted.

I have seen the metro boards and they look great - but wouldn't suit me, I don't like the look or design - or the lack of flex and prefer bamboo. But it is all personal preference right?

My experience of customer service from the UK has been above reproach, and the bend over backwards to support me and reply instantly and always with knowledge and courtesy.

So I have to again rebalance your commentary as sometimes you come across as on a crusade - and a touch biased

 

Yes, the Metroboard as you mentioned has a DIY form factor to it. It also is built like a tank. Its a pretty rigid board as you noted, but it is way more flexie andn softer than the Carbon GT, that thing rattled me to death. But it was all part of the board, it carved nice.

As for coming across crusade and a touch biased, take a look at my history. I started out pleased and stoked on the GT. Then follow the issues I had. Then follow the poor customer service I had. Then follow the injury I had. Then follow the fight to get it resolved. Then follow the fight to get my money back. Should a customer have to fight this much on a product they spent over $2k with?

As for the Metroboard, that board, all 4 of them have been safe and reliable. So yes, I'll be biased on things that are working well just like your biased comments. Its the Ying-Yang. Also my latest build, the Kaly.nyc trampa street carver, I'm not biased about that board, I have no incentive, however I will note what I like and don't like about it. I noted that the throttle curves were not setup correctly with that board, but I did my research and got those dialed in. Also the motor was configured as sensorless when it was a sensored motor, I set that right too in the software configuration. Again I didn't hide my experience with the this board nor do I intend to, so far its been operating flawlessly and I'm more than 100% satisfied with the board and the way its performing. If I get hurt or this board somehow starts breaking, acting odd, and becoming dangerous to the rider I will post that.

It helps understanding how all this stuff works under your feet and why. However 95% of the e-board users, especially with consumer boards have no clue what's going on and how it was made or what technology is in it.

By the way, I'm the guy when I first bought my GT who had a Facebook page taken down that was talking smack about the Evolve GT. You can look that up on my threads. Reason I had it taken down was that the guy provided no insight nor cause as to why he felt the GT was faulty. He only posted a bent motor mount and a rear truck that was scraped up like he ran over something. He also created a propaganda video on youtube which is still there I believe. Again, showing no technical detail nor any educated insight into why he was not happy and mad with Evolve. I provided insight as well as suggested resolutions to my issue. I also documented when things were good with Evolve Customer Support that things were good. I tried to be as much of a neutral customer in this as I could but wanted to not hide anything I experienced. If I had a pure 100% satisfactory experience with this product all the way through, I would have documented it. But unfortunately it didn't turn out that way.

 

Wow... I've seen what you told me about the new incoming GTX and wow... I fall in love xDD (but it would be better if motors were not gold). Mmmmm, is the Evolve app for Iphone any good?. I know that Boosted Board app for Iphone it´s so nice, but I don't know the Evolve one. So... now... the decision would be between:

Evolve Bamboo GTX
Boosted Board Dual+ with extended battery

Mmmmmm....