Uncomfortable remote - mods?

Well I'm finding that I really hate this GT remote. Its very uncomfortable in every way imaginable. First its too short, the corner of the remote is just short enough to jab the lower right corner into my right palm. If it was longer and or had an ergonomic curve then it would work but its not currently.

The second issue is that trigger. My finger does not fit in there comfortably. Was this made for a girl with small fingers? I'm finding myself placing my finger in front of the trigger so I can relax. However I can't stop fast in this placement, for example if a car pulls out. I have to either put my finger back in the middle of the trigger or all the way in the back to push forward. If I use the trigger the way its designed my finger slides or begins to pull off of the trigger from the back side.

The third issue again is the trigger, why the pointy edges? So if I use the trigger naturally I get my finger dug into by the front or back nubs on the trigger. I may end up filing those things down big-time.

Lastly, there's no safety mechanism. Meaning the remote is live all the time when its on. I've triggered the board to go forward by mistake a few times by accident. But I guess I'll get use to it. But if you hand the board to someone new you have to watch and warn them or else your $2k board is heading out in the street and under a car.

I hope Evolve comes up with a replacement remote that's redesigned to fix these issues. I'd really go for a dumbed down remote, no LCD, plain jane that's simple, comfortable, cheap to replace if needed, and did I mention comfortable! Ohh yeah, I did Granted this is my first day with this, but I've had other boards. But by far its the worse remote I've had for the above reasons for a first time use. I hope it gets better and these are just learning / growing pains.

Happy to hear if there's any mods that can be done to this thing. Even if Evolve offered a new trigger system for the existing remote that would be a plus.

 

Ok so I modded the remote some. I sanded down those pointy ends on the trigger. I also sanded the inside of the U on the trigger so its a bit wider to fit my larger index finger than what they used as a model. Way better now for a fit, no pain! I also sanded down that darn back right upper pointy squared corner that was jabbing me in my palm. Just lightly enough to take that point off there and make it round. Wayyyyyy better.

Also reading though other forums it seems that some people get use to the remote over time so I'll see how it goes. But taking the pain away sure does make it more usable.

 

Pics of my mods.

 

Yes, worked perfectly today. I also sanded down the right side of the U on the trigger to be more ergonomic, your finger fits in there on an angle, not flat across. Meaning the valley of the U on the right side is deeper than the left.

If you do sand it like I did make sure to push the trigger fully forward or back for more stability while sanding.

 

Looks good. The pain I get from the remote is inadvertently moving the trigger forward half mm and getting thrown off the board.

 

Another tip I work a very small bit of coconut oil under the trigger U. That way I have a nice smooth transition moving forward and back. I found my finger binding in a few places. That trigger is touch so when that happens you give bad feedback to the board. Now that I'm working through modifying the remote, the board actually roars and has precise control. What I though / felt was sketchy came from the remote / trigger. It all adds up and you have to be comfortable holding it where it disappears in your hands. You also need to RESPECT this board. That's a very important part of this. And you MUST wear your helmet at all times with this board, every time nomatter how short. Reason being, Evolve is not filtering out the raw power of the thing. Once you respect and get to know the board its a true rock star. I'm still learning and I've been riding electric skateboards for some time. Each generation / type has a different style and characteristic you have to learn. Just like riding a horse....

 

I know, I got thrown off it in slow-mode last night. As I mentioned in my latter post you have to respect this thing and give it time. Know what you can and can't do. This board must be crazy for the first time buyer. I put it up there at the 'Expert' level, even in slow mode. Slow means you're just going slow and not rocketing down the road. You for sure have to have damn good balance and self control in this mode!

 

My problem was going from a Boosted remote to this. My fall was my fault. Broke my cardinal rule with this remote and be 100% focused. I decided on my last run I would film with my phone. Nothing fancy but at the bottom of the hill full speed I just broke concentration and then I was on the ground. I wear a leather jacket with armor and a full face helmet. Saved my ass. Still hurting but could have been worse.

 

Its hard to admit its your fault, same with me, but I eventually look at what's happened and can only put myself at fault. If I wanted plushness I would have bought a $250 Chinese board. I understand the same thing about the remote, coming from the MetroBoard (have 4 of them) where the older gen was a different technology. Went through the same thing in transitions between the board generations but nothing as intense as this. But also the boards were not pouring this much power/amps into the user's hands. There's some great features metro puts into their boards, the ability to individually dial up or down both the Regen and Power independently. This is something that Evolve needs to implement. It takes out the harsh hard regen throws off the board and crazy unexpected take offs.

What wheels are you running? I run 97mm on my Metros and my GT has 83mm. That alone with the smaller wheels will make take offs and regen braking more intense. I'm going to throw 97's on the GT today to compare. I'll try to put the AT setup on today but that might be best for tomorrow.

 

Also I don't recommend not having access to being fully aware and having both your hands available when learning / riding this board. Use a GoPro type fixed mount camera if you want to take action shots or ask a friend to take them for you. I won't even hold my phone in my hand just to record the GPS speed to see if the remote was accurate. I threw that thing into my messenger bag. Safety and respect comes first with owning this ride. One reason I'm sure the remote always dumbs down to slow mode when powered off. Keeps someone's kid or newbie from getting into too much trouble.

 

I ride the Abec 97s, haven't tried the AT setup yet. I will soon. Yeah I have recorded many times on the Boosted. Just a quick decision. I love the Evolve. Have no problems now. Been riding something all my life....just a bad decision. I also run my BB with the speed hack kit. Changes gear teeth in the hub to reach 15-26 mph. Slow take off but higher top speed. Just like Evolve. Can't really compare the two boards cuz they are totally different.

 

I have to say, the game changer that switched me to Evolve as my go to board is the range. It really is a big deal to by-pass my charge stops when I'm on the Evolve.

 

What made me buy the Evolve was the 2-iin1 design. Very practical. The amount of effort they put into this board to make if feel like your surfing/snowboarding, the carving effect with their double kingpin trucks, the slimness of the board and how it does not look like battery powered EV board by the huge battery belly pack on the typical boards, and the dual motor setup.

Ok honestly I bought the Evolve for the stated water resistant statement on their site as well as the things I said above. But after hitting the real world abuse of a rain environment and looking at the board (my Metro and playing this experiment), I ended up waterproofing my existing Metro due to the awesome support of that company. Knowing the abuse and seeing what I had to do to waterproof the Metro correctly and what still needs to be done, the GT is not even close to being waterproofed/resistant. Yes it has seals, but as soon as there's a void in that seal its over. Big bucks fixing it. Also the open cooling holes and rear mounted motors is the worse case scenario for water / dirt / wear intrusion. I'm going to experiment closing those off to see how the motors heat-up. Only an estimate since I don't have access to the temp sensors, I can only hit it with an infrared meter. Motors will shut down if they get too hot also. Nice ribber inserts would be nice. Remove them if it does show heating issues.