Here come the clones..

[torqueboards]

The ESC's shouldn't fail that often/that soon. My original ESCs have lasted well over 9-10 months and have not failed. I doubt they're ever going to crap out.

If they keep failing they aren't that great

We know their from Flier. Flier's quality control is highly lacking QC.

I'm talking about on the end of the motor on the back side. The shaft usually has a flat spot which is located inside the motor on the motor shaft.
The set screw is what holds that shaft in place. These set screws which they include are pretty low quality screws IMO.
I always end up replacing them with actual bolts as I can torque down a bolt harder than a set screw (usually).
If this thing gets loose then it will just spin all crazy.

 

[WeeChumlee]

Hi Torqueboards

Ah, I was unaware of that screw - may well have been the problem.

If the motor or ESC go again I shall order some from yourself and hopefully spare myself a lot of board downtime.
Then the LecDec can have a rest and just be the emergency board. )

Thanks

 

[sl33py]

Wow, some dudes really do have issues.
I thought this forum was to be supportive and helpful..
What I did was to give my view on a cheap E-board that was mentioned in the forum, whether helpful or not is up to the reader.
I most definitely was not making any "excuses". WTF you mean by that anyway?

As to the ESCs - I am not buying them one after another. They may be crap (but how was I supposed to know that beforehand) but to give the guy his credit he has replaced them, I am currently waiting for the latest replacement. The motor was also replaced.

I have no idea of where the set screws you mention are. I am not talking of the pulley but of the actual shaft within the rotor.
If you could help me improve something here it would be appreciated.

I did "overengineer" as the ESC's are actually 200A so I though, wrongly it turned out, that they would be OK.

If, and probably when, the next ESC pops I shall try one from Torqueboards and see if I have more luck.
I don't mind fiddling around on the board as they is why I built it in the first place. Just realised how much fun it is also riding it and that is why i bought the cheap alternative.
Yeah, maybe that will break in the short term, maybe not - we shall see. If it does I shall then pass that info on. (And then some twat can say the inevitable, but maybe it will help someone.)
Until then I am having fun so I am happy.

And a byword, the APS ESC's are not actually from APS. I got them from him as he is in the UK and I wanted a local supplier in the event of failure. Seems it was a good choice.
Why someone from across the world from him, buying in bulk, would buy them from him when they could go direct to China I do not know.
http://www.fliermodel.com/en/

To those who found this informative, great.
To those who did not, sorry you wasted your time reading this.
And to those sad gits who somehow feel negatively charged after reading this, then please flame away. I shall feel appropriately hurt, honest.

Cheers

WeeChumlee - don't get your panties in a wad. You just stepped into a sore subject as a lot of folks looked at the Flier/APS dual ESC as the "perfect" solution... then it shit the bed (repeatedly). Odd failures or BEC's going down like it was a race to see how quickly they could fail... So quite a bit of animosity for those ESC's here.

I'm glad to hear that APS is taking care of you. I agree with others that even though they are repairing/replacing those parts - they should not fail that frequently. So if and when your warranty runs out, i would choose better quality gear to replace it.

LecDec sounds like a good e-go like alternative and nothing wrong with that! I see torque schooled you on the set screw on motor (again poor build quality/QA). Just part of the learning process.

Welcome and don't let the guys scare you off quite yet. Good group of folks when you need help and have questions!

GL!

 

[torqueboards]

That motor wasn't exclusively to APS. Most motors are like this and they should all be replaced IMO.

 

[Szogs]

Thanks WeeChumlee... I was looking for a review of the clones, and this thread has actually very little of that.

 

[Jonatanmueller]

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to know if any of you have had any experiences with the "Backfire" skateboards that are Sold on Alibaba. I have read the "Knockoff Thread" but I didnt want to bump that back up as it shifted into DIY electric skateboards in the end. I have read that many of you have cancelled your orders but towards the end I saw quite some people who actually got them shipped to their house. I have work collegues in china that can recieve the skateboard for me and I can pick it up next time I visit, meaning no silly shipment excuses by sellers. Even if this would work, do you think its worth the price? The legit one being sold seems like a very good product (cruise control, bluetooth remote) and I am not in the spirit of building one myself, Id rather have something preassembled that works. Id love to use it for my morning comute of about 6 kilometres, I can charge it at work no problems. Im looking forward to your replys

Kind Regards,
Jonatan


Moderator note: merge thread

 

[sl33py]

If you aren't towards to top rated "capacity" and the price is right - i'd go for it! Especially if you can pick it up the next time you go to china. Nice option.

The price is pretty subjective. Seems like a great deal, but i'd question the quality of the components. And if you are heavier i'd be more inclined to be cautious. But if you are relatively light weight and it's in your budget range... get one and let us know what you think!

I kind of wish i'd grabbed a Stary when they were super cheap on KS. Now i'd rather just put that $ into another DIY board i can lend to a friend when visiting.

GL!

 

[torqueboards]

They are decent.. It's pretty much a 5065 motor with a 6S (22.2V) capable of about 15% inclines.

The ESC looks like a 6S 120A FVT ESC.

 

[WeeChumlee]

Hi Jonatan

I have the backfire as mentioned in a few mails back.
I have had it now for 1 month and it is still going fine.
I am about 90kg and got it as a back-up board for when my build was not working.
I have repaired (again) my board again with the new replacement ESC and it is going well again.
Thing is though, even though my board is going well again I usually take the Backfire (LecDec) out first.
Reason is that it has better brakes. The Alien ESC has "resistance" at best. (Obviously other ESCs are better but I have no experience there)
Does all the hills around the places I ride. Sure it slows down quite a bit but I was pleasantly surprised at the incline it can do.
Speed with me on is about 24km/h tops and I get at least 12km distance in real world riding.
I got my Backfire (LecDec) board for 400 GBP, delivered to my place of work. That is significantly cheaper than what I gave out building my other board.
If you do not expressly wish to build a board and just need a commuter than I would say go ahead and get it.
I personally do not expect it to last forever, hell the pavements here are rattling the things to death so I am actually quite amazed that they work at all.
If you do get it I hope all goes well. Top or flop just make sure you let the guys here know. May help others make a more informed decision.
Not all want to make one themselves when there is a cheap alternative. (Providing of course that cheap does not mean unreliable)

Good luck & all the best.

 

[WeeChumlee]

AH, one thing I forgot to mention about the Backfire board I have.
There is no possibility to adjust the tension of the belt which is a bit silly.
I just bought two more belts as they are cheaply available over may engineering sites on the web.
As soon as I hear/feel this one slipping I will just put a new one on.

 

[RalterWöhrl]

Am I totally unable to use interweb :lol:
...or is this board just not available anymore on aliexpress or alibaba shipped to europe?

Are there anymore chinese boards that can compete with the quality/price ratio?
Anymore feedback from longterm users so far?

Thanks guys

 

[WeeChumlee]

Hi RalterWoehrl

The thing has many names. I see it as the Backfire, LecDec, LUOOV, Melonboard, etc..
They are all exactly the same board.
Ebay is full of them. Just make sure you get it from somewhere you can trust.
I purchased mine from a distributor (Lecdec) within the UK as I know that there are sometimes problems with international shipping due to the battery size.

Cheers
WeeCh

 

[xshana414]

Hey guys I'm new and I'm looking into getting another E-Board since the Yuneec E-GO I bought isn't cutting it for me. I thought the top speed (13mph) on it would be fast enough, but I want to go faster. I mainly bought it because of it's superior range and price compared to the ones out there. I came across this board and was wondering what everyone thinks:

http://magnetoelectricskateboard.com/

It looks like ones I've seen on Amazon called Luoov and the falcon boards. They don't have many reviews so I'm sketched out by it, but it's specs are what I'm looking for - decent range and a higher top speed.

 

[xshana414]

Top speed 18mph... not much faster then the 13mph E-Go you're unsatisfied with. If you really want satisfaction It sounds like a dual motor DIY setup is what you really want. If you're capable of building your own I encourage it.

Yeah, I think 18MPH is the sweet spot. Everytime I ride my E-GO i always think if it was just a few MPH faster it'd be perfect. Unfortunately I don't have the tools to make my own board as much as I'd like too. I'm on a budget and don't want to risk buying all the parts and messing it up as that would most likely end up happening

 

[psychotiller]

It's just another cheap chinese clone. Look on ebay for pics of the same board with different names... You cant trust the specs they give you. If it even hits 18mph, which it probably wont, it'll only do it for a few minutes. If you want a good board you should make one or invest in a good board.

 

[Gatwod]

Top speed 18mph... not much faster then the 13mph E-Go you're unsatisfied with. If you really want satisfaction It sounds like a dual motor DIY setup is what you really want. If you're capable of building your own I encourage it.

Yeah, I think 18MPH is the sweet spot. Everytime I ride my E-GO i always think if it was just a few MPH faster it'd be perfect. Unfortunately I don't have the tools to make my own board as much as I'd like too. I'm on a budget and don't want to risk buying all the parts and messing it up as that would most likely end up happening

I'll say this...I've spend nearly $700 building my board. Which is around the cost of that E-go. I know every part of this board in and out and can fix whatever goes wrong on it. I didn't have the tools to make a board either, but there are plenty of awesome kits that include everything you need! Diyelectricskateboard.com sells a single motor kit for like $500 that I'm sure will blow that E-go out the water. (Enertion sells the same components for nearly the same price as well!). Soldering was my only nemesis, and I went to a local hobby shop and paid them $5 bucks here and there to take care of my needs.

You are looking at the best resource of people of the planet about E-boards! What are you waiting on!

p.s. not to mention you can always upgrade components as needed...you won't need to look for a new board when 22mph doesn't feel fast enough!

 

[WeeChumlee]

The Backfire just got another name - Magneto Board.
Ho Ho Ho
Forget the mentioned specs.
I have one and at the moment can't knock it as it does its job very well - just not at the mentioned specs.
I am about 90kg and when I run the thing on a flat road (and by flat I don't mean nice and smooth I mean usually crappy UK pavements) I get an average speed of 24km/h (15mph).
This is measured by the app I use over 1km - so not top momentary speed.
I get 8 miles top commuting around real world conditions. (So pavements, roads, up/down hills)
If you are smaller you may get a bit more but do not expect to much.
Personally I think if you have the Ego board I would be looking into jacking that up a bit - I read a thread on here about that.
If you are already tired of the Ego I think you may get tired of the Backfire pretty quick.
My home built board beats the crap out of my Backfire in speed and range - but I did go through a lot of components (should have read a lot more before I started, but hey it was a good learning experience) and it was substantially more expensive.

CHeers

 

[Syco]

Hi!
I'm a newbie! And I have interest in electric skateboards and I also have lots of questions!
This seemed the best thread where to post my first question!

Does anybody, actually have one of these "CLONE" skateboards and have used them in longterm (3/4/5/6... months) i.e. for daily commute etc?
How they stand up to daily use and/or abuse?
Would you recommend them if I wanted it to just work, and use it commute to work and back - basically non-enthusiast usage?

Also have anyone heard anything or in the best case scenario tested these boards? ->
1) http://xstreamskateboards.co.uk/products/xstream-board-18-mile-range
2) http://xstreamskateboards.co.uk/products/xstream-pro-30mph
Supposedly, they use different/better ESC and batteries - are those claims legit?

 

[WeeChumlee]

Hi

As said in previous mails in this thread, I have the backfire (Lecdec here in the UK) board.
I have others as well so don't ride it that much any more but it is always there as my back-up board and I must say it is not bad at all.
For a daily commuter I would recommend it, without a doubt.

Looking at the links, those boards are the backfire boards. They mention that they have "upgraded" it for the Xtreme version and mention a FVT ESC capable of 140A.
I only know of the 120A and the 150A FVT ESCs so I can only presume they slapped a 150A ESC in there.
http://www.szfvt.com/
Also the battery case is different for this version, though they still mention 8AH and 6S. (These FVT controllers can only do a maximum of 6S)
So, the programming could be altered on the 150A controller to give more power, not to sure the LifeP04 used likes to be drained like this though - may effect he battery life. (My guess, could be wrong)

Personally, if you are going for a commuter, I think you would be well happy with the first linked choice.

 

[Syco]

Thank You! WeeChumlee!

I read your posts about your experience with china clones, and I was pretty relieved to find out that you are have great experience with them.
However I hoped to get some feedback from others, who also have these clones, because there is possibility that you simply got lucky and got a good one, or that you are very careful with that board and baby it.

Anyway it's seem that i will be pulling the trigger on one of them in a month or so, if i will move to the apartment that I really want!

 

[WeeChumlee]

Hi Syco

You could be right, I may have got lucky. That is always the downside of these things, if something does go wrong it may be a pain to rectify it.
Have you considered building one? Probably not work out cheaper but would be easier to fix if you know every part of it.
Hope you get lucky as well. Not just with the board but with the apartment as well.

 

[Syco]

Yes I have considered building it my self, but I have this weird quirk, if I'm building something I always want to build it so it is extreme, so basically it becomes a money pit. (I already did this once with MTB bike, spent around 1.8k building it and still managed to destroy rear hub ) So I would like to avoid this route.

What kind batteries does these clones have? Is there room for improvement? For example is there better cells available in the same size factor, so that if you find the range lacking, you could upgrade those cells to higher capacity cells, or factory batteries are already pretty good and there is no significantly better batteries available?

P.S.
Thanks, I also hope that everything will workout with apartment!