Hey Jon, thanks for your review video. We know it is not perfect and we are working hard on improving it. We are going to have a new generation for the Blink Board this month!
Brushless motors have 3 wires, the electronic speed control ESC chops the DC into AC timed to move the motor. The esc controls reverse, but reversing wires too. Belt looks like HTD3 maybe, btw.
This is my fifth electric skateboard, and after four weeks using it, here are my conclusions: PRO: Is very light and portable. Easy to carry. PRO: The design of the board itself is modern and looks cool. PRO: Battery charges in 1 hour and 20 minutes. PRO: Cheaper than other electric skateboards. PRO: The remote has a very good range. I think is a premature product. In one week I have found a few problems. CON: Very short range. Acton announces 5 or 6 miles. In my case, I barely get 4 miles. (My weight is 65 kg). CON: Max speed I got with my GPS is 13 mph and not 15 mph. CON: The second day, I noticed the board was slowed, so after take a look I could see the belt touching the motor mount because of a bad alignment between pulleys and belt. CON: An strange noise comes from the motor pulley which is made by a loose washer, which function seems to be for avoid you can change the motor from it’s mount. That washer could be glued or a better solution: the washer was integrated in the motor pulley. (Forget change the motor yourself, unless you could remove that washer). CON: When you break hard, the timing belt jump two or three teeth in the motor pulley, making a noise like “clock, clock, clock”. The motor pulley teeth are too small to hold the force made during braking. CON: The board accelerates very well, but when the top speed is reached, the board is braking for a momentary time and then accelerates again. This happens once and again all the time. Is like the board had a speed limit or battery discharge limit. I don’t know, but is uncomfortable to ride. CON: The remote, in my case, is not charging. The red light that is supposed to turn on when you connect it to a USB port is always off and the battery doesn’t charge. One month waiting a solution from Acton support. CON: The remote has a dead zone before the board starts to respond, so is hard to deal between accelerator and brake. CON: The brake is too aggressive. CON: The reverse mode is disabled. CON: I wrote an opinion with two stars at Acton Global web site about all those issues that have not been published, so I think they are censoring bad opinions about their product.
+Miguel Ángel Umpiérrez GT I really want this board, and the look is great! but it seems its poorly made.. and also I live in EU so getting it there and then it brakes down after 1week of use doesn't sound fair..
+Miguel Ángel Umpiérrez GT thanks for the info! I got a question though can you ride this in uphill, rocky road, wet pavements, rainy day, cracks or humps without falling *considering its size??
+pao pau You can ride uphill, but you want to be already going forward. If you're starting from a stop going uphill, you will need to push manually to get up to speed. Trying to start using the motor uphill, the belt will slip and wear out faster. Rocky roads, I wouldn't go down an entire rocky road. We have patches in some of the sidewalks that I ride on frequently that are so torn up, they're like a rocky road. As long as I maintain a balanced stance on the board, it goes over these fine, but I don't think it would do very well going down a rocky road for very long. If anything, you'd strip the belt out and/or the battery would die much faster from working harder. Wet pavement and rainy days, no. It says right on all of the material not to ride it through water or when it's raining. It is not water-proofed. Cracks or humps, I've actually been pleasantly surprised by some of the cracks in the sidewalks that I can comfortably ride over. I'd say it can clear most that are about 1 and a half inches in height, if not a little higher. This, again, will depend on the speed you're going as you get to the crack as well as your stance on the board. I haven't fallen, but I've had to step off the board very quickly when it got hung up on something I thought it would clear, but it definitely does a better job on others than I thought it would.
Here's my .02. I have extensive experience with many brands. I have the blink lite= way under powered. For a rider over 145lbs it only goes 7mph which is way too slow in my opinion. I have 25yrs skateboarding. And it cannot climb any hills at all. Not even s 7 degree hill longer than 30ft. I have the blink board gen 1 like yours and love it. Fast enough, gets 3.5 miles per charge. I weigh 180lbs. I prefer a small board because it's portable and is more like a skateboard. I have the koowheel which is much faster 23mph with unlock code (7 button presses) and gets 10 miles average. But is a long board. Ego stinks, swag board stinks, z board is too expensive for features. If you want to spend less than 800.00 koowheel or genesis (same board) are best performance. But If you want a traditional short board and portability acton blink and blink s are your best bet. I also purchased the leaf board which has huge potential. But they haven't finished production yet. I personally don't mind belt changes since the belt drive system has more torque and power than the hub motors. If you are a money bags and can swing big bucks. Then stop wasting money and just get a boosted board. They have the best customer service and can handle water, cold, snowy roads etc. There are many others but these I have and use. So it's all I can vouch for. I'm buying a fiik and evolve next and guess I will make videos and try this RU-vid stuff out. But I hope my honest opinions help people. For the money and for a short board feel acton blink board belt drive is my personal favorite. Until I get my leaf board. For a longer board still cheap. Koowheel or genesis are super fast and reliable. But for overall speed and quality boosted is amazing. But pricey. Peace out.
Thanks for the input! Even with the issues I've had with the Blink, I still very much enjoy it and can't wait for the cold weather to break where I live so I can get back out on it. As I stated in my unboxing video, I'm not much of a skateboarder and this is the only one I've tried. For the price, I still get plenty of enjoyment out of it. Owning the Blink, I'm glad to find out that it passes the tests of someone with more experience with traditional skateboarding as well as electric models. I wish it would go farther on a charge, but that's really my only lingering concern. I've figured out that I can get to the park by the lake in my town, but can't afford to cruise the sidewalks once I get there or I won't have the juice to get home. I've also found out that I can comfortably make it to and from work and a couple of other places that I frequent on the board (though I do toss the charger in a backpack to be safe). Everything else has either been addressed by Acton support or was small enough that I've been able to adapt and still have a great time riding the board. No money bags here, so I'll stick with my Blink Board until it just completely stops working. I'd love to have the money to get a Boosted, for sure, but I'll keep the Koowheel in mind if I find myself in the position to spend less than I would for a Boosted.
I bought one on eBay and rode it a few times and had the same problem with the wires getting disconnected I think its the sidewalks. After I fixed that the board started over heat or something and would kick me off the board if i throttled it hard or went too fast, it would literally lock up the motor and I would fly off I was never able to run the board completely out of power. Anyways the next day that I rode it the belt started slipping, but seemed in fine shape. Emailed Acton about it and even though I bought it from eBay they let me send it back for a free repair. The person that was communicating with me about it said that the first batch of boards had something wrong with the motor and would basically destroy itself. They said thats what was wrong with the board. Waiting on the board to ship back now. We will see how long it lasts now...
Got my board back and took it for a spin. Worked great until I noticed the bolts that hold the battery housing on the bottom of the board were popping up. I stopped the board and looked underneath and almost all of the nuts had been shaken off. Whoever fixed my board didnt tighten the nuts. I found some spare ones in the garage after I complained to Acton. I would recommend when you get your board back to tighten everything. Other than that, after I fixed the board myself I ran it all the way out of batteries. Something I had never done before because the board would always mess up before it died. It makes a beeping sound!! I never knew...
Just got mine back from being repaired. Looks like they replaced the wires and secured them better. I went home for lunch from work and it was waiting for me, so I stuck it on the charger while I ate and rode it back to work. So far, so good. Seems to accelerate better than it was previously as well as the other issues being fixed. It's supposed to rain here this afternoon, so I'm hoping it waits until I'm home from work. Otherwise, I screwed myself over. It's beautiful out right now though. Perfect day for a cruise on the board. Might have to take the long way home if it's not raining. ;)
Just to let you know the plastic battery housing on the bottom of my board has broke in multiple places. I emailed Acton again and the already sent me a shipping label for them to fix it. They told me it was because the bumping and flex of the board and they fixed it in the second version of the board. Looks like im getting another free repair!! Although the board is great I think im going to sell it once I get it back and try to get a Boosted board v2 with a single motor.
the motor is a little bit "missplaced" , normally it should be possible to rotate the motor (which is normally fastened with bolts), so the wires don't get in the way... also the Belt shouldn't be a big problem, unless you know which profile they have... the only information i could get is 3M-225. so you have to look after 225mm belts with a pitch of 3mm (3M), but you should get information about the profiles... here is link to that cdn.instructables.com/FIS/99CM/HI3TQCHK/FIS99CMHI3TQCHK.MEDIUM.jpg also, i think the width of the belt is 15mm, but you have to measure it.
My board was a pre-order on eBay before they went into mass production. The production models also have Bluetooth capabilities & work with their app. Mine does not. Seems like they figured some things out between the time I got mine & they went into full production.
lucky i got the 2015 Evolve Bamboo AT and Street no problems very good Aussie product !!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2016 Evolve Carbon GT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! start saving
Any board that uses a belt system is flawed due to the trucks moving when you turn (causing the belt to get ruined). You can max out the tightness of your back truck to try and prevent it but I'd recommenced buying a board with hub motors.
While that makes sense, all of the most popular (or at least most talked about) boards have a belt system. It's a new tech and I'm sure we'll see advancements in design soon enough.
What's your verdict now, a month after this vid? Did you get your new belts, does it seem to be working? All those exposed components on the Blink don't bode well for the long run, seems to me. Would love a Boost board, but like the Blink price...
Yowzoe Got the new belts & also had the chance to send the board back to Acton for repair. They covered shipping & charged me nothing for the repairs, which included fixing the wiring. Glad to see they stand by their products & are happy to make things right. Pleased with the results so far, but I've only had it back long enough to go for a few rides. I may do one last video showing some of the rougher terrain I've used the board on &/or some hills, though we don't have many in my area. If I do, I intend to update on the status of the board after repair & having a chance to put more miles on it.
I saw that. Think I'll stick with this one for a while yet. It serves my purpose so far. If I were to get another board similar to this, I'd definitely want to go with one that has a longer range. I don't remember seeing a range on the new one, but I doubt it's any better than the original, belt-driven board.
+Rethink I got the lite version. I didn't want to deal with the belt and I'm hoping the lower speed isn't a big problem. I don't think I'd like to go fast anyway. Just using it to get to the train station.
I'm no expert, so it's hard to say. Could be bad batteries, could just be a loose connection inside the remote, could be the remote itself. I'd reach out to Acton support.
The wheels reversing because you changed the wires. That's not a "problem", all electric devices do that(even other boards) (All your doing is reversing the charge)
I never said it was a problem. I was illustrating that they're not marked in any way I could tell & that it's a good idea to double check them before securing everything. ;)
hum not exactly yet there seems to be more info needed... as we don't know if he got the device brand new or not.. we don't know if it was an exhibition mmodel, we don't know what he ... the owner did with it off cam.. etc... we don't know a ton of stuff... now the belt seems to need to be changed... the cables of the motor seem to be already damaged... I would probably send it somewhere where they could install new cables or do a more professional and permanent fix...
+Robert Ostman I did nothing other than ride the board. The wires started to fray & the connectors came loose from riding the board. The belt is my fault because I heard it slipping many times & just kept going rather than easing my acceleration. This board was basically pre-production. I have another video of the unboxing. It was purchased new on eBay before they became more widely available. I was able to send it back to Acton & they made repairs on the wiring. I've only ridden it a few times since getting it back, but have not noticed these issues again since, with the exception of the belt slipping while attempting to accelerate uphill from a stop. If I kick to get going & then engage the motor, there's no issue with the belt. My complaint about the belt is the amount of time it took to get replacements, not that I think it was faulty.
R Doubleyu I'm thinking of doing one final video on the board after some time. I'm suffering from kidney stones right now, so not riding it much, but I figure I might as well do a final follow up & maybe show some tough terrain & hills (though we don't have any major hills in my town) since the videos I've done so far on it seem to have piqued some people's interest.
As for uphill, yes, but it depends on the incline.. too much, and the board will struggle, and it will also drain your battery faster. Rocky roads like gravel would be difficult.. the wheels are large, but if you were to hit a nice large pebble, the board could throw you off. I do believe it's weather sealed, but I wouldn't ride in the rain..
While I've only used the Blink as far as motorized boards go, I would assume that the wider base of a longboard would definitely be more stable. I've gotten the speed wobbles on the Blink more than a few times at top speed. The more I ride it, the more stable and comfortable I am on it in varying conditions. I think any electric board is going to have a bit of a learning curve if you've never been on one and more so if you haven't ridden a regular skateboard/longboard in a long time or ever.
