Why Buying an Electric Skateboard Might Be A Mistake 

My rebuttal to this video: As someone who has built several boards for himself, I will say that he makes a good point that if you have built your board, you will know how to fix it if something breaks. BUT... Do you ever tell someone who is in the market to buy a motorcycle the same thing? If that person is mechanically inclined, you might. But the reality is that most people do not have the mechanical capability to build a safe, functional, legal motorcycle without making significant investments to get the tools and knowledge needed. And that probably isn't what they intended when they started thinking about getting a motorcycle. They probably just want to ride it. Just like with everything else in our modern lives, we depend on other people who specialize in certain things to be the experts because there just isn't enough time to enjoy new things if it means we need to invest the time to become specialists ourselves. You don't need to learn to code to use a computer. If you did, there would be very few people using them. Same thing goes for e-boards, and that's a big part of the reason why until very recently (as more e-board companies come on to the scene), very few people have been using them. As a human, I feel that anybody with working hands has the physical capability to build an e-board. But unless they possess the mental motivation to learn the ins and outs of the process, it won't happen, and they will remain enthralled by people who have done it. People tell me all the time that I'm "smart" because of the things I have built. I tell them "I'm not smart. I just love doing it, so I have the motivation to learn everything there is to know about it."

1.5 speed is good if you have life commitments...

I can't afford to screw up building a board i just need to get across campus reliably and safely.

not everyone know how to build a board where do i get the parts? i don’t know the steps i don’t know anything about building a board

OK so I'm not new to diy electronics but I'm new to electric skateboards, what can I do for the price of a meepo v3?

Oh hell yeah I got a board as a present when I was like 16 never thought of building one and honestly it sounds fun hopefully goes well

where do you recommend shopping for hun motors, decks, etc? I would love to build a mini with dual hub motors and cloudwheels 🙏

Hi, I am wondering if I could build a board that goes 25+ miles per hour with a long battery life for under 400$

Yo im looking to get a board and I don't know whether to build or buy a board. I have a £400 budget. What do you recommend?

i currently have a single hub motor board, only just underpowred as i am kid! i am looking to build a reliable belt driven board for under £390. Do you guys think this would be possible?

Hey man, new to this channel and just want your opinion on the phantom direct drive electric skate board. Can you tell me what you think about it? I hear it’s a really go board but would love your advice. Thank you;)

I saw this video and decided that building my own board could be fun. And then I saw the cost, it's more then buying a midrange board. I don't understand are these the parts you find in high end boards?

Mike, I built my 1st esk8 from your products and really happy with it. I agree with everything you said. The only thing I would add is if you're not sure if esk8 is something you really want to expand on, then spending a bit on a prebuilt is fine. But if you know you want to tweak the board and upgrade in the future, best to jump right into DIY in the beginning.

Ok so I have a question.. Hello my name is Ryan and I’m working on my first build so I wanted my eboard to be unique so I bought a lot strange parts you typically wouldn’t buy for esk8board I just need help putting it all together and what else do I need? I would love a fast charging system do I need a bms? From what I heard the Xiaomi batteries have a bms but how would I charge both simultaneously? so far I have 2 Xiaomi M365 Electric Scooter battery packs 36v 7200mah 2 brushless motors from ebay garrt rc brushless motors they are 540kv and max 4500w also for vesc system I plan to get a Maytech Upgraded High Current 200A VESC Controller based on VESC6.0 Speed Controller with Anti-spark Circuit Comb with 20W Cooling Fan and 12V DC-DC I also have 2 enclosures both from mboards! Please I need help wiring everything and what other parts do I need? So far I have those items mention 6mm bore 20teeth motor pulley 45 teeth wheel pulley a battery indicator and battery switch button and a charger port connector.

Is it possible to build a board that is comparable to the top of the line prebuilts like the lacroix lonestar and the kaly xl40?

Hey mike I just wanted to ask you how we are able to change currencies on your m boards website???.

Where do you get your skateboard parts and supplies 🤔?

I need an e board to get around a suburban/city area. Any tips please 🙏🏽

@MBoards Hey MBoards! I have been watching your videos since the beginning and they have really made my board come to life. I bought your 12s4p battery around a year ago and have it hooked up to a dual VESC. My issue is that I don’t have a single case that can contain both the battery and VESC. In a previous video you mentioned new products and I had commented asking about an enclosure that would satisfy these dimensions. You said you would definitely come out with this type of enclosure. I am planning on building a new board but I’m waiting for you guys to come out with this enclosure. I was wondering whether this enclosure was still going to be produced and if you have any idea when it will be available for purchase? Thanks again. Your videos are great!

I'll check out your site. I'm new to electric and bought a couple of Wowgo boards off ebay just to learn about the feel of the boards and also the mechanics. I am wondering if I might remove the Wowgo rear hub motors (from Wowgo 3) and rear truck and substitute in parts from M Boards. Not sure about that.

You took the words strait outa my mouth! I couldn’t of said it better myself bro!! DIY is the right way to go!!! I’ve been build about almost2 yrs now and my board is pro and a serious contender!!

Do you use salvaged Tesla batteries for DIY battery packs, if not, have you ever consider to build your own pack? I would love to build a battery pack from Tesla model 3, 2170 cells.

you mentioned that the diy brands all sort of use a standard. I love you kits and DIY builder but I want double kingpin trucks which i found on Flipsky's website. Would your motor fit on their motor mount?

Okay where do I buy the parts then

I'm 5 boards in and I have broken all of them. Not a single one even got close to a dollar per mile. 3 year's of commuting to work every day it doesn't rain, priceless!

Hi, i was wondering where can i find a cheaper 10s2p battery or something similar since i'm on a tight budget.

I agree to an extent. As an Esk8ter I started off pre built boards from China which was ok as a beginner but now I'm totally prefer a DIY board open source VESC.

What about exway electric skateboard would that be a good one to buy cuz that seems like bang for your buck and they have extra parts that you could buy

Great video man. Was super busy looking for a prebuilt. Please give me a direction on where i can build my diy board Thanks

I've been looking for DIY kits for the last fews weeks. I had looked at M boards during the process, but I was going to order from an option over seas. After watching this video this morning, I realized I agree with a lot of things said and it made me think differently about my purchase. I just placed order with M boards about half an hour ago. I would rather pay a little more to support a locally owned company. Thank you for what you are doing.

I would love to purchase a board from you guys! Could you help me put one together?

I was Definitely leaning towards building my own. The minute you made the PC build reference I'm sold. I've built a few.

Could you do a tutorial on how to configure a BMS properly?

One factor you need to consider for beginners is sometimes people make mistakes. If you make a mistake, like soldering something backwards, or buying something wrong, the cost can really add up. But I definitely agree that building is the best option if you know what you're doing.

evrything you said makes 100% sense...great video. i was almost set on buying pre assembled, now theres no way

for everyone in the comments should i get a revel kit or build my own skateboard. currently ive already made my own deck but unsure of which route to take. Any replies would help a lot. thanks

5:43 I loved “Inboard” ❤️ I have 2 boards of theirs

There needs to be more of this!

Great, your honest and feel abundant. Freedom to the consumer and longevity to the honest entrepreneurs

just got here, i love how honest you are.

I benefited a lot from your videos. I'm sorry, my budget was totally not in the realm for mboards, but I learned a lot about how to put everything together and was able to customize a cheap $100 board to exactly how I need. Couldn't have done it without these videos, to be honest. So I wouldn't stress about your company going away because your RU-vid videos will inspire/teach hundreds more in the future. When I have more money to invest, I know where I'll put it into in the future. Thanks for the vids!!

Has the tech come far enough yet that I could build an electric street board that I can ollie up curbs with?

Good to know one can DIY e-boards. Alright, I'm 6"3 231lb, live in a hilly are, I will be commuting & fun rides, I cherish ranger over speed but a little umff won't hurt. I want a design & feel like that of Exway Flex board. What complete list of Mboard parts do I need to get a board running upon delivery, shipped here to Poland, simple parts and prices on the side list please, let's see if this is a realistic claim.

i bought the lacroix nazare lonestar! its very expensive but the best board i have ever seen so far.. and i am too lazy to build a board my own.

can you not swap out esc"s, batteries, or motors on pre built boards?

Hi there, this is totally unrelated to your video but can you please give us the option to choose the currencies on your website? I would totally appreciate it

I built my own and its an absolute weapon! I love how you can customize every part to suit your own taste. One of the best features of mine is that it runs on 6 makita batteries. Goes for ages and I can carry spares in a backpack. BUT i won't lie, its insanely dangerous! Always wear protective gear, a helmet and gloves is the bare minimum for me

Just bought two 6355 motors, mounts, kegel pulleys, dual belt VESCs from you. Making a 10s3p battery myself out of Samsung 30Qs. I will hopefully be putting together a build video at some point in the future. I'll be comparing it to my brother's evolve carbon GT.

I wanna buy a board that’s around 300-400 CAD that goes at least 15mph speed, I’m just worried about duties and taxes. Cause that will make it so expensive. Anyone recommend what board I should buy?

What i realized after building an electric skateboard few years ago, is that i don't need an e-board. And i've been riding unpowered boards ever since, no range anxiety, lightweight, kicktails + ollies, cheap, almost no maintenance, no charging, less injuries since you don't go that fast. But new components are looking so good, i'm starting to think about building a tiny electric cruiser next season.

Do you know how to build a board? If so do you think you could help me out?

I would build one but I don’t know how and where to order parts from

I found your channel after I start researching about how to build my own electric skateboard which is very informative on different part that I have almost no knowledge about, although I don't really agree with you that everyone should avoid prebuild board such example is me because I have almost no experience with skateboard ( try skating a bit when I was a kid but didn't go very far) which mean no clue on how each part effect my ride, getting a starting prebuild board (which still costly) give me an opportunity to understand how each part work on skateboard and after doing more research online I'm starting to be able to know how I like each part of the board to be, but after that I totally agree with you on DIY board would be much better compare to a prebuild cause you could get all the cool part you like and assemble it together. Although I haven't start making my first DIY board yet but i'm pretty sure my second electric skateboard will definitely be a DIY one. ( I'm also thinking about breaking apart my prebuild board for a part I like or usable to save cost )

I bought a Meepo V3($430 30mph top speed and 10 mile range but I've gotten it to 12 on single charge), and after over 500miles(800km), I've decided that i wanted another Meepo, so i just ordered a new V3 with an extended range battery(claims 20 mile). But after seeing your video i feel like i should've just build my own! Wish i saw your channel sooner, i fear i may have been lucky with not having any trouble with a Chinese board after so long

Most prebuild board stores have a section for replacement parts, if they dont, every part has a model number that can easily be googleable and ordered in, im not discounting your points at all, i just wanted to put this out there.

When I first wanted to get into electric skateboarding, I wanted to build one but after calculating everything it would cost the same as an Evolve GT if not more (back in 2015) and if buying off the shelf, you also get support if something breaks and they would also be liable if anything were to happen (due to their components). I have owned both Evolve and Boosted and both customer support are great. I can't imagine trying to get a hold of a component supplier from Banggood or some sort if I had built a board that lasted me 2-3 years.sd

Had a look at your webpage but no matter how I put parts together it still becomes much more expensive than competitive complete OEM boards. Also the direct drives will get hurt very easily.

Would you guys ever make a 43.2v 12s1p battery with the Anderson connector that would fit into an Inboard? Would be so sick since they are out of business

But you can put different esc/motor in branded boards.

I agree for the most part but I would say that it also depends where your from. If you live somewhere which is very dry I would say you may as well build it but if you live in the UK like me where sometimes I am forced to ride in the rain. A pre built board is probably the way to go as it will probably have water resistant features. Also pre built boards can also have swappable batteries, my one does although I rarely have to use it. And terms of power the board can still max out at about 30 (not that i am brave enough too go that speed most of the time). So unless anyone knows any good water resistant DIY solutions I think thats a good enough reason to buy pre built over custom

I bought a very used skatebolt tornado ii for 80 bucks. I plan on changing the deck and maybe the battery. Its my first eboard so my plan is to learn some things before dumping a ton of money into this hobby. Its good enough for right now.

Its the samething with the drone hobby. Build your own drone with better parts instead of going DJI. I agree 100% with your point of view. You learn and its fun !

Hi, thanks! Very interesting and inspiring! I am looking for my first electric skate baord. I like the look of the Meepo v3, as I would like a long board style board for easy carving and crusing... It seems like great value, and guidance regarding buildng an alternative, say with a Loaded baord etc.. Thanks All! 😊🍀☀

Nice video but it's kinda hard to compete with chinese brands who are buying parts wholesale. For your time and cost of parts you can't beat a $4-5 hundred board. I'm riding a Sapphire pro and wouldn't have been able to replicate this easily. The only real benefit to building your own board is , like you said , you can fix and service your board with ease because you know your board well. Just my opinion.

Electrical and software engineer here: I’m all for making things from scratch; I diy TONS of things but anything dealing with large lipos and power systems are items I would recommend having someone else do. While there are certainly good kits and tutorials available, unless you are being scrupulous in which controllers and batteries you buy, you risk getting something that is dangerously poor designed. This isn’t the place for sticking to a budget. Along the same lines, I would also recommend against most “Chinese” boards for a lot of the reasons you mention. You aren’t likely to find a service center or quality replacement parts for your board. There is also little to no accountability for the brands; if a Chinese brand gets a bad reputation, they just change the name, add a new logo, and sell it under another company.

your honesty makes me want to buy from you. lol. who knew...

Dude just blew my mind I never considered building it myself

To be fair, I actually brought a prebuilt board and just changed everything else. For example: The board I brought uses 70kv ESC/motor, so I just buy an esc with that same kv, change the settings a bit and we good. The battery don't make much of a different since its mainly to supply power to the esc. My board came with a 10s5p battery so I'm not worried about an upgrade on that anytime soon.

Today I got pulled over on my electric skateboard in the Netherlands like I’m 12 do you really not have anything else to do I had to get out of the house to stop playing video games so I went on my board and got pulled over the man was so aggressive i just said I didn’t know so got of with a warning but com on

Another vote from me for an Inboard M1 battery. There's a lot of people looking for them. Mine are still running, but I don't want to change a board I bought a year ago and have hardly ridden.

I agree with you and this goes for a lot of other things such as building PCs but as you mentioned, it's not for everyone. Most people just want to buy something and use it right away. Good video tho but not for most people.

there are upgradeable boards you say there not but check the exway wave or flex you can replace the battery the motors from hub to belt you can replace the deck and you can replace the wheels.

Thanks! This vid helps

How I build a board I'm 13

I want to build my own electric skate board with a wide old school powell deck.

What if a pedestrian pushes you off the board and steals it? Would it be worth the money buying one despite the laws?

I think you're correct talking from a US prospective. In Europe things, I've noticed, are more expensive, starting from the batteries. On top of that overhere there's not that great availability or parts (trucks, WHEELS, etc) as in US. I agree though that a DIY its better cos we can learn to fix, build and replace batteries and so forth...so yeah...once a person get 700 euro or so can make a decent eskate. As for prebuilt eskates I wonder how much I can trust about the age of the batteries used...or where do they come from (disintegrated Tesla's car and such as?) are these companies always using brand new battery cells? Whilst with a DIY you buy batteries, you test one by one and eventually you send them back if aren't good (or at least buy from a reliable battery store). Time consuming but the final result will be more lasting.

Where can I choose parts

idk I bought a backfire zealot s for $800 and i looked up parts to build a comparable board and there was no way I could build one that had similar specs. look at beast board viper. its $550 and has a battery that would cost $400 to build. the $150 left over is not gonna buy the rest of the parts needed. it just wont. the motors should be replaceable on the backfire board. they use hobbywing motors, esc, etc. I dont see how it couldnt be fixed.

I recommend Boundmotor. They use an open source esc.

I think your right brother there are lots of options to make it yourself from bits.So £260 in stage 1 the thief mountain board was £260 but got for 80 ebay An I have motors 2x 70amps 245kv I have motor mount an 3d gears because we needed gears for a 5 star configuration 50mm blots m5 with spacers nylon I really cleaned it to it's best an the grip tape with a soft brush that was for the dog but works ace with water an abit of soap.Back box looking at now to put a 10s in with a good vesc.true fully I'm looking forward to seeing it done so I can blast off an get going it's hard to get into because of the price of the technology to make it an can you use tessla battery in a board or I have been looking at graffen Lipo what about solid state as well battery focbox looked good doing away with paying for lots of leads power button sub ports ect 200amps an a big heat plate for more cooling liquid cooling systems in the future I think making this stuff is the future make a board that m boards can be the best an best price it's cleaner than a car. Kits for all types of directional systems would give us all option to make how we need but we can customise upgrade make better decisions in designs make the best plan then look at what you can afford then bit by bit put it together from a deck that you like the look of I was thinking of putting flows on a mountain board that are for snow boarding but don't no if it's possible or if a good think to be strapped locked in I will look at this in the end.

Amazing bro. You totally changed my mind to diy I been searching for the perfect board but can’t find one that has all that I want in it. But now I can pick the best from all and make my own. I didn’t know you could do that mix match stuff

Is there such a thing where I can pay someone to build me an electric board & that I can have the same person upgrade it for me in the future or service it for me in the future 🤔 ?

I'd probably never be able to figure out how to put one together lol

cool that you guys still around are you guys responding to emails now ? because mailed 2 weeks a go didnt get any response

Reminds me of the drone camera and electric bicycle 3rd party diy industry too, if you browse prebuilts you still see old models and kickstarters from 5 years ago claiming $1000 is what those conveniences cost. Now drones with camera are $20, ebikes $400, and eskate boards $400, and those are premade, so going diy performance priceteir parts should even be cheaper so

Hi all Yeh i really liked the idea of a diy board but after a few hours of research all i came up with was a headache, trying to weigh up the pros an cons i came to the conclusion that it just wasn't good value, cheaper yes but not cheap enough, diy would've been more fun though but ... i went with the evolve gtr bamboo an has warranty, if your worried about the budget then save fot it, sometimes doing things on the cheap can come back to bite ya ass. Cheers from oz

Yeah but you got to take in consideration customer service, warranty in the fact that companies take their money and put a good portion in the R&D to further advance the industry

i have a diy board with a tupperware as the case. depends what u are looking for. For me i want to swap the battery as i go. hence the diy

SYL-08 skateboard. Yey or ney?

i do i agree with your statements !! diy is not much cheaper , as you kinda have to have your own spot welder , nickel stips , be careful with the bms and those things ! but you can just make your battery suit your needs , if you need acceleration , go 12s ! its kinda more customizable ! but in the end , you get to pay kinda more in the diy world ! but yet again , i believe its worth it !

I litterly just bought the backfire g2 black a week ago Edit: it also costed me about 800CAD$ since i bought it from another state (us) which adds 100CAD$ and then there was fast shipping add another 100CAD$ then theres the us to CAD conversion which adds 200CAD$ so basically the board doubled the price because i live in another state...

Very curious if a diy board could be built for $700 that'd beat or even be comparable to the components of the backfire zealot.

I am a big advocate of diy projects.. currently in the middle of building my first diy esk8, which 95% of the items are mboard products. Mike’s videos got me into this and I am super excited to get riding! Thanks Mike!

If I am on the heavy side and I want to build my own point me in the right direction.

5:40, what brand is he talking about

Show us how to repair/replace the motor on a Boosted Board, and I will click on an affiliate link that you provide to buy the parts.

What do you mean stop buying electric skateboards!??? I have over 10 of them!

Been doing diy since 2016, it's the best option for tinkerers

Most fun i ever had!!! Go get an electronic skateboard. Works like a charm.