In the early days of skateboarding, nobody expected a skateboard with motors to be created. However, electric skateboards are virtually everywhere now in 2018, but some sell for a ridiculously high price. Currently, the most expensive electric skateboard is the Evolve Bamboo GTX electric skateboard. There are also many rumors complaining about this particular electric skateboard. In order to determine whether or not these rumors are true, I decided to interview someone who had experience with this particular board.

Many people online had complaints about the skateboard remote. For a $1,959 electric skateboard, you would probably expect a remote with a screen that answers calls for the price tag, however the remote felt extremely cheap in actuality. I decided to interview someone who had lots of experience with electric skateboards, Emmett Long.

“The remote did not meet my expectations, and is definitely not worth the money that you pay for the electric skateboard,” says Long. “It can’t even tell you the speed that you’re going. It just emits beeping noises, with each beep representing ten miles per hour.”

Some believe the remote has a cheap design due to its hard and thin plastic shell. It is also very large in comparison to other electric longboard remotes and has an uncomfortable design.

“Other than that, it’s a normal remote with buttons to press to move forward and to stop,” Long adds.

Long had not expected the remote to just have a screen, but for the remote to be a screen itself. In other words, he wanted a touchscreen phone that was designed for the longboard to come with the purchase.

“$1,959 is a lot of money,” Long says. “You could probably buy two iPhone XR’s with that kind of money.”

Another rumor surrounding this product is in relation to its subpar braking system. Long confirmed these statements, saying, “the braking could probably be better. Let’s just say that you shouldn’t try to swerve between cars on a busy road. The starting and stopping feedback was too quick and unsettling.” The braking system was usable, but not worth its price.

Of course, there are still several positive things about the Evolve Bamboo GTX electric skateboard. This includes the actual longboard deck, which is strong despite the thin structure.

According to Long, the acceleration and speed are also very good. “You could go really fast on the Evolve Bamboo GTX,” Long says. “In the instruction manual, it said that you could go up to 26 mph. I never tried to go that fast because it seemed pretty dangerous, but I guess that means that it has really strong motors.”

The GTX Bamboo also offers a large number of wheels to choose from. These wheels ranged from street skating wheels to all-terrain tires. Long actually purchased the all-terrain tires and shared his experience with them.

“They felt and looked really great. You can ride on the street without your wheels getting stuck on a pothole every five seconds,” Long jokes. “I probably wouldn’t recommend riding with them in an area with lots of obstacles though. They’re mostly made for running over small objects, like pebbles, so that they don’t get stuck under the wheels and fling you off of the board.” There was lots of value for the diversity of the Evolve platform. They had worked closely with wheel manufacturers to further extend their platform.

All in all, the GTX Bamboo has some flaws, but is still a great electric longboard. Some of its buyers think that it was a cash grab and a rip-off, with many selling it shortly after buying it, whereas others believe that it was worth the money and enjoy cruising on the streets with it.