Background
I have been riding longboards for 8 years and esk8 for 3 years. I like to ride hard, high speeds, lots of carving.
Unboxing
Packaging did not feel like a premium board, no paperwork, info or anything just ziplocks with extra screws, pulleys, bearings, attachable handle, T-tool etc. (It was nice that they included some spare-parts though)
First inspection of the board
* Large air bubbles under the grip-tape, it was not properly installed, next day I took it off and installed the hexagonal grip tape that was included.
* Front truck was rattling, tightened all the screws properly. Same with back truck but at least it didn’t rattle. (It’s pretty tricky to secure 2/4 nuts under the trucks since the hangers are in the way of using the T-tool) no separate tool to do this included. I grabbed a small wrench + Allen key and secured all the nuts that way.
* Belts were to tight, adjusted them and put on loctite on all the screws on the motor mounts.
* After first full ride I unmounted the battery to have a look inside and one of the 16 Allen screws were almost stripped from factory install, wasn’t easy to get it out and there are no replacement screws for the battery pack.
It would not have been safe to ride it out of the box. Apart from these things, it was fine.
First start up
The remote screen tells you what speed mode you’re in, brake strength, if it’s in “drive” or “reverse” and of course the speed and trip/total distance.
I had no clue how to change it from MPH to KPH (European rider), or how to change break strength etc. After some Googling I found out that all those settings are applied after remote pairing. (Turn everything off and hold power button on board and remote for 5sec)
First ride
I quickly noticed that I needed to tighten the trucks because it felt super wobbly at first. The back truck needed so much tightening (to be able to go full speed in turbo) that I snapped the included T-tool tightening it, but after it snapped it was luckily tight enough.
The deck is hard, wouldn’t say it’s flexy but it does have a slight flex.
Acceleration is intense during first 20%, makes even straight flat roads kinda intimidating on turbo.
The 120 Cloudwheels are too hard for my liking, it didn’t feel safe to carve with them, easy to slip which is very scary in the beginning with such a heavy board.
I switched to 115mm Onsra Rubber wheels and that felt smoother, grippier and more safe.
First 100%-10% ride the next day
I’m 82kg and did some off road ( couple of KMs on grass and gravel), but mostly street, uphill and flat roads (pretty windy as well) and got 37km range, mostly in speed mode 3 with quite a lot of top-speed runs in turbo. This was on 115mm Onsra rubber wheels and 40T pulley.
Battery sag was substantial during half of the 3rd bar and 2 last bars (at 50-40%) which I found weird since I heard that the P42A should have little to no sag. May be because that the softer Onsra rubber wheels and 40T pulley draws higher current.
My guess is that 120 cloudwheels and stock 44T pulley would get a bit more range cause of gearing and CWs are harder.
After some experimentation with tightening of the trucks I got it to handle pretty well between 25-60km/h. It carves all right and it’s a blast to zip around. But on stock truck/bushing configuration I struggle to get a good balance between top speed stability and lower speed carve/manoeuvre ability.
I have now changed the bushings to Riptide Krank Canon 93a in the back and APS 90a Canon front. It’s so much better, now it feels like a longboard, stable at high speed and great turning radius at lower speeds!
Conclusion
The Ownboard Bamboo Zeus Pro is a fast, great board with good range BUT I wouldn’t call it premium because of the quality control and the packaging/documentation. I would have been 100% satisfied if it arrived ready to ride but in my case it didn’t.
It feels like it was assembled in a rush.
I would have appreciated some documentation and instructions on how to set up the remote and board for different wheel/pulley configurations, what’s included and maybe some tips on how to customise it for your riding style.
I personally would pay 50$ more if it came fully prepared to ride with nicer packaging, documentation and setup guide.
I’m happy I didn’t go with the M50A cells if they have more sag than the P42As because of the experienced battery sag.
Cloud wheels are not good for street carving.
I feel that changing bushings is a must, the board really came alive with Riptide Krank 93A Canon in the back and Riptide APS 90a Canon I’m the back with cups instead of washers. I’m 83kg so choice of bushings will of course depend on rider weight.
I’m really happy with the board now but I wasn’t right out of the box, both because of the rushed assembly and bushings and cloudwheels.
This board is such a good combo!!
The deck and trucks makes the rider have good controle and it looks supernice!!
Motors and ESC work so beautyful together, and range and speed is so good. This board gives you a joyful ride everytime.
Belts are of good quality. The reason I order is the great customer service. I will purchase products from ownboard in the future.
Love skateboards, value for money. This is excellent compare to other ones I’ve seen. dual belt drive is better than hub drive generally, and this goes quick. Super efficient for getting around.
First, i do not like, that the tube is "speacial" size.
2: its waaaay t oexpensive.
3: it lasted only 1 year
4 and most important: Delivery time was waaaaaaaay to high. not acceptable. months until arrived.
Of course it works.
I have the Ownboard Zeus OG, the Ownboard Zeus Pro, and now the Ownboard Zeus Bamboo. I wanted the Max, but will probably now not buy it...read on as to why.
I like all three boards. I really like the bamboo as it gives the old skate feel and look due to the multi-layer deck. The wider trucks are great. I had an issue with the left motor, and this is where the negative comes in. I reached out to after sales service, and they ran me though a series of unrelated fixes such as using washers on the bash guards. I knew the motor was defective and that a magnet had failed, but I could not get them to understand that...even with video. Finally, I just put new motors on the board...at my expense...and the issue was resolved. So, while there is a warranty, to get anything covered by the warranty is an extreme chore. I had a very similar service experience with my Pro.
So, what I am saying is that the Ownboard boards are great...I really do love them. The after sales warranty service is really, really, really bad. Because of that, I have decided not to buy the Max...which I really wanted.
If warranty is not an issue for you and you can fix your own issues, ya, these boards are great. If you need the warranty and don't want to be frustrated or have to wait weeks and weeks for a diagnosis, fix, and possible parts...you might want to explore your options.
I have ten eSK8 boards, so this is not new to me. Good luck in your decision.
These tires have a great ride and long life. The rear drive tires lasted 1000 miles. The front tires are still going. I expect close to 2000 miles before they're done. They are a little difficult to get true but if you make sure they are concentric on the wheel before you air them up they do ok. Sufficient for the job.
This truck helped me revive my old ownboard that i bought 5 years ago
Using a meepo battery and a meepo deck and this truck it fully works again
It’s so incredibly stable and very quick 0-30! Definitely the best bang for your buck
This is 4th board, just had my first ride, and it was as expected, amazing board, sturdy, powerful, feels secure and turbo mode is insane,well done Ownboard!
When I bought my board I had many problems. Ownboard helped me solve them and provided me with replacement parts. Customer service was patient. I hope this board lasts though.
Hey guys, il will share soon pictures from the board because the kit arrived only today - I'm from Luxembourg and it take a little bit time to receive from far away ;). What I can say before start my DIY, thanks for your great support and service, the kit is exactly what I need, quality seems good. I will share soon pictures of my board with you! Thank`'s in advance- Greatt Team.
1st of all, me, my wife and our son 10 years old enjoy that board.
For him, I have changed the bushing to 93A, as it was to hard for him to turn.
Now its better.
I drive this board almost every day to work and back.
This are exactly 10km in a day.
I'm about 95kg with the backpack on and not a pro in skateboarding, therefore I drive only in speed mode 1, mostly around 25km/h.
After around 80km, I have one bar left in the tank (M50 option with 120 cloud wheels).
As it comes to range, I like it a lot :)
Comfort is also ok with this wheels.
Ok, we have here almost flat area, except 1 'railway underpass'.
When I come out of it, the board slows really down, like max 4km/h and maybe slower. I havent measured the slope, but its a normal railway underpass.
If I switch to the 2nd speed mode before, then its faster, maybe 8km/h.
And this is exactly the one of the 2 things, what bothers me most.
I would wish, that the board would handle this slope a bit faster, even in speed mode 1.
It seems, that the max output power is binded to the selected speed mode and not to actual traveling speed.
The 2nd is the 'cruise control'.
If the slope goes up, board slows down.
If the slope goes down, board is getting faster.
In a car such a cruise control would make no sense :(
I wanted to buy another one, for my wife, but this 2 'problems' hold me back from it.
And ya, there is a 3rd danger one, but maybe its just an user problem and maybe you can explain it.
If you double tap on the speed mode button, it just changes the direction. I double tapped by mistake the speed mode button, as i was on the way into the railway underpass.
Then turned the wheel on the remote and it just braked, because it changed the direction. Luckily I was not that fast, around 10mk/h, and I was to able to jump of the board :(
Bamboo Zeus Pro is Ownboard's next line up for Zeus Pro series but this time with beautiful bamboo deck. This board uses same ESC from Zeus Pro with much improved performance and its braking power which was based off of many feedback from riders to tune it to further improve the board and it definitely worked. It has smart turn on, hobbywing remote that's been seen on many brands but with more options and features such as setting up the braking power, switching from 2WD to 4WD, gear ratio, you name it.
I personally like street config better than AT config because of the low profile look (like tuner cars) and I even rode much farther with this setup than AT setup. I get more range this way and I much prefer that as I want to ride longer.
The battery in this board is packed with massive Molicel M50A 1170Wh with 25Ah which is what I went with and it gives the oomph and massive range and sagging wasn't that noticeable until around 10% or so. I got about 22 miles with 155mm (it's actually 150mm which they need to update) Hota wheels and I still haven't done full range test with 100mm street wheels yet because range is just so massive compared to AT config. 30+ miles is achievable with AT config and even more with 100mm street wheels.
Board is quick and it is very fast.
Bamboo deck doesn't have much flex to it with my weight but it's quite fun to jump in the middle without bottoming it out while waiting for the cars to go by.
Board comes with extra padded grip-tape, goodies (extra hardware, spacers, tools, remote charging cable, etc), extra belts, gigantic charger with built in fans, bashguard kit, skateboard handle, 40T Pulleys (if you request a set), extra two tubes for AT tires, etc.
Quality: ★★★★★
Performance: ★★★★★
Range: ★★★★☆
Flex on the deck: Feels stiff the way I like it.
Feedback for the board:
Overall the board is great but it needs further improvement with charging port cover which just pops open and it's not very secure when riding. Screw in charging port cover with waterproofing ring would be excellent and it'll be more secure than just silicone rubber cap.
Braking is plenty powerful but I just wish that the rear wheels would completely lockup when engaging brakes fully because board still rolls either forward or backwards (or even when wind is blowing to push me when on my board). This can be helpful especially at the hill where I have to stop and wait for the cars to go by at the stop sign without the board just rolling off into the interception which can be dangerous.
Ownboard's very own unique remote with bigger screen in the centre that displays the speed, braking power, odometer, battery for both remote and board in %, tuner for acceleration, speed, braking, etc.
Packaging needs more padding especially around the wheels so that it's well protected and they should use double box for double the protection.
If these improvements are made for this board, this could be one of the best board that came out this year.
I'm satisfied with this board and I get a lot of compliments from people whenever I take this board out. Currently using different grip-tape that I designed which has 3mm padding on it for extra comfort.
I've always been a street wheel kind of guy so I got a set of 40T Kegel pulleys with Bamboo Zeus Pro. I have eboardstuff Ingens wheels currently on it because I just loved those wheels so much. Pulleys are made by CNC so you will immediately know that it'll last 10 times longer than Nylon plastic ones that would wear out quickly and break off in the end. The way wheels clicks into the pulleys are satisfying and the "+" style sprockets makes it easier for the wheels to simply slide and click in. I've been enjoying riding my board in this config ever since and I'm not too sure if I'd go back to AT wheels at this point. These are extremely well made and you'll be satisfied with it. Trust me.
I love the 120mm cloudwheels, this is my second set tho as I did have an issue with the wheels seperating From the hubs after a while. Still they are a great feeling wheel
This board is great. Although it's my first esk8, I have been riding since skateboards had clay wheels. I'm 60 years old so not as lively as I used to be and this board has way more performance than I think I'll ever be comfortable using....I love it. I've only used speed mode 2 and it's incredible!
Great build quality and tech specs. Also very responsive support! My board arrived with a bent rear axel, due to shipping, and they quickly sent out a new rear hanger in about a week. Very fast!
You can't go wrong with this board, it handles tightly with a superb and supple ride.
Bought this under my mommas name for work transport. I'm a skater and this thing rips. Bushings not great. Tighten them or Wipeout. This thing is fast. I'm going to need to replace the PU wheels on the back near the motor soon..looks like they can be changed on this version. Grip tape is coming up a tiny bit, and has no holes for the screws. Um... yeah but the range is weak compared to advertised. I'm not sure which battery comes with, it lists several versions. Overall, gets me where I need quickly. I can make a 9 mile round trip at slow speeds on flat ground.. but it dang sure doesn't go any 11-14 miles unless I'm crawling like a snail, even then never tool the time to go that slow and see. At normal (not insane speeds) the range is maybe 8 miles. These are estimations. If I go fast... I would make it maybe 5 miles lol. Depends on factors. Advertisement a little misleading. But I take the charger with me and it works out. I have made it near 5 miles to work in like 15-20 min before lol. I can't give 5 stars... but I want to. It's definitely a 5 star on fun, speed, or thrill. Love the kick tail. I'm not comfortable on longboards. Regular skaters can shred these. But the real test will come when I try to change these motor wheels. Had no reason to contact company so far. Overall this is a banging budget board. Again, I have not tried to change the wheels out yet. But im not really looking forward to it. If not on smooth pavement, they will wear down. Recommend change them frequently so they don't become too hard to take off. I've read some things on it. Company support supposedly only through email. My board works. Range was a curveball though. It works and it's a lifesaver. This thing is harder than regular skating in terms of exercise. It will make your legs so strong. It's so much leg workout. Wasn't expecting that. Thought would be easier. Yeah maybe a little. My legs are ripped now lol. It was worth the price of admission. I recommend it as long as you get a working version. Ignore the range unless you want to be a snail. Expect about 8 miles maybe on regular medium- to fast speeds, if you have the same version as mine. Idk if a battery swap would be easy or helpful. More research to be done. It's a good budget board though. Glad I have it. Lots of fun. Highly dangerous. That's part of the fun though. Don't let anyone who can't skate well go above gear 1. There are 3 gears.
I have tried and tested your board to the limits and I would say by far this is the best electric skateboard ! You did a great job !
I have the Zeus OG . I literally ride every day and with a huge group of people who are extremely involved in the industry. I post content regularly and always hashtag and comment ownboard. I absolutely love this board and have gotten all types of direct messages as well as comments from skaters all around the world blown away by the places I have been on it. I have even modified a separate set of motor mounts that I have allowing me to slide the motors back more by doing this it let me rotate the old motor mounts to the second hole, which was not currently usable before also mount 8 inch pneumatic tires and 72 tooth pulleys. I have taken this thing over mountain bike tracks, BMX tracks and all types of crazy mountain bike trails. It has literally taking me everywhere with no failure except for a few belt breaks, and one time a broken king pin. I have a video on my Instagram me flying to the top of the Wright brothers memorial in North Carolina in a 40 mile an hour headwind on all-terrain tires. This thing is absolutely awesome. I do wish to have a better relationship with ownboard. I have ordered all types of extra parts and replacement parts since I have had this board, which is only been a year and was told to ask for a T-shirt once,but did not get one which was kind of a bummer since I literally tag and comment you guys in every single post. It would be cool to have a shirt. I hope to have plenty more fun times on this board and I’m dying to try the new four-wheel-drive version, you will be hearing more of me, especially when I start podium, placing on a zues… not only do I fly through the woods and over tracks but even in our 200 person rides on the streets in Washington DC I’m leaving everyone in the dust
💯🛹💨