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.