Background: I am a 6ft, 200lbs male living in SF. While I have only ridden a Walmart skateboard for a very short time back when I was in elementary school, I have never actually done any actual boarding aside from snowboarding.
Construction
The Inboard M1 seems to be built very solidly. Especially with no motors hanging out. Aesthetically, I definitely prefer the hub motor over belt motors. Due to how the deck is built, there is zero flex whatsoever. The wheels also seem to be doing great, and a lot of my daily commute has terrible pavement with a couple of muni/metro tracks. I can’t really complain much about construction so far.
Performance
Inboard M1 definitely is not the strongest out there. But that is well known that belt motor ones and even some other hub motor boards are much stronger. But within reasonable conditions, it does well, even in eco/intermediate mode. Climbing hills is definitely where it falls short. I have a hill that I have to climb on my way back home that sits at ~10% and I do feel a slowdown climbing it. Anything over 10%, I need to be going full speed at advanced mode to even attempt going up, otherwise the board will stop climbing after ~3 seconds of climbing. I’d say their estimation of 15% is pretty accurate, as that was probably tested with a lighter rider and a much better paved hill.
Surprisingly, Inboard does uneven pavements better than I thought it would. Still not being 100% used to riding the board though, I do need to slow down before cracks and such (one time I tried going full speed, I lost my balance and fell).
Battery life
One of the main, if not the main, selling point for Inboard M1 is the easily swappable battery that you can take onto planes. That said, each battery gives ~5 miles of range for me, which was a bit disappointing but still makes sense as I am heavier than their test rider, and have to switch to advanced mode from time to time to climb a bunch of hills that are on my way to and from work. But it is truly very easy to swap batteries, and I just take a battery with me just in case. One weird thing that keeps happening though, is that the remote will tell me I have only 1 LED (~25%) battery left, so I open up the battery compartment and check the battery, and it tells me I have 2 to 3 LED (out of 5) worth of battery left. I’ve contacted Inboard about this and they are saying that the remote may be at fault. (More comments on this in customer service section down below.) And then, if I unplug and replug the battery or just let it rest for a bit, the remote’s battery display will go back up to 2 LEDs, which better matches the actual battery’s reading. It seems that the remote estimates the battery to be lower than it actually is when I use the board, or the battery itself estimates it to be higher than it actually is. According to Inboard, it’s actually the former. But we shall see.
Remote
Remote is amazing. I haven’t tried other board remotes, but my second runner up candidate for my first board was Evolve, and although I really like that LCD screen, I really like the dead man’s switch on Inboard’s remote. The tail actually works well for me as well. Have not lost a connection yet, aside from when board died from battery running out. It is really comfortable to hold in hand, and I love this joystick throttle, and I think I definitely prefer this one over other options (just a wheel, a button that goes up and down, etc). It’s also not too jerky, probably due to lower torque that hub motors provide for Inboard, but for me that’s fine. Oh and one thing that I almost forgot: I LOVE THAT I TURN ON THE REMOTE AND IT TURNS ON THE BOARD!
Customer service
Now this is where it gets a bit tricky. Their chat has been amazing. I talked to someone named Michael and he was able to direct me in the right way and provided me with a bit of info about the whole battery discrepancies between remote and the battery’s own display. Then, he proceeded to tell me to email support, so I did, but it has been over 24 hour turnaround time for each email (I only received one back and awaiting a second reply). Coincidentally, the person emailing me is also named Michael, so I’m wondering if they’re the same people why they couldn’t just get thing started on chat? Maybe it’s a written record thing or email feels more official? I don’t know.
Accessories
I bought 3 extra batteries, Triple8 helmet and wrist guards, and a Nixon Landlock ii backpack. Helmet and wrist guards do what they’re supposed to do just fine, although wrist guard’s plastic part seems to be wearing out a bit fast, just from it rubbing against the grip tape. The backpack cannot hold the board, and I scuffed it up near the bottom just from me trying to do so. But it’s a good backpack and I will be keeping it for when I get into regular longboarding.
Also, I am using a guitar stand I bought to stand up my Inboard. Works well, the soft part is wearing off though. Also, I got a surfco tail guard and a just a generic nose guard and they are working perfectly, especially the tail guard. I love that there is no bulky protector on the back. I may try to grab a nose guard from surfco as well.
Conclusion
Overall, it’s a solid board with its main point being the swappable batteries that you can travel with. Holds up to uneven roads pretty well. Remote is very comfortable and has a stable connection. Also, it is very convenient to be able to just power up the remote to turn on the board as well. If you’re looking for power and hill climbing, this is not the board for you. But if you are looking to travel with your board, and still want a decent performance, then this may be worth considering.
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