So, I've been riding the Spectra X with the remote for a little while now and it's time
to test the 3D Posture Control System.
Hey, what's up eskaters?
Nate from eSkate Hub here and today I've got for you the Spectra X electric skateboard
review.
And I cannot tell you how excited I am to show you this board.
After trying the Spectra Advanced which was a little bit sub-par, now they've updated
with the newest release, it is awesome and I can't wait to show you how easy it is to
ride it.
But just a heads up, this is not the final product.
I have been given a pre-production board to test out, so they are still trying to iron
out some issues.
Spectra are aware of them and are fixing them so they do not occur in the boards that are
sent to their customers.
So, as you can see, it's a tiny little board.
It's 27.5" long.
It's got a completely flat deck with a kicktail on the back, however, the kicktail is not
really that useful because of the way you brake on this board which I'll show you later
on.
The grip tape is nice and gentle, it's not very coarse, but it's enough.
And underneath, it looks like it's something out of The Avengers.
It's an all-plastic enclosure and it's got this quick-swap battery which is just awesome,
I love that.
Trucks aren't anything special, it's got Paris trucks on the front and the standard hub motor
trucks on the back that you see on most boards.
The wheels are pretty solid, especially on the front.
They're just a custom made wheel.
You can kind of see some grooves on them, it's just a surface pattern, it's not grooved
at all, so it's not really made for off-road riding.
And another thing about the battery, the charging port is actually on the battery, so you can
be out riding your board while charging your spare battery at home.
So, it's got dual hub motors at the back which is a welcome upgrade from the Spectra Advanced
which originally had the motors in the front which just created all sorts of problems so
it's nice to see that upgrade.
It also has a mobile app so you can change your riding modes.
It's got comfort, sport and racing mode.
You can use it as a remote while riding the board for acceleration and braking.
You can adjust the board's control sensitivity, you can contact their customer service with
their direct messaging feature and lastly, you can track your board via GPS if you've
ordered the premium model.
And the board is IP66 water-resistant which means you're going to be able to ride through
puddles and little streams of water without worrying about ruining your board.
So, in the box you get some awesome looking stickers, a user manual and safety guides,
T-tool, a charger which is one of the smallest chargers I've ever seen on an electric skateboard,
the smallest USB cable I've ever seen and a remote which you'll probably try at least
once but maybe not use ever again and you'll see just why in a sec.
And to top it off, it's wrapped up in this stunning little package.
So the Spectra X comes in at US$599 and there's also an option to get the Spectra X Premium
for US$699 which adds the GPS tracking capability.
So as you can see from my filthy board I've already been out for a ride so let me just
take you back and show you how easy this thing is to get going.
So, the remote's going away in the pocket.
First, I'm going to turn it on.
F***, that was so easy.
Woo!
This is F***ing good!
That was my first go at the 3D posture control system and honestly, I can't believe how good
that is.
That is a huge step up from the Spectra Advanced.
Let's check what mode I was in.
I was in comfort mode, let's turn that up to sport.
What other settings have we got here?
Control sensitivity, gentle and strong, it's about midway, I might leave that for now.
So I'm in sport mode now.
Literally, just lean back to brake.
Alright, let's step this up a notch.
We're in racing now.
Testing the brakes.
Alright, to honest, I tried the remote and it wasn't that great.
So what was happening with the remote was, it had a little bit of latency on the acceleration
and especially on the release of the acceleration.
So, you'd be going forward, you'd let go of the acceleration but you'd still keep going
forward for a little bit so you'd get this awkward balance and feel like you're being
thrown off.
Let me see if I can show you what happens.
I'm in comfort mode and I'm gonna show you what the acceleration looks like in comfort
mode.
Very gradual.
And that's the braking in comfort mode.
Put this bad boy into sport mode.
I'm still surprised at how good this thing is.
Stick her in racing mode.
This is the acceleration in racing mode.
And that's the brakes in racing mode.
Damn, that's good.
Not only does leaning back brake but when you come to a stop and you keep leaning back
it's gonna reverse.
I kinda like that.
It's also very natural.
Because you lean back to brake you can't really use the kicktail as a tic-tacking or a manual
popping tool because it just applies the brakes straight away so, there's not going to be
any of that.
I reckon the 3D Posture Control System on this thing is better than using the remote.
The remote has way too much latency and it's really awkward to use and I find it very unsettling
and I don't feel confident when I'm riding with that remote at all.
But when I'm using the 3D Posture Control System on this thing I feel like I have so
much control over this board that I much prefer using it without the remote.
So, one thing that's kind of annoying me is you can't really kick push this board because
it has that automatic locking system.
It's a safety feature because if you do come off the board it doesn't go flying off into
the traffic which IU guess is kind of smart but you can't really kick push.
What's the trade-off there?
Alright, now to thank my lovely girlfriend for being such an amazing camerawoman, I'm
going to give her a go at this bad boy.
Shit, alright.
OK.
So far, so good.
How do you brake?
Lean back.
Oh, not bad, not bad.
K. I reckon this is easy.
So easy.
Yeah, I'm impressed.
It's easier with no remote.
It's easier with no remote?
Yeah.
You can see just how easy this thing is to ride.
It is a huge step up from the Spectra Advanced.
The Spectra X, everything on that board feels natural.
I even met a family in Spain where there were these two kids in awe of this board so I offered
them a ride and they picked it up just like that.
The young girl was a natural, she was away.
Although the younger boy, he had a little bit of trouble riding it.
I think it was probably because he was a little light and the weight sensing pads couldn't
really pick him up so parents, keep in mind if you are buying for your kids.
So, out on the range test I got 3.6 miles which is 5.8km.
I weigh 83kg, there was literally no wind, it was about 99% flat ground and I thrashed
the board as hard as anyone could thrash a small little posture controlled board and
I was in racing mode.
So, it's not a whole lot of range but for a small portable board that you can take on
the train and on an aeroplane or getting from class to class, I reckon it's not too bad.
The top speed I hit was 21mph which is 34km/h which is a little bit over what Spectra state
on their website.
And although there are other boards out there that go a lot faster, on this tiny little
board with a posture control system, it is plenty fast enough.
After pushing the board that hard, I found my first bug.
The battery completely burnt out and was unusable.
I kept getting these red flashing lights when I was trying to turn it on.
So, remember this is a pre-production board, Spectra is aware of these issues and they
are in the process of fixing them.
Good thing was, Spectra was more than happy to send me a new battery so that I could continue
doing the tests and finish my review.
So next up was the hill climb test.
I rode up a 6.5-degree incline which is around 11% hill grade and the Spectra cruised up
it pretty easily considering.
So, I stepped it up a bit and tried to climb a 9.6-degree incline which is close to 17%
and it struggled.
If I had a long enough run-up and I'd already generated some speed, then it would climb
up but it would really battle to get up there.
Without that existing speed, there is no chance you're going to be able to climb a hill that
steep.
Then after riding down the hill, riding the brakes the whole way, the battery konked out
again.
And man, I am shattered because I really actually enjoy riding this board casually, it's awesome
to just glide around without having a remote, you've got all your hands free.
Anyway, hopefully, Spectra are willing to send me a new battery after they've fixed
all the issues so I can enjoy this board for what it is.
So the Spectra X electric skateboard is perfect for people who are taking really short trips.
Like from class to class at uni or school to the train station which might not be too
far away, down to the shops to pick things up, going to coffee, you know, just little
errands like that or if you just want to go out and have a casual cruise for half an hour
to an hour and then come home.
It's also great for kids because it's super easy to learn and as a parent, you have the
ability to control the power settings through their dedicated app, so you can always make
sure that your kids are riding safe.
And it's also a great travel companion because the battery is small enough to be able to
travel on an airline and the board is small enough to put in the overhead lockers.
And there's no better way to see a new city than on a little electric skateboard with
your hands-free to take your happy snaps.
So, that's the Spectra X. I absolutely love this board for everything that it is, for
what it is.
It' small, compact, and I love the 3D Posture Control System because it's natural, it's
easy to learn, it's predictable, it's so much better than the remote, you'll probably never
use the remote again.
So, go check out the Spectra X on Walnutt's website, the link is in the description below.
There's also a little juicy discount code for you where you get $30 OFF your discount
and I get a little bit of cash in my pocket, it all goes back into this channel.
Thank you so much for watching, if you had any questions or if I missed something, please
ask in the comments below, I do reply to every single comment.
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Thanks for watching, ride safe out there eskaters and I'll see you soon.