Electric skateboards are fast, efficient, and thrilling ways to commute around town or just cruise for fun. And the Revel DIY electric skateboard kit helps you build your own e-skateboard with almost zero technical skills.
If you can turn a screwdriver, you can build an electric skateboard with this kit.
That’s how easy the kit makes it.
But before I get ahead of myself, let’s look at the tech specs we’re working with.
Revel DIY electric skateboard kit specs
- Motors: Dual 1,100 W direct-drive motors
- Wheels: 90mm diameter; 74a hardness (can accept any wheels)
- Battery: 144 Wh or 216 Wh removable battery
- Range: 8-14 miles (13-23 km)
- Top speed: 28 mph (45 km/h)
- Max hill climb gradient: 20º
- Max load: 265 lb (120 kg)
- Drive weight: 11 lb (5 kg)
Revel DIY electric skateboard kit video review
Make sure to watch my video review below to see the Revel kit in action. Then read on for the full review.
Installation process — a piece of cake!
The first thing that surprised me was how easy the kit was to install.
I thought I’d need to use a template and start drilling holes in my deck or making other modifications. But no, the entire kit is built right into the trucks, meaning all you do is bolt the kit’s trucks onto the deck with four standard bolts.
That’s it. Done.
It’s really easy, and the whole thing takes about five minutes, including opening the box.
Speaking of the box, you’ll find a bunch of extra pieces in there, like a dock for the battery and adapters to fit nicer Orangutang wheels.
The wheels that come in the kit are fine for basic use, but many people will want to upgrade to their wheels of choice, and the Revel kit makes it easy. You can fit nearly any wheels on the kit, including larger off-road wheels, so you can really get custom with the kit.
You can also use almost any deck you’d like, allowing you to totally customize the ride quality, wheel base, and characteristics of your electric skateboard. I used the Fat Tail deck from Loaded. I’ve previously used a Loaded deck when reviewing another one of my boards, the Unlimited x Loaded Cruiser on an Icarus deck. The decks are made in California and are top quality, so I jumped at the chance to build another board with a deck like this.
Check out my unboxing and installation video below:
How does it ride?
Once I got the kit installed on my deck, I finally got to experience the ride. Which was pretty awesome — especially for a $599 kit.
The power delivery is on point and always felt like it ramped up nice and smoothly. The braking was strong but not juddery — basically it just feels like Revel put some serious effort into tuning the drive system.
A big advantage of the Revel system is that the motors are direct drive, meaning the wheels bolt directly onto the face of the motor. That allows you to use normal longboard wheels instead of thinner sleeves that slide over typical hub motors. With actual full-thickness wheels you get better ride quality and longer lasting wheels in general.
Right out of the box I found the trucks to be way too tight, but that was simple enough to adjust with a single nut. I see this a lot, where the assembly team cranks those trucks down tight on the bushing during assembly, to the point where the board doesn’t carve very deeply. But once you loosen them up to your desired feel, the carving feels great. Of course choosing a good deck is also important to the ride, which is one more reason that it’s nice to build a board from a DIY kit so you get the widest possible deck choice.
The part of the kit that I wasn’t a fan of at first — but that grew on me over time — was the remote. Instead of the typical thumbwheel, it uses a slider switch. It felt foreign at first since all of my other boards use thumbwheel controllers. But within a half hour or so, it just felt like an extension of my hand as I warmed up to it. Now it seems normal to me, and in practice doesn’t feel that different from a typical thumb wheel, since you’re still sliding your thumb back and forth like on a wheel.
I’ll also be testing out the AWD version of this kit by adding a second drive unit to the front of the board, replacing the front trucks and wheels with two more motor wheels. I’ll be sure to report back on how the performance feels with twice the power.
Until then, let’s hear what you think about the Revel kit in the comments below. And if you want to grab your own Revel DIY electric skateboard kit, head on over to Revel’s site and don’t forget to use the code ELECTREK30 to take $30 off your order.
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