by Chris |
Last Updated: September 21, 2021 Vokul V1
Pros
- Easy to use
- Smooth acceleration and braking
- Motor has a lot of torque
- Very lightweight
- Flexible deck gives a comfortable ride
- Regenerative braking extends range
- Turns on automatically when you push off
- Shuts down automatically if there’s no activity
Cons
- Remote sometimes disconnects while riding
- 10 miles is a very short range
- Low top speed
- Under powered motor can’t handle hills
Just because you’re in the market for an electric skateboard doesn’t mean you want to blaze down the street at 25 miles per hour on a thin plank of wood.
Some people want something slower, and some beginners need something slower. That’s where Vokul’s boards come in. Compared to most other boards on the market, these boards are underpowered, weak little things. Sometimes, though, that’s exactly what you want.
Table of Contents
Key Features:
- Top speed of 13 miles per hour
- Maximum range is 10 miles.
- Powered by single, 350 Watt hub motor
- Regenerative braking
- 6 month warranty
- Two speeds: low and high
- Max load of 200 pounds
- All wood deck
- Charges in two hours
- Automatic start when you push off
Design and Construction
The deck is nothing but wood. Seven layers of maple, in fact. It seems laughably dated in an era of fiberglass, carbon fiber and bamboo to use nothing but wood for the deck, but it looks nice and provides a lot of flexibility for a smooth ride.
Other than that, there’s not much to say here. This is simple, straightforward board. The wheels are standard polyurethane, but you can swap them out easily if you find others you prefer.
Some people don’t like the all-wood deck, but others think it looks nice, charmingly retro, even.
Motor
The Cruiser comes with a single, 350 Watt hub drive. That’s not a lot of power when compared with some of the other boards out there; some of them come with two 1200 Watt hub drives. Its still good for most uses, it just won’t move the board as quickly as you might want.
The speed tops out at 13 miles per hour, and the range is no more than 10 miles. That’s a lot slower, and a lot shorter, than what most riders would consider standard these days. It can handle a 10% grade in the road just fine, but anything steeper than that is going to give it some problems.
Though the top speed is low, the acceleration is very smooth. The braking is smooth, too, and the board gently decelerates. These two factors combined make this board a pleasure to ride, even if it’s kind of slow.
The downside is that the power drops off sharply once the charge in the battery gets below 50%. At that point, you’ll no longer be able to travel at the top speed, and will only be able to ride at low speed, which is around 6 miles per hour.
The regenerative braking system turns the motor into a turbine that recharges the battery every time you brake. This can extend your range quite a bit if you end up braking a lot.
Wheels
The wheels are standard polyurethane wheels, and at 51mm they’re quite small. Smaller wheels provide more torque, and therefore better acceleration, but they limit your top speed. You can easily swap these wheels out for any other solid wheels.
It’s possible that by putting larger wheels on, you could gain a little bit of extra speed, though you’d sacrifice torque to do it. Don’t expect that to make a huge difference, though- it’s only a small gain.
Controls
One of the nicer features of the board is that it automatically turns on when you push off, and it will automatically shut off after a few minutes of no use. That’s more convenient than a switch or a button, and makes it feel much more like a traditional skateboard experience.
The remote is well designed, comfortable to hold and easy to use. Unfortunately, it has a habit of disconnecting, even while in use. So, you could be cruising along at 13mph, see an obstacle in front of you that you need to stop for, and find yourself unable to stop the board. This can actually be quite dangerous.
If the remote cuts out while you’re riding, you have no way to slow or stop the board and may have to jump off while it’s moving at top speed. Even at 13mph, that’s pretty dangerous.
You can’t just reconnect the remote while riding, either, because that’s also dangerous. It forces you to take your eyes off the road and frankly you probably won’t have time to do it before you hit something.
The remote is covered by the warranty, and rumor is that Vokul is aware of the issue and is working on a solution.
Overall
This is a nice little board for a beginner to learn on. It’s a slow, leisurely ride with easy acceleration and easy braking, so new riders won’t have a steep learning curve.
It’s not just for beginners though. Even experienced riders might enjoy slowing things down a bit, and cruising around on this board might be a great, relaxing way to spend an afternoon.
How does it Compare?
Vokul V1 Cruiser vs Backfire G2t
The G2t is another board that went all-wood in it’s deck construction, with 8 layers of maple. It has much larger wheels: 96mm compared to the V1’s 70mm. That usually means worse acceleration, but a higher top speed.
The G2t can hit speeds of up to 23mph, and has a turbo mode that will boost your speed for 30 seconds. Its remote also has an OLED display to give you clear and accurate information on your speed and how much charge you have left in the battery. The G2t has a range of 15 miles.
The V1 is still a better board for beginners or those who want to take it slow. For those looking for a little more speed, the G2t is a better choice.
Vokul V1 Cruiser vs Slick Revolution Flex 2.0 Carbon
Slick Revolution’s Flex 2.0 is a monster of a board. It has two 1200 Watt hub motors, a top speed of 27 miles per hour and a range of 19 miles. It has a deck made of Italian poplar wood, carbon fiber and fiber glass, which gives it a lot of strength and flexibility while keeping the weight to a minimum.
It’s really designed for riding over rough, uneven pavement. Its ultra flexible deck smooths out the bumpiest rides and its massive batteries and powerful motors handle the terrain with ease. While it’s a wonderful, powerful board, it’s way too much for a beginner.
If you’re just starting out, the acceleration curve and high speed of the Flex is too much for you. You’re much better off starting out with the Vokul.
Vokul V1 Cruiser vs Exway x1 Pro
The x1 Pro is fast; its top speed is 29 miles per hour, with a range of 16 miles. It has a completely rigid deck because the battery is built in, and any flexing would damage it. To compensate, it uses Seismic trucks as shock absorbers, resulting in a surprisingly smooth ride.
It also has an app that can be downloaded to allow you to change the settings for each speed mode, among other things. Exway makes a belt drive that can be hot-swapped with the stock hub drive when needed.
All in all, the x1 is a great board but, again, it’s too much for a beginner. Not only is it more power and speed than you need, it presents you with too many customisation options that you really wouldn’t be able to take full advantage of. The Vokul is the better board if you’re a beginner.
Summary
The Vokul V1 is a great board for beginners or those who just want a more leisurely electric skateboard experience. It won’t win any speed competitions, but it gets the job done.
If you weigh more than two hundred pounds, this isn’t the board for you. It’s not powerful enough to handle the weight.
The biggest concern is the remote. A remote that randomly disconnects while riding is a major safety concern, because it means you would be unable to stop. Trying to reconnect your remote while riding isn’t safe either, since it obviously distracts you from what’s around you. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like every remote does this, and the six month warranty will cover it if you need to have the remote replaced.
This is definitely not a good choice for those who want a board to commute to work. It’s too slow and it’s range is too short, unless you live a lot closer to your job than most people.
On the plus side, it recharges fully in just two hours, and aside from the remote it seems to be a very reliable board.