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Pros
- Quick swap battery system
- Latest Hobbywing ESC
- Forged and CNC machined trucks
Cons
- Need to attend to the trucks and some bolts before first ride
In the past Maxfind haven’t been known to make high-quality electric skateboards. In fact, they were on the lower end of the scale when it came to build quality and performance. You know, the kinds of eboards you find on Amazon…
So, when I was sent the new Maxfind Max4 Pro electric skateboard to review, I had my reservations and to be honest, I put it off for some time because I just wasn’t excited about it.
Well, shame on me, because after finally checking this thing out and taking it for a ride, I am impressed.
I apologise to Maxfind for not having more faith in them.
Being priced at US$649, it’s hanging out with other mid-range electric skateboards such as the Exway Flex, Meepo NLS Pro and the WowGo 3.
So it’s up against a lot of strong competition.
But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
While doing my Max4 Pro review, I found some things that Maxfind claim which turned out not to be true.
The Specs
The Deck & Enclosure
The Maxfind Max4 Pro is a 38″ long and 10.6″ wide deck. It has the good old fashioned ‘vanguard’ shaped deck that we’ve all seen before (and love).
It’s made of 8 layers of Canadian Maple with a layer of carbon fibre coating. It looks clean and sleek.
This material causes the deck to go against what a vanguard is all about. The deck on the Max4 Pro is really stiff with only an ever-so-slight flex to it. And it has a very shallow concave.
It’s deck is the total opposite to some of its competitors, including the Exway Flex.
The enclosure is one of my favourite features on the Maxfind Max4 Pro.
It’s a single metal enclosure, rather than having the popular two-enclosure setup. It has a stone finish and it doesn’t scratch up too easily.
The thing I like most about the enclosure is the quick swap battery system. It is super easy to use.
You just unscrew a little tap, slide the enclosure off and pull out the battery. Fast fingers could swap a battery out in less than 60 seconds.
Maxfind claim that their eboard has an IP65 waterproof rating, however, they enclosure is just metal on metal without any kind of gasket so I would be very hesitant about riding the Max4 Pro through any kind of wet weather.
Wheels & Trucks
The Maxfind Max4 Pro has big 96mm wheels which don’t have a durometer rating on them. However, I can tell you that they are quite rigid, especially on the hub motors.
The Hub motors do however have a large amount of PU that sit between the motors and the ground so that helps to absorb some vibrations from the road, however, it still feels like a hub Motor eboard when you’re riding.
You could easily resolve this by putting a set of Cloudwheel donuts on it. You’ll be a lot more comfortable and even get a tiny bit more top speed.
The trucks are another of my favourite things about this eboard. They are 45-degree, but more importantly, they are made with the same manufacturing process that premium skate truck companies make their high-end products. They are forged, rather than cast, so they are super strong. And the are CNC machined to make them really precise.
And while riding, you can feel that quality comes through slightly. To get the full potential of these trucks, you’ll have to play around with the setup of bushings and riser pads.
I don’t have much to say for the bushings. They’re there.
As for the riser pads, well they look like 1/3″ pads, but the truck plate has been tightened up so much that the pads are squished up so much that they bulge out from underneath the truck plate. I’ll be loosening off the trucks to maximise the effectiveness of the risers in the future.
Motors / ESC / Battery
The Maxfind Max4 Pro is running dual 750W hub motors, bringing it to a total of 1500W.
And they’re OK. They get the job done. Maxfind claim they can accelerate to their top speed in 5 seconds. But you’ll see later on when we do the acceleration test how long it really takes. Spoiler, it’s not 5 seconds.
The Max4 Pro is loaded up with the latest Hobbywing ESC and as always, it is awesome. It has extremely smooth acceleration and braking, both of which won’t be able to through you off. It’s very responsive and the board acts exactly how you expect it to when you move the thumbwheel.
It has 4 riding modes, reverse and cruise control.
The battery is a Samsung 36V 4.4Ah pack with 158.4Wh capacity and is specced to get up to 12 miles (19km) of range. I put that to the test down below.
Performance Tests
Here’s the fun parts!
It’s sometimes a little hard to explain how a ride feels in words, so you can always check out the video review to match my words with how it looks to ride.
I always gear up with helmet, knee pads and elbow pads because you just never know what could happen out there. Especially when I’m testing the limits of an eboard that I’ve never ridden before.
Top Speed Test
The top speed I managed to hit was 22mph (36kmh). That’s 2.4mph (4kmh) under what the Maxfind Max4 Pro is specced at.
The thing is, I weigh 198lbs (90kg) so that will have an effect on the absolute top speed.
But I also want to point out that when you lay the eboard upside down and hit the throttle, the max speed the remote can do is only 24.8mph (40kmh). And that’s without any resistance at all.
For the acceleration test, which you can watch in my video review, it took me a total of 16 seconds to get to the top speed. That’s quite far off the 5 second benchmark Maxfind claim, and that’s not even hitting the specced top speed, that’s my top speed.
All of that aside, the Max4 Pro accelerates at a similar rate to most other hub motor eboards out there. This isn’t a negative of the Max4 Pro. It just doesn’t do what they say it can do.
Range Test
Here we go, this is pretty much everyone’s most sought after test. The range test.
I got up to 8.5 miles (13.8km). That’s just over half of the specced range on the Maxfind website.
So why did I get such a low range? Well, there’s a few things at play here.
For starters, I’ve already mentioned my weight, please don’t embarrass me by asking me to say it out loud again…
Obviously, heavier a rider means the board has to use more energy to get itself moving.
On top of that, I did multiple acceleration tests and I did quite a lot of carving which puts extra stress on the motors.
Lighter riders and those who want to cruise around at a more comfortable pace of say 20-25kmh, you’re going to get a lot more range. It’s going to be different for every eskater.
Brake Test
From a speed of 12mph (20kmh), I slammed on the brakes and it took me 37.6′ (11.4m) to come to a complete stop.
From 18mph (30kmh), it took 61.6′ (18.8m).
Those distances are what i expect from a hub motor eboard. Most places that have already legalised electric skateboarding have a speed limit of about 15mph (25kmh) so you’re in the ballpark of about 50′ (15m) braking distance.
That’s probably enough to get you out of most sticky situations if you’re paying attention.
Hill Climb Test
For my test, I rode up a hill that had a grade of up to 12% at its steepest and it putted along at about 16kmh. At that steepness, it never felt like it was going to give up, but it didn’t feel like it was powering up either.
This is like most hub motor eboards. Even the Exway Flex Hub and the Teamgee H20 Mini performed at a similar level.
Riding Feel
Overall, the Maxfind Max4 Pro was considerably enjoyable to ride. It requires a little bit of tweaking here and there to get it up to scratch. It doesn’t come set up to its optimum out of the box.
For those that prefer a stiff deck, I think this has a nice sweet spot between being stiff and being able to absorb as much of the vibrations as possible. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll still feel the road beneath your feet.
Another great aspect of having a stiff deck is the ability to slide. I’m not a great slider, but I gave it a whirl and I was surprised at how much more control over the deck I had as oppose to when riding a flexible deck.
It’s definitely geared towards commuters and beginners who maybe want to learn how to slide.
Customer Reviews
About Maxfind
Maxfind’s mission is to make commuting easy and fun.
They believe wholeheartedly in producing the best hub motor electric skateboards and that hub motors are the future of electric skateboarding. So you won’t see them producing any eboards with belts anytime soon.
I have to say, I partly agree with them.
An electric skateboard that is quiet, powerful and requires the lowest amount of maintenance as possible will win the eskate war.
But, hub motors don’t have the power that belt-drives offer just yet. Hopefully we will see some solid R&D in the future to bring Maxfinds dreams to fruition.
Alternatives
Meepo NLS Pro
The Meepo NLS Pro is a top quality eboard from a very respectable brand.
WowGo 2S Pro
The WowGo 2S Pro is an amazingly comfortable electric skateboard that you could skate for hours.
Exway Flex
The Flex is one of my favourite commuter electric skateboards. It’s got all the bells and whistles at a good price.