Ride1UP Bamboo Classic Review

We've noticed the price on this skateboard fluctuates quite a bit, so it is worth waiting until the next sale to buy it. In fact, it's a great value option — practically worthy of a Best Buy Award — when its price is at its lowest.

Performance Comparison

Likes

First off, we were quite impressed with the top speed of the Bamboo Classic, especially given its budget nature. We measured an average top speed of just over 24 miles per hour in our tests, which is actually one of the fastest speeds we have recorded out of the entire group.

It also has a fairly impressive range, lasting for a little more than 18 miles on flat ground at a moderate speed. In particular, we liked that the Ride1UP maintained speed pretty much the whole time, able to hit 13 or 14 miles per hour right until it died.

The Bamboo Classic is about average in terms of comfort.

It isn't super springy and doesn't have any rocker or camber but is fine to stand on for long rides. It is right in the middle of the group in terms of weight.

The remote feels great to hold, with a sturdy and solid build.

It has some indicators for the board and remote statuses and makes it very easy to swap between riding modes. The skateboard is also quite responsive to remote commands, without any noticeable lag. The customer support and included warranty are fairly typical for these products.

The Ride1UP made it up a 15-17% grade hill that was about 500' long without too much of an issue, though it did start slowing down quite a lot. However, it couldn't repeat the performance a second time without a break between ascents. The brakes were also quite effective in our test at allowing you to control your downhill speed.

Dislikes

While the Bamboo Classic is a decently speedy board, we did find it to be lacking when it came to acceleration. It is quite slow to get going from a standstill — especially with a larger rider.

We also noticed that it will stall for a brief moment if you hit a crack in the road at any sort of significant speeds, which can be a very jarring experience.

It can also be quite unpleasant to ride this board around on roads that don't have the smoothest pavement. It transmits tons of vibrations through your feet, which can be very fatiguing after even short distances.

We also weren't amazingly impressed with the stopping ability of this skateboard. It did fine on hills but took quite a bit longer than other boards to come to a complete stop on flat ground from a moderate speed.

This board also takes an exceptionally long time to recharge when its battery is dead — almost double some of the other comparable boards in our test.

Value

If you can find this board when it is on sale or going for one of the lower prices in its range, it's a fantastic value. However, it definitely isn't your best bargain option when it's being sold at some of the higher prices we have seen.

Conclusion

The Ride1UP Bamboo Classic is a decent electric skateboard that would be great for most people if they don't expect too much. It's got plenty of speed and range but can't really compete with the premium products when it comes to acceleration and comfort.