I have Lift3F 4’9" with V2 200 front wing and a 38 back wing. Lot of fun but the ride time is disappointing from what the 'Up to" web site states (100min). Never really expected this amount of time (marketing hype) but at only 60 minutes a session (and this is the full range battery) I was at least hoping for 1hr 15 to 1hr 25min. Getting 40% less time seems like they should address this more in their advertising. (some distributors and web sites will say 120 minutes!)
I weigh about 194, governor set to 8, never go full throttle and fall off about 3-4 times in that hour. I consider myself quite proficient in turning and carving (smooth water lakes).
Lift said with improved riding and more efficient wings and tail cone I could extend my ride time out.
Basically, ride a lot better and spend more money.
Manufacturers need to be more upfront in their performance claims. If I bought an EV car with a generic ‘Up to’ x miles range claim but I got 40% less I would be disappointed.
Anyway for those getting into the sport just be aware of what to expect in the real world.
Ride duration and distance are interrelated like driving a car 10mph vs 20mph one would travel twice as far as the other in one hour… Rider weight and wings and tail cone cowling vs prop guard are other variables… The Fliteboard fellows who crossed the English Channel reportedly practiced riding extra slowly so they could travel farther on their charge. I weigh 200lbs and ride a 120HA wing and tail cone and ride faster than my buddy and my battery is depleted before his… I expect that we travel similar distances.
The truth is you are too heavy (like me). The expected rider weight for these toys is 75kg, if we are 15-20kg overweight it’s harder for us to get anything done. Remember add the weight of a wet wetsuite, vest etc (+5kg). Try losing some weight and getting HA wings to get longer rides. Cheers!
I am trying to lose some weight now also. I am getting little over 1.2 hour rides
I’m actually quite slim. At 6’5" I can’t afford to lose weight or I’ll look like a pencil on a board. I just think Lift should be a little more realistic and tell people a few of the criteria in getting closer to 100 minutes. I’ve shed my wetsuit and wear the lightest UV top and surfer shorts to reduce weight but hardly makes a difference. Is 75kg a realistic weight in todays world?. Maybe a healthy weight but to say this is the benchmark for the average user I think is somewhat on the low side. Nick Leason doesn’t look like he’s 75kg.
Sorry I did not know you are so tall, then of course losing weight is not an option. I would suggest HA wing , like HA 170 or even massive HA 200 for longer rides.
Yes most companies measure by 75kg rider to give longest riding time possible for advertising. Most of my friends efoilers are 60-70kg so they all go for hours (not me) lol
Another thing, i hope you removed the prop guard? It will give extra 15% ride time.
No I haven’t removed the prop guard yet. I was looking at these ‘filler’ cowlings if I did. The warning about removing the guard could result in severe injury/death has me a little intimidated but to be honest I’ve never been anywhere near the prop when I come off and I doubt I’ll ever be at full throttle at max governor setting to increase this potential for injury.
I’m curious what speed most people ride at for just carving and cruising. I would like to see what my speed is once I get the Elite hand controller. Thx for the tips.
From what we saw, actually prop guard is there to protect the propeller not people. All the injuries were because of it (the finger got stuck between propeller and guard) it would not happen without it. I recommend Folding prop, it’s a game changer and lets you ride the waves (or at least boat wake in the lake), really fun!
Hi there,
Ride time can be above 2h for an average rider but yes, it is going slow, straight and not falling on a large wing.
I weigh about 80kgs and did 2h15 of foiling on 250HA/32 with folding prop. Regular prop without the duct would be even more efficient.
However, I prefer to ride more aggressively and don’t get to 2h while doing that. Then again ride time is not the best indicator anyway… My distance record is 37,8km on 250HA (2h) and I got 36,8km on an 120HA (1h15).
I prefer the smaller wings now 
B.
Good to know. I pirate the bigger boat ski wakes on the lake as much as I can, a little different when it comes to adjusting the trim 'up and then ‘down’ the wake. Good practice for ocean swells (one day).
I have had suggestions on the folding prop, HA wings but obviously comes at quite a bit more outlay $$$.
I ordered a 3d printed tail cone, baby steps.
Thx for the update Bernd, I’m leaning towards the HA wings and removal of the prop guard. I’m getting a 3D tail cone and I’ll see how that measures out. HA wings and folding props aren’t that cheap and never thought that is what I would need in the future to get the most out of ride times. Like you, I am a little aggressive in my riding coming from a surfing background. (Ironically my backhand I can spin on a dime so to speak, but for whatever reason my forehand is more shaky. You’d think the forehand turn would be easier.
In EVERY OTHER USAGE, E vehicles of ALL kinds LIST their battery size in their advertising!!!
The amount of energy stored is listed in Amp Hours (ah) and the draw of the motor per hour and the size of the battery will determine your run time. Of course affectded greatly by all the variables we know, rider weight, speed used, times fallen, etc
But still, the size of the battery is one of the main considerations in buying of ANY electric vehicle.
Electric cars, E bikes, E boats EVERYTHING EXCEPT EFOILS lists the capacity of the dang battery.
Time for them to start so we can compare.
And time for reviewers to start requesting that VERY BASIC information.
(ok, I might be a bit riled about this subject…
I dont’ think I’ll ever get comfortable with the idea of an exposed prop spinning faster than you can see.
Even if I somehow could, there’s the other riders of my board to think about.
Seems like a really bad idea (jmo)
kwh is the way efoil bateries are measured and it gives you an acurate idea of their capacity than ah. You could have two batteries that are 20ah one at 12v and the other at 24v and yet the capacity (energy stored) of the 24v would be double of the 12v. Where if you had 2 batteries at 2kw and one was 12v and the other was 24v then they would both have the same amount of energy stored. Most if not all EV are also measured this way.
And our Lift regularly goes 90-100 minutes.
So your experience is not the norm (between us anyway) and you should probably get it checked out.
Yep, I just flipped them.
Getting it checked out may be a lot harder than it sounds. Not like the shop I bought it from can test it out, or have it sent out for evaluation. Some months ago I took my electric bike battery to Batteries Plus to check out the capacity. Shop burned down along with my battery. (they did replace it).
The Lift people think ride time is fine based on weight, foil etc. Their suggestion of spending $800+ for a HA foil and maybe a tailcone/folding prop and improved riding skills left me a little disappointed.
Why can’t the shop check it out or have it sent out?
All the more reason to demand the very basic information of battery capacity.
I guess I could sound them out. They are predominantly a boat shop but I guess I have nothing to lose.
They choose to sell Lift. Lift has warranty. Ergo they hold some responsibility to take care of you the customer. Most states have laws enforcing that.
They were certainly happy when they pocketed the sale.