They’re not perfectly smooth (at least mine aren’t). But it’s a perceptual thing that you quickly forget about. There is no lack of accuracy or control. Now I gig exclusively with my EV-2s.
Just got a new EV-2 last week, and I understand what you mean about a slightly "grittier" feel. What was going on was that (at least on mine anyway) there was minimal lithium grease on the rack and pinion gear, causing the friction. Once I added some white lithium grease, it's now as smooth as my EB.
Opened mine up and there is ZERO lubrication. I'm going to find some lithium grease and apply.
Added appropriate amount of lithium grease to the teeth of the gears that contact each other. This did nothing. I think the roughness of this pedal compared to the EV-1 is just due to the way these particular gears mesh. Note that this is an EV-2 from the most recent batch. Maybe something has changed?
But i love the long throw on the EV-1's for my wookie feet.
But... they’re the same throw. Your foot goes through the same angular sweep on both the EV-1 and the EV-2. Though you may feel more in control when both your toes and your heel make contact with the EV-1’s longer pedal. And if your shoe is stiff enough, even that doesn’t matter.
What are the plastics you have? And what is the board?
The EV-2 saves space on the pedalboard, and is very comfortable to use.