First E-Longboard Build Questions

I've been lurking on these forums for a bit trying to figure out my first board and I have a general idea of what I think I'd like, just want to know if this setup makes sense or is stupid/won't work.

Psychotiller Dybbuk 40 1/2" x 10" Deck
Paris 195mm 50° Trucks
97mm 78a ABEC 11 Flywheels
2x Psychotiller R.I.P.B.A Axle set mount 60 (50mm motor plate)
2x Ollin 5065-200KV
10S3P Space Cell
2x VESC (Not sure the best place to get these from as they seem to be backordered at many places)
2x Torqueboards 13T/36T ABEC Drive Pulley Belt Combo Kit
Torqueboards 2.4Ghz Mini Remote

Will probably be mostly using this for getting around town and just cruising around for fun. Some of the roads around here are in really rough shape, so I figured going for big 97mm wheels would help with that, not sure if that is unnecessarily big though.

Assuming that this isn't a terrible build, does 13T/36T seem like a reasonable gearing? I'm a pretty average sized guy (6'1" 175lb), and there are some hills around here but nothing ridiculously steep. Also, I don't have any longboarding experience, but I have been snowboarding for about 15 years (not sure if that translates at all). I don't need something insanely fast, but I also don't want to end up building something new right away once I get comfortable on it.

Hopefully I didn't leave anything out, any feedback/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks for reading!

Hi There

Your plan does indeed seem very reasonable and you should have a great and powerful board once done.
Putting two 5065 motors on a Paris 195 truck is possible but it is a bloody close call - I know I have done it.
Just something to consider though - why not build a single motor build with a 6374 motor? This saves an awful lot of money, easier to build, far less parts and believe me is more than fast and powerful enough.
I also have a single 6374 motor build and I am heavier than you and have zero problems with all the hills in my area.
Yes the 63mm motor is bigger and heavier (obviously) than the 50mm but still a lot lighter overall than two 50mm.
Seriously, I would not build another dual but would another single using a 6374 motor.
I tried a single 6355 and that worked fine as well but did notice that whereas with the 6374 I could still accelerate uphill the 6355 sometimes was pretty much at max.

I also have the 97mm wheels and I find them far better than the 83mm wheels I also have.

Hope that helps. Look forward to seeing what you build, have fun.

Thanks for the feedback, good to hear that it will work!

Going with a single 6374 does sound like a good idea for cost/simplicity. I was concerned about getting up hills with the 97mm wheels and a single motor, which is why I was going with dual, but if a 6374 can handle it that definitely sounds ideal. What gearing have you had success with in that setup?

Thanks again!

Hi mate

With both my dual and my single builds I use an 8S battery.
The gear config on my single 6374 and 97mm wheels is 15T x 44T. (So as close as dammit to your proposed 13T x 36T)
One thing I would suggest is that you use the 15mm belt and gears for the single and not a 9mm.

WeeChumlee said:

Hi There

Your plan does indeed seem very reasonable and you should have a great and powerful board once done.
Putting two 5065 motors on a Paris 195 truck is possible but it is a bloody close call - I know I have done it.
Just something to consider though - why not build a single motor build with a 6374 motor? This saves an awful lot of money, easier to build, far less parts and believe me is more than fast and powerful enough.
I also have a single 6374 motor build and I am heavier than you and have zero problems with all the hills in my area.
Yes the 63mm motor is bigger and heavier (obviously) than the 50mm but still a lot lighter overall than two 50mm.
Seriously, I would not build another dual but would another single using a 6374 motor.
I tried a single 6355 and that worked fine as well but did notice that whereas with the 6374 I could still accelerate uphill the 6355 sometimes was pretty much at max.

I also have the 97mm wheels and I find them far better than the 83mm wheels I also have.

Hope that helps. Look forward to seeing what you build, have fun.

Click to expand...

Going up all your hills with your single 6374,...your Vesc does'nt power down when hot ??

Hi Randy
On my single 6374 build I did have a VESC and yes, it did power down on steep hills.
Others, it would seem, did not have this problem so I presumed it may have been my VESC.
I have since changed to a different ESC, got it from Bruno at Alienpower but it is not on his website as yet.
Seems exactly like Torqueboards 12S ESC but with the addition of a fan. Absolutely lovely ESC.

WeeChumlee said:

Hi Randy
On my single 6374 build I did have a VESC and yes, it did power down on steep hills.
Others, it would seem, did not have this problem so I presumed it may have been my VESC.
I have since changed to a different ESC, got it from Bruno at Alienpower but it is not on his website as yet.
Seems exactly like Torqueboards 12S ESC but with the addition of a fan. Absolutely lovely ESC.

Click to expand...

Yes it is one of the main downsides of the Vesc , but the V6 Vesc is said to resolve this problem .

How do you compare your current Esc to the Vesc overall ?

Hi Randy
Well if I say anything even remotely critical to the VESC it would seem there are people here that take that as a personal vendetta to discredit whomever may dare do that. (Taken with a pinch of salt )
The VESC's on my dual setup are great, without a doubt. If one likes to play around a bit with settings to get their personal "feel" then they are the way to go.
They do not have the punch of other ESC's though - this is neither a good or bad thing, just depends on what you want.
On my single build, using a 6374 and a 6355 motor, the VESC (with small heat sinks on the MOSFETs) got too hot and powered down on steep hills. I tried both on 8S, which is my standard setup, as well as 12S but on both setups the VESC still got too warm. (Only on steep hills though)
Personally I would use a ESC like TB 12S ESC, or the one I have from Alienpower, as it has really good punch, is easily configurable and does not get hot on any hills I have tried.
I also tried the EZRUN Max6 on a 8S battery. Also brilliant performance but the braking noise on the three motors I tried was so annoying that I took it off.

Yeah the V6 VESC may indeed be the holy grail, I hope it is. Cost will also be a factor though.
The ESC that I have lacks nothing - that I need, others may differ - so if the V6 is substantially more expensive, then I would not bother. If similar price. I would give it a try.

All right !,...thanks for the info bud !!

I ran a similar setup on my e-GBomb. Dual 5065's on Paris 195 trucks. With VESC's on 8s. I did not run it on hills though. No power down issues for me as a result.

97's w/ 12/36 got me a solid 25-30mph (30 was a one-time thing - likely a tail wind). I would not do 12t on motor again unless 12/15mm wide - too much skipping on hard acceleration/braking. 13/14t is my lowest motor gear as a result. And yes belts were tight - likely a bit too tight trying to fight the skipping.

here it is:

(miss this board - stolen out of my car because i was stupid and left it in the car at work w/ the window partially cracked!)

And a closeup of the dual 5065's on Paris 195's:

A tight fit. Like WeeChumlee - doable w/ a bit of work. I ran dual 5'ish mm spacers to fit them. Using ADS v1 mounts (rotated a lot - one in particular and never "fixed" before stolen).

VESC is great - but still a work in progress. I'm definitely a fan, but if you push the limits of it - it will fail. I usually stick to around 8s to give some leeway and it's usually plenty of power. I might run 9s on next build... Looking forward to v6! Being able to replace a DRV chip is a good skill to practice if you want 10-12s and 200kv and higher motors. On esk8 builders i saw a great "suggestion" listing of motors (kv) to # series batteries to use. Intended to keep below ERPM of 60k as a threshold to avoid some of the failures. Seems logical, though i've not seen Vedder comment that he agrees/disagrees. I personally have killed a few DRV chips (have 4 or 5 VESC's), and as a result try to be a bit more conservative (8-10s).

HTH - GL!

How was the torque in this ^ setup ?,.. would you go back to a Single again?

randyc1 said:

How was the torque in this ^ setup ?,.. would you go back to a Single again?

Click to expand...

Guessing you are asking me? I loved this setup. Stoopid fast w/ 97mm wheels, but rolled over *everything*! The GBomb brackets also did a good job of helping absorb some of the bumps (minimal flex).

Things i would (and am) doing same/differently on the to-be-re-created e-GBomb:

Same wheels - might also try to fit 107mm electric flywheels.
Same dual VESC (old 4.7 hw i have - might upgrade to v6 when available and run BLDC until FOC is more "mature")
Batteries - 8-10s likely.
Gearing - 13t motor. going to try DIYes new 40t abec wheel gear (vs 36t) (13/40 = 22mph'ish on 8s to 32mph'ish on 12s)

Motor - going to larger 6355mm motors from 5065 - still 190-200kv.
Belts - either same 9mm or might try to squeeze in 12mm belts dual rear (if will fit Caliber II 50's). More contact area, if will fit (possibly with 5mm spacers again).
Same GT2b - badwolf or similar re-enclsure. Might grab another to try the new baby-buffalo (thumb vs finger throttle) or Master Cho enclosure.

gadgety add-ons... Eagletree v4 logger and screen or Speedict Mars/Neptune for BT to phone to see and do some logging. Either acts as watt meter and battery status as a bonus.

randyc1 said:

How was the torque in this ^ setup ?,.. would you go back to a Single again?

Click to expand...

I ride a single FREQUENTLY! Simpler, easier, and they work really well. Given the limitations of a single vs dual. My marbel, my GF's single Vanguard 42, and my buddie's single SK3 149kv i just setup and rode this weekend. Plenty of power to motor me along on the flats - and i'm a big guy (6'8" / 2m and 265/120kg). I eventually will do some tests on hills and comment, but mostly i cruise on nice days out at the water along Alki beach.

I have my e-Sugar build on a single SK3 63mm 149kv as well (for guests). Haven't finished adding electronics, but loving the feel of the kicktail. Should be nearly identical to buddies build on 33x10 skate deck i CF'd and modified wheelbase.

That's a nice looking setup sl33py, definitely very similar to what I was thinking. Now I think I'm going to try the single 6374 and see how it does, maybe adding a second motor in a dual diagonal setup if it feels like it needs it. Keeping it simple and starting off with a single motor seems like a better idea than trying to squeeze two motors in when I don't really know what I'm doing yet.

Cisphyx said:

That's a nice looking setup sl33py, definitely very similar to what I was thinking. Now I think I'm going to try the single 6374 and see how it does, maybe adding a second motor in a dual diagonal setup if it feels like it needs it. Keeping it simple and starting off with a single motor seems like a better idea than trying to squeeze two motors in when I don't really know what I'm doing yet.

Click to expand...

very smart. Save a few $ as you are learning (i promise you'll find other cool things to buy with that saved $!).

The biggest reason IMO to go dual motor is you want to accelerate super fast (not patient) and are heavier, or go up bigger hills. Otherwise it's RIDICULOUS how much power these little motors can put out. On my Marbel i rarely ride in "Sport/Mode3" as Eco/Mode2 works just fine getting me going 15-18mph which is comfortable and fast enough (while still keeping 10-12mi range). On a single 50mm motor! I don't recall exactly, but think thats on 7-8s. Doesn't get me up steeper hills though... small ones w/ a running start - yes. from a stop - no. But i'm definitely not average size... And it only weighs 10.3lbs and goes 10-12mi (lighter folks get 14mi+). Trade-offs...

You can always add a second motor later! It will just take a little re-wiring for power and canbus between VESCs. With the saved $ get a decent solder station w/ hot air (if you kill a DRV chip this will let you replace). You don't need the $$$ weller - just get a decent one from your local ebay or amazon. I got mine for <$100.

GL!

Alright, so I finally got everything in and assembled, here is the end result:





I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! The space cell was a tighter fit than expected, but it actually ended up being the perfect size and doesn't quite get to the edges of the board.

I got my VESC set up and took it out for a ride, and it was working great for a little over a mile. I was slowing down coming up to an intersection and after that it stopped responding.

I plugged it in back at home and as expected I'm getting a DRV8302 fault. Not surprised, kinda thought it would take a bit longer before I blew something up though lol. Here's the settings I was using and pics of my VESC (nothing too exciting going on there but I figured I'd throw them in anyway)






Any ideas where I went wrong with the settings? I'm guessing FOC was probably a bad choice, but I really like the reduced noise. Also, any suggestions on what I should do next to fix it/prevent it? Should I buy a bag of DRV8302s and look into doing some of the other component upgrades that have been suggested? Or should I just order a VESC from chaka?

Thanks for all the help so far!