Electric Snowboard?

[mwkeefer]

Hey all,

I was BSing with a friend, explaining how I use a pull behind 2 child carrier in the snow as a combination carrier / sled (depending on depth of snow) and how my kid loves it...

He started telling me about pulling a friend on a cheap old snowboard and I remembered grabbing all the UPS trucks and Septa busses to "hitch" a ride when I used to skate (in another lifetime)

This just popped into my mind:

Why not aft mount (goped style) a small RC motor and reduction unit and rig up traction treds (tank style). Initially I thought a unit of rectangular dimension mounted dead center aft of the board (for goofy foot) with treads protruding through (would allow for retraction or lifting of drive unit to allow normal snowboard operation, a snow clutch?) but then I realized using treads would allow virtually any "drive wheel" diameter and how much power do you really need to put to ground to get a snowboard moving (not much)..

Before I spend any time on this actually designing or more difficult to me... sourcing treads, has anyone seen this concept in play? I don't want to re-invent the wheel (well actually I do but not for snowboards) or waste time if this has been done before.

Any suggestions or ideas are always welcome!

-Mike

 

[def215]

i guess you got hit pretty hard where youre at too mike...lol. thats a pretty cool idea. ive never seen anything like that so it probably be definitely cool to see. maybe you could find something similar to the snow scooters thats been popping up lately to adapt to a snowboard.

that sounds like a fun build. i just wonder where all of the electronics and battery would go on such thing. i guess pack it in a backpack and quick connectors?

 

[dumbass]

Hey all,

I was BSing with a friend, explaining how I use a pull behind 2 child carrier in the snow as a combination carrier / sled (depending on depth of snow) and how my kid loves it...

He started telling me about pulling a friend on a cheap old snowboard and I remembered grabbing all the UPS trucks and Septa busses to "hitch" a ride when I used to skate (in another lifetime)

This just popped into my mind:

Why not aft mount (goped style) a small RC motor and reduction unit and rig up traction treds (tank style). Initially I thought a unit of rectangular dimension mounted dead center aft of the board (for goofy foot) with treads protruding through (would allow for retraction or lifting of drive unit to allow normal snowboard operation, a snow clutch?) but then I realized using treads would allow virtually any "drive wheel" diameter and how much power do you really need to put to ground to get a snowboard moving (not much)..

Before I spend any time on this actually designing or more difficult to me... sourcing treads, has anyone seen this concept in play? I don't want to re-invent the wheel (well actually I do but not for snowboards) or waste time if this has been done before.

Any suggestions or ideas are always welcome!

-Mike

Yeah. I too remember friend hitching (we called it skitching at the time) rides on the back of cars after it snowed. But then one day one of the guys fell forward while skitching and his ear actuall got caught on the back bumper of the car and dragged him a block or so until his ear came off. Would you believe even in those days (late 60s) they sued the driver and won. Shortly after the kid turnned 21 and got the money he slammed a motorcycle into the cornner edge of a brick building. He was killed instantly. So if your going to hitch a ride on the back of anything be careful it's not always the fun you are expecting.

PS... I love the bike though!!

 

[mwkeefer]

i guess you got hit pretty hard where youre at too mike...lol. thats a pretty cool idea. ive never seen anything like that so it probably be definitely cool to see. maybe you could find something similar to the snow scooters thats been popping up lately to adapt to a snowboard.

that sounds like a fun build. i just wonder where all of the electronics and battery would go on such thing. i guess pack it in a backpack and quick connectors?

def215,

I didn't even know there were "snow scooters", that track system looks awful familiar... I saw a bolt on kit to create a snow bike somewhere here on ES. I have one of those scooters (3 actually, 1 real razer and 2 knock offs) and a GoPed (would be a better platform for a snow scooter, more power)...

Im thinking that my initial idea of a small rectangular cutout in the snowboard (think in skateboard terms, just before the rear deck begins) with a latching mechanism to hold it in place (so you can step on the enclosure to engage the drive or step on a spring loaded release latch to let it rise up).

I would likely try to either create a thin "deck" on top of a snowboard (2"-3") and base the design on 2-3S packs in parallel (actually it could be thinner, more like 1.25" thick for cables, ESC and such...) - this is what I meant by GoPed design..

The idea (not being a snowboarder at all but with an avid skateboarding history and alot of electric rides) is to keep the weight low and balanced in distribution and again I'm not a snowboarder (surfing and skating so far only) but when I ski I know I bail from time to time... I would not want to bail while being connected to the unit (oh crap, dead man tether to shut down - glad that hit me) nor would I want to crash while packing lipo on my person.

I've ridden my goped in the snow and while it's horrible for traction (those tires on the snow scooter are sick!!! - wouldn't a front ski make more sense in snow - at least they should have skis mounted at the axle point so when you go from road surface plowed or packed into deeper snow... the skis allow you continued control of the front end (theoretically seamless transition).

For my E-Snowboard... Im not as concerned with dual mode operation... I will be the front ski (along with the entire board) and the power unit tracks will just push me along.

This is actually perfect for low powered RC esc application... I may even use a tiny Trigger style RC remote control I have around here for throttle control (that does still need worked out... I won't want to have cables other than the dead man loop)

Well there it is.. I've drawn rough drafts of this but now that I see a drive track cage I could adapt for low powered RC motor use... I guess it's time to try.

One advantage... I could use a 500w-800w bldc inrunner and I can heatsink the drive, motor and ESC to the snow side... don't think blown fets will be an issue with < 32F cooling (water ice).

-Mike

 

[gestalt]

I had an idea something like that. It seems to me like you could use the weight of the batteries and other components to make a pretty well balanced ride. Since I moved to boston from the relatively snow free pacific northwest my mind has run amok with snow friendly e rides for when the bike path that runs along the charles river is completely impassable to bikes after huge snow storms. What is great about living in boston is that it is quite flat so lower power snow projects actually seem feasible.

 

[mwkeefer]

gestalt,

That's close to what Im thinking... I would use a longer board to begin so my drive system should be mounted in the area just to the right of riders right foot (goofy from behind) and literally be the tail end of the deck.

Then you create a small 1-2" deck riser (just like what you would use to mount trucks to a skate board deck) and second cover, creating a space large enough to enclose the tread foot, the batteries (2-3S x P evenly distributed in the fore section of the board to offset drive unit weight).

Also... the scale on your draft is a bit large for an RC motor, I found several which have an acceptible kv range for the voltage I plan to use (aiming at 20mph top end max) and the OD is 1.5" to 2.0". - that would fit within the deck space (the tracks would protrude from the bottom about 1" or so - adjustable) so only a little hump cover would be needed over the motor / drive section and it would likely be just under your right foot location,

This gives the design more stability, stealth and with a bit of luck and trial / error (if the snow keeps up this year) and it should serve my 3 minimum requirements:

1.) Tracks must be retractable to allow normal snowboard function without drag
2.) Range: 5mi - Longest commute on this would be about 2 mi to the store when the plows can't even get out but for safety I would design with a 5mi range at WOT which should equal out to 14mi @ 12-15mph.
3.) I would hope for enough power and dig to ride up a slope or hill - not really a requirement, if I have to drag it to the top of hills though... I can attach a small lanyard to the front of the board and use the remote in my pocket to propel it up the hill as I walk.

Not too complicated - until I get into weather proofing the deck.

I'm more interested in the rear drive eBike conversion (has ski in front and large tracks in the rear) as a practical means of transport in the 12" or so we have now (it's still falling) but this just seems like a fun, cheap way to make use of our tech in a scaled down manor.

-Mike

 

[def215]

i just wonder, when all the snow is melted and gone, would it be able to be used as a sandboard too. because that would be really neat.

edit: probably wouldnt be a good idea with an exposed rc motor. but probably would be cool to see.

 

[mwkeefer]

Motor won't be exposed but "sand" board? Think "sand paper" and curb grinds... no your not going anywhere in the sand on this thing... you would need huge balloon tires for sand use.

-Mike

 

[Hyena]

Sorry Mike, an Aussie beat you to it

Replace ice with electric - but the concept is the same.

[youtube]vAIG8cygZ_c[/youtube]