Is a DIY E-Skate worth it?

L

Leonard

10 mW
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Messages
23
Hi everybody! I introduce myself:
I'm Leonard from Spain. I currently own a Yuneec Ego and I love it, well I love the E skate thing because the E-Go lacks power, it's slow and does not like hills very much and my city is full of hills.
I also practice slalom skate with my kids and I use the Ego to tow the kids up hill.
https://www.instagram.com/p/-ZCVwcran0/?taken-by=caribbeansportshop
Sometimes I tow both of them.

I've been lurcking this forum and others and I was decided to build a powerful machine (Enertion space cell, double R Spec motors, Vescs) but I don't know anything of electricity or Linux... and I calculate the final price of everything and I realize that it's going to be more expensive than a Boosted so now I don't know what to do.
My question is about the advantages of a DIY e-skate over a Boosted board.
Thanks
 
Ah, now there is a question that is not easy to answer.
The best answer, I think, would be that the advantages are those that you build into your board. How good it is depends on what you build.
It may not be cheaper once all is taken into consideration (including charges boxes etc..) but if you spend, even close to, the money you would for a Boosted you will get a board that is faster, more powerful and has a lot more range. You can spend a lot less and still have a board that will beat Boosted on all except maybe aesthetics.
A single 63mm motor build would blow your Ego away in speed and power and may well be more than enough for your needs.
My single 6374 motor build takes me (90kg) up all the hills in my city without a problem and does double the range of a Boosted. (Is heavier though I must admit - OK and not quite as pretty either)
 
I'd say only go for a DIY board if you like tinkering with stuff and you're confident that you're handy enough to pull it off.
Yes, you will need to lend or buy some basic tools.
You don't really need Linux skills, everything can be done from Windows.
Why go for a DIY board ?
1) You'll definitely learn a thing or two along the way. Basic electronics, mechanical aspects, soldering, to name a few.
2) You'll be able to service the parts of your own board rather than send it back for repairs.
3) Your board will be way more powerful than any commercial board out there.
3) You can customize your board shape & length as well as choose a variety of wheels.
4) You get to take part in a lively online community.
Why go for a Boosted board ?
1) You want instant gratification.
2) You have two left hands and just want to ride.
3) You're not attracted to a board with a metric shit-ton of concrete cracking power.
 
Welcome,

It depends a lot.

Technicaly a DIY board will have better range, more top speed, in general, because corporation board are limited to the law of the countries in terms of max speed, and battery power for shipped by plane for exemple (wich is pretty restrictive).

But you have to take a lot of time for choosing the parts and thinking of the setup depending of your needs. Adding to this, you have to consider your on abilities to make it, and the tools you need to have (like soldering and some eslse) that add price.

But with boosted for exemple it's plug and play, you have garantee.

So in fact if you are disapointed only by the lack of power and range on your Ego, a boosted board will be more punchy because of dual motor, but didn't have a lot of range (I remember 11 miles, so propably a bit more than an Ego but not sure).

So all of this will be better on a DIY, but the board will be heavier in general (mostly because of the battery).

There is a lot of things to consider and you have to make compromise whatever your going for.
 
its kind of hard to compare a boosted to a DIY board, since its so much worse in basically all regards, except for that its "ready to go".

a middle way might be the carbon dual rear complete from enertion - its a little DIY with a lot "ready to go" and all the beneficial stats of a DIY board. :)
 
I have both and like them for different reasons. I've also ridden my friends Boosted Dual+ many many times. Great board btw (except range).

Boosted is a great board. You can disagree, but except range it's smooth, user friendly (speed/power modes), great deck, nice flex, etc. It's abysmal at range, and at least poor on ease of access to wear items (belts, wheels, and non-swappable batteries w/o hacking).
I have a Marbel. Great lightweight board, stiff deck, harder duro wheels, and some growing pains in both hardware failures and software issues. But the range and weight are AWESOME! I can get a solid 10 miles out of mine and i'm more than a bit on the gargantuan side vs a normal sized human (6'8"/2m and 265lbs/120kg).

My dual 5065 200kv e-GBomb was stellar and fast (RIP - stolen). 30mph one-time-tailwind-top-speed, but regularly cruise at 25mph and accelerated like a bat out of hell (with me on it).

I like DIY partly for the tinkering, especially the ability to swap smaller batteries for low profile, or go w/ big for some range/cruising... just depending on what i want that day (or carry a swap-set for more range!). Can't do that *easily* w/ boosted and not tried on the Marbel yet (wait till after the warranty expires maybe).

***Almost forgot to add ability to customize - especially deck choice. It's amazing what a difference it makes to pick a deck *you* like. Flex/Size/Style... Out of the box offerings you get what you get. My e-Gbomb was a drop deck speed machine that i could setup stiff/fast or loose without tools and on the fly. Big ass 97mm wheels and it would roll over damn near anything w/o issue. Going nearly as fast on my marbel, it just feels less planted (higher COG, no foot braces front/back like Gbomb, etc.). Amazing what deck choice makes for comfort/confidence. I know i'll dial in bushing and with miles get more comfortable on the Marbel (when it stops raining maybe), but it's just totally different.

Mostly i like the ability to know exactly what does what, quality of the components used, and self-sufficiency if something breaks - i can fix it. It's good to have backups, but reliability and the quality of DIY (actual DIY and the kits/offerings from Enertion/DIYes/ADS/etc.) has become so polished it's not much different than the Consumer offerings (boosted/marbel/e-go). \

VESC has been probably the biggest improvement for DIY. If you have enjoyed riding a board w/ VESC - you know what i mean. (Reminder - give Vedder a donation every once in a while as a thanks and enable him to keep innovating!). Don't be afraid of Linux. The steps are copy/paste simple. Or you can avoid linux and use Win/OSX ported BLDC tools that others have helped offer.

My long winded .02. Hope it helps. Just remember you have an entire community of folks here who will help if you get stuck w/ DIY if you decide to go that route.

GL!
 
Thank you very much for your answers.

I've read your answers slowly and I decided to try the DIY route. My idea was (maybe is) to buy the hole electronics package to one (person? company? business?) so it could be near a plug and play electronic package. I decided a double setup with VESCS and a 18650 li-ion battery and I thought that buying everything (the remote too) to someone for example I could have the same connectors in all the parts and if I would have problems related to my inexperience I just have to deal with the same person.

So I sent an email requestion information to an australian supplier and his answer was a link to a forum "to get instant help". Well... not the customer service I need with my lack of knowledge in electronics. So I decided to try another supplier and that was weird. After two or three messages not very nice from him (when I asked about the actual price of the package he answered "If you are looking for something cheap you may want to build it yourself") finally he told me that he was "much too busy to build a custom pack made just for you". Ok, but if you tell me that in the first message I DON'T HAVE TO LOSE MY TIME asking you about the package... and the thing is I was willing to spend 800$ or even more, I don't understand this customer service, maybe they have too many orders so they feel they don't have to deal with the customer (I guess they're too young to know what's a long term business).

So now I'm quite disappointed with all of this and I'm going to let the time pass and I'll see if I recover the illusion but my idea now is the Boosted Dual+.

Again, thank you very much for your answers.
 
sorry for your experience, but Im pretty sure all of the few suppliers of kits and parts are under a lot of email terror, so at times its probably near impossible to have lengthy discussions with every potential customer. :)

building your own board nowadays really comes down to making a case and soldering a few gold connectors, because the rest is really plug n play. sadly not all kit suppliers have VESCs in their shops which is probably hard to top right now when it comes to ESCs.

shopping lists are quite small really - the board Im building up right now is just:

* board with calibers & wheels of my choice
* 1x battery
* 1x mount + 63mm motor
* 1x drive gear for the specific wheel

play with with drive wheel size, gearing, motor KV and battery voltage to tailor for your max speed (there are spreadsheets, I made one in excel in 5minutes)

* 1x vesc
* 1x nyko kama nunchuck
* some gold connectors (partially supplied)
* some parts to build a case
* some shrink tube

done!


for me, a boosted is just a very very poor alternative to a DIY board in MANY regards. price, top speed, wheels and the laughable range. for me its a gimmick product because I like weekend touring and my daily commute alone is 16km. 8)
 
whitepony said:
sorry for your experience, but Im pretty sure all of the few suppliers of kits and parts are under a lot of email terror, so at times its probably near impossible to have lengthy discussions with every potential customer. :)
Click to expand...

Well, I'm not interested in a lenghty discussion with anybody :wink: I only wanted a short answer:
I can offer you this ------
And the price is that -----
But you're right I was not asking for something made just for me, it was a 18650 battery (no special requirements), the VESCs that they have in stock and the remote they have in their catalog. I thought it was an easy order, but...
 
Hi Leonard
Please do not let this, as disappointing as it is, put you off building your own board.
Once complete you will have the satisfaction of having done it yourself and have a great board.
As good as it would be to get everything from one source most DIYers do use multiple sources to get what they feel is right for them.
(Otherwise it really is just a single disassembled product your are purchasing)
This what I did and was happy with the result:
Board - your choice really, and this is a great bonus - get what you dig.
Motor mounts from http://www.aliendrivesystems.com/ (Beetbocks in this forum - and he was more than helpful with my many, many questions)
VESC from http://www.ollinboardcompany.com/
Controller from http://diyelectricskateboard.com/product-category/electric-skateboard-parts/remote-controller/ Here though the option is to use the very good, tried and tested, (though larger) GT2B Flysky contoller.
Batteries and motors (SK3 would be my choice) from Hobbyking. (Also cables, connectors and shrink tubing)
Making your own box is easy enough but buying an enclosure is just as easy. (Whether specific (cooler optics) or generic box of some description - and in this forum you will find some imaginative choices - is your choice)

Build your own dude, you will be happier in the long run - of that I am pretty sure.
Oh, one warning - it gets addictive and will make you poor. :D :D
And you WILL end up having to make one for each of your kids. :shock:

Good luck and have fun.
 
WeeChumlee said:
Batteries and motors (SK3 would be my choice) from Hobbyking. (Also cables, connectors and shrink tubing)
Making your own box is easy enough but buying an enclosure is just as easy. (Whether specific (cooler optics) or generic box of some description - and in this forum you will find some imaginative choices - is your choice)

Build your own dude, you will be happier in the long run - of that I am pretty sure.
Oh, one warning - it gets addictive and will make you poor. :D :D
And you WILL end up having to make one for each of your kids. :shock:

Good luck and have fun.
Click to expand...

+5 for this, keep going not everybody will be unfriendly out there! :p

I may suggest for ease of build that you look at LEVer and Hummina Shadeeba hub motors setups, because you will already have trucks and motors included, no need for mounts or gearing.
 
Again, thank you very much for your answers. You're very kind.

I only have problems with the electronics, I'm a long time skater so I don't have problems with trucks and mechanical things. And I've been thinking in the hub motors but I'll tow my children uphill so the belt setups are better for that, aren't they?

The "nice" VESC supplier red this forum so he sen't me these "nice" messages:
"Sorry we could not help you. I am sure boosted boards will build a custom system for you".
"We have added you to a list and have decided to never do business with you."

:shock: :shock: :shock:
 
Hi again,

To be honest construct you own eboard is not that difficult if you take time to read things, i had no knowledge for anything in both longboard and electronics terms, and with time you can do this. Patience is the key.

You can trully make a well good eboard for 600 bucks.

As you are from Spain I higly recommend you to go with esk8.de (for Vesc), aliendrive system (for motormount and pulley), and hobbyking (motor, battery etc...), this will save you a lot of money due to ship taxes.

Keep this in mind and go for a single setup with 6364 turnigy sk3, Vesc, 10/12S. flywheel clones 97mm.


Make a first part list and comme again here to take advice.

PS: Enertion and DIYelectric skateboard also have great products, but due to ship taxes it can be pricey, so you can deal with as you know that.
 
Vulthor said:
Hi again,

To be honest construct you own eboard is not that difficult if you take time to read things, i had no knowledge for anything in both longboard and electronics terms, and with time you can do this. Patience is the key.

You can trully make a well good eboard for 600 bucks.

As you are from Spain I higly recommend you to go with esk8.de (for Vesc), aliendrive system (for motormount and pulley), and hobbyking (motor, battery etc...), this will save you a lot of money due to ship taxes.

Keep this in mind and go for a single setup with 6364 turnigy sk3, Vesc, 10/12S. flywheel clones 97mm.


Make a first part list and comme again here to take advice.

PS: Enertion and DIYelectric skateboard also have great products, but due to ship taxes it can be pricey, so you can deal with as you know that.
Click to expand...

Perfect advice there! I didn't have a clue either before logging to the board. This community is amazing.

The build Vulthor is proposing is a great setup, if you want a carefree build you should also think about a BMS and a anti spark power button like the one sold by DIY electric skates (ask Torqueboards!). If you have money get a cycle satiator from Justin / e bikes.ca but there are many alternatives cheaper which will do the job too.
 
Hi and thank you very much for your answers, I'm recovering my enthusiasm quite fast with your answers :D :D

Vulthor, I just saw your awesome board and I see that you decided to go to the Torqueboards ESC, I'm a little afraid of VESC because all those screen shots of the BLDC tool are like chinese to me.
I have to say that I have business in the USA and me or my collegues travel often there so I don't have to pay for taxes or shipping but if I order to Australia I can not avoid a 30% of import taxes so yes, ordering to Enertion should be pricey.

Now I doubt if it's better to go to a single or double, I'm not interested in a very high top speed, my concerns are the hills and towing the kids but maybe as a first built is better to try the single setup.

About the batteries, I want a Li-ion pack with a BMS for sure. I'm going to use the board almost every day and I can't be with the charging precautions of the Lipos. The Enertion Space Cell is perfect for me, but with the fast charger it's 337€, + taxes = 438 € ( 480 $). I'm not on a budget but...
And my problem is that I can not find a Li-ion pack as this anywhere.


So what do you recommend me, single or double?
Vesc or Torqueboards ESC?
Anyone knows where can I buy a 18650 pack with BMS?

Thank you very much for your help!
(By By Boosted board :D :D :D )
 
I had double and now made a single setup and I feel its really sufficient, but I live in the flats too! torques ESC is solid (got 2 of them on my dual build), but VESC allows really great customisation and has the best nunchuck cruise control support which is a big deal for less experienced tinkerers, since its a great working and good looking plug n play controller. it also has the foc mode that, once the last things are straightened out, is absolutely amazing - basically a zero noise stealth setup.

there are many options for batteries. people custom build packs or you can plug together hobbyking packs like many others. here on ES in the merchant/sale section are quite a few battery offers (I remember subcreatives https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=73737#p1112650 ... not sure if he is still around). I recently had my hand on the space cell and its a very solid pack. 10S3P with high discharge cells, on/off switch, voltage monitor AND bms in one unit with a charger - imo a really great product. it has the exact same dimension as my DIY 10S4P battery which was kinda surprising - basically my 10cells vs. enertion on/off, bms & voltage monitor!
 
Sorry you had an originally bad experience..

Single great for flats.
Dual great for 20-25% inclines.

I have tested out a 12S3P pack but the option is definitely a lot bigger than one would want..

If you don't mind kicking the board. The ESC which I have works great.

If you want a great ESC and don't mind the learning curve. I highly recommend going with the VESC. I plan on selling the VESC as well in the near future.

I'm working on a new 6S or 8S pack that should be an enclosed setup. Would be great to make it swappable though.

Unless, we purchase molds it makes it a bit more difficult.
 
Hola Leonard,
Que tal. As always great advice from the ES forum. I too advocate the DIY and I'm living in Madrid, Spain. If you are in the area I'd be happy to meet up, ride, talk or even help build a board.

I currently have one of my own DIY boards complete - I'll include some pictures - I also have parts for probably 4 others boards that I just havent had time to get around to building. I'm currently waiting on one more drive kit and a refund from torqueboard - :roll: *Cough* to be delivered and just recieved two of chakas VESC's so hopefully I'll be able to build a dual motor set up soon. I re-emphasize the caution of ordering from outside the EU as taxes are a bitch - I just got charged 40 euros for two VESCs!!!!







As I mentioned I have a bunch of new parts I havent gotten arround to assembling, it seems -the exact ones you are looking for (li ion Battery w/ bms, Motor mounts, ESC) if you wanted to buy local at (least nationally) and to avoid shipping costs.....
Even if you aren't interested, I'm happy to help and could connect you with a guy here in Madrid that builds custom 18650 packs or if you wanted assistance with the build as I'm relativly local, I'm also happy to whatsapp or whatever while you build if you have questions. Let me know.



 
I'm pretty happy with torqueboards ESC, but as Vesc is going to be more and more use by community I strongly recommend to go for it, I know the bdlc tool can be frightened, but there is a lot of information about it and you won't regret the learning effort.

For the setup if you want to commute everyday, I recommand a single motor setup, mostly for because a dual is quite heavy, I'm actually go back for single setup myself because of that (but It's personnal because I've got health issues and i'm not strong, so maybe you can deal with it yourself), I suggest you to make a real life test with a 6 kg package (single motor setup weight approximately) and a 8kg (dual motor setup weight) and carry those on your daily commute to have a better idea.

For hills a single motor can go well with a larger belt and an appropriate pulley ratio setup, but it depend on you own weight.

PS: big hills is more than 15% in my opinion, and it is not so frequent (except in San Francisco :p, and mountain).

Under 70kg and no big hills, go single 63mm motor
Under 70kg and big hills, go dual 63mm motor
Between 70/90kg mostly flat go single 63mm motor
Between 70/90kg and big hills go dual 63mm motor
Over 90kg go dual 63mm motor watether you got hills or not.

Speed is about the same on single or dual, speed mostly depend on the pulley ratio and battery power.
On the same puley ratio 6S will be slower than 12S by far, but you have to consider than for the same mAh a 6S will not give you the range of the 12S at same average speed.

One of the bonus with Vesc is you can setup a max rpm so a max speed, so you can go with a 10S/12S battery without worried of the max speed and have a great power and range.

Wish it help :)

Feel free to other members to correct me.
 
206monkey32 said:
Hola Leonard,
I just got charged 40 euros for two VESCs!!!!
Click to expand...

I got charged 74 euros in import to Sweden for two VESCS, you got off cheap ;)

Regarding if DIY is worth it, I'm not sure yet since I'm not done building. There's always the balance between convenience/fun to build/price/just being able to send it on warranty when it breaks etc.
 
Torque boards ESC is great if you want something simple and don’t mind kicking.

However, with the new FOC and the newer options to ride in reverse. The VESC will be miles away. I’ll be working on offering VESC very shortly as well.

If you plan on riding under 10-15% inclines stick with a single setup.

Vulthor made some good points :)
 
Thank you very much for your answers!
@Massy, the thing is that anyway the Boosted board is not for sale in Europe and to send it to USA on warranty is not an option. I'm going DIY for sure.

So after your recommendations I decided to go single :lol: and VESC.
VESC .- I'm going to order it to @elcick in Germany.
Motor.- Turnigy SK3 6374 192 KV
Motor mount.- Alien drive (15mm belt).
Battery.- I talked with @elcick and he is going to have a 10s/3p 18650 pack in stock soon and I found a guy here in ES who is building these packs in Madrid (@nobuo). Both of them were quite helpful when I requested information.

My idea is to start with the single setup as it's easier and if I need more power for the hills of my area and I want a double I'll go to a diagonal double setup with another Sk3 motor.

what do you all think of this setup?

@206monkey32 Hola tío!! I knew that you were living in Madrid, I saw that picture of the Puente de Toledo time ago and I sent you a PM to invite you to the Spanish slalom championship... did you see it? I guess you're talking of @nobuo when you said that you know a guy building kits in Madrid, aren't you?. Maybe you could answer that PM and we could talk about those parts that you have for sale. Thanks.

Again THANK YOU to all of you for your help and nice messages, without your assistance I would be out of this for sure.
 
Hi Leonard

I for one can only compliment you for not giving up and deciding to go for it and build your own.
I think you have made an excellent choice in your components.
I have both a single 6374 motor and a dual 50mm motor setup and would recommend to anyone like yourself to start with a 6374 build.
As you say, you can always upgrade from there.
I am about 90kg fully kitted on my board and I find my single 6374 build takes me anywhere I want to go, up all the hills in my area without a hint of a problem. (Motor has never been hot)
This board is an upgrade from a single 50mm motor, which was OK - but did struggle on the hills and got pretty warm. The 6374 is such a huge difference.
Saying this I must admit that my build is geared for torque more than speed. My top speed ever is about 20mph and personally I do not need (or want cause I would crap my pants) to go any faster.
A 6374 build, with this in mind, is perfect for me. Others may disagree of course, everyone to their own.
Have fun building the board and let us see the finished product.
Cheers
 
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