Second Skateboard Build

[Samuraijaq]

Hi guys

Thought I would share my build with you guys, since I got most of the information from this forum. I was mainly focusing on a board that I can carry around and making it as light as possible.

Deck
The deck is about 26 inches (as you can see its crudely built). I am happy with the size and shape as it make is transportable when your taking public transport (tube and buses) here in London. It's also lighter and easier to carry than my first traditional long board. I choose wood, although it has no flex, I wanted less clearance as possible and plan to use a router under the board to have clean look in the bottom of the deck (still working on that...bit like the bolt motion board).

The best thing about the board is the grip tape on the edges. You can carry it without it "sanding" your clothes too much (its the little things in life that count :lol: )


Wheels
Wheels are the normal 70mm wheels. I wanted these slightly smaller wheels as I found the 83mm wheels were too big and raised the board too high from the ground.

Motor and battery
I got the motor and battery from Hobbyking its a 190kv motor. Although it does not have the same speed I wanted a lot of torque. Speed wise I can go 20mph (which is enough no point going an faster otherwise your likely to fall flat on your face when jumping off the board). It can go up decent hills but London is not really a hilly place compared to other places.

The batteries are 3S 5000mah Zippo compact. I got two and they pretty much last for 2 hours worth of continuous riding.

Motor Mount
I got it from Alien Drive, however had to modify the gear to fit my 70mm long board wheels.

At the moment, I am working to make the board slimmer and trying to find out which is the base casing for the electronics. So far, plastic containers are the best due to their easy access and transparency but don't want to roll around with topper ware under my skateboard..lol. Gone this far might as well go all the way with the case.

If you have any suggestions to improve my board I am open to it (especially with the electronics cover that make it easy to access the lipo batteries but also covering it all up ending up with a neat build)

 

[kinto]

Wow this is exactly what I want in my board. Nice job.
How much does it weigh / how much did it cost altogether?

 

[Rolling_Friction]

I love the fact that its easy to transport. this build looks very practical. Certainly less conspicuous then a full sized deck. I Tried Boarding a bus with an E-Mountain board once, here in Toronto and got a real stink-eye from the bus driver.

 

[Sean9002]

I love the fact that its easy to transport. this build looks very practical. Certainly less conspicuous then a full sized deck. I Tried Boarding a bus with an E-Mountain board once, here in Toronto and got a real stink-eye from the bus driver.

You could have been holding a bunch of flowers and you would have got stink eye....its just bus drivers! grumpy bastards.

 

[Maxid]

Exactly what I want as well: small, lightweight but still powerful and probably affordable (no need for VESCs in a build for just easy commuting I guess.

Can you tell me a little bit more about it?
What kind of trucks did you use? Gear ratio? ESC (I see it is from Hobbyking/Hobbywing - which one?, Did you have to program it? If yes how (programming cards are out of stock unfortunately at the moment)?)

Sorry for asking you all this - it just looks exactly what I would like to build so you are my best bet of getting there as well.
For the deck I was going to use a 27" Penny board (light, not much flex and to also avoid the sandpaper griptape) - any thoughts on that?

Thanks!

 

[Samuraijaq]

Wow this is exactly what I want in my board. Nice job.
How much does it weigh / how much did it cost altogether?

It costs around £250. I know, it's almost the cost of an electric skateboard in the market. However if a part breaks I can fix it myself and not a lot in the market focuses on a portable electric skareboard for that price, power and battery life.

And I like cause I built it myself.

It weighs roughly 4 kg, however it feels lighter since its a small board the centre if mass is not focused on one side (unlike longboards where the back of the board weighs heavier because of the motor).

 

[Samuraijaq]

Exactly what I want as well: small, lightweight but still powerful and probably affordable (no need for VESCs in a build for just easy commuting I guess.

Can you tell me a little bit more about it?
What kind of trucks did you use? Gear ratio? ESC (I see it is from Hobbyking/Hobbywing - which one?, Did you have to program it? If yes how (programming cards are out of stock unfortunately at the moment)?)

Sorry for asking you all this - it just looks exactly what I would like to build so you are my best bet of getting there as well.
For the deck I was going to use a 27" Penny board (light, not much flex and to also avoid the sandpaper griptape) - any thoughts on that?

Thanks!

I'm not sure what brand of trucks are they. But their roughly 10 inches wide. Bought a longboard from ebay and just recycled the wheels and trucks. Tried to cut down the longboard but I ended up throwing it away as the end product was not what I wanted.

Gear ratio is 3:1 with a 5mm pitch belt.

I went for a hobbywing esc 150 amp. Initially with a hobbyking one however it was a bad product and it went up in smoke. So don't cheap out on the esc since you will be relying on it a lot.

Also bought a programming card makes your like easier for a few bucks. Counting those beeps gives me a headache. The programming card I got was a hobbywing one as well I think they came as a set.

Penny board decks are a good idea. However, because my board had little clearance from the ground, I choose a board with no flex so the ground does not scrape the electronics and motor. Last thing you want is to be cruising and you left you electronics behind, espically in uneven and bumpy roads.

In terms of deck size you want a deck big enough that you can get a proper stance. Since the motor has a lot of torque, you want your feet to be planted to the deck and your centre of gravity properly adjusted so it does not shoot under your legs. Otherwise the skateboard becomes difficult to turn and feels uneasy on high speeds.

If your comfortable with that deck then go for it.

Hope that helps and answers all your questions. Best of luck.

 

[Maxid]

I went for a hobbywing esc 150 amp. Initially with a hobbyking one however it was a bad product and it went up in smoke. So don't cheap out on the esc since you will be relying on it a lot.

In terms of deck size you want a deck big enough that you can get a proper stance. Since the motor has a lot of torque, you want your feet to be planted to the deck and your centre of gravity properly adjusted so it does not shoot under your legs. Otherwise the skateboard becomes difficult to turn and feels uneasy on high speeds.

Well I already ordered a Hobbyking X-Car Beast 150A ESC - just waiting for it to arrive. I hope it will be fine

I found another guy on this forum who converted a 27" penny board to an electric one - but the short wheelbase looks uncomfortable and 10" trucks on such a narrow board also does not look good.
I found this plastic longboard today on http://www.ebay.de/itm/Big-pennyboa...rd-NEU-/381575963196?var=&hash=item58d7b3223c: just 30" but the wheelbase looks a lot wider. Could be fine for a commuter board.

 

[Samuraijaq]

I went for a hobbywing esc 150 amp. Initially with a hobbyking one however it was a bad product and it went up in smoke. So don't cheap out on the esc since you will be relying on it a lot.

In terms of deck size you want a deck big enough that you can get a proper stance. Since the motor has a lot of torque, you want your feet to be planted to the deck and your centre of gravity properly adjusted so it does not shoot under your legs. Otherwise the skateboard becomes difficult to turn and feels uneasy on high speeds.

Well I already ordered a Hobbyking X-Car Beast 150A ESC - just waiting for it to arrive. I hope it will be fine

I found another guy on this forum who converted a 27" penny board to an electric one - but the short wheelbase looks uncomfortable and 10" trucks on such a narrow board also does not look good.
I found this plastic longboard today on http://www.ebay.de/itm/Big-pennyboa...rd-NEU-/381575963196?var=&hash=item58d7b3223c: just 30" but the wheelbase looks a lot wider. Could be fine for a commuter board.

Those longboads look cool. Although just be careful of the trucks. Mounting the motor is usually the most difficult part in building the electric skateboard.

Best of luck

 

[Maxid]

Those longboads look cool. Although just be careful of the trucks. Mounting the motor is usually the most difficult part in building the electric skateboard.

Already ordered caliber v2 trucks. For the motor mount I am thinking about creating my own with 1cm thick PVC plastic or just order an enertion one when PVC does not work

 

[WeeChumlee]

You know, pretty crazy but those things look pretty cool.
And at that price who really cares, throw the trucks away put some decent ones on.