I’ve been researching for my first build for a while and concluded that I’m just gonna fuck it up.
I already decided to ditch DIY mechanics and get pre-built motor mounts, pulleys, belts, etc. Now I’m considering ditching DIY electronics too and just getting the pre-built 12s4p battery pack from DIY, instead of making my own pack.
At this point, should I just buy a pre-built? That’s essentially what I’m doing right now, it’s just not coming put together…
Sorry to hear that dude. Their is a satisfaction in building something to completion - there is no problem with buying a board.
these days most “DIY” electric skateboards are just piece together lego type builds anayway stick with it and you will end up with something much more satisfying than a prebuilt board.
If you truly want DIY, you must first create the universe 
Like others said here you’ll always be buying some amount of prebuilt stuff unless you plan on opening a few mines to get raw materials and do some serious vertical integration. Nice thing about DIY is understanding what is in your board and turning it into the best ride for your use (some want faster some want further some want lighter some want better carving boards etc etc). It’s not like everyone here is building their own FETs and PCBs and batteries and motors it’s more about finding the combination of premade components that best suits what you want… That said maybe a prebuilt board has everything you want and working on the build and being able to repair or replace anything yourself isn’t something you’re interested in.
Santa Clarita sk8 club we all ride garage built boards. we have boards capable of 12 to 15 miles at speeds up to 30 plus contact us if you still want something of your own. someone else’s vision of what you want may leave you disappointed.the satisfaction of the garage is pretty cool
Since you are just putting parts purchased from various vendors is it truly defined as DIY. I would call it a PITY…put it together yourself HAHAHA. I would never make my own battery packs, with my ADD I would probably burn the house down.
I sold my first single 6374 DIY and moved to dual motors instead. Then bought a broken Raptor 1 that only had a working battery and single VESC. I found all the parts I needed and now have an awesome Raptor, I’m not sure if that is a DIY either, definitely feels like it.
If you just want to ride then at this point I’d say the field is sufficiently established that you could buy a pretty nice board. But if you want to tinker and tweak and have room for future improvements (like VESC6) then I’d say build your own. You’ll learn a lot even if you are just piecing things together.
I faced the same dilemma recently with 3D printers. I built several of them back when 3D printing was in its infancy and they worked pretty well, but recently I just needed one that worked every time that I didn’t have to worry about, so I bought one.
Wow there’s a diy club in scv? I live in Valencia and would love to join this. I have an ego 2 but I really want to build a long range board with a 15 mph speed.
I wrote an article exactly about this dilema;
https://www.electric-skateboard.club/t/build-diy-or-buy-2017-guide-to-performance/34/8
This boils down to how much money you are will to burn going the DIY Route versus the Already made route. Of the two options, pick one that’s best for your budget with the performance you want. The already made, good, e-skates cost $900+. Think twice if you need one because what you spend on this can be used towards school or paying off bills.
I purchased prebuilt and ended up building my own because the prebuilts had weak points I was trying to fix all the time. This includes mtb and skateboard.
Build it. Waay more satisfying to ride.
If you have $1000 or more and are not in a rush get a DIY board, the final vehicle would be way better, more range, more power and Torque, cooler looking, more longevity than any $1000 dollar prebuild board.
If you have less get a Koowheel, latest version.
We’re going on ride Sunday scsk8 club near Magic MTN going test out my new gears welcome to join us
Want skate Sunday paseos test out the gears
I think it heavily depends on what your purpose in getting an electric skateboard. I did it cause I wanted a project that I could learn a lot from and I wanted something fun to get around my college town. With that, I’ve taken a while, asI literally machined and built almost everything myself (soldered my own VESCs, machined my own motor mounts and wheel pulleys, but bought belts, motors, trucks, wheels, and motor pulley). As a bonus it’s gotten me an interview or two!
Thanks for the invite, I work on Sundays unfortunately. If you guys ever plan for a Friday meet up let me know! The club have any spare parts lying around that I could buy? I’m looking for an 29T drive gear to upgrade speed on my ego 2.
Not sure of gears your using we have been using gears from.different sources working towards getting a standard. Where we can change pinions to suit wheel size. Still doing lots of testing