I started skateboarding in the late 1970’s, but this is my first homebrew deck and my first esk8 build.
The donor deck “Big Bertha” 5 years ago…
…and now the motors and setup:
I also just finished the white staircase woodwork and scroll applique the deck is leaning on.
I’m looking for a m Board review. Gratis on your build. I just ordered a dual belt setup from M boards. I wonder how long until it arrives. Maybe you have the answer to that.
Hey @Idaho, Mike is definitely having some COVID related shipping probs. UPS is also not guaranteeing delivery dates. I made two buys - the drivetrain and wheels first, then everything else. The drivetrain stuff came right away about 4 days from Vegas to here in NY. But the second shipment took 11 days and that was all on UPS where my shipment spent 3 days in a mid-west UPS warehouse then some travel, then another 3-4 days in a local warehouse before going out for delivery. At the source, Mike is very fast. If everything is in stock, he ships the same day or the next morning
After all my research which was ALOT, I finally decide to go to mboards because he’s in the US and his videos and himself I think are likeable. I placed my order and then decided afterwards to go with the extended trucks just in case I wanted to upgrade my Motors and I emailed him/them but I haven’t got a response yet. This has to go well or else I’m in hot water. I wanted a basic build like yours except you one-upped me on the direct drive Motors. I bought my blank from skateshred and 10s4p from etsy. Tell us the performance of your build. Fist bump on your deck!
Good news. Confirmation on the extended trucks… I’m 60 and have dreamed about a motorized skateboard since I saw that chainsaw Contraption back when I was 16. I feel like I’m six waiting for Santa to come.
LOL true dat. I’ll be 58 this year and had the same Santa feeling. You’re right about my simple build. I do some part-time university teaching for extra cash. My students typically struggle with curriculum options and worry whether they “chose the right courses”. While course choice is relevant, I constantly preach that the best college degree is simply… a finished degree. Especially for my students at the PhD level where the national drop-out rate is nearly 65%.
So my Esk8 build approach was the same. Do I want to fumble with brackets and pulleys and belts and hardware? Choosing this belt size and that number of pulley teeth? Or do I want to just bolt on and ride? So that was my decision. Once all the parts were here, I finished the whole build in only a couple of hours.
My ride desire is to just motor around town. I’m not planning any specialty super rides and frankly, a bad high-speed wipe out at my age is definitely a consideration. The 10S is damn fast for me just starting out. The hobbywing is super smooth.
I totally get the belt system vast array of build options and part choices (I’m an engineer in my day job). But money-wise the difference was small to me. If I’m going to get 5 years out of an Esk8 build and the difference between belt and direct-drive is $300 more, that’s a $300 spread over 60 months which is only $5 bucks a month and almost no maintenance. If I hadn’t spent the extra money on the direct-drives, I would have spent it on some other stupid crap anyway. The ride is awesome and the battery is plentiful.
Bingo! You nailed it. I’ve emailed mboards to go direct drive instead of belt. The last thing I need is buyer’s remorse. Thanks old man👍
you got it, brother 
Did yours work right off the bat.? I have red light on my power button
Everything’s charged
Yup red lights. Did u get the hand controller paired? I found a YouTube video for that.
I will now. It was supposed to come paired. My wife really likes your scroll work on your stairs. Now she wants to see your whole house.
Send me that link if you still have it
I got it paired. Thanks again old man
Sorry for the late reply. I know paired already, but here’s the whole thing. Different build company but the same ESC/controller.
LOL doing the raised panels in my dining room now.
I am planning on the mboards direct drive, what are your thoughts on it so far
Didn’t know mscam sold DD’s
