DIY vs a cheap pre-assembled board

I am in the process of making my own first build (and really enjoying it) but every once in a while i see new boards hitting the market, such as this one for example.

That board is on sale for 259$ and has pretty amazing specs, backed up by youtube proof.

If i compare that with a DIY board, i am gonna have to dig a lot deeper in my wallet to build a legit diy 10s2p dual hub motor build.

How is it that DIY remains to be relatively pricey, if those guys can throw it out there for 259$, shouldn’t DIY be cheaper??

They use cheap parts and probably do not offer good customer support.

I’d rather spend 4x the money on a quality DIY build that I can service and maintain myself than a cheap chinese board that I will eventually have to scrap or service myself anyway.

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By the way, a 10S2P pack is not really a good idea. At least not if you’re using 18650 cells since voltage sag is a thing.

From his website:

20 cells, 10s2p, 4.4ah, 36V (158.4WH capacity) Genuine Samsung Cells, assembled by OEM. Also Genuine LG Cells with equal performance.

He is the owner, you might get a discount and a free shipping if you make a review https://www.electric-skateboard.builders/t/would-somebody-help-review-my-meepo-board/27740

Shippings like $170 btw

Quality. A little bit are discounts with quantity, but it really is mostly quality. I think this will die within 6 months - 1 year.

3 Months warranty for all parts.

i have a couple of 10S2P Koowheels on my bench right now. We’ll be doing a full drain test to see exactly how bad the sag is pretty soon. Other than evaluating them, we got them to see if there was any sort of modification or upgrade opportunity there. The packs are swappable so there may be.

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Here’s my biggest worries about the board you linked to (many of which are probably mentioned elsewhere)

To hit that $259 (ignoring that absurd shipping cost, which he may be using to make up for this super low price), he would have to cut some serious corners to have any sort of profit.

Here’s a bit of the breakdown, from what I can see, for what he’s spending, so you can compare to what we usually pay for things on a DIY board.

click me to expand

Batteries (genuine cells) - $55 Going on their battery stats, they’ve got a 2200mAh cell. That looks like the Samsung 22 (I found a 22E, 22F, and 22P which they can probably get as low at 2.75 in bulk). That cell can only handle 10A max. This is a pretty cheap cell that will definitely have pretty terrible sag at 10s2p if it doesn’t completely give up and die over 20 amps. So I also question the hill climbing abilities

65 KG rider (me) can reach 24 KMH on 15% gradient slope. And 8 KMH on 30% slope.

If they want a better cell, maybe the 30Q or 25R, you get much better stats (15 amp/3000 mAh and 20 amp /2500mAh respectively), they’d pay at least a dollar or 2 more each, which would then be $75-$100 for just the cells.

Then you have the BMS and all the other stuff that goes into it.


Hub Motors - $80 (40/each) I question their longevity, and the website says this, which is a bit worrisome.

The PU wheels on the motor CANNOT be changed/replaced. You can always buy a new motor in my shop.

so 1. It’s probably cheap (quality) to begin with. 2. that means you’ll be replacing it even more frequently, and it’ll be more expensive. You’ll probably pay $100 each time you wear those down (see below: normally $49.90, currently on sale for $39.90) Electric Skateboard Longboard Hub Motors


Dual motor ESC (based on pictures and his website) - $50

When you buy the ESC with case. It comes with the Remote + battery light + On/off button + Screws When you buy Esc without case, you get remote also.

Electric Skateboard ESC


Wheels - $7 I would not be surprised if a single battery charge lasts longer than these front wheels ($6.90!!). They’re listed under the same listing for the front truck Electric Skateboards Trucks


Trucks - $24 (10.90 front, 12.99 rear) Looks like a caliber…isn’t a caliber. Hope it doesn’t snap while you ride them! The rear truck design looks interesting though :smiley: Electric Skateboards Trucks https://kieraneboard.myshopify.com/products/rear-truck-for-dual-motor


Other odds and ends: Deck - $36 Grip Tape - $4 Charger - $13


Range

per charge 18 Km = 11 miles (Real life, 65KG rider)

…BS. I HIGHLY doubt they’re hitting that range with a 10s2p configuration. At least not with all of the other specs they’ve listed. Maybe on a downhil, going 5 mph.

Also, on the shop page, they list this: Meepo Board | Best Electric Skateboards, Longboards Shop Which says it’s 15.8 km (9.81 miles) range, which isn’t consistent…maybe it’s a different pack than it ships with?


Here’s my take:

Their cutting corners = Your safety. Buy something else.

Even with a @longhairedboy battery upgrade, I’d be worried about pretty much every other component as well. There are some halfway decent pre-assembled boards, and definitely some that can be improved by swapping one or two components (maybe a battery and/or the ESC) but unless this guy is literally eating his costs so you’re essentially getting a subsidized board, you will be unhappy with this board, and hopefully not dead.

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I’ve actually heard good things about Meepo for their support to customers. Someone had a hub that was acting up and Kieran shipped a new hub right away at no charge. Seriously thinking about picking up some of these for some giveaways for my group rides.

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honestly those $40 hubs have me intrigued. Two of those ESCs and some lipos and you could have a nifty little 4WD on your hands. Somebody wanna test these out for science?

This is a pretty cheap cell that will definitely have pretty terrible sag at 10s2p if it doesn’t completely give up and die over 20 amps. So I also question the hill climbing abilities

Hills seem to have a drastic effect: https://youtu.be/6N5vIH8QxMc?t=33m42s

Rider is comparing his Meepo to a Boosted… Battery drops to 1bar when going up a hill vs 3 a few seconds later when he’s on flat-ish terrain.

Meepo can go 16 KM per charge. That set up of hub motor is much efficiency than Belt. Here is a video from one of Meepo customers.

According to Jason enertion, 10 WH will give you 1 KM range, by the way.

So the board is $259. According to @Decdog the shipping is around $170. So total price is $430.

For that price, you can use this esc, which is the single motor version of the one he is using - $43. http://www.ebay.com/itm/single-motor-electric-longboard-skateboard-controller-ESC-Substitute/302332747417?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D41376%26meid%3D0141ce90ecc94bec897586d02b702d2c%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D302332736118&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 You can get 2 of these batteries - $70, and have 10s4p http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-SAMSUNG-18650-36V-4-4AH-BATTERY-EBIKE-VAPE-POWERWALL-BATTERIES-20-CELLS-BMS/201895735309?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Da1eeb87f5abe4970a661ba9b8c0f8d36%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D10%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D201895735309&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3Ab7ed2c18-7fed-11e7-9b4e-74dbd180e41e%7Cparentrq%3Ada348a6f15d0aa16e1bc5ca6fff95046%7Ciid%3A1

You can get an sk3 motor - $60

Motor mount and gearing for - $106 diy-electric-skateboard-kits-parts/single-bolt-on-motor-mount-with-drive-wheel-kit/

So total cost is $279. Which leaves $150 for a deck ($30), wheels ($30), trucks ($30), battery charger ($10), enclosure and shipping costs. And you’ll get the happiness of building your board the way you want it, and being able to fix it and upgrade it in the future. And I can almost guarantee that a board with these parts will outperform a Meepo both in acceleration and range (courtesy of the 10s4p battery pack).

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Yes. When voltage sag from 42 to 30 volts, Meepo board become less powerful, especially when up hill.

based on delivery address

I have a bunch of mods with koowheel doing testing in BUFFALO eskate! Here is one link… https://youtu.be/MxapTsCo2oo

We also have made a 35 mile range battery pack for the board!!!