Folding Electric Long Board Build

ESK8 Builds
1

Hello All!

Happy to be a new member! I am completely new at this. Long time admirer, first time builder. I am pretty handy mechanically, but lack the knowledge and understanding of the electronic components. I was hoping I could post what I would like the outcome of my build to be, and you fine people could help guide me in the right direction as far as components. I apologize, in advance, for the length of this and my esk8 ignorance lol. Thanks for the help!

Deck: I am going to use the deck from Board Up. It folds in half for fantastic portability. (Important feature to me). Because of this, the components will have to be separated into 2 separate enclosures. 1 front 1 back (think boosted board). The front section of the board has about 10inches of available length and 7inches width for the battery. The rear has about 7inches of length and width for the rest of the electronics. I would like to keep these fairly thin since, when folded, they will be touching one another.

Motors: I want a dual motor setup. Where I will be riding will be about 70% flat and 30% hills. I don’t want to have any worry about climbing hills, and I want good braking. These are the main reasons for the dual setup as opposed to single. Speed is always welcome, but I would be happy with anything 20mph and up. Not looking to break records. Motor Suggestions? Pulleys and belt suggestions welcome too.

Trucks: I don’t think the trucks that come with the deck will work. Was thinking about using the Enertion narrow hangar trucks. Thoughts?

Wheels: This is probably a stupid question. Are there wheels out there, made of rubber, or possibly pneumatic, that are a happy medium between an 80mm street wheel and a large 5 or 7 inch all terrain wheel? Would love some bump absorption and noise dampening. All terrains are just too big to be portable though.

Battery: Ok. This is all very confusing to me. I want Li-ion setup with built in BMS. Since portability is a huge need, I want to be able to just grab a standard wall charger, throw it in a backpack, and go. No balancing or special chargers. Building a pack, on my own, really isn’t an option.

I would like a range of 15miles, give or take. Crazy acceleration isnt paramount, and as long as 20mph + is in the cards Im happy. Torque for hills (not crazy steep) is important.

The battery has to fit within the physical dimensions of the board as well. 10 inches long by about 7 inches wide.

VESC: Looking at the VESC-X controllers from Enertion. Thoughts? Cheaper, same features/quality options?

Remote: Looking at Nano-X from Enertion also. Thoughts? Alternate options?

I know this is long, so thanks if you stuck through the whole thing. I am assuming some motors may or may not come with mounting hardware, pulleys, belts etc. I’m not so worried about that if not. I think there are a lot of options out there. VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!

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Looking into hub motors might be a great option for you so that it can be easily foldable for you and you won’t have to worry about bellts and stuff. There are tons of people on the forum that are willing to make a battery for you and I have seen the battery in Miami electric boards (12s2p) not sure if it has a BMs but looks awesome what is your budget?

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The board looks great but worried that if there is the slightest bit of fold in the board, it will push the board more folded (if you go forwards on back wheel drive and backwards on front wheel drive).

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Thanks for the reply! Do hub motors limit the wheel options available? Are you kind of limited to whatever wheels fit the motor? Main reason I was looking into the external motors was the ability to pretty much put whatever wheels I wanted on without changing motors. Of course, pulleys, belts and gearing would have to be adjusted/changed, but not motors. Budget wise, I am honestly not sure. trying to get an idea of over all cost for this setup.

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Are you saying you would be worried the board could fold by accident? I’m not TOO concerned there. It seems to have a pretty solid hinge/locking mechanism. Also, since it folds in the direction it does, the likely hood of it folding while standing on it, even if the hinge lock fails, seems like it would be pretty low.

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I am worried about it turning into a hill shape when the hinge is not locked (don’t know how/ if there is a locking mechanism). But I suppose you have to test it to find out!

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Yes it does but the best are carvon motors in my opinion but there are many good ones.

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lol yes that wouldn’t be good. It does, however, have a locking mechanism. You release the lock with your foot by pressing down on the lever, on the front tip of the board, once stopped.

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Even though the hub motors would give it a much cleaner look and require less maintenance and parts, I think I still would like to stick with a non hub system since it allows for more customization options.

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Do you have a picture of your folding longboard? I’m planning to do one so may I have a look?

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The board can be seen on goboardup.com (I assume it is this one). USD 200 a piece, it is not cheap, especially if you plan to replace the trucks and the wheels. But the concept is interesting. The question I have about your dual enclosures is how you plan to run the cable(s) between the two halfs. There seems to be a shorter half, and it looks like it is the rear one, otherwise you could have thought of squizzing everything on one half. You could potentially still do it with Lipos, but i doubt you will reach the range you expect.

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Yes, the board is the one @jga sent from goboardup.com. Shows up as $169 when I look at it.

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Soo yeah hub motors are probably your way to go. If you want to, use MBS all terrain wheels but they only work with belt drive.

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I know it’s not the cheapest deck, but given its capabilities, I think it might be worth it. As far as running cables and enclosures. The front section of the board is about 10" x 8". Possibly slightly longer as the board narrows towards the top. I am currently looking at a 10s3p Li-ion BMS pack from @barajabali. According to the dimensions on the site, it measures in just over 10" x 5". If I were to use that battery, or one like it, there would be no room for anything else on that “half” of the board. I wouldn’t need much room in the rear of the board (it measures in at about 8" x 8") just to house the Vesc(s) and BT receiver. I was thinking of just extending the wiring coming out of the battery pack to reach the Vesc(s) in the back, and wrapping it with some sort of high strength, protective, braided nylon or something. Thoughts?

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Yea, I think I am going to stay away from Hub motors for the simple reason of being able to change wheels and essentially put whatever I want on there. I could go from 70mm to 7inch all terrains and just change the gearing as opposed to motors. The probability of that happening is low, but I would feel better knowing I have the option.

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The problem I see is that the wire will be straight when the board is unfolded (open), and as you say if they are protected and guided with some plastic holders along the way it should be ok, but when you fold the board there will be an extra length of wire you will have to deal with. The other problem is that the wires may not like to be bent regurly at the same point and could brake after a while.

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This is true. I don’t really see that as much of a problem though. Definitely something to watch out for, but not something that can’t be remedied. Many new drones, for example, have arms that unfold and fold constantly. I think its just a matter of finding the best way to do it.

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Hello everyone! I DID end up building this board and finished it back in August of 2017. It has been a blast to ride from day one! Works like a charm to this day. There are some things I would change if I were to do it again, but overall its super solid. Enjoy the pics!! @onloop FOCBOX works great! @torqueboards IMG_7255|666x500

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Hey congrats on gonig through with it, what would you change? pos/neg

how did the hinge work out? solid feeling?

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Hinge is actually fantastic. Very strong and solid. Almost no flex. (im about 160lbs for reference)Some slight play in it, but minimal. The kick release works really well too. It’s all a bit of a pain to fabricate, but happy I did.

Things I would/will change: Deck: Obviously its a drop through deck. Not ideal. All I could find with the right dimensions at the time. A slightly shorter kicktail deck would be ideal. Around the 37" Mark. The current one is 40"

Motor(s): Let me start by saying I have no problem with this motor at all. Really strong, gets up every hill no problem. But, Once hub motors have the same performance (Or at least raptor 2 like performance) I think they would be the way to go. Much cleaner looking and less to get in the way once folded.

Other than that, I really don’t know. This is the only Esk8 I have ever ridden, and maybe the 3rd or 4th skateboard in general I have ever ridden, so I don’t have anything to compare it to as far as ride. I am getting over 10 miles per charge, and I clocked myself at 26mph before I chickened out and slowed down. It still had a few more in it for sure.

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