A coworker and longboarder brought something up the other day, why do we place the drive motor on the rear if most of the time our weight is on the front? Wouldn’t it make more sense for it to be a FWD?
Whether its single or dual, would it be better to have the driving wheel up front?
I think in a car it makes sense to have the weight over the driven wheels for traction reasons, I’m not sure that really applies for our boards. I feel like having the motors in the rear make it easier to deal with the torque “shove” since it’s coming from behind you, and you’re usually leaning forward. If the wheels in front of you are pulling you I have a feeling that it would feel a little weird.
I’ve only ever used RWD though so I have no practical experience.
front wheel drive is by far my favorite.
Weight is shifted to the rear during acceleration which is where my boards live the majority of their life so the front wheels lose traction under heavy acceleration which isn’t cool other than for showing off your burn out ability. I do notice however that the motors run cooler on the front so thats one plus.
I say AWD!!! EDIT: seriously though, it feels weird running your board FWD
FWD Bustin Maestro, 10S on hummie v1 hubs.
Deck is flipped from push orientation to launch orientation. In other words, its backwards.
@hummie this one is for you then mate!
seriously. Had my wires mixed up on me board first day I tested it(I have reverse mounts) Was super weird to ride with the motors in front.
I’ve ridden with my motors in both front and rear. The biggest problem I had with front was when climbing hills, your weight gets shifted way back and you lose traction. I also prefer them in the back if the board has a kicktail cause when you set it down, the motors are the heaviest part so them slam harder if they’re upfront. Same for picking the board up. It’s a pain with motors up front
beautiful board. how do you do it every time. very nice to see. I wonder what motors are all doing now. in a garage or possibly going 30 right now. but the tires I hope you and everyone knows, those are not safe if they get loose from too much heat. not safe at high speeds then for sure.
super weird to ride with motors in back @Jreamer
We experienced that too. Then we found that Maestro deck. It made a huuuuge difference.
Not a lot of decks like that though. And you need a single layer box on those to take advantage of the drop through. And definitely need the hubs.
really like the deck and just like the one I use. the kicktail or lack of it on the drop thu I always have, …especially with front wheel drive I can easily lift the tail with my foot and redirect it. and set it down nicely. kicktails on an eboard I never had and thought it wouldn’t go nicely
Ive ridden front single drive a while now for mountainboard with bindings.
Heavy braking is not nice at all, though it is easier to lift the front up (at least for me) when I need to get up a sidewalk / curb.
Though maybe it is related with timing but it is easier to do it when weight is in front and u get to see the obstacle and properly prepare for it.
With motor and weight in back it is somewhat easier to slam the rear on edge and impact is much harsher when motor / drive side gets slammed
At least I know i can sometimes leave back wheels to climb the curb without a problem while when i was riding with motor in the back it always somewhat slowed me down.
this^
I have never really had a performcance preference front or rear, but kick turns and manuals are definitely nicer on rear drive.
I like to set my boards up dual diagonal. I run them in reverse, and then ride the board backwards and upside down.
I hate using risers on my builds too, but sometimes I tape 1" risers to the soles of my shoes and PRESTO! Rapter.
If you could do it, what would you call that trick?
180 dark side?
I’ve ridden both, and I really like front wheel drive for hills but rear for everything else
My final configuration on my 4wd Torqueboards hubs board was trucks mounted drop through on the front and top mount on the rear. I think it yeided similar results to what your describing on with the Bustin deck. The weight shift forward improved front wheel traction at launch and also made it easiser to manage heavy acceleration but made it noticeably more sketch during downhill braking lol. Did you ever that on the bustin? Ohh and it also equalized the heat between the front and rear motors.
Front braking is definitely different. Its can be startling when you’re not expecting it but once you get used to it it actually feels more precise. I slide on my back brakes all the time. I’m fine with either now.
So…What you’re sayin’ is you go both ways
