Be adept at non-electric riding before you build or ride an esk8
Respect the time of others when you inquire about esk8 building - builders here are nice and will try to answer all of your questions politely. Don’t abuse that kindness. Do your own research and ask informed questions when you hit a point where no answer is already published.
Build your eks8 around a deck that you love. This is the place I see people skimp all the time to save money. Once all of the esk8 parts and configs are sorted out, the deck is what impacts the feeling of your ride the most.
Ride any DIY project like it is an experiment that could fail at any time. That means helmet, pads, and caution. You’re not an expert, your board could fail at any time.
Think in the long-term about what parts will last rather than getting your board to move for the first time right away. It’s great to experiment with “whatever you can find and afford today” but hacked together parts don’t provide lasting enjoyment. Sure you can use glued-together soda bottles for your enclosure, but you’ll be left on the street with a broken kit pretty soon.
I actually think Eskate would be a great way to get in the time and experience to become proficient quickly.
Its so easy to get out and ride, to put in time, and to keep things within your limits.
The speed you go isn’t tied to the hills you can find.
But I do agree in terms of going fast. Any Eskate that people build here is not something I’d recommend for beginners because they’re just so capable. But something thats limited to 10-12 MPH, that’d be great for learning.
Lots of good advice here already I think, but just adding my .02
Ride with the assumption anything can fail at any time (1 pin comes loose and you could have throttle go haywire, make sure your failsafes are in place and work, test them on the bench).
Assume you are invisible to drivers
Take side streets when possible, one street off of a main street seems to typically be still pretty well maintained/easy to ride in my area
Know your local rules/laws and how police in your area will react
Don’t ride above your level, if you are feeling uncomfortable or getting wobble you are going way too fast for your setup or skill level, slow down or eat pavement
Keep your loop key and remote in your helmet, easy to find reminds you to throw the cap on every time, after a while you feel weird without it
Keep some tools in your bag and some tape, a leatherman/multitool and some electric tape can get you home if something fails while you’re out
Figure out how long it will take to recharge your board given your chosen method of charging (keep in mind limit of 1C for batteries when charging, also likely limited by the wattage of your charger so check that)
That’s all I can think of for now will add points if I think of any.