Not sure what power do I need. Commute build

General Discussion
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As usual - absolute beginner. I’m planning to build a board for commuting only, since parking in downtown is always pain, but I’m not sure what power do I need and got some other questions.

Some background - I live in Denmark, so quite often it rains, so weatherproofing is a must for me as well as pneumatic tire wheels. Not really planning of riding in heavy rains, but I definitely plan on riding after rain with lots of puddles, there will probably be some unexpected rain? My commute route has quite some hills as well, not too big, but a lot of them, it’s pretty much always either a downhill or an uphill. Tried to calculate the incline and found maximum of 8% I think, so not too much. Another big thing to mention is that I weight 95 kg.

The build: At first, and kind of still am planning of making it simple and getting DIY’s semi-complete kits to make it easy, but started wondering if maybe I should go with a bit more custom build. While I don’t want it to go at crazy speeds (30mph, 40 mph, etc), I do want for it to handle hills well and last long, which why I’m reluctant on getting single motor, since it might struggle a bit, especially with my weight? Thinking of getting a VESC as well, since I think I could use regenerative braking quite a bit (Downhills + my weight) For batterries I’m thinking of lipo, I know they tend to go boom boom after a while of bad charging, but they will probably will last a month or two during which I could get additional income for lifepo4.

Will i be able to attach easily pneumatic tires to DIY’s or other pulleys?

Is there big difference between getting DIY’s semi complete kit and getting mechanical and electrical kits?

I will use this as well to ask regarding board thickness - so far I could find max 9 ply maple boards which mention max weight of 90 kg, that’s probably not enough for me? But I can’t really find boards thicker than that, are they really that rare?

Thanks and sorry for this kind of thread, but just felt bad spamming the chat, so I just poured all random questions and thoughts here.

2 Likes
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Greetings from Sweden! :smiley:

How long is your commute?

I happen to own a spotwelder, so if you’d like I could spotweld you a battery for free. As long as you buy the cells of course :slight_smile: I’ve got family in Copenhagen as well, so getting it there won’t be a problem.

The cells would cost you a little more upfront, but I think most people here would agree that it is well worth it.

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I am pretty heavy too and would recommend looking at downhill boards. They will give you a much stiffer board and take higher weight. I have a Comet Loki but I think that is a UK brand that might not be so easy to get hold of.

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I would recommend Arbor James Kelly for the deck, it’s a good downhill deck very strong ( i weight 5 kg less than you ! ) Definitely go for a dual. In general it’s better, and when the ground is wet it’s way safer because you have more contact with the ground. My space cell pro 4 holds pretty well the water but i still have to clean it properly after the ride and clean the water resistand foam. If u wanna buy one do it quickly they don’t have many in stock left in EU.

But IMO the best choice for you it’s a “Kaly NYC” type build with a trampa : http://www.trampaboards.com/electric-urban-carver-c-795.html http://www.electric-skateboard.builders/t/trampa-street-carve-nyc-style/15363

But this would include the need to build a custom enclosure that you could easily make water resistant. And with the help of @UniqueSnowflakeN27 that could spot weld a custom pack for you you definitely could make a sick build just perfect for Denmark and all the bikes lanes :slight_smile:

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Hey @UniqueSnowflakeN27 , thanks for the offer! My commute is around 6 km, so 12 in total which means I don’t need that big of a batterry. And I’m still reluctant to go full in, I agree that cells are better if everything works out, but it’s possible that I will get tired/won’t liked this type of commute (I haven’t skated much before).

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Ok, I learned one more new thing - Trampa Boards, just looked through them and they have pre-built 1000 euro boards (urban carvers) with twin motors, which I think would be pretty good deal? I mean it has not as powerful motors as I probably could use if I would do it DIY, but still.

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Yeah do that the stock motor are fine with 190 kv. I think that for your commute a 10S3P pack would be perfect with 260 kWh

To the price of the trampa you have to add 240 € for Vesc X or any other and the battery. And you shoulg go Li Ion for esk8 it’s the best

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You’re right, 12km is practically nothing! I get about 21km of range using 24 Samsung 25R in a 6S4P setup.

If you buy 40 Samsung 25R from here you pay 877dkk. I’m not 100%, but with a 10S4P setup I believe you could get about 25-30km of range. After a year or two of use that would probably drop to 15-20km. Or save 25% of the cost and go with a 10S3P.

Isn’t that about what the lipos would cost?

If you’re not sure you’ll like eskating, I suggest looking up someone on this forum from Copenhagen and ask if you can try out their board! :slight_smile:

Anywho, if you decide to go for it, hit me up! I’m on here at least once a day :slight_smile:

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Ah, I just saw I think on DIY already made battery pack for sell for aroun 400$ and just imagined that cells cost a ton. And to figure out whether I like skateboarding or not I’m planning of buying a longboard first to ‘try it out’ since it’s kind of lower entry barrier money wise and if I do like it, I could use it to transform into electric one.

And about trying the board out - while I’m in Denmark, I’m not in Copenhagen, but in Aalborg, which is in the north part of Denmark, and getting to Copenhagen just to try the board out would be slight pain :smiley:

But damn, I love getting freshly into a new hobby, so much new information

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Hi Unique, I’m about to build a 10s4p battery from recycled cells and my plan was to solder them. Would you consider spot welding them for me? I would reimburse you of course.

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When you say “recycled” do you mean salvaged from laptop batteries? Using different batteries(even if they’re all 18650) that has different chemistry in combination with the high amp draws that eskates needs is a very, very bad idea.

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Yes that is what I mean. OK, bad in what way? Risk of bricking the battery pack or worse? I have balanced the 4p cells but the characteristics of the individual cells could be slightly different of course

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Precisely. Except that the characteristics will be different and when in heavy use during prolonged time they will drift apart. Both in voltage and in capacity.

If you’re lucky you might get some use out of it and then have a failure without it causing a fire.

But I think that it’s more likely to cause a fire than not.

So spotwelding a patchwork of batteries is not something I want to do. But if you decide to buy some new cells I’d be more than happy to help, free of charge :wink:

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If u choose trampa and can afford it, I think you @karosass1 wont be disappointed.

I believe they have even 12-14ply decks… so u should be covered there…

For trampa boards related questions, u can ask some of them directly to @ trampa (that is his username, just put @ symbol near his name to tag him and to inform him of this discussion)

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OK, thanks for the offer :slight_smile:

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@UniqueSnowflakeN27 I am reconsidering this and after some thought I think I will extend my budget to include brand new cells. I see you recommend Samsung 25R above. Do you still prefer those to other cells with perhaps more ampage or more Wh? Does your offer regarding spot welding still stand? If so what kind of nickel strips etc should I buy?

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Yes, those Samsung 25R is what I would recommend.

Yes, of course it still stands :slight_smile: I already have the nickel strips. All you need to buy is the cells and a BMS(a cheap one will do, I can just bypass it).

How many S and P is the battery going to be?

This is the cheapest source for those batteries here in Europe I believe. Currently out of stock but that shouldn’t be for too long.

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I’m planning 10s4p but that is just from what I have read. I have a 192kv motor 80mm wheels and 15T/32T grears. Will use vesc 6 when availible. Du you think Samsung INR18650-30Q will work? They are in stock

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30q are top two cells for esk8 rn if not number 1

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I’ve read good things about them, but never tested them myself so I can’t really comment on them.