This will be my first build, so the parts list will probably change somewhat along the way Hopefully you can give me some tips to optimize the build . I live in an area with a lot of hills, luckily for the board, my weight is just around 65kg. So I hope one large motor (to save cost) with the proper battery pack will do. I barely was able to solder XT-60 connectors to my drone batteries, so I would really like to skip making my own battery packs. I wanted a board with some flex in it, but the Loaded Vanguard was too expensive, so I went with this bamboo Landyacht instead, hoping the flex of the deck does not completely ruin the space for components, which will be placed on either side of the board behind the trucks.
The board came with Bear Grizzly Trucks which I will try to use by making a custom motor mount, we will see how that goes, or if I have to order some Caliber trucks instead. Also I have a Prusa i3 3D-printer on the way, so enclosures will probably be printed on that one. Working with 3D software on a daily basis, I would like to model up the component closures myself. So this is the parts list so far:
Deck: Landyachtz Malahat 38" Bamboo and fiberglass board. 197 USD with Bear trucks and Hawgs wheels.
Trucks: Torque 218mm, 50USD.
Wheels: Orangatang Kegels 80mm 60USD.
Motor: Torque SK3 190KV 6374. 120 USD.
Batterypack: 2x Zippy compact 5S 5000mah.
Remote: Benchwheel remote, 40 USD.
VESC: Torque ESC VESC, 99.99 USD.
Mount: Torque motor mount and pulleys, 13T/36T 12mm. 106.99 USD.
For a single motor setup I’d recommend a smaller motor pulley as you’ll be heating up the motor and ESC quite a bit with 16/36. 13 or 14 would be safer.
The 70mm wheels are too small for a 36T pulley, I’d go for the Kegels if not 83mm abecs. I’d avoid going much bigger than that since you’re on a single.
You’ll probably want some kind of anti-spark solution as well
Thanks for the tip! Checked it out, but its US shipping only. I live in Norway. Maybe someone knows about similar packs for international customers? Please let me know, I would really appreciate having a easy way to charge the batteries, as that is the biggest downside I see with the setup as it is now.
The Landyachtz arrived today, this is my first longboard. I have only tried regular, hard and harsh trick boards before, which are needless to say not that nice for cruising. When I was younger I always used rollerblades for commuting. So I was eager to find out if this would be something for me, before spending all my money on the components. I headed out straight away after work. After riding and testing the new board, I kind of regret being so late into the game, this is awesome!
At around 10 km/h I felt it was quite a nervous ride. I guess it can be fixed by tightening the trucks or using some stiffer bushings. Also I could test to flip the aft truck hanger, to make it more stable. The deck is flexy, but not too much. And with a nice concave to secure your feet. It seem like there is good clearance for the components underneath and I think this is going to be a comfortable cruising board.
Wondering if I should go for the ready made mount, Its taking to much time figuring out a mount for the Bear trucks and it will cost the same…I saw that Boosted had the Bear trucks on the 2012 prototype and changed them for caliber it seems.
Also I did some test with flexing the board, to see how large batterypack I could fit. I can not use as large a pack as I thought, so I will go for a custom 10S3P (350 USD with BMS locally) or cheaper Zippy compacts 5800mah from HK.
Welcome to the madness! It’s never too late to longboard! esk8 makes it even more fun.
Your bear trucks might be a challenge to get a motor mount for. Most are made for Caliber II’s (truck axle is shaped well and “keyed” to prevent rotation), or Paris trucks (not my favorite as they like to rotate when braking and drag the motor/mount if not 100% secured).
Another option besides new batteries - you can split the pack (possibly) to make it double wide, but 1/2 as thick!?
Thanks for the tip @sl33py, but this is my 6s battery for my drone, just for testing clearence . I have placed the order above to have a plug and play configuration, might revisit the Bear mount if I do not like the new trucks. Also I will place an order at HK for those Zippy compact 5S 5000mah.
I tightened the trucks and went for a ride to get to know the board better, even though I am going for the Torque 218mm instead. Much better now! Super steady
After a testrun, my conclusion is that the difference between 78A and 80A Is actually noticeable, or it could be the design difference of the wheels that makes the Hawgs a bit softer and more comfortable, even though they have the smaller diameter. Also I think this board benefits from the lower ride height the Hawgs gives. Anyways, the Kegels are very comfy as well and allows for a plug and play solution with the DIY kit. Should be no problem with clearance for the components underneath now, and they look really good, all bright and orange
The remote and batteries are on their way,but I am still waiting for diyelectricskateboard to ship my parts. They do not have the VESC in stock, even though it says so on their webpage, waited a week after ordering before I found out this was the case.
Is there someone on the forum selling mounts and pulley kits for calibers and kegels?
UPDATE: They just got it in stock and shipped the order
While waiting for parts to arrive, and with the nose cut, I thought I would paint it black to protect the exposed wood (grass actually). But I realized the board would look much better in its bare bamboo. Since I had the time to do so, I sanded it down gently and gave it some coats with oil.
Thanks! @lrdesigns I am still waiting for parts, so I began modeling up the board in 3D and started designing the battery enclosure. Because of the flex, I think I will place the two Zippy compact 5000mah, lined up across the board. Those 218mm Torque trucks do look really wide!
The parts did finally arrive after quite a while and I was able to assemble the most critical parts. The 218 trucks from TB are really nice, I can not feel that much difference in agility compared to the Bears, but I am no expert in this field. They do the job very well for me EDIT: after riding Bears and these more, I can definitvely feel the difference of the turning circle. But it does not bother me with the TB trucks, because they are well suited for esk8 and higher speed.
Need to finish those battery and vesc covers soon.
Motor mount is really nice also, with a good fit and finish. I wish the motor would come with a key to fit straight into the keyway, it had to be grinded down 1mm i width and 1mm in length. I also added a circlip for the pulley for added safety.
I soldered the serial connection for the batteries with the anti spark in it, and did the motor recognition with a 3S lipo and a XT60 loopkey, to get around 12v.
Everything went smooth and the motor is running fine from my keyboard input. Then I connected the Benchwheel receiver. It lit up and I tried to pair it, the blue LED light turned from flashing to constant and I though it was paired, but the light went off and now there is nothing happening on the receiver board anymore. The remote went out of juice at the very moment the pairing finished, maybe it did f** up the pairing somehow. Did send Benchwheel a mail about this and I am currently waiting for the reply. Happy to receive any ideas on how to reset the receiver if that is even possible. I may loan a controller in the meantime or get a GT2B instead.
I did try that, nothing happens Benchwheel replied that they were out of stock. Pretty expensive and useless remote then. Would not recommend it to others, seems like the receiver is very fragile. And the Benchwheel support for Aliexpress customers is a joke. They answered my questions with two sentences, “We are out of stock now” and “refund is not supported”. What a waste of time and money.
Ordered a FS GT2B and a Mini-remote, will see which one works the best. Maybe I will try to make a mod for the mini-remote to remove the steering wheel and make a thumb-wheel trigger on it.
Hopefully you can give me some tips to optimize the build 
. I live in an area with a lot of hills, luckily for the board, my weight is just around 65kg. So I hope one large motor (to save cost) with the proper battery pack will do. I barely was able to solder XT-60 connectors to my drone batteries, so I would really like to skip making my own battery packs. I wanted a board with some flex in it, but the Loaded Vanguard was too expensive, so I went with this bamboo Landyacht instead, hoping the flex of the deck does not completely ruin the space for components, which will be placed on either side of the board behind the trucks.
Looks like this now:
EDIT: after riding Bears and these more, I can definitvely feel the difference of the turning circle. But it does not bother me with the TB trucks, because they are well suited for esk8 and higher speed.
Benchwheel replied that they were out of stock. Pretty expensive and useless remote then. Would not recommend it to others, seems like the receiver is very fragile. And the Benchwheel support for Aliexpress customers is a joke. They answered my questions with two sentences, “We are out of stock now” and “refund is not supported”. What a waste of time and money.