Hello All, at long last, my build thread! I’ve been working on this build for the past 4 months, and I have many of you to thank for all of the advice and encouragement you’ve provided. Thanks so much to @longhairedboy@onloop@sl33py@psychotiller@lox897@lowGuido@King1017@torqueboards and everyone else that provided their insight!
Specs: 245Kv motor, 8s battery, Vesc from Enertion, wheels and pulleys from Alien Drive Systems, and motor mount from DIY ElectricSkateboard, Gearing is 60T 14T.
And now a ton of pics:
Here you can see the battery alarms inside the enclosure, I left some windows so that I coudl see them without opening the enclosure
I’m using the nunchuck implementation available for VESC for controls, it seems very solid! I used some velcro to attach my arming switch plug onto it so it doesn’t get lost when I’m not riding.
Inside the enclosure; I used Deans connectors and so far they are performing very well, and their size allowed me to keep this enclosure small! 12AWG wire throughout, and a battery arming switch with a resistor serves as my on-off and antispark. VESC takes up almost no room in there!
Looks really good! My 5" pneumatics arrived at O’hare today, according to tracking. Sounds like it’s going to be a while for some Enertion parts, though. What’s your experience with effect on battery life so far?
I’ve been trying to decide if I should order Paris trucks for the pneumatics board or another set of Caliber IIs. Any thoughts? Is the extra 15mm for wheel clearance needed on that board?
@emotiva I rode for an hour and still had plenty of battery life left, but I can’t comment on the impact of the pneumatics because I’ve never ridden urethane on this setup. The tires are at 100 psi which is high, the drag is probably pretty minimal. There’s less surface in contact with the road when compare to urethane. I will say that the ride is amazingly smooth.
With the kingpin bolt set as loose as possible, I can move though the full range of motion without wheelbite. In think that 195mm trucks contributes to that, because it’s close. I definitely recommend a deck with wheel cutouts.
@treenutter, Thanks for the feedback - it’s hard to find information on what boards/hardware will accommodate those or other pneumatic wheels. The most concrete piece of info I’ve found to date is a post on ES by Richard that 70mm is required between the inner truck mount holes and…widening of the deck: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=55843&p=1051385&hilit=beetbocks#p1003334. Of course, that depends on the shape of the board, truck width, etc., so your reply is very helpful. Is that a 345mm belt? I somehow feel like I’m going to finally get all my parts and then have issues with the belt fitting.
Also, your CF vinyl looks very well applied - did you use something like wrapcut or were you able to achieve those edges without? Great looking board!
Sure thing @emotiva, glad to help! Yes, I agree that it’s daunting to try to find parts that work together without being able to physically see them. There are lots of variables that factor in; I’ll admit that I purchased a handful of pieces that turned out to be incompatible in the process. In this build I’m using a 345mm belt.
I wrote a thread about using the carbon fiber vinyl. Hope it helps! I used wrap cut the 2nd time and I highly recommend it unless you are already skilled at cutting vinyl.
Thanks @joren the calculated top speed is around 18 mph, assuming 70% efficiency. I haven’t pushed to that speed on a ride yet, nor done a real-time speed test. Honestly, this build goes faster than I’m comfortable riding, and acceleration feels very fast when I push on the throttle.
In terms of gearing, I’m extremely happy with it! Using VESC, it starts from a dead stop with no problems (with a non-sensored motor), and I can climb all the hills in my neighborhood. As @onloop has said before, it’s an incredible feeling to bomb up hills!
This is my first build, and my first ride on it was my very first esk8 ride. From the moment I stepped on it, I was hooked! I laughed with delight for about half of the ride, because the experience is so thrilling and enjoyable!
Great suggestion @elkick! When I ride, I have foam padding that I wrap around the VESC and a separate piece around the nunchuck receiver, to avoid shorts and to reduce vibration, but heatshrink would be a good addition as well. I took the foam out for the photo, to give VESC its chance to shine!
I love these wheels! The ride is really smooth, they eat road debris, and I don’t notice an increase in rolling resistance.
Have you tried the new bushings? Thoughts? I’ve never skateboarded before, so I know nothing about the effects different bushings provide. Anyone have suggestions for, say, 3 different (preferably economical) models or ratings to buy in order to be able to get a feel for the range of possibility? Does tightening the trucks have a similar effect to using stiffer bushings?
@treenutter, how’s everything holding up? Still happy with the nunchuck? Did you solder or plug the receiver into the vesc? Are the edges of the vinyl staying adhered? Also, I’m glad that I went with the 195 Paris trucks, so thanks again for your input on that!
