Long time lurker, first time poster. Considered an electric folding bike for my commute on the train (has to be folding on the LIRR) where I need to travel 2.7 miles from the train station to work and back.
Ended up buying a San Francisco special ZBoard, which I just recently returned. I was unlucky enough to get a lemon ZBoard, it broke down half the time I used it. Zboard guys were nice enough to take it back and refund my money (their customer service was excellent). I think the connector quality wasn't up the poor condition sidewalks/roads on Long Island. Loose connection meant calling a cab and missing the train, opening up the ZBoard to screw with connections wasn't exactly a side of the road thing. Shame, I loved the feel of the ZBoard.
I'm hooked on the electric skateboard concept though, its a perfect fit for the commuter train. I just need to make one that's more reliable.
So I'm shooting for low top speed, lots of torque, big wheels, and a generally over built board that isn't working too hard so its more reliable. ZBoard was 32lbs or so, and I was fine with that. I'm sure going lipo/brushless will land me with a lighter weight regardless of how much overbuilding I do.
I'm completely fine with a top speed of 15mph. My average speed on the ZBoard, on the rare I made it through the whole commute without calling a cab halfway, hovered in the 8-9mph range. So a top speed of 15mph will be more than adequate. My 2.7 mile commute is all hill though. Nice gradual hill, pretty much the whole way. Figure about 250ft of elevation change over that 2.7 miles. No fun carving or turning, it's pretty much straight shots, so I'll be going stiff bushings. Might help with potential wheel bite (more on that concern below).
And I weigh 270. And I'll have a backpack with laptop, books, etc. Thus the hill-climby torque requirement.
Onto the potential parts list...
Wheels:
97mm Abec 11s, softest I can get. Man I loved those 110mm ZBoard wheels. Did I mention the roads/sidewalks here are freaking bad?
Deck:
Something beefy, like 9 ply maple kinda beefy.
My favorite so far is the Landyachtz Canyon Arrow, but I'm concerned that I might end up with wheel bite with the 97mm wheels. Might need a deck with cutouts.
http://www.daddiesboardshop.com/landyachtz-canyon-arrows-longboard-skateboard-deck
Alternate decks to consider:
Arbor Prodigy
Rayne Rival
Madrid Bigfoot 38
Being new to skateboarding, I'm not sure whether I'd need ridiculous risers on the trucks to go 97mm with the Landyachtz canyon arrow or not.
Trucks:
Torqueboard trucks, I really like the welded aspect. I've been emailing him stupid questions a few weeks, he's been super helpful.
Motors:
Dual 63mm, leaning towards dual 6364 sk3's, with low kv. Perhaps 190kv? Not sure how to figure the interaction between gearing, wheel size, and kv to target a particular top speed (15mph) and leave the rest to torque. Gonna shoot for a dual diagonal setup.
Lipos:
6S I think would be fine, and simplify a lot of other aspects of the system. If the ZBoard could make it, I think dualy outrunners should have no problem at 6S, but I'm anxious to hear feedback. Torqueboards recommended 8S, but I get the impression he's an overbuilder, and 8S seemed to screw up the controller selection. Maybe 8000mah 6S (two lipos in series). I figure moving my large weight uphill for almost 3 miles will chew up some juice.
ESC:
This one I struggled with, but given my experiences with a non-reliable board, I'm thinking two Hobbywing ezrun pros. Even if one motor/belt/esc craps out, the remaining motor/esc hopefully would be adequate to "get me there".The dual brain ESC choices seems fairly limited.
Gearing:
Torqueboards recommended 14/44, but I was thinking 90mm wheels then. Not sure what changes if I bump up to 97mm wheels.
Remote:
Looking forward to trying out the wii controller. Not a fan of the RC car remotes. I know the wii nunchucks take some getting used to based on forum posts, but if I can get used to the ZBoard pressure pads, the wii remote should be pretty easy.
That's the gist of it. Haven't put much thought into enclosures yet. Thoughts/feedback/ponderings from all the gurus out there?
Much thanks in advance for any tips.
Ended up buying a San Francisco special ZBoard, which I just recently returned. I was unlucky enough to get a lemon ZBoard, it broke down half the time I used it. Zboard guys were nice enough to take it back and refund my money (their customer service was excellent). I think the connector quality wasn't up the poor condition sidewalks/roads on Long Island. Loose connection meant calling a cab and missing the train, opening up the ZBoard to screw with connections wasn't exactly a side of the road thing. Shame, I loved the feel of the ZBoard.
I'm hooked on the electric skateboard concept though, its a perfect fit for the commuter train. I just need to make one that's more reliable.
So I'm shooting for low top speed, lots of torque, big wheels, and a generally over built board that isn't working too hard so its more reliable. ZBoard was 32lbs or so, and I was fine with that. I'm sure going lipo/brushless will land me with a lighter weight regardless of how much overbuilding I do.
I'm completely fine with a top speed of 15mph. My average speed on the ZBoard, on the rare I made it through the whole commute without calling a cab halfway, hovered in the 8-9mph range. So a top speed of 15mph will be more than adequate. My 2.7 mile commute is all hill though. Nice gradual hill, pretty much the whole way. Figure about 250ft of elevation change over that 2.7 miles. No fun carving or turning, it's pretty much straight shots, so I'll be going stiff bushings. Might help with potential wheel bite (more on that concern below).
And I weigh 270. And I'll have a backpack with laptop, books, etc. Thus the hill-climby torque requirement.
Onto the potential parts list...
Wheels:
97mm Abec 11s, softest I can get. Man I loved those 110mm ZBoard wheels. Did I mention the roads/sidewalks here are freaking bad?
Deck:
Something beefy, like 9 ply maple kinda beefy.
My favorite so far is the Landyachtz Canyon Arrow, but I'm concerned that I might end up with wheel bite with the 97mm wheels. Might need a deck with cutouts.
http://www.daddiesboardshop.com/landyachtz-canyon-arrows-longboard-skateboard-deck
Alternate decks to consider:
Arbor Prodigy
Rayne Rival
Madrid Bigfoot 38
Being new to skateboarding, I'm not sure whether I'd need ridiculous risers on the trucks to go 97mm with the Landyachtz canyon arrow or not.
Trucks:
Torqueboard trucks, I really like the welded aspect. I've been emailing him stupid questions a few weeks, he's been super helpful.
Motors:
Dual 63mm, leaning towards dual 6364 sk3's, with low kv. Perhaps 190kv? Not sure how to figure the interaction between gearing, wheel size, and kv to target a particular top speed (15mph) and leave the rest to torque. Gonna shoot for a dual diagonal setup.
Lipos:
6S I think would be fine, and simplify a lot of other aspects of the system. If the ZBoard could make it, I think dualy outrunners should have no problem at 6S, but I'm anxious to hear feedback. Torqueboards recommended 8S, but I get the impression he's an overbuilder, and 8S seemed to screw up the controller selection. Maybe 8000mah 6S (two lipos in series). I figure moving my large weight uphill for almost 3 miles will chew up some juice.
ESC:
This one I struggled with, but given my experiences with a non-reliable board, I'm thinking two Hobbywing ezrun pros. Even if one motor/belt/esc craps out, the remaining motor/esc hopefully would be adequate to "get me there".The dual brain ESC choices seems fairly limited.
Gearing:
Torqueboards recommended 14/44, but I was thinking 90mm wheels then. Not sure what changes if I bump up to 97mm wheels.
Remote:
Looking forward to trying out the wii controller. Not a fan of the RC car remotes. I know the wii nunchucks take some getting used to based on forum posts, but if I can get used to the ZBoard pressure pads, the wii remote should be pretty easy.
That's the gist of it. Haven't put much thought into enclosures yet. Thoughts/feedback/ponderings from all the gurus out there?
Much thanks in advance for any tips.