Are dual motors actually worth the extra cost?

I think if you are going to be attacking lots of hills the climbing advantage AND braking advantage of duals is essential. I had rode single for a long time while I worked the bugs out of a dual setup and it worked great but as torqueboards suggests, I was fighting heat with that single motor and there were a few hills I could not attack.

Now with dual I can go up and down almost anything with the exception of 4 local 29-31% graded streets.

Maybe need 4WD for those “mountains” - and maybe a jet pack

dual motors are a must have for hills, or heavy riders.

My local area is mostly flat and I am a small guy so I enjoy the extra range of my single motor deck, but I took it through some hills the other day and it struggled. the dual motor board just eats them up. (unfortunately it also eats up batteries as well)

I guess I’m lucky I live in a relatively flat area. but it goes to show that there is no real “one size fits all” solution with electric skateboards. I will happily forgo the extra motor for a longer range because I don’t need the power. where as some of my other friends really need that extra power. having said that, when the batteries do eventually run out the single motor is a lot nicer to kick push because it has less drag than the duals.

also novice skaters tend to need dual drive a lot more because of their cautiousness. the low down torque helps them move about slowly. because I skate fast even without a motor I am able to use my momentum to cover small hills on a single where as some of my novice mates need the dual because the are a bit scared to go too fast and cant carry the same momentum.

so like I said. no “one size fits all” for me personally single does the job. pros: lighter, cheaper, longer range, less drag. cons: less torque, less drive surface.

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I only recommend dual motors if the person plans on climbing 20-30% inclines and it’s about 20-40% of their route.

I’m actually going to setup a single motor 6374 on 10S?12S and see if it’s enough power to ride my daily route. I’d say about 30-40% of my route is uphill a 20% incline if not more on some parts.

If your weight is greater than 90kg I think dual is also worth while.

A post was split to a new topic: Weight vs Speed: doing math for electric skateboard builds

What about 325 lbs and mostly 15 - 30 % grade hills would it even be worth trying?

It’ll depend on gearing and your setup (kv, voltage, etc.). I’m not too far off from you (265lbs/120kg) and ride even my single motor setups on the flats just fine. The killer is hills. Gear down, and the easer grade should be doable. Might need to walk up a few though. And a running start always helps!

I"m planning on 1 or 2 245 kv motors with 22.2 V for single motor to 44.4 V double motor with a gear ratio 8:24 which for single motor would give me 29.035 ft lbs single and 58.07 ft lbs double. that give me a thrust to weight ratio of .08 to .17 what i’m wondering is what is the thrust to weight ratio you are experiencing?

How is HP calculated on electric motors?

There’s a formula on google. You should have all the info you need to get the data

it is watts/(pirpm) but you also need to convert that from newton meters to ft lbs. rpm is kvvolts and then you need to convert for the circumference of the wheel you’re using.

Ok , actually allready had a converter on my phone ,…2700w 6374 motor =3.62 hp.

You can’t just divide watts by 746?

that is about what i got.

It depends on what voltage you are running as well

Slow down there bullet. :wink:

22.2v is 6s, so 44.4 is 12s. You will need DIYes or similar 12s opto ESC, or VESC, but the VESC will be limited to <200kv motors on 12s (you’ll kill the DRV chip w/ 245kv motor on 12s). In fact, @Chaka has a great writeup and suggestions on VESC motor combinations to avoid going over 60k ERPM which seems to be a better limit to avoid this. So if you are set on 12s down the road - i’d look at the 149 or 170kv options. 190kv also may work, but be careful when fully charged.

I prefer VESC, but the simplicity of DIYes 12s opto ESC is enticing as well. I just haven’t tried one to comment/compare w/ VESC.

For a big guy and wanting hills - yes you will need dual motors. Gearing i would start running some calculators on gearing - but don’t go below 13 or 14t on the motor gear (you’ll get skipping on hard braking and later acceleration) - at least on 9mm belts. For a bigger guy like yourself i might start w/ 12mm and possibly even 15mm wide belts - increased surface area and contact area will help.

Since we are both bigger guys, i’ll share some planned setups to compare:

83mm wheels - 190kv - 6s - 14/36 (motor/wheel) = 15mph (ish) 8s = 18 10s = 23 12s = 30

I might gear down a bit more if possible w/ DIYes 40t wheel gear - same setups:

83mm - 190kv - 6s - 14/40 = 13mph 8s = 18 10s = 21 12s =25

Smaller wheels are better for hills and lower speed. I really like big wheels though. I like to ride over rougher roads and a similar setup w 97mm’s:

97mm - 190kv - 9s - 13/40 = 20mph (on 12s = 27mph)

Hope this helps and good luck!

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I’ve never ridden one motor except when one of my pair isn’t working when the canbus comes disconnected again. I’ve never noticed any torque steering or any il effects but it’s very underpowered on one. How badly does using one strong motor affect handling?

Non-issue for me. I’ve ridden more single setups than dual. But i don’t expect hills or drag racing acceleration. I have another dual setup in the works for next boards.

No spinning or issues i’ve noticed. My buddies boosted dual+ is smooth, but i’m likely not pushing it hard enough to tell the difference besides just better acceleration.

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based on that i’ve decided on 3 2s 5000mah batteries wired in series to get 15000mah and 6s with a single Turnigy Aerodrive 245kv now however i’m not really sure what esc to go with. do you have any recommendations for good esc’s. also braking will be done by a disk brake and the motor will be connected to a fly wheel so that only forward motion is transferred to the wheel.