Hub motors : Are they a good choice?

Hi everyone I’m new to this forum, and I’m learning a lot. I’d love to build a board with hub motors because I really like the looks, the simplicity , the silence and the freewheel. I feel however that most people do not choose this option. Is it only because they have less power? I have a feeling it’s more than that.

I’m really concerned by a couple of things before I set out doing this. I really worry that the lifespan of these motors will be very short: they are in direct contact with the ground and get all the vibrations and shocks. There is no dampening apart from a thin layer of urethane. What is your experience with this? How many hours or kms can I expect from such motors? I heard dirt and water can be an issue, same question what is user’s feedback?

Next : comfort. I suspect it’s inferior to a pulley setup. But is it a put off for those who have tried both? Could we imagine dampening pads between board and trucks to reduce the effect??

Lastly, as the heat dissipation is bad, assuming a dual setup, which I suppose is kind of mandatory, what is the max continuous range you can do before the motor overheats? I keep seeing amazing ranges with a good battery but will the motors hold up on a continuous run? What would be the max continuous distance achievable ??

Thanks for your comments !!

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Hi, I think there is a lot of topics about the Hub Motors vs the Belts one, A lot of people is changing to the Hub Motor Because it is cleaner, sometimes Cheaper, But it heats more than the Belt Drive and you don’t have a gearing system. About the durability, I really don’t know because the ones that we use have a Thin wheel part, but Carvon v3 will be a Hub Motor on a normal Wheel

As IsTalo said, there’s a lot of topics out there already, so try searching them and you’ll find a lot of good info.

I’ve been running a Carvon V2 and V2.5 for about 8 months now on the streets of NYC. So they’ve both taken a beating and are still running perfectly.

Hubs and belts both have their advantages and disadvantages. A lot depends on how you ride and what type of setup you want. Give us your weight, what sort of terrain you ride, how far you need to go, and wether or not you need to climb hills and we can help more.

Hi Thanks for your replies. Actually I have read several articles and watched a few videos on the subject thanks to the forum. However I cannot find any real answers to the questions I asked which are : how do they wear on the long run (vibrations, water, muck) and how long can you ride them continuously without risking damaging them because of them heating up? These questions keep coming up but it seems no one has the answer… For my use I’m around 70kg and not planning on going up steep hills regularly. So I don’t need spectacular power but I am looking for something reliable and somewhat comfortable. Thanks to users who have some feedback to share!

You weigh around 9kg more than I do, which is close enough. Right now I have my board set up on my Carvon V2.5 single. Plenty of power to get me around town and up moderate hills. I’ve been taking mine over pretty rough city terrain. Torn up streets, expansion joints, cobblestones, small rocks, off curbs, snow, ice, light rain, salt, surface water/muck,… Still running just fine.

In terms of overheating, no issues with my V2.5 even on long uphill grades. You can program your VESC to shutdown well before you can cause any damage, so there’s no reason to worry about that. I’ve ridden mine for as long as an hour straight over varied terrain up and down hills with no heat issues. I’m sure I could keep going until my battery dies, but I’m about ready for a break at that point. I did have issues with my V2 causing my VESC to overheat, but only on long uphill grades.

I haven’t tried any other hubs, but I haven’t had any issues with additional vibrations due to thin urethane on the Carvon’s. The Carvon’s only go part way through the wheel, so you still have a lot of thane for cushion. With a single, it’s only one wheel that’s affected anyways. If you go with a Carvon setup, I’d opt for the flywheels if you’re worried about vibrations. They absorb vibration better than the clones. Now if you wait for the V3’s, it’s a non issue. You can also get a board with a little flex if you want a cushy ride. Just be sure to split your enclosures or use a smaller battery pack and have everything on one side.

One of my worries when I went with hubs was that having the motor on the axel would cause premature failure from vibrations. So far, I’ve gone a few hundred miles and have had no issues. I haven’t been exactly gentle with mine either. With any system, parts will eventually fail. Hubs have fewer moving parts, so there’s less that can fail. Personally, I worry more about my belt breaking or getting something caught in my gears than my hub failing.

Hi thanks a lot for sharing. Seems pretty reassuring. In fact I read a lot more about people worrying about these issues than people complaining… But when u think of it vibrations are also transmitted pretty directly on a mounted motor too… Not much dampening either really. The only real load you wouldn’t get is the load of the rider which goes through the bearings. But that’s true on any skateboard. I really didn’t think a single hub would be sufficient to get a good ride but seems I was wrong which is good news since a lot cheaper.

A single motor should be fine for you as long as you’re not needing to power up a lot of steep inclines. You won’t have the torque and braking power you would from a dual, but it’s enough to get you going and stop you.