New Builder Needs Help

Thank you so much for the informative response. Both @Namasaki and @sl33py gave some very valuable lessons and insight for me, thank you.

I’ll do some math and see if I can squeeze decent quality parts into my £400 budget (you said it was a challenge, not impossible) or I may have to up it to £500.

I’ll grab 5Ah 20c lipos, considering the HEV motor @sl33py recommended is 10S, I assume I should find 2x 5Ah, 10S batteries and connect both in parallel? that should give me 42V x 10Ah = 420Wh = ~ 42km? This sounds expensive/unrealistic as I’ve not seen anyone with that kind of range :sweat:. Edit: Scratch that, a bit of Googling let me know real fast why I don’t see builds with 2x 5Ah 10S batteries in parallel.

Does anyone have recommendation for budget, stiff boards?

Thanks again,

Youssless

A couple 5s lipos and a hobby balance charger is the cheapest and simplest way to get started. Try to get higher C batteries though. At least 25C but preferably higher. I use 60C lipos. You need lots of headroom when it comes to current to avoid excessive voltage sag.

Agreed. 20c 5Ah/5000mAh is the minimum i’d suggest. the 30c and higher will be even better. Depending on your budget, get what you can afford - they can get significantly more expensive going higher C.

5s batteries are a bit of an oddity, so you might not see a ton of them, or they might be more $. Option B - I regularly run 8s and it moves me along really well - two 4s. Option C - 9s (3 x 3s).

Running a speed calc spreadsheet i found (don’t recall exactly where - have a couple):

83mm - 190kv - 10s - 15/40 = ~24mph same w/ 9s = ~22mph same w/ 8s = ~20mph

Going any of those to 36t wheel gear = ~2mph more. So 9s on 15/36 = ~24mph.

And wanting to go 25-30mph is ridiculously fast! If you haven’t done it, and don’t have the skills (like you downhill and do this regularly) i strongly caution you to go slower to start and work up to faster speeds. And wear gear appropriate for the speeds you intend to ride.

As for inexpensive decks - since you are in the UK, i’m not sure if you’ll get hit with taxes/fees/customs $, but funbox has a few decks that look nice and seem very reasonable price wise. Here’s a link to their topmount decks only. Drop through’s look great but are much more difficult to setup - so for a first build i suggest a simple top mount (with micro or no drop). I’d also caution away from flexy decks - possible, but a lot more work to setup. Especially for a first board.

Deck shape and style is super personal - i typically prefer symmetrical boards w/ cutouts like the Loaded Vanguard - since it lets me run bigger wheels w/o risers or wheelbite. If you do a more typical deck you likely will need risers even for 83mm wheels.

Caliber II 50’s would be my suggested - the “standard” in most respects and the largest selection of motor mounts. Being “keyed” the mount shouldn’t rotate (depending on motor mount design). I tried Paris 195’s w/ ADS v1 mounts and they rotated when braking (dragging motor mount on ground) - so i’d suggest the more reliable Caliber II’s or clones for this reason. Most importantly i think is to get good bushings for your weight - regardless of which trucks you use.

as you figure out what you want - post up here so folks can help steer you before you buy.

HTH - GL!

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@sl33py and @Namasaki thank you both again for the info. I’m looking at components and I think I’ll have to up my budget to £500 (though even that looks to be a bit of a challenge to work with).

At the moment, I’m looking to go with @Namasaki’s recommendation of the HEV 190kV brushless motor from alienpowersystem.com and though they have pretty much everything, they do seem to have higher asking prices for certain components.

I’ll look into getting a 5Ah, at least 30C 9s or 10s battery. Double checking; batteries in series add their voltages but batteries in parallel add their Ah, yes?. Just so I’m aware, will the extra wires for parallel prove somewhat cumbersome? there’s not a whole lot of space under the board.

Think I’ll invest in a VESC and batteries to maximise longevity, though how long can I expect my batteries/components to last if I use a full charge say three times a week over the summer months (say 4 to be optimistic about British weather) assuming I’ll be mostly on tarmac? and if its not being used, do the components ‘age’ well?

Caliber II 50’s caught my attention quickly though the enterion mount sitting at ~£50 has me hoping I can grab a cheaper, similar quality mount (been checking the commonly used components thread).

I’ll post later with a build that will probably need some tweaking but gives an idea of what I can get to fit in my budget to help any suggestions.

Thanks again guys!

Not sure how long these are going to take to be available but they look like the biz.

About speed, my build does perhaps 23mph and that does seem pretty fast. I’m 6’6" so perhaps that makes me feel more vulnerable. For a controller I have a mini remote, found it great and good form factor. I just sold some for £30 quid. I have a few more but may need them. If I don’t I’ll advertise them. I started with a 6s system. Cheap and cheerful with an fvt 120 esc. Vesc with a higher voltage system is better though. Currently I use 3 x 3s 5000mah hobby king batteries that were about 30 quid each. One thing to watch is the motors from Alien have shafts of 10mm. No problem if you go with their pulleys but a lot of other kits have 8mm holes.

Correct - Higher Voltage will give you more “Punch” and power (within your own skill limitation - and ability to “feather” or moderate the throttle). At 10Wh = 1km. A 10s 5000mAh setup = (42v x 5Ah =) 210Wh = 21km/13 miles.

Going parallel for more Ah would only be if you needed to double your range. Heavy and $$ to do this.

A less expensive motor mount option you might look at:

Remote - i’d suggest the GT2b and get a smaller enclosure later. If you have access to a 3d printer look for Badwolf / Flatline customs / baby buffalo files on thingiverse. OR buy MasterCho enclosure.

GL!

Thanks @bigben, I noticed and was wondering if it would make finding pulleys difficult.

I’m listing my build on notepad with URL links and found 5Ah 3s 30c batteries for £25 each on hobbyking. I saw that post earlier today though note that its estimated to arrive in 5 weeks which is quite a long time. Happy to wait if y’all think its worth the wait at that price.

This would be a deal breaker for me. 10mm gears are a PITA to find. I would try to stick to motors with 8mm shafts. I’d look at esk8.de or other EU providers and double check the axle size is 8mm.

Real world impact - the 10mm motor shaft gears are harder to find, won’t go as low gearing if you are trying to keep speeds reasonable or keep torque/accell. If you can find them, i’d not go lower than 13 or 14t for the motor gear - 12t doesn’t have enough teeth in mesh and will likely skip!

Belting online can make any pulley but get expensive when you add shipping etc.

I’ve found an SK3 6364 190kV motor for £10 cheaper on Hobbyking and it says it has an 8mm shaft. With the pulleys, can I stick to the beginner guide’s recommendation of 15/36 or do I need a different ratio because of my weight?

Good old hobby king motors will require a flat spot making on the shaft but cheaper than some of the other eu distributors. I am going to try and do a group buy at some point but probably a while off yet.

What about these. You could see what he has left? https://www.electric-skateboard.builders/t/sale-uk-vesc-motors-mounts-wheels-enclosure-gt2b-wheel-pulley-kits/21191/25

Ah nice! a VESC for £90, do you know if it needs to be setup with lab-grade power supply (I think a guide on here called it)?

I’m no Vescpert. (see what I did there?) But I set up my vesc on 1 of my 3s batteries. My vesc was the old enertion vesc which I’m led to believe isn’t too far in quality from the diy ones. There is a chat function on the diy site, could be worth a look?

Pulleys are available here. 15/40t 15mm for 8mm shaft

I’ve bought some of these and they’re excellent. Aren’t they 40 tooth wheel pulleys though? Need large wheels for these. I’m looking for a source of 90mm+ so if anyone sees a some let me know!

You are correct. Edited the post now. Been awake for 20h so I need some sleep before posting any more

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OK, so after some searching I think I have most of the pieces down and I hope I can fit it all in my £500 budget!

Please take a look and let me know if anything is incompatible/can be found cheaper elsewhere. With the board, I’ll still need to look but I wanted to make sure I got the electronics secured since @rwxr will be making an order on the mounts tomorrow and I can use the 6 weeks to find a decent 2nd hand deck and some decent flywheel clones.

Motor = £55 (Sk3 6364 190kv) (https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-aerodrive-sk3-6364-190kv-brushless-outrunner-motor.html) Mount = $31 (~£24) from rwxr (https://www.electric-skateboard.builders/t/eu-us-22-carbon-motor-mounts-anodized-aluminum-clamp/20795) Pulley System = £23 (12mm Enertion) (http://www.enertionboards.com/electric-skateboard-parts/12mm-wide-drive-pulley-kit/) Battery = £75 (3x 30C 5Ah 3s in series) (https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-5000mah-3s-30c-lipo-pack.html) VESC = £90 (DIY electric skateboards.com)(https://www.electric-skateboard.builders/t/sale-uk-vesc-motors-mounts-wheels-enclosure-gt2b-wheel-pulley-kits/21191) Remote and receiver = £20 (GT2b) (https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbykingr-tmhk-gt2b-3ch-2-4ghz-transmitter-and-receiver-w-rechargable-li-ion-battery-1.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwioHIBRCes6nP56Ti1IsBEiQAxxb5G4L_b3V03gWQc_uZHtMubk-BJ3HS_ELkExHkcimnqqQaAuD08P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds)

Switch = Charger = https://www.amazon.co.uk/HOBBYTIGER-Digital-Battery-Balance-Charger/dp/B01BBJKB8Y/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_21_bs_t_2/260-9328836-7975037?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SCKANQFJ22PHBHHNDYDM#Ask Enclosure =

Deck = £40 budget Trucks = ~£45 Caliber II 50’s Wheels = ~£40 83mm 76a or 78a Bearings = £26 Bones super reds (https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Skateboard-Bearings/Bones-Super-Precision-Skate-Bearings/B002NES3MS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1493235576&sr=8-3&keywords=bones+reds)

Electronics = £290

Board = £150

With a £500 budget I’m left with £59 for a switch, enclosure (I’ve seen these done real cheap) and a charger.

Thank you all for your help so far, I’m psyched

Instead of a switch you could go for a loop key using an XT90 plug. Plenty of info on the forum. You could also go for a 6374 motor?

After using them both I’d use a mini remote as opposed to the very good gt2b. (quite big though) https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2-4Ghz-mini-remote-controller-with-receiver-for-electric-skateboard-longboard/32735708994.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.41.pWwY55&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_1_10152_10065_10151_10068_10130_10136_10137_10060_10138_10155_10062_10156_10154_10056_10055_10054_10059_10099_10103_10102_10096_10148_10147_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10111_10112_10113_10114_10179_10181_10182_10078_10079_10073_10070_10123_10124,searchweb201603_4,ppcSwitch_5&btsid=48383dcf-aca6-43fc-9e8d-04418c118f80&algo_expid=1a1d7cc6-5a06-45d3-b60e-e96c6273a117-5&algo_pvid=1a1d7cc6-5a06-45d3-b60e-e96c6273a117

Thanks Ben, though my focus is my budget at the moment, is the 6364 not powerful enough to lug my 95kg weight around?

I’ll look into the remote you’ve recommended to see if its worth the extra price. If its just size then I think I’ll stick with the cheaper GT2b and then transfer it to a smaller case down the line at some point.

If you’ve not got too many hills you might be ok. I hear what you’re saying about getting a smaller case down the line. I couldn’t face the faf though! You should be able to save a few quid by going with the loop key too.