Budget Dual Hub Build - Advice Needed

ESK8 Electronics
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Hello all, looking to make a low profile build on a smaller board (~30 in) that I will mainly use for short commutes which need an portable board that is light and subtle. Also looking to keep the budget low and around $300 hopefully. This will be my second build so I have some experience but would not say I’m an expert yet.

I want to use hubs for this build to keep with the low profile theme, and more specifically 70mm hubs to keep the weight down and to also be able to use a pair of 70mm wheels and truck I have for the non-hub side of the board. I know it is generally not recommended to use cheap parts but I am not looking for high speed or torque and don’t plan on forcing this board up massive hills or anything.

I’ve narrowed it down to 3 options below:

Option 1:

Banggood DC 36V 450W Hub Motor Kit For Electric Skateboard Longboard Part (Dual 70mm Hubs assembled with trucks), https://www.banggood.com/DC-36V-450W-Hub-Motor-Kit-For-Electric-Skateboard-Longboard-Part-p-1315214.html?rmmds=cart_middle_products&cur_warehouse=CN

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I like this because the hubs already assembled with trucks, don’t have to worry about compatibility issues. I’m worried about buying general hubs and if I would be able to mount them on any generic trucks.

Banggood Dual Esc Substitute (or from eBay appears to be the same one):

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Not really looking to spend big on a dual vesc, it seems like these are okay from some other forum posts I’ve read plus the reviews. I plan on just using 6s lipos as well (I’m about 150lbs so don’t need a ton of torque). The hub motors say they are rated to 36V, but I assume it doesn’t hurt to do 6s as opposed to going over the limit. It seems like the esc will be the bottleneck either way since its max power is 290W whereas the hubs are 450W.

Cost: ~$200 (with banggood coupons)

Option 2:

Aliexpress Hubs x2 70mm Hubs + Aliexpress Trucks

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Use same dual esc substitute as option 1. I like that the 70mm hubs here are rated for 24V, I’m just worried about the truck configuration. It appears that to mount these hubs you stick the end of them into the slot on the trucks then put those little screw covers over them. This seems a little sketchy to me, what is preventing the hubs from just sliding out the sides? Is it just friction? Or is there some mechanism within those slot covers. I was hoping someone had used these before and could explain.

Cost: ~$220

Option 3: Full kit from aliexpress https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2018-New-DIY-Dual-Drive-70mm-83mm-90mm-180W-250W-350W-Electric-Skateboard-Hub-Motor-Truck/32862636181.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.67.73a53644aq9IoO&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_1_10065_10130_10068_10547_319_317_10548_10696_453_10084_454_10083_10618_10139_10307_537_536_10902_10059_10884_10887_321_322_10103,searchweb201603_57,ppcSwitch_0&algo_expid=941950ce-4762-460c-b72b-4c4f40e0896e-9&algo_pvid=941950ce-4762-460c-b72b-4c4f40e0896e

I like that this is all together, but the motors seem a bit weaker from the specs. Also this is slightly more expensive then the other options.

Cost: ~$250

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Options 4: Dual 70mm Maxfind hubs from aliexpress

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Same dual esc as option 1. This is the cheapest option and the motors seem okay for the price, just worried about mounting the motors to generic trucks. Will these just work with any square shaped axles? Has anyone tried this before.

Cost: $170

Would appreciate any advice, thanks!

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No no no no no, if you are going to use cheap hubs at least use the 90mm hubs as they are well tested and reasonable quality. They can be found for $125 on eBay and will have much more torque, they also include front wheels and trucks.

If you must use a Chinese esc use one of the new models sold by ownboard of wowgo as they are much smoother. A vesc 4.20+ is probably another option as long as the connection issue have been fixed on the new version.

It will be hard to get a battery for this cheap but I’d have a look for a used meepo/wowgo/ownboard or any like that. Usually around 80-120 used on the forum.

Good luck building :slightly_smiling_face:

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Maybe buying a used board and deck swapping it is the way to go

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My friend has the second/third option and the axle just bends so I’d suggest against that one, after a week the motor is about 5 degrees off

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I’ve seen some options on eBay for 90mm like this: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/120W-Brushless-Dual-6364-Hub-Motor-Drive-Part-For-Electric-Longboard-Skateboard/192776888140?hash=item2ce265df4c:g:3mEAAOSwNe9cK0Ca:rk:12:pf:0

Seems okay but I was hoping to avoid 90mm wheels since I want a smaller build thats why I wanted 70mm wheels. Also it seems like the driver wheels are 85mm, is that normal to be smaller on the front?

Is this the esc you are taking about?

This does seem good and about the same price as the other one. I already have an enertion nano-x 2.4ghz remote so that will work with this esc right?

Batteries I will spend about $50 for hobby king ones.

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Ok, thanks for letting me know. I thought that method of assembly was suspect. I’ll eliminate those options.

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Nano x will not work with ownboard esc

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Whatever you do don’t buy those first hubs. They broke within minutes of me using them

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Thr ESC from ownboard is only compatible with 10S batteries. If you already have the Nano X I would suggest buying a dual Vesc, Flipsky has free shipping at the moment and you can use 6S or 10S without any hassle. I haven’t used the 70mm hubs so can’t comment, the 90mm ones are decent with a Vesc. The 4.20+ Vesc from Flipsky has upgraded parts and seems to be more reliable.

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Shit really, thats disappointing. Do you know why they broke, what was your battery setup?

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Also these hubs looked pretty good and it seems like some people have somewhat vouched for them in other posts, but they’ve been out of stock for a while… I’m hoping once Chinese New Year’s is done they’ll put them back in stock

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The vescs are still expensive in comparison even with free shipping, I have a vesc on my other board and I think it might be little overkill for just a small cruiser at low speeds.

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Bump, does anyone have any experience with these?

I’m most concerned with mounting them, do they require special trucks? Could not find any reviews on here or elsewhere.

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I’ve ordered a pair of the 90mm versions for my budget holiday board. Will report back once they arrive.

Trucks will need modifying to fit the square end, and I suspect the axle will need to be lengthened to fit the motor stator.

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If you’re willing to spend a bit more look into the inboard. I believe they’ve lowered their prices and you’ll get something tried and tested

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If your really looking for budget, go on offer up or Facebook and buy a used meepo… i saw one as low as 250… you can then upgrade few things here and there when you get money instead of buying unproven and wasting your time building something that wont last

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Where’s the fun in that, half the fun for me is the building process.

The wheels came today, their quality control seems to be quite lapsed. One has a bevel on the outer edge and the other did not. Both had a rounded edge on the inside.

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Don’t use those random small cheap hubmotors. Go for ownboard/wowgo if you want durable and strong hubmotors wich are pretty cheap! https://www.ownboard.net/products/ownboard-motor-esc-remote-upgrade-waterproof?variant=8023282450474 If you want a full kit go for these:

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I agree this should probably be the way to go for most people.

The reviews of the Maxfind boards seemed decent though, and I wanted more than the 250W per motor (Maxfinds are 500W).

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I would not recommend hub motors at all. Especially if you’re going to use it for commute. They will break and continue to break and then you have to replace the entire drive train instead of just the thing that broke. You’ll spend more in the end.

Try something closer to this

And for a budget build you should be looking at single-motor only.

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