this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2024
12 points (77.3% liked)

micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility

2222 readers
29 users here now

Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!

"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.

micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"

Feel free to also check out

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

It's a little sad that we need to actually say this, but:

Don't be an asshole or you will be permanently banned.

Respectful debate is totally OK, criticizing a product is fine, but being verbally abusive will not be tolerated.

Focus on discussing the idea, not attacking the person.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

This electric longboard is designed for the ultimate carving experience no matter the terrain, and with a clever design, it can easily swap its wheels

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Thanks for the writeup! Any recommendations on a kit for something mellow? I'm just interested in something that can climb hills and brake reliably. I picked up an Omen bamboo drop through if that helps narrow down potential kits.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Well, both VESC and Hobbywing systems will let you turn it down. More power also means more braking. A bigger battery is able provide a bigger resistive load, which is required for stopping power. The regen braking on my Eovan is strong enough to lose traction on some surfaces.

So you'll prefer overspeccing a little.

I've not looked at kits, except the revel kit. Which seems to have disappeared. If you can find one, they're know to be great.

For a full DIY conversion I'd be finding and vetting each component individually.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Took a look around on what the DIY scene looks like right now.

With an existing board, I might grab a kit for the electronics from flipsky, and look at buildkitboards for their modular battery and enclosure system. Going that route, using VESC based systems, means you'd need to get comfortable with understanding and configuring the electronics using the VESCTool PC program, as well as wiring the various components together.

The other option is buying the relevant parts of a hobbywing-based production board from a brand like backfire, verreal or wowgo, and bolting them onto your board.

There's the "mellow" kit which looks similar to the revel kit, except it uses hub motors instead of direct-drive. That means you'd be relying on urethane sleeves which are really uncomfortable compared to full wheels, and potentially difficult to source replacements of, as you can't just use any wheel.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Not being able to use regular wheels is an automatic pass from me lol, thanks for the advice!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That's why the G2T ended up as my only hub-drive board. I didn't buy another.

Direct-drive and gear-drive also allow for the use of any wheel one might like, and don't consume belts.

Revel was kind of the ideal kit, everything just bolted on to the existing screw-holes, and the motors were direct-drive.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Ok, I have another question: What happens if you drop the controller, it dies, or otherwise malfunctions? Does the board just stop? Keep doing whatever it was doing?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

When the controller dies or loses connection, most boards will slowly transition into full brakes, bring the board to a smooth stop. This is standard on Hobbywing, I think, but on VESC you need a remote with a receiver that supports connection loss being detected, which the VESC can then be programmed to react to.

As for dropping it, that's why you USE THE LANYARD.

The control wheel has to be held for the board to maintain speed or start braking, so when dropped, at first it will just stop doing whatever it was doing and begin coasting. Once you get out of range, same thing as any other disconnect, it starts braking on its own. The range can be kind of far, depending on the board, so this is really not something you want happening while going downhill. If you use the lanyard tho, it's not gonna happen.

I've had no malfunctions. And while I know this is how it works, I haven't had to rely on it even once.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Any experience with add-on braking systems? I was looking at putting one on my longboard as I learn the basics. Originally I thought my skateboarding skills would make longboarding a cinch but the differences are way more significant than I figured they'd be.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Like the cable diskbrakes you find on mountain boards? No.

I found it very easy to learn to skate on an electric board. I've never ridden anything non-electric.

I just slowly used the motors less and less to help in order to get the basics down. Just being able to hold down the brakes while stepping on made it a cinch to get started. And also being able to remotely halt the board rolling away when you bail.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

There seem to be a variety of designs, some are just a lever with some rubber with a peg you step on and others are more elaborate. Footbraking seems to be a lot more punishing on my longboard compared to my skateboards so I was looking for an intermediary while I learn to slide.