what in gods name
In June, after finishing one of my mini AT builds, i was craving for more things to fiddle with. @avX threw an idea out of nowhere, ‘You know, we should build a two person board.’
We both laughed simultaneously, ‘lets do it’
So there’s no commercially available long board, so we have to make one.
I used 15mm Baltic Birch plywood, and cut two long 1 meter x 25 cm pieces.
For drive train we used Caliber IIs, custom ‘Enertion style motor mounts’, 190kv 5055 motors. And also 97mm Abec wheels, running 15/36.
At the time we took flexing in the middle in mind, so we placed two trucks in the middle-ish. Big regret, you’ll see why later.
Then, it was concave time. I’m no CNC guy so i used a table saw and cut out a wedge profile.
now that’s a gaspedal concave
Routed the bottom with a big 45 deg router bit. Buncha sanding
I could make the corners rounder, but hey, more material means peace of mind and less of a chance of something snappy happening.
Then back at home, worked on the electronics. Using a spare 8S lipo from Jeff’s Vanguard build which he swapped to a Li-ion pack. Using two old Ollin VESCS as well, and the ol trusty loop key.
So this is the current state of the board now. Got spare Orangatang Kilmers and two trucks with goodwill from @BillGordon, to be used as leverage to prevent the middle from flexing down. When we installed the front and back black trucks, the flex in the middle was like the flexiest Vanguard!
Thus, a way to make it able to fit in a car, and for ease of transport, this octagon is what connects the two decks to one.
And bolted on with a bunch of 10mm hex screws and locknuts.
Lin, Jeff, what the fuck have you guys made
NOW, turning was near impossible because of how we positioned the trucks. I know i know…
Also, getting a bit of wheelbite, so to the drum sander we went!
And eventually its stain and grip time.
Temporarily taped the electronics to run it and test how it rides.
Made a wooden enclosure with 15mm birch again, and mounted it to the deck.
Cut out the holes for the loop key and voltmeter.
And we have power!
To fix the turning issue, i swapped to two castor wheels which coincidentally was close to the height of the trucks and 97mm wheels. It turns well now, but i’d say 2~3 meter turning radius haha.
Gave it a bit of stain for some contrast. And it’s done!
Dismantled it so i could bring it home for some final touch ups. Portable! Kinda.
So why did we make this board? For science! And for fun, because there’s a monthly event in Singapore where the roads are closed for half a day, and it’s the only day where its legal to ride on the roads. So i’ll sidetrack a bit and share a bit on the happenings from the event as well.
Jeff trying out the board without the back connected. Funny thing is that in this form, it’s almost like a Leiftech hybrid. We went with a FWD because it has better traction than a RWD. So when you brake, the board EASILY does a 180 and you do a power slide.
Installing the two halves together
And here it is.
Got all the esk8 SG guys to sign on the enclosure as part of esk8 history.
And there’s the esk8 squad. Smaller group today due to some with commitments and couldn’t make it but here we are!
Enough talk! How does it ride?
Well, turning needs to be perfectly synchronized. I mean really. If Jeff turns just the slightest without me knowing, the board will lean and will lead to me losing balance and falling off. Fortunately no falls, only once where Jeff had to run off due to losing balance when leaning a bit.
The first 2km, Jeff sat while i was standing. Once we were somewhat comfortable in that position, i asked if he wanted to ride while standing, and off we went. Turning radius was larger definitely, but it was still doable on road turns. We went a total of 12km, and it drained the battery to about 10%. Not bad for a 140kg load eh?
From the vid, you can see that it kinda struggled to climb the hill slope but do note it’s pushing two people, and also partly due to the 5055 motors that were used. Should’ve used 6355s but hey, it managed to push us. We went max 25km/h, any more than that, it’s literally suicide.
And of course, we have to represent @Grievor and his awesome bag for being able to fit even the most insane size boards out there.
So yea, big thanks to @avX and the rest who gave ideas/suggestions on this crazy thing. This is definitely not a practical board and was made just for fun. It’ll eventually be dismantled but the enclosure will be kept with the signatures.
On to the next crazy build!
