yeah same. after like 3 jumps my feet slip out and I need to readjust the strap. annoying.
While Iām a big fan of heelstraps by my own, I can just recommend watching this video about bindings and how to set them up right.
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To be fair those look way sturdier. Just look at how much more material there is around the kingpin compared to the current one. Almost all failures have been at that thin spot.
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Oh wow, did not notice the difference between the two
Minor update to the board, was a little sketched out that the motor mounts stuck out so far, so I made some basic 3D printed bumpers to protect it a bit in case of impact. Shoutout to Kevin for making all the numbers nice and round, the very first test print fit like a glove!
Iāve uploaded the model to Thingiverse, so feel free to print your own or modify it to look the way you want it to. It was literally a 5 minute CAD so thereās plenty of optimization potential if you want to.
Also upgraded to a full face helmet, the Leatt MTB DH 1.0. Pretty outstanding value for safety at $100 with DH certification and a variant of MIPS, but itās midweight (1100g for XL) and airflow isnāt the best. Canāt really complain at $100 though, and you could certainly do worse.
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Nice read, interresting build, looking at doing something similiar myself.
But ordering things from within EU instead.
IĀ“m a quite light guy, only 70kg, do you think that board would be a good starting point for me as well?
Or should I maybe use something a bit less stiffā¦
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Welcome to the forum!
I personally donāt think the stiffness is that bad, but a lot of that is personal preference. Itās still pretty bouncy, but nowhere near the levels of Trampa decks. Meanwhile, the DW deck is much stiffer so it doesnāt bottom out as often on jumps. The Birds deck in my opinion is a good middle ground with a versatile amount of flex - compliant enough for shock absorption and ollie springs, but stiff enough to remain stable at high speeds on the road. Iām only 3-4kg heavier, so I donāt think itāll be a hugely different experience.
Hey dude.
Hope you are still enjoying the board.
Could you share the file for the drilling jig you made for the sprockets please?
Did they come out well for you? What size drill bit did you use?
Edit.
Found it on your thingiverse page.
Appreciate it.
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Sure, although I donāt think everything is available anymore.
Chain: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NPNFDRP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Wheel Sprocket: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WGQFY77/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Motor Sprocket: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RB2R767/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You can find the same things for cheaper on Ebay too, but I get most things online from Amazon nowadays since itās way easier to deal with their customer service.
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Sick. Thanks so much dude
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Havenāt had a whole lot of riding done thanks to lots of home renovation work, but Iāve gotten a few rides in and thereās been a few slight modifications and issues found.
The first change is that I balanced the wheels with some 1/4oz wheel weights. One wheel needed just one, while two needed two, while one needed a whopping 4 weights. Needless to say itās made a pretty huge difference. However, Iām finding that they arenāt sticking too well, and tend to either fall off after sitting for a while, or fling off in freewheel acceleration/braking. Iāve only lost two so far, but theyāve fallen off at least 8 times already.
Also lubed my chain for the first time outside the factory lube. Was so quiet the ride after that I could actually hear the tire noise on the pavement. Then it reverted back to the normal chainsaw that is chain drive the next ride. Guess thereās no real way to quiet it down.
Went on my first group ride, was lots of fun. Got about 40-50% more range than I had expected from the calculator, although thatās been a recurring case with the board. Iām not too sure why, but itās probably mostly due to my riding style. Still, Iām not complaining there. In the same group ride, @jack.luis uncovered a flaw with my enclosure mounting system, and managed to buck the ESC enclosure loose during a jump. I still havenāt been able to fully stick the Velcro back on without it jiggling loose again, so I guess Iām gonna need to stick a few more strips on and increase the surface area. Still not entirely sure about hard mounting it using screws, as that would mean I would need to drill a hole in the enclosure, and it would transfer vibrations more easily. The battery enclosureās still solid, but Iāve never removed it before so maybe the initial bite is still super strong.
I also got fed up with my current charging situation, so I bought a YZPower 8A charger and LLT BMS to build an externally BMSed charger. Still waiting on the JST connectors, but this should cut my total charge time by 12x.
And thatās my 3 month update! Need to get more riding in, but charging was a drag. Hopefully with the new charger I can actually get out there and ride, than plan rides days in advance so the batteries can charge.
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i love this chain drive build.
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This is a really polite way of saying I broke your enclosure off lmao. Iām sorry about that but I thiiiiinkk i remember asking if I could jump it haha
Either way, im sorry broski haha
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Lol itās all good, better then than during an offroad ride. Plus I donāt think Iāve ever managed to jump as high as you did, so thanks for the stress test 
. Seems like the name brand Velcro I got is more of a single use thing, and doesnāt like being taken on and off (which doesnāt really make sense?). Luckily the enclosure stays on because itās still tethered to the binding and motors, so it doesnāt really ever fall off, just knocks incessantly against the deck.
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Another update on the Velcro situation for science. I let someone who actually can do tricks test out the boards, and it turns out Velcroās not strong enough for tricks. The ESC enclosure flopped several times from jumps, and necessitated an emergency zip tie job to keep it down. Then somehow the battery box came off as well after about 30 jumps and disconnected from the umbilical, sliding several yards across the pavement. I stuck it back on, but it came loose again on a large bump. Held up fine for the rest of the ride, but from experience the Velcro only holds optimally the very first stick, and anytime it comes off, it loses a considerable amount of holding power, so I need to find a better solution.
My current fix is to keep the zip tie in the back, which tensions the box fine against the board so the Velcro doesnāt jump. In the middle, I have a Velcro strap going around the entire box to keep it from jumping off the deck. That in addition to the existing Velcro is more than strong enough to keep it on during normal rides, although the juryās still out for jumps. Still would prefer to not drill into the deck or enclosure, but I donāt like the strap hanging under the board, so any mounting ideas would be appreciated!
Also made a phone holder to show telemetry data using a modded Freesk8 app using a 10-32 bolt and a tripod mount phone clamp. It slots into my modular baseplate, so I can switch it out easily to my GoPro or flashlight mount without unscrewing the trucks. Those spring loaded phone clamps are way stronger than I expected, holding tight even during jumps. However, since I loaded the app in debug mode, it kept bringing up error logs whenever it loses any Bluetooth signal, which made it pretty annoying. Need to rebuild it instead of sideloading it to my device.
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3M VHB tape is the strongest semi-permanent solution, if you can get two flat surfaces to cement together. They even make an adhesion promotor (liquid on a swab) to increase bond strength. Iāve used this successful as the sole mounting method on a car for an abs plastic wing directly onto a painted trunk, and itās held up for years at highway speeds. But thereās plenty of surface area.
Otherwise, you might try 3M dual lock - next level Velcro, although some ppl say it doesnāt handle vibrations well. The spec sheet says itās good for something like 500 lbs.
Lastly, thereās epoxy (definitely permanent, until it cracks), ratchet straps, or good ol fasteners (likely your best choice)
Personally, i would recover the entire bottom of each enclosure (100%, not a few strips) in high strength, industrial Velcro or dual lock and give that a go.
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Check these velcro straps out. I think with velcro on the bottom of the box and one or two of these straps holding it down, your box shouldnāt go anywhere.
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These were all potential solutions I had thought of when I was first putting the board together, but ultimately I thought Velcro was the best solution for a couple of reasons:
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The deck flexes in the middle, which is terrible for dual lock. Dual lock is strong, but only when you have two flat surfaces. When you have active flex, itās only going to try ripping itself off. With Velcro at least thereās some give due to the thickness of the fuzz.
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The deck has an asymmetric concave, which prevents any glue from sticking well without building up some volume first. Again with Velcro, the fuzz thickness helps to absorb some of the unevenness
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I want to be able to revert it to a regular mountainboard easily. Plus, if the battery catches fire, I want to be able to yeet it off quickly. Thatās why I didnāt go with a permanent mounting solution.
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