Hello everyone, many of you might be familiar with my build since it was on the other forum. Now that I finally got it working again and bought few upgrades, I figured I’d repost it here! I absolutely love the board. Compared to my v1/1.5/v2 Meepo that this DIY was born out of, it doesn’t come close.
Build:
42" Vanguard Flex 2
FOCBOX Unity ESC
10s4p Samsung 30q pack with D140 BMS (bypassed discharge)
Range is estimated at 18-22 miles. Average 21Wh/mile, pack total is 432Wh
Acceleration is superb, beats a boosted rev and V2 easily. I need to drag race more people in my group. Pull off the line is strong and continues up to 30mph quickly.
The control from the VX1 and Unity is sublime! I love this remote and ESC so much. No longer do I fear being jolted off from a small movement of the thumbwheel.
I am really impressed by the power and quality of these direct drive motors and the smoothness of the Unity. The build quality on the Flipsky VX1 is a nice upgrade from the mini remote that I used to have. I basically set out to “build a better Boosted” and I feel like I have done just that!
I went for a cruise down by the beach before some rain comes in (and Hurricane Dorian too ). I averaged 18.3Wh/mi with a guesstimated average 20+mph speed. Hits 29mph and quickly too! I wish I had a Metr module for more data… and temp sensors. I had exactly 50% battery (36.6 volts) after 14 miles. Should be able to get 22-24miles no problem if I ever need/want to do that.
I messed around with some settings but ultimately stuck with what I originally wrote. The motors were a little hotter than normal but this was probably the longest ride I’ve done in a while. I was only able to touch the motors for maybe 0.5-1.0 seconds before needing to remove my hand. Not very scientific or accurate but it’s the best I’ve got for now.
For anyone whose interested, I am convinced the battery max on the unity is “per VESC”. I lowered the value to 15amps and got a consistent 30amps on acceleration. On my normal settings I usually pull 40-50amps on launch.
Another update. I went 12.8 miles averaging 19.1Wh/mile which would mean I could get around 22.5 miles at that rate. Battery is currently sitting on 51%. Max temp on the Unity was 58°C, motor temp unknown. Up medium-large hills, I max out at about 25-26 mph at 70% SOC. Feels so great!
I had a v1 meepo and kept upgrading parts till it turned into this. I liked the free roll and silence of the hubs. Didn’t want to switch to belt drive when Torqueboard and Elofty were coming out with direct drives. Now I don’t have the money for either so the Meepo hubs stay for now.
They have plenty of power for my weight and terrain but I think we all know more power is addicting. Also afaik meepo hubs are better most than the chinese competitors. Completely valid question though, thanks for asking!
I’ll be out for a bit so if you need a picture lmk and I can take one tomorrow.
It’s self adhesive neoprene spanning the enclosure footprint and a thin strip along the interior of the enclosure. The thin strip sits a few mm below the actual lip of the enclosure so it has room to close (not by design, just happened to get pushed down when I tightened it all up). All the neoprene is about 3mm in thickness. I use nylon washers between the hex bolts and enclosure as a spacer and to prevent them from digging in to the fiberglass so I can tighten it down sufficiently.
I don’t trust that it’s much water resistance but it gives me peace of mind for shock protection, dust, and mild splashes. I would not take my board out in wet conditions.
I got my meepo hub build running a couple of weeks ago. I’m at 45/-35 motor as well. I don’t think there’s much more in them to be honest, I’m likely gonna drop back down to 40 since I felt a really small difference between 40 and 45 motor amps. FOC sensorless until I have time to wire the sensors.
I’m only running a FSESC 4.20 so at the moment I don’t have any data logging for now. BT module in the future. But I’m already considering a swap to belt motors, I really feel like a 10S4P of sanyo 20700B’s is just way to much range for hubs, and also its a stiff carbon fiber deck which can be unbearably bumpy on my roads these days.
Glad to hear you’re running a similar build! I agree with your assessment. I think the upper limit for these hubs is 45-50. I actually shorted out an older model at 60 motor amps a long time ago.
It’s not insane off the line, but the 10s4p 30q pack at 60 total battery amps makes the mid/high range “insane” and the hill climbing great. 20 miles of real world range easily although I haven’t tested it.
The ride quality of the 100mm wheels on a vanguard is pretty good but I also have fairly nice roads. I feel you with wanting to switch to belt drive. I am currently resisting the temptation to purchase TB DD’s and TB 110’s since it has always been my intention to get a direct drive system.
Somebody convinced me to go with 10S4P since it was the maximum number of cells I could fit into the enclosure vs the 12S3P I was planning on doing. So if I find a 6355 belt setup I like, I’m going to swap that on it and the meepo hubs are getting 12S. I got to do it dunno why I chickened out…
Also did you adjust the erpm when you set them up?
I had the same dilemma. I have more range than I ever need and plenty of amps to spare so I’m not complaining. After getting hit by a car I wasn’t really trying to f–k myself with speed induced wobbles so I chickened out of a 12s3p. Maybe another board in the future with 12s3p 30 or 40T’s and some 6380’s down the line…?
I’ve played around with it but ultimately left the limit open. I definitely want to play around with it more but it’s hard to test since I have to open my enclosure to access that setting. Hopefully it will be added to the Unity app in the coming update (and there’s always a metr pro).
Thanks for the input! I’ll have to take a closer look at the graphs again. AFAIK the 40T cell shouldn’t be run over 25 amps continuous. I’ve always compared the Samsung 40T to the Sanyo 20700b cell tbh.
I’m thinking LYevo 12S5P samsung 35E for the best 12S meepo hub setup, you don’t need that many battery amps for hubs and that will be tons of range.
Yeah I have to open it up as well to adjust everything, and the fitment is so tight plus extra strength Velcro, I have to squeeze it out of the case for the slave side. ERPM is still something I’m just trying to figure out at the moment. I still haven’t even measured the top speed with a GPS app or anything yet, need to do that too.
Also my brakes are gonna go down to -30, I had a panic stop this week and the locked up one or both of the wheels, so I’d prefer to just stop a little slower than drift it out lol.
Alright ladies and gentlemen, we have ascended to full DIY status with the latest addition of the TorqueBoards Direct Drive system. I ordered on a Tuesday, shipped Saturday, received Monday! I’ve put around 30 miles on them so far.
First impression is that these things are massive both in size and weight. More copper/iron is better for performance so I’m not complaining. Secondly, wow these TB 110 wheels are the shit. I didn’t think a good road could literally feel like a cloud or snow slope. Thirdly, the power is great. I am running 70/-50/60/-20 settings with amazing torque and hill climbing ability. Fourthly, the stability is great; I have little fear of carving compared to the hub motors that would bounce around and lose grip. Lastly, the sound at high speed at 20kHz is pretty sweet too.
Setup was a little complicated but nothing I couldn’t manage. First thing I did to these motors was chop the connectors and switch them to 3.5mm bullets (for the Unity) and proper 2.0 JST PH sensor connectors. I then needed to file down the Flatland 3d bash-guards so the TB baseplates would sit flush. After affixing them to the deck and ESC I was getting low speed stuttering in sensored FOC. At first I was worried that I had messed up the sensor connector swap but after changing the “Sensored to sensorless transition RPM” from 3000 to 10000rpm, the issue is completely gone.
The motors have a little rattle to them but this is normal and potentially remedied with some thermal paste along the axel (with the added benefit of faster cool off times). Overall these things are ridiculously futuristic and awesome.
). I averaged 18.3Wh/mi with a guesstimated average 20+mph speed. Hits 29mph and quickly too! I wish I had a Metr module for more data… and temp sensors. I had exactly 50% battery (36.6 volts) after 14 miles. Should be able to get 22-24miles no problem if I ever need/want to do that.