Ive gone back to my roots a bit on eskate so please please read my statements as opinions. Im no expert or authority on the subject. What I love about thane and smaller boards is how easy it is to just jump on and go somewhere. Helmet and maybe some gloves with palm slides and im gtg. When i get to the restaurant or grocery store i just pick that shit up and do whatever im doing.
Getting on transit is so easy, no giant bike or massive pads and armor to mess with. Still pushing loads of miles on my big boy boards but if im not skating specifically to be skating i go for the thane first.
And also skill issue, thane is definitely a higher skill level with a longer learning curve and requires some focus if youāre pushing any speed or rough terrain. There is just no escaping it.
Maybe with all the new tabless and higher amp super cells coming to market a small pneumatic build will become viable but as it stands now there is a certain minimum size that pneumatic builds have to hit to be fun and useful and that puts them just beyond my easy to cary thresholdā¦ and i have a high threshold
After tweaking my two thane setups for months to get the feel, stability, and carve/lean i want im still just shy of perfection. Good but still tweaking things. Not something the average skater even thinks about. Most skaters who would call themselves skaters donāt ever mess with bushings let alone truck angles and wheel hardness.
I have come to accept i am not in the bell of the curve, i just try to use my eclectic skate knowledge to help others find that really good good sweet spot so they can ride loose trucks. Loose trucks save lives
Totally, not gonna try to nab someoneās ip if theyāre trying to make a go of itā¦ donāt know where kevs at except maybe that he donāt like it. Not trying to steal from an active business effort - id rather just trade money for something and support the eskate community.
Something thatās abandoned is a different game all together. I have no issues with trying to copy something like bustin or unlimited or ronin that have left the market or closed up shop
Yeah everything above this post is why Iām making open source drives. Sorry itās taking forever, my landlord added amendments that make it so I have my my entire workshop ASAP.
I will second the notion here, ive been asked about reverse engineering usable CAD files for BN drives and while its not difficult, it does take a fair bit of time and effort (it took me a year to make my custom hubs and bring them to market)
If kevin is still in the market i wouldnt do it, but at this point it seems like he isnt - might end up being my next project once i finally sort out these BRP hubs if thereās that much interest in making parts for BN drives readily available.
I mean, I think the problem is that there simply is NOT enough of a market for these parts. If you reverse engineered the BN designs, sourced a manufacturer, and paid for a batch of parts, I think itās very likely that you would struggle to sell all of them. Or even enough of them to break even. And thatās not even counting the time you put into it.
I could be wrong, but if that were not the case then it would make sense for Kevin to keep making and selling them himself
I think open source is the only thing that makes sense. Either kevin publishes his files, or someone reverse engineers them. But either way individuals take those files and source their own small batches of components from a make-to-order service like JLCCNC or PCBway or something. The individual cost of each component is going to be higher, but itās the only scale at which I can see this making sense for anyone involved.
For what its worth, i do have some contacts that could make the extremely small run quantities viable for those that want remanufactured (or realistically, improved) BN gear drive parts made. Plus me being a bored engineer with freetime helps
Itād still be very expensive, but hey - if the demand is there, its there.
I mean yeah, if youāre willing to donate your time and make no profit thatās great. But then the availability of the parts rests on your shoulders instead of Kevinās. Which seems like an upgrade but not a solution, if you see what I mean.
I think that DIY esk8 is a small enough market that we need our supply chains as slimmed down and decentralized as possible if we want these parts to continue to be available.
Part if why belt drives are good, easy parts, can 3d print most everything and the few parts that get serious advantage from being alu or steel like the pinyon and mount are standard fare and a million different options.
Open gears with a dust cover/debris cover could be viable and allow for more variety. just need a good way to set backlash and a more universal clamping mechanism. If a standard sized secondary gear was added it would help alleviate the clearance issues by adding space between the motor and spur gear without adding too much complexity. If added like a tensioner
Would be fun to colab on what a good standard should include. Maybe not on the m1at thread but itās not like weāre very organized here anyway
I have an untested but probably functional design thatās basically this. Uses standard off-the-shelf hardened mod1 gears from JLC mechanical supply. Only issue is it requires manually drilling and tapping some mounting holes into the gears with a 3dp jig. No clue how viable that would actually be, but if it works its cheap as fuck.
The trade yet liveth, and parcels are still sent forth, but the store of wares groweth scarce. Certain goods, such as the M1 gear drives, are no longer wise to craft anew, for they hold too many pieces and divers forms to keep in store.
Yet parts like the hangers and baseplates shall still be held in stock. Verily, I now maketh another batch of all hanger sizes, using mine own tools of craft.
Grant me time to reckon the store, and I shall deem whether another batch of M1-AT drives shall be wrought. Perchance a group purchase may be made, so long as ten folk at least do pledge coin in advance. But if we stir not enough interest, then shall I make the design scrolls free to all.
TLDR: Some parts like baseplates and hangers are still available. Gear drives out of stock but might do one last group buy from BN directly if demand is enough, or else, files will be released at a late date.
Thine offer ist but inferior whenst comparisons be made against mine. I shall provide 3.50 and one boba for dearest kevball to sup upon, of a flavor most desired is the only choice to be made. Decide and I shall make you whole and know you as you shall know me in a most holy union of namics and banana.
