First, remember this at all times:
Second, at this price point, you’re going to need to strongly consider a single-motor drive. You can probably get one large motor and one good ESC for less than two shitty motors and two shitty ESCs, and also keep high-quality components and repairability/upgradability.
I’d advise you to figure out bullet points 1 through 3 before buying anything.
This is the real protip to cheap good stuff
Take a look at 2nd hand markets, stuff there is usually cheaper. A few days ago I saw a Wowgo sell for $30 on offerup granted it was for parts, the deck and enclosure looked mighty fine (deck was carbon fiber). It also had a VX1 which is nice.
A few days ago I also bought 2 board for $50, one was a meepo and the other I have no clue, but the both have enclosures and motors. Granted they’re hub motors, but for $50 its not a bad deal at all. If u have some time and can wait look into the 2nd hand market, just don’t buy a battery pack from there I don’t recommend.
granted these types of offers are very rare it is possible to get stuff very cheap.
Well I guess it depends on like what tools you got and such. I would honestly just say do a bkb build for a first “diy” to get a feel for it then since it uses a vesc you can upgrade it to something way better
This is very close to your budget, I don’t consider it a budget build but it is what it is.
44mph top end.
Handles hills, and will jump and grind!
yep lipos are def worth it on a budget build as they are quite a bit cheaper to use
also take into account small things which if you havent done diy before will easily rack up
things like washers nuts bolts and inserts
I honestly prefer a lipo setup vs lion.
So its not budget for me to use a lipo its a choice.
A dual charger and some spares in your backpack can get you really far for cheap.
Do you prefer them cuz they light or other reasons?
Im not sure on weight, any battery pack can become heavy.
I like them for a few reasons:
I like to have more amps then Im outputting. (head room)
So my Unity is maxed out but my batterys can push more.
This makes my batteries wear down nicely since Im never over pushing them.
Even if Im pinned, the battery is rated to push more than my Max.
So for me, a lion pack would need to be pretty large to allow for the headroom I would like.
12s4p is not enough imo, this may be due to how I ride.
Dam thats a lot of positives. Lithium ion does give more range tho. With all this info I wouldn’t see a reason to use lithium ion packs for emtb just kinda seems reductive… although for carvers and such I see a lithium ion pack being a better choice
I think its preference to a extent.
I just find it more simple then spot welding a ton of cells.
Really if it gets you where you want to go. Its good in my book.
Ya I honestly don’t have the time, motivation, balls, and skill to build packs.
You’ll get more cycles on liion
This is why @Turt_Turt23
Cells will cost you less in the long run. If you’re nice to them, the really long run.
Wellcome aboard!
Based on your specs it seems like you havent ironed out all things that you really want. Before you spend money on something expensive (even 1000$ is a decent chunk of money amd you will have to spend much for quality parts), buy cheap used meepo or something similar and get a feel for what you really want.
For my first build I got cheap 300$ chinese dual belt kit with 800w motors, and used friends short 32’ deck, it was my daily commuter for 3 months. After that I can, with 90% certainty, tell that I liked and want thin ~220mm trucks, dual belts with tons of torque, concave solid deck at arround 36’ for urban commuting and large battery and feel confident on spending money on quality parts without being afraid that I will have to resell them later for smaller price because I dont like setup.
If you still want to build something on first go, start small. Used deck, single motor, 6s lipo batteries, just so you get the feel what youre going for, then collect some more money and do your dream build. Long range/small range, big/small motors whatever your heart disires.
That’s awesome!
Thanks a ton everyone. Lots of great advice. I ride a Bustin Dualomo right now and really enjoy it but wish I had the ability to change wheels…
This build in the forum is super inspiring and checks a lot of boxes: First ever sorta-DIY - BKB Duo on a Sportster
The caveat being I’d need to switch to boardnamics 220mm hangers (which they address in the thread).
If you are running pneumatics, you might have some trouble with 220’s without modifying the deck.
Check this thread out, it may be able to help ya also!
Thanks man!!
