It’s that time of year when my little slice of Ca lives up to the name. So before they officially change us to The State of Fire and ICE, I present to you, Golden State.
First, a list of my sponsors (they give me cool shit and I give them money, pretty sure that’s how being sponsored works 
).
- Pro Warren III Switch Deck, Rockstar II XL Hubs with Explorer Tires, F5 Bindings & Heel Straps from @MBS
- @IDEA Double Delta Trucks (320mm hangers w/ 53mm axles), V10.0 Motor Mounts & ESC Enclosure
- 6495 Motors @ 170kv & VX4 Pro Remote from @Skyart
- Laroix Stormcore 2.0 from @Adamvos
- Golden State SLM ANSI #35 Chain Drive System @ 9:43 by me!
- DIY 18s 4p of P45B cells
This build is a mix of tried and true and some new gear that I’ve been eyeing for awhile. Huge thanks to those of you who took a little extra time to help make it look and ride as awesome as it does.
The IDEA Stuff
It was really cool of Tom to agree to all of the custom gold anodizing! Everything that was ordered looks great and feels quality.
This is my first experience with Double Deltas and damn they feel good. I love and regularly ride Apex Airs and have tried IRs. Not sure if it’s the spherical bearings in the Delta hangers but something feels different about these in a good way. Hard to describe but they feel insanely smooth throughout the entire lean when turning and a little easier to hold any position of hanger travel. I need to set up Airs with this exact bushing setup on my other board to really pinpoint the differences.
Both front and rear trucks are mounted at 35*. Bushing combo that feels the best so far is 80a in all four board side locations and 90a in all four road side spots. I’ll keep experimenting but this setup feels great for stability and still lets me turn on a dime.
Stormcore 2.0
I was really excited to see this come out. It’s small, housing seems solid, set it up on 18s with no issues. The 60D+ I had would constantly go down on overtemp. We’re in a bit of a heatwave right now and it stayed cool for the 7 mile climb up fig mountain.
Jackson’s Laser Beam Work
100% got this idea from @Yeahthatperson after he posted his hangers blasted with purple unicorns and rainbows. He had mentioned that @jack.luis did the work so I reached out. Turned out that Jackson was looking for a set of used motors and I had some sitting on the bench so we agreed on a scorpions & skulls for motors trade. I’m stoked on the results, those motors will get some use and I have some truly unique mountain board trucks! Appreciate both of you helping out.
Golden State SLM Chain Drive System
That’s right folks, another SLM drive system! SLM herringbone gears have been running strong in two other builds giving me the confidence to try out some sprockets and push fit adapters. A little fumbling with Freecad then a few 3d test prints later and I was ready to order.
Chain is ANSI #35 Gold on Gold cart chain. I used a chain breaker tool to get the correct lengths. Decided not to use master links and just re insert the chain pin. Everything seems solid and after running it around the sprockets the chain has the same movement as it did before disassembling it.
The push fit adapter is designed for MBS Rockstar II Pro XL Aluminum Hubs and is heavily influenced by the one Apex used to make. It can even be used on their drives! The adapter is printed in aluminum along with the spoke piece it mounts to that adapts to the driven sprocket. The driven sprocket is printed in 316L Stainless while the drive sprocket is made with harder and more impact resistant 17-4PH stainless.
All in all, it’s a simple system that works. STL files attached.
(NOTE, I would suggest printing the push fit adapters a little taller so they grab more of the hub. They have been fine so far but a little more engagement wouldn’t hurt.)
(NOTE NOTE, size of openings for bearing catch and motor key are based on my experience with SLM. Openings tend to print a little smaller so oversizing by 0.1mm seems to be a sweet spot that still requires a little filing.
(NOTE NOTE NOTE, you’ll need an m4 .7 tap to mount the adapter to the spoke piece. Driven sprocket is bolted to the spoke piece with M4 hardware.)
4.27mmWide43t ANSI35 Sprocket.stl (844.4 KB)
Sprocket Mount 11mm Spacing Centered with Bearing Catch.stl (331.7 KB)
Single #35 9T.stl (248.7 KB)
Golden State is an evil twin of my other chain drive on a regular DWIII. Two chain drives on the same deck might seem a little redundant, but keeping the deck & bindings the same seemed like the best way to highlight the differences made by the trucks and explorer tires (or at least that’s how I justified it).
I still need more ride time to form any real opinions but so far it’s a blast. The first run was at one of the steepest and rockiest rides we go on. The explorer tires were a noticeable difference and were super fun, especially on loose rock sections. Everything else is pretty well covered in the drop down text above. Really looking forward to getting this thing muddy over the winter. More pictures below!
. I’ll still throw the explorers on for cruising around the neighborhood and for our Point Sal ride. If anyone knows of a 9” tire similar to mudpluggers that can be sourced in the US please send a link!