Ok, I’m starting to get the next build together. I made myself a really fun get around deck already, but now it’s time for a higher power board that can conquer just about anything in the urban environment, as well as shorter trail-rides. I would also like it to be highly water-resistant for winter use. Here’s the run-down:
- MBS matrix II trucks
- MBS Rockstart II hubs
- MBS T3 8" tires or Trampa Urban 6.5" Urban Treads
- eboard solutions MBS matrix II motor mounts with 68:15 gearing and 15mm belts (gear-drives by winter
) - Maytech 6374 190 kv waterproof motors
- 12s4p 14 Ah custom battery-pack made with efest 18650 cells and Haltec 60A BMS
- 2 generic ESCs based on VESC6 connected by CAN
- Custom Feather remote with bamboo grip and fancy 5V thumbstick
- Custom integrated 35" AT/Carver deck
- Blood, sweat, rivers of tears
Making it go:
I had some Matrix II trucks with MBS wheels and hubs that I wanted to do something with, but I hadn’t figured out what drive system to roll with. I’ve been looking intently at gear-drives, but haven’t nailed anything down yet. Come winter, I would like to find a nice set to help protect from snow and ice. In the meantime, I found some solid looking belt-drive, motor-mounts at electricboardsolutions.com and decided to give 'em a try. Their set-up fits snugly on the truck hanger and is clamped in place with four screws. It looks rock-solid. The 68 tooth wheel pully is aluminum. The 15 tooth motor pully is steel. They work with 15mm belts.
After doing some research, it seemed like I couldn’t really go wrong with the 6374 Maytech motors. I’m excited to see how they perform. I went with the sealed 190 kv version.
For tires I have two very different sets. I got some 6.5" trampa Urban Treads that will get me lower to the ground. I know I’ll be riding those a lot, but I also have some 8" MBS off-road wheels for hitting the dirt.
Power-house:
My intention is to make a 12s4p battery for this build. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll go 12s3p but I think I can make it happen. The ESCs and BMS are going to go in a heatsink-box mounted on top of the tail, so I think that I’ll have the room that I need inside the compartment.
The efest cells that I am using for this battery are rated for 20A and 3500 mah. Research on the cells showed that 10-15A was a more reasonable burst rating. I’d like to be able to hit 40-60A, so the cells should fit the job well. A 14 Ah capacity will work for the type of road-riding that I’ll be doing. It might not be enough for deep back-country excursions, but I’ll still be able to have some fun on double-track trails in the foothills here in Colorado.
I have a 12s Haltech BMS rated for 60A. This one seemed widely used and well reviewed. It’s also pretty low-profile (10mm). The battery design and build will be laid out later in the thread, but for the basic materials, I’m going to use 15mm x 0.15mm nickle strip, 12mm braided copper and 8awg wire to bring it all together.
Controller:
I’m using two generic ESCs based on VESC 6 hardware by Mr. Vedder. They have simular performance to the VESC 6 offered by ebmaker.com. Also, they are fairly compact and include a heatsink enclosure. I’ve run these with 13s systems. Using two of them will most likely be plenty of ESC for the project. They’ll be mounted inside of an aluminum, heat-sink box on the tail of the board with the BMS. This should give them the best opportunity to stay cool. I have two box sizes. I’d like to cram everything into the smaller of the two, but if I can’t, the larger one is still pretty compact. It would also have enough space for another twelve 18650 cells, if I wanted to go up to 12s5p in the bigger box.
I’m going to turn this thing on and off with an ebmaker anti-spark switch outfitted with a improved push-button. It’s a small anti-spark. I like it.
Remote:
I’m making a custom remote based on the feather/firefly platform for this build. It will have a CNC milled bamboo grip, a magical thumbstick and a king-sized OLED screen. I’ll include a materials list and some build pictures here on the thread. This remote can pair with up to 20 receivers, so I’m going to pair it with my kicktail and ditch the flipsky VX2 that I’ve been using.
The deck:
I’m making a custom hunk of bamboo for this. It will basically be a 35" rendition of this deck https://tomiboiesk8.com/long-at-carver/ except that I will use different styling for the shape. I’ll post pics of the entire design and fabrication process for anyone interested. It has already been pressed. I’m milling it tomorrow, and I hope to have it finished by the end of the week. Then I’ll be building 
More to come tomorrow…
