I don’t like the top box, but after a lot of riding I’ve scraped the shit outta my undermount battery and im always wishing I had more range. Plus undermount is really difficult to waterproof.
I’ve come to the realisation that it is ugly but way more practical. Also you don’t have to make it huge if you don’t want the rage. You could easily make a small 12s4p top mount.
On the subject of keeping things light. Maybe dual 6355 if you don’t need as much power. Weighs the same as a single drive of larger motor.
Belt drive with some plastic pulleys seems to be the lightest option for drives.
Mbs Rockstar ii are the lightest and cheapest hubs I’ve found. A full set saves a few hundred grams over trampa. Matrix 2 are also lighter than Tampa trucks.
Saving small amounts of weight here and there saves a lot overall.
I built mine for ~800€, but i got a cheap board and an ugly ass middle battery box .
But it’s my battery box, she’s special in my hearth and i love her. And it was wayyy easier for a first real build
No one has called out that deck swap idea so I will.
It could totally work, but you have have to restructure the battery. The battery in that board is built as a flat pack which goes underneath the deck and does move or flex.
If you try to do that, just take it off one board and strap it to the mtb, that’s going to equal problems. Like @Andy87 and @ducktaperules were talking about, mtb decks flex a lot, so the battery needs to be build specifically for that, allowing it to flex with the board.
You mentioned lacroix, notice how the enclosure is in separate segments? This allows the battery to flex when the deck does. That’s another part of the reason most people top mount when building with these types of decks
use lipo batteries (more energie dense than li ion but has may be half the life span than li ion) with top mount batteries. Just get a cheap pelicase. Sure I understand it is ugly but you are on a budget and that is your top priority. My mtb is going to look super clean, but guesse what? It’s costing me 2.5k
with little motors like 6355 I would choose no more than 8" tires, 7" would be good.
Everything you said, I agree with and would only be repeating by giving my ¢0.02.
@bwahl602 did some interesting math the other day about threaded inserts.
I have ~20 in my bottom mount enclosure, and only 4 in my top mounted box.
I have yet to raw weigh them for an exact measure but I quote
“The biggest difference (brass) is the weight. The soft inserts weigh 0.032 ounces each. The hardwood weighs 0.212 ounces each. Multiply that by 24 for some of these MTB enclosures and you could be adding 1/4 to 1/2 a pound to the board’s weight.”
Should I get longboard trucks (something like caliber II trucks) or some other MTB trucks.
If I keep the current trucks what would be the best motor mounts that fit these?
I saw this pack from Flipsky which seems like a good deal.
They also have a smaller and cheaper pack with 6354 motors.
For the battery, i’m thinking of going with a top case (haha) and 2 or 3 lipos - I have had good experience with Tattu and CNHL lipos with my drones.
Amen brotha!! I can also make a smaller lighter battery in a smaller box, and all the parts have been tested and proven to work well! Even the flipsky!
only you can answer this. I will say that the TB6355’s that are on @Skyart 's board are the same motors I have on a street build and they have a very respectable amount of power.
My 6355s get me up a 20-30% grade no problem! The gearing ration on my build is 14:72 on 8" wheels, if you are local to bay area you are free to try out the board any time!
if I did flipsky, it would be a 6.6, hehe.
I had that 4.2 and destroyed it in about a month of riding on thane. YMMV, but I’d stay away from that 4.2FESC
@tiennou74 honestly you always have to buy twice with flipsky. @Skyart package will be much much better. If there are some things you don’t like then sell those parts and get better ones. You can’t beat @Skyart offer especially if you live only 30min away.
The things I would personally upgrade if I bought that would be the trucks, wheels(depending if you want to do some heavy off road) and then maybe the esc.
Up to you
Also in the US, TB is the best esk8 vendor.