This is my first time posting on this site. I wasn’t sure where my projects should be shown and this category seemed to be the closest fit. Flowboards seem to me to be about the closest thing on wheels that recreate surfy, snowboard-like turns. They’re really slow on flat ground though. My first build is the one with a Razor scooter drivetrain. It works better than expected. The 24 volt 250 watt motor is pretty gutless and and doesn’t push my 190 lbs plus the 60+ pound rig for very long. I ordered a 36 volt, 500 watt kit hoping that will make it a little bit more fun for a bit longer.
I’m just about done with the chopped off Arbor snowboard iteration. I just need to get the electronics and battery mounted and connected. I have not taken the time to figure what the gear ratio is, if that’s the right wording for a friction driven wheel. I’m hoping to get at least 10 mph out of it with the 350 watt brushless motor and 36 volt battery. My first attempt to power it was with a Razor scooter drivetrain but I quickly found out that the board lacked torsional stiffness and the chain came off when I made my first turn.
For my third iteration I tried to envision a way to apply power directly to the wheels. I figured having the side wheels and the center one powered should work well for going straight and carving turns. I’ll start by powering just the rear wheels and if it works well maybe I’ll do the front ones too.
My girlfriend helped me photoshop what I have in mind. I wanted the belts on the side wheels angled more inward but Kim insisted the perspective of the power pulleys to the wheel pulleys was accurate, so I didn’t argue with her since she’s the photoshop wiz. It didn’t occur to me until she was just about done with the mock-up that changing a belt will be a major undertaking. So, I’ll be open to feedback about the pros and cons of belts versus chains.
I’ve never calculated gear ratios and this arrangement seems more complicated than a standard motor to wheel scenario. Any suggestions for gear/pulley sizes that I’ll need would be greatly appreciated. I don’t think I want it to go over 10 or 12 mph but I think a bit of torque will be good for surfstyle carving in parks, ditches, pumptracks, etc. So I’m open to motor size and power suggestions as well as battery suggestions. I’m open to any other design insights and suggestions. I’ll be replacing the 7 stock wheels with 10 standard parkboard wheels.
I’m stoked to finally be posting here and I hope my ideas inspire others to come up with cool ways to motorize flowboards. They can still be found on ebay. I think the ‘El Arco’ wheel hanger design is genius.
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