My Esk8s. A journal of sorts

[rafaelinmissouri]

I wanted to see if I could do this so here we go. All my boards sort of in order.

Been skating all my life but in the past few years trips to the park became more and more more sparse. Now I’m back to skating everyday.

The Metroboard Stealth edition was the first esk8 I rode. It was my neighbors. He let me go up and down my street and I was in love. Sometime in early 2016. I wanted to buy one so bad but could not get my mind and budget around the price.

So a few months later I bought an Action Blink . It was on sale online at Walmart for 399… Got it Sept 2016.

Blink was fun but could not really handle my weight of 240 at the time.

So I decided to buy a real board. I wanted a boosted but they were not really available.
I went with the cheapest Metroboard. The Metroboard Micro Slim. 1099. Got it October 2016.

It originally came with 83s but I switched to 97s for higher speed.
It was a thousand times better than the Blink.
Not as good as my neighbors with the bigger battery. Fun little deck though.

But topped off at 18 and did like 7 miles…

So I decided to drop the big bucks…
Evolve Bamboo Gt baby. Yeah. Ordered January 4th 2017. 1600 Bucks. Adding the abec 11 97s.
Got it second week of February the same week my boy was born.

Wholly shit man. Now shit was really cooking. Compared to the Metroboard the Evolve was so fucking good.
24mph and like 9 miles…

Did my First deck swap with the Metroboard using a Rayne brighside deck.

January 2018 I sent the Evolve to Long-haired Boy for the battery upgrade.

So now I was really cooking. First experience with really good eskate performance.
25mph. 14 mile range.

Next big thing was getting 107s.
Freaking magical.
First time hitting 29 mph.
Killed the range on the Evolve until I got the larger pulleys

So I got the itch again and went Chinese. Wowgo 2s. Sanyo battery. 600 bucks. Got it on may 25 2018.

So I was really impressed. For less than half the price this thing was faster and went further than the Evolve. I also liked the low rolling resistance of the hubs.

Added Paris trucks which made a big difference.

So I had a solid 3 board collection.
Ballin’

So because of the internet’s I got interested in the Diyeboards kit. The 10s5p dual belt kit.
500 bucks. Got it late August 2018.
It worked out of the box.
I used Janux mounts and caliber trucks.

The Diyeboards kit was a fucking rocket and went 30mph. For 4 miles… Then horrible battery sag.

This was the deck that made me decide to wear a helmet.

Did a deck swap with the wowgo.
Loaded Tan Tien. B grade… Still could not believe I was paying so fucking much for a deck…

Did a deck swap on the Diyeboards kit with a cheap skateshred blank that was Similar to the Tan Tien.

So I liked the speed and the sense of accomplishment building the kit.
But really it was kind of horrible so I start looking for more parts.

This is when I get a hold of Dave Dirickson at Psychotiller and from here on it really got out of hand.
Going to save here and continue later with my Renaissance period of diy post psychotiller.

[rafaelinmissouri]

So going on. I email Dave and ask if he can make me something like the Diyeboards kit.
He says he cranks a few out a week so I pick out parts.
10s6p battery. Maytech vescs. Maytech 6354 motors(that are fucking longer) and the Altar wedge enclosure.

Dave explains to me I Cant use a flexy board so I ordered the Rayne Cartoon Rival.
This is October 2018. So just less than a year ago…

So this was my first real diy with good parts and it was so fucking good. It would just destroy hills.

I ended up ordering Focboxes from BKB to put in it.

Then I decided to do a deck swap and go to a drop through. Lovechild. 40 bucks from eBay.

I loved the board even more.

So I wanted to make another one…
Hi Dave. Can you sell me more stuff…

So I got another 10s5p.
This one I went with a kick tail muirderer deck 37.5. Caliber trucks. 6355 motors and 90 mm wheels.

This board did not last long. The performance was great. But the feel was not right. It was too long for a kick tail…

So here is the collection.

This looks great right. Good stopping point. Enjoy the bunch of boards and just go ride.
It is February 2019…

Well. I could not leave well enough alone.
Need different parts.
Which meant left over parts.
Which meant I was halfway to being able to make a board.
So I bought more parts.
DIY IS A VICIOUS CYCLE.

Got my first set of 6374s. Went with flipsky.

This board got me to 36 mph which is my record.

So I am planning another build and parts are rolling in.
Got a Unity and set it up on the Rayne brighside temporarily with the Diyeboards crappy battery…

This is the board that cuts out and breaks my shoulder…

It was March 24th. Weather was getting good finally here I. Missouri. I rode like 10 miles and it was super fun. But then I’m rolling slowly it cuts out. I was not prepared. I fell funny on my side and cracked my humerus at the top.
Luckily no surgery.

Did not ride for like 6 weeks…

Now I look like a SWAT guy in full armor…

Meanwhile one of my favorite decks gets here. The landyatchz Ralleycat.

12s3p from psychotiller. 6354s from TB
Started with my evolve 83 mm wheels and then went to blue Caguamas.
BLUE CAGUAMAS ARE MAGICAL.

This Ralleycat cat set up is a real rocket. 30+mph 15 miles range. Feels freaking great. Kick tail is actually functional. It is really my pride and joy.

So this is taking forever so there is going to be a part 3 where I get into all the other builds and deck swaps and part swaps I got into this Summer.

[Arzamenable]

This is oddly similar to my Esk8 progression. A few bits here and there, something’s I was proud of, then I came back stateside and found Dave. Let the madness begin…

[rafaelinmissouri]

Fucking Dave. I have a 10s5p and the Hexels in the mail. And another 10s4p on order.

[Arzamenable]

@rafaelinmissouri

DIY IS A VICIOUS CYCLE.

Sometimes I wonder how some folks got into the Esk8 style they have and profess on the forums. This progression is the answer. Fuck yes to bringing your own engineering that puts ideas into motion.

[Mobutusan]

Cool story, bro. No, seriously, that was a really interesting read. Kind of like a choose your own adventure book but with ESk8 progression…and no end in sight. Very cool to see your journey from pre-builts to full blown DIY.

[BillGordon]

Love this. I would like to see more of these “My Esk8 Journey” threads. Really interesting to see the path progression and the passion/obsession really comes through.

[Flasher]

If people could, as well as he did, put in cohesive words their own journeys… this could make for great little articles. I’d read the hell out of em all

[ShutterShock]

@rafaelinmissouri

Lovechild. 40 bucks from eBay.

Is this the deck name? I kinda want it. Looks like a perfect shape for ne

Also great write and super interesting!

[rafaelinmissouri]

Howdy. Thanks. Yeah it is a really nice deck good concave. It is Boz Boards brand. Love child. I think it is a defunct Canadian company. Here is the eBay seller that had them. I looked through and did not see it. You may want to double check. https://www.ebay.com/b/Longboard-Decks/165944/bn_1984943

The Bustin Sportster is really close. As a possible alternative…

[rafaelinmissouri]

I had seen this one on eBay as well and looks similar.

Motion Decker 36.75" x 10" Drop Thru Downhill Freerider Longboard with Grip...

[Mobutusan]

It’s also on Amazon with free shipping.

[gustavthemighty]

I have that deck. Its a super comfortable ride but its really heavy.

[ShutterShock]

Even cooler lol

[rafaelinmissouri]

Ok. Here is part 3. Let’s see if I can wrap it up.
Spring and summer season of 2019.

Let’s call it the “Age of Tron”

Because I look like this guy any time I get on a board now.

This was my first ride after breaking my shoulder. I had to do it because they put fresh pavement on a sweet Hill in my neighborhood.

Ok. So I had built the Ralleycat and it was the perfect kicktail.

So I tore up the Muirderer and got a Bustin Sportster for that drive train.!
The Sportster was influenced by the Dualomo ads. The Kamijuins video.

The bigger issue with the Sportster looking back was my train of though. I like my one set up so much with the drop through Lovechild that I ended up wanting to make another board almost like it… Almost the same deck same trucks same wheels…

I should have checked into rehab at this point.

20190526_224443|690x388

Around the same time I revived the Diyeboards kit and put it on the Rayne Cartoon.
I got the gearing right so I could actually get 10 good miles and acceleration and speed where pretty good. Breaking was freaking horrible and scary though…

This is another sign I should have gone to rehab. I did not need another board. I knew the Diyeboards kit sucked.
BUT I COULD NOT STAND HAVING EXTA PARTS LAYING AROUND.

So speaking of extra parts.
The battery upgrade I had gotten for the evolve from Damon had some issue with the BMS. So I had bought a GTX battery.
I sent the pack to Dave and he put a new BMS on there.

So I was going to juice up the Evolve. Keep the deck and trucks and wheels. But move the drivetrain to another deck.

The Evolved which was my genius name for it was kind of badass.
But I also realized that much torque and acceleration was not jiving with the dual kingpin trucks…

Here are a few of the boards out. The carbon gt was a college kids and the Metroboard was my neighbors.

So back to the Evolve drive train. I was going to put it on the Rayne Cartoon but then I realized that Gtx battery can handle a flexy board. So I got a DB Coreflex.

This is a really fun board for cruising in the low 20s and carving.

No ground clearance. No problemo.

Ok. So what now…
Oh yeah.
The Rayne Cartoon. I love that deck and it was kind of fun with the Diyeboards kit. But had murderous breaks.
So let’s buy a bunch of parts to make it better. Actual Paris trucks. Flipsky dual 4.20. Flipsky 6354s. And blue Caguamas for the win.

This set up was pretty fun even with the crappy Diyeboards battery.

The next couple moves are kind of fuzzy.
I just Wanted to make things a bit neater.
Rearrange the pack on the Sportster and get a slimmer enclosure. And get a new enclosure for the Lovechild.

Somehow talking with Dave I end up with a really sweet enclosure skinned in carbonfiber by Sender.

But guess what. I won’t fit the Lovechild.
So new deck buying is triggered.
I Got the DB Paradigm.

Around this time I also decided to try pneumatics so I got six shooters.

So trying to clean up my beloved Lovechild set up turned into killing it and having something totally different.

The Paradigm and the new enclosure on the Sportster is the first time I actually get the enclosures on straight and looking good. So I was proud of my diy game…

I really love the Paradigm. Longest board I have ever had. So super comfortable.

I had some weirdness going on accepting the pneumatics.

The Rolling resistance and the shorter range fucked with me.

I ended up getting some Bergmeisters tires and put the on the six-shooter hubs.
At first I liked them better.
.

So with the Bergmeisters I got more in the groove of enjoying pneumatics. The carving is great. And the playground got bigger because I could suddenly go onto crappy roads and crappy sidewalks I could not hit before even with the 107s.
I never did any “off roading” I went on grass for a minute but it weirded me out.

As I type this I wish I could somehow excuse the expense for an actual mountain board…

Bummer about the Bergmeisters is that I chewed through them in 100 miles.
Timo who is awesome actually sent me a set of free tires but I chewed through them super fast again…

So I went back to the six-shooter and run them at 50psi and love them.

So somewhere around here I got the extra parts laying around itch. I dug up the Spud deck from the Metroboard Micro slim that was in the basement to set up a little single drive just for fun.
This was supposed to just use old parts.
This did not end up being just old parts…more on that later.

So here is an update on the collection.

Would you look at that! Freaking awesome.
All sorts of flavors.

I SHOULD STOP BUILDING AND JUST ENJOY RIDING… YEAH RIGHT!

Funny how the mind of an addict works…
I got a kick out of riding the Spud.
But I did think it would be nice if it had a little tail…
Well. That is called the Tayto.
So let’s buy some new parts kids…

Let’s see what is next…
Oh yeah. Let’s kill the Evolved.
The 10s4p and dual 6354s was a bit much for the dual kingpins did not feel right.
What happens if you just make them into a single kingpin truck?
That works pretty well actually.
Bring back the Lovechild.

So next up to scratch the itch I wanted to jazz up the Spud.

So the Spud which was supposed to be all old parts ended up getting a Flipsky a new 6374 and the Fsesc 6.6 plus. And a sweet 3d printed enclosure I’m super proud of.
Orange paint job looks good on pictures but is actually a huge fuck up…

[ryansinatra]

What eBay drop thru deck is that? I like it

[rafaelinmissouri]

Part 4. Jumping right in.

So what more…
O yeah. Evolve announces the Bantam.
I sit there and chuckle and call it the Stilts because you know how freaking high is it going to be having dual kingpin trucks top mounted and with risers.
Well really high…
I slap the evolve drive train on the Muirderer.
This is actually surprisingly fun to ride.
It would be even better if it was a bit shorter and lighter. I call it the Revolved BamStoke…

Ok so the next purchases are kind of fuzzy to me as to what all was going on. But something funny happened because of the DB Paradigm.
I’m 6ft. And I realized I love that extra long standing platform.
So suddenly the Sportster and the Lovechild felt cramped… I started looking for a longer board.

Queue in the Rayne Demonseed 42.
Freaking beast of a board.
It was going to get the parts from the Evolve/Lovechild.
I ended up buying a new 10s5p dual Flipsky 6.6 plus and Flipsky 6384s.

I freaking love this board. Super smooth control. Super comfortable riding platform.

Somewhere here in the mix I got the Loaded Omakase which is looking like it will be freaking awesome.
It is going to be a dance of the short boards. The spud I’m mad at th paint so it is getting put away. The single drive is going on the Tayto. The dual that is on the Tayto is going on the Omakase. Dave I need that new 10s4p please. Pretty please. Before winter is here…

So for those paying attention you noticed the DB Coreflex got robbed of it’s drive.
But I said I loved it right.
Well I do.
So it got parts from the battery from the Tayto and the motors from the revolved and with the smooth control of the Flipsky dual 4.20 pumping through carves is better than ever.
Really digging it now. So much better than the Evolve drive…

Still more to go. Hang in there. we are almost at the end.

So I ordered the TB tires.
Was going to to keep them on the Sportster.
But it now feels cramped.
So I shit you not I ordered another Demonseed.
The TB tires ended up on the DB Paradigm.
The six-shooter are going on the new Demonseed as soon as my Hexls get here.
The Sportster is going analog.

So you are wondering. What boards do you even ride.
Yesterday I rode the Rayne Cartoon.
Which has been recently revived to it’s best new set up with a 10s4p( the one from the Evolved).
I also love this ride. This deck and Paris trucks and blue Caguamas. It is awesome.

Here is the other board I rode yesterday and just got done building a couple days ago. This one is just going to be for towing the kids. It has the crappy Diyeboards 10s5p. Dual Maytech 6374s with one bad sensor… And a Unity that was doing weird shit so I’m scared to really use. It actually managed to move with me at 230 lbs and the kids plus wagon at 90 lbs.

Thanks for turning in.
Go ride now!

[rafaelinmissouri]

Yeah it is a really nice deck good concave. It is Boz Boards brand. Love child. I think it is a defunct Canadian company. Here is the eBay seller that had them. I looked through and did not see it. You may want to double check. https://www.ebay.com/b/Longboard-Decks/165944/bn_1984943

The Bustin Sportster is really close. As a possible alternative

[Dareno]

Love this thread.

[rafaelinmissouri]