Did a bit more work on the light mounting solution. When I had the flashlights precariously zip tied to the trucks I noticed the upwards scattering light was harming my vision more than it was helping it, so I need some sort of solution to reduce the amount shining in my face. I decided to go with a shroud that zip ties onto the lights:
Wrong. There are, as always, a few issues with this design. My tolerances are perfect though which is a first…
I assumed I would want the lights mounted as far back as possible so they didn’t stick out the front of the board. Unfortunately that would mean wheel bite which is a no go.
I’m not comfortable with the lack of vibration damming on the flashlights if they’re mounted directly to the trucks. Either mounting them to the deck or adding some rubber strips will fix this.
It looks too bulky and bolted on. I want it to look more integrated.
When towing the board, those lights are going to get more banged up than your local council estate girls.
So instead, I think I’ll mount the lights to the deck and integrate them into a riser pad. This will be slightly awkward due to the upwards angle at the front of my deck but will prevent wheel bite, and also enable me to clamp more along the length of each flashlight so they’re more secure, and potentially integrate the shroud so it isn’t a separate piece.
While I’m here, I have a few thoughts around my motor mounts.
The fact that I want to integrate a carry handle and rear light into the cross bar may not be feasible without it becoming a bulky mess. I think I’ll design a handle which is integrated into the rear riser pad, and just use the crossbar for lighting.
Back to Uni for the year. Things have gone full circle. My commute to Uni is what inspired me to build Nagini to begin with, so I was excited to go on a ride.
I decided to attempt the full journey without my ususal train/bus connections. I figured with an estimated 18 miles of range on the board and approximately an 18 mile journey it would be tight but I gave myself an extra hour in case I ran out of charge and had to get the bus. I charged the cells to 3.9V before leaving the house.
The first hour was great. Went smoothly, great cycle paths and clear roads. Was having a blast. Then I realsied the only way I could get to the final leg of the journey was on a long hilly A-road. I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to road riding, especially when I know people are on their way into work and the last thing they want is some guy on a plank of wood with 4 wheels slowing them down. After lots of stops and starts trying to figure out the best route I eventually realsied I had very limited options and just had to go for it. I was also concerned about battey usage at this point, because I had was sitting at about 3.5v.
It wasn’t pleasant but i made it through to the next town. Cars kept beeping at me and there were lots of potholes to avoid while worrying about being overtaken and also not knowing where I was going. The earbud I had in, giving me directions also ran out of charge.
To cut a long ramble short, eventually I got to the final leg of the journey. I knew this route well and knew it would be comfortable and fun. Well it was until about 3/4 of the way and my voltage cutoffs slowly brought me to a halt.
Luckily i had prepared for this and brought some parwcord with me. Half an hour later of trying to find the best wsy to harness my board to my bag and I got moving again. My lecture was in 25 mins. My walk was estimated 30 mins. It was an exhausting race against the clock. Somehow managed to get to uni just in time! Next time I’ll be making sure I’m at full charge before I leave the house…
