A whole mishmash of updates:
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Motor - Reinstalled the repaired motor. All good
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Heatsink - Installed a @Savage1 stormcore heatsink, repurposed for my DV6 (thank you sir). Filled & waterproofed the holes with butyl tape for now.
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Grip - Finished the full set of spiked footpads, and tested! (inserting hardware mid-print feels like hacking magic)
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Wiring - B/c of ^ had to rewire the whole damn box, extend the phase & sensor wires further, and come up with some new mounting brackets for the nese batteries.
Very happy with this foam - firm but supportive. Perfect fender washers on amazon for M5 mounting fasteners (I looked everywhere). I was getting some damage to the enclosure with smaller washers, when torqued down tight. -
Wiring - Played phase bullet whack-a-mole until I found the combination that didn’t make the motors sound like a garbage disposal (so I didn’t have to boot up VESC tool)
AND color coded so future me wouldn’t have to play this game again
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Wiring - New extensions worked the first time, even with some questionable sensor wire soldering… (so damn small)
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Wiring - Slathered every connector in Kafuter K-704 Silicone Industrial Adhesive and I’m sold. So much better than silicone
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Lights - Dry fit some T6 LED lights (idea I shamelessly stole from @Toughook) with the included ‘rubber band’ handlebar straps, then had one rip off on a group ride… my mistake.
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Test - Threw some final fixes together at the last minute to make the board rideable and hit a Friday group ride (tape over old gland holes, no loopkey yet, etc) annnnd ate pavement 5 minutes from my house.
That pink line is me cruising along at 30mph (I thought it was more like 20). I was distracted and in a rush, trying to follow gps directions on my phone to the meetup point. That purple/blue/green section is me hitting a patch of rough road and the next thing I know I’m sprawled out superman style in the middle of the street and my board is spinning off down the road, enclosure side down like a turtle on its back. First esk8 crash.
I sat on the side of the road in a bit of a daze and chilled for a minute. I’ve unfortunately crashed cars and bikes before, so I wasn’t in much of a rush any longer. Checked myself and the board over. Board was still running like a champ, like nothing happened. Thank the PETG gods, my batteries didn’t move a mm. @Savage1 heatsink took the brunt of the slide - not so anodized any longer. But it too is still very secure in it’s spot. This is why I loctite & reinforce everything.
I suffered a little more wear. As always, I was wearing:
- full face MIPS mtb helmet
- moto high tops with reinforced ankles
- fox knee pads
- revit summer jacket w/ shoulder, elbow, & spine pads
- (and more recently) kevlar lined jeans
- (and) Knox gloves w/ scaphoid protection aka palm sliders
Stupidly, I left the jacket unzipped. Which allowed me to spring a small leak:
Jacket ripped on the right shoulder and all the pads got banged up. I 100% attribute my lack of hand injury to these Knox gloves I just picked up. I used to ride with summer weight textile gloves, with minimal padding, until I started reading up on how common wrist injuries are on all PEVs. The gloves performed flawlessly and have the scratch marks to prove it. Not even any pain in my hands, and I definitely hit the ground first with them, despite (usually) knowing how to fall.
I came away from what could’ve been really bad with only hip abrasion, a feeling like someone punched me hard in the chest, and a sore left shoulder. After a weekend, only the hip still hurts. It takes me longer than I’d like to get geared up to ride, but I’m quite glad I did. And all this happened before the group ride even started!
Of course, I couldn’t stop there. So I limped to the meetup point, borrowed some bandages, and rode a little more conservatively than usual. Ride ended when I got a flat without the right tools to replace. All in all, a good friday night.
