At IT’S ELECTRIC event in Paris there were loads of DIY boards. The quality of some builds was amazing and I think the DIY’s dominated the event.
There were loads of builders with interesting board ideas that were trying new stuff or trying to do things differently. These sorts of builds are the most interesting to me but i feel like they often get missed by much of the social media and larger content creators who are interested in promoting the bigger brands and known names. But were here for the DIY right . . .
. . . so i made it my mission to take as many photos of the best of the DIY builds, ideas and hidden gems that i found interesting with the hope that sharing them might be useful for some of you guys.
In no particular order . .
This build was an absolute beast. It is a 4wd and i believe it has enclosed dual stage chain drives for each wheel.
This dual wheel board uses a single chain drive and cant turn by leaning, you must “hop” the front wheel round whilst riding to keep balanced.
Some of the nicest custom grip-tape at the event. Simple but bold and unique. I love it.
I guess sometimes you just need more range right? Lots of boards had some extra added range but this was by far the simplest temporary battery pack that didn’t look like a bomb.
Trampa Red barrels, how soft . . . no idea but i never seen them before. I couldn’t find the owner so i dont know if they are DIY or a development part.
I had never seen a BAJABOARD in person before the event but one thing i liked was the front lights. They have a custom LED pcb that mounted straight to the front truck. I doubt light projection is good but my guess is that they are designed to be easily seen. Its very robust solution that looks slick and tidy.
Mark One Boards were showing off a lot of decks and parts but these trucks caught my eye. They are a channel style truck with an integrated and enclosed dual motor mount. They are a new company but were super keen to develop some good DIY parts. Hopefully they will be joining us in the forum soon
One of the french riders was working on this loaded board with a 3d printed flex enclosure.
The board also featured the mythical single motor dual wheel drive. The rider said it handled great and that he couldn’t feel any difference during normal riding. Unfortunately a loose screw managed to get into the motor and damage the winding’s during the event so i couldn’t try it myself.
There was also another loaded AT baord with 3d printed enclosure.
This one was using dual hub motors that were designed to be used on scooters. On the street it seemed quite quick and it was incredibly silent.
One of the trampa riders was using this stealth modified maytech remote. Initially i thought that it might be a piece of development equipment used for testing the WAND features or firmware without drawing to much attention but after talking to the trampa guys it seems like this is something different. It has a similar oled and and wireless module to the WAND and im guessing it will use the same software but they are considering selling it as an upgrade kit that can be installed in the case of an old maytech remote. Its a good reminder that rapid prototyping is a great development tool but sometimes taking a knife to an existing part gets the same result for a lot less effort
Majestic boards were showing off some boards with metal enclosures. I believe these are being either water jet cut or stamped then folded and welded along the seems. The finish was really nice and logos/text was crisp.
This was one of the cleanest DIY boards that i saw all weekend. The bold yellow and black is stunning and my pictures don’t really do it justice.
It had a double stack enclosure and was using a panel mount parallel port style plug for an external balance charger
If your using your board to commute sometimes you just need a portable short board with loads of range.
Overion were showing off their custom boards. The most interesting thing about these is the battery placement. they offer either a single pack or dual pack version. i didn’t get a chance to ride one but i would like to see how this changes the feel of the boards. My best guess would be that having the weight further out would make them heavier to turn and manoeuvre but i don’t know if this is actually true or not.
This racer was one of the only guys at the event with mechanical disk breaks on his board.
The brakes are cable driven and the brake remote was heavily modified to include lights for cave racing. The remote was also clipped to the rider to avoid accidentally dropping the remote whilst riding. It must take some practice have wireless throttle and regen breaks in one hand and cable breaks control in the other.
The number of custom parts was impressive but the one that got the most attention was this unique"spoiler" style drag handle. Yes, that is a full set of bike handlebars bolted on the back.
Trampa were showing off some prototypes of the WAND remotes. The build quality looked great and they have a good weight and feel in the hand. My only concern would be how long it would take me to scratch it (not very looking at the state of my current remote).
There was actually surprisingly little inside and i was impressed that they are actually using a circular git OLED screen. These are not a cheep component to source and it shows that trampa are trying to make the best remote, not the lowest cost remote. Buttons also felt great, i think these must be automotive switches because they had a good click / force profile and felt quality unlike most of the switches that were used to in eskate remotes.
The pcb design is very simple and looks like it will be robust. i couldn’t see a microcontroler unless its hidden under the hot glue so im assuming that they are running the code directly on the NRF modules. The “VESC” design in the vias is a nice touch
Benjamin Vedder was actually at the event. He spent some time helping people get builds configured properly and trying to sort out some bugs. Its always great to see developers actively engaged with the community and it must have been motivating for him to see the results of the work that hes doing.
Quietly hiding in his little box of dev tools was a VESC BMS. If hes working on a VESC BMS that can be linked to the can bus and controlled by the VESC software this has the potential to make huge safety improvements in many builds. Additionally it could be interesting for trampa prebuilts as currently most of there boards use LiPo packs which need an external balance charger.
@Kaly was at the event with a few XL50’s. I was lucky to catch him making some on-site upgrades to one of his boards and he kindly let me take a few pics. The enclosure is made from 4 pressed aluminium segments, each segment contains its own 12s3p cell pack and BMS.
The BMS for each pack were tiny and fit in the space above the battery terminals of the double stack pack. everything looked well insulated and the wiring in the packs was tidy.
Having multiple BMS’s for smaller cell groups means that each bms manages fewer cells and so can balance cells quicker. Additionally each BMS is charging fewer cells and dealing with less charge current so runs cooler and heat is dissipated more evenly. Furthermore i would guess that in a failure condition having each pack managed individually and in separate aluminium cases means that there is less chance for fire / thermal runaway for continue through the entire board.
Lastly i loved this DIY bike/scooter hybrid. It was brought cheep during a closing down sail then retrofitted with cheep e-Bike hub motor and controller from china. electronics were hidden in the frame and the battery pack fits in the backpack. It was great fun to rid and seems like a good commuting alternative to a bike (if only the law would allow for this type of vehicle).
Im still quite tired so im sure this is filled with spelling errors and mistakes but i hope it gives some of you the same motivation boost that its given me.
If you know who these builds belong to then comment below and i will add them in because these guys deserve recognition for their awesome and inspiring work.
Also if you guys have got picture of anything that i might have missed then please post them below 
