Introduction
Warning, this is going to be a long read.
This is the journey of man and his quest for the perfect prototipo. But for some reason, there always ends up being something that is unsatisfactory. Sometimes it’s something small that most people would shrug off and sometimes it’s significant. This this proto journey has become a gateway to ESK8 addiction, a revolving door of parts, and lots of buy high sell low moments.
So why “ProroTYPO” ProtoTYPO
- I like puns
- A typo is an error that requires correction. This entire build journey has been me constantly making changes to parts that I felt were unsatisfactory (whether it’s slight OCD or ride feel, or just plain esk8 addiction and curiosity for new parts). So I kept making changes as if there were “errors” and I was trying to correct this build into a completely satisfactory Prototipo.
Chapter 1: (1st) Prototipo acquired
Sunday, July 17th, 2022 I bought a used DSS50 Prototipo from FB marketplace. Local guy just bought a Nazare and was offloading his Prototipo for a great price. Everything was in great condition with the exception of a small ding on the nose of the board. Top layer had a fairly small chip and a few layers of the nose were slightly separated. Used some wood filler and a little sanding to touch it up.
I rode it in its stock configuration. Even with plastic baseplate Matrix 2 trucks and stock bushings, it was a lot of fun. I was getting maybe 10-12 enjoyable miles before some sag kicked in.
First change I did to the board was remove the stock single Enertion Focboxes and replaced it with a Xenith. Second change was aesthetic. I wanted to upgrade the grip tape but keep the Lacroix branding alive.
Chapter 2: (2nd) Prototipo Acquired
Nov 28th, 2022 Another Prototipo was listed for sale locally. Did I need it? Nope. Did I want it? Yes. It was a DSS60. Hardware was stock with the exception of Moon gear drives. It also had some gold spray paint on the rails, grip, and Rockstar 2 hubs. Most importantly, it did NOT have any damage to the deck. So I succumbed to my growing Esk8 addiction and bought it with plans to sell the first DSS50 prototipo.
Feb 11, 2023 I sold the (1st) DSS50 proto locally.
Chapter 3: (2nd) Prototipo Upgrades
I rode the DSS60 stock and was disappointed coming from the DSS50. Battery was older, smaller 18650 cells, lots of sag early. I also noticed that the DSS60 was noticeably flexier than the DSS50. DSS60 also seemed to be thinner (maybe 1 less ply).
I was satisfied to have an undamaged deck, but dissatisfied with the old hardware. Thus began the complete makeover of the DSS60.
ESC: Upgraded the Enertion single focboxes to a Xenith. Unity/Xenith made sense due to space constraints.
Battery: @A13XR3 build a beautiful 12s5p P42a battery
Drivetrain: Got new Boardnamics helical gear drives with BN 6384 190kv Flipsky motors and @Ean.esk8 New we gunmetal Pentagrams with Meepo Cyclone 165mm tires. Matrix 2 trucks were upgraded with metal baseplates and @Tony_Stark Riptide bushing adapters.
Deck: Original deck had some UV damage. I sanded and stained it with Cognac brown wood stain. I wanted to keep some of the original prototipo essence, so I kept the wood center with CF look alive. CF rails were covered with a gray CF vinyl overlay.
Grip: With the intent to keep with the ode to the original prototipo, I laser cut some modified hexagons. I also laser cut/engraved a Lacroix logo for the center.
So this build is done right? It has a 12s P42a battery, gear drives, cool aesthetics, Riptide bushings, sweet hubs, wide tires. Riptide bushings were a major upgrade to the ride feel. What’s not to like?
Chapter 4: (2nd) Prototipo Upgrades Round 2
Trucks: @ARCTIC was selling some 3ds fatboy channel trucks. The hangers are CNCed, wider, and compatible with Matrix 2 baseplates. Snagged those and installed on the proto. I also acquired some Lacroix Nazare red baseplates locally and swapped those in. The hangers are slightly offset from center. Hangers in the longer wheelbase position felt “divey.” Slow response in the beginning of the lean and then a lot of response at the end of the lean. I flipped them 180 and everything was peachy.
Gear drives: At the time there was a lot of activity on the forum discussing lateral forces on BN helical gears. Some were installing shaft collars, there was talks of using an angular bearing, some people had motor pinions come loose. So I ended up switching those out for Newbee 4GS drives.
Hubs: One day on a ride to work I scuffed the pentagrams on a curb. The scraping sound hurt my soul.
Ended up buying some Newbee DM1 bronze rims.
Now the board is done, right?
Chapter 5: (2nd) Prototipo Upgrades Round 3
So what’s wrong now? Why does this board need to change? It doesnt. It was great, rode great, looked great.
But @Ean.esk8 starts posting about some Triplelink trucks he’s working on. At the time I had never ridden this type of truck before. I only saw how they were well received by the racing community. Ethan’s videos showed them being used on a Bro deck (MTB style deck vs flat deck) so my interest was peaked. I purchased a set.
Trucks came in and I did a test fit. First thing I noticed is that the original triplelinks extended my wheelbase and made the board even more flexy as a result.
I did not like it…at all. My hefty 205lbs on a flexy deck with extended wheelbase had me feeling like I would snap the deck. I contacted Ethan to see if he could make a baseplate for MTB decks that would keep the hanger centered to the deck mounting holes. Huge shoutout to @Ean.esk8 for designing a new baseplate in a short period of time. It was Lunar New Year at the time so the timeline to get these new baseplates was really long. Ethan so kindly sent me the CAD file and I had it made by Xometry. I got 2 sets of MTB baseplates made. One went to @Linny and his Kushboard Prototipo.
Old (black anodize) and new (raw) baseplate comparison
With the MTB baseplates installed, the ride felt SO MUCH BETTER. Felt like really precise/slopless channel trucks with DKP turning at low speed but still stable at higher speeds.
Out of all my builds, this one got first pick for the premo parts. So now the board is done right? EVERYTHING from the stock DSS60 has been upgraded except the enclosure. I should be done. I should be satisfied. What is there to change now?
Chapter 6: Enter Tito Systems Duality Trucks
The triplelinks felt great. I really enjoyed the ride feel. I’m not a top speed guy. I come from a surfing background so I enjoy deep carves with lots of body lean. My only complaint on the triplelinks was how many different fasteners there were overall. Checking them all periodically and before rides was cumbersome. One time i didn’t check everything before a ride and the bolts holding the front truck links to the center hem started coming loose mid ride. I had to make sure to carry allen wrenches with me on rides. Sometimes I would stop mid ride because I thought something was coming loose (but everything was tight). So having that in the back of my mind during rides got annoying.
Then @Titoxd1000 introduces his Duality Trucks. I wasn’t interested at first. I was trying to be a good boy and be satisfied with the proto. @tuckjohn and his Nothing Fancy build log got me curious about Dualities. My only concern was the hanger offset. Hangers out gives a low ride height but less enclosure clearance. Hangers in gives higher ride height and potential wheelbite. In addition, my experience with offset 3DS hangers facing out had me wondering if the same thing would happen with dualities. I chatted with Tito regarding my concerns and he made some new baseplates that would cause the hanger to be centered with respect to the truck mounting holes.
Huge shoutout to @Titoxd1000 ito for making these because of my PTSD from offset hangers. This set of dualities with centerset baseplates actually went on my Lacroix Barrel. I loved the ride feel so much that I ordered another set for the ProtoTYPO. This time it will be 270mm centerset hangers instead of modified baseplates. These trucks are on the way and will be arriving soon.
Once dualities are installed, the ProTYPO will be done, right? Nope. Other changes are currently in progress. The deck is currently in the hands of @tomiboi for some structural upgrades. More chapters to come, but we are all caught up for now.
Chapter 7: Deck makeover and Dualities installed
As mentioned earlier, for some reason the DSS60 feels noticable flexier than the DSS50. Currently I’m at about 205lbs and the DSS60 feels like it could snap at the neck when hitting curb transitions. So…I hit up @tomiboi and he was willing to stiffen up the deck for me. Got the deck back from @tomiboi and this thing is CLEAN. The legend added a layer of carbon fiber on top and bottom. He also upgraded the inserts from M3 to M4.
Also got the 270mm centerset dualities installed. I switched out the 4GS drives for @IDEA belt drives because I plan to run SR125s and BRPs on this eventually.
Next step is to figure out the grip tape design. I plan to do something lasercut but haven’t figured out what yet.
I ended up with your pentas. Great read. Love the staining on the new deck.
Yes…but if it’s any justification, I have taken 3 boards out of the quiver. So…by cancelation property…?