Shit Show | Arbor Oso Foundation | Surf Rodz TKP | Dual Unlimited hubs | Unity | Samsung 40t 12s2p

[Adam0311]

Been a few years since my last build thread (on other forum), but this little board inspired me to do another. I’m 46 years old, over 6’ and 200lbs, so riding a 30” board with a 15.5” wheelbase is sure to be a shit show. That said, I love this deck, it reminds of the Powell Paralta decks I learned on 35 years ago. Also, this is just a short little cruiser to be used for trips to local bars/restaurants or daughter’s soccer games.

Picked up the Arbor Oso Foundation on Muirskate because I loved the shape and size and wanted to see if I could make a decent esk8 out of it. Turns out, you can.

Deck - Arbor Oso Foundation

With space so limited between the wheelbase (15.5”), this seemed a good time to give hub motors a try.
After a bit of research, I opted for the Unlimited hub motors. There are definitely cheaper options, but these had pretty good reviews and O-tang sleeve options that I found appealing.

Drive train - Dual unlimited hubes

I originally planned on using some spare Caliber 2 trucks, but decided to keep it old school with some tkp trucks, specifically Surf Rodz tkp. Ended up going with a 177mm hanger in front and a 159mm hanger in the rear due to the larger width of the hub motors.

Trucks - Surf Rodz TKP

Had what I think is a first batch Unity that somehow I never used on any other builds. Figured it should work fine and it does, but I may swap this at some point.

Speed controller - Unity

Most the bars/ restaurants are within a 5 mile round trip or less from my house, but I wanted the option of a longer ride, so I went 12s2p with Samsung 40t. Should give me 12-13 miles or so.

Battery - 12s2p Samsung 40t

Enclosure I made myself using carbon fiber and vacuum bagging.

Love Hoyt remotes, use them on all my boards.

Remote - Hoyt Puck

The whole time I was building this, I’m wondering if I’ll even be comfortable riding such a short wheelbase esk8. I shouldn’t have worried. It’s surprisingly composed at 15-20mph, while being as nimble as you’d expect at slower speeds. I’ve felt minor speed wobbles over 20mph, but nothing scary and honestly I didn’t build this board for speed so no big deal. I love hoping off curbs and carving on this thing. The SR tkp trucks really make the board come alive with an old school fun feel while being stable and predictable. All in all, I’m super happy with board.

[jack.luis]

I love it! What an ideal little commuter

[Linny]

This is a perfect commuter build

[DEEIF]

Duuuude I remember your old build! great job, you live near me!!

[nclayton]

Very nice. Me likey. I’m afraid if I tried riding such a board I would have no option but to build one for myself. Sweet build. Thanks for sharing!

[Razillian]

I’m a huge fan of nimble builds like this. Great job!

[Adam0311]

You in South Bay? I’m in Redondo.

[Adam0311]

Thanks. It is a fun little commuter. Only esk8 I can carry by trucks like a regular board and super easy to stash under a table.

[Adam0311]

I should also add that thus far I’m pleased with the unlimited hub motors. they have plenty of power to push my 205lbs up the hills in my area. Equally important to me, the 77a duro sleeves are not harsh over simi rough roads. Very subjective of course, but they ride similar to the 78a 90mm abec 11 wheels (admittedly they are pretty worn) on my main board.

I may eventually dial back my settings, because these things do get hot, but I understand heat and hubs tend to go hand in hand. So far it hasn’t been an issue.

[linsus]

The hubs perform well enough to justify the price? Been on the fence for those since forever. Tried setting up a grou buy but Unlimited havn’t responded to my last 3 emails

[DEEIF]

Manhattan Beach

[Adam0311]

The value equation is a little different than most esk8 motors in my mind. All my other motors are belt driven and in that scenario, I want durability (physically and electronically), accurate kv, and then things like normal screw spacing so you have more motor mount options.

With these hubs you get some advantages over the outboard set up.
1.) they require much less real estate. Out board motors would have required reverse mounting on this board (which I refuse to do on a kicktail board)
2…) these hubs can be used with nearly any truck. This is big in my opinion. I’ve got an extra set of Cronin trucks I want to use on another build. Total pain in the ass to modify any available motor mount to fit Cronins, but with the hubs it will be a breeze (end of the truck might need to be rounded down a few mm).

Durability will end up being the deciding factor. If these things hold up, then I’ll be happy with my choice and feel good about the value. If they don’t, I’ll be pissed and on here cursing about the unlimited hubs🤣

[linsus]

@Adam0311

The value equation is a little different than most esk8 motors in my mind. All my other motors are belt driven and in that scenario, I want durability (physically and electronically), accurate kv, and then things like normal screw spacing so you have more motor mount options.

Well, since the unlimited hubs are roughly twice the price of any other massproduced hub, it raises the question if they’re worth the coin or not. Personally I have 4 different hubs in possesion and noone of them are that different imo. Biggest impact in ride quality is decided by the thane on the sleeve. Otherwise in terms of power they dont differ a whole lot. Thats why I’m asking, hubs in general are lacking in performance.

Please come back with any feedback. Theres not alot of these in the wild and even less that report back about em.

Meanwhile I’ll continue to patiently wait for my hummie hubs…

[Adam0311]

You and me both on the Hummie hubs. In fact, I appreciate your update requests on the Hummie thread, keeping us all up to speed.

On the unlimited hubs, I have no other hub motor experience, so I can’t draw any true comparison. That said, the ride quality is much better than I expected for a hub motor. I’m sure the O-tang sleeves help in that regard. Power is plenty for me, I have no trouble powering up short (150 ish meters) 20% inclines in my area or breaking back down those same hills. They do get hot after the hill climb, but no issues so far. Again, I’m not sure how that compares to other hub motors. My main concern is just the long term durability.

[Lionpuncher]

Hey man, cool build! I have a similar build in the works. Just received a slightly loved set of the unlimited hubs yesterday! I would love to get some info from you regarding mounting to the truck and your wiring solution seeing as how the connector for the motors seems proprietary.
Was there a little brass sleeve (collet) included which slides on the truck hanger? I didn’t get those, but I’m thinking they might be integral to the proper mounting of the hubs. Would kill to know about that haha.

[tipsy]

I suggest you stock up on sleeves, since Unlimited is going out of business.

That connector is just an Amass MT60, not proprietary.

You don’t absolutely need that cone washer, can use something like a serrated washer instead.
You DO need the nordlock washer that came with it for the nut-side of the assembly.

[Lionpuncher]

Thanks for the heads up Tips!!
I managed to chat with technical support yesterday and they hooked it all up. Several of everything. Plus, I convinced them to throw in a few bricked esc’s too! I had a feeling they were branded mt60’s but thought it might be cool to keep ‘em black. Plus if anyone wants the esc’s to play with in the name of science, I got ‘em.

[Adam0311]

Thanks.
@tipsy beat me to the punch answering your questions.
I will say that I’m currently having an issue with one of my motors. It stutters every once and awhile, like phase wires are coming loose, but they’re solid. I need to plug it into the vesc tool and see what’s up.

[Lionpuncher]

Ya, for hubs they look fairly impressive! I’m excited to give them a go!
I found a cheap yoface hybrid deck on my local marketplace I think I might use as a base for a stealthy commuter build. Have a few cheap focers kicking around too. Gonna be a nice cheap but kinda sexy build. My favorite combo!

[b264]

How long is the deck from nose to tail?