I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about a fairly low-powered build. I’m the type that thinks that all esk8s are fun… so long as they are working 
and I wanted to make a deck that I could try to have some free-style and park fun with. The result so far is this 33 inch long, 9 1/4 inch wide, integrated, free-style deck.
Esk8s and free-style decks aren’t the best match. The narrow wheel base on free-style decks limits room for electronics, plastic underbelly enclosures won’t last long and not to mention that building an esk8 with wheels smaller than 85mm is impractical which is much larger than the standard street or park wheel. Lastly, esk8s are usually pretty heavy. Trying to do a kickflip with a 25 lb deck is basically stupid.
Integrated decks, with their wood bottoms, have a chance at providing the durability required for the project. Reinforced with heavyweight fiberglass the deck should be able to take a lot of punishment. 10oz was used here and that is a lot for a short-board. I widened the wheel base to make more room for electronics. On this build I’m using minimal electronics with a lot of padding to keep the weight down, but the compartment could hold a 12s2p 21700 battery pack with a small dual esc. This deck shares the same compartment and mold as my Murder-hornet deck. I added very strategically placed scallops to help accommodate large wheels. There are two truck positions. The shorter stance is best for TKP trucks while the wider stance it better suited for RKP fun.
To make it go I’m using a single drive Unlimited set-up. I’ve been riding a dual-drive Unlimited hub board all summer and I’ve been impressed with their performance. I weight 175 and I don’t expect a single-hub to to haul my ass up hills all day, but I probably won’t have to kick to often. Also, my intended top speed is 15-18 mph. So I don’t need tons of power.
I’m making a 10s1p p42a battery pack for this which is quite a bit larger than the 2.5 Ah battery pack included with the Unlimited x Loaded single-drive kit. I’m going to make it interchangeable and quick charge to make up for the small size, but for my use this 4.2 Ah pack will probably treat me right. The BMS is rated for 35A. I found it on amazon. It should be ample for
I’m using a random ESC based on VESC 6 that is very similar to the MakerX Go FOC 6. I sell them on my website tomiboiesk8.com for $75 + shipping. I’m also going to use a makerX anti-spark switch.
The remote will be a puck with a large-diameter thumb-wheel that I really like a lot. It was designed by @trelensis. I’ve printed some of the others. I like this one the best.
The hardware was fun to pick out. Independent makes some street skate trucks that have 180 mm hangers. They seemed like a perfect fit. There really aren’t many choices when it comes to wide TKP trucks, so the choice was easy. To take them to the next level I turned to Riptide sport. I put together a street-skate kit on their site which will give me a lot of options for dialing in the trucks. I’m starting with really squishy chubby’s and medium-hard short-cones. I really like seismic ceramic bearings. I prefer ceramic for esk8, so I used them here.
I’m just starting to get into 3D printing and I made some custom parts for this build. I made a 10mm riser with an enclosure for the on/off button and charging jack. I also made 3/4 inch skid-pad/handles. I made the skid pads super thick to help with tail-slides and ollies. All of the parts got TPU gaskets to help them fit nicely. The gasket for the on/off riser has an inset to help seal the electronics.
A few final notes: I’m going to experiment with the Current hyst reverve break and Current smart-reverse settings in the VESC tool. Also, I’m going to install the hub on the same side that I push from.
That’s it. I’m testing it out today. Happy riding guys!!
