XL BULLY - 4WD(Belts) JKESC(Radium) 18S8P(x2) Mega Range Touring Board

DIY Builds
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So, my name is Al and i’m a DIY esk8 addict.

I have given up esk8 more times than you’ve skated and now it maaaayyyyyy be (i’m kidding myself, it 100% is) time for a comeback.

It’s been a long standing dream of mine to skate the entire east coast of Australia. Seeing @Mikes_Esk8 recent efforts here Legs of Steel - 4100KM in 18 days! World record? and riding a lot more regularly has gotten me hooked again.

I want to build a mega range, somewhat aesthetic, utility road skate. Its gonna cost me a fuckin arm and a leg (hopefully not literally) but I don’t have many goals in life and this is one that i’ve hung onto for a long time.

Original intent

My idea(s) so far is:

Deck/Enclosure: @Ean.esk8 phantom deck and enclosure with custom 3dp/fibreglass top enclosure(s?)

Battery: 18s12p (insert best 6.5ah cell @SternWake @Battery_Mooch @DIY500AMP.COM ) completely underslung. If my potentially misguided predictions are correct, if I completely fill the phantom enclosure with cells AND add a ‘gasket’ thick enough to allow another layer, I should be able to squeeze in 216 cells under the deck.

I’m hopeful for 150km range out of a charge but there’s a lot of speculation/wishful thinking there :man_shrugging:

I’ll run an external charge-only bms with multiple 240v chargers in parallel

ESC/Motors: i’m REALLY hopeful that @Tony_Stark can hook me up with 4wd motors and escs. I noticed in the remote options on the M1S that you could switch to 4wd mode… i’m assuming that the escs in the M1S are already capable of hooking up with more escs…

Ideally i would love to run 6455 front and 6485 rear, NON VESC.

Drives: BELTS. I have ridden many different drive types and i always come back to belts. They’re tried, tested, easy, cheap and common. They take less than 5min to change if set up nicely and I just think belts are awesome.

I’ll design my own motor mounts and manufacture them in a yet to be decided manner… i may lean on @SirVesa for some up close and personal metal printing advice throughout this project.

Trucks/wheels: I’d love to try out @Titoxd1000 dualities on this build. It’s gonna be a big boi so I think the 300mm hangers would be the go.

I’m VERY undecided on wheels. Not sure on what to go for between esk8 type wheels or kart type wheels. Hoping for advice from the pros here, @Dinnye @jack.luis

I want a 10 inch wheel, I’m leaning heavily towards something like mbs xl hubs and a decent tire that fits. If there’s any good recs for 10s on your hubs @MBS i’d love to hear them!

I could however be persuaded to lean towards kart tires if the reslience/longevity of those tires is a lot better? I’m just chasing the most kms between tire changes.

Speed/gearing: i’ll be gearing this to top out around 80kph. I doubt i’ll ever max it out but i want it to be available seeing as it’s primary purpose will be long range road rides.

I’ll likely design my own wheel pulleys and talk to some friendly peeps about some manufacturing options there as well.

This is a very brief ‘intentional’ post as it stands but I intend to document the build and discuss as it happens.

It’ll be a long term project but i’d appreciate as much advice as i can get, i’m pretty rusty these days!

Confirmed/purchased parts and prices

Rev Phantom deck/enclosure - $1279 AUD / $880 USD shipped

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Pictured above is one of the catalysts for this build. Late last year, @Ean.esk8 offered up several early model deck/enclosure combos for a great price. I should have taken the bait back then, but I wasn’t quite there yet.

There’s no option on the Newbee or Rev websites to buy this combo, but I slid into Ethan’s DMs and a production model deck/enclosure is currently on it’s way to me.

Tito 300mm Dualities - $715 AUD / $495 USD shipped

Duality Trucks (pair) mountainboard version – Tito Systems

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Do I even need to say anything here? I’ve been SUPER curious about these since they started making waves however long ago now. I’ve still not ever had the chance to ride them…

The rave reviews and surprising lack of documented failures pretty much cemented this choice for me. It’s probably the only component that I’m not considering carrying spares for, I figure if anything busts these up, I’ve probably got serious issues and downtime in store anyway, so I can deal with replacement as necessary.

@Titoxd1000 is currently running a $50 USD discount on these bad boys, so get in while you can!

Lorentz Nail’d wheels x6 - $927 AUD / $645 USD shipped

250mm "Nail'd" Tank Wheels Upgrade Kit – LORENTZ BOARDS

I needed help with this one and you guys delivered. I’m very happy with my decision on these, hopefully they live up to expectations. Thanks for the heads up @MichaelWA :call_me_hand:

I want quick swap wheels in case of flats, so i’ve ordered an extra 2 complete wheels.

I’m curious to see how the offroad tires go on the road, and before the build is complete, i’ll more than likely kit myself out with a set of 6 tires that are more road-centric, as well as a good fistful of tubes.

I ended up hitting up Lorentz on Instagram to make the order for 6 wheels rather than 4, the response was quick, helpful and more considered than i was expecting, so thanks a lot Lorentz!

Running total - $2921 AUD / $2020 USD

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What could be better than inspiring someone else through your own achievement?! Fuckin’ go for it, man! You have no idea how happy that just made me. :blush:

By the way, I have no idea what kind of distances you’re aiming for, but if you’re thinking of 300+ km rides, here’s one thing I’ve learned from regularly doing 130 km with no stops: charging speed is way more important than battery size. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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Sounds like a sexy monster in the making. If you’re planning this mostly for long range rides, I don’t think you want kart tires. 216 cells under a deck is going to be wild! I can’t wait to see it.

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Charging speed is indeed going to be a problem to solve!!

I intend to follow your lead on some kind of car charging rig, with multiple 240v chargers so that i can utilise normal power points as well.

Chargers are probably the things i’ve killed most of on my esk8 journey, so there needs to be many :rofl:

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What makes you say this? Are they not comfortable to ride?

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Big, wide, and heavy… primarily being used for racing on indoor kart tracks. Really just seeing people use them for basically the opposite of what you are planning. But I’d love to hear other opinions.

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My thinking was that a lot of the riding will be high speed, relatively straight line riding, so the kart tires might feel more locked in

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Hell yeah. Seems like a good fit for you then

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Always so extra Future Man!!!

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Some SLM titanium pulleys would be really cool. Can’t wait to see what you come up with.

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Definitely look at scooter hubs and tires. There’s tons of options and they’re all really well balanced.

I’d consider 3D printing something to stop debris from getting into your belts. On really long rides it could be a bigger issue than what you’ve experienced before.

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Kart tires are cool, but you really don’t want to have to change them in the middle of a road trip. They are super comfortable though at high speeds.

I’d recommend looking into the PMT scooter tires perhaps, @Titoxd1000 was testing them. Good quality 10" tires, needs 6" rims though.

I wouldn’t recommend the alu MBS hubs for super long roadtrips, the bearings seat don’t have enough meat around them to last long term.

I was actually considering of making some 8M belt drive pulleys if thats a direction you’d like to consider. Not sure what your timeline is for the build

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Interesting thought experiment on ‘best’ cell for an 18s12p RoadTrip battery, spending someone else’s money.

As of today the LinkData65P would seem to be the clear winner, but could one get their hands on 220 of these cells today?

When it is time to actually order the cells, will there be 7000mah nominal cells available?

At 12P, does it matter if it is an energy cell versus a power cell or some sort of hybrid that falls in between?

I think as of today the near horizon cells with a 6Ah nominal rating should also be in the mix.

I just want to put these cells out there as potential candidates in the beginning of this thread as I find it interesting to look at older threads, and often wonder what cells were available ‘back then’.

Reliance RS60, RH60

BAK 65E, 60D

TenPower 60XG

LinkData 55p, 60p, 65p

Amprius SA112

FEB 21700g

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Thanks @Dinnye @jack.luis

The changing of kart tires definitely seems intimidating and not something i’d wanna do very often, scooter tires seem like a good idea.

Will have to suss out available options for 2 piece hubs if going that route, those tires are a bitch to change on solid hubs.

@SternWake i’m definitely happy to leave the battery to be the final piece of this puzzle in the hopes that the ultimate cell becomes available. At this stage i’m thinking the bak65e is looking pretty good.

The board doesn’t need to be crazy in terms of discharge current, in fact i’ll be looking to have it dialled down as much as possible for max efficiency, but I still would still be looking for more of a power cell than an energy cell.

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Welcome back… again!

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Hmm… 2 piece scooter hubs are kinda hard to find.. this was the only one i could find after a quick search.. looks like axle length could be an issue with these…

What is the available axle space on the 300mm dualities @Titoxd1000 ? Website says 68mm but is that including the thread?

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The axle length is about 71mm now, that does include the threaded portion which is 14.5mm.

Interested to see how this build turns out. For 10 inch tires pmts are really good but expensive. I would say cst 10x2.5 are pretty much as good with slightly less grip, they’re a way better value. I did want to make a batch of wheels for those tires but unfortunately aluminum cost was deterring factor, at least for the moment. Honestly, 3d printed worked for a long time for me before I made some in metal; I just made them really thick and like 10 bolts per wheel to increase strength. If the ones you linked work, that’d be cool. One downside is they look a bit narrow.

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Yeah those pmt tires definitely look expensive. Might start with them and then see how cheaper ones compare afterwards.

Maybe i can get @Drpoppinoff to print me some wheels :rofl:

I reckon i’ll have some work cut out for me with this hub situation, but nothing a bit of money or ingenuity can’t fix!

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My god. He’s back.

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Technically a 3d printer is a cnc right :person_shrugging:

(Since he always mentioned he had cnc version)

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