Update 2020-08-22
New
The Piggy Back
I love being able to #carvetheworld with this board, and I want to explore greater distances.
Enter the Piggy Back:
This way I can carve while on the way to some carving at some distant location.
Complete Wire Coverage
The RJ12 connectors and phase wire couplings were exposed to allow for maximum flexibility in removing the rear truck and / or the enclosure. With the remaining steps no longer requiring this flexibility, it was time to get these connectors fully covered.
First I covered the glands at the enclosure openings:
Next, I covered the phase wire couplings:
Finally, I added more split loom, enclosing the last of the exposed section:
Multifunction Top Bracket
The goals here were
- Create a protective path for the wires to run from the enclosure to the motors while maintaining sufficient slack in the cables.
- Maximize clearance by hoisting the wires up just as the leave the enclosure
- Maintain some line slack at the motors to accommodate the flex as the rear truck pivots
- Protect the wires from being crimped or crushed
- Provide a sturdy mount for the brake lights, maintaining high visibility and the ability to easily detach the lights from the board for charging.
- Build a mount for a spare hub / tire / tube which also acts as a protective surface on which to invert the board while charging.
After some iteration, I landed on a design where I would mount a new top bracket above the truck. It would be held in place by using the same truck mount bolts but have holes to handle the remaining features described above.
- A front hole would allow the wires to be hoisted as they leave the enclosure, maximizing ground clearance
- Side holes could be used to zip tie the wires to a specific tension
- A square hole would accommodate a 5/16 carriage bolt, allowing for mounting of a spare wheel / tube / tire
- The rear bolt holes would also be used to connect brackets for mounting the brake lights
Here’s the design diagrams from the side and top as well as the light bracket
Again, I was able to contract with JnJ Fab to create these parts out of 3/16 stainless steel. After a bit a finishing work, the top bracket came out nicely:
Next:
- I grabbed some 20mm stainless brackets for the light bracket.
- I grabbed some 45mm m5 bolts to accommodate the additional lift of the top bracket.
For the brake lights, the intent was to detach the threaded mount from the bicycle bracket and attach each threaded mount to the light bracket itself (pictured above). Here’s a shot of the brake light mounting hardware:
That said, after assembling the top bracket, I found the bolt spacing afforded by the brackets was just perfect to mount a single light directly in the center of the board using the included bicycle mounting hardware. I really liked this more minimalist and clean look and decided to abandon the light bracket entirely. After some fine tuning to find the exact right number of washers for spacing (13 at truck front / 12 at truck rear), the multifunction top bracket was mounted and ready to go:
Some thoughts on this:
- The bracket spacing keeps the wires snug (but not pinched). I’m unsure if I will need to utilize the side holes.
- The black zip tie at the front maintains the ground clearance, I will likely have a slightly cleaner looking solution in the long-term.
- I love the look of the central brake light. I’d like to get some slightly bigger washers for a more secure hold on the light mounting hardware
- Taking this apart to put the spare mount carriage bolt in place is going to be a PITA, however, I decided it would be safer to not have an unprotected post sticking up from the rear truck just in case I fall wrong. Once I manage to get a spare hub (see Help Needed below) I’ll get the spare mounted.
Looking at how the wires route from the enclosure to the motors with this new bracket, I’m very pleased with the results:
Changed
Abandoned the light bracket approach (detailed above)
Complete
This board is now ready to be ridden, day our night. I’m only missing a helmet mounted light to complete my night riding setup. I really like the approach used by @Venom121212 here .
Help Needed
I called Marc @Janux-esk8 and I was hoping to get a spare hub for my set. Regrettably he’s not selling his hubs as one offs, but only in the original sets of (4). This means I need to find 2-3 other people to go in with me on a set. With Marc making an exit from the DIY community I’m hoping to grab these before they are gone.
In the case of a flat, having a new hub ready to go would allow for a tire change in about 3 minutes versus closer to 20 minutes. This would also mean no Allen wrench or tire pump, just a simple nyloc nut.
What’s Next
- Helmet light
- Get spare hub and build as a quick swap spare
- VESC: Add additional low speed torque
- Tear down, sand, and paint
- Regrip
Research
- VESC: Add additional low speed torque