Electric Mountainboard Build Part 2: And We're Off!

For the previous part, click here!

I have officially started the build process, and even in a few short weeks, quite a few design changes have been entertained and made as I take a deep dive into the actual building part. The part images below are taken from the respective manufacturer's product pages. 


The ESC has been finalized and ordered. I went with the Spintend UBox for a few reasons. It comes with a remote and switch, so it actually saves me some parts by removing the need to buy a separate switch and remote. Antispark duties are now handled by an XT90S connector, so I will not need the Flipsky Antispark switch as originally intended. All in all, it saves me nearly $100 in parts I would have needed to buy separately, while still being a very good value in its own right as a standalone ESC. Plus, being a 75V/300A ESC, it has plenty of headroom for upgrades to up to a 16S system in the future. Hats off to Jeff for making a great value proposition!

Spintend UBox with remote

The motors have also been finalized to the Flipsky motors. Overall, they are the better deal, and are similar enough to the Maytechs that ultimately price and availability came down to the deciding factors. With a sale on 11/11, I should be able to get the two motors for under $140. However, these may be some of the last parts that arrive, with delivery probably coming in two months.

Flipsky 6374 190kv, Battle Hardened version

The drivetrain has been slightly modified. Due to high shipping costs, I am forgoing the Momentum Chain Drive and building my own. It will save about $40 if the shipping is included, but requires some more work on my end, namely widening out the central axle, and drilling mounting holes in the wheel sprocket for the Rockstar hubs. This also gives me greater flexibility in choosing my gear ratio, although I think I'm going to stick to 12:62 because it seems reasonable based on the calculator.

Batteries may need to undergo a change, as the original Tattu batteries I wanted are out of stock, and does not look like they will be restocked. As such, I will be reverting to my original plan of using four Turnigy 12Ah 12C batteries. They are priced slightly higher, and have lower capacity and current, but are at least available, and still powerful enough for my uses. They're roughly the same size, so the enclosure does not need to be changed.

Turnigy 12Ah 6S LiPo

Lastly, MBS does not do order customizations, so I have decided to stick with the default parts for the Comp 95. In the future, I may upgrade the baseplates to the metal ones if they show signs of cracking, and go with FiveStars if I ever want to move up to 9" wheels. Other than that, I'm fine with the base parts.

On the design side, there has been a small change in how the battery enclosure is attached to the deck. One thing I failed to take into account is the asymmetric concave in the deck, which would make it difficult to actually get the Velcro to contact. I am considering cutting small feet for the box that matches the concave, and attach the Velcro onto there. In addition, I have replaced Velcro with 3M Dual Lock, which I have had tremendous success with in the past. They are infinitely reclosable, easy to clean, and very strong, so I feel it would be a good upgrade, even though it is a fair bit more expensive.

Aside from that, it's a waiting game to look for sales. The MBS board and components are currently out of stock, and hopefully they will be back in time for Black Friday discounts. There will be a ton of discounts on 11/11 on Chinese sites, so it will be a good time to get components then. While I doubt the Boardnamics mounts will go on sale, there seems to be plenty of stock, so I can order that any time. Same with the enclosures. I will probably do an update at the beginning of next month once I have a better idea of what I have gotten.

For the next part, click here!

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