That escalated quickly, introduction to longboarding
5 Days, 0-100
It was only 5 days ago that a colleague mentioned to me that he was interested in buying an electric longboard, I can't remember the exact route after that but me being a maker thought I could probably build my own one for a lot cheaper than a per built one.
So after many obsessive hours of scouring ebay and aliexpress I calculated that I could make my own (version 1) from nothing to fully built for well under £200, my best guess is the range and top speed will be much lower that a boosted board but being v1 I'd be willing to take the risk of making a slow but usable board for £170 and change.
So then after costing up the parts my attention shifted from the electronics to building the longboard itself and the fact that the decks can be made fairly easily, after many more hours of watching youtube 'longboard diy deck' videos and a trip to B&Q I've decided I can build my own deck too, once I find space to build it.
So that's right, within the space of about 4 and a half days I've gone from 0-100, in reality, I don't have £200 to throw at a longboard project, so to start I've bought the cheapest longboard I could find on ebay at a very modest price of £26, I know that it will probably be so nasty that I will want to upgrade as soon as possible, but for that price its worth the risk to see if I actually enjoy the experience. As a kid some 20+ years ago I used to do a little skating with my mates so hopefully it will all come back to me quickly, and I'll be cruising and carving up the streets, sliding down the hills and dancing in no time at all.
Exploring
On my way back from my afore mentioned trip to B&Q I stopped of at a couple of locations around Cribbs Causeway, Bristol as I knew there was a nice wide pedestrian / cycle path around the retail parks and the leisure park, also on the way back home I ventured around Bradley Stoke as there are a lot of smooth, and flat or slight inclined, paths around this area, after spotting multiple possible locations there was one in particular where the path gradient gradually increased to a hairpin bend, after taking many pictures of this (in the dark) I messaged my friend and we're currently planning a afternoon / evening skating around exploring the area as I get used to my board.
Why so Fast?
Aside from my Nerf hobby I've been on the lookout for another project to get my teeth stuck into, I had considered building a hexapod, as I could build this with my 3d printer, but the cost and complexity meant, even though I had looked into it, that I didn't purchase any of the parts. I also, had in the back of my mind "What am I going to do with it once its finished?". I had also briefly looked into motorised drift trikes after watching Colin Furze's build one but that would require space (which is limited) and a welder as well as expensive ebike parts. Again I had in my mind "What would I do with it?" and "Where would I store it?" which put the project on hold indefinitely.
Also just this week I'd considered getting a fast radio controlled car, again building it myself or starting from a basic one and upgrading it with my knowledge gained from the nerf hobby.
But there is something that has really struck a chord with me about the longboard idea, as it will get me out in the open air, also knowing a friend is already into it means he can teach me and we can go out to cruse together, and also my work colleague, who first mentioned it to me, bought the same basic board as me so during lunch times we can skate around. Having other people really keen is a massive incentive over the other projects that have taken my interest recently, as having a social side increases the longevity of a project massively.
The original idea seems to have split into 2 distinct directions, one is the normal longboard hobby and building my own deck, and the other is the electric longboard, which would be used more for commuting and transport, and that is the diy built electric longboard which will be more of slow burn project depending on how much I enjoy longboarding without a motor.
Where from here?
The next steps are:
Wait for my board to arrive.
Practice.
Practice.
Practice.
I also have a plan to make a video of my entry into the hobby with all the ups and downs, hopefully not too many painful downs.
It was only 5 days ago that a colleague mentioned to me that he was interested in buying an electric longboard, I can't remember the exact route after that but me being a maker thought I could probably build my own one for a lot cheaper than a per built one.
So after many obsessive hours of scouring ebay and aliexpress I calculated that I could make my own (version 1) from nothing to fully built for well under £200, my best guess is the range and top speed will be much lower that a boosted board but being v1 I'd be willing to take the risk of making a slow but usable board for £170 and change.
So then after costing up the parts my attention shifted from the electronics to building the longboard itself and the fact that the decks can be made fairly easily, after many more hours of watching youtube 'longboard diy deck' videos and a trip to B&Q I've decided I can build my own deck too, once I find space to build it.
So that's right, within the space of about 4 and a half days I've gone from 0-100, in reality, I don't have £200 to throw at a longboard project, so to start I've bought the cheapest longboard I could find on ebay at a very modest price of £26, I know that it will probably be so nasty that I will want to upgrade as soon as possible, but for that price its worth the risk to see if I actually enjoy the experience. As a kid some 20+ years ago I used to do a little skating with my mates so hopefully it will all come back to me quickly, and I'll be cruising and carving up the streets, sliding down the hills and dancing in no time at all.
Exploring
On my way back from my afore mentioned trip to B&Q I stopped of at a couple of locations around Cribbs Causeway, Bristol as I knew there was a nice wide pedestrian / cycle path around the retail parks and the leisure park, also on the way back home I ventured around Bradley Stoke as there are a lot of smooth, and flat or slight inclined, paths around this area, after spotting multiple possible locations there was one in particular where the path gradient gradually increased to a hairpin bend, after taking many pictures of this (in the dark) I messaged my friend and we're currently planning a afternoon / evening skating around exploring the area as I get used to my board.
Why so Fast?
Aside from my Nerf hobby I've been on the lookout for another project to get my teeth stuck into, I had considered building a hexapod, as I could build this with my 3d printer, but the cost and complexity meant, even though I had looked into it, that I didn't purchase any of the parts. I also, had in the back of my mind "What am I going to do with it once its finished?". I had also briefly looked into motorised drift trikes after watching Colin Furze's build one but that would require space (which is limited) and a welder as well as expensive ebike parts. Again I had in my mind "What would I do with it?" and "Where would I store it?" which put the project on hold indefinitely.
Also just this week I'd considered getting a fast radio controlled car, again building it myself or starting from a basic one and upgrading it with my knowledge gained from the nerf hobby.
But there is something that has really struck a chord with me about the longboard idea, as it will get me out in the open air, also knowing a friend is already into it means he can teach me and we can go out to cruse together, and also my work colleague, who first mentioned it to me, bought the same basic board as me so during lunch times we can skate around. Having other people really keen is a massive incentive over the other projects that have taken my interest recently, as having a social side increases the longevity of a project massively.
The original idea seems to have split into 2 distinct directions, one is the normal longboard hobby and building my own deck, and the other is the electric longboard, which would be used more for commuting and transport, and that is the diy built electric longboard which will be more of slow burn project depending on how much I enjoy longboarding without a motor.
Where from here?
The next steps are:
Wait for my board to arrive.
Practice.
Practice.
Practice.
I also have a plan to make a video of my entry into the hobby with all the ups and downs, hopefully not too many painful downs.
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