The Idea
For quite some time I've been wanting a kick-scooter that I can use as an adult. I live in suburbia with friends, neighbors and family all within walking distance (I consider a mile to be within walking distance). Some trips require the car (dropping the kids off at school), and others and definitely walking trips (dropping the kids off next door). But some trips fall into that gray area where you're not sure whether to walk or drive or ride a bike. It could be that you're in a hurry, or lazy, or the bike is hung up in the garage, or whatever. For these trips it would be super-awesome to have an adult kick scooter to just grab and go.
I've been planning to buy one, but today while cruising Instructables I remembered an old pair of broken rollerblades sitting in my closet. My problem is that I don't know how to weld (yet), so I'll have to use wood. It was the pallet projects that sparked the idea. So I'll be stripping off the wheels and seeing if I can come up with a sturdy but functional scooter frame.
Progress
11/2/2014 - Just found an awesome, inspiring design. It's a scooter worn like a belt. I'm definitely going to go with something like this, I just need to find some cheap parts...like a curved scrap of metal or high-grade plywood...5/30/2015 - I'm going to start working downtown. The drive is miserable, so I'm planning to ride the train. But I still have to get to the train station on both ends. Through some more research I found what are called "Last Mile Solutions."
Bolt: ~$600 Skateboard
Solowheel: ~$1,400 Unicycle
EcoReco: ~$1,000 Scooter
05/30/2016 - Over a year later, and I'm still working on this one. I decided to build my own electric long-board using RC parts. I have purchased the following parts:
- Bigfoot 160 5335-245KV Electric Motor
- Zippy 2650 20C Li-PO batteries (x2)
- FVT 120A ESC, 2-6S
- Wii Wireless Nunchuck
- Wiiceiver (from austindavid.com)
The batteries will be wired in parallel through a switch to the ESC. The speed controller communicates through the wiiceiver to the wireless Wii nunchuck which will act as throttle control.
With a friend I built a fiberglass longboard deck to hold the electronics. The piece that has taken me a year to finish is the bracket to mount the motor to the skateboard. Since I have read from others that torque is an issue, I chose to use Caliber trucks which has a distinct truck shape. The difficult part is cutting a mount to match that shape without CNC. Sure, I can spend $100 to get the part, but I'm a cheapskate. So instead I did the far more reasonable thing and bought my own milling machine for $250. Hope to have the bracket milled out within the next couple of weeks!
05/20/2017 - Yet another year gone by, but my board is finally finished! And BOY is it fun to ride!!! It's powerful up a hill, and goes scary fast. I finished the board last year, but I haven't gotten around to posting until now.
03/31/2019 - Well, I rode my board so much that it bit the dust. One of the magnets dislodged from the rotor of my motor. These are cheap motors, so it's difficult to find replacement magnets. I'm now trying to decide what I will do for Mark 2.
One of the most difficult and scary parts of riding an E-Board is stopping or dodging in an emergency. I have electronic brakes that are VERY effective. I can make the board stop almost instantly, but if I'm not balanced right then I go flying off the front. over the last few years it's happened at least twice at high speeds. Luckily I managed to stay on my feet and not get hurt.
The second most difficult part is managing rough and uneven terrain. Even with my 70 mm wheels, I often have to watch where I roll. It's impossible to cross train tracks, and you'd be shocked by how many sidewalks have at least one bump in them over a couple inches high.
The new thing downtown is the Lime and Bird electric scooters. They are just sitting around on the sidewalks and you can rent any one through your cell phone. My original idea was to make an electric scooter, so I think I'm going back to that for MK2. Or does that just make it another MK1?
I'll probably use an adult razor scooter as my platform. I'll see about finding one on the cheep.
One of the most difficult and scary parts of riding an E-Board is stopping or dodging in an emergency. I have electronic brakes that are VERY effective. I can make the board stop almost instantly, but if I'm not balanced right then I go flying off the front. over the last few years it's happened at least twice at high speeds. Luckily I managed to stay on my feet and not get hurt.
The second most difficult part is managing rough and uneven terrain. Even with my 70 mm wheels, I often have to watch where I roll. It's impossible to cross train tracks, and you'd be shocked by how many sidewalks have at least one bump in them over a couple inches high.
The new thing downtown is the Lime and Bird electric scooters. They are just sitting around on the sidewalks and you can rent any one through your cell phone. My original idea was to make an electric scooter, so I think I'm going back to that for MK2. Or does that just make it another MK1?
I'll probably use an adult razor scooter as my platform. I'll see about finding one on the cheep.
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