A DIY guide to building a $375 electric longboard

There are few things more satisfying than building something of your own. I wasn’t ready to spend $1000+ on a commercial electric skateboard and I also didn’t like how many of them looked.

I chose to build an electric longboard because 1) I wanted to get places faster than I would on foot, 2) it’s more portable than a bike, and 3) I’d rather be on a board than on the bus or in a car. My criteria for the design and build of the board include,

• decent range on a single charge,
• minimal maintenance,
• and aesthetics.

I live in a neighbourhood where most places I frequently visit are within a 5km radius from home, and so my primary focus was to build an electric skateboard for practicality. If you live in a city, you can use electric longboards or skateboards in place of other modes of transportation. Some numbers on the final build:

• Total cost: $375 USD ($500 CAD)
• Top speed: 19 mph (30 km/hr)
• Weight: 19 lbs (8.7 kg) where the longboard deck accounted for half the weight

There are countless ways to build your own electric longboard but here’s my version :)

The parts required for the build include a longboard deck, lithium-ion batteries, battery charger, dual drive electric hub motor, dual motor ESC and remote, XT60 connector, enclosure, and fasteners. I bought all the parts on AliExpress except for the longboard and dual motor ESC, which I got on Amazon and eBay respectively. Waiting for all the parts to arrive from eBay and AliExpress took nearly 2 months. A list of parts here:

• Longboard
  https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07NDFNYZD/ref=twister_B07QPW3PH5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
• Lithium-ion batteries
  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32948110086.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.637f4c4dw2X9Fj
• Battery charger
  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32951128356.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.637f4c4dw2X9Fj
• Dual drive electric hub motor
  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32967381392.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.6ee44c4djVDliR
• Dual motor ESC and remote
  https://www.ebay.ca/itm/24V-36V-Single-Dual-Motor-Electric-Skateboard-Drive-Controller-ESC-With-Remote/312755454519?hash=item48d1ad8237:m:ms_bv-OR3r5WsMgkDuXO_cw
• XT60 connector
  https://www.amazon.ca/Artrinck-connector-Female-Connectors-Battery/dp/B06XVTD2WC/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=xt60+connectors&qid=1570378691&sr=8-7
• Enclosure — a bread pan from HomeSense
• Fasteners — bolts and lock nuts from Canadian Tire 🔩

A somewhat sketching looking package from 🇨🇳containing my hub motors

Assembling the parts took 3 nights and the tools I used include a solder, drill, and screw driver. The toughest part of the build was drilling holes into the stainless steel enclosure (i.e. a bread pan I searched far and wide for that fit all the parts perfectly and was shallow enough to fit underneath my board).

Here are the steps I took for the build:

1. Drill 4 holes into the enclosure while aligned to the back-half of the longboard (near the back wheels where the hub motors will be)
2. Drill 2 holes into the enclosure for the hub motors’ wires
3. Drill a hole into the enclosure for the on button
4. Drill a hole into the enclosure for the battery charge connector
5. Solder an XT60 male connecter to the battery’s discharge connectors and wrap with electrical tape
6. Connect the hub motor wires to the ESC wires
7. Connect the XT60 female connector from the ESC to the XT60 male connecter on the battery
8. When all the parts are connected, test the connection by pressing the on button on the ESC and clicking the on/off button on the remote
9. Disconnect the parts and string the wires through the holes you drilled in steps 1 to 4
10. Position the parts into the enclosure and use velcro and zip ties to keep everything in place
11. Connect all the parts from steps 6 to 7
12. Use velcro to secure the battery to the bottom of the enclosure and zip tie the wires neatly to prevent them from moving around too much when travelling
13. Screw in 4 bolts and from the top of the board through the enclosure and use lock nuts to secure them from the bottom

Drilling holes on for the on button and hub motors wire / and soldering the XT60 connector to the battery wires

Connecting all the parts to check that all the part are working / positioning all the parts inside the enclosure

Playing with the low, medium, and high speeds 🥳

Last step — test it out 🎉

The 90mm diameter wheels on the hub motor grip the road really well and makes for a steady ride over bumps and cracks in the road. The size of the longboard makes it super stable and easy to ride, but it’s also one of the biggest drawbacks. At 19 lbs or 8.7 kg, it can be a chore to carry around once you hop off.

I’ve since cut my commute time to work from a 5 min walk to a 2 min ride. My occasional 20 min commute to campus on the LRT is now 20 min on my board 🛹.

P.S. If you’ll be riding on the road, please wear a helmet 🙏🏻