1000W Caster Scooter

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Can I ride a weird E-Bike with a rear caster wheel? will it just spin out from under me, will it be fine, and will I be able to drift? I used a 1000W from E-Bike wheel because I won't be able to pedal anymore, and made the rest out of wood, steel and 3D printing. This bike is pretty unusual, but how will it react when I try to ride it - can I do tricks?
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[@jamesbruton]

Join my Discord! discord.com/invite/fc6MedG7eW Patreon: www.patreon.com/XRobots Instagram: instagram.com/xrobotsuk Twitter: twitter.com/XRobotsUK

[@ironman5034]

hey bruton, why don't you make a video on how you are able to make all these projects so consistently, your producivity is crazy, it doesn't seem like you have a team like the hacksmith yet your projects are technically more advanced and your video release is faster than theirs, it would be a great one, and a tour of the workshop

[@mickeyfilmer5551]

The steel tube you used had to thin a wall, if you used the same O/D Tube , but with a smaller bore, you should have a stonger frame.

[@Nobe_Oddy]

wait a second there James... @ 0:31 - a THOUSAND KILOWATTS???!!? You built a MEGAWATT e-BIKE?!?!? lmao :P jk :D

[@bennutt5050]

Is a electric assisted rip stick a thing. sound dope

[@johanandersson2165]

could you collab whit some bmx/skateboarders. a UK version of "Braille Skateboarding weird things"

[@sshh7510]

I think self centering could be achieved simply, following the likes of ripsticks, by mounting the wheel on an inclined plane/spaced between the deck and the caster.

[@Mark240]

was gonna say this. like the opposite of the front wheel which is a castor with an angle

[@iteerrex8166]

.. by simply replacing the wheel with a ridge one 😂

[@BlackDevilSTi]

I think James knows this idea but he did it this way on purpose for some reason

[@TheOffensiveSenses]

Maybe adding a pivot point to the floorboard so you can control the angle with your feet independent of the handlebars, so you’re almost surfing

[@themadrobot]

ah but what angle would be best? something adjustable would be interesting

[@HelenaOfDetroit]

Couple of things 1) when reinforcing bends or welded joints, use gussets. They're way stronger 2) when bending pipe, fill the pipe with a fine sand first. It will prevent the pipe from being crushed as easily.

[@Akanoyoru]

They also make springs that wrap around pipes and help evenly distribute pressure while bending.

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

Didn't know about the sand thing, cool tnx! 😃

[@MattOGormanSmith]

@@Akanoyoru Plumbers use springs that go inside copper pipes. They're hard to get out if you make the bend too tight.

[@jameswalker199]

2.1) Or water, since it's noncompressible

[@Kerosene682]

there are also pipe rollers, which may have a much higher radius but will bend the pipe more reliably and evenly

[@icewallowkam2054]

Push scooters with rear caster wheels were a huge trend in my neighborhood. They were cool because you could drive sideways with it and "drift". From what I saw they mostly had the caster wheels at an angle, so they would turn the rear wheel if you tilted the scooter. So you should try putting it on a slight angle, like 15-20 degrees, limiting the rear wheel tilt helps a lot too, just so it doesn't turn around the wrong way. Hope that helps and please give this concept a second try. I could send the pics of how my old drift scooter looked like for inspiration.

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

He said he's making a part 2 at the end 😉

[@icewallowkam2054]

@@Eduardo_Espinoza And that is exactly why I wanted to give advice.

[@albert-janoolhorst8130]

I just saw the video. That is just what y wanted to advice give. I think if you play with the angel of the caster wheel to find the sweet spot between steering and stability. I always like to think in extremes. Al lot of angel eg 70 degrees, is almost no steering but stable vs 0 degrees a lot of steering and really instable.

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

@@albert-janoolhorst8130 It started to do that on its own, no? When it began to bend to the floor. 💭

[@tarstarkusz]

If you put a normal fixed wheel in the back, this could be a pretty cool scooter. Much more stable than a normal scooter.

[@TomaszCzajka80]

A 1000kW, that would be one hell of a powerful bike ;)

[@nilsboer2390]

lol

[@croto8183]

casual 1400hp bike

[@asdfghjkl7507]

If you mount the rear wheel at an angle (maybe a 30 or 45 degree angle, acute with where you place your feet), lock or limit the front steering (locking would be more controllable but may really impact turn radius), you might have a fairly controllable vehicle. It probably wouldn't be incredibly hard to design a mount for the rear wheel that allows you to adjust the angle as needed, same with front steering limits.

[@TheStuartstardust]

So more a tilt to steer kind of bike? I think the tilting makes the compound angle of back wheeel harder to predict, which is why I think 30 degree or more like you said would make sure to keep it more straight. Like a crazy cart has back wheel tiltet, but without the leaning complexity 🧐🤓

[@magnussorensen2565]

^- This and give it to Sam Pilgrim.

[@sauces1313]

Front steering limits was my thought also

[@UltravioletNomad]

You beat me to it and said it in a much more eloquent way.

[@FifthConcerto]

My kid's bike has a bungee that keeps the front wheel from going 360. Something like that for front and back might give you more control.

[@Stickerz-]

On the pipe bender for smoother corners you may want to like pack your pipes full of sand and plug them off or heat the pipes up or do a bit of both to get better bends

[@LeonardGreenpaw]

or slide a bigger pipe segment over the bending area

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

Or coil 👍🏻

[@li-on1]

This reminds me of waveboards that we used as kids. Its basically a board with two castor wheels. You had to do a waving motion on the back half to control it. Maybe this would be a solution for driving this thing in a controlled way. Would like to see you having another try on this one.

[@homedad3324]

One thing I love about this channel is sometimes the item is just so cool and has very little chance of being functional but yet he finds a way to make it work!

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

I like that he's learning as he goes! 😃

[@cgalvin717]

Back in the states in the early 2000s the company Razor came out with something similar called the ripstik which was essentially 2 casters with footpads connected with a rotating bar. It was a pretty cool alternative skateboard

[@JaydenLitolff]

They also made a ripstick scooter

[@Yindoom]

oh that brings back memories, I used to love mine!

[@realastropulse]

I was looking for this comment, I had one and it was really fun to ride after you got used to it.

[@ProTimax]

I know them as "waveboards", they got popular again for some time few years ago.

[@jatoxo]

@@ProTimax That's a German term, they are pretty popular here

[@TheBlueMuzzy]

Great video, but the music killed it for me this time :(

[@GadgetAddict]

It looks kind of fun and kind of scary. You wouldn't get me on that thing without a HELMET

[@p2v622]

I think it would be little bit easier to control if you can add brakes to the caster wheel.

[@JEDSaje15]

Cool idea! I feel like it might be more stable if the front wheel didn't steer and it was just the caster. Similar to a shopping cart there's only one end with casters, but its like pushing it backwards where the steering will be much more sensitive. Either way, I hope to see a follow-up video!

[@bustedknucks2280]

Needs to be a drop deck(z frame) with the rear castor mount higher than the footboard to lower the C.G. and place the footboard on the centerline of the castor axle. That would also stop the castor from rotating backwards completely. The castor should also be mounted at an angle to change the rotation direction and rate. Also with that bender you need to do smaller bends next to each other until you get the final angle. It wont be as tight but it would be stronger. Also, your gussets should be perpendicular to the bends.

[@RickMeasham]

Yes this ☝🏻

[@soullesspenguin]

absolutely this. came here to say this. A lot of the control you get on a scooter is from having the deck lower than the wheel hubs.

[@RupertBruce]

All good tips.

[@TJSheibal]

@jamesbruton I'm not sure if you'll see this but I think the biggest reason you were able to attain control of it before it broke was because the surface that the caster was attached to began to angle forward and provide greater stability. This principle can be seen in caster boards.

[@justcallme00oogy]

Hey James! Regarding the regen, you might be able to enable it by shorting some configuration jumpers inside of the controller. In my case, there was a pad labelled "ABS" that I just had to short to ground. I'd search it up but it should hopefully be possible for you also

[@derjansan9564]

Looks like the caster wheel needs a spring or something that always pushes it back to center position. Would love to see if that makes it work much better.

[@jetison333]

You can just tilt the mount for it and it will center by itself.

[@derjansan9564]

@@jetison333 Very good point! @JamesBruton, did you read that? Can we please have a brief followup later with that modification?

[@robertbackhaus8911]

Just using a wedge to tip the pivot point forwards would do that.

[@Raytenecks]

I had the same thought about a spring. I see the other comments now about putting it at an angle, but it's actually already at a slight angle and that doesn't seem to be doing much. I still think a spring might be a better way to go, but I'll admit I can't visualize the mechanics of how to mount it.

[@derjansan9564]

@@Raytenecks Tbh, I do not see an angle. To me the vertical rotation axis looks perpendicular.

[@chrisblake4198]

I concur with everyone mentioning the ripstick design, you need a way to independently redirect the rear caster wheel. Your frame bent because your weight distribution was off. A longer tail will allow you to lean back so your center of mass isn't over the fork.

[@eggstraordinair]

I think it has potential, with the caster wheel mounted at an angle maybe and/or a type of spring arrangement that functions as a skateboard truck bushing thing

[@hutchwilco]

Rake. Your castor needs reverse rake so that gravity and your weight drives the castor to tend to the center. Mount the castor on a 15-20 degree wedge underneath the platform.

[@gloriouslumi]

This totally needs to be a trike with constrained rotation of the casters. I'd love to know if a much smaller arc would be better than locked for drifting.

[@carson365]

I think a trike design would make this so much better

[@jakereecito6039]

There is a razor drift trike like that

[@SuperTubeLurker]

I'm thinking if you ditch the castor and put in a back axle with a couple air filled tires this could be a pretty sweet adult scooter!

[@DerrickBommarito]

Should make another version with the angled rear caster as mentioned elsewhere like a ripstik and also let the foot platform tilt independently of the tilt of the steering column so you can actually decide how to control the rear wheel. Maybe also lower the standing deck and step it back up for the caster to lower the center of gravity relative to the rear caster.

[@jeffsnell4254]

I enjoy how this channel has become a personal vehicle building and testing channel!

[@BenMConner]

What can I do to get you to invest in a good helmet? 😯Oh man, looked like a few close calls there! Thanks for the fun vids! Stay safe! 😊

[@aprilscherz1233]

Maybe you could try to limit the angle of the caster to like 45° and -45°, so it doesnt spin out as easily. Then you can drift it around corners

[@cefiersBlock]

Maybe it would ride like a drift scooter if you make the trail of the caster wheel a lot longer. So the stabilosation is more at lower speeds. A spring that returns the back wheel to normal could also help

[@littlesnowflakepunk855]

I learned how to drive in a car that was built like this. They had modified it so that the back wheels were effectively casters, which could be locked so that they weren't always spinning freely. They called it the "skid monster," and it was meant to teach you how to control the vehicle when you suddenly lose traction (for example, on ice.)

[@jacobe2995]

hey James I don't know if you've already tried this before but for bending thin metal pipes you can fill them with sand first to stop them from crimping. of note though is you have temporarily cap off both ends to keep the sand from coming out.

[@masonl87]

"It works perfectly, provided you only want to go forward at maximum speed and never stop or adjust your heading."

[@CTCTraining1]

Spot on, going around corners is overrated... the Romans got it right with straight roads, never compromise 😀👍

[@gagepuffinbarger6939]

Here's a couple of ways I think you could make the bike more controllable. You could lower the the standing platform down, and have it raise up to fit the caster, lengthen the wheel base, and have a stovetop type coil to keep the caster wanting to stay straight, as well as turn the castor around. Of course, if you turn the castor around, it would have to be a strong spring.

[@willierants5880]

This worked far better than I thought it would. Good on you James for getting on this thing and making it work as well as it did. Excited for v2.

[@Mr.Modeler.]

I hope it won’t end up like shopping carts with a bad wheel

[@silversoul21000]

thanks for that laugh ! directly got the image of that darn wheel doing nuts left n right n left n right ^^

[@MarkkuS]

There's almost always one wheel off the ground on shopping carts and it starts to oscillate with the cadence ow walking. I guess when the cart has some stuff in it, it will touch the floor again.

[@washoecreative595]

Someone's been spending too much time playing with royalty-free-music.

[@tristanwegner]

You should look at Caster/Wave Boards, they are very controllable and even drive by just swinging/pumping them. The trick is the angle of the caster axles not being upright. Also the boards twist. I think this project would work much better this way, basically a caster board with a big front wheel.

[@Flying_Basil]

Razor scooters made a caster wheel scooter called the razor siege caster scooter. Was a lot of fun riding that as a kid. The two main elements that made it work: 1. The rear caster wheel was at an angle, allowing it to snap back to center when weight was on the board. 2. The board itself had the ability to twist a bit. As you're riding at speed, you could use your rear foot to sway the back end of the scooter side to side. This is making me want to get another one of those scooters

[@Aaron_b_c]

Thank you for the effort working on toning down the tone.

[@jackcoats4146]

It looks like adding some friction to the rear wheel would make it more ridable. Possibly a little more friction on the rear rotational bearing too so it won't be quite so fidilly! Great video!

[@bradshuby]

This video looks like a lot of fun and the physics make it even cooler!

[@Tenuki2]

Brave experiment. Respect. Couple of ideas to consider: 1. Trike (two wheels at the back) would provide more opportunities to learn controls because of less falling-restarting. 2. Back wheel(s) somehow should be encouraged to get back to center. Springs or gravity or other methods. This would allow side drifting, but aid in controllability.

[@eastoforion]

hi james! if you have ever ridden a ripstick they are a double caster wheel design, but very strongly canted in the direction of travel. I think this would put enough alignment force onto the rear wheel to keep it tracking but still allow some crabbing motion at slow speeds!

[@kniffin719]

This idea could probably work better if you tilt the caster wheel forward on it's attachment point like a Caster Board or Ripstik. They only have two casters that are tilted forward under the board so that they only allow for forward motion and it also limits how far out the back of the board can go. Because of the tilt, you also create your own momentum using a side to side sweeping motion.

[@KiteTurbine]

Ohhh love this My kids and I stuck a 500W e bike motor on the front of 2 drift trike castors. Wicked fun. The spin out is crazy

[@RupertBruce]

3 ideas for the scooter: 1.brakes on the back wheel, 2.Cam/spring to encourage the wheel to straight orientation, 3. Smart rear-wheel positioning using servos

[@lukemahoney910]

I made something very similar as a kid. It was a razor scooter with the back wheel removed, and there was the board from a long board bolted to the scooter deck. I put a rip stick wheel on the back of the longboard, not tilted like it was on the ripstick. It was a lot of fun, and quite controllable. I think yours doesn’t respond to leaning as well because your back caster is so big.

[@straightouttheshed]

i made this as a kid, except it was self propelled by angleing the rear castor mount like a ripstick does. allows you to wiggle the rear to gain speed and also would self correct straight better. I dubbed it the spin scooter, i later saw a instructables guide to make it just like I had. my inspiration was those wacky self propelled carts that you turned back and forth to gain speed, they used to have at the six gun city amusement park. once i out grew that ride i was forever in search of making something nearly as fun. the spin scooter was damn close.

[@Mikesonbikes]

This is so good! The Caster needs take for stability!

[@jetison333]

This thing is so... I don't even know what to call it, but I love it. Kind of feels like if you got really good at it you could do some cool stuff.

[@parkourrush3820]

The self centering could be accieved by setting the caster wheel at a angle to the ground. So the mount would be at like a 25-30 degree agle to the straight frame. Hope it helps

[@JacobMayne]

Razor made a scooter in the 2000s caled the Siege which was a basically a kids scooter version of this and from what i remmeber it worked really well and you could get good control and balance. Id assume it was so much easier because the caster wheel was so much smaller so much lower center of gravity?

[@BluetheNerd]

I'm pretty late to the party here, but this actually made me think of Ripstiks something I got quite good at riding as a kid, which was basically 2 caster wheels as a skateboard (hence their other name casterboards) and also Fliker scooters which were a scooter with a fixed steerable wheel at the front and 2 caster wheels in a V shape at the back. I believe both achieved a favourable forward orientation by angling the caster wheels, and this is also why they can generate speed by wiggling.

[@akareject]

This reminds me of the EZy Roller, a kids toy I've seen in the mall and on the shopping network. It also uses a caster wheel, except it has the caster wheel in the front and swinging it side to side makes the scooter/bike thing go forward. Would love to see what your inventive mind could create using that as inspiration.

[@ierson4880]

great video . im sold

[@polelot5824]

Reminds me a lot of the ripstick I had growing up: basically a skateboard on 2 caster wheels. Notably, they angled the wheels forward to self-centre to be straight.

[@rokkstar115]

if you angle the deck downward in the front for a slight rake, the rear wheel will stay more inline because of balancing, look at the way ripstiks have their wheels, those are double castered with an agressive rake for the wheels (the head of the caster is angled forward which aids in stability for a forward trailing lead

[@Vincent-qe7bs]

What if you mount the caster wheel at a angle like 20°-30°? then it would tend to stay straight, but still has the possibility to rotate a little bit. does it make a difference?

[@TheRealJ8]

This looks like it could be real fun with 2 casters in the back in the form of a trike or even two skis

[@raelik777]

something that could make this actually interesting to ride would be a rear "pedal/brake" attached to the caster, so you can a) control which direction the caster tracks by pivoting your rear heel to one side or the other and B) have a brake that engages when you take pressure OFF the pedal. The braking function should also force the caster to track straight, probably with some kind of cam system. The rear brake would need to be limited to a set amount of friction, otherwise it could entirely bind the caster and cause a crash. Controlling the caster angle would also allow for limits to be set on the caster angle, so it can't get TOO out of control. Would just let you do some really tight u-turns or lateral shifts.

[@derekberrill5722]

As a trike, two casters on the back of it would be a fantastic drift scooter. The deck would have to be wider at the back to accommodate the two wheels. Loving this channel 👍

[@keyreeves4631]

Built one of those in TOTK too. Works good

[@larsbecker2003]

just like a scooter tracing your ankles :D. Great Video and great idea. Maybe an idea for the next version, put some springs on the backwheel for centering like on a Casterboard or tilt the plane the wheel is mountet so it centers itself.

[@danielleohallisey4218]

Adventurous choices of music in this video! Some of the tunes put me to mind of the Schmenge Brothers! Happy Wanderers ride again!!

[@shogunemperor]

Hey James, well done man! Its a crazy scooter! Im amazed u can ride that thing! i think the crazy kart has somewhat the same “concept”. A drift kart. Love the video man! Great job!

[@diyathomevn]

You did a great job. I don't even know where you got that idea. It's very nice but seems a bit difficult to balance. I thought, what if I hit an object while running?

[@fitzfizzy]

adding a pivot between the front wheel and the castor like a castorboard/ripstik would probably do the trick and make it super easy to control too

[@axavidesign1670]

if you slow the speed that the caster wheel can change direction would it give you more time to compensate or adjust when trying to stay upright?

[@pars1eyf1akes12]

I'm sure I may be misunderstanding but it sounds like steering goes bad because the caster wheel turns when you lean so what if you split the platform you're standing on and connect the two pieces with an axel in parallel with the platform (like a hover board or your bike with the self leveling omni directional wheels); then you could maybe lean one way with your body on the front half and use your back leg (or maybe some kind of interconnected counter lean?) to keep the back platform level or maybe counter leaning (if either would keep the caster oriented straight)

[@jimysk8er]

the thing that is i think overlooked is that the bicycle front forks are tilted backwards to create the self centering affect. you actually have the front wheel self centering while the back wheel is free, until you kept riding it and introduced an angle to the caster via the frame bending while also gaining skill. you just need to make it a bit more similar to those krazy karts that are just trikes with adjustable self centering on the rear casters.

[@valveman12]

Cool project James. I wonder if you put some spring tension on the back wheel may provide enough stability for you to ride. Just a thought...

[@wecirclethesky]

JAMES! Angle the castor like 20° back, it'll bias the rear wheel towards the center and add "weight" to the steering. Razor nailed it with their Ripstik. A circular profile on the castor wheel would also even out the banking. Might need better wheel bearings at those speeds. Excited for 2.0!!

[@panzerdriver]

i think this is a pretty awesome concept in general, just having a scooter with a larger wheel in front is great, esp since it's powered by a strong motor

[@CaptainSword_Lady]

if you put a second caster on the back and a build a little flexing-stability gimble attached between the two inner caster bolts; you might be able to make it more stable to ride and maybe even turn better.

[@SirFloofy001]

Ned to install the caster with a forward angle so that the swivel of the caster does not sit level with the ground. You want the part of the caster towards the front of the .... scooter? lower then the back of the caster so there is a natural highspot that the caster naturally wants to sit at. Im a little rusty on the math but i believe as long as the caster angle is greater then the angle you lean on the scooter then the caster will at least try to stop you from spinning in circles. This is how they keep taildragger planes facing the right way (as well as some other mechanisms that let the pilot steer and such) the caster will have a natural tendency to remain straight (ish) while still allowing you to drift and spin if you really want to.

[@reed_reed]

You were getting better at it the more the rear castor angled from the frame bending

[@kevinsellsit5584]

I'm impressed you could ride it. My first look told me "maybe...until you let off the throttle" I was close. If the angle of the deck forced the rear caster to go toward the front it would ride easier (not easily). If the front wheel did not turn at all and the forks were nearly straight up, you *might* be able to rear steer slowly, but not so sure. Looking forward to new geometry and gussets on the inside of the bends at 90 degrees.

[@Vault57]

You can cap weld the end of the pipe 5:35 fill it with sand, tapping it to settle, then cap weld the other end. Then when bending the sand will help keep the tube from collapsing at the bends. Try adding water to take up space as well.

[@AJ-Palermo]

This seems like a great way to get scooter-ankled without even picking it up off the ground

[@stoatystoat174]

love the welding rock :)

[@aaronmurciano4738]

very similar to like half a Crazy cart, has one driver wheel in front and 2 castors. You basically drift by raising the castors up, so maybe a lower cg on the castor might help balance better.

[@ianpobanz12]

two caster wheels side-by-side kind of tricycle set up would make this stable and still really really fun

[@thomasjohanns7661]

Here are my suggestions to make it more controllable AND keep it challenging: - limit the casterwheel to 45° to each side; it will still be relatively random, but at least it won't set itself at 90° to the board and throw you off - put a handbrake on the fork bearing so that you can stop the fork from turning relatively to the frame; not sure how this will affect operation, I guess it would help for slowing down

[@MrMartinSchou]

This looks like a project where inviting a good skateboarder and a good bikerider would make for a great followup collab. I suspect the bikerider will tell you to put a brake on the rear wheel to keep it from just flying out from under you.

[@guitarfreakizoid]

I notice when you made that successful turn that the bike was already bent, putting that caster mounted at an angle relative to the ground. I suggest trying again, with an angled block under the castor, like the RipStik or other similar products that use this concept.

[@fgbhrl4907]

You should convert the rear wheel to a scooter hub motor, and have it in continual regen mode. That way, it has 'drag' to give it some way to straighten out. And since it's regen, you're not just converting it to heat. You could adjust the amount of regen dependent on the speed; more regen at slower speeds, less at higher.

[@P.T.S.E.]

The shortest fix to this idea would be to put the caster closer to the front wheel and allowing you to shift your center of gravity behind it to gain control over the drift. While it would turn it dangerous to bank, it would be much more managable compared to the current version. The next idea would be to put the back end of the caster on a joint, while the front end should have an adjustable spacer and you would be able to change how much drift you allow by changing the caster's vertical angle to the base plate. The overcomplicated idea would be to change the base plate to a drop deck, add a joint to the back part of the caster and pneumatic springs on the font end. This way you could change how much drift you allow by moving your center of gravity towards or away from the caster.

[@minortoterona2947]

the more this project takes completed shape, the more scarier it becomes %) Also those reinforcements... just triangle plate inside would be much better

[@CAustin582]

Ripsticks/caster boards more or less solved this problem by setting the caster wheels as at an angle. You get the fluidity of the wheel being on a swivel vs hard mounted, but it also constantly corrects back to forward trajectory.

[@semegraph]

The locking mechanism you angle grinded off that caster performs 2 braking functions at the same time, it brakes the rotation of the caster bearings as well as the spinning of its wheel. Instead of a caliper brake on the front wheel, what if you utilized the caster breaking to hold the back wheel still in both directions at once?

[@3dmachines2h19]

I believe if you add some caster to the back wheel it would be a very interesting bike since as you lean it would steer in one direction but if you made a system that would allow the caster to be changed on the fly like a ripsaw or whatever the drift kart thing was it would be quite a bit of fun

[@marshpw]

this is such a fun experiment to see what the literal worse design would actually look and work like. thank you! i'm crackinggg up

[@wgoddard1988]

I think to solve the issue of the rear castor not steering in the direction you want would be to put a pivot in the centre of the board, similar to a wave board, so you can use your back foot to control the direction the back wheel takes you.

[@Froobyone]

I would add a motor to the castor that acts as an e-brake. The added drag should "wind-sock" the castor and also put some energy back into the battery. It would also prevent the rear coming around when breaking as the force would be from the back.

[@frankierzucekjr]

What if you swapped it. Where the caster is in the front and the power wheel in the back?

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

My guess is it depends on the ratio of friction of the wheel surface, to the resistance to directional change. If it's hard to change the direction of the wheel and the surface is very slick, I think the wheel will tend to drag on, at whatever random direction. It the wheel has a lot of grip, it'll follow along nicely.

[@fireblue1246]

You should mount the caster wheel at a slight angle so that it tends towards forward, similar to how a ripstick works since those have two caster wheels and are very easily controlled once you get the hang of it

[@theoverlord3839]

Do you find that rectilinear infill is adequetly strong for most structural parts you make?

[@10eshoes48]

I think it would probably have the same effect as mounting the caster as an angle but you could also try welding studs to it to limit the rotation of the caster.

[@ZenHulk]

James, i love you channel... I grew up in the 80s and we were riding skateboards off two story houses onto old mattress' at 12yrs old and other crazy watch this crap, i'm afraid you're headed that way. Come on HELMET... same as i tell my kids.

[@mrc3885]

Hey bud. Stick some resistance springs between the forks and the frame that allow movement but offer tension against the loose play between the frame and the front wheel assembly.

[@preferredimage]

Maybe a strong spring return for the castor would mean you can lean it out and drift but if you straighten up or speed up, it'd straighten up again?