How to Build a DIY Electric Skateboard - Faster than a Boosted Board | Full Tutorial

Find out how to build a $1000+ Electric Skateboard for half the cost.
You can find more information about the DIY Electric Skateboard on our site: smartbuilds.io/diy-electric-s...
Follow the Instagram community for updates/ Skateboard Footage: / smartbuilds.io
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DIY Electric Skateboard Part List (Essentials):
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Main Parts:
Longboard (or choose your own): amzn.to/3gqaOTu
Wheels: amzn.to/2QbNNZL
Mount & Motor Pulley System: amzn.to/34nSDeM
Motor (Flipsky 6354 190KV): amzn.to/31jbXaR
Wireless Remote and Receiver: amzn.to/2EeJkD8
VESC: amzn.to/3aQ65sP
Batteries: bit.ly/31HQDw6
LiPo Battery Charger: amzn.to/2EaFQ4H
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Part List (Optional):
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Others:
Arduino Nano: amzn.to/3l6BuMu
RGB Lights WS2812B: amzn.to/3aJacae
(More info on How to build an Electric Skateboard: smartbuilds.io)
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Equipment Used:
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Camera: Canon M50: amzn.to/2SD3Y3K
In this video, we're going to find out if it's possible to build a DIY Electric Skateboard that can be just as good as a Boosted Board. We’ll also find out if we can do one better and add additional custom features that even the top boards don’t have.
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Links from Video
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Arduino IDE: www.arduino.cc/en/main/software
VESC Project: vesc-project.com/
VESC Tool: github.com/rpasichnyk/vesc_to...
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DIY Electric Skateboard Tutorial - Timestamps
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0:00 Introduction & Features
2:27 Overview of Parts
4:28 List of Parts:
5:27 Assembly of Parts
13:27 Arduino Programming (LED)
18:31 VESC Programming
23:41 DIY Board vs Boosted Board

[@EbenKouao]

18K Subs! That's unreal!... Cooler projects on the way. Stay tuned ;) Here are some Timestamps: - Introduction & Features: 0:00 - Overview of Parts: 2:27 - List of Parts: 4:28 - Assembly of Parts: 5:27 - Arduino Programming (LED): 13:27 - VESC Programming: 18:31 - DIY Board vs Boosted Board: 23:41 More fixed 360 Skateboard Footage coming soon to the Instagram Page (Link in the description).

[@flamingkillermc2806]

The video is *Pog*

[@_Kiren_]

Well deserved! The quality of this one is on par with 500k+ channels. So I really how the algorithm gives you a shot with this one. 😉 By the way I've seen that if you add those timestamps in the description formatted correctly, it integrates with the player. Which is really handy on mobile. 😊

[@EbenKouao]

@@_Kiren_ Done, you sir are a Legend!

[@SachinBalan_PB]

👍 absolutely cool.

[@jimenezsplaylist4618]

Pls rate my own electric skateboard when im done

[@Dumptheclutchevo]

saw your older video on the mirror, saw this in my feed... over 20 minutes? oh boy, watched purely because i knew your videos were informative, and also chill. glad i watched it all man, there's very videos that are worth that amount of time, but this was fantastic fella. now i wanna build my own board, but out of carbon fibre, and with more batteries maybe. can't wait for your next project!

[@EbenKouao]

Thanks Evo, sound good. That's the beauty these can be fully customizable. More projects on the way Stay tuned!

[@Virtox43]

nice video, will also build one with the parts, although im gonna use another longboard

[@galanacci.the.creator]

Just imagine if you sell this as a whole pack and you just attach it to any skateboard to turn it into an electric board... That would be madness 💯

[@alvarojm750]

Sooo... Thanks to this I’ll be building an electric wakeboard. This man just saved me almost $1k. Will need tweaking but it’s pretty much the same.

[@EbenKouao]

Sweeet!, so many mods that can be done too! More projects on the way stay tuned ;)

[@matth6738]

Mate this is absolutely brilliant am loving your channel :D

[@Lelantothetitan_live]

I've been looking for a video like this for a while, very straight forward, well organized. subscibed yo! Also i'm following you guide soon!

[@BINDIN]

Great content, keep it up, 1mln subs ahead!!

[@nickk1502]

More projects Eben. So cool to watch man! I’ll be trying this too. Thanks for putting this together.

[@user-l8msqo6f2b1]

your video quality is so amazing! this is great DIY and i hope to see more projects! thank you :D

[@TeCoEd]

This is cool. A great project. Thanks for building and sharing. Keep up the good work. 👍

[@pallavdeepsingh5338]

Love your content! Would love to see more projects! This inspires me to do DIY projects as well!

[@spinningstatics]

So sick 🔥🔥🔥 great job!

[@aidangomez9852]

solid work man always put out good stufg

[@tomioj2730]

Great work! Keep making these great videos!!

[@Aero-Saint]

Way to go man. Awesome video keep it up!

[@Cyromantik]

I'm in a similar boat, I live in a country where street skateboarding is grey-legal. Basically it's a status where it's illegal if the cops say so, therefore I stay off their routes. Love your content, I liked and subscribed!

[@maxgadd]

Awesome 👍 I was actually looking for someone who had done this 👌

[@ivanjaramillo6694]

Super great tutorial! I'll be trying to make this myself.

[@o.k.9142]

Absolutely fantastic!

[@Jack.the.alchemist]

Yo homie. Nice video! I love the quality. You brits definitely got the whole video thing down. So much better than American KZbin vids

[@georgesun4092]

super great video man! I already built an electric skateboard but am planning on building another one using a vesc. This one helps a lot!

[@randycaruso7264]

Dude, totally impressive, thank you!

[@graysonjurado4128]

Been wanting to build one for a while, good thing i found your channel

[@monarch.war2024]

This guy is from a different league...He will reach million subscribers soon , Good Luck

[@EbenKouao]

Much appreciated Monarch, more cooler projects on the way. Stay tuned ;)

[@naturenerds520]

This channel is gonna blow tf up asap

[@Abathingwolf]

Crazy Intro ! Love your channel please keep up the Black excellence!

[@Kimchi_Studios]

Eben your teaching style is really clean. I'm binging on your content today. 🍿

[@EbenKouao]

Much appreciated Kimchi!

[@davegregory4545]

Sweet build buddy!

[@ryyn7477]

This is quality content ! Keep it up : )

[@LibraryOfTheOligarchs]

Happy I found you! Hope all is well!

[@hugocarrasco7734]

Very complete video earns a like and subscribe for me!

[@TomorrowShowToday]

SUPER FIRE 🔥 your like Iron Man 🤯 I love everything tech and gadgets 💯

[@dsm011294]

The key idea is nice.

[@jonmartin7628]

Fantastic video! I think you explained the information concisely. It helps me get excited to dive into the world of micro controllers and RasberryPi's. I have subbed and excited to watch more. Question: Do you have any recommended projects/tutorials for building a remote control car with the Pi's? I see a bunch of kit based but I like more of the DIY projects. I have a strong code/information systems background but new to the microcontroller/Rasbery pi scene. Thanks in advance!

[@ernig77777]

New subcriber! Awesome video!!!! Keep it up

[@JyoPari]

awesome video man!

[@EbenKouao]

Cheers Jyo, more content on the way. Stay tuned ;)

[@drkevin270]

Awesome dude

[@Electromakerio]

Another top project Eben - great work :)

[@Electromakerio]

We loved this project so much, that we featured it in this weeks episode of the Electromaker show!

[@skaroro]

I like your board :) I like your video :) Good job

[@Alec9821]

I love you channel. Quality over quantity, how it should be.👍

[@damipad4]

This was awesome! subbed for more content like this :)

[@iasonasl4344]

Great video

[@quizzlerprofessor]

You're genius sir

[@Milgamix77]

Very very awesome to see another african brother engineering great things! I also had the same thinking as you seeing E bikes being so expensive and I have been trying to create my own as well. Please keep up the great works man this was rlly cool

[@Nick-cb1zo]

I just discovered your channel while looking through some projects to do, and I came across your smart mirror video. I've watched a few of your videos and I'm definitely gonna stick around for this quality content.

[@EbenKouao]

Much appreciated Nick, New video dropping soon. Stay tuned!

[@IWETROBOTICS]

Cool board 😃👍🏾

[@danieljohansson4785]

Great video :)

[@mistermcribbb1066]

Yo Evan, I forgot how I found your channel but this video is so dope, a few years ago I really wanted to do a similar project but all of the videos that I could find just gave pretty crappy explanations as to what they were using and by the time I found all of the parts it always ended up being pretty much the same price as a boosted board. Keep up the great work I can’t wait to see what else you have planned

[@EbenKouao]

Thanks Mister!

[@jaygatsby9546]

Eben i just came across your channel by accident glad i did love the smart mirror build and cctv camera diy Skateboard

[@EbenKouao]

Thanks Jay!

[@flamingkillermc2806]

First *Bro you video’s are insanely good*

[@EbenKouao]

Fair play beat me to it... Thanks!

[@leonhardtilly9748]

Damn I really like the way you make these Videos 👌🔥

[@mangel9260]

Broth@! I am dying!! You are awesome!!!

[@iCoNiCCoDClips]

Turning off adblock for this one🔥

[@friedchiken6821]

Your video was shown up on my recommendation and i like it! You just got a subs from me...

[@tonezzy4352]

thanks my brotha , good to see melanin in the tech space . I'll be building on of these asap . I live in the mountains are there any motors you'd recommend the would fit this overall parts list

[@EbenKouao]

Yep, typically going for a larger cell count from would be good / adding more batteries. The Turnigy 6s would be the next level up

[@iasonasl4344]

Greatt videooooo

[@tweefeety]

This channel is very inspiring. May I ask how you made the enclosure?

[@henrys6099]

thanks for the comprehensive guide and review. I wonder how long it takes to charge the two turnigy batteries and what kind of charger do you use?

[@christopherbollinger4180]

Would love to see an update video on how to attach the wall plug charger for this build

[@dand1823]

This is amazing, what If my Wheels are 70mm? Would I need to get different teeth pulley + timing belt?

[@stormlord6549]

love the video and the build. Keep it up! An etsy shop might not be a bad idea

[@EbenKouao]

Thanks Storm

[@keithstephenson1236]

Would like to see this type of video broken into different pieces. Maybe split it into the comparison, the build, the programming? Your channel is awesome in every other factor!

[@EbenKouao]

Hey Keith, thanks... noted :)

[@Pimsalabim1]

If the video was 10 - 15 minutes, the KZbin algorithm would surely recommend it to people. Since the content is great 👍

[@ttheo3]

I juste droped by but I love the chanel so here you go, +1

[@candacejune416]

you’re so freakin’ cool!!

[@medvus750]

You deserv more views

[@Nabil-rn]

Cool

[@henrys6099]

Nice video. What's the range ?

[@liampinnell5509]

Awesome DIY Video. Keep it up. Interested to know, what happens when you’ve encountered a large or sharp hill on this rig? Will it push through, take you up, coming down can the brake offer control of your speed or would you have to try foot jam. Cheers.

[@EbenKouao]

Thanks a good one, going up the hills was relatively easy. The current specs can handle it. An brake start on a hill incline did have a slower start. Some have recommended getting another motor on the other wheel. Though for where I live roads are pretty flat. More of a preference.

[@Truka123]

Hey! Awesome video man! You are going somewhere definitely. I wanted to ask, the vesc isn’t available on Amazon anymore and I have no idea what to look for in a different one. This would be my first electronic build so I’m clueless!

[@EbenKouao]

Hey Jesse, much appreciated! I got my VESC off eBay... alternatively you can use a normal ESC (which is cheaper) Good luck with it. Got a video dropping this week. Stay tuned ;)

[@peterstory4840]

For the Amazon link for the wheels, do you choose the option with or without bearings

[@producersRus]

Arduino powered controller to remove the off the shelf radio? You could add in lighting modes too. So like a trigger for the speed and some buttons or a dial for different lighting modes, maybe even a few LEDs to indicate the mode and or the battery charge. Maybe a mode switch too for doing an eco mode and stuff

[@EbenKouao]

Yep!, sounds like good ideas Nick

[@fersam7214]

This is a great video! Building this very board. I was curious, where did you purchase the series connectors from? Doesn't seem to be included in the essentials list.

[@EbenKouao]

eBay, you can find one for a few pounds/dollars ...or can make solder you own.

[@thisblackgenius]

Awesome video, but where did you get the battery 🔋 indicator? I appreciate your content.

[@EbenKouao]

Thanks Marcus, Got the battery indicator from eBay.

[@KellyCute]

Where did you get your series connector? Or did you make it?

[@ferrissamara5815]

Thanks for making this guide, it’s awesome! Quick question, I don’t see any note of the XT60 connector at the end of the VESC. What was the process you went to putting that on?

[@ferrissamara5815]

Is it just a XT60 head that you soldiered then electric taped on to the side of the VESC that connects to the battery?

[@georgesun4092]

Hey again! I am fairly new to Arduino and I just had a question about. Does the Arduino nano have to be connected to the VESC for the light to turn on. Is there another way to power it?

[@SachinBalan_PB]

It's dope👍. I would love to see the LED get a white translucent cover that can defuse light evenly like we see in PC RGB Ram. Phanteks have that kind of LED's.

[@EbenKouao]

That's a sweet idea Sachin

[@SachinBalan_PB]

@@EbenKouao Great Content & innovative. Is it possible to add a slide in socket to insert LED strip light instead of using hot glue. Because removing damaged LED strips will rip-off the paint. Also can you add C shaped spring clip to make sure that if we use simple led or defused LED strip won't move from it's fixed position once placed. More like a tiny C shaped hook with a spring to keep thing tight. A hot glue free skateboard 🙏👍.

[@user-bk7mt7go6r]

How did you do the wiring for the battery status indicator?

[@Geovanni_vyron]

which country do you come from? U are amazing

[@camn4472]

Would this boards range be reduced in hilly areas? Im using the same batteries for my mine but im only able to get to class and then it dies.

[@mrnobody2492]

You are cool

[@EbenKouao]

:)

[@reo1994]

damn i was really hoping i could do this for super cheap. subbed though

[@EbenKouao]

Thanks Reo, you can go even cheaper. It's more of a quality trade-off in performance and your choice on parts. More projects on the way.

[@angelsfify-cz3up]

Hi im interested in this project but i think lipo battery is to expensive so can it change to any other battery other than lipo battery?

[@johncentrella4835]

Would this build work on like a 32” kicktail deck or would it better to use the longer longboard style deck

[@EbenKouao]

It should work, in fact a kick tail deck would he an awesome hybrid! You may need to make custom parts if that the approach.

[@datpillow5281]

how do i get the connectors to connect the batteries there not in the links

[@nathanbrysonlan1517]

If given the chance, how would you go back and make it even better? Say a faster charging period or longer range. How well do you thing this will hold up after a year?

[@EbenKouao]

Hey, good one. If anything I’ll revisit the design, possibly more sleeker. Even think of making this foldable. Who knows... but won’t be surprised to see an increase in ‘personal portable transport’.

[@amodbakshi2298]

Can we use only nano can't we use uno or any other arduino board

[@bugstomper4670]

I noticed that you built that E-board with one motor. Does it ever so slightly move it left or right, because of that?

[@sibaprasadnaikbehera3442]

I want to build a Robotic arm of 5 dof , where i will perform forward kinematics and backwards kinematics ,how i can do using python

[@CarlosPuentes]

Oof, big tip man, DO NOT RECOMMEND PEOPLE USE THE PPM PORT TO POWER THE LED STRIP. The VESC 5V regulators weren't designed for that much power usage on most models. You're much better offer going with a dedicated BEC to power the strip and using the PPM port JUST to power the Arduino. I covered a similar top regarding adding a USB charger to an esk8 on my esk8 channel "SeeTheBridges". Same parts can apply here. You can pretty easily burn out the VESC regulators if you're not careful about how you configure your power draw. Love the concept otherwise though! I'll be covering something similar pretty soon!

[@EbenKouao]

Thanks Carlos, and a good tip. The power being drawn is relatively low (in the mA). However, adding a BEC is a shout for larger power-hungry components. That would be something interesting to cover. (Good Channel).

[@jotr.9786]

Why not do a kill switch instead of the loop key?

[@brewzerfpv1210]

why did you tell your VESC that your running a 5s battery at 5ah? are you not running both in series, because if thats the case shouldnt you have input it as a 10s 5ah battery?

[@mitchellquinn]

Really nice work! Something I'm tempted to make, but ... y'know ... skinny, white, middle aged bloke - I'd likely end up in hospital with something broken! 🤣 On a more serious note; I can't help but think that you'd be better of with two motors on the back wheels instead of one; would be able to use smaller motors, although would need dual ESCs of course, but they could be lower amp rated each. Would be interesting to experiment with front mounted motors as well - would there be any significant handling difference? 4WD might be overkill though ... Regenerative braking might be a good upgrade too, and at a first glance should be too difficult to add I think? Ah - the VESC page says that it supports regenerative braking! Is it enabled by default?

[@EbenKouao]

Hey Mitchell, that sounds like a nice build and defo possible. I guess It would be a lot more smoother, especially going uphill. Worth a shot. Regen braking was setup up on mine bu default. However you can tune the parameters in the setup wizard.

[@sacchitmalhotra4550]

Hey Eben, how would you be charging the batteries??

[@EbenKouao]

So far Lipo balanced charged but can implement a BMS to charge via outlet.

[@akshatsharma4277]

Is it possible to use a normal skateboard.

[@oscar-vf6vi]

What could be done to improve battery life? 10 miles seems good but I’m looking at longer range.

[@EbenKouao]

Thanks, A Bigger Battery Capacity. However, this does increase the overall weight. Guess it's a bit of tradeoff,

[@elviss1947]

Does the motor automatically assist when you start driving even without the remote? Also what would you suggest to cut out or skip, to make a much simpler version of this with a smaller budget (like a weaker motor or only 1 battery)?

[@EbenKouao]

Hi Elviss19, the VESC can be programmed to do this. I would say the most important parts (to invest in for good performance) would be a strong motor and Battery capacity (for longer range) and a good ESC. Everything else can be budget down. Possibly the deck itself, wheels truck. That way you can upgrade the deck rather than the parts.

[@contorta960]

Some boards have cruise control so yes it can be achieved. I don't like it personally, fall way too often and a runaway board is not what you want 😋

[@ivrifogel7928]

Can you please post the code somewhere for the headlights and backlights? I couldn't find this anywhere else :(

[@EbenKouao]

Hi Ivri, you can find the code in the Full Article Breakdown in the description below, Smartbuilds. Good Luck!