Hub Motors vs Belt Drive vs Direct Drive - Electric skateboard drive system pros and cons

Electric skateboards use different types of drive systems. Should you use hub motors, belt drive, or direct drive? This video is an excerpt of a longer video about how to choose an electric skateboard. Watch the full video here: • How to choose an elect...
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[@LizzKillian]

My first belt drive board is hopefully getting delivered today! Can’t wait to experiment with different wheels.

[@_arman_]

dude, some of the best editing ever!

[@nickypatty8957]

Great video man!👍

[@BlankofMaterial]

I big plus for hub in my books is drivetrain efficiency. For the same battery size, hubs get more range when compared to belts as not only is there less friction in the drivetrain but hubs coast for much longer in a flat land comparison. Maintenance has been mentioned, but let's expand on that. Hub boards have 8 bearings, two standard skate bearings for the each front wheel, and two very large bearings per hub motor. The skate bearings can be lubed and maintained, just like a regular board whereas the bearings in the hubs don't need maintenance for the life of the hub. Not to say the hub bearings aren't serviceable, they're just sealed inside the motor and avoid the ingress of dirt and moisture. Hub motor bearings are much larger, and in the case of meepo, deep grove 6001-rs bearings which help dissipate heat and are long lasting. This is especially important for the drive wheels, which undergo a great deal more stress than the non-drive wheels. Belt boards have as many as 16 bearings, 2 for each wheel, 2 for each pully, and 2 for each motor. Some boards have only 14 bearings as the pully may not be fully self supported on two bearings, but rely on the inside bearing of the wheel for one of its bearing supports. From what I've seen, all these bearings are standard skate bearings, except for the motor bearings, which like hubs are sealed and usually not serviced. The use of skate bearings can be a problem for the drive wheel if the bearings used are inexpensive with nylon bearing cages. If the bearings aren't maintained, heat builds up and the nylon cage lets go of the bearing balls and suddenly you're riding at 30mph with 3 wheels. All those additional bearings add resistance, require maintenance, and when combined with the belts, makes a belt board less efficient in watts per mile over a typical hub setup. I'm getting close to 50km of range with my meepo classic two.

[@ahmado8417]

So hub or belt?

[@matts6551]

@@ahmado8417 - hub all the way!! I’m approaching 2000 miles on my beginner ownboard. Still on all stock components. Even the stock grip tape. My battery charges up to 97% and I am able to go as far as 10 miles with many miles at full throttle. Plus if I’m ever out of battery I can free push myself home. You definitely can’t do that efficiently on a belt driven board with the resistance.

[@ahmado8417]

@@matts6551 nice what board?? I got the backfire g3!!!

[@matts6551]

You missed the fact that hub motors provide you with the ease of coasting while not on the gas and if you run out of battery you can free push your way home with ease. You definitely can’t do that on a belt drive board especially if you don’t have any tools to remove the pulleys and belts. A hub motor board is more like a longboard while a belt driven board is more like a machine

[@DanielKwanExtras]

That’s correct when belts are too tight. If properly tensioned, belt drive boards are only marginally more difficult to push than hub motor boards.

[@JieGuoJason]

Direct drive moters have extra thick protective sleeves, make them heavy as faq

[@BMwStu]

what brand is the board with the big G logo on it?

[@unclejay1192]

can you push/freewheel on direct drives? i know you can easily do that on hubs, but how about d-drives?

[@Xeak11]

I want to buy my first board and watching your video has been incredibly useful, thank you so much for that! I know now that I don't want the Hub Motors, but im torn between direct drive and belt drive. I was looking at the Onsra Black Curve, which have both options. I feel like the direct drive motors could be hit by debris more easily since they stand lower to the road than belt drive ones, but im still curious about them. I was also looking at the Backfire Zealot, Ownboard Bambo AT and Exway Flex. I don't care for the boards that only have the old skateboard wheels, from the videos i've watched, I feel like the 115mm rubber wheels are the best ones for city riding. I am never gonna go in the woods with that so I feel like the AT wheels are pointless but the streets here in Canada arent the mirrors that they are in the USA, alot of holes and scrubby asphalt. whats your thoughts on the Cloudwheels? not as good as the rubber ones right? I think you have said that in one of your videos lol sorry I spent like 20 hours in the last 2 days watching your videos and everyone else about these boards.

[@Unst0p]

On the contrary cloudwheels are really popular!

[@howtomake7527]

I have a que for everyone here... Does these direct drive hubs have planetry gears inside or they are just like nirmal hub motors?

[@ebiew2320]

can you make a video for RUNAJOY Belt Drive Motors Electric Skateboard? I see a new Belt Drive Motors Electric Skateboard sell on amazon

[@switchbeck6673]

So what you're saying is, I would lose power with better wheels if I converted my v3 over to direct drive?

[@CYBERCATXO]

Hub sucks coz you only can buy those wheel sleeves from the same manufacture. I want to try out direct drive for my next board!

[@pico_sandoval]

Daniel, you said you sometimes get kicked out of parks so I'm curious which city/state do you live in?

[@jaredb9523]

Shanghai

[@P1k84]

DirectDrive FTW!

[@warlockboyburns]

120mm cloud wheels for hub motors have the same rubber thickness as normal 90mm wheels

[@DeanRendar]

but how much is it old hardware liquidators hoping to flip a warehouse of planned obsolescence tech for a profit to the customer base that remains uneducated?

[@Tugvar]

Why is he not talking about the fact that hub motor skateboards can always be used and pushed as regular skateboards while if your battery dies on belt driven skate you're pretty much screwed? That's like the best part of hub motors in my opinion..

[@DanielKwanExtras]

Hub and belt drive both have noticeable resistance, more so on belt but neither feel like normal skateboards. There's really not much more resistance on belt drive if the belt tension is adjusted properly.

[@Tugvar]

@@DanielKwanExtras Honestly I only ridden some older belt boosted boards, and resistence was much more noticable while pushing compared to the hub motor Im riding now. I ordered wowgo at2 (belt) for this season, and I really hope you are right :) I only really care for the range and confort while riding hence prefer occasional pushing. Cheers!

[@matts6551]

@@DanielKwanExtras well obviously a hub motor is not gonna feel like a regular skateboard. The added weight of the motors, the batteries, and the ECU all play a role. However a hub motor board can be pushed much much much easier then a belt motor board because it lacks the resistance of the belts and pulleys. I speak from experience here, I have nearly 2000 miles on a hub motor board, still on all original stock components

[@DanielKwanExtras]

Many people have their belts set too tight. A belt drive board with properly tensioned belts shouldn’t have much more resistance than a hub motor board.