My first custom board was a total DIY disaster. I used a literal breadbox as an enclosure, a cheap Chinese ESC, and a dual hub motor set. I was running 18.5V LiPo batteries in series (2000mAh), hitting 28 km/h, but it was sketchy as hell. On the first successful ride, I burned my hand from a short circuit, and the cables melted due to poor wiring. It wasn't safe at all.

For the second version, I prioritized reliability. I bought a newer ESC and cases from a Chinese company, plus a proper 36V 6Ah battery with a BMS. It drove well, but I hated that it didn't feel “custom” anymore—it looked like a generic board anyone could buy online.

That’s when I bought a 3D printer for version three. I designed a custom shell in three sections, printed it in PLA Plus, and added RGB strips for a glow-in-the-dark look. While it looked amazing, the ride quality was brutal. Because hub motors have so little rubber, the vibrations were a total shell-killer and made the parts vibrate loose. I tried everything to damp the vibration, adding new bushings and heightened riser pads, while simultaneously trying to keep the whole setup water-sealed.

I tried to further fix the suspension by getting Cloudwheels for the front, 3D printing custom TPU sleeves for the back, and adding metal hooks plus rubber damping so the case stayed stable. I also upgraded to a newer ESC with finer acceleration/braking control and a higher voltage rating, which finally made the 42 km/h goal possible. The vibration improved, but the grip was terrifying—I almost killed myself on a slippery patch because the TPU had zero traction.

Now, I’ve finally dialed it in. I moved to custom-molded wheel sleeves for actual grip and switched to a more compact double-deck setup. It took a lot of trial, error, and some literal fire, but I finally have a custom board that actually works. The effort kicked off on 14.02.2019, but I’m not really using it daily—the process of building something I had in mind was the most fun part, haha.