It was my first.
One moment I’m on the board, cruising through the campus, the other moment I’m on the ground, the board is upside down, and someone brings my water bottle that flew 5m forward.
It wasn’t half bad, scraped knee and elbow (and scuffed water bottle) and that’s it.
The board took more abuse.
The motor got a direct hit, the bolts flew off, the mount bent, and something was rattling inside.
The worst thing was the shameful Uber drive home.
What had happened was... (probably)
This campus path is covered with patterned pavement stones, one of them was rattling.
I’ve probably went over it with the front wheels, and then the raised end hit the rear motor.
Now for the good news:
- The bolts, to mount the motor, are too short, these flew right off due to only 2-3 threads engaged. Now I know.
- I’ve got a real-world testing of the 3d printed frame for the cost of several bruises. It survived.
The second one is really exciting
Closer inspection showed two tiny cracks on both sides of the PLA piece, right where they should be when the motor is hit.
But no real damage besides that.
This part is PLA (not even 100% infill) over carbon tube, and I was curious about this – how will it behave when stressed beyond normal use?
Besides the tiny cracks there is no real damage. The inside carbon tube held the hit and the deck survived.
It makes me happy and more excited about 3d printed decks.
Unfortunately, I don't have a comparison to a wooden deck. Please comment about your experience.
So, the mount was replaced, with longer bolts, and I’m riding again.
Curiously the motor rotates freely, with slightly larger vibrations at higher RPM.
