Why Belt-Drive Electric Skateboards Are Dying Off

I've had nothing but issues with my belt-drive electric skateboard. But what are the alternatives? Why are belt driven esk8 dying off? I take a look at hub motors, direct-drive motors, chain-drive motors, and gear-drive motors and figure out what's best for reliability for long-distance eskate riding.

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:16 - Why it matters for you
00:40 - The culprit...
01:32 - Hub motors
01:51 - Direct Drive motors
02:13 - Chain Drive motors
02:39 - Gear Drive Motors

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[MikeInTheWoods]

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[machyne]

I have thousands of miles and still haven’t broken a belt. I have only pulled out a couple tinny rocks a handful of times

[ryanoc]

Thanks for this video, Mike. It helped me make the decision about my new board recently. I have 2 hub motor boards and love them, but wanted an upgrade without more maintenance or frustration of belt drive. I got an NYX Z1 geardrive and love it.

[sageoz]

One issue that gear drives can have, if it’s using helical cut gears, is that lateral forces on the motors’ shafts when braking and accelerating eventually seriously damage and break them. Therefore drive systems using straight gears are going to be best until the manufacturers start using a chevron gear pattern. This would get the same advantages of helical cut without any of the drawbacks. It’d be very difficult to machine in one piece; however a single chevron gear could be made from two halves that lock together as one, each side having opposing angled teeth.

[J.W.]

It's all about the quality of your belts, motor mounts, etc. I have over 1000 miles on my current pair of belts & I'm running a pair of SKP 6485 (Reacher) motors at about 5000 watts apiece. You want to make sure your wheel pulley isn't touching your mounts & has ample space & that your belts aren't too tight. Tight belts will break easily under load.

[eskunity]

getting a hub AT board might be ur best option if ur constantly kicken up pebbles. not many street board riders ride on those types of terrains. i only snapped one belt and it was was doin donuts on a street setup in the dirt. I cant imagine a Maxfind ff AT or backfire Range x3 having less performance than ur diy. I have two gear drive setups. i already had a couple issues and it’s not easy. However belts are a easy fix. but ya with your riding habits, id go for a maxfind AT, or backfire range x3

[LongboardTechnology]

Year late, but my experience with belts and gravel and dirt and stuff... Riding with the motors on the front wheels instead of the rear helps a lot. Ballparking, I'd say I get a rock stuck in my pulley maybe 1/2 to 1/5th as frequently.

Also, been exploring designing some e-skate builds on paper. One of the considerations I realized was that more teeth on your wheel pulley, the closer the pulley and belt will be to the ground. Speculation, but I bet smaller wheel pulleys will get fewer rocks with urethane wheels.

[chromahud]

Just FYI, hub motors can have a lot of torque. My meepo mini hasn't found a hill I can't go up. Only real draw back to hub motors IMO is that you can only put thin PU sleeves on them vs belt and gear motors can use at wheels.

[IceKarma]

Belt and hub are fine as long as you aren't pushing the upper weight limits. Not trying to be mean but you are a tall portly dude, who is also piling on extra weight of camping gear and *thats* the main fail point. You're right to go for gear drive as that's what my friends with custom eskates ride and they are a similar build, but they cost a lot more and are only necessary for heavy riders. Belt and Hub drives are absolutely not dying off as the majority of riders (see asian market) don't have the same issues with them with near the same frequency. Again, not trying to say 'stop being fat' or some shit, a body builder would have exactly the same issue. It's heavy riders are just not really the target market for out-of-the-box boards.

[KudaBear-gjbr]

Finally someone who is honest and not a belt simping clown. Gear = Direct > Hub > Belt

[eBoardR]

⚡⚡
*Gear drives are becomin more common, * great option 🤙🏼

[steveo]

Yeah I'm not sure where you are getting the info for the title, I have had nothing but belt drives way faster stronger and durable friends on hubs have had countless hub drive issues and motor issues.

[ryanschulz]

You can’t use any size wheel with gear drives and most (not all) gear drives are noisy as hell

[AgentX]

I have a belt driver and still running after 4 years and over 2K miles! No new belt replacements yet!

[mrrage]

try using 5M belts instead of the 3M, they are far stronger, also try keep them a bit looser

[magnussrr]

but the heavier you are the faster the gears will wear and it also depends on whether those components are replaceable outside of the manufacturer or aftermarket in general .... right to repair is still a issue

[martinchromek]

Not true. 1500km on my exway and just 2 belts thorned. Nothing else happend. Release tension on your belts and they last much longer. 😊

[sageoz]

I’m surprised belts have lasted this long pm the market. I get the same problems and have switched over to gears or direct drive boards only

[judgegixxer]

I just got an Eovan GTO Silo (belt drive) because I can't stand the gear noise. I run hi powered RC cars that do 80-105mph that are gear drive. Trust me gear drives blow up or lock up or bust pins or spin bearings and require maintenance too.. Even with billet tranmission case and stainless gears. You have to stay on top of the lube situation. I put 450 kms on my beltdrive board in two weeks. Most of that blasting down the Alaska highway which is chipsealed. (not pavement) dirty shoulders the whole way. So far I only have had one pebble get in my belts. Board has metal pulleys. I haven't even had to adjust the tension yet.
If you want to hear what gear drive sounds like at 60 mph, I have a video on my channel wear my pinion gear is spinning at a little over 30000 rpm.for 6 miles down the hghway until the set screw came out.

[willlawson]

I put 1000 miles on my Backfire Zealot S on the original belts and I would take 12 mile rides