My dad is going to love saying “I told you so”

posted on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 1:04 AM |

I see now why Dean Kamen’s designed the segway with handlebars. So tonight I finally got the ~~balls~~ confidence to ride the skateboard. I have to say, is a rather scary thing since if I hurt myself, I’m semi screwed since I lack a roommate in my current apartment.

By using a chair stool, I can keep myself stable enough to slide back and forth. I haven’t tweaked the PD values enough to really feel safe enough to let go however for more than a split second. It works though.

One big issue I’m seeing already is the chains in the gearbox dither too much. What exactly does that mean? Since there are 2 gear reductions, it has 2 chain belts. Since there is a very small amount of extra slack in the chain, it causes too much give. I can feel the extra jerk from the chain drive when moving.

The ironic thing is my dad warned me about this problem. Good thing he doesn’t read my blog if he doesn’t if there isn’t a Google alert on me. Bad thing is I think it needs to be solved so I’ll have to give him a jingle. This has to be a solved problem already. Hell, bikes have solved this issue if you think about it …

I’ll post a video of me hurting myself shortly.

Tags [ Parts Building Skateboard ]

Your Comments.

# re: My dad is going to love saying “I told you so”

If the issue can't be solved through reducing linkage (obviously it can't or you would have said so) then your only option is probably moving to a sprocket held under tension, a swingarm tensioner of some kind, or moving to a belt/band rather than a chain. I'm interested to see how you resolve! Post pics! Staying tuned... (Windows in EDU from STL)

Left by Michael Greene at 7/15/2008 7:35 AM

# re: My dad is going to love saying “I told you so”

If the issue can't be solved through reducing linkage (obviously it can't or you would have said so) then options might be to put the sprockets under tension pulling away, the addition of a swingarm tensioner of some kind, or possibly switching to a band/belt. I'm interested to see how you resolve! Staying tuned... (Windows in EDU from STL)

Left by Michael Greene at 7/15/2008 7:37 AM

# re: My dad is going to love saying “I told you so”

So you need an extra free spinning gear that uses a spring (or something like it) just to keep the chain tight.

Left by Alfred Thompson at 7/15/2008 8:39 AM

# re: My dad is going to love saying “I told you so”
If the issue can't be solved through reducing linkage (obviously it can't or you would have said so) then your only option is probably moving to a sprocket held under tension, a swingarm tensioner of some kind, or moving to a belt/band rather than a chain. I'm interested to see how you resolve! Post pics! Staying tuned... (Windows in EDU from STL)

Left by Michael Greene at 7/15/2008 7:35 AM
# re: My dad is going to love saying “I told you so”
If the issue can't be solved through reducing linkage (obviously it can't or you would have said so) then options might be to put the sprockets under tension pulling away, the addition of a swingarm tensioner of some kind, or possibly switching to a band/belt. I'm interested to see how you resolve! Staying tuned... (Windows in EDU from STL)

Left by Michael Greene at 7/15/2008 7:37 AM
# re: My dad is going to love saying “I told you so”
So you need an extra free spinning gear that uses a spring (or something like it) just to keep the chain tight.

Left by Alfred Thompson at 7/15/2008 8:39 AM