Here is a summary of what you should look for when deciding to buy a deck.
There are several important deck features to note:
Deck Shapes - Concave, W Concave, Drops, Micro Drops, Rocker & Camber
Deck Flex - Does it bend/bend when you stand on it?
Wheelbase - the distance between trucks, especially the floor of each truck.
So let's look at these features in more detail to understand why each aspect is important.
Deck Shapes presents a variety of challenges for electronic board builders.
Concave - The curvature between the two sides of a plate. The concave surface helps to hold the toes and heels in place, giving the rider better control of the longboard. Concave lock your feet onto your longboard deck while cutting in and out of turns. When building electric skateboards on a deck with a lot of concave surfaces, you want to avoid using a wider component housing because it will not be flush with the deck. Long and thin are better.
Camber- The amount bent upwards along the length of the longboard between two trucks. Because of the camber, the platform is set higher than the truck mount. The Camber allows the rider more leverage to turn while riding the longboard. On the more flexible longboard, the camber ensures that riders will sit at the same height as the trucks (and not below them). In addition, the camber allows a lot of bending of the plates without the deck accidentally touching the ground. That's why it's not impossible to look at the 1951 Board that uses that flexible deck that has a curved edge to make a very fine motor Board. But it just means that you need to separate the pieces that have been built that way. This adds to the cost and complexity of the building. It also extends the battery line, which can be a problem for some ESCs.
Rocker- The longboard deck bends down in a smooth arc (like a banana) so that the center of the board is located below the truck. Because of this curve, the front and rear are "wedged", allowing more cornering for the front and rear trucks. The Rocker is suitable for long propelling because the deck is now lower from the ground. This is also known for the comfort of the free ski deck, as it reduces knee and ankle stress. These should be avoided because you don't want expensive electronics to wear out on the ground.
"W" Concave - This is a Concave surface in the shape of a "W" on your standing platform. The bumps created are also called "domes".This "dome" fits into the arch of your foot, giving you better control over your back foot. This is very useful for your ESK8, but the "W" profile usually means that the lower side of the deck is not flat, so installation can be a problem. You will definitely need to screw or bolt the enclosure to the deck as the installation surface is not smooth and the double-sided faucets will not work.
Drop Deck - This form of longboard Deck includes an effective foot platform that drops significantly below the level of the truck. The main advantage of the descent platform is that it can be lowered to almost no surface, although the actual deck height ultimately depends on the size of the wheels. The lower center of gravity creates more stability and reduces pressure on the knees and lower back. These decks work! But you need very thin components or large-diameter wheels, possibly both.
As you can already imagine, the Deck Flex will be a problem if your battery is very long, and the current battery technology is not designed for bending.
What is Flex - This is the bouncy feeling you experience on a longboard. Flexible longboards are best for low-speed riding. Longboard decks can be flexible in a variety of modes, including (but not limited to) light, neutral and hard. Flex can be represented numerically or in the description of your longboard deck. A flexible longboard deck will soften riding over rough concrete and bumps and cracks but is more difficult to use when building electric skateboards.
However, there are ways to solve the bending problem.
Do not install solid parts where the deck is bent, so this usually means avoiding the middle part. Put the battery in the back of the front truck, put the electric regulator on the other end, and wire across the gap. It works pretty well because the wire in the middle doesn't actually bend too much, so the technology works. However, making it look more beautiful is more challenging.
Running the battery array down from the side of the board, four 3S cells are placed side by side, and if each cell is separate, they will move independently as the deck bends. I tend to think that this leads to some additional costs and maintenance, as wires and solder joints may eventually break due to constant bending and bending. You also need a flexible shell. Therefore, if you do decide that you must use bendable, be sure to install the components on the deck in a way that allows bending. Plastic or aluminum shells don't bend the way wood does. The surface area below the deck expands as it bends, which puts pressure on screws, glue, or whatever is used to hold the shell together. It may also spoil your situation.
Another thing to consider is bends at high speeds, which are not as sensitive as solid ones. So if you plan to travel at high speeds, I'm inclined to think that over 30km/h, you don't need flexible decks. What you want is a rock-solid device that responds to the tiniest bend of your ankle to help you navigate unpredictable streets.
Thirty kilometers per hour is eight meters per second. Think about it.
It is important to note that all riders are different when it comes to curved or curved decks. Your weight will determine how much bending occurs. So, if possible, I suggest you head to your local board store and try the deck.
So all in all, I usually avoid using flexible decks!
The wheelbase is important because it determines the area where you can install your electronics. You need to make room for batteries, motor controllers, motors, and any other electronics you want built-in. If the deck is too short, you may find it difficult to fit everything you want "onboard." This is why using a longboard when building ESK8 is so popular. For most builds, a deck of about 100 cm is usually sufficient. You can definitely get smaller, just make sure you figure out the length of the battery, the length of your ESC, and how much of your motor sticks out of your truck.
So now let's calculate that the motor needs a clearance of about 120mm. This is the area between the axle of the truck and the edge of the nearest component housing. Unless your motor is mounted backward, which is not common but is an option. If your motor protrudes backward, you can move the housing closer to the truck, as long as there is enough clearance for the truck to turn when it turns.
You may also have other components, such as switches, LCD screens, and power meters. They occupy some space below the deck. The more components you have, the greater the size of the wire. In most settings, you need to allocate a minimum area of about 50 mm for cabling.
Battery size will be proportional to its WH rating. The ratio of batteries can vary. Most modest-capacity lithium-ion batteries, such as the 8000mAh 6S, that you buy from a hobby store tend to be short in length but high fat.
The 6S battery has six cells. Each Lipo pouch (cell) is about 9mm thick. This is fairly standard. The length can vary greatly from 130 mm to 200 mm and longer. The width of a Lipo pouch is generally between 45mm and 70mm.
As a beginner to LIPO, you'll often buy pre-built how-to instructions for ease of setup. So if you want a 6S, you buy one. But as you learn more about battery configurations, you can start to create your own unique layouts. For example, it is increasingly popular to buy two 3S packs that are approximately 28 mm high (rather than 60 mm as with the 6S) and connect them together in series or parallel to get the desired voltage or capacity. The thinner battery configuration allows for improved ground clearance, which is very important but requires more space (length and width) below the deck to place the batteries.
So, if you're customizing your Lipo battery pack to get an ultra-thin look and maximize your ground clearance, you might end up with two end-to-end OR side-by-side.
Therefore, the battery may need up to 400mm in the deck area!
If you have a lot of wire, the ESC usually needs about 100 mm, maybe a little more.
In the end, what matters most is that you have a choice! You can decide which deck you like based on your weight and your idea of what a perfect electronic board should look like. Choosing your own board is the reason why building your own electric board is always better than buying an off-the-shelf board. Everyone is different, and everyone is worth choosing.