Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard

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Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard.jpg
Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard top bottom.jpg
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The Benchwheel Penny Board is a 28-in / 71cm single 1000W motor electric skateboard. It's what you would call a Chinese electric skateboard. The appeal is to make a battery powered Penny Board (the plastic boards), actually this is the size of the Nickel board and made of wood instead of plastic.

The range is 8km to 10km / 5 to 6 miles with a max. speed of 24kph / 15mph, but expect less if you don't upgrade to better quality parts yourself. Retail price 349 USD + shipping. Get a good price at aliexpress or alibaba.

Features

  • Comes in two board designs: a classic look and a tech-look, both light-weight, resilient and durable
  • Excellent grip carved out grip at the board end for convenient carrying
  • Sturdy high-clearance metal box protects the batteries and electronics when going over rough terrains, the slim case design provides low-visible signature making the board appear non-electric
  • Large 80 mm high-speed PU wheels
  • 36 Volt 1000 Watt high-powered brush-less motor provides top speeds up to 24 kph / 15 mph featuring regenerative braking
  • Ergonomic 2.4GHz remote controlling driving modes (speed/energy saving) and direction, the controller employs sine-wave modulation allowing fine-grained speed control
  • Recharge the controller only once per week, conveniently on the mini USB charging port
  • 90Wh battery pack providing driving ranges of around 10 km / 6 miles, Samsung batteries cells with high discharge
  • 1.5 hour quick charging
  • Gear ratio 1:3 (16-48T) for responsiveness and fast acceleration

Specifications

  • Company: Hangzhou Bench Technology Co., Ltd - Hangzhou, China
  • Released: January 2017
  • Model: D001 / D002
  • Re-branded boards: LiftBoard
  • Based- and improved-upon: Benchwheel Dual 1800W Motor 2015, Benchwheel Single 1800W Motor 2015
  • Board: Bamboo and maple composite, tech model 3 layer bamboo + 2 layer fiber glass, classic model 7 layer maple + 2 layer fiber glass
  • Controller: Custom Bench sine-wave modulation (FOC) controller (ESC), battery management and charger (BMS) - both separate boards
  • Battery: Lithium-ion 2.5Ah 90Wh 10S1P 36V (10x3.6V, voltage 32V to 42V) 520g 14 AWG wires XT60 connector, 10x Samsung INR18650-25R M (Lithium manganese nickel - LiNiMnCoO2) 20A discharge green 18650 cells connected in series
    • Upgrade: Samsung 30Q 3000mAh 15A / LG HG2 3000mAh cells for longer range, or Sony VTC4 18650 2100mAh 30A cells for better torque - 6USD ea
  • Charger: 100-220V AC input, 42V 2A output adapter with 2-pin plug, CE RoHS, green LED for redy/complete and red LED for charging
  • Motor: N5065 170kV 14-pole 1000W 50A 61x49.5mm Ø8 bore Ø30 mounting pattern brushless motor with closed back cover
  • Wheels: PU 80x45mm 78A hardness - drive wheel has 8 spoke
  • Belt: HTD 225-3M 13mm 75 teeth 3mm pitch 225mm pitch length - on 16mm wide wheel pulley, 15mm belt does not fit
    • Upgrade: SDP A 6R23M075150 3mm (HTD) Pitch, 75 Teeth, 15mm wide Single Sided Neoprene Belt with Fiberglass Cords - 9.90USD
    • Change the drive train with 5mm pitch pulleys and belt for better power traction, less wear
  • Wheel pulley: 48T OD45mm ID36mm 3mm pitch 16mm wide grooves
  • Motor pulley: 16T OD16mm? ID8mm bore 3mm pitch 16mm wide grooves with key-slot for corresponding motor shaft
  • Bearings: 8x 608-2Z OD22mm ID8mm 7mm wide NMB skateboard bearings - bearing on drive pulley side is flanged to hold gear in place
    • Upgrade: Zealous with integrated spacer 20USD, or Bones Reds ceramics 50USD, or Loaded Jehu (use in Boosted) 20USD, or ACER SK8 Ceramic 608 Bearings 35USD
  • Remote: Ergonomic, two-speed (full-speed/half-speed), jog-stick (forward/brake), 3-LED board-battery level indicator, 800mAh LiPo battery, mini-USB charging (no data), nRF24L01+ based 2.4GHz transmitter and receiver module - reliable
  • Grip tape: Tech or Classic design
  • Case: Aluminium with RGB LED light strip underneath
    • Upgrade: Better quality grip tape
  • Weatherproof: No official rating, but electronics case is sealed except charging port and power button
  • Max. load: 100 kg / 220 lbs
  • Length: 70.9cm / 28-in
  • Ride height: 12.3cm / 4.8-in
  • Overall width: 26.0cm / 10.3-in
  • Truck hanger width: 17.0cm / 6.7-in
  • Board thickness: 1.2cm / 0.47-in
  • Package size: 76 x 30 x 19 cm
  • Weight: 4.8kg / 10.6lbs
  • Kit contents:
    • 1x Benchwheel Penny Board Electric Skateboard fully assembled, half-charged
    • 1x Benchwheel wireless remote pre-paired
    • 1x Two-piece hand tool for maintenance
    • 1x 100 to 240V AC 42V 2A DC adapter
    • 1x mini-USB remote charging cable
    • 1x EU power cable, or UK power cable, or US power cable, or AU power cable
    • 1x Certification sticker
    • 1x Quick-start guide leaflet

Remote operation

The instructions doesn't cover the operation of the remote properly. Albeit being a simple remote, there is a trick to switch between full- and half-speed.

Power on/off:

  • Press and hold the top-red button for 2 seconds to turn on or off the remote

Change between full and half-speed mode:

  • This can only be done after powering on the remote and before touching the joy-stick
  • Press the top-red button momentarily and the LED indicator on the remote will switch between L (half-speed) and H (full-speed)

After using the board, the only way to switch speed mode is to turn off and on the remote, then change mode

Pair remote and board:

  • Turn both remote and board off
  • Press and hold the power button on both the remote and board for 5 seconds until two beeps are heard
  • Turn both off and on again to use the now paired board

The controller comes pre-paired but if you hold the power button accidentally too long it can loose the paired connection.

Change between forward and reverse direction:

  • Power on the remote and board
  • Move the joy-stick forward once to engage the motor
  • Now, momentarily press the top-red button to change between forward and reverse direction

This can be done while using the board, stand-still or in motion.

Check board battery level:

  • Power on both the remote and board
  • Look at the lower three LED indicators on the remote, this indicates the battery capacity left
  • All three 100%, two 66% left, one 33%, blinking 5-10% left

When the remote starts to beep and the lower red LED starts to blink, it is giving you a warning that the battery is about to run out and needs to be charge immediately. The controller limits the max. speed. Under a 1km/mile left of juice.

Upgrades

  • Front and tail LED light mounts/reflectors - be seen
  • Belt cover - 3D printed to prevent grit coming in-between the belt and pulley
  • Current sensor, ESP current and voltage display - battery health
  • On-board web server with current and voltage chart history on OLED display/wireless OLED
  • External 2A USB power socket - to charge the remote and phone
  • Replace rear truck with dual motor and extra speed controller - more speed and acceleration
  • Swap over to HTD-5M 15mm 53T belt and 15-36T (or 15-40T) pulleys - for more efficient drive train

Truck assembly

Front truck, regular assembly

Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard assembly front truck product.jpg

Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard assembly front truck.png

Rear truck with motor, belt, pulleys and wheels - note: dual motor shown in drawing

Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard assembly rear truck product.jpg

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Rear drive wheel

Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard assembly drive wheel product.jpg

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Hand-held remote control

Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard remote.jpg Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard assembly remote inside.jpg

Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard assembly remote.png


Electronics bay

Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard electronics bay.png

Analysis

Pros

  • Small and relatively light-weight
  • Great value at low cost
  • Fast and good hill climbing ability
  • Good torque and responsiveness due to belt drive
  • Powerful 1000W motor
  • Handle cut-out to carry the board
  • Easy to use and reliable remote control
  • Repair and disassembly relatively easy
  • Modular design
  • Electronics bay opens by removing six screws
  • Stronger trucks then previous Benchwheel boards
  • Possible two swap drive wheel with any three for even wear
  • Motor assembly can be installed on either left or right rear side

Cons

  • Board does not flex, hard ride - if trucks loosened, becomes wobbly
  • Charging port and power button not weatherproof
  • Belt exposed to dust and grit
  • Drive-train a bit noisy
  • Motor pulley glued in-place with thread-lock
  • Battery not easily replaceable (or swappable)
  • Poor wheel traction on wet ground
  • No head- or tail-lights

Repair / maintenance

Official repair videos are available on YouTube.

Guides

    • Stock board setup results:
Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard esk8 calc results.png
    • Stock board setup results:
Benchwheel Penny Electric Skateboard sdpdistance results.png

Reviews

Board details

References