Reddit mentions of Orangatang Kegel 80 mm 80a Downhill Longboard Skateboard Cruising Wheels (Orange, Set of 4)

What I did right

• Bought high-quality parts (mostly)
  
• Laser-cut center logo
  
  • I originally tried cutting this out of grip tape. The results were... suboptimal. The laser-cut plastic looks amazing and was only ~$10 after free credits. I ordered it through Ponoko. New accounts get a $20 credit towards making stuff, and they have a huge range of materials to choose from. I used this material, which comes with adhesive pre-applied as well as being quite flexible.
    
• Custom fiberglass enclosure
  
  • This was probably the part of the build that took the longest. Due to me not sizing the enclosure correctly (see below), I decided it would be easier to make an enclosure rather than scouring the internet for one that fit. This was my first time working with fiberglass, so it turned out a little rough. But it does the job and conforms to my deck way better than any pre-bought enclosure ever would. It’s currently secured to my deck with screws threaded directly into the wood. The holes are strengthen with superglue. So far this has worked well (5+ screw in/outs), we’ll see if it holds up. If the holes start stripping I’ll just put some threaded inserts in.
    
• Installed a Bluetooth module
  
  • Although I haven’t gotten wireless configuration working yet, it’s really nice being able to see stats on your phone. I’m on iOS and use the Xmatic app which is very-well designed. It even comes with a companion Apple Watch app so you can easily check your speed and battery life while riding.
    
    

    Mistakes I made
    

    
    

1. I didn’t add extra clearance to the battery size when shopping for an enclosure. I originally bought this enclosure from MBoards. But either the enclosure or the battery was slightly bigger/smaller than the advertised dimensions and the entire enclosure bowed out when I tried shoving the battery in. Cables never had a chance of fitting. This turned out to be a bit of a moot point anyways, because...
   
2. I choose a deck with too much flex/bow. Even if the enclosure did fit the battery, attaching it to the underside of my deck would have severely warped it.
   
3. I destroyed two $10 42V chargers. The first was destroyed by plugging it in backwards to the battery (i.e. red -> black and black -> red on the battery connector). We don’t talk about the second one. ^(Ok maybe I plugged it in the exact same way expecting something else yes I’m an idiot)
   
4. I didn’t cut the grip tape very cleanly. Lots of rough edges, grip tape is harder to apply properly than it looks.
   
5. My paint job on the enclosure turned out a little sloppy because I didn’t properly secure the stencil.
   
   

   Potential upgrades
   

   
   

• New paint job on bottom (I might just go all-black and remove the design)
  
• New grip tape (with more consistent edges)
  
• Reverse-mounted motor (so I can use my dropdown like it was intended)
  
• Sleeker fiberglass enclosure
  
• Handle (I have no idea how to do this, any suggestions are welcome)
  
  

  Parts
  

  
  

• Motor Mount
  
• Pulley System
  
• 3250W 180KV Motor
  
  • This thing has an insane amount of torque, it chews up hills without slowing down at all. Very happy with this motor.
    
• Remote
  
• Caliber II Trucks
  
• Power Switch
  
• Longboard Deck
  
  • It’s cheap. Didn’t expect much, but it’s actually fairly nice (at least for a traditional longboard; as noted elsewhere there’s a bit too much flex for it to be a good electric board).
    
• Orangatang Kegel Wheels
  
• VESC
  
• BLE Module
  
• Charger
  
• 10S3P Battery Pack
  
  • This battery with its integrated BMS was plugged in to charge with its polarity accidentally reversed twice (see above), and it still works great.
    
    I spent a total of ~$770 on this board (including wasted parts). It's more than I wanted to spend but I expect it'll last a long time.
    
    Specs:
    
    
• Top speed: 28 MPH (in theory, I've only actually gone up to 16 MPH because of safety concerns :P)
  
• Range: 25-30 miles (extrapolated from the voltage drop on a ~2 mile ride, haven't had time to go on a ride that fully drains the battery)

I'm doing some research to buy my first board. I heard that the first thing to do is choose what I want to do with it. My idea is to use it for commuting, but my commutes are really long, so I started to look into Long Distance Pushing, since that is what most resembled it ( it's about 18 miles each way, so let's say 36 a day ) . I don't really know if I'll be able to skate that much, what I want is to push and feel like I'm actually going forward. I want to push and go fast without pushing 1000 times. I have a skateboard in my house but I can't use it because when I push I feel like the wheels are stuck or something like that. That skate is like 10 years old, so I thought it was because the bearings were dirty or something like that. I changed them. Nothing. Then a couple of weeks later I tried a longboard at Walmart. I could only push once and for less than 30 ft ( you know, space was a bit limited ) but I felt it easier. You know, like I could push once and go for much longer
Even though I'm going to use it for commuting, it's mostly for a trip I'm going to do, so it can't be THAT expensive. Before this, I was going to buy a Penny longboard because it's cheap ( 100 USD ) but I mostly read bad things about it from this sub and then again, the most important part is to push and feel. it. go. ( going fast without pushing 1000 times ) , so I thought maybe that wasn't a good idea
So... this is what I came up with. Tell me what you think and if I'm in the right path. Also, please tell me if I understood something wrong. If it helps, I'm 5 ft 5, 140 lb, and my legs are quite strong. I'm going for around 200 USD for my first time ( already double what I was going to spend on the Penny on the first time) :


 

• Wheels: The smaller the wheels, the more they accelerate, and the bigger, the more speed they can catch. I don't know what I want here. I chose speed because the idea is to push the less possible so acceleration is less important. Correct?
  Then, the harder they are, the more they slide, so I want the hardest wheels possible, right?
  I chose the orange Orangatang Kegels ( 80mm, 80a, 60 USD )
  
  
   
  
  
  
• Bearings: I guess for what I'm looking I need the less friction possible. They have ABEC ratings although the two bearings I've looked up don't... The Loaded Jehu V2 (23 USD) and I've read this Bones Bearings(with spacers and washers, 16 USD) are superior in performance?
  
  
   
  
  
  
• Trucks: The hanger width should match the width of the deck. I don't have a deck yet, so I don't know :/
  The higher baseplate angle, the easier it is to turn. I chose 50-degree trucks, the Caliber II Fifty ( they come in 9 and 10 inches, 40 USD)
  
  
   
  
  
  
• Deck: the closer I am to the ground, the easier it will be to push, so it has to be a drop deck. Now, every photo of LDPushing I saw, it was a double drop deck, but I read those are harder to turn, and if I happen to be on a hill, I don't want to go faster than around 20-22mph, so for that I have to carve, so if I can't turn... So I think a drop deck would be the best. Then, the heavier and longer the board is, the more it will maintain the momentum from a push longer, so I'm going for around 38 inches here maybe? That would be ideal, but I read that decks should be chosen by their width, not length, and since I chose those trucks, the deck should be roughly 9-10 inches wide. I'm lost here. Any recommendations? Remember that it has to be relatively cheap, but then again, at 20mph, I don't want to put my life in danger by a broken deck, so again, I'm lost. I've looked into this one (56 USD)
  
   
  
  What do you think? This is about 210 USD including the helmet I chose, the Triple 8 brainsaver (36 USD)
  Am I missing something?

That was really hard for me to parse, so I made this formatted list, with links and current prices (in USD via Amazon):


Component | Item | Price
---|---|---
motor | Turnigy Aerodrive SK3 - 6364-190kv Brushless Outrunner Motor | $176
motor speed controller | Castle Creations Mamba Max Pro 1/10 Brushless ESC with SMARTSENSE | $116
remote control | Spektrum 2322 DX2E 2-Channel DSMR Surface Radio System | $70
battery | Turnigy 5000mAh 6S 20C Lipo Pack | $50
battery charger | Tenergy TB6-B Balance Charger for NiMH/NiCD/Li-PO/Li-Fe Battery Packs + Power Supply | $58
deck | ??? | ?
trucks | Paris V2 180mm Longboard Trucks Black | $45
wheels | Orangatang Kegel 80mm 80a Orange Longboard Wheels Set of 4 | $60
motor gear | 16t pinion gear | ?
wheel gear | 36t drive wheel gear | ?
drive belt | ??? | ?
motor mount | welded motor mount | ?
| total price | $575


If you respond with links to the ? items I'll edit this and add them in.

I'm a college student who weighs ~170 lbs (77 kg) and is currently trying to cruise around 10+ miles (16+ km) for transportation purposes on and off campus.

I ride on uneven sidewalks, bricks, and rough asphalt. I have a drop-through deck that can fit wheels up to 114 mm in diameter and 53 mm in width.

I dont know if I should ride with soft wheels (78a), hard wheels (82a), or somewhere in-between (80a).

I have a few wheels that have caught my eye:

1. Kryptonics Classic 80a 80mm
   
2. Orangatang Kegel 80a 80 mm
   
3. River Rapid 110mm Matt McKeen Signature Wheel
   
4. 97mm x 52mm 82a Wheels Longboard Flywheels
   
   My question: Which wheels will be right for what I demand(short & long distance cruising)?
   
   and what range on the durometer (for cruising purposes) should certain people have their wheels on?