Page 1 of 1

DIY longboard direct drive pedal mod

PostPosted: Fri Aug 25, 2017 5:49 pm
by ignotus
Hi,

I wanted to know what the deal was with longboard, direct drive pedals, but as I can't justify dropping a load of cash just to try them out, I decided to make myself some by modifying a double pedal I already have.

The footboard is made with 4 mm thick carbon fibre (two 2 mm thick plates epoxied together) I found a great deal on. I also ordered some small ball bearings for the connecting rods and pillow block bearings for the hinge at the heel.
IMG_20170825_191127.jpg

IMG_20170825_134826.jpg

IMG_20170825_134729.jpg

The footboard is reinforced underneath with an aluminium profile that also attaches to the connecting rods. The bearings in the connecting rods are held in place with rivets. It looks a bit ghetto, but it's effective and they won't move.
IMG_20170825_135129.jpg

It actually turned out quite well - it plays smoothly and silently. I'll play with it for a while to see if I prefer it, but if I don't or it falls to pieces everything can be disassembled and it can be returned to its original form.

Re: DIY longboard direct drive pedal mod

PostPosted: Sat Aug 26, 2017 11:28 am
by airflamesred
Looks great, and just shows that it can be done for s small budget. Where did you get the bearings?
I'm thinking about more Bix as I'm not loving the beaterless kriggs.

Re: DIY longboard direct drive pedal mod

PostPosted: Sat Aug 26, 2017 6:36 pm
by ignotus
I got the bearings from AliExpress. The pillow block ones seem sturdy enough and only have to rotate a tiny amount; we'll see how long the ones in the connecting rods last though - they're very small, only 8 mm in diameter. I used two rods per pedal to distribute the force a little. Gave them a proper thrashing yesterday and nothing came apart so happy for now.

Re: DIY longboard direct drive pedal mod

PostPosted: Sat Aug 26, 2017 9:17 pm
by airflamesred
And in your opinion does direct drive have a significant advantage over chain?
Heel up or down.

Re: DIY longboard direct drive pedal mod

PostPosted: Sat Aug 26, 2017 10:21 pm
by ignotus
I wouldn't say there's an advantage, I reckon it just feels "different". I think the longer footboard has a bigger impact than the direct drive/chain. I play with heel up but use heel-toe for quick doubles, and the longer footboard makes that easier. You can also move down closer to the heel to play fast double bass (with singles) with less effort. The pedal feels slightly lighter and faster; with the chain it felt a bit more sluggish, but after looking at the forces in play I think it has a lot to do with the shape of the cam (with chains). I'm pretty sure that if I installed a chain linking the exact same points that the connecting rods do, it would feel exactly the same. That said, I'm tempted to put the chain back on one of the pedals and do a side by side comparison.

Re: DIY longboard direct drive pedal mod

PostPosted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 8:32 pm
by ignotus
Made some improvements to the pedal: carbon fibre cams and connecting rods and a DIY drive shaft.
IMG_20171109_175658.jpg

IMG_20171107_190944.jpg

IMG_20171109_175942.jpg

IMG_20171109_175837.jpg