Urban Transport

DIY electric luge rolls gently down the beach

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The Electro-Luge 500S has go-kart wheels, a golf cart motor and an e-bike battery pack
John Dingley
The Electro-Luge 500S has go-kart wheels, a golf cart motor and an e-bike battery pack
John Dingley
The main frame of the Electro-Luge 500S, with welded pipes, ply board and chunky go-kart wheels
John Dingley
A 500 W golf cart motor drives the chain to turn the rear wheels of the Electro-Luge 500S
John Dingley
The electronics of the Electro-Luge 500S sit below the backrest
John Dingley
The Electro-Luge 500S was designed to zip along long stretches of firm sand
John Dingley
When lying on his back, John Dingley steers the Electro-Luge 500S using his feet
John Dingley
A wheel cover has been installed at the front to help keep sand and grit from being thrown in the face of the Electro-Luge 500S rider
John Dingley
John Dingley's self-balancing electric unicycle project from 2015
John Dingley
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For the last few months, UK maker John Dingley has been bending tubing on a home-made hydraulic machine, welding metal together and installing parts salvaged from a go-kart, golf cart and an e-bike. Somewhere between a street luge and a kite buggy, the Electro-Luge 500S has been built to zip over long stretches of firm sand, with the rider laid flat and low.

After cutting his project teeth building an electric unicycle, Dingley set his sights on an electric beach cruiser that merged a "luge board, a kite surf buggy, a go kart and a Star Wars Land Speeder." He started by bending and welding the main frame, secured two tightly-packed go-kart wheels wrapped in slick tires to the rear and another to the front that could be steered using the rider's feet. He then set about installing the electronics.

In one alloy box at the back, Dingley placed an OSMC power controller, an Arduino Uno dev board brain, LiFePO4 e-bike batteries and a small cooling fan. This housing has been designed to shield the electronics from water and dirt, while also allowing the onboard fan to circulate air. Next door, another box became home to a 500 W golf cart motor that's chained to a sprocket driving the rear wheels, and the battery management system.

A 500 W golf cart motor drives the chain to turn the rear wheels of the Electro-Luge 500S
John Dingley

The electronics are covered by a backrest that meets a removable support strut which runs between the rear wheels to the main frame. To get the Electro-Luge 500S moving, a handheld potentiometer sends a signal to the Arduino that tells the motor how fast to go. A wheel cover was installed at the front to help keep sand and grit from being thrown in the rider's face.

When lying on his back, Dingley steers the luge with his feet in a similar fashion to kite buggy riders, but he has also undertaken belly down beach runs where he steered with his hands. He reckons the electric luge can manage a 15-ft turning circle, but this doesn't present too much of a problem given it was designed for long straight runs.

Where the modified street luge of Australian Daz Fellows was built to really move – really, really move – the Dingley electric beach luge seems to be a pretty slow mover, as you can see in the video below. But at least it's a good deal quieter.

Source: John Dingley via Hackaday

View gallery - 8 images
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4 comments
Josh!
very cool.
Brooke
I thought the idea of the Luge was to minimize frontal area to lower wind resistance. But this thing goes so slow that's not a factor. So it's a style choice.
Leonard Foster Jr
Looks Boring. and would be a death trap on the street.
pickypilot
The wheel cover notwithstanding, being that low to the ground in any kind of breeze will put a lot of sand in your eyes. wear goggles!