How we made the SkateMac

Hmm... Macintosh fun times or active outdoor pursuit? Why not both!

The concept is very simple as you can see, just get the trucks off any old skateboard, drill holes in the bottom of your G4 case and bolt them on. There are a couple of issues along the way though...

The G4 case alone is a hefty old thing, so to keep as much weight off those tiny wheels as possible we got rid of everything we could from the Mac's insides, leaving only the metal frames under the drive-bay and power-supply for total rigidity.

This [above] was the obvious place to mount the trucks in order to keep the base of each truck within the length of the case-bottom. This is the strongest way, but the high centre of gravity is a pain in the ass and with such a short wheelbase the Mac is prone to tipping forwards and backwards. For any sort of stability at speed the trucks-axles need to be extended over the edge of the case-bottom, pictured below.

The two bolts at the back weren't going to be enough, so to keep the trucks as stable as possible with them over the case edge we drilled an extra set of holes in each truck, about an inch along from the original rear holes, pictured below. Bunching the bolts together on the inner half of the truck isn't the strongest method, but it's the best you can hope for if you're after a long enough wheelbase.

Welding the trucks on in this way would be ideal, but there is also the problem of case flex. We initially bolted the trucks straight on to the case-floor, with only the plastic spacers from the skateboard on the inside and we noticed the bottom of the Mac was bending around the bolt holes after just a short test. Spacers under the case is out of the question because the Mac rides a little too high as it is. As a quick-fix solution we added two plywood inserts on the inside of the case-floor to give the bolts some extra depth and provide a little bit of suspension-damping, pictured below. This seems to be holding up superbly to the knocks and bangs for now, but I'm sure there's a far better way to mount the trucks for maximum shock-resistance in future.

Read more in this post - Skate Mac Redesign

Ride responsibly!

iBroke my rib on the Sk8Mac!!

Yes, unsurprisingly some would say, the Skate Mac has claimed its first broken bone! On its first real outing too!

I set off down the hill in my preferred lean-forward, legs-back position (like a superbike) to give myself the lowest possible profile and sluice through the air at top speed. Unfortunately my front wheels hit something (a small twig or a Rizla I think it was lol) and all that weight on the front sent me face first into the concrete so fast I didn't even have time to tense up for impact.

I thought I'd gotten away without injury, but it was so easily done that we decided to drop the lean-forward stance completely - so DO NOT try this one at home! That's what MOTOG4 are here for - to refine this sport and take it on the chin so you don't have to!

It was only after two painful days lifting at work that I decided to get checked medically. Turns out I've fractured a rib! I've been signed off work for 6 days and told to take painkillers, but apart from that I'm to just rest up until it heals enough to get the Mirror-Door rollin' again!

Here's the vid of me epic wipeout. Shame that the cameraman loses attention right at the crucial moment, it should be zoomed in, nevermind.

Getting a feel for the Skate Mac...

As you can see, the iSkate is now starting to earn some battle scars. We spent a few hours trialling it down some downward slopes today to try and get more speed, distance and basically more confidence on the thing. We had intended to take it to a skatepark in nearby Heswall, but it was full of young children with their parents and we figured that two grown men would ruin their Sunday afternoon by barging them out of the way and filming it.

We did find a nice quiet downhill path in a local park though and got rolling. After a horrific face plant however, we have decided that the leaning-forward / legs-back position is a total no go, if the Mac slows suddenly in any way you go straight over. Instead, the leaning-back position is a must to keep upright at any sort of speed.

** I will post the videos as soon as possible!!