I’ve been working on this for a while. Nothing serious, just picking at it. Most of my skating these days are done around campus at work or on odd days in San Francisco or when I travel. I love skating so much. Even as I get older, nothing makes me smile quite like stepping on a skateboard. This is the third attempt at this particular skate theme. It’s very close.
My goal has been a skateboard that fits into the world of the adult. Not a trick board. Something that get’s you there. It’s comfortable, handles great, and is light. It’s narrow for stowing, long for smooth easy rolling, and enough nose and tail to properly negotiate the environment. You take it out on the town with you to keep you sane. To keep you smiling.
What I call, the definitive longboard.
This, I believe is it. After a first large attempt, then a very narrow try, I’ve settled on something in between. This deck is approximately 7.313′ wide. I may bring it down to 7.250″ as I think that that may fit the wheel width better. I’ll be playing with this.
The larger style was nice, but tall and heavy. I need to reshape the nose as it’s clumsy and too fat. It just didn’t go far enough for the use I was aiming at but it is nice as a boomer.
The skinny version was very cool in how light it was but it really can’t be pushed too hard in corners. Also, the re-drilling of the truck mounting was too much resulting in very poor tail response. On the Skinny Little Bitch, I had been more aggressive moving the trucks but I quickly found that the nose and tail become less responsive. The light weight of that board is great but it’s too narrow and tall to feel planted when turning hard. The height is limited so more width was the solution.
Again, the deck was sourced from a Powell Hot Rod Flames (recently re-issued) deck which is absurd in it’s natural state. The shape is cut and the front trucks moved forward 0.625″. That makes the nose usable and adds to the wheelbase.
I gave the Ace 11 trucks a try. My first foray away from Indys in a long time. Still, these are Indy clones. I wish they had hollow axles and kingpins but you can’t always get what you want. The hanger width of 4.500″ is one of the only trucks of this width on the market and that was the hardest part to source for this project. The hanger ends were precisely machined and cleaned up. The axles needed a bit of emery to get the diameters consistent. I’ve shimmed under the lower bushing for a little more turn in the truck to match the long wheelbase. A stack of washers are added below the bushing to increase steering rate, speeding up what was slowed down with the wheelbase increase.
Bones Reds bearings, Bones Hardcore (yellow) bushings, Powell Mini-logo tape, and Abec 11 Pink Polka Dot wheels (62mm, 78a), and low profile stainless hardware fills the complete. Of course, the axles are shimmed to 8mm, PVD axle washers, and custom PVD bearing spacers were cut.
2540 grams. Weight is still the #1 issue left to deal with. It may be time for some fancy hangers or even a side cut.
Initial riding impressions are that this is the ticket. It handles well and feels good. Tail taps nicely and nose/tail wheelies are easy enough. I can’t wait to put more time into riding this. At 2540 grams, weight is still the #1 issue left to deal with. It may be time for some fancy hangers or even a side cut.
