CarvCanada Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 I'm not very experience in street carving, looking to buy the best board possible for my style. I'm looking for a pretty stiff longboard to go down moderately steep, perfectly paved empty city roads, at moderate speeds and moderate radius but carving very low and aggressively. I want it to handle like my Donek Freecarve 171 :) I might use it to get around (since my school is about 1 km away with constant, nice paved curving steep road.) a bit, but I don't want to sacrifice carving ability for ease of getting around or comfort Thanks guys!! I hope to get hopelessly addicted to street carving as well so I have something to do in the summer other than constantly biking and weight training for the winter :) Willing to spend what it takes I weigh 160 lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarvCanada Posted September 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 hmm I like the Sector Nine Midnight Rider, tis 46 inches long what type of snowboard sidecut radius would this feel like? I'd like something that feels like around 12 meters for aggressive carving on 2 lane wide city roads but not too fast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baka Dasai Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 I don't think you can rely on wheelbase alone to determine turning radius, because different trucks have different amounts of "turniness". And any truck can have it's turniness modifed by putting an angled wedge between it and the deck. As a general question, can anybody tell me the pros and cons of having a longer wheelbase matched with turnier trucks, compared to a shorter wheelbase matched with less turny trucks? Check out the <a href="http://home.pacifier.com/~buzzer/curvecode/curve.html">Curve Swerve 38</a>. I've been thinking of buying this deck for hill carving, but I'm not sure about the Original trucks. They're meant to be super turny, but I'm not sure how they would be better than, say, wedged Seismic 45s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 The pivot angle (that's prolly not the right term) of the trucks makes a huge difference. I suspect that pivot angle makes MUCH more difference than the wheelbase but I haven't done the math to be certain of that. I have Seismic trucks in 45 and 30 degrees and the difference is tremendous. One of my boards has a 22" wheelbase and Seismic 45s and it seems just right for carving the two-lane hill in front of my house. I just got a Landyachtz Urban Assault and I'm kinda disappointed - I like the low deck height a lot but it's not long enough to get the stance I want. Wider would be better, too. It's got 30 degree Seismics on it but due to the curved ends of the board, the angle is pretty close to 45 degrees. Seismic trucks are WAY, WAY, WAY better for carving than conventional trucks. Much more stable around center, yet they turn much tighter. There are some other non-conventional trucks that are also worth a look, but I've been very happy with Seismics and recommend them. Have also been meaning to try some Randal trucks but haven't gotten around to it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Originally posted by CarvCanada I'm not very experience in street carving, looking to buy the best board possible for my style. I might use it to get around (since my school is about 1 km away with constant, nice paved curving steep road.) a bit, but I don't want to sacrifice carving ability for ease of getting around or comfort Thanks guys!! I hope to get hopelessly addicted to street carving as well so I have something to do in the summer other than constantly biking and weight training for the winter :) Willing to spend what it takes I weigh 160 lbs. I really like my Loaded Vanguard which is awesome for downhill and very good for cruising around with. I have on it Randal 180 trucks with ABEC11 Grippins wheels. I like it a lot and ride it down a mellow hill at 15-20 mph, if I slow to like 12 mph, I can get low and to really fun low heelside carve with my hip less about foot off the ground and do a 180 so I'm going back up the hill. I really would love to try out some Seismic trucks myself, but I really liked the "loaded" camber feel of the Vanguard and the wider footpads it had. If I had a choice I would try the Insect Dragonfly with Seismic trucks as my second carver/all-around (but still to do more time with the board I have). Here's a photo of someone laying out some deep carves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Mile High Skates I am in no way affiliated with this guy (I live in Japan) but this guy is cool and he's one of the few guys selling longboard gear who will ship to an FPO. I ordered my Randels RII 180's and my Abec 11's from him...BTW they are mated to a 45" Vision Cutaway Pintail Very cambers and carves hard...awesome board though a bit rough turning on flat sidewalks...hills no problem. Seismics are good though pricey (especially trying to figure out spring weights) RII 180s are so stable in deep carves. Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Oh yea, I'm 5'8" 150 lbs. I ride my longboard mainly on two lane roads near my house (one of them is closed on Sundays for bicyclists/etc) and as I mentioned before I can do a 180 inside the two lanes (just to give you an idea of the turning radius of the randal 180s, you can adjust them by tightening/loosening bushings and/or get 150, which are tighter turning... although the vanguard is suppose to go with the 180s, not the 150s). If you want a good shop to buy from... try Purple Skunk they are a San Francisco icon shop that is very well known not only for letting people demo basically every board at there shop, but also for their extensive webshop. They regularly sell their boards to people all across the US and internationally (including Europe). It's where I got my board and I highly recommend it. If you don't believe me check out other reviews of it in the "store" section of www.ncdsa.com - you will see there are several happy customers including people from Germany, Norway, and Switzerland who all had their boards shipped to them there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecarve Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Purple Skunk is great - I buy from them as well...they definitely cater to the longboard crowd. Check out this other skate thread BTW, if you're not already skating, start off on flat pavement or something slightly uphill. Also, learn to footbrake. joe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarvCanada Posted September 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 thanks a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarvCanada Posted September 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 hmm how will a 46" deck with a wedged nose compare to a 36" deck without? I'm looking at Bozi longboards, and the site says that the longer pintail is very tight turning. the G36 info says that it's ideal for the city slalom style which of these would be ideal for 2 lane street carving? ? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Originally posted by CarvCanada hmm how will a 46" deck with a wedged nose compare to a 36" deck without? I'm looking at Bozi longboards, and the site says that the longer pintail is very tight turning. the G36 info says that it's ideal for the city slalom style which of these would be ideal for 2 lane street carving? ? Thanks! I'm no expert (in fact I just started 2 months ago), but I would say the 36" deck is still going to be way more turny than a 46" deck, even if you wedge the nose to make it more turny. I mean that's a 10" difference in wheelbase which directly affects your turning radius. I would saw you should consider the 36" like a slalom snowboard (very aggressive edge to edge "pumping") where as a the 46" is going to be more a bomber board where you pretty much go straight with with minimal actually "carving." Obviously you can setup either board to be more turny or bomb-y. The GS36 looks like a lot of fun and was what I was first considering (except they've been sold out for months and many people are getting antsy about their orders), it's similar to the Loaded Pintail which I have actually ridden. Both the GS36 and Pintail are made for tighter slalom twitch and shallower/flat terrain. Check out some GS movies so you see what it would be like. You can definitely carve a nice turn with them, but you can see it requires an aggressive style. A longer board will (in general) be much more mellow. My vanguard is a 38" deck so it's just in between and more like the clip that you can find at the Gravity Board site > Express Yourself video trailer. BTW, make sure you don't mind the pintail style shape, I felt a little uncomfortable with it's narrow profile and my feet handing off the board (why I like the vanguard) but I think that's more of a mental thing (although if you look at the GS clips, it really does look like they are gripping on to their board through sheer willpower). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outsider Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 It sounds like you are looking for a board much like the one i ride. The Sector Nine Classic Pintail is great for both carving and bombing hills, and is great for getting around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecarve Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 I've got the G&S FibreFlex 38" Pintail, which I love (with R2 and Avalons)...haven't lost my footing yet, though it's definitely narrow. A very light deck, btw...Vanguards are similarly thin and light, though a bit snappier, I believe. I just ordered the Insect Dragonfly - I had looked at those a while back, and lonerider's mention of it was enough provocation to order one. I've got a set of Seismics and Gumballs on a Gravity 47" that I'll transfer over... joe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Originally posted by joecarve I've got the G&S FibreFlex 38" Pintail, which I love (with R2 and Avalons)...haven't lost my footing yet, though it's definitely narrow. A very light deck, btw...Vanguards are similarly thin and light, though a bit snappier, I believe. I just ordered the Insect Dragonfly - I had looked at those a while back, and lonerider's mention of it was enough provocation to order one. I've got a set of Seismics and Gumballs on a Gravity 47" that I'll transfer over... joe... Yea, I rode the Fibreflex and it did feel a lot like the Vanguard, minus the "loaded" spring feel that the Loaded boards have. It was really fun with R2 and Avilas. Sweet, now I need to do is convince you to let me ride it for a little while so I can see if I like it. Where do you ride? Wanna meet up on Canada or Foothill College parking lot some weekend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecarve Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Originally posted by lonerider Sweet, now I need to do is convince you to let me ride it for a little while so I can see if I like it. Where do you ride? Wanna meet up on Canada or Foothill College parking lot some weekend? Sure - unless there's decent wind on the bay, of course... :D It'll start dying off around the time I get the deck...few weeks. I'll send ya mail... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Originally posted by joecarve Sure - unless there's decent wind on the bay, of course... :D It'll start dying off around the time I get the deck...few weeks. I'll send ya mail... Sounds good. Just drop me an email or post on TC when you want to meet up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ghostrider Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Check out http://www.asphaltplayground.com/ They hooked me up with a Insect deck on Seismics and Abec 11 Flashbacks...me gusta. I ride it about every day whether I'm commuting to campus, bombing hills or carving up the sidewalks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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