Phil Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 I realize that this forum is more for longboarding, but I was hoping that you guys could help me anyway. I have been promising my daughter for over a year that I would get her first skateboard for her birthday this year. I have also told her that Daddy would get one too and we would ride together. I used to skate when I was younger and I would love to get back into park/pipe skating, so I want a regular freestyle shape, but I am a big guy and my inseam is 38". I feel awful when I get on regular sized boards, so I would like a longer wheelbase. I would like something wider for my size 15 feet as well. I have seen some Sector 9 boards that are for pools that have a longer wheelbase and look good. I see that Lib Tech and Alva also make similar boards. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 DeckCrafter skateboards any of the Pool Cue's or Nude Pool Cues set up with Indy 169's or maybe Ace 55's/66's and Shitfire Speedlab IPS wheels of course you could order it as a complete from Socal Skateshop Just an FYI I ride a Deckcrafter Blood Diamond with a similar setup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Great feedback Gecko. I really appreciate it. Now I have to find out if the shop I am working with carries these. What do you think of the Fire Stick and/or Fire Wood? It seems like they are a little more of a freestyle shape (twin). The wheelbase is a half inch shorter, though. Any thoughts? Yours looks huge! How does that thing come around for kickflips? What kind of riding do you do on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I am not a kickflipper...sigh....no seriously that was after my time, I can ollie though not well anymore, my airs were pretty good before I broke my ankle and I'm a pretty avid curb abuser. Mostly I work speedlines, carving, grinding, airs and try to get my inverts back. Yes the board is a pig a big wide directional pig and I love it. I don't like popsicle boards (twin tips) that much I prefer more directional boards with a bigger tail than nose, a medium concave and pockets for my feet to lock into Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Understood. Thanks again for the reply. I am a freestyle coach on the snowboard, so I would like to get some summer cross training on a skateboard. I have always liked kickflips, shove its, etc. That is why I was wondering about the Fire Stick/Wood. They seem like they are just oversized "popsicle boards" and that is really what I am looking for. Have you seen or ridden them? Anybody else have any thoughts on them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Understood. Thanks again for the reply.I am a freestyle coach on the snowboard, so I would like to get some summer cross training on a skateboard. I have always liked kickflips, shove its, etc. That is why I was wondering about the Fire Stick/Wood. They seem like they are just oversized "popsicle boards" and that is really what I am looking for. Have you seen or ridden them? Anybody else have any thoughts on them? nope never ridden one but I will say this, the Monococ boards are different than a traditional 7ply board; they are lighter and have more torsional stiffness than a 7ply board of the same dimensions. To me this allows for a less aggressive concave in such a wide board...btw I can popshuvit that board pretty easily.... just an FYI if you haven't done kickflips in a a while they are not an adult ankle friendly trick...even Jason Lee (my name is Earl) the inventor of the 360kickflip refuses to do any Kickflips now that he has reached adulthood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 O.K., now you are scaring me. I am not known for having good ankles in the first place. That being said, I hop on skateboards from time to time and still have no problems with kickflips. My ollies suck compared to when I was a teen, though. I used to be able to ollie up onto some pretty high stuff (2.5' walls was high IMO, maybe others don't consider that high). I probably won't get too crazy with the ankle breaking stuff - we'll see. So can you explain the benefit of torsional stiffness in a skateboard? If you tell me that Monococ is better, I will certainly go that route, it is only $10 more. Are there any drawbacks? I am 6'6" and almost 240 lbs., so extra stiffness always sounds good to me. Are they as strong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I'm about 225 in full gear and some skateboards (like my Gravity PoolSeries 35") I can twist the front and rear of the board in different directions, not that big deal on a mini ramp but not fun on round wall. this is more common on wider boards Some companies solve this problem by making a more extreme concave (like Coldwar) other companies add composites (lots of folk who get boards pressed by Watson laminates) The Monococ keeps the end to end stiffness pretty similar to a 7ply board but the fiber material prevents the board from twisting side t side as much. that added benefit of the Monococ is it's wear charateristics I have 30-40 days of riding on my board now and it doesn't look a whole lot different than it did in that picture with like 5 days. The Bottom sheet wears very well and it's pretty slick which I guess could also be a drawback though so far it hasn't gotten me in any trouble My ankles are a mess my left(front) I folded 22 years ago skating launch ramps and I have to wear a brace on transition but hot elsewhere, my right ankle I broke last year and it feels better if I wear a wrap so I do. I used to be able to ollie/nollie onto most benches but these days I don't attempt such things. I keep my tricks oldschool which keeps me safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted April 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Gecko - pm sent. Let me know if you did not get it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wavechaser Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 SMA is making some sweet "bigger" decks, and the polymer weave/wood combo is light, strong and abuse resistant. The Flying Chili, Team and Harada models in particular. http://www.smaskateboards.com/ http://www.tailtap.com/smadecks.html -RF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted April 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 That is great! My last boards were SMA Natas Kaupus (sp?) from aound 87? - I have both the street and the vert model. They are in my basement and that is what I play on with my girls! I did not know they were still around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted April 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 I finally got to step on some boards for reference, although they were longboards and not freestyle shapes. The important thing was that I got a feel for some different wheelbases. I found that I really liked, if not needed, a long wheelbase for my height/inseam. After talking to the guys at SoCalSkates I ended up getting a Gravity Pool 36. It has a 17.5" wheelbase which should be long enough. Nothing that I got on that was less than that felt right. I put on the Indy 169's and ****fire Speedlabs as well. Thanks Gecko and everyone else for your guidance. Maybe I'll report back on the results - I won't have the board for a couple of weeks yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted July 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 I'm finally getting back to the report. The Gravity Pool 36 was definitely the way to go. The longer wheelbase really feels like it is made for me. Gecko - good recommendations on the rest - it all feels great. I have a feeling that I would have liked one of those pool cues as well, but I really like being able to have a wide stance. Until yesterday, I have just been riding the board around - doing a few miles here and there and chasing my kids on their bikes as well. Yesterday my daughter and I went to a skatepark. I helped her descend the easy stuff and she had a blast. I was completely humbled b/c it has been so long (and I probably remembered myself as being better than I really was ;)). Never the less, I had an absolute blast. I just love riding this thing. I don't have any skate parks nearby or I would ride them all the time. I am still smiling about it today! I can't believe that how bad I sucked and how good of a time I had - it seemed to be inversely proportional. The best part was that we went really early and there was nobody there. We had the place to ourselves. Finally a kid came and I had him snap a pic. Elmira, NY: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 like the wheels..... I haven't had weather to skate park/pool in a couple of weeks. Not to say I haven't skated just that I've been doing DH and some freestyle instead....but skating should always just be about the fun........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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