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| Sidewalk Surfing (537 Posts)
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home-brewed noseriders, wedges, et. al.
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On 6/30/2003
brian
wrote in from
(67.250.nnn.nnn)
Kolu,
no pics yet, hopefully within the week or so. as far as putting it together, i took the lines off of a sixties' lookin' longboard in a longboard magazine and scaled them down to a half-breadth of 5 7/8" for a total width of 11 3/4" x a lenght of 57". i simply glued the four planks and three stringers to each other and clamped them good overnight. i don't have a biscuit joiner but that would have helped at least in aligning the pieces and mitigating or eliminating the need for sanding afterward.
i do wedge the trucks on my noserider. when riding from the middle somewhere, i don't like the feeling of the tail steering as much as the front, but i don't want the tail to feel much tighter. even with the rear wedged, when i step back to the tail, the rear truck does most of the turning. i just like to have more options as far as tuning the feeling of making turns from different places on the board. the more weight that has to be distributed rear truck to make it take over the steering action, the more "nose" you effectively put on your board.
Vaitus,
i haven't tried exkates. there aren't many other longboarders around here, virtually none who don't exclusively ride s9 set-ups, pivot trucks included. i didn't have the option to try different torsion style trucks when i decided that's what i wanted to build my noserider to use. bakus seemed to give me a bit more freedom to tinker with them (wedges) and that little bit of insurance made a big difference. i'm happy with my choice. i'd like to try exkates someday, but i'm not going to lose any sleep.
brian
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braddahs of da braddahs
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On 6/29/2003 vaitus
wrote in from
(216.166.nnn.nnn)
Kolu,
the fin episode sucks, should we have our braddahs of da braddahs talk to the suckah? maybe he needs to have a coupla things explained...;)))
I didn't have have any problems with those baseplates, even after redrilling the deck wrong...
Noskoolz are very nice but I'm going to keep them for park riding, for sliding I use 84a Flashbacks, and they rock at that. Aloha!
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10 toes over
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On 6/28/2003
Kolu
wrote in from
(67.192.nnn.nnn)
Brian - any pix of your new ride? As you said home-brewed, I'm gathering that you did the craftsmanship yourself. I'm interested in the process. How did you assemble it? Glue it together, or use a joiner or something of the like? On your comments on the truck wedging, you even wedge the trucks on your nose-rider? I think the guy from the surfacemotion.com site was saying that he actually runs his front truck tight and has the back one loose for more surfy like feel. I know that truck tightness and wedging aren't the same thing, but I was thinking more about the effect of how much 'turnier' from the nose it would be....
Vaitus - so the baseplates on the exkates are threaded? Interesting. I'm seeing a potential for binding if everything doesn't line up just so.... Doesn't mean you've lost the sale, no worries. ;) Sorry to hear about your surf episode. Had some lolo actually run me over as I was ducking a wave one time (yes, I can duckdive my longboards) and run his 10" fin across my back. Took me out of work for a week! No major damage, but there was a big red welt across my back and I had a hard time moving around. Big bummer. And no "sorry" or anything. He just got his board and paddled back out. I wasn't even in his path. He decided to do a cutback right above me and realized his mistake too late....
Thanks for the info on Daddies being the Pumpkin seller. That's who I got my board from, and it was the last one in the Cruisin' 98 size. I don't think I would go any shorter than that (38") unless I was going for slalom. Maybe worth a try though....
Your thought is Flashbacks for the nose rider I gather. I think I would agree, from the feel on my Pumpkin, even though I haven't tried the No Skoolz. I might try some for sliding though....
aloha
Kolu
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wedgies
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On 6/28/2003 vaitus
wrote in from
(216.166.nnn.nnn)
Brian,
I think wedging is a great and inexpensive way to play with different turning geometries, and I wish I had more time to experiment with that. I was just referring to my noserider setup, a 54' flat tanker, when I wrote that Exkates don't need to be wedged. I hear that many people seem to think like you about rear trucks, especially downhillers. I've actually tried dewedging the rear on a shorter board and found out that it works pretty well in increasing traction, even though it felt a bit strange. It's just that coming from longboard surfing, where classic single fin boards want to be pivot turned from the tail, I like my rear truck to be turny, and in general I like to ride from the tail. Have you tried Exkates by the way?
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wedgies
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On 6/28/2003
brian
wrote in from
(67.250.nnn.nnn)
Vaitus,
call me crazy but i wedge pretty much all my trucks, or generally at least one on each set-up. i don't like over-steering from the arse-end but i do like both trucks generally to feel loose. wedges alow me to put more steering in the front and or less in the rear, while keeping both trucks more or less equally balanced in terms of torque on the kingpin nut. lots of people aren't as uptight about such things as i am, but for me it's a big difference.
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viva Exkates
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On 6/28/2003 vaitus
wrote in from
(216.166.nnn.nnn)
Kolu,
my favorite board right now is a Cosmic1 by s9, somebody on this board called it a bargain basement pumpkin. I love it anyways, if my Soulcarver surfboard equivalent is a Takayama Model T, the Cosmic 1 would be a brewer minigun. The shop that was selling Pumpkins on Ebay is daddies board shop, and I bet they'll relist them, maybe if you call them they're open to negotiation. Just got back from my first skate session in 10 days, had to take a break due to a little surfing accident from last week. went over the falls on this nice shorebreak "tube", a closeout actually, and got hit pretty hard on the back by the board, which reminded me of the main difference between modern and heavy volan boards, the latter hurt more! ah, it's so nice to do stuff like walk and breath without feeling any pain...anyways had a nice sesh on the noseridah and took the time to make a noskoolz vs. flashback comparison. well, noskoolz are great wheels, much much better than kryptos, but there's no comparison with flashbacks, those pivot turns were not quite the same, and the merit goes to the exkates/flashbacks combo. which prompts me to reply to Brian:
1)"bakus are through-mounted like standard trucks (as opposed to threading machine screws into the baseplate on the exkates) which allows me to use wedges to affect the turning geometry;"
true, but bakus have their own hole pattern, which makes them very board specific. Also there is virtually no need to use wedges with Exkates.
2)"bakus are adjustable through the kingpin, similar to non-torsion style trucks." same for the exkates, they don't have a wide range but so do bakus, which need to be kept pretty tight or they'll feel sloppy. and bakus don't have the choice of bushings either.
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baku vs. exkate
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On 6/27/2003
brian
wrote in from
(67.250.nnn.nnn)
Kolu,
i thought i'd chime in for Bakus here. two reasons i chose baku over exkate: 1. bakus are through-mounted like standard trucks (as opposed to threading machine screws into the baseplate on the exkates) which allows me to use wedges to affect the turning geometry; 2. bakus are adjustable through the kingpin, similar to non-torsion style trucks. they're actually a really nice match for my new, home-brewed 4'9" tri-stringer: really surfy, much more lean than my randals, but somehow more stable for cross-stepping at cruising speeds.
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my cousin...Vitah?
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On 6/26/2003
Kolu
wrote in from
(67.192.nnn.nnn)
I remember a company named Vitus made some cool road bikes back in the day. I'd stick with just Vaitus though - Vitah in pidgin would sound like "Vita"... somebody might think you was one wahine. As for Kolu, it means 'three' (ekolu) or 'glue' - depends on how you pronounce it. I actually stole...er..borrowed it from my dog. I named him 3 because he's my third.
The Pumpkin.... RIPS! Just what I was looking for in a board. Fit the picture in my minds eye almost to a T. I'm stoked to ride it over in Santa Cruz, where that memory photograph was taken. Yes, the narrow thing was a bit of a concern to me as well, and almost caused me to order a custom from the factory. I was just scared at how much it would cost. Figured I would try out the production board first and see how I liked it before mucking around with it. And it's currently the first board I'll grab when I want to skate. The width thing - you get used to it. As one of the current owners said - he's got size 13 feet and isn't bothered. Heck, mine are only 9's. And I don't really notice it all that much. Not like I'm trying to do tricks on it or anything anyway. Just surf. What was the story on the ebay boards?? Who was selling them?? For $50 I most certainly would have bought another. I didn't even think to look for Pumkins on ebay. I was too busy looking for nose-riders. Let me know if you see them again, or if you remember who was selling them.
As soon as I get a noserider, I'll be picking up a pair of Exkates. If you drop me an email I'll send you some honeycomb (honey included of course) anyway, if you're interested...
shoots
Kolu
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Saintah Vitah deal
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On 6/26/2003 vaitus
wrote in from
(24.199.nnn.nnn)
Kolu,
you nailed it with the dance thing, my name is actually Vito, same as the dancer saint guy. Somebody started
calling me Vitus on and I tought it might be a cool email
name, but now I might switch to Vitah to make it more
Islands stylah..;)
howz da Pumpkin board? last week they were going for $50 on ebay and went unsold. I hear they're great decks, how's the flex on yours? only reserve I have on them is that they look pretty narrow.
deal on the bushings, let me know if you get those Exkates and I'll send them.
latah
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St. Vitus (vaitus) dance
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On 6/25/2003
Kolu
wrote in from
(67.192.nnn.nnn)
Mahalos for the measurements Vaitus, I'll be able to compare widths to the Randals that are coming with me to Santa Cruz. Both sizes actually - 180's on my Fluid Fuego that I'm hoping to get some sliding coaching on from the bay area gang, and 150's on my new pumpkin that I'm amped to be cruisin' the town on. Still need to work on that nose ridah.... Maybe one of the shops there will have something I can get my salty little fingers on....
Seen the Maui longboards and Mauiline pages. Might chat them up the next time I'm over there on the garden isle. Still want to skate that ditch outside Lahaina. Think the bamboo company disappeared. Would have liked to try a bamboo board. Renewable resources are killer. I guess Comet is using bamboo for the core of some of their boards....
On da surf, I'm a bit lacking in spots here on the East side - only 4 real spots (counting Shacks and the Bay at Pohoiki as one) and not really any sand at all. Even Honolii is pretty much cobblestone. Small kine sand, but not enough to call it a "beachbreak". Kona side has plenty sand though. The island's just too young to have a lot of sandy beaches, especially on the newest side here by the volcano. There are a couple black sand beaches here though, which are a neat side effect of sand created from volcanic material. And you don't even want to know how much warmer the water is here. ;)
Yeah, recognize the stinger that Aipa makes. Bertleman and Buttons both rip. The old footage of Buttons surfing (can be seen in one of the Gravity videos) shows how far ahead of his time he was. He was doing 360s on the waves WAY before the flippy trickster kids thought it was cool. Before they were even born for that matter.... I do like the look of the Hobie Retro Egg (think we had this conversation before) because I can picture doing those Bertleman turns on it.
Beez buzz - I'm just a hobby beekeeper, but between my bee partner and I we have 5 hives with the goal to have many more. If I get those Exkates, you have a deal with the honey/bushing trade. I could send you some honey that would knock your socks off. Just drop me an email.
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da beez biz
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On 6/25/2003 vaitus
wrote in from
(216.166.nnn.nnn)
Mistah Kolu
201s are 250mm axle to axle and 180mm hanger to hanger, like randals. You're right, plenty of options out there in the flat plywood boards compartment, main differences are the graphics and number of plys, 13 for most of them but 15 or 17 for some, like the Ed Economy models (sold by Gravity). I don't know any Hawaiian board makers directly but a couple of names that come to mind are Maui longboards and Mauiline (look on silverfish.cc), also a while back some hawaiian company was selling bamboo boards on ebay, forgot the name.
Switching back to surfing I happen to be in North Carolina,
really purdy and clean beaches and rideable waves. No comparisons with the West Coast or the Islands, all we have here are beachbrakes and the waves are only clean early in the morning or before dark, messy for the rest of the day and closing out when it gets bigger. Oh and the water gets to 45 degrees in the winter. Can't complain too much though, once a month I get the occasional super fun session and there are worse places surf wise.
Are in you da beez biz anyways? I love honey, eat me a honey sandwich for breakfast every morning. Maybe you can send me a sample of Hawaiian Honey in exchange for some exkate bushings. Deal? ah ah
Ps Ben Aipa was Larry Bert's shaper back in the day. the stinger was a board he developed just so he could replicate his skate moves on the waves. he still makes them, basically they're fast down the line shortboards that can be turned from the mid section or the nose.
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all da cruzahs
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On 6/25/2003
Kolu
wrote in from
(67.192.nnn.nnn)
Really stoked that this forum has livened up lately! Gonna start w/ Mr. Speedy, as he's top of the page...
Speedy - those Flexdex are actually made of wood instead of their usual material. The downhill 60 is just regular ply, and the Slater K60 is... well, v-lam isn't the best word, but it's got a stringer just like a surfboard, & a couple of slabs of mahogany on either side of the stringer. You're right though, I bet a 60" board made of their composite matl. would be super heavy. Don't think I would buy one of their regular boards either.
Scott - what size Indies? Guessing 215....? Have you tried other trucks on it? I bet the Randals would work good too. I'm interested in vaitus' Exkate theory too.... Know what you're saying about the $ though.
Mr. Vaitus... Gotcha on the 201's. Makes sense. How are those measured by the way - just in case I end up scoring a pair from my friend, I want to make sure I get the right size.... Not quite sold on the SoulCarver. For $65 I can get a Landyachtz B-ride that's 58" and has a 41" w.b.. Closer to the 60" that is my goal, and the same wheelbase as your S.C.. Scott's Nosewalker is 57" for $69, also a 41" w.b.. I'm sure the SoulCarver is a nice board, but the LY and S9 boards are just more aesthetically pleasing to me, even though they are different shapes from each other. And still closer to that elusive 60". I like both of the Gravity boards too (hardwood classic and classic cruiser) but they're 50" and 52" respectively. Doh. Wish I knew the w.b. on those Flexdex boards just out of curiosity. The biggest thing you hit right on the head - they're all just plywood!! Sigh. You do have a good idea about trying to contact a local longboard company (Veteran, who made HughR's 8 wheeler replica is here on the big island) but if I'm going to do that I should just make the thing myself. The biggest problem is cost of materials. My bee partner and I were wanting to make our own hives and found it was the same price to order something that was pre-made from the mainland. Other than shipping of course, but my time is worth more than the hassle of cutting dovetails by hand. Anyway, I guess I'm just going to have to continue the quest for the right board. Wish I could just test ride them all. To the surf! I'm afraid I'm lacking in good answers for you on the Aipa boards. Never came into contact with him myself, but his son Akila rips. If I recall correctly there was a writeup on him fairly recently in Longboard magazine. I'm afraid I haen't tried any of his boards. I was getting good deals on T&C boards through a friend of mine. With all the suggestions that you've given me on skateboards, I'm a bit lacking in the surf knowledge that you're looking for, sorry. I used to shape my own boards, due to the cost factor like everything else, but haven't done that in a while either due to lack of proper workspace. I'm a firm believer and supporter of the local shaper either way. You get a board that is well suited to local conditions and hopefully a shaper who knows what he's talking about and surfs the same breaks that you do. The best shaper deal that I came across was this guy that I knew that, as long as your board was in decent condtion, would shape you a new one for just the price of the blank if you gave him your old one. He'd clean up your old one and sell it and wouldn't lose any money. Whereabouts are you located again?
aloha ka kaua
Kolu
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FlexDex
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On 6/24/2003
Speedy
wrote in from
(67.121.nnn.nnn)
Kolu,
Here's why *I* don't like flexdex: They're heavy. Most boards are made of wood, which is essentially a stiff latticework of carbon and air. Flexdex are made of sollid fiberglass. On the shorter boards it can be nice, because they feel very sollid, and even though they're short and narrow you don't get that flimsy, wobbly, popsicle-stick feeling. On a 60" board however, that would quickly become dead weight. Since you're probably looking at fairly low speeds, I imagine you do at least some pumping, and here weight will really be a bad thing. My opinion, which is not worth any more than anyone elses, and probably a good deal less than others on this page. But I've been a flatlander all my life, and know weight.
-Speedy
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longbordahs
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On 6/24/2003 vaitus
wrote in from
(216.166.nnn.nnn)
Kolu, I chose 201s cause I had the bakus already, which are the same size as the 101s. Also longer wider boards seem to be working better with wider trucks, especially by keeping all four wheels down on hard carves.
Getting back to the big boards subject I really love my Soulcarver 54", it has a 40.5" wheelbase, whereas most 60" boards are 39", which gives you that longboard surfboard feeling without the unnecessary long nose and tail. Plus it's cheap, $40 for the board only, and well made. If you want to go longer you could have a custom one made and still spend less than the price of those flexdex you mentioned, (thay come with kryptos, yuk!). Have I made another sale? :)
Most of those boards are made of flat baltic Birch plywood anyways, really easy stuff, maybe you could have some Hawaiian skate company make one one for you and save even more money. Just my $0.02.
Aight now I have a question for you, what can you tell me about Ben Aipa longboards and longboard stingers?
Soon I'll be in the market for a new surfboard and I've heard really good things about the guy. Thanks and Aloha.
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Trucks on LN
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On 6/24/2003 Scott
wrote in from
(142.177.nnn.nnn)
Kolu - I just use indies on my LN there fun and the board rides well.... but im sure if I could afford more I would go with the randals on my board.
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surfah
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On 6/23/2003
Kolu
wrote in from
(67.192.nnn.nnn)
Allright Vaitus, you're selling me more and more on the Exkates. If I remember correctly I have a friend in SF who has a pair or 2, maybe I can score a set when I'm there. Bro deal? If nothing else at least I'll get to try riding them. If you don't mind the continued line of questioning, what were your reasons for choosing the 201's over the 101's?
Thanks for the input on the Exkates being a better choice than the Baku's though. If I only had the $ to try them all.... No lottery to play in HI unfortunately. Or fortunately as the case may be. I did just come across something very interesting in the *long* board department. (Still talking 60" rather than the Jam monstas) I was looking in the wheel forum and somebody mentioned an online retailer . I like to check out the sites that people post up in NCDSA to see what they have to offer. This time I was surprised to see that they had quite a selection of Flexdex boards. Now this isn't a big deal to some - most of the posters here aren't big fans of Flexdex, but there happened to be 2 boards of interest to me. There is a "Pro 60 downhill" model, and a "Kelly Slater K60" model. Both, yes, 60" and surfboard shaped. Aha! Uncertain as to why I have this obsession with 60" as opposed to vastly more common 54s and 57s I have now found two more options to choose from. (!) With free shipping.... to the mainland of course. No big surprise there. Unfortunately they don't come as just the deck - you must buy the whole complete. They did choose to use Randal 2's though, so at least a decent truck. That I could use for other boards after switching to a set of Exkates, right? ;) Again, if I only had the $, I would try them all. My skateboard quiver seems to be rapidly approaching the same size as my surfboard quiver. Hmmm....
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surf trukkas
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On 6/23/2003 vaitus
wrote in from
(216.166.nnn.nnn)
Kolu, how's my haole/hawaiian? :)
You're absolutely right about Exkates and Bakus not being good downhill trucks and softer bushings will make it even worse, that's where you want to keep riding on Randals. If you haven't already, switch to stimulator bushings, they'll only make things better. I was actually talking flatland cruising, that's where Exkates shine. I ride Bakus too, on a board similar to a Barfoot. The 2 trucks are very much alike, bakus turn tighter beacause they're narrower than the wider exkates I ride, but exkates have higher rebound because of the bigger bushings, if I had to go with one I would choose Exkates. I ended up with both just because I bought Bakus first. If you're used to Randals you should be fine with the soft exkate bushings, they have more return to center, which is not a problem at low speeds, it actually makes it possible to lean deeper when turning. If you really want to make thinghs hard, ride loose randals on a long wheel base with the stock yellow bushings, yikes! What I actually found most effective to improve my cross stepping and nose riding skill though, is riding a long flat board on a bank mellow enough to allow me to walk back and forth, that's the closest I've come to replicate the side slipping action of a longboard on a wave. Similar but more difficult thing would be to ride an indo board put sideways on the roller.
Also some people like to ride the front truck tighter to replicate the feeling you get when noseriding a longboard surfboard, I've tried that but didn't like it too much because the outside front wheel tend to come off the ground on hard carves making the whole thing less fun.
Last thinga: I'm no big downhiller but 2 possible reasons other the ones you correctly mentioned for getting those wobbles on your 60": Indies are very bad downhill/speed trucks because of their geometry and sloppy construction, you might have drilled your board out of alignement.
On a different note, just found a web page from an old Malibu surfer where they mention Mikey Dora was a local at POP in 1974, that's the same spot sohwn on Z-boys. I'm going to post this on the bulletin board to see if anyone knew about it.
Aloha!
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surf trux
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On 6/23/2003
Kolu
wrote in from
(67.192.nnn.nnn)
Vaitus - I think I see your point on the difference between Exkates and Randals for the surf-skate, though I should probably get myself a pair to get the real-feel-deal. I have Randals on my 46" board which I like a lot for "surfing" but it's also my downhill board. I've seen/heard comments about that "rebound" / return-to-center effect that Exkates have that some consider a problem.... Does your choice of "the softest" bushings negate this? As I'm a good 30 lbs. heavier than you, I wonder if the next up from softest bushings would be better for me.... I could see the forced "return to center" being a potential problem that could throw you from the board though. Or maybe a good thing that would make a nose ride easy, though if you're trying to train for surfing, you wouldn't want it easy - you'd want to train your ankles for the feel.... Hmmm.... gears in brain grinding away.... Have you ever tried the Baku trucks that Chuck Barfoot puts on his boards? Here's something else on a similar but slightly different vein. On my 60" plywood plank I put my old Independent trucks from my 80's Santa Cruz R/S 10 board. As I don't know the official size #, I just measured them (hangar) at 5", where my Randal 150's are 5 3/4. Anyway, point of my story being that I occasionally had some tracking problems, mostly when going downhill. Ever see a plane land with a cross-wind? Coming down over the runway at an angle? That's sort of what the board was doing. And when I would go to turn, there would be this funny change of direction wobble that I would have to overcome, where the board would go from tracking at an angle to straightening out when the wheels came parallel to the board again, to turn initiation, to tracking again. Just had to go stand on one of my boards to see if I was crazy. I wonder if it was due to the super long wheelbase, and the back truck turning more than the front... Hmmm.... any ideas? No idea what the wheelbase was in actuality. I made that board way before I knew it made a difference....
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Kolu
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On 6/23/2003
Vaitus
wrote in from
(216.166.nnn.nnn)
Kolu, there must be something magic about that DT guy, oh and remember it's all realtive, some people here on the East Coast (me first!) would give anything to have that small stuff you have to put up with on the Big Island...;-)
Ok back to sk8ing, yes I do believe Exkates have a surfier feel to them than Randals. I have ridden Randals exclusively for 2 years and I used to think they were the closest thing to surfing, but I guess that's because I hadn't been on anything else....I still like them but as pointed out by others on this board, compared to other trucks you may find them tippy at lower speeds (they turn a lot and right away), in that regard they benefit a lot from using stimulator bushings but for low speed cruising other trucks can be more fun.
To me Exkates feel more stable when cruising, the big bushings provide killer rebound and you can lean a lot on them, which gives you that magic surfy sensations. The soulcarver felt good with randals but feels a whole lot better with exkates. Now I can crank turns in a way I couldn't do on randals. Definetly woth a try. For the bushings the choice would be easy, go as soft as you can! I'm 145lbs and use the softest (black) bushings, I've tried the blue ones, next in hardness, and went back right away.
If you have a board with big wheel clearance you could also try Webb Shogos, they're 7mm wider than Randals Or Exkates and super low, but I hear the business that made them went sour.
Don't know much about Seismics, I've ridden the 157mm (red sparings) briefly and didn't like the lack of shock absorbtion and the rattyness given by the plastic construction. I hear softer springs are better. Many swear by them though they don't seem to be the first choice for bigger boards. aloha and good luck!
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nose-ridah
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On 6/22/2003
Kolu
wrote in from
(67.192.nnn.nnn)
Vaitus - yup, big surf shapes. Proof of that pudding came when I took one to Santa Cruz one year and my then favorite board became a DOG! Woof. Not quite as much wave availability here on the big i. as opposed to surfing every day on Oahu, but I live with it. The boards I ride are about the 17th generation of an old Takayama board that still lives under my friend's house back on Oahu. Back to skateboards though - I'm interested in your choice of exkates for your longer board. Do you think it gives your board a "surfier" feel than, say, Randals? The expensive bushings for the exkates tend to put me off a bit. And I do like my Randals.... I wonder how Seismics would go....
Scott - what trucks do you use on your Nosewalker?
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exkates/ board for K
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On 6/22/2003 vaitus
wrote in from
(216.166.nnn.nnn)
Kolu, rounded pin longboards sound a lot like Hawaii and big surf, as a matter of fact I might get one pretty soon since I'll have to get rid of my McTavish (delam), maybe a Takayama. You can get Exkates from skatetrunk.com, that's where I got mine, there are also other places who sell them and there's always ebay too. Aloha!
K, if you decide to buy from the internet, sk8shop.ch has an extensive selection. You could search the archives here (or just google) for Euro skate dealers. Also some of the regulars on the website silverfish.cc forum are from northern Europe. Euro prices are not exactly cheap compared to here, and you still have to pay for the shipping, so you might end up getting a better deal if you buy direct from one of the US internet dealers. The major drawback would be the wait I guess. Anyways good luck and let us know what you end up with. Aloha! how do you say Aloha in Dutch? ;-)
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longo bongo
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On 6/18/2003
Kolu
wrote in from
(67.192.nnn.nnn)
Scott, thanks for the input for the Nosewalker. Will have to check to see if any shops have it in/around Santa Cruz when I'm there. I'm all about the surf shapes for surf practice. Shipping to Hawaii is a killer. Big thanks to Daddies, Solidskate & Longskate for being so accommodating and shipping USPS.
Vaitus - that should answer your question about me living in Hawaii. Avid longboarder myself. Nothing under 9', though I have been thinking about getting something along the lines of the Hobie Retro Egg. I can just envision Bertleman/Buttons K. kine turns on that buggah. Other than that, 2 T&C Ned McMahon 9' rounded pin shapes (darn him for moving back to the mainland), local guy Slick 9' rounded pin (brought him the T&C's to copy) and a Pierson Arrow 10' that I brought from Santa Cruz. Now if only we could get a swell.... I didn't even know Exkate even make trucks anymore. Just found their website tho, and it's dated 2003. It's even getting rare to see their wheels. I noticed Long and Solid skates don't carry them anymore.
K- might I suggest the Pumpkin Cruisin '98? They're a Swiss company, so maybe easier to come by in Europe (rollbretter.com). I just got one from Daddies Board Shop, and love it to bits. Admittedly no kicktail, but it makes a killer cruiser and pumper. Just about perfect for Holland I would think.... Also, you might check out Surrey skateboards (surreyskateboards.com). They're in the UK, so shipping might be easier on your budget. No Sector 9, but plenty of other brands to choose from.
aloha ka kou
Kolu
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Luke Nosewalker for Kolu
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On 6/17/2003 Scott
wrote in from
(142.177.nnn.nnn)
This board is amazing
I own it and it is so much to walk on and sidewalk surf on. I reallyenjoy this board and definatly think it should be in your hands for a surfboard shape... its sweet
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thanks
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On 6/17/2003 K
wrote in from
(213.10.nnn.nnn)
Thanks Vaitus, appreciate it :)
now if i can just find a shop which sells sector nines....
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long + K answers
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On 6/17/2003 vaitus
wrote in from
(216.166.nnn.nnn)
Mahalos to you Kolu! do you live in Hawaii? what surfboards do you ride? me, guess what, I'm a longboarder! I ride a Takayama DT3 9'0 and McTavish Noosa 66 10', don't see the need for anything else, maybe a pintail someday.
yes I'm not crazy about pointy boards either, but they'll give you a little more wheel clearance.
My looong board is a soulcarver, 'only' 54" long but with a 40.5" wheelbase. After a lot of trial and error I found it to be an outstanding match for Exkates 201, completely out of fashion trucks but great for what this board is for, 'surf skating', which I see as low speed carving and boardwalking.
K, I don't know what else is available in Holland, so I'm going to suggest a Sector9 Cosmic1, yeah I know I'll suggest this board for anything but I love it, I just can't help it! it's compact and easy to carry around but long enough to be a longboard, the flex will absorb road bumps, it carves great and being light and low it's easy to push. The Cosmic 2 is longer and more squishy, especially if you're over 150lbs. If you can don't get the complete, get just the board instead and set it up with Tracker trucks, either darts 149mm or sixtracks and abec11 flashbacks wheels in the 78a durometer, it''l be cheaper and far better. These are flexy boards so if you want to ollie over curbs you should consider something stiffer. Hope that helped.
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