Why did wide decks become so popular?

[Durndle]

personally I ride a 9.5 inch Anti Hero to compensate for my tiny penis

[fang]

7.63 forever for me. Sucks that a lot of the brands I like don't even do that anymore, which I get it, this is the times and they have to make what sells. But still sucks.

[Chavo]

If you look hard enough, you can find just about any size skateboard. This has not been the case for much of skateboarding's history.

During the late '80s, when trick evolution outpaced deck changes, I used to cut new boards with a bandsaw to the shape I wanted. There's always that option.

[danjtony]

I grew up in the 2000's and always skated 7.5-8. I remember I bought an 8" deck like in 2008 and I thought it was a boat. I always sucked. Like I only do a few tricks on flat and ollie over stuff. On tranny I could only rock to fakie. Stopped skating for a long time (maybe 6 years or so) and just got back into it last year.

Started out on an 8.6 Zig Zagger. In one month I learned more tricks than I did in when I was a teenager. Partly cause I put more time/effort into it now, but also cause I got big ass feet (size 12, despite being an otherwise average sized man). Now I been riding 8.75-9 decks for the last year and I've progressed way more than I ever thought I would. I can do ledge tricks, a shit load of tranny tricks, my flip tricks are cleaner and more consistent.

I like big boards because they just feel more natural to me. I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way. Sure, plenty of kids are just hopping on the bandwagon, but I'm glad that there's a decent selection of big decks for now.

[Glue Reed]

It happened with the pussification of skateboarding (stay tuned, I plan to make a topic about it). It happened with the new less effort and commitment generation that we nowadays see - skateparks full of scooter kids is the finest example. Kids became uncoordinated, "skinnier" boards became "too hard, too small". Everyone wants everything "the easiest way". Shoe industry sold "board feel" as a marketing trick to sell less expense, cheaper materials and easier/faster to produce plain shoes for the same price and fucking trends made the legitimacy to all of this without questioning it.

I could care less about wide boards if market offered me selection of the shapes and sizes from most of the companies I've been riding for years, but fuck no. I'm not gonna switch my board size because everyone's nowadays riding a griddle or someone said so. Why should I? I've been riding them for years, I know better what I like and prefer. I've stayed true all these years and I will stay strong. I freaking hate when someone says that "skinnier" boards are for small feet. 7.6 was my favorite size which has become almost extinct nowadays. But because of this I've also become not picky about my setup anymore, I skate whatever "narrow" size I can get. Downside is that I can forget about supporting or buying a brand I like or want because most of them don't produce anything below 8. I switched to 7.5's because I was able to get them and been riding them for past years, I really like the feeling. Last board I got was 7.75. Not as fulfilling, but I guess I will get use to it. I've even got 7.8 at one point, but you need wider trucks for that size. Basically I'm fine with anything from 7.5 to 7.75. It sucks that some shops don't carry anything below 7.75 and even for this size they have a deck or two. Though sometimes you can get a good deal because most of the people don't skate those sizes.

I have a normal size foot, I still ride small wheels and I love to skate fast. Foremost, "skinny" boards are aesthetics and look the best.

Eaaasssy there jock boy... You sound like the skateboarding equivalent of an over-aggressive little league coach.

my two cents:
more stability, more control, more comfort, more precise flip, easier to catch, better/easier to land clean

That's pretty much it for me, too. 

[j....soy.....]

Chicos riding some 9" Welcome looking board....if he's doing it.....

Boards are nudging back....last year 8.5's were super common...now....less.....8.25 is the staple board....

I remember seeing boards get wider due to handrails....lately it's been skating is more well rounded which is more consistent to a wider board aka dummied down......

Just sucks getting new trucks....I held onto the over 40 under 8" status but finally have succumbed to the 8"....

[swag nollies]

shit actually size doesnt matter. I use to think that when I was a kid. But then I found out just to eyeball it and stand on that shit in the shop to feel it out.

Its all about the shape, and I love all these funky shapes that are available now

[Esquivel]

when i started skating the norm used to be wide, shaped decks without any nose. then popsickles made their appearance (when i was around 12-13 and the first time i saw one i was amazed at the small size and the only thing that would convince me that the board was skateable was the fact that my mate who owned the board insisted that it was a "professional model" that he had bought from a real skateshop. skinny board, tiny wheels. a year after this i was so into those skinny boards that i took my old Tom Groholski board to a carpenter and cut a popsickle out of it!!
i stuck to that size for around 20 years. 7.4-7.5 tops.
when i got into my mid 20's i think it coincided with the industry's major turn to manufacture pretty much everything in china. there were some horrible brands like dwindle, who jumped in the china game first but soon after most companies followed. As I grew up i started getting slightly heavier and noticed that i would get pressure cracks on my board, even 3 tricks into a new deck. by that time almost everybody else was skating bigger boards already but i was insisting in skating the smaller sizes. it got to the point where i would skate a board 5 times and then i had to get a new one because my boards would go soft extremely quick. this made me slowly increase my board size. In 5 years i went from 7.5 to 8.25 with 149 trucks and all. now skating this size feels natural but i still believe that it was mainly the reduced quality in wood (maybe it was only for a little while, until companies got their factories in china producing correctly) that made me transition to a bigger board. i had no issues whatsoever with my skating so i surely did not start skating a big deck in order to skate better. maybe its just me, maybe i got it all wrong and wood quality has been consistent and it was just my dodgy landings that wore the skinnier boards

[violentpizza]

Holy Crap. You people are fucking idiots.

Did you ever see Video Days? Almost all of those decks were 8.5 and Above. The Jason Lee pro model was like 9 and 1/4 most of the early Gonz models were 10 for a long while. Wide boards aren't really a new thing. Chris Sent rode wide boards. Cardiel boards were always wide. Chico Brenes has a shape on girl now called the 'big boy' that's a rip of his favorite 90's shape and it's like 9&1/4. This isn't new or a fad. It's just people who like to have room to land tricks

[The Lap Dancer]

Eaaasssy there jock boy... You sound like the skateboarding equivalent of an over-aggressive little league coach.

I'm the last person to be considered nor called jock boy. I'm just an advocate for smaller board sizes mainly because of the bullshit I have to read nowadays that skinnier boards suddenly after all those years are for children or small feet or listen that "you should be riding/switch to 8.xx' size" and see all the suggestions that kids with size 7 feet should be riding 8.5's. Also because there is a lack of those sizes in the market, I feel like I already forced cupsole movement back in the skate shoe market around 2010, with the help of my rant I might force more selection of skinnier boards in the market as well.

Your avatar is fitting, because your intelligence is that of a baboon's ass callus. 8.25"-8.5" too wide? Where are your fucking balls? Name any vert 'n tranny veteran still skating and most of them skate big boards just like the old days...and they sure as fuck aren't longboards.

I'm talking about street skateboarding. Vert and heavy tranny dudes are the only ones that can get away with wide boards. Neither I forwarded that to the veterans that were skating oldschool shapes in the 80's.

[tangar]

I wish I could kook more than once a day for this piece of shit ^

Anyway matrix, I would recommend sizing up little by little and you'll find what you like. When I tried to go back to a 7.5 after a significant amount of time off the board it felt way too small. Fast forward a couple years and now I feel like 8.3 with 149 (8.5) trucks is my sweet spot. I am gonna try an 8.5 next to see if it works for me. I wear size 10.5 in shoes if that matters. Good luck and welcome to the boards, bring your thick skin and sense of humor.

[Glue Reed]

Expand Quote

Eaaasssy there jock boy... You sound like the skateboarding equivalent of an over-aggressive little league coach.

[close]

I'm the last person to be considered nor called jock boy. I'm just an advocate for smaller board sizes mainly because of the bullshit I have to read nowadays that skinnier boards suddenly after all those years are for children or small feet or listen that "you should be riding/switch to 8.xx' size" and see all the suggestions that kids with size 7 feet should be riding 8.5's. Also because there is a lack of those sizes in the market, I feel like I already forced cupsole movement back in the skate shoe market around 2010, with the help of my rant I might force more selection of skinnier boards in the market as well.

Expand Quote

Your avatar is fitting, because your intelligence is that of a baboon's ass callus. 8.25"-8.5" too wide? Where are your fucking balls? Name any vert 'n tranny veteran still skating and most of them skate big boards just like the old days...and they sure as fuck aren't longboards.

[close]

I'm talking about street skateboarding. Vert and heavy tranny dudes are the only ones that can get away with wide boards. Neither I forwarded that to the veterans that were skating oldschool shapes in the 80's.

Well I agree with you on that point... You should be skating whatever you feel comfortable with whether it's 7.5 or 9.5.  It was you who claimed it had to do with the "pussificafion of skateboarding", which is limiting and close minded (and jockish).  Didn't mean to be insulting but it struck a nerve.

Ironically, back in the 'skinny board small wheels' days everybody seems to think were so awesome, all the old schoolers called us pussy's who were afraid to go fast.  Cyclical, this skateboarding thing.

[Main]

I'm talking about street skateboarding. Vert and heavy tranny dudes are the only ones that can get away with wide boards. Neither I forwarded that to the veterans that were skating oldschool shapes in the 80's.

There's a ton of street skaters that skate 8.25"-8.5".

[dirtywork81]

A little off topic but has anyone ever thought about how the skateboard industry differs when it comes to pricing? In most any other line of retail sales follows the principal "the bigger the product, the higher the price" and that makes sense. When you buy tires for your car if you buy an 18" tire or a 19" tire you will most likely be paying more for the 19" tire, in skateboarding (excluding long boards cause they dont count as skateboards) you pay the same price for an 8.5 inch deck as you do for 7.5" deck.

I wonder if when crailtap was one of the last board companies to make wider boards i wonder if this was strategy. The customer pays the same but we get better yields and using less building materials. Just a random thought.

also the price of lumber isnt the same as it was ten years ago but deck prices, for the most part, have remained the same.

[N.L.]

In the grand scheme of things, boards under 8" were a passing fad. Most standard street moves were pioneered on 10" boards.
Who cares, anyway. Ride what works. My skateboarding improved when I started riding loose, low and wide boards 8.5" to 8.75"
Wheelbase seems to have more influence on flip tricks for me... Riding 7.5" boards with size 12 feet back in the early 90s wasn't much fun.

[fang]

Holy Crap. You people are fucking idiots.

Did you ever see Video Days? Almost all of those decks were 8.5 and Above. The Jason Lee pro model was like 9 and 1/4 most of the early Gonz models were 10 for a long while. Wide boards aren't really a new thing. Chris Sent rode wide boards. Cardiel boards were always wide. Chico Brenes has a shape on girl now called the 'big boy' that's a rip of his favorite 90's shape and it's like 9&1/4. This isn't new or a fad. It's just people who like to have room to land tricks

I will now call him this forever

[Tracer]

This all has to do with street skaters branching out and skating everything. The term "street skater" is all but dead, thank god. You're just a skater now with a more versatile board.

Manuals and tech definitely easier on 7.6, Wade Desarmo went pro skating a damn 7.4!

[matix218]

A little off topic but has anyone ever thought about how the skateboard industry differs when it comes to pricing? In most any other line of retail sales follows the principal "the bigger the product, the higher the price" and that makes sense. When you buy tires for your car if you buy an 18" tire or a 19" tire you will most likely be paying more for the 19" tire, in skateboarding (excluding long boards cause they dont count as skateboards) you pay the same price for an 8.5 inch deck as you do for 7.5" deck.

I wonder if when crailtap was one of the last board companies to make wider boards i wonder if this was strategy. The customer pays the same but we get better yields and using less building materials. Just a random thought.

also the price of lumber isnt the same as it was ten years ago but deck prices, for the most part, have remained the same.

That's a good point about how a smaller deck with less wood costs the same as a larger deck with more wood.  Skateboarding is definitely not the only industry that is like that though.  In the clothing industry a small t shirt or a size 29 pair of jeans costs the same as an extra large t shirt or a size 36 pair of jeans.  Also the shoe industry, all adult sizes are the same price generally but there is a TON more material in a size 13 than a size 7.

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

ALWAYS (I might want to put a disclaimer in and say always post 93-ish?) ridden a 7.75 but am thinking of sizing up due to slap peer pressure/ the hype of wider boards
Even an 8.0 is gunna feel like a tank for me I reckon...
My theory on it is that early-naughts baker/ zero skating was easier to do a bigger board (not that that type of skating is necessarily easy) and it escalated from there?

[j....soy.....]

Sounds to me there's still some regional differences ie barca and Brazil....still skate 7.5's....

I think wheel base makes a difference too....on a big board yeah the width makes some difference but skating a board way longer than you're used to can suck for flipping your board...

[StupidlyOriginal_SB]

I think Chris Cole started it after 360 flipping Wallenberg, I remember reading something about his board being extra wide. I cant remember the size and im not as good of an expert googler as I thought, but I know it was bigger than 8.5, which I think is what he rides now.

[AsianVegan]

I switch to an 8" in about 2010. I felt like I lost all my flip tricks, but thinking back it was mostly just a mental barrier. The stability is really nice, and the concave on a wider board feels less pronounced than when I was riding a 7.5". Anyway, welcome back mate!

[heritage]

When I started skating 10x30 was the norm. 'Mini' was considered 9.25. Back in the day Schmitt Stix had a Hans Lindgren freestyle board and I tried skating it like a regular board for shits and giggle and thought it felt like a toothpick. Anyway, nowadays anything 8.3 and up feels big to me. When it comes to boards the only real deal breaker for me is the tail length. If it's anything under 6.5 - forget it. That Crail GO27 shape has a whopping 6.75 tail with 14'WB.

Regarding WB - Habitat has 2 different 8.25 shapes - differentiated by length: 32.38 and 31.125. The 31.125 is the shape with the really wide nose, the 32.38 has more of a pointed nose. Anyway, the 32.38 has a 14.5 WB where the 31.125 has a standard 14.25. I felt like flip tricks felt easier to me with the 14.5 than the 14.25 which sort of defies convention. All personal preference.

[Xen]

I started in the 10x30 era of shitty shaped boards - Gonz' board on Vision was the go to. I don't care how good Natas was, his shaped sucked balls. Gonz 3 and the Black Label Manny, Moe, Max shape were staples.

It wasn't until the New Deal/H-Street that shit started getting together.

Rode 6 of these in a row, more than any other stretch to date and even transitioned from football ever slick to almost Popsicle. Best deck  shapes ever; I'm STILL trying to find one that matches:




Skinny boards were the logical step due to the merging of freestyle and street (and possibly the death of the mini segment and the rise of skating's popularity with kids) as kids got older and better, they stayed with skinny boards. It was a trend, just like fat pants and small wheels and big boards.

Now we're slowly going back to small wheels, and wide decks.

Also, I agree with the no-comply non-ledge dancer welcome-hipster crowd making shaped/wide boards more common. That said, Black Label hasn't made anything below an 8" in forever.

Contrary to the skating the I CAN do, I always want to go skinnier but it never works out. Wide and low always works for me.

[Xen]

8.5 is a great size and I have size 8-8.5 feet and mostly skate street. 8.25 is also acceptable but there's something about 8.38s that I can't get down with... not really sure what it is about them. Skinniest board I've ever ridden I think was 8.06.

8.3ish are soooo good - Honestly I don't know why I bother with anything else as I usually go right back to them...think I will today actually...

[shit_for_brains]

I started in the 10x30 era of shitty shaped boards - Gonz' board on Vision was the go to. I don't care how good Natas was, his shaped sucked balls. Gonz 3 and the Black Label Manny, Moe, Max shape were staples.

It wasn't until the New Deal/H-Street that shit started getting together.

Rode 6 of these in a row, more than any other stretch to date and even transitioned from football ever slick to almost Popsicle. Best deck  shapes ever; I'm STILL trying to find one that matches:




Skinny boards were the logical step due to the merging of freestyle and street (and possibly the death of the mini segment and the rise of skating's popularity with kids) as kids got older and better, they stayed with skinny boards. It was a trend, just like fat pants and small wheels and big boards.

Now we're slowly going back to small wheels, and wide decks.

Also, I agree with the no-comply non-ledge dancer welcome-hipster crowd making shaped/wide boards more common. That said, Black Label hasn't made anything below an 8" in forever.

Contrary to the skating the I CAN do, I always want to go skinnier but it never works out. Wide and low always works for me.

Holy shit I don't even remember what my dad looks like.

[rob]

I started skating in the mid 2000's around '06 and it was the 7.5-7.8 era and it was just so much easier learning tricks and such on a 7.5 and I rode that size learning kick flips then I got a 7.75 and learned everything I did on street from it, stuck with it for a while til 2010 where I decided to go with the fad and size up to an 8" and it was alright/decently good sized cause I'm a size 10 feet and as time progressed I tried 8.25 for some time and loved it but I didn't stop and a year ago I was doing 8.5 and it was not working out, stepped back to 8.25 and it was good because it's a nice middle ground of safe but easy to do tricks then I stepped back down to an 8 just to try and damn. Felt so good. Everything felt so easy to do and I got used to it in no time. Sticking to 8's from now to forever. I can still Ollie stairs and gaps with an 8 and it's perfect for ledges and flat ground. Dave Bachinski kick flipped el toro with a 7.5, damn

[UserFame]

Expand Quote

I call BS that you only took a 3 year hiatus and didn't notice that board sizes were getting bigger before coming back.

I've been riding wider boards since my feet have grown. It's practically impossible not to toe drag every trick if I'm riding anything under 8. I try to ride a 8.38 for the most part. I'm also a size 12 shoe (sometimes 13 depending on the brand) so that makes a difference imo.

[close]

No BS, I had a back log of about five 7.5 & 7.56 decks that I was setting up as I would wear out my previous deck and they lasted about 2-3 years so realistically I have not shopped for new decks for around 6 years.  The last time I was shopping for new decks 7.5 and 7.6 decks were very common from most companies, now obviously things have changed.  I am not complaining, I am looking forward to setting up my new 7.75 and I am sure that it will not be that big of a deal and since I am rusty anyway I will have more issues scraping off my body rust then I will getting used to a quarter inch wider deck.

I was just posting this thread to see what some other guys who have been skating a while had to say about the change to wider boards becoming kind of the standard (obviously they had 8 and 8.25, etc the whole time I was growing up skating but board sizes between 7.5-7.63 were MUCH more common at least among me and my friends.  Now keep in mind I grew up skating street (banks, manual pads,  ledges, medium sized gaps and small to medium sized stairs) and not skating much tranny or park or massive handrails and drops and my friends were skating the same type of stuff so maybe that is part of the reason it was rare to see any of us on size 8 or larger boards.

Maybe I really would like an 8 board and I should give it a try.  I would consider moving up to an 8 for my next setup just to try something new.

yeah dude, I have the same age has you so I am from the same era than you.

I also grew up skating 90s thin 7.5 boards, and used to skate stuff like you, manual pads, ledges, medium\small stairs, and I try to do some flips tricks.

I had also a long skating hiatus, but 2 years ago I bought my first 8 inch board. It felt good, flip tricks are also easy to make, and you can even get more flip control on a wider board than a a 7.5 board in my opinion, and of course you will get more stability once you catch the board and hit the ground.

I wear size 10 shoes and I ride 8 inch boards, but now I am thinking that my next board Im gonna buy will be maybe an 8.1 or an 8.2, just to feel the difference.

but like I told you, get an 8 inch board you will no regret it.

oh, and if you skate that kind of stuff get some low trucks, thats mandatory.

[j....soy.....]

It's weird why steep versus mellow concave does not cause this same sort of divide....it's preference and they all have purpose....right now I have an 8 and an 8.5...some tricks are easier in one the other.....

[UserFame]

It's weird why steep versus mellow concave does not cause this same sort of divide....it's preference and they all have purpose....right now I have an 8 and an 8.5...some tricks are easier in one the other.....

ok, but do you use them for the same kind of skating\spots?