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Skateboarding => USELESS WOODEN TOY BANTER => Topic started by: ThirtyYearsYoung on March 08, 2012, 08:02:09 PM
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I started skating on 7.75" decks, recently moved up to 8", and loved it so much I kind of want to up it again to 8.5", just to see how it feels. I don't skate much tranny, I'm more interested in street. But, I'm not very techy either, not much flippy stuff, I just want to go bigger, faster, etc. My concerns are:
1. It's hard to find 8.5" decks. Most shops don't stock them, and I want to be able to just walk in and buy something off the rack instead of hunting it from a catalog. I'm a little worried that if I end up liking 8.5", I won't want to go back and it'll be a real hassle to buy new decks from here forward.
2. There's got to be a reason most people don't go much wider than 8". What is it?
3. Any pros that skate street with really wide (i.e. larger than 8.25") decks? If I could model my decision on a pro whose street skating I admire, I might be able to justify number 1 above. Emphasis on street skating because I know guys who focus on pools and ramps love fat decks, but that's not really my thing.
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I might add that I'm not a big person at all, about 150 lbs with a size 9 shoe.
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i ride that size for everything but i mostly skate tranny. i have size 12 shoes too. its probably a little big for what youre looking for but obviously you can skate street on one. try a 8.25 or something
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Yeah I guess I'm just wondering if the extra half inch is going to feel too chunky to move around easily. Was thinking I'd get a pair of bigger trucks to go with it, so don't want to drop the $$ and then regret it.
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Tons of guys skate 8.5 and over. I know gipper confirmed that chris cole skates a 9.5 a few years back.
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A bigger board isn't gonna make you a better skater, or at least probably not how you think it will.
You say you want to go bigger and faster, well it's not really gonna help you in that respect. I suppose a wider board, paired with wider trucks, will provide a more stable platform if you're doing gaps, but I really doubt a half inch is holding you back from doing gaps.
You're really not a big dude, and I know deck size is preference, but I feel it just makes logical sense that, generally speaking, bigger people ride bigger boards and vice versa.
I'd just suggest maybe an 8 1/4 deck. Paired with some wider trucks, I think you'll dig it without feeling limited by your board's weight and/or size.
P.S.
off the top of my head, the people I know who ride 8.5s are:
Chris Cole, Corey Duffel, Lizard, and Brian Anderson. Lizard aside, you'll find those dudes are, physically, pretty big.
Tons of guys skate 8.5 and over. I know gipper confirmed that chris cole skates a 9.5 a few years back.
I hope you meant 8.5. I think he was skating 8.3-4 for a long time, then recently stepped up to an 8.5.
He's had two 'My Rides' on Transworld; you can find them with a quick google search
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terry kennedy rides 8.5 with tight trucks.....hence he never does flip tricks and his style resembles the inside of an asshole
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It really depends on the size of your feet. Been riding 8.5 for almost a year now and I love it. Took a week or two to get everything back but it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I highly recommend 8.5 trucks on a 8.5 board . . or at least 8.25. Tranny is a lot easier with a bigger board - but flip tricks do become different; sometimes u gotta adjust your feet to make it work because the boards bigger and flipping a little slower, it's just about getting use to different setup- takes time but it'll come. My suggestion to you is to first try 8.38 or 8.4, it'll probably be the difference you are looking for. Also not sure what boards you ride; but I've noticed aws boards are not as heavy as DLX, might not sound like a big deal but when you're using a board that's a few in.'s bigger it makes a huge difference. Hope this helps.
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I have been skating 8.5's for a few years. It feels much more comfortable than smaller sizes.
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chris cole and deawon
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Maybe 8.5 is too big for street skating...its borderlined i mean if you dig it and dont flip then lets go but...not for me.
my opinion.
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i skate 8.5's during the winter when i don't get to skate as often, i don't know why i do that but it works for me. i have an 8.5 foot and it works out fine. if i'm skating everyday i'll take it down to an 8.25.
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chris cole and deawon
I dont think Deawon rocks an 8.5. >:(
http://www.thrashermagazine.com/component/option,com_hwdvideoshare/Itemid,90/lang,en/task,viewvideo/video_id,306/ (http://www.thrashermagazine.com/component/option,com_hwdvideoshare/Itemid,90/lang,en/task,viewvideo/video_id,306/)
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Tech tricks are a bitch on wider boards. Aside from that, 8.5" seems like a good size.
Chris Cole is like 6' 3". I've noticed that almost every pro is taller in person than they seem on video.
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Tech tricks are a bitch on wider boards. Aside from that, 8.5" seems like a good size.
Chris Cole is like 6' 3". I've noticed that almost every pro is taller in person than they seem on video.
this
i went from 8 to 8.5 and had to really fight for flip in grinds..quickly changed back but as far as flip tricks and tranny i swear i've never felt safer on a board than with that 8.5
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Tech tricks are a bitch on wider boards. Aside from that, 8.5" seems like a good size.
Chris Cole is like 6' 3". I've noticed that almost every pro is taller in person than they seem on video.
this
i went from 8 to 8.5 and had to really fight for flip in grinds..quickly changed back but as far as flip tricks and tranny i swear i've never felt safer on a board than with that 8.5
Crazy how he can be so tech with such a wide board.
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i ride an 8.5 and i pretty much only street skate. i like it better than small boards because it flips slow and you got a boat to land on
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Tech tricks are a bitch on wider boards. Aside from that, 8.5" seems like a good size.
Chris Cole is like 6' 3". I've noticed that almost every pro is taller in person than they seem on video.
this
i went from 8 to 8.5 and had to really fight for flip in grinds..quickly changed back but as far as flip tricks and tranny i swear i've never felt safer on a board than with that 8.5
Crazy how he can be so tech with such a wide board.
Not really. An 8.5 for him is like an 8 to a normal sized human. I think it's crazy when someone that big is skating a 7.5
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8.5's are cool for the first couple of times you skate it, but then once the fresh pop is gone you're left with an enormous plank that won't really do anything
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Of course it will take more of an effort to spin the deck if you are too small to control it.
+I would rather have a slower flipping deck than a board that gets snagged on my shoes and doesn't flip at all because it isn't wide enough for me.
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I don't know why people say 8.5 is no good for street, etc. You can skate anything.
Size is all about what feels comfortable to you. Usually it correlates with body type (i.e. bigger people ride bigger decks) but of course there are exceptions like Lizard (mentioned above) and Rob Welsh. I think I probably spent the first 3-4 years of skating trying out different shit until I figured out what felt good to me. I know what shape I like and I chase after that. With that said, even 20 years later I'm still trying different shit.
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Personally, for street skating anything in the 8.25-8.4 range is perfect. Once I go to an 8.5, I can start to feel the dynamics of flip tricks changing and the extra weight a little more. As stated above, you can really ride anything and it's just whatever you like, but I find that 8.5 is about where I start to feel the physical limitations of having a big board. I'm riding an 8.5 now and it doesn't really change too much, except making tre flips and a few other flip tricks more work.
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It's all personal preference. Maybe you should look into boards with longer wheelbases if you just want to go non-tech big.
Also keep in mind that if you bump up to an 8.5 from an 8, you'll probably have to get wider trucks to match.
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I rode 8.5 for a while due to size 12 shoes, the wider board made me feel more comfortable. Like the author not too tech, some tranny at the park. Just switched to a slighlty smaller 8.3 P2 deck and loving it so far
From memory the boss and Arto ride 8.5 decks
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You should ride whatever feels comfortable for you. My friend skates everything with an 8.5. I think it's healthy to fluctuate deck width. It keeps things interesting.
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I rode 8.5 for a while due to size 12 shoes, the wider board made me feel more comfortable. Like the author not too tech, some tranny at the park. Just switched to a slighlty smaller 8.3 P2 deck and loving it so far
From memory the boss and Arto ride 8.5 decks
I have never heard anything about their board sizes, but I wouldn't doubt it. Reynolds, if I recall, is about 6'1" ...and Arto ain't small either. Plus, the Boss' skating most of the time isn't too tech.
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I know a lot of the pros on baker and deathwish ride 8.5 decks.
Reynolds, Greco, Slash, Nuge, Baca and Lizard King all ride 8.5's. Hell, Ellington is on a 8.625. Other than the baker/deathwish dudes, I know Hoffart is on an 8.5 too.
Alli Skate Videos - Setup: Erik Ellington (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU3oakwLoxM#ws)
As for me, I ride 8.5's and I pretty much only skate street. Gives me more room to catch my tricks and makes it easier to stay in grinds because I have more room to balance out. I find that the bigger you go with deck size the harder it is to go back down to a smaller size, which could be a bad thing. I remember I was standing on my friends board not too long ago and I said "dude, this is pretty small, you ride a 7.75 or somethin?" and he said "nah man, its an 8". After you go 8.5 or above pretty much anything under 8.25 feels like a 7.5 - 7.75. I don't think I could go back to skating 7.75 - 8.0 decks, which used to be my preferred size three or four years back.
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As been said a million times, its all about personal preferences. For me its a bitch trying to do fliptricks on anything bigger then 8 1/4 even though Im tall and rocking size 11 shoes. One of my friends on the other hand who is shorter with smaller feet is doing flip in tuff on a 8.5 like its nothing.
Only one way to find out, buy one and try. Just make sure you have the right trucks for it
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8.5 is wide as shit
how do you tre flip with that
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I just love the sound of wide boards. *klonk*
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this is the worst thread in a long time.
mr.cheese made up better threads.
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8.4"
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When I was living in SF almost everyone I met was skating 8.5s. That being said...you have a size 9 shoe....I would try an 8 1/4 and see how you like it. My buddy who has size 13 shoes skated 7.5s with tight trucks forever...then one day he broke his board, skated my zip zinger all day and changed it up to 8.5. He loves it but he's also a monster who spends more time on a snowboard than a skateboard.
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I rode a lots of 8.25's for a long. Then for some reason I changed a little bit wider and wider and now I've been skating on 8.5 for three years.
My feet is also 12 so it's only natural to have a bigger board. I've had a 8.6 and it was fine but when I tried my friends 8.8 Witchcraft it felt way too wide. Flip tricks just didn't worked out like they normally would.
I don't really understand why small kids with size 8 feet would want to ride a board wider than 8.0. Is it cool to have a wider board nowadays?
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I never had any problems with it. I'm only 5'8 and I wear size 10 shoes. I rode 9's for a few months when I found them at the local board manufacturer's shop. shit started to get weird on flatground then. it's easier to skate stairs on a bigger board though.
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I just went from 8.25 to 8.38. Julien Stranger makes the best shapes.
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I'm small, and use 8 or 8,5 shoes, and I skate 8,25+. I just like it, and I'll probably step up to 8,5 when I buy new trucks.
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I'm 5'11" 165 lbs. size 12 shoe and I like an 8.25 deck for when I'm skating street and 8.3 to 8.5 for tranny, bowls, vert.
I would have to agree with others though as to it's what works/feels comfortable for you.
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8.5 is the most common size for any pros 5'8" and taller, the miniature dudes ride the 8s
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8.5 is great, but work your way up to it or you might be bummed. Over the span of probably a year and a half I went from an 8-8.125-8.25-8.38-8.5. I didn't notice the change in size as much which made it more of a natural progression. Appropriate truck sizing is very important as many have said, little trucks on a big board feels jacked to me. Shit, I just setup an 8.88 w/some 169s and that board is a thing of beauty. MOST of the trick dynamics changing is in your head (a drastic change in board size creates a more noticable difference), a little extra effort gets the board to flip, albeit a little slower sometimes. Just have fun and ride what feels good wherever you're skating...
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right now im skating a 7.9 deluxe board and think its the right balance for me
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I ride a 7.75 cause I care about the environment 8)
(http://www.londonderrynh.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/20090924_land_Trees_Story.gif)
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personally, i cant stand anything smaller than an 8.25. i pretty much skate anything between an 8.25 and 9 on indy 149's
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I'm 130 lbs and wear a size 10 shoe and i need an 8.25 or bigger. once you get your tricks on them they seem easier to land on for everything and seems "safer".
Go Big or Go Home
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I ride a 7.75 cause I care about the environment 8)
(http://www.londonderrynh.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/20090924_land_Trees_Story.gif)
hahaha yep me too......... also i'm short skinny and have tiny feet. give me a 7.5 - 7.75 any day with trucks so loose they are barely holding on. I'm tech guy, i like my stupid flip tricks and i like staying close to the ground. I have skated bigger but it felt like a boat.
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Now this is the thread I was hoping for. These are some great and informative posts. Thinking of printing this off.
Print it and nail it by your mirror that way you can start your morning off to a great start.
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(http://marshallramsey.com/wp-content/uploads/8ball1.jpg)& a(http://www.theus50.com/images/state-quarters/california-quarter.jpg)
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just get one and if you dont like it go back to your old size, a lot of it is based on personal opinion
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i think you should just skip 8.5 and 9.0 and directly rent a boat.become a sailor and shit.
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one of my friends rides an 8.5... his flip tricks are a mile high. and he only skates the highest ledges..
plus he's got ACE 44s wobble loose, and 54mm wheels.
8.5 is a lot of real-estate. but lots of people kill the streets with 8.5s
8.3 seems like the big thing these days though. though you end up frankenstein if you rock indy or thunder 149s..
if you wanna get hella tech.. then the 8.5 might hard. but yeah.. look at chris cole. he does all kinds of flip pity flop tricks on that tank.
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1) get a wide board
2) loosen your trucks
3) loosen them some more
4) have fun
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try a 8.5! it's so much more fun to skate 'wide' decks. you'll soon find out if you really care about all that nonsense tech stuff.
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one of my friends rides an 8.5... his flip tricks are a mile high. and he only skates the highest ledges..
plus he's got ACE 44s wobble loose, and 54mm wheels.
8.5 is a lot of real-estate. but lots of people kill the streets with 8.5s
8.3 seems like the big thing these days though. though you end up frankenstein if you rock indy or thunder 149s..
if you wanna get hella tech.. then the 8.5 might hard. but yeah.. look at chris cole. he does all kinds of flip pity flop tricks on that tank.
shit, just for the hell of it, i put my friends 149's on my board which is an 8, it looked so fucked, i dont understand how people ride the 149's way too wide. I'm reall small, but jamie tancowny is smaller than me and that fool ride's an 8.5 and 149's! I personally got to go with 8-8.1 but i'm thinking about buying an 8.25 next, i just don't know how well that would work with 139's....some advice?
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Now this is the thread I was hoping for.� These are some great and informative posts.� Thinking of printing this off.
Mock it all you want, but I'm the guy who started the thread and I pretty much got what I was looking for.
I've only been skating about two years and I skate with a pretty limited groups of guys who mostly skate smaller (less than 8") decks. I guess I wasn't sure if it was "normal" to use a larger deck for street skating or if they were just meant for guys who stick to ramps/bowls. Anyway I got some good answers and I'm going to give the 8.5" and some Indy 149s a go. Thanks to all who contributed.
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chris cole and deawon
cole yes deawon pleeease show proof im almost 100% sure he is on a much smaller deck
not that he couldnt do it i just want to point this out to some very annoying locals that say big boards are for tranny skaters only !
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Now this is the thread I was hoping for.� These are some great and informative posts.� Thinking of printing this off.
Mock it all you want, but I'm the guy who started the thread and I pretty much got what I was looking for.
I've only been skating about two years and I skate with a pretty limited groups of guys who mostly skate smaller (less than 8") decks. I guess I wasn't sure if it was "normal" to use a larger deck for street skating or if they were just meant for guys who stick to ramps/bowls. Anyway I got some good answers and I'm going to give the 8.5" and some Indy 149s a go. Thanks to all who contributed.
You started skating at 28?
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sheffey's 7.4
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Now this is the thread I was hoping for.� These are some great and informative posts.� Thinking of printing this off.
Mock it all you want, but I'm the guy who started the thread and I pretty much got what I was looking for.
I've only been skating about two years and I skate with a pretty limited groups of guys who mostly skate smaller (less than 8") decks. I guess I wasn't sure if it was "normal" to use a larger deck for street skating or if they were just meant for guys who stick to ramps/bowls. Anyway I got some good answers and I'm going to give the 8.5" and some Indy 149s a go. Thanks to all who contributed.
It's Slap. Everything is mocked even when we don't want it to be. I am surprised that no one, NO ONE, mentioned that riding big ass boards is a bit of a trend. There is nothing wrong with it, but for little dudes to be saying, "I CAN'T ride anything less than an 8.blahblah..." is pretty fucking silly. Granted, yes- it's about whatever you're comfortable on, but it's undeniable that it's a trend. You have companies that will release the same graphic and they'll do a small/medium/large and 10 years ago, a small would be a 7.5. Smalls for some of these companies are 8.12. That's not "small."
Like I said- it's about what you're comfortable on. I've seen older dudes absolutely SHRED on minis and in a bowl on a 7.8, but it was 5-10 years ago.
lol hell yeah that shit is a trend. you can tell when niggas try to turn it to some elitist shit ive posts on here where niggas were like "real men only ride 8 inch boards & loose trucks" or some bullshit like that. board size is nothing other than a personal preference. if it works for you, then its good.
personally, i like a 8-8.25 just because i skate a lot of gaps and it gives me the right balance of foot room and flip speed for my 10.5 shoe. i assume my physical stature would have an effect on that preference as well.
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I ride 8.5s because I'm a fat fuck with a size 12 shoe. It has never once hindered my "tech tricks". In my 11 years of skating, 9 of them have been spent on boards 8+. I remember quite clearly when I went to the skateshop to buy a deck, the shop keeper would talk shit on my boats. Nowadays I barely know anyone that rides under 8. I think it's pretty funny.
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You started skating at 28?
I started at 23, skated for a year and half, quit at 25, then got back into it at 30.
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I used to ride an 8 and thought they were awesome then stepped up to and 8.25. Then I started to skate Tranny regularly and stepped up to an 8.5 and I love it. I wear a size 10 shoe and just having a wider board under me gives that stability. It might not be the same for everybody else though.
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There is nothing wrong with it, but for little dudes to be saying, "I CAN'T ride anything less than an 8.blahblah..." is pretty fucking silly. Granted, yes- it's about whatever you're comfortable on, but it's undeniable that it's a trend.
agreed, this annoys me too
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Skated street with this board. It's a 9.16 by 32.8. Flip tricks weren't easy at first but I got used to it but even then they weren't that easy. Front boards felt really good though!
(http://ts1.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=4967087212004220&id=c4ef72025d80488fa28ae87e4d1ec3c4&index=newexp)
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why is everybody scared to try another size or shape?
I used to skate 7.75 and would die everytime I didn't land perfect...
Skated 9.75 Santa cruz 89-90ties shape a while ago and was doing kickflips and crooked grind on street no probs...
went back to 8.5- 8.6 but wasn't really feeling it, now I'm riding 9.25 football shape and doing fine...
I feel I get better catch on flips/shuvs, better landings and less chance of breaking my board.
My 7.75 board with light trucks used to flop around under my feet during ollies, bounce away during catch etc.
with my wide ride my shit is and feels more solid.
Brian anderson rides 8.5+
Braydon Szafranski rides 8.75...
Anti hero often has 8.5 and 8.75 popsicle shapes...now go and supersize!
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why is everybody scared to try another size or shape?
I used to skate 7.75 and would die everytime I didn't land perfect...
Skated 9.75 Santa cruz 89-90ties shape a while ago and was doing kickflips and crooked grind on street no probs...
went back to 8.5- 8.6 but wasn't really feeling it, now I'm riding 9.25 football shape and doing fine...
I feel I get better catch on flips/shuvs, better landings and less chance of breaking my board.
My 7.75 board with light trucks used to flop around under my feet during ollies, bounce away during catch etc.
with my wide ride my shit is and feels more solid.
Brian anderson rides 8.5+
Braydon Szafranski rides 8.75...
Anti hero often has 8.5 and 8.75 popsicle shapes...now go and supersize!
You're on crack
plus, Braydon rides an 8.125
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I've been skating 8.5 for the past 2 years, and i mainly skate street. I wear 11.5 if its any consolation.
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im 6.3 with a size us9.5 shoe i skate a 8.25 deck with 5.25' trucks as i find its big and sturdy enough for charging around a park but still light enough that techy ledge/manny tricks arent a problem... its all about what your comfy on though my buddy still skates super thin boards and hes like a size 13 shoe
fuck it just piss around with different board set ups till you find what suits your skating best
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one of my buddies has been riding 7.5 the entire time we've been skating. it's kinda comical because the fatter/ bigger beer gut he gets the board looks even more ridiculous. Dude rides his wheels down until they're almost bearings. i don't get it... but yeah, man, just ride whatever is comfortable. A few years ago I was skating pretty much only transition and was riding one of those REAL Ace's series. the thing was a monster but i'd still go out skate some street with it. It's possible to do anything once you get adjusted. Look back at dudes skating in the late 80s early 90s. those sleds were huge!
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one of my buddies has been riding 7.5 the entire time we've been skating. it's kinda comical because the fatter/ bigger beer gut he gets the board looks even more ridiculous. Dude rides his wheels down until they're almost bearings. i don't get it... but yeah, man, just ride whatever is comfortable. A few years ago I was skating pretty much only transition and was riding one of those REAL Ace's series. the thing was a monster but i'd still go out skate some street with it. It's possible to do anything once you get adjusted. Look back at dudes skating in the late 80s early 90s. those sleds were huge!
Same here.
And, to answer the topic, Chris Cole rides an 8,5, and he is one of the most technical skaters out there. Size of the board doesnt matter.
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definitely trendy to ride big boards, I take part in the trend at about 8.12, I can't believe how many people ride 8.5's that seems like it would be cumbersome.
fairy foot for life
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one of my buddies has been riding 7.5 the entire time we've been skating. it's kinda comical because the fatter/ bigger beer gut he gets the board looks even more ridiculous. Dude rides his wheels down until they're almost bearings. i don't get it... but yeah, man, just ride whatever is comfortable. A few years ago I was skating pretty much only transition and was riding one of those REAL Ace's series. the thing was a monster but i'd still go out skate some street with it. It's possible to do anything once you get adjusted. Look back at dudes skating in the late 80s early 90s. those sleds were huge!
Same here.
And, to answer the topic, Chris Cole rides an 8,5, and he is one of the most technical skaters out there. Size of the board doesnt matter.
board size DOES matter; don't get it twisted. If you wanna bring in Chris Cole, he says it himself:
(He fairly recently stepped up his size; this vid is a little older)
Fallen Brasil - Chris Cole My Ride (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCoDKH9lxbY#ws)
Chris Cole is jacked as fuck. Mother fucker is like 6'1" and built like a football player. Yes, you CAN ride pretty much anything, but certain people will probably benefit from certain sizes. Granted, some things are probably more mental than physical.
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For the last 11 years I've been jumping between skating an old 9.37" Frankie Hill deck from 1991, and skating a 8.25" popsicle. I've had some 8.5"ers as well, but it always seems to make me just jump back on a wider, old school shape. Popsicles start to look/feel weird to me when they get to around 8.5". DLX has one shape that's an 8.38"x32.3" or something, and that's pretty much the best shape for a wider popsicle, in my opinion. I don't do much flip tricks except for regular kick flips and tre flips. But for some reason I can get tre flips easier on the old school shape. I guess it's easier to scoop the slightly squarer tail, and there's more room for my front foot to actually land on the board. I agree with whoever said front boards feel good on wider boards, though. That, and one-foots and the no-comply revert variations and 180s. You don't really have to concentrate on what your feet are doing, you just move them and the board follows.
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I'm starting an over 30 under 8 club.....
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I jump around anywhere from an 8-8.38 and have started realizing that for me it's not so much the board width that gets to me, it's the extra truck. granted i don't do nearly as many flip tricks as i did a few years ago, but it's a lot harder for me to flip a board with 149 trucks then 139, as far as the deck goes i don't feel like that matters all to much.
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I'm starting an over 30 under 8 club.....
lol
nice.