What about deck length?

[roanrox]

Searched all over the forum and couldn’t find any light on this:
What’s the real thing about deck length?
I mean let’s say you have the same dimensions deck (e.g. 8.5 wide / 14.5 wheelbase) by 32” length.
If you move up to 8.5wide / 14.5wb / 32.5 length how will it affect your ride?

TL;DR: does deck length matter? How?

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

Is the length added to the tail or nose? It can only be added to three places. WB, nose or tail. Pretty easy to predict how that will influence your ride.

[FrozenIndustries]

Longer nose/tail with more flat will give you more control, but a shorter nose/tail with less flat will give you more leverage. It's likely the 32.5" is going to have more flat (at least on one end), which you might prefer for some tricks.

Personally, I like how a longer board looks because I'm tall and it feels like I have a little more room. But that's totally just me.

[UPPERCASEnocap]

Fingers of flat could be a factor worth considering as well. Or pitch of nose/tail.

[UPPERCASEnocap]

Longer nose/tail with more flat will give you more control, but a shorter nose/tail with less flat will give you more leverage. It's likely the 32.5" is going to have more flat (at least on one end), which you might prefer for some tricks.

Personally, I like how a longer board looks because I'm tall and it feels like I have a little more room. But that's totally just me.

Beat me to it. All good info!

[roanrox]

Is the length added to the tail or nose? It can only be added to three places. WB, nose or tail. Pretty easy to predict how that will influence your ride.

Wow never thought about that. Damn how can I know when buying a new deck online?

[munchbox]

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Is the length added to the tail or nose? It can only be added to three places. WB, nose or tail. Pretty easy to predict how that will influence your ride.

[close]

Wow never thought about that. Damn how can I know when buying a new deck online?

tactics and socal skateshop have pretty accurate online measurements

[Xen]

Min: 31.65"
Prefecto: 31.75"
Max: 31.85"

Seriously...I've come to really dislike 32"+ boards for regular use (bowls/cruising ok).

6.5" Tail
14" - 14.25" WB
Rest in the nose (preferably just under 7")

Essentially Primitive decks

[backinaction]

Or is it added at all?

manufacturers can measure deck length differently.  Some measure direct across tips - like with a yardstick.  Some measure with a soft tape on the grip side of the board. Some measure with a soft tape on the graphic side of the board.  Same deck could measure 3/4” different

[satan]

I don't pay super close attention to length cuz I don't know how they're measuring it and I'm not gonna memorize each woodshop's method.
I have a range that I look for but it's just close to 32", 31.75-32.25"?
33" I immediately check for a 15" wb..
I try to find nose, tail, and wb lengths cuz short tails bug me.
So I look for ~7" nose, 6-5/8" or longer tail, 14-14.25" wb

[roanrox]

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Is the length added to the tail or nose? It can only be added to three places. WB, nose or tail. Pretty easy to predict how that will influence your ride.

[close]

Wow never thought about that. Damn how can I know when buying a new deck online?

[close]

tactics and socal skateshop have pretty accurate online measurements

Got it. TY

[backinaction]

Pretty old post, but good explanation of why the measuring technique matters

http://skateboardingismylifetimesport.blogspot.com/2013/05/deck-length-measuring-by-company.html?m=1

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

I only pay attention to wheelbase and tail length. Overall length and nose length... whatevs, I can make work if WB and tail are in my workable limits. Those two measurements are also more important than width for me. As long the width is within 1/4" of my trucks, I'm usually good.

[rocklobster]

Min: 31.65"
Prefecto: 31.75"
Max: 31.85"

Seriously...I've come to really dislike 32"+ boards for regular use (bowls/cruising ok).

6.5" Tail
14" - 14.25" WB
Rest in the nose (preferably just under 7")

Essentially Primitive decks

How much is Primitive paying you to promote their stuff on Slap? I do like their dimensions though, look like they will pair well with my growing collection of Venture trucks.

For me 32" is good, gives me lots of room to pop and drag my foot up for a nice floaty kickflips. But the added length can be tough to manage more precise tricks where I want a tighter turn like Tailslides and Smith grinds. Anything longer than 32" is unmanagable for me.

[Xen]

Expand Quote

Min: 31.65"
Prefecto: 31.75"
Max: 31.85"

Seriously...I've come to really dislike 32"+ boards for regular use (bowls/cruising ok).

6.5" Tail
14" - 14.25" WB
Rest in the nose (preferably just under 7")

Essentially Primitive decks

[close]

How much is Primitive paying you to promote their stuff on Slap? I do like their dimensions though, look like they will pair well with my growing collection of Venture trucks.

For me 32" is good, gives me lots of room to pop and drag my foot up for a nice floaty kickflips. But the added length can be tough to manage more precise tricks where I want a tighter turn like Tailslides and Smith grinds. Anything longer than 32" is unmanagable for me.

I wish they were paying me (in boards)....they pair super well with Ventures and the dimensions (not those in their diagrams) are really great all around and the shapes are somewhere between square and round tips.

I wish the decks were a bit crispier (like a Dwindle Resin 7) but you get what  you get.

[rocklobster]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Min: 31.65"
Prefecto: 31.75"
Max: 31.85"

Seriously...I've come to really dislike 32"+ boards for regular use (bowls/cruising ok).

6.5" Tail
14" - 14.25" WB
Rest in the nose (preferably just under 7")

Essentially Primitive decks

[close]

How much is Primitive paying you to promote their stuff on Slap? I do like their dimensions though, look like they will pair well with my growing collection of Venture trucks.

For me 32" is good, gives me lots of room to pop and drag my foot up for a nice floaty kickflips. But the added length can be tough to manage more precise tricks where I want a tighter turn like Tailslides and Smith grinds. Anything longer than 32" is unmanagable for me.

[close]

I wish they were paying me (in boards)....they pair super well with Ventures and the dimensions (not those in their diagrams) are really great all around and the shapes are somewhere between square and round tips.

I wish the decks were a bit crispier (like a Dwindle Resin 7) but you get what  you get.

It's a shame they don't make their boards a touch longer, 31.6" is a hair too short. I'm deciding between a Tactics (BBS), Darkstar and Sausage (Clutch) deck to ship back to Asia, your last statement made my choice a lot tougher.

[silhouette]

Being 5'6 in height I have short legs, so decks with a shorter wheelbase feel way more maneuverable to me - something about the leverage. Flip tricks and ledge tricks just feel a lot better and take less effort, whereas on a board with a longer wheelbase I'll have to try a bit harder and be more precise. Ever since I became aware of that I've been trying to get decks with a shorter wheelbase, but occasionally I'll get it wrong and be stuck on a longer one or two and that's usually when my skating style will change drastically, from flip tricks and tech to going faster on more basic tricks (seeing as the tech shit will be more frustrating, I kind of put it on hold and stop bothering with it for a bit). Anything in the 31 range will feel like a toy I can control, anything above 32 will feel like a tank that drives me somewhere. I actually like the feeling of both but depending on how tall one is and how they want to skate, one choice or the other will probably feel more versatile.

[Sila]

My kickflips were awful until I got a 32.5". Everything I had skated before was a 31.75". Still feels slightly long but both my kickflips and heelflips are so much better now.

[rocklobster]

Being 5'6 in height I have short legs, so decks with a shorter wheelbase feel way more maneuverable to me - something about the leverage. Flip tricks and ledge tricks just feel a lot better and take less effort, whereas on a board with a longer wheelbase I'll have to try a bit harder and be more precise. Ever since I became aware of that I've been trying to get decks with a shorter wheelbase, but occasionally I'll get it wrong and be stuck on a longer one or two and that's usually when my skating style will change drastically, from flip tricks and tech to going faster on more basic tricks (seeing as the tech shit will be more frustrating, I kind of put it on hold and stop bothering with it for a bit). Anything in the 31 range will feel like a toy I can control, anything above 32 will feel like a tank that drives me somewhere. I actually like the feeling of both but depending on how tall one is and how they want to skate, one choice or the other will probably feel more versatile.

I'm roughly the same height,  what qualifies as a short or long WB for you? I've had a great setups between 17.26 - 17.52, brought a slightly used deck out of retirement to try a 17.5, 14 with Venture 5.2 hollow lights

[Nth syd bear]

Looks good to me..

[silhouette]

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Being 5'6 in height I have short legs, so decks with a shorter wheelbase feel way more maneuverable to me - something about the leverage. Flip tricks and ledge tricks just feel a lot better and take less effort, whereas on a board with a longer wheelbase I'll have to try a bit harder and be more precise. Ever since I became aware of that I've been trying to get decks with a shorter wheelbase, but occasionally I'll get it wrong and be stuck on a longer one or two and that's usually when my skating style will change drastically, from flip tricks and tech to going faster on more basic tricks (seeing as the tech shit will be more frustrating, I kind of put it on hold and stop bothering with it for a bit). Anything in the 31 range will feel like a toy I can control, anything above 32 will feel like a tank that drives me somewhere. I actually like the feeling of both but depending on how tall one is and how they want to skate, one choice or the other will probably feel more versatile.

[close]

I'm roughly the same height,  what qualifies as a short or long WB for you? I've had a great setups between 17.26 - 17.52, brought a slightly used deck out of retirement to try a 17.5, 14 with Venture 5.2 hollow lights

Honestly I don't nerd out on gear specs nearly enough to be able to provide you with an accurate answer. The 32 in length, and around a specific spot (17, 18?) in wheelbase seems to be the breaking point between the two 'styles' for me, I've found a particular shape Magenta / Generator makes that works really well for me, they used to have the exact specs up a few seasons ago but now they gone and I can't remember them. I used to go back and worth between 8.25 and 8.125 as well, both sizes used to feel perfect as long as the wheelbase was correct but now I'm definitely a 8.25 guy for stability.

I also skate trucks shorter than my deck width (139mm on 8.25's, but then again I also rocked 129mm's on a Polar P1 once), I like the reaction that gives on flip tricks, not sure if that makes a difference on this topic though. And I like semi flat concave. Boards with steep concave feel like some alien object sent out there to destroy human feet, to me. Shoe size is 9.

[moonordie]

Min: 31.65"
Prefecto: 31.75"
Max: 31.85"

Seriously...I've come to really dislike 32"+ boards for regular use (bowls/cruising ok).

6.5" Tail
14" - 14.25" WB
Rest in the nose (preferably just under 7")

Essentially Primitive decks

I'm guessing by "prefecto" you meant "perfecto" and you're totally about the fact that nothing beats a Primitive board.

[cosmicgypsies]

I don't personally feel length is that important within reason, longest I had was a 8.5 33 14.5 Hockey, great board was doing the best 360 flips of my life on that fuckin thing. Current is an 8.5 32.25 14.375 Heroin, long as it's an 8.5 with around an 14.5 wheelbase it's solid to me.

Oddly I really enjoyed skating an 8.5 32.25 15 Death board even if it did feel like skating a door.

[jay_nev]

My kickflips were awful until I got a 32.5". Everything I had skated before was a 31.75". Still feels slightly long but both my kickflips and heelflips are so much better now.

exciting. Got a 32.5” to set up next

[rocklobster]

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My kickflips were awful until I got a 32.5". Everything I had skated before was a 31.75". Still feels slightly long but both my kickflips and heelflips are so much better now.

[close]

exciting. Got a 32.5” to set up next

Damn I couldnt handle such length (giggity)

Thinking of sizing down slightly from a 32", I'm finding with a longer board I tend to over drag and get too high above the ledge. Thanks to the cheetahsheets tutorial I'm trying 360 flips seriously for the first time, thinking a smaller deck might be easier to shove.

[jay_nev]

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My kickflips were awful until I got a 32.5". Everything I had skated before was a 31.75". Still feels slightly long but both my kickflips and heelflips are so much better now.

[close]

exciting. Got a 32.5” to set up next

[close]

Damn I couldnt handle such length (giggity)

Thinking of sizing down slightly from a 32", I'm finding with a longer board I tend to over drag and get too high above the ledge. Thanks to the cheetahsheets tutohrial I'm trying 360 flips seriously for the first time, thinking a smaller deck might be easier to shove.

lol where was this
I’m also 6’4” so longer deck is probably different for you than me

[silhouette]

Thanks to the cheetahsheets tutorial I'm trying 360 flips seriously for the first time, thinking a smaller deck might be easier to shove.

360 flips are probably the main trick that gets taken away from me on 32''+ boards (I can still do them but I have to work against the board more rather than with it if that makes sense). Definitely has more to do with the variation in wheelbase though.

[Sativa Lung]

Moving to shorter decks really made things more comfortable for me. I try to avoid anything over 31.8 if I can now. 31.5 with a 14.25wb seems to be my goldilocks zone. Its one of those things I ignored for a long time but once I started experimenting with it I was pretty surprised at how much of a difference it made.

[Vintagebody]

The trend by pro's is getting more compact setups. If you ask Paul Schmitt, he says so in "The Nine Club" pod. We've already seen the trend in snowboarding by not having such a wide stance.

I personally dislike anything over 32", and im 6,4ft myself.
Longer board give you a wider stance when doing a trick, or longer flick. Why would you want that?

8.5x31.5, or even 31 must be so fun!

[moonordie]

In my case my happy place is in 32.25 apparently