What was your setup, on your best day?

[Seventyfrigginseven]

In the Rowley Nine club he says "you should skate the same size as your best day of skating" or something like that. I remember my best day ever skating and it was a 7.5 deck 5.0 Ventures and 44mm wheels, and white etnies. I know I dont skate that now.  Anyhow It has me thinking, do any of you guys go by that theory? If so what is it?

[BeanieMcGee]

I feel like I should follow this theory.  I’ve been on a bit of a board size and truck madness.  My best day skating was with a 7.75 deck, 5.0 venture lo and 50mm wheels. I just don’t know if I can go down to that size anymore haha.

[Vintagebody]

There's no question that having a consistent setup helps.
If you want to be consistent and increase skill level, you need to eliminate as many variables as you can.
For a skater that means:
Foot placement
Shoe shape
Shoe size
Socks (thin or thick socks can alter feel)
Truck size
Wheel size
Board size
Griptape

If you keep all these variables consistent, your skating will simply be more consistent, which aids in confidence and learning new tricks.

Look at Shane O'neill and Nyjah Housten. Both have been dailed in for years.

[Ok]

Be interested in the time stamp.
I don’t follow this theory, but it makes a lot of sense.
I hate the idea of a ‘quiver’, hate it. And yet....you couldn’t/wouldn’t want to wear the same pair of pants throughout the year, to work, to weddings, to bed. Bad example, but pants are basically skateboarding as has been said, by some clever folk, before.
I’ve had two, ‘best days’, and when I’m on a board closer to that, most tricks just ‘work’. I can get on a 7.75 and kickflip right away/first try, and that will not always happen with my current daily. I fucking hate pushing down the street on hard 50 mm wheels and ollieing over shit which should be included in skateboarding so....dunno.
Interesting topic, I’m more fried than usual rn, I hope others post so it continues

[Fernandito]

8” Polar
5.2 ventures
54 mm spitfires
Bones swiss
Tyshawns

[imposter]

Girl 7.38 indys s 7 random blank Wheels

[moonordie]

On that case it would be a 7.625 Blind board with Fury 8" (I believe) and some world industries 54mm wheels.

[Seventyfrigginseven]

Pretty interesting so far it has been decks 8" and under.

[Vintagebody]

The big sinner is WB. Decks below 8" typically a maximum of 14" WB.
I've been on a WB trip my self, from 14 to 14,5. Even 14.25 is kinda too big, with Thunders.

[Stigmata]

Im gonna have to say Real 8.25 Full SE decks with Venture 5.8s are now my perfect go-to setups. Im tempted to try out one of the Primitive 8.38 x 31.75 with 14.2 WB tho...

[sneakpeekmeek]

I feel like I should follow this theory.  I’ve been on a bit of a board size and truck madness.  My best day skating was with a 7.75 deck, 5.0 venture lo and 50mm wheels. I just don’t know if I can go down to that size anymore haha.

This setup exactly.

[SneakySecrets]

Interesting idea for a thread.  I guess mine would be 5.0 ventures and a 7.75 shop deck.  But I think it had more to do with having young, fresh legs than the setup.

[Coffee]

It was in 1997
Tom Penny Cheech and Chong 7.75
Venture lows.
Spitfire 54s ( I weighed like 100 lbs and had my trucks tight as fuck. No wheel bite back then)
Probably skating DC Dyrdeks or a pair of Simples.
I feel old now. Time to go drink a beer and think about the good old days.

[Solid bowlcut]

Best times that i had was when i didnt even know what trucks i was riding. Now i switch my setup too often.

[weedgod94]

probably a 7.75 when my feet were a little smaller, more recently an 8.25. ive been thinking about stepping down to an 8.1 lately, i dont think i can go smaller than an 8.

[Esmith5488]

Probably a 7.5 alien workshop Pendleton era
Some fury trucks
Brian Anderson ricta wheels 54mm
Probably lucky bearings or some shit

[thelonelynow]

For 2019:

Girl G027 Shape 8.25" Deck • Thunder Ti 148s • Bones 54mm V5 Easy Streets 99A • Swiss

Re-learned 360º Flips on this one after years of not even trying them. Stopped doing them after a few horrible bails though where my back foot landed primo and my front rolled over the nose spraining my ankle which lead to a few weeks of barely being able to walk.

For 2020:

Hook-Ups 8" Deck • Indy Ti 139s • Powell 54mm 97A Rippers (great for rough streets/super slippery parks/old people) • Race Reds

My heel and kick flips were the cleanest they've been in a long time on this board. Also started doing a lot more tail and nose slides with the Indy's baseplate coming into play. I'm on an 8.25" now and have a few more that size in the stack but I think I'm going to go back down and mainly stick with 8" to 8.125" in the future.

[mynameisnotjeff]

Real Peter Ramondetta Magic Carpet Low Pro 2
8.06
Thunder 147 HL
Spitfire 52mm
Bones reds (?)
Mob
Diamond 7/8

Not sure what number in the pile or the rest of the board specs.

[FrozenIndustries]

Cool thread. I had assumed I would say something different about back in the day but when I think about it:

(1997/98-ish):
Element Natas hangman 8.38"
Venture midlight 5.8
Spitfire bighead 52mm

(2020):
DOA 8.25" flat
Ace 44
Spitfire 51mm tablets

I'm technically a better skater now at 37, but I remember that age/setup as the height of my fearlessness/ability to jump down/over shit. Not that different seeing them now, 52mm high trucks and similar sized wheels (kind of). That being said, the Element had really steep concave IIRC.

[Shuh]

Just now

polar 8.25
Indy 149 standard hollows
Spitfire f4 classic 53

Riding the board backwards that's poping off a big nose 7.125 snap feels light actually,

[johnes]

Funny the first day that comes to mind as my best day, I got off work and drove to a spot then warmed up for 15 min doing little shuvs and ollies then filmed a trick I had been wanting to do and got it in another 15 min.

 So the first “best day” that comes to mind; I only skated 30 min.
But I do remember my set up. I had a brand new 8” ML deck with a blank blue bottom. With everything else on my board ML except with swiss 6 bearings.
I’m going to try and recreate that complete today, except the only deck I have right now is an 8” red blank bottom.

There are a couple other best days that come to mind, both days I did a bunch of manny tricks that I hardly ever do. I have no idea what my set up was tho, one of those days was 2013 and the other day was 2005

[gsosa]

Fuck it its the set- up Im riding now. I have progressed more in the past 3 or 4 months than I had in quite a long time. Not being able to go out all the time due to Corona made me force myself to skate flatground (had a very limited bag of tricks on flat, and hated skating flatground)in my house and actually allowing myself to suck has made me learn and progress so much, which has also improved all other areas of my skating as well
AWS 8.25
Thunder 148s
Spitfire F4 99a 53mm (down to like 49s when I started with this deck, at around 45 now)
Spitfire Cheapshots
Random Hardware
Generic Grip
Kalis S

[Wonderful Whizzplank]

Best skating days were probably in like 2014 ish on:

Antihero 8.75
Thunder 151
Spitfire F4 52 classics
DC Cole Lite (grip, flex, cushion, heel lock - been after that feel since and haven't really come close)

Been riding 8.75s with a way shorter WB recently as I've tried to dial in my kickflips - seriously like my white whale, never had them dialled - but everything felt good at this time.

I am a lot fatter now, so I don't know if I'd make it past 5 minutes on that 14.75 WB without going into cardiac arrest, but I might dip my toe back in.

[TheBoognish]

Summer ‘09

AWS 8.25 Mind Field deck
Indy 139’s
53 mm Spitfires
Bones Swiss

I don’t know what it was about this set up, but everything was perfect. Still the best shape I’ve ever ridden. My tricks never looked or felt better. Only thing is I had this board for only 3 days.

This is the only set-up where I could ever land hardflips. I landed about 70 of them during those 3 days, and they were all flawless. I felt like Bryan fucking Herman.

I snapped it on day 4, got another board and hardflips were now gone forever. Haven’t landed one since.

[RichardBarkley]

Summer ‘09

AWS 8.25 Mind Field deck
Indy 139’s
53 mm Spitfires
Bones Swiss

I don’t know what it was about this set up, but everything was perfect. Still the best shape I’ve ever ridden. My tricks never looked or felt better. Only thing is I had this board for only 3 days.

This is the only set-up where I could ever land hardflips. I landed about 70 of them during those 3 days, and they were all flawless. I felt like Bryan fucking Herman.

I snapped it on day 4, got another board and hardflips were now gone forever. Haven’t landed one since.

Wow that's nuts. To go from 70 to none.

Gear madness like that drives me INSANE.

My litmus test is 360 flips. If I switch decks and I have to struggle to get them I'm over that shape/size.

I've just come to learn that WB is by far the most important factor to me

[camel filters]

My best days have more to do with how my body's feeling than the set up. If my body is doing good, my brain is doing good as well, and I'm more able to adapt to what Im skating

[Ok]

Expand Quote

Summer ‘09

AWS 8.25 Mind Field deck
Indy 139’s
53 mm Spitfires
Bones Swiss

I don’t know what it was about this set up, but everything was perfect. Still the best shape I’ve ever ridden. My tricks never looked or felt better. Only thing is I had this board for only 3 days.

This is the only set-up where I could ever land hardflips. I landed about 70 of them during those 3 days, and they were all flawless. I felt like Bryan fucking Herman.

I snapped it on day 4, got another board and hardflips were now gone forever. Haven’t landed one since.

[close]

Wow that's nuts. To go from 70 to none.

Gear madness like that drives me INSANE.

My litmus test is 360 flips. If I switch decks and I have to struggle to get them I'm over that shape/size.

I've just come to learn that WB is by far the most important factor to me

Same

[nonickname]

Jake Johnson AWS sketchbook Hexmark 8.125
Indy 139s
Spitfire J. Brock 53 100

That was my set up that I battled ollieing a bench a few years back when I was determined to get back my pop. Got it then pooched my mci/meniscus and shits been downhill since.

Way back when I remember loving a Reynolds Birdhouse Grim reaper and thought that was perfection (most likely with AA Spits with the PBR labels).

[DirtyCheddarKids]

This, but Thunder Hollows. Feet wrapped in City Cups, the only shoe I can skate without having too much pain in my arch these days. Polar 8.25 is the best shape out for me, haven't experimented since. Hope they produce these for a long time, I've started stocking up on decks and shoes already. Really not looking forward to switching anything up again.

Just now

polar 8.25
Indy 149 standard hollows
Spitfire f4 classic 53

Riding the board backwards that's poping off a big nose 7.125 snap feels light actually,

[Seventyfrigginseven]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Summer ‘09

AWS 8.25 Mind Field deck
Indy 139’s
53 mm Spitfires
Bones Swiss

I don’t know what it was about this set up, but everything was perfect. Still the best shape I’ve ever ridden. My tricks never looked or felt better. Only thing is I had this board for only 3 days.

This is the only set-up where I could ever land hardflips. I landed about 70 of them during those 3 days, and they were all flawless. I felt like Bryan fucking Herman.

I snapped it on day 4, got another board and hardflips were now gone forever. Haven’t landed one since.

[close]

Wow that's nuts. To go from 70 to none.

Gear madness like that drives me INSANE.

My litmus test is 360 flips. If I switch decks and I have to struggle to get them I'm over that shape/size.

I've just come to learn that WB is by far the most important factor to me

[close]

Same

Same here too. I have been struggling way to hard with 8.5 plus and I almost overflip 8's, so I settled on 8.1 and my 360 flips have never been better. I have finally found my sweet spot...for now anyways.