1992-93 setups, vintage or modern to skate.

[Easy Slider]

Last fall I set up this 8.75 Accidental Gun Death slick reissue with some SML 40mms and some Thunder 149s I had sitting around. (I didn't nerd out on the trucks or really anything. Just tried to get a period specific reissue on some small wheels.)




I started skating in 94' so boards were kind of out of this phase already. The board had basically no concave which made it hard to do get used to but it was fun to skate. Wouldn't want to skate it as my regular board but I'll definitely have a few more sessions with it for fun.

Here's a little video I made of my session:

That was so dope, real 90s vibes! If you want to get even more 90s wear bigger pants and try mobbing your flips. Otherwise 10/10. 

[roba]

IMO the reissues are meant to be skated. Of course you can always save one if it has a special meaning to you or you want some wall art but other than that buy it and rip it. Hoard a few if you are afraid they wont ever make it again.

i try to cop 2 for that reason if i really like the graphic, but i buy modern shapes only. ben degros made a video about these reissue setups and in his words there are no redeeming qualities in those setups, they skate worse than normal boards but then again he's pretty serious about progressing and shit and they're probably fun as fuck but harder to skate.

[Coping Grinder]

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IMO the reissues are meant to be skated. Of course you can always save one if it has a special meaning to you or you want some wall art but other than that buy it and rip it. Hoard a few if you are afraid they wont ever make it again.

[close]

i try to cop 2 for that reason if i really like the graphic, but i buy modern shapes only. ben degros made a video about these reissue setups and in his words there are no redeeming qualities in those setups, they skate worse than normal boards but then again he's pretty serious about progressing and shit and they're probably fun as fuck but harder to skate.

Skateboards are always made to be skated! Agree with them being fun but harder. Would say it's like the conclusion I came with shaped boards: some tricks are gonna feel a lot stronger on them, and some are gonna feel a lot weaker on them. When you go back to a standard popsicle, those weaker tricks feel that much better again.

[FrAnKenFrEd]

I got Jacob Rosenberg's EMB"Epicenter'  book set for Xmas and now I really have the urge for another early 90s setup....

[Slave IV]

Before I got heavily back into skating, I got a reissue Powell deck and as far as I can tell, it is the same shape and concave as original and built to be skated. But it’s before the time of longer noses so it’s not really great to really try anything on. Shortly after I got that, I fell deep back into the hole and have been getting regular modern setups and that reissue is basically a barely touched wall hanger.

But, I’ve been curious about riding a slightly more modern shaped setup like this thread is discussing. I don’t have to have period correct gear as long as it is similar and I can live with improvements. As for trucks, one of the reasons it might not have mattered as much for me back then is because I used to crank my trucks as tight as I could and I just bought the lightest trucks available. I remember never falling into the tiny wheel syndrome so I could deal with not having sub 50 mm wheels.

For decks, I really want a Black Label and those seem to fit the bill of early 90s shapes but maybe some modern updates. Either the Lucero X2 (non cross shape) or the Peace symbol one with variable wheelbase. Anyone have any feedback on those decks?

[Mbrimson88]

Before I got heavily back into skating, I got a reissue Powell deck and as far as I can tell, it is the same shape and concave as original and built to be skated. But it’s before the time of longer noses so it’s not really great to really try anything on. Shortly after I got that, I fell deep back into the hole and have been getting regular modern setups and that reissue is basically a barely touched wall hanger.

But, I’ve been curious about riding a slightly more modern shaped setup like this thread is discussing. I don’t have to have period correct gear as long as it is similar and I can live with improvements. As for trucks, one of the reasons it might not have mattered as much for me back then is because I used to crank my trucks as tight as I could and I just bought the lightest trucks available. I remember never falling into the tiny wheel syndrome so I could deal with not having sub 50 mm wheels.

For decks, I really want a Black Label and those seem to fit the bill of early 90s shapes but maybe some modern updates. Either the Lucero X2 (non cross shape) or the Peace symbol one with variable wheelbase. Anyone have any feedback on those decks?

Black Label uses BBS wood, with modern concave and almost always with the good mold / press to shape ratios too, so it will feel a whole lot better than some of the other reissues which might be closer to what boards were back then, which I think feel very difficult to skate normally, compared to BL which has modern concave, so is the same as I skate on any other deck now.

That said, some people do prefer any number of other concaves and molds to BBS, so I know this is just an opinion, not the be all and end all of any woodshop or board brand, or deck manufacturer.  I did have a number of Powell boards back in the day, but getting on one now, the reissues or the original vintage concave, they just don't feel at all nice under my feet, hence the info here so far.


As to the specific shapes, if you wanted a pre 90s football / egg shape, then yes any of those other ones should do well and I think the 9" big boards thread is a good one to check through for some of those shapes as well - almost everything being over 9" back then.

I think a lot of Black Label graphics can come out on any number of shapes too, so Lucero x2 I just saw was on an 8.88, a 9.5 and another one, so you might need to specify.  The "peace logo" is the Van Man or Street Thing shape, 9.88 and yes a good one - I got a few of those a while back and there have been a few of those online here too, usually with a varied number of options in trucks and wheels, but maybe more commonly Indy 169s and 54 to 56 mm wheels, which worked well on one I had.

There are a couple of options for that shape on their site, the Lucero Cross and the Barcode Shredded which you can choose which deck shape you want it on, as the examples.

https://www.blacklabelskates.com/category/decks

[Slave IV]

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Before I got heavily back into skating, I got a reissue Powell deck and as far as I can tell, it is the same shape and concave as original and built to be skated. But it’s before the time of longer noses so it’s not really great to really try anything on. Shortly after I got that, I fell deep back into the hole and have been getting regular modern setups and that reissue is basically a barely touched wall hanger.

But, I’ve been curious about riding a slightly more modern shaped setup like this thread is discussing. I don’t have to have period correct gear as long as it is similar and I can live with improvements. As for trucks, one of the reasons it might not have mattered as much for me back then is because I used to crank my trucks as tight as I could and I just bought the lightest trucks available. I remember never falling into the tiny wheel syndrome so I could deal with not having sub 50 mm wheels.

For decks, I really want a Black Label and those seem to fit the bill of early 90s shapes but maybe some modern updates. Either the Lucero X2 (non cross shape) or the Peace symbol one with variable wheelbase. Anyone have any feedback on those decks?

[close]

Black Label uses BBS wood, with modern concave and almost always with the good mold / press to shape ratios too, so it will feel a whole lot better than some of the other reissues which might be closer to what boards were back then, which I think feel very difficult to skate normally, compared to BL which has modern concave, so is the same as I skate on any other deck now.

That said, some people do prefer any number of other concaves and molds to BBS, so I know this is just an opinion, not the be all and end all of any woodshop or board brand, or deck manufacturer.  I did have a number of Powell boards back in the day, but getting on one now, the reissues or the original vintage concave, they just don't feel at all nice under my feet, hence the info here so far.


As to the specific shapes, if you wanted a pre 90s football / egg shape, then yes any of those other ones should do well and I think the 9" big boards thread is a good one to check through for some of those shapes as well - almost everything being over 9" back then.

I think a lot of Black Label graphics can come out on any number of shapes too, so Lucero x2 I just saw was on an 8.88, a 9.5 and another one, so you might need to specify.  The "peace logo" is the Van Man or Street Thing shape, 9.88 and yes a good one - I got a few of those a while back and there have been a few of those online here too, usually with a varied number of options in trucks and wheels, but maybe more commonly Indy 169s and 54 to 56 mm wheels, which worked well on one I had.

There are a couple of options for that shape on their site, the Lucero Cross and the Barcode Shredded which you can choose which deck shape you want it on, as the examples.

https://www.blacklabelskates.com/category/decks

Thanks! I wasn’t sure if Black Label shaped decks were also BBS. I actually already own a X1 and X2 from an earlier release wave and those don't have typical BBS indicators. I’m ok with BBS and either way want to try their wood since I thought I had one earlier in a DGK regular popsicles deck but now realize it was likely one of their Chinese made decks (still really good). At some point, I’ll likely pick another Black Label shaped deck up to setup and ride.

[Mbrimson88]

Thanks! I wasn’t sure if Black Label shaped decks were also BBS. I actually already own a X1 and X2 from an earlier release wave and those don't have typical BBS indicators. I’m ok with BBS and either way want to try their wood since I thought I had one earlier in a DGK regular popsicles deck but now realize it was likely one of their Chinese made decks (still really good). At some point, I’ll likely pick another Black Label shaped deck up to setup and ride.

Black Label for a long time were on PS Stix and back in the day when I skated them, they were the best decks out there, no doubt about it, but I think that was around 2000 to 2002 or so anyway.  Shapes changed and I wanted a longer tail so I changed things up and have skated DLX boards ever since, even though I have a good number of other brands and decks in the shop too.

I do recall there was a time when things might have been a bit weird for Black Label (John Lucero took it back to bare bones in his garage) and could have easily been on other wood until things settled down and were on BBS and have been solid ever since.

Anyway, there are some good boards, nice shapes and all that in the Label catalogs now, so well worth checking out.

[Slave IV]

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Thanks! I wasn’t sure if Black Label shaped decks were also BBS. I actually already own a X1 and X2 from an earlier release wave and those don't have typical BBS indicators. I’m ok with BBS and either way want to try their wood since I thought I had one earlier in a DGK regular popsicles deck but now realize it was likely one of their Chinese made decks (still really good). At some point, I’ll likely pick another Black Label shaped deck up to setup and ride.

[close]

Black Label for a long time were on PS Stix and back in the day when I skated them, they were the best decks out there, no doubt about it, but I think that was around 2000 to 2002 or so anyway.  Shapes changed and I wanted a longer tail so I changed things up and have skated DLX boards ever since, even though I have a good number of other brands and decks in the shop too.

I do recall there was a time when things might have been a bit weird for Black Label (John Lucero took it back to bare bones in his garage) and could have easily been on other wood until things settled down and were on BBS and have been solid ever since.

Anyway, there are some good boards, nice shapes and all that in the Label catalogs now, so well worth checking out.

Not sure how old mine are but I don’t think they are more than a few years. I think they might be from the last batch of the X1 and X2 released before the current ones available now. They are full dipped with a BL sticker I the top truck area. So the current shaped BL decks have the typical BBS made in Mexico and I-IV stamp?

[Sedition]

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Thanks! I wasn’t sure if Black Label shaped decks were also BBS. I actually already own a X1 and X2 from an earlier release wave and those don't have typical BBS indicators. I’m ok with BBS and either way want to try their wood since I thought I had one earlier in a DGK regular popsicles deck but now realize it was likely one of their Chinese made decks (still really good). At some point, I’ll likely pick another Black Label shaped deck up to setup and ride.

[close]

Black Label for a long time were on PS Stix and back in the day when I skated them, they were the best decks out there, no doubt about it, but I think that was around 2000 to 2002 or so anyway.  Shapes changed and I wanted a longer tail so I changed things up and have skated DLX boards ever since, even though I have a good number of other brands and decks in the shop too.

I do recall there was a time when things might have been a bit weird for Black Label (John Lucero took it back to bare bones in his garage) and could have easily been on other wood until things settled down and were on BBS and have been solid ever since.

Anyway, there are some good boards, nice shapes and all that in the Label catalogs now, so well worth checking out.

[close]

Not sure how old mine are but I don’t think they are more than a few years. I think they might be from the last batch of the X1 and X2 released before the current ones available now. They are full dipped with a BL sticker I the top truck area. So the current shaped BL decks have the typical BBS made in Mexico and I-IV stamp?

DLX is the only BBS pressed decks that have the I-IV stamps.

I've had a lot of LBL decks. I currently have one of the "Street Thing" shaped decks set-up as my cruiser-type deck. It's more of a "modern shaped" deck than something specifically "period correct" from the past, but it def has heavy old-school vibes, too.

[Slave IV]

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Thanks! I wasn’t sure if Black Label shaped decks were also BBS. I actually already own a X1 and X2 from an earlier release wave and those don't have typical BBS indicators. I’m ok with BBS and either way want to try their wood since I thought I had one earlier in a DGK regular popsicles deck but now realize it was likely one of their Chinese made decks (still really good). At some point, I’ll likely pick another Black Label shaped deck up to setup and ride.

[close]

Black Label for a long time were on PS Stix and back in the day when I skated them, they were the best decks out there, no doubt about it, but I think that was around 2000 to 2002 or so anyway.  Shapes changed and I wanted a longer tail so I changed things up and have skated DLX boards ever since, even though I have a good number of other brands and decks in the shop too.

I do recall there was a time when things might have been a bit weird for Black Label (John Lucero took it back to bare bones in his garage) and could have easily been on other wood until things settled down and were on BBS and have been solid ever since.

Anyway, there are some good boards, nice shapes and all that in the Label catalogs now, so well worth checking out.

[close]

Not sure how old mine are but I don’t think they are more than a few years. I think they might be from the last batch of the X1 and X2 released before the current ones available now. They are full dipped with a BL sticker I the top truck area. So the current shaped BL decks have the typical BBS made in Mexico and I-IV stamp?

[close]

DLX is the only BBS pressed decks that have the I-IV stamps.

I've had a lot of LBL decks. I currently have one of the "Street Thing" shaped decks set-up as my cruiser-type deck. It's more of a "modern shaped" deck than something specifically "period correct" from the past, but it def has heavy old-school vibes, too.

I think this may be the first I heard or maybe registered the stamp thing being DLX only. I feel like I just saw a stamped GX1000 deck in a shop the other day but I looked at several decks including DLX ones so I might have confused them.
As for Black Label, some of them definitely look inspired by the original shapes, like the Street Thing and the Cross shapes but you can also tell the concave and nose are clearly modernized. To me, that’s what a lot of those early 90s decks seemed like, a hybrid of old shaped decks and popsicles.
After thinking about it, I can’t remember ever owning an early 90s deck that wasn’t already a popsicle even though I skated from the 80s to early 2000s. From my memory, I went straight from old school shaped decks to popsicles so that might be why I have less nostalgia for getting an exact period accurate version but I’ve always wanted to try something wider and shaped with a nose and more concave.

[Mbrimson88]

.

What I do find interesting about this period is in 1990 things were all fairly uniform, in that boards definitely did have nose kicks and decent sized noses, but (almost) all of them still had fairly wide squared off tails from all the catalogs I had looked over.

Then within a short timeframe, so many boards were coming out with rounded off ends, then increasingly smaller tails and increasingly larger noses, but some companies maybe took a lot longer to come to terms with the new shapes, so there were still a lot of old squared off tails mixed in with a lot of the newer tech egg / football shapes too.

Even around skateparks I think there were the cool fresh kids with all the new 90s gear, but a lot of the others, not specifically older crew, who still had those 80s shapes and 80s styles too, so it was the weirdest mix for the next while, seeing such diversity in skateboarding.

By maybe 1994 I think things had really settled down for the most part, but those few in between years were pretty out there - some saying they were the best years in skateboarding, others saying they were the worst, but any which way, it is fun to set up boards from that (or any other era) and see how they skate or what they can do.


This thread has a few catalogs, which were interesting to see, but I know there is a whole lot more out there too.


https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=120195.0;topicseen


This catalog had so many well known boards in it too:

https://archive.org/details/ccs-1991-winter/mode/2up

[Slave IV]

Man, I never even really skated a skatepark until the 2020s when I got back into skating. Never even seen/rode at all in a skatepark until around 2000s. Back in the 80s throughout the 90s is was 100% street skating with a bit of homemade quarterpipes and launch ramps mixed in. Transition for the most part, was a foreign thing to me.

[GBLange]

Back in those days, i can only get 2 decks to last the whole year..depending on my school grades.. 1994 i was still riding the Vallely New Deal Alien deck and Channel One football shape deck. Only started to ride toothpick 7.5 decks starting from 1995.

[Plan9Customs]

.

What I do find interesting about this period is in 1990 things were all fairly uniform, in that boards definitely did have nose kicks and decent sized noses, but (almost) all of them still had fairly wide squared off tails from all the catalogs I had looked over.

Then within a short timeframe, so many boards were coming out with rounded off ends, then increasingly smaller tails and increasingly larger noses, but some companies maybe took a lot longer to come to terms with the new shapes, so there were still a lot of old squared off tails mixed in with a lot of the newer tech egg / football shapes too.

Even around skateparks I think there were the cool fresh kids with all the new 90s gear, but a lot of the others, not specifically older crew, who still had those 80s shapes and 80s styles too, so it was the weirdest mix for the next while, seeing such diversity in skateboarding.

By maybe 1994 I think things had really settled down for the most part, but those few in between years were pretty out there - some saying they were the best years in skateboarding, others saying they were the worst, but any which way, it is fun to set up boards from that (or any other era) and see how they skate or what they can do.


This thread has a few catalogs, which were interesting to see, but I know there is a whole lot more out there too.


https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=120195.0;topicseen


This catalog had so many well known boards in it too:

https://archive.org/details/ccs-1991-winter/mode/2up

Seems like 91 was the big shape shift. Had a Templeton that was the standard long skinny nose/fat starting at the front truck/taper w slight flare on the tail(foot shape) then a coupling months later had the JBL Blender although I think they were still hovering around 9” then.

Both those are 91 shapes.

[Mbrimson88]

Seems like 91 was the big shape shift. Had a Templeton that was the standard long skinny nose/fat starting at the front truck/taper w slight flare on the tail(foot shape) then a coupling months later had the JBL Blender although I think they were still hovering around 9” then.

Both those are 91 shapes.

Yeah it is fascinating seeing all those boards, some brands concurrently running a square tail, a tapered tail, or a mixed shape combining both elements, all definitely still up in the 9+ for a while though, as per a few I have seen over the years.

Even my deck from 1992-3 The Firm was 9 x 32 and so very flat with the old school hole pattern, which probably had Indy Stage 5 trucks and some worn down to nothing wheels on it, from video I dug up recently, although I was still skating in a Powell Hawk medallion shirt from 1990 too and what looked like Airwalk Disasters (not cut down yet).


I think that is also why I like the modern concave equivalent type boards, because they feel like boards I am used to now, but they are in all the various shapes, from complete square tails, some tapered or other shape options and some even in the almost single kick shapes, which are way more fun to actually ride than the exact boards from back in the day.


* This just came up from an internet search, which was such a good board (although different graphic):

[FrAnKenFrEd]

88 to 93 was such a great time to be a young skateboarder. Loved all the changing board/ wheel sizes and trick development.

[overwaxed]

by 93/94 7.5" pop sickles were the norm right?

[Síota]

88 to 93 was such a great time to be a young skateboarder. Loved all the changing board/ wheel sizes and trick development.

It was expensive as shit. All of a sudden you needed new wheels and trucks like every second deck.

[FrAnKenFrEd]

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88 to 93 was such a great time to be a young skateboarder. Loved all the changing board/ wheel sizes and trick development.

[close]

It was expensive as shit. All of a sudden you needed new wheels and trucks like every second deck.

It was always expensive. Beg, borrow, steal. Sold CDs and other personal belongings for new deck money, job in a skate shop for discount.... made it happen....

[Mbrimson88]

by 93/94 7.5" pop sickles were the norm right?

For some maybe. 

I think we were not quite that far ahead here, but things were slowly going down in size from my 9" football shape from 1992, as some catalogs had a mix of boards, maybe more 1994 onwards, as some catalogs I seem to recall from 1993 still had a lot of the leftover small wheels and wider boards.

Here's a snapshot of some catalogs I just brought up again.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/lakeeriemonster/albums/72157614664734677/

Fall 1992 - everything 8.75 and wider, lots of "shapes" and interesting options.


https://archive.org/details/ccs-1993/mode/2up

Half a dozen 8" boards, half a dozen 8.25" boards, 100+ under 8" boards.


https://archive.org/details/ccs-1994-fall

Only a few boards over 8, more just a random board here or there, everything else well under 8" in this one.


https://archive.org/details/ccs-1995-summer/mode/2up

Similar very few 8+ boards, but way more uniform too.

[Bupstop]

Around here (Maryland)in 1993 we were all riding wide eggs. 7.5 started popping up in 1995 but that’s just my personal experience.

[144p]

The biggest thing with boards then vs reissues now is the concave and kick. Boards were so
Flat. Which means they broke easier.
That space between late 91 and mid 92 board shapes changed so much. I had friends who didn’t skate a lot and our setups were vastly different. If
You stayed current your board would be obsolete in a few months almost.

[Sedition]

Expand Quote

by 93/94 7.5" pop sickles were the norm right?

[close]

For some maybe. 

I think we were not quite that far ahead here, but things were slowly going down in size from my 9" football shape from 1992, as some catalogs had a mix of boards, maybe more 1994 onwards, as some catalogs I seem to recall from 1993 still had a lot of the leftover small wheels and wider boards.

Here's a snapshot of some catalogs I just brought up again.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/lakeeriemonster/albums/72157614664734677/

Fall 1992 - everything 8.75 and wider, lots of "shapes" and interesting options.


https://archive.org/details/ccs-1993/mode/2up

Half a dozen 8" boards, half a dozen 8.25" boards, 100+ under 8" boards.


https://archive.org/details/ccs-1994-fall

Only a few boards over 8, more just a random board here or there, everything else well under 8" in this one.


https://archive.org/details/ccs-1995-summer/mode/2up

Similar very few 8+ boards, but way more uniform too.

Jesus. I can't believe I (anyone) rode those things.

[swongolianbbq]

I remember skating girl and chocolate 7.5's that were so flat they felt convex, this was like '99 or later though, but the boards seemed like a dad or older brother/cousin's board situation cause they looked like an older kinda beat up dusty board that got pulled out/interest in it because of the Tony hawk video game, so those super flat 7.5s I remember could've been from like 94

I really want to set up a '92-'93 style board

football shape, 42/43mm wheels

I want to find a reissue board with a 14" wb

[Bupstop]

I remember skating girl and chocolate 7.5's that were so flat they felt convex, this was like '99 or later though, but the boards seemed like a dad or older brother/cousin's board situation cause they looked like an older kinda beat up dusty board that got pulled out/interest in it because of the Tony hawk video game, so those super flat 7.5s I remember could've been from like 94


I really want to set up a '92-'93 style board

football shape, 42/43mm wheels

I want to find a reissue board with a 14" wb

I got an Alien workshop Thomas Morgan reissue deck with those specs. Really fun shape. 9.25 X 32.25 WB 14.0/14.375
Looks like sb skates has one on sale too.

[swongolianbbq]

Expand Quote

I remember skating girl and chocolate 7.5's that were so flat they felt convex, this was like '99 or later though, but the boards seemed like a dad or older brother/cousin's board situation cause they looked like an older kinda beat up dusty board that got pulled out/interest in it because of the Tony hawk video game, so those super flat 7.5s I remember could've been from like 94


I really want to set up a '92-'93 style board

football shape, 42/43mm wheels

I want to find a reissue board with a 14" wb

[close]

I got an Alien workshop Thomas Morgan reissue deck with those specs. Really fun shape. 9.25 X 32.25 WB 14.0/14.375
Looks like sb skates has one on sale too.

Strong, hell yeah thanks

-

I can't find any spitfire wheels catalog screens for '93 or '94

Does anyone have any?

I always kinda wanted to build a couple boards from the early 90s with spitfires and indys specifically, and since stuff changed so fast I was going to choose stuff based on what was available in like, CCS that year. I guess I'm down to use venture lows or boardycakes or something if it gets into the ~7.4" - ~46mm wheel area which I feel the '94 catalogs are gonna look like when I find them.

I'm guessing for '93, but I'm probably gonna use 139s and 42 or 43mm classics for that one.

For a '92 setup I would probably use 149s and 48mm classics, but that's too close to my normal board specs so I'm more interested in building a '93 style one. Stuff was changing so fast in that time, it's hard to choose what to pick to really define it, but ~40mm wheels is the most obvious defining factor for me when I think about those setups. And a 48mm classic worn down to 42, on a ~9" football with 149s sounds right

And if I built a '91 setup, there's more options there as far as wheel and truck sizes go(149 to 169, 53mm to 60mm), but to steer it further away from my normal/main setup, I think I'd have to go with 159s, 58mm OG classics, and the lil jawns 1/4" slop jars risers. There were definitely people in '91 running 53mm wheels on 149s with no risers on like a 9.3 shaped board or whatever, but it's just too close to my normal setup and I like the way 1/4" bed pans look, prolly get some red ones.. tryna make a Jason Lee type board

So I guess I'm most interested in '91 and '93 setups. Seems all the changes with board shapes happened between like 90 and 94.. it's like skateboard's "chrysalis" moment between ~10" Pigs and 7.5" straight popsicle sticks... Starting with double vision/barnyard, then double drilled noses, and onward to footballs, 6-hole baseplates, tiny wheels... Before stabilizing around what, '94? With the relatively straight-railed popsicle situation

I was 3 years old in 1992 so I kinda missed out on all this stuff but I loved the videos from then when I got into skating. My mom's setup was a Santa cruz pig with 60mm rat bones and 159s. My first board was a 7.75 birdhouse with venture lows hahah

[GardenSkater77]

I distinctly remember Fall 1992 decks because I was a Freshman in HS and really into skateboarding.

The standard size that I liked is what is referred to as the football shape.

Under 32”
8.5”-8.75” across the front truck.
We never measured the back truck but at least an inch narrower
Nose length 7”-7.5”
Tail length 6.5”-6.25”

The best modern example I can find in this Opera deck:

https://lbskate.com/products/opera-smear-ex7-9-football-shaped-skateboard-deck?srsltid=AfmBOooiN8YAzqCTCc44rw7TUxcKfhQyk6gXKIp8ik721oZvJQc8f8oj

I think you will have more fun on this and learn all the pressure flips you like, but will also have a modern deck for everything else.

My favorite shape of the era was Gershon Mosley Everslick watermelon board. If I find it I’ll post it.

[swongolianbbq]

The kelly bird '93 deck is cool, it's 7.43" wide

Were the ventures from '92 the featherlights? Green bushings? They had lows right, or those were all lows? Not sure

Thinking a modern venture low 5.0 standard would be the best bet on a '93 reissue that's only 7.43" wide

Gonna look for an ~8.5" football from like early 93 or something if I can find it

Edit:

Found some Jeremy Wray, Jesse Neuhaus and Jason Lee ones in that range but they're all sold out. Saw a Blind 8.125 and some skinny Girl ones

Maybe a '92 shape on the smaller side is more what I'm after

Back to looking

[GardenSkater77]

The key is the oblong shape with a shift towards the nose. It was a complete reverse from the meaty tail era that ended in late 91’. 92’ was all about curb combos and pressure flips. Slicks were fun, but they broke so easily once the surface was rubbed down. It was like having a 6 ply.

Thanks for finding the Gershon deck.