7.875 or 8.0 for Flatground guy ..

[FrenchSkater]

Let me explain.. I've been skating for 15 years, and for about 5 good years, I've been doing a lot of flat, that's what I do especially during my sessions.

In my first 5 years of skateboarding, I rode 7.5 or 7.75, and by about my fifth year, I started to skate 8 and I increased (to 8.25 but I particularly rode 8.125) because I was doing a lot of gaps!

Now, for 5 years, I prefer to do flat and we do a lot of game of skate with my friends, my main goal of progression is to learn flip tricks in switch, and that's why I went down to 8.00 Since then, neither too big nor too small ! But, there is a difference compared to my first years of skateboarding .. when I increased in size, I don't know why, I lost my kickflip (I put maybe twenty without lying to you since 10 years .. ) and I don't always land my flip back, half cab flip, heelback .. whereas before with a small size, it worked pretty well and I had kickflip every time ! Know that I quite often use switch flips, and no worries for 360 flip, varial flip, varial heel or hardflip ..!

I therefore ask myself the question .. I am quite small (5 feet, 8 inches), I have small legs and small feet (size 8.0), should I go down to you in 7.875/7.9 ? It's the only size possible for me in terms of small size, I've already tried a 7.75 on someone, it's too small in terms of placement and stability! I want to note that I skate high raw ventures in 5.25, but I don't think the truck settings play a part.. I wonder if really a difference of a few millimeters would help me a lot, what scares me with 7.9 is that it makes spinning tricks difficult (I love anything 180, big spin..) but when i look at Luan with his 7.9 he has no trouble 

I see a lot of small pros riding big sizes, but their skate style is not the same as me, who is a flatground man who doesn't necessarily ride very fast hahaha Just that 8.0 is great for me, but I have the impression of.. having to give too much force on certain tricks

Sorry for being too detailed, but your advice would help me ! 

Thanks to you skater friends !

[Ok]

I consider them to be the same size. So I’m no help. In my opinion, the truck size matters more.

[brownjenkin]

If I was really torn between the two, I would go for 8.0. That size is much easier to find and offers more options in terms of shapes.

I think the main thing that might affect your actual skating between the two sizes is wheelbase rather than width. I think sub-8.0 boards are more likely to have a WB under 14.25, where it's not uncommon to see 8.0s with WBs in the 14.25-14.38 range. DLX boards come to mind.

[goodatmeth]

I don't think your kickflips will be influenced by switching width in the range of 7.875-8.125. Pretty much every other measurement makes much more of a difference.

To find out what fits you, I'd recommend just getting two 8" decks with different lengths/wheelbases. Or measure your old decks if you have any.
Tail length is also important.

[Mbrimson88]

Seems like there would be pros and cons to either / any option but I know when most people were skating boards around 8" some of those shapes were a bit weird, but the 8.125 seemed like such a better shape overall so I stuck with that more so than the 8.0 boards.  Finding the right size, shape and dimensions is what would benefit you more.

Trial and error might be the best way to work out what is best for you, as others said, so maybe check out some boards and start to work out what worked for you, then what didn't work for you and go from there.

I also ask:

What boards do you have access to?  Eg lots in any size, or are the smaller boards going to be harder to get your hands on?

Do you ride only certain brands or anything you like the look or feel of?

[tom]

I downsized from 8.5 and rode 8/8.1” boards primarily from about 2011-2021. Then I went up to 8.25. I love flip tricks. I’ve been obsessed with learning every single flip trick, spin trick, shuv it trick, etc. for as long as I’ve been skating. I try to incorporate as many flatground tricks into every session and make lines out of things that wouldn’t be lines otherwise

I thought having a 7.75 would help with relearning long forgotten tricks. It’s smaller and lighter so it must be easier I thought. Turns out it was actually harder for me to skate because there was less board to set up on and less board to land on. I’m more comfortable flipping a bigger board than a smaller board

If 8/8.1 is what feels comfortable width wise then that’s what you should ultimately stick with. There are other things that could be throwing you off. Wheelbase is a weird one where the smallest fraction can throw everything off. Wheel size and shape could be one. Truck weight could be another. If you like Ventures give Venture hollow lights a try next

[FrenchSkater]

Seems like there would be pros and cons to either / any option but I know when most people were skating boards around 8" some of those shapes were a bit weird, but the 8.125 seemed like such a better shape overall so I stuck with that more so than the 8.0 boards.  Finding the right size, shape and dimensions is what would benefit you more.

Trial and error might be the best way to work out what is best for you, as others said, so maybe check out some boards and start to work out what worked for you, then what didn't work for you and go from there.

I also ask:

What boards do you have access to?  Eg lots in any size, or are the smaller boards going to be harder to get your hands on?

Do you ride only certain brands or anything you like the look or feel of?

I started to realize that what helped me a lot was a board that was not too long (from 31.25 to 31.5 in length) and I recently discovered thanks to Ben Degros, the importance of the Wheelbase, especially with venture trucks, and I only take 14 now! It helped me a lot for responsiveness, but still struggled for my kickflip (I wonder if it's maybe a trick I'll never find again :'(!)

Otherwise, for 7.875 boards, there are Jart or Magenta brands that make these boards (but jart, wheelbase 14.25..)

I downsized from 8.5 and rode 8/8.1” boards primarily from about 2011-2021. Then I went up to 8.25. I love flip tricks. I’ve been obsessed with learning every single flip trick, spin trick, shuv it trick, etc. for as long as I’ve been skating. I try to incorporate as many flatground tricks into every session and make lines out of things that wouldn’t be lines otherwise

I thought having a 7.75 would help with relearning long forgotten tricks. It’s smaller and lighter so it must be easier I thought. Turns out it was actually harder for me to skate because there was less board to set up on and less board to land on. I’m more comfortable flipping a bigger board than a smaller board

If 8/8.1 is what feels comfortable width wise then that’s what you should ultimately stick with. There are other things that could be throwing you off. Wheelbase is a weird one where the smallest fraction can throw everything off. Wheel size and shape could be one. Truck weight could be another. If you like Ventures give Venture hollow lights a try next

That's the problem, I'm too used to the 8.00 for comfort and for the side as I said "Neither too small, nor too big".

But sometimes, to learn the tricks I have to force or I have trouble jumping high,
I don't know if lighter trucks would help me.. Isn't that a placebo effect ? Well we can also say that changing size for a few millimeters would also be a placebo effect.. 

[commander jameson]

Don't overthink it, you are the one doing the tricks so practice kickflips again.
It is not uncommon to loose some tricks over time, even if your skate gear stayed the same.
Sometimes we think that new gear will help us but in the end it is just matter of taking time to try to land tricks no matter what equipment.
I can see how new gear can stoke you and help land stuff more quickly but it is all it the mind.
If you have means experiment with gear but like I said don't overthink it, just skate and try to have fun.

[FrenchSkater]

Don't overthink it, you are the one doing the tricks so practice kickflips again.
It is not uncommon to loose some tricks over time, even if your skate gear stayed the same.
Sometimes we think that new gear will help us but in the end it is just matter of taking time to try to land tricks no matter what equipment.
I can see how new gear can stoke you and help land stuff more quickly but it is all it the mind.
If you have means experiment with gear but like I said don't overthink it, just skate and try to have fun.

I get it.. sometimes that's what I think, but sometimes the madness is back when some tricks don't go through haha

[El Freegano]

What is your current setup. I am kind of your size, a bit shorter 5..6 tall and 7.5/8 shoes and i also prefer 7.875 and 8 decks. 0.125 width difference is nothing and actually will not matter that much for the flip tricks, but the trucks and wheelsbase are more important to me. !4wb is way easier and it is good with ventures, but i have noticed that since i put thunders 147 (that are kind of low trucks) on magenta 7.875 with 14 wb the flip tricks went easier. Give the 7.875 magenta or dgk 7.9 a try, i think they are  the same bbs wood, 31.25 long, 14 wb. The hlc brands  have 14.2 wb and when i have tried them with thunder the 360 flips were a bit harder to do, the same goes for polar 7.875, it wasn't bad but i definitely prefer them with royals.

[Lepanto]

Maybe try Apri skate boards

They got meny small and really nice shapes

[FrenchSkater]

What is your current setup. I am kind of your size, a bit shorter 5..6 tall and 7.5/8 shoes and i also prefer 7.875 and 8 decks. 0.125 width difference is nothing and actually will not matter that much for the flip tricks, but the trucks and wheelsbase are more important to me. !4wb is way easier and it is good with ventures, but i have noticed that since i put thunders 147 (that are kind of low trucks) on magenta 7.875 with 14 wb the flip tricks went easier. Give the 7.875 magenta or dgk 7.9 a try, i think they are  the same bbs wood, 31.25 long, 14 wb. The hlc brands  have 14.2 wb and when i have tried them with thunder the 360 flips were a bit harder to do, the same goes for polar 7.875, it wasn't bad but i definitely prefer them with royals.

My current setup is a magenta in 8.00, WB 14 and 31.5! I can skate anything from 31.25 to 31.5, but a 14 wheelbase is best for me! I don't think I'll take that now! And I had already tried thunder, but I prefer a little more height, I feel better on my board!

[notinternetfamous]

i'm also running the magenta 8.0 on ventures highs (5.6 hanger tho). 14" wb and ventures is a great combo. you should just stick to 8's as others mentioned due to availability of shapes and don't change your trucks if you can help it. consistent gear should lead to more consistent flatground. you'll manage to get your kickflips back! 

although thunder 147s are pretty fun with 14.25" wb (which is more common on 8's) imo

[dr.prestige]

I would go full bore and downsize to 7.5" with some 50mm or less wheels and some 7.625" trucks (venture 5.0, indy 129 etc) preferably lows. it's the optimal flatground setup, it takes no work to do most flip tricks, you'll have kickflips every time in no time plus other stuff you probably wouldn't imagine you can do and you'll be catching your tres at the apex like it's nothing

[FrenchSkater]

I finally stay in 8.00! I tried a 7.8 on a kid in the park, it's still small for the space, but perfect in length! I will therefore prefer an 8.00 with a wheelbase of 14 and a very small length like 31.25!

I noticed that a few millimeters did not change anything for the tricks, and I remain on my decision that the 8 is perfect, neither too small nor too big!

[MadeYouLook]

Don't discount board shape either.
Love Quasi but I lost most of my flip tricks on their 8.25 shape with the big nose.

[Dark Knight]

I grew up skating 7.25/7.5’s.  I have size 13 feet. Once I leveled up to 8/8.25’s there was no turning back

[Skatebeard]

I grew up on 7.5s, started skating 7.75s when i came back to skating but it became pretty apparent that narrow decks were causing more issues than they solve.

I skate pure flatground and a lot of fliptricks and have settled on 8.25, and crucially a 14" WB... I think the real key here is the wheelbase rather than width, i can throw doubles on the 8.25 just as easily as my backup 7.875 setup, but there's so much more board to catch that you have a bigger safety net and margin for error.

I'd say stick with 8.0 for better availability, there's a decent 8" crailtap shape that I had paired with Ventures and some small wheels, that was fun.

These days though, I find 7.75/8 feel almost identical to skate if the wheelbase is the same.