Anyone ever build a rain setup?

[Gnarwhal]

I've been living in the PNW for the last few years and I've decided it's finally time to graduate from rainy winter parking garages to a second setup I can thrash in semi-wet weather.  Has anyone done something like this semi-legit before?  All I can really think of is soft grippy wheels and coarse griptape.  If anyone has sealed a deck or some shit any tips would be appreciated!

[mattdlx]

@tkp can guide you

[biaherl]

I have had a rainy day board for over 30 years. Mostly a cruiser for distance not tricks. It's made from old or hand me down parts that you're not invested in. You can keep clear coating your board to protect it but eventually you will have a board that you love that will need to be retired and that will become your rainy day board.

It's an important part of your quiver

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

I used to have one back in Aus when I commuted to work most days on my board, they are a tonne of fun and you don't need to give a shit about them. usually made up of old parts lying around

[Movies]

I live in the PNW also, and for this rainy season I was thinking about trying some of that Nike/Jessup re-grind griptape with the rubber in it. I don't know if it would be better when wet...but it can't be any worse than standard griptape. Deep concave boards seem to hold my feet a bit better but I'm probably imagining that.
For wheels I try to stay below 95a, and just set up an old deck that's already past it's prime. I was thinking about sealing one with clear coat to see if it lasts any longer, but I honestly have my doubts.

[Sloppy Krooks]

One thing I can add to the rest of the advice is get yourself some downhill grip tape. That shit is super coarse and will keep you glued to the board.

Those downhill longboard guys mob down hills in the rain, some even have ways of putting tread into their wheels.

One other point before setting up an older board is to get some lacquer or sealant snd coat the board for a slightly longer life.

[Movies]

One thing I can add to the rest of the advice is get yourself some downhill grip tape. That shit is super coarse and will keep you glued to the board.

Those downhill longboard guys mob down hills in the rain, some even have ways of putting tread into their wheels.

One other point before setting up an older board is to get some lacquer or sealant snd coat the board for a slightly longer life.

Shit, I didn't even know downhill grip was a thing. Just ordered some 30 grit to try out. Thanks.

(first time looking at a longboard shop, and there's some weird alternate dimension type shit going on over there)

[layzieyez]

Longboarders have bearings and bearing lube specifically for the wet. I'm not sure how well they stand inpact, but it is an option.

[Sloppy Krooks]

Expand Quote

One thing I can add to the rest of the advice is get yourself some downhill grip tape. That shit is super coarse and will keep you glued to the board.

Those downhill longboard guys mob down hills in the rain, some even have ways of putting tread into their wheels.

One other point before setting up an older board is to get some lacquer or sealant snd coat the board for a slightly longer life.

[close]

Shit, I didn't even know downhill grip was a thing. Just ordered some 30 grit to try out. Thanks.

(first time looking at a longboard shop, and there's some weird alternate dimension type shit going on over there)

The way they have to sit way back to powerslide soft wheels means they need extra grip. Feet just slide off the board with regular stuff.

A weird alternate dimension is a good way of putting it. It’s generally a good dimension tho, from what I know.

[Movies]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

One thing I can add to the rest of the advice is get yourself some downhill grip tape. That shit is super coarse and will keep you glued to the board.

Those downhill longboard guys mob down hills in the rain, some even have ways of putting tread into their wheels.

One other point before setting up an older board is to get some lacquer or sealant snd coat the board for a slightly longer life.

[close]

Shit, I didn't even know downhill grip was a thing. Just ordered some 30 grit to try out. Thanks.

(first time looking at a longboard shop, and there's some weird alternate dimension type shit going on over there)

[close]

The way they have to sit way back to powerslide soft wheels means they need extra grip. Feet just slide off the board with regular stuff.

A weird alternate dimension is a good way of putting it. It’s generally a good dimension tho, from what I know.

Yeah, I was interested to see that they put old wheels on a lathe to re-shape them and add channels for better grip in the rain. That's pretty cool.

[j....soy.....]

I found a Jeff Kendall re-issue and it had Powell bombers....perfect rain set up.  I didn't bother doing many slides or tricks...just going through puddles is fun enough....

[Sedition]

I sort of do. It snows a lot here in the winter. There is a mini ramp we often shovel out to skate when it snows. Inevitably boards go off side of the ramp, and into the snow (and get soaked). It's worse in the spring then the snow is really wet. So, come winter I "retire" a deck before it is totally beat. When the snow comes I set that up as snow/ramp board with some cheaper bearings. 

[rawbertson.]

my plan was set one up with the softest wheels i can find, use an old snowskate deck that has foam grip + xtreme grip (the aggressive rubber spikes) just waiting til my shittiest snowskate is no longer worth using. was also considering spraying some galvanizing spray paint on my trucks but not sure its even worth it.

[fakiefs180]

I live in the PNW also, and for this rainy season I was thinking about trying some of that Nike/Jessup re-grind griptape with the rubber in it. I don't know if it would be better when wet...but it can't be any worse than standard griptape. Deep concave boards seem to hold my feet a bit better but I'm probably imagining that.
For wheels I try to stay below 95a, and just set up an old deck that's already past it's prime. I was thinking about sealing one with clear coat to see if it lasts any longer, but I honestly have my doubts.

That grip gets very slippery when it is wet. Maybe because of that plastic or whatever, I don't know to be honest. But please don't do that.

[backinaction]

I would buy some Zealous bearings.  They are the most sealed I have ever come across and would probably do fine on a rain board.  They take a while to break in and get faster after a month or so - but I have never had to clean them.  They aren't on my primary board, but they have been kicked around for a few years.

Bonus is they are cheap.

[layzieyez]

I would buy some Zealous bearings.  They are the most sealed I have ever come across and would probably do fine on a rain board.  They take a while to break in and get faster after a month or so - but I have never had to clean them.  They aren't on my primary board, but they have been kicked around for a few years.

Bonus is they are cheap.

Their ceramic bearings are great. Which ones you get?

[Easy Slider]

Expand Quote

I live in the PNW also, and for this rainy season I was thinking about trying some of that Nike/Jessup re-grind griptape with the rubber in it. I don't know if it would be better when wet...but it can't be any worse than standard griptape. Deep concave boards seem to hold my feet a bit better but I'm probably imagining that.
For wheels I try to stay below 95a, and just set up an old deck that's already past it's prime. I was thinking about sealing one with clear coat to see if it lasts any longer, but I honestly have my doubts.

[close]

That grip gets very slippery when it is wet. Maybe because of that plastic or whatever, I don't know to be honest. But please don't do that.

Made me think of:



The first record I bought and I still love it. Prime Bon Jovi 

I guess that belongs in the real confessions and/or unpopular music opinions thread tho.

[backinaction]

Expand Quote

I would buy some Zealous bearings.  They are the most sealed I have ever come across and would probably do fine on a rain board.  They take a while to break in and get faster after a month or so - but I have never had to clean them.  They aren't on my primary board, but they have been kicked around for a few years.

Bonus is they are cheap.

[close]

Their ceramic bearings are great. Which ones you get?

The $16 steel ones. They aren’t as fast as my Swiss, Swiss 6 or Atoms, but they roll better than Reds - and I have never had to clean them.

Probably going to get more sets for my kids boards so I don’t have to worry when they toss them down in the dirt.

[Sativa Lung]

Ok this is one of those weird areas of expertise you only get when you live in a wet/rainy climate, commute on your board, and have like a ridiculous collection of gear.

This is my personal rain/snow setup.. Well my main one..

8.375 x 31.5 madness r7
Thunder 149 titanium with bones medbushings
Creature /OJ 56mm 97a hardline (wide but somewhat round)
Zealous ceramics

So basically what you want is a deck that you're comfortable with but don't care about. R7 has held up really well for me, i dont really worry about it sogging no matter how wet it gets. Trucks can be whatever you want but i recommend keeping them as tight as you can stand just because theres nothing worse than wheelbiting on a turn and getting tossed onto the wet pavement. Wheels I'd go with whatever size/shape you're comfortable with but wider and softer is better in my opinion. 95-97a is kind of a sweet spot for the roads around here.

Obviously bearings are the biggest issue with a rain board. I've got two kind of philosophies - either something like the zealous that are greased and tightly shielded or if you're the kind of person that thinks bronson raws are cool you can just get a set of $20 ceramics off amazon and pop the shields. Both methods work, but the zealous are actually pretty fast too.

[backinaction]

anyone think about using some sort of spray on shit for grip? liquid sandpaper or a vehicle bedliner spray?

No.  But I've seen it for sale.

https://www.lucidgrip.com/products/lucid-clear-spray-grip-tape

[ChuckRamone]

I just use old decks and parts for my rain setup. I usually change the deck when the griptape starts peeling off. As for bearings, I just let them get rusty and not think about it too much. If they seize up, they will roll again once there's enough water in them. Ha. You just have to roll around in the rain for a bit to make that happen. It's a rain setup anyway so it's going to get very messed up from the water unless you figure out a way to make a waterproof skateboard.

[swongolianbbq]

Anybody try the ceramic reds bearings?

Anyone use the balls from the ceramics with some race reds races

Any day experience with putting shields on both sides of some reds, added drag?

Xtra speed cream?

Replace races with regular reds or mini logo races if they get rusty but keep the ceramic balls?

Tried the jessup "roam" grip, not impressed, Vicious was what I had last time, very pizza tape/80's style

Gonna try bones hardcore grip now

Gonna be testing out a set of the spitfire charger wheels

Flight decks work great for keeping their pop after skating in the rain

[signtime]

Love rainskating.

For grip, surf foam with snowskate xtreme grip is fabulous in the rain. You might consider some shoes with an outward tread that'll lock into the spikes. Snowboard stomp pads are an okay alternative to snowskate grip.

For wheels, there's some Tight Slalom wheels with square lips out there like Seismic's 62mm/84a Cambria that would do great. Especially if you cut some grooves in it.

For decks, there's a handful of "waterproof" vertically laminated street and longboard decks on the market. But idk, my rain decks are rain decks because they're already rotting anyways. Although I've never heard anything but rave reviews from people.

Have fun!

[Frank and Fred]

An old flight, pop secret or VX deck is a great idea. The standard SKF  bearings come heavily lubed with one metal shield and one nylon. I'd go for soft wide wheels. Maybe some slightly harder bushings, as wet bushings behave weird.

No matter what you do, it won't last so I wouldn't spend too many $s on it.

[txvizier]

I for some reason traded my grosso indys which we're used.. for a fat egg shaped zinger thing by krooked with soft long board wheels to take into drainage tunnels to skate and that was fun for like a week other than that skating through water is fun but I'm always like "oooo my poor bearings" I remember taking a vision psycho stick through alley ways as a boy when it flooded and pretending to surf skate or something, good times

[marcusbutler]

My board crisis landed me with a 7.7 thank you board. Some indy 129's. 50mil spits. I couldn't skate that for the life of me. And thats what I grew up skating. Stowed it away. I'm in FL and had some hurricane in the past couple years and skated it in the 30 mph winds down my street.

[swongolianbbq]

Haven't gotten around to building version 3 of my Alaska-ass cruiser

Version 2 was an 8.25" flight deck with bones hardcore grip tape, 54mm spitfire 80hd chargers, and ceramic reds, with 149's

I didn't like that I couldn't slide the wheels, and that I was razor tailing, and when it got warmer I couldn't skate dirt trails anymore.

I've had a new thought about it though, plasti-dipoing the deck for Xtra water resistance

Trying to make the longest lasting board ever

This is what I've decided on so far

-Powell flight 9" popsicle
-Powell hardcore grip, crazy like roofing shingle ass grip
-Potentially plasti dipping deck.. Might add wheel wells first
-Custom lil jawnz polyethylene horseshoe-shape nose and tail skid plates, ~9-10mm thick or 3/8" or whatever, and a backup set or two. Prolly gonna use sex bolts so I can retighten/replace them without stripping the wood holes out
-matching lil jawnz rails, and 1/4" risers
-indy 169's
-66mm 82a Powell snakes
- Bones reds ceramics, last time I just used extra speed cream, but with the water coming in from the axle and shit, and the back of the bearing being open, it wasn't perfectly ideal. They're still rolling tho. This time I think I'll add another set of rubber shields to the inside and maybe pack em with phil wood grease. But I'm thinking if I put ceramic balls in some Race Reds races, I could grease everything up and have minimal water entry to the axle/backside of the bearings...

I need to build this waterproof dirt board ASAP it sounds super fun and indestructible

[swongolianbbq]

Kinda wish I had saved my flat sleeved bushing washers for this and my set of ace low hard bushings.. I'm not 100% on the trucks for this I might do 9" ace hollows

[GnarAlarm]

Lotta really old threads getting necro'd round here lately.

Never built a rain setup.
Rain is like my favorite excuse to not go skate, a rain setup would fuck that all up. 

[Texas_Tone]

Dude I want what whatever swongolian is smoking on, I got an old madness deck setup with some ventures and mini juices that I roll around the neighborhood on when it’s wet, but plasti filling a board is the kind of crazy shit I like to hear, keep being you BBQ