What’s the secret to skating longer wheelbase?

[kenjiro]

I’m skating my 5th Polar 8.5 shape board and it’s perfect for me. I dont think I want to change anytime soon. Preface, I skate mainly transition.

my only gripe is that doing my flip tricks can be more finicky. I lost my kicks and heels when I switched to this board and aces. I can still do them but it’s more difficult/i haven’t figured out the trick yet. Instead of switching my board, i’d rather learn how to skate a board with a longer wb.

today I tried a polar 8.25 (exact same dimensions and trucks wheels, just different Wb) and I didn’t like how quickly everything popped/how it took no effort from my front foot.

Idk where i’m going with this. what’s the secret/ tips for skating a longer wb board?

[Mean salto]

Stand with your feet a bit further apart?

The only time I ever really noticed wb was when I went from 8 and under boards with classic 14 wb to the first big creatures that were 8.6+ and 15+ wb and noticed I have to check some banks before I roll in because the middle will scrape.
I never noticed a difference for flips etc but I'm pretty tall and probably should ride a really long wb

[FatGuy92]

Are you on Ace classics? Those add +2.75" to the overall WB if I remember correctly, which would be 17.25".. Same equivalent as standard Indys on a 14.25" WB deck. What's wrong with your flip tricks exactly? If you have short legs like me, what I noticed made more of an impact on my tricks was board length. I sized that down by about 0.5" and everything felt a lot more manageable.

[GliderSkateboards]

Ben Degros made this video a while back that really covers how to set up your board depending on your wheel base. Worth looking into

[kenjiro]

Are you on Ace classics? Those add +2.75" to the overall WB if I remember correctly, which would be 17.25".. Same equivalent as standard Indys on a 14.25" WB deck. What's wrong with your flip tricks exactly? If you have short legs like me, what I noticed made more of an impact on my tricks was board length. I sized that down by about 0.5" and everything felt a lot more manageable.

Yes I’m on ace classics. My wb measured more
like 17”. The problem i’m having is my flick. Like my heelflips i’ll pop but miss the flick. My flick doesn’t miss on the smaller wheelbases. I probably need to change my foot positioning. Since my Wb is longer i should try moving my foot up or hanging my foot off more so I can flick
quicker right? Especially if my tail snaps faster?

[sketchyrider]

forgive me here, but if you've been through 5 of them and you're still having trouble adjusting, is it really your perfect shape?

only reason i ask is cause i was into those 9 x 33 boards for a while, but eventually realized they were just a little too long for what i needed. loved them on transition, not so much anywhere else.

maybe its time to give an 8.5 with a smaller WB a try. my 2 cents...

[kenjiro]

forgive me here, but if you've been through 5 of them and you're still having trouble adjusting, is it really your perfect shape?

only reason i ask is cause i was into those 9 x 33 boards for a while, but eventually realized they were just a little too long for what i needed. loved them on transition, not so much anywhere else.

maybe its time to give an 8.5 with a smaller WB a try. my 2 cents...

nah you’re right i should. I just love polar boards so i’m restricted in what i can choose in terms of shape. probably just gonna have to suck it up!

[keepthefunkalive]

One thing I noticed when I skated the longer decks (with presumably longer wheelbases) with the same width I always skate, was to actually look at where I want my toe or heel to slide off the nose at. Focus on the flick spot where your foot comes off the board a few times, instead of just going off muscle memory. Totally helped when I was trying out 32" decks (I skate 8"w). Maybe change your foot placement a little to accommodate if necessary.

[Skatebeard]

Having longer legs.

I'm 5'8" and relatively short in the leg, cannot skate tech on a longer wheelbase deck at all, 14" is my goldilocks WB.

If it isn't working for you after several decks, it's time to admit it to yourself and skate a shorter WB.

[Frank and Fred]

Redrill the nose on an old one and see if it improves things. Try 1/4" less.

[twic3]

I'm 5'5, size 8 shoes and skate the same set up. I had a hard time flicking too until I sized up my wheel from 54 to 56, the extra leverage helped alot.

Another alternative is to skate a board with a shorter nose and tail then a Polar (its pretty damn long compared to other brands). Frogs 8.5 shape has 14.5wb but with a normal length nose and tail and everything felt easy when I had that board.

[kenjiro]

thanks for all the tips. i think i’m gonna try a smaller wb. i kept trying to change my foot positioning and it just wasn’t working out.

[Roisto]

Polar 8.5” has a 14.375” wheelbase, not 14.5” as they state. Still might be longer than what you’re used to. Anyway, there’s so much more to it than wheelbase and unfortunately thus far have not figured out why some decks don’t work for me at all while some do. For the longest time I thought it was the wheelbase only but then I skated a 9.25” Antihero with 14.375” wheelbase and a Polar P2 straight afterwards with the same wheelbase. The Antihero I absolutely loved while the Polar I hated almost as much as some of the worst decks I’ve had throughout the years.

[Woodshop]

It might not seem like much, but it can make such a difference even going to 14.25 from 14.3 or 14.5 wheelbase or vice versa, but it also comes down to concave of the boards, angle of kicks and a few other things too.

The length of the middle between the kicks (different to wheelbase) also has a fair bit to do with it, so on boards like BBS where they have different molds for different length / shape / wheelbase options, the shorter wheelbase is usually going to be a shorter board overall and would sit inside the concave of a longer wheelbase board.

DLX is the same wood and concave and has the 8.5 with a 14.25 wb which might be a good one to try just once to compare to the usual Polar 8.5 board, but that is up to you.

As was said, you can try drilling down an old board just to compare, but it will not change the point your toe flicks off the side, or more commonly off the corner of the kick, so there isn't going to be as much of a change as you might think.


As to the way a board performs, a longer wheelbase is going to be more stable at speed, turn more steadily than a shorter wheelbase on looser trucks and give you a wider stance option if you need it.  You can still stand with feet closer together, but if you need the longer stance, your feet will not both be up into the kick areas.  People who want or need to get lower and wider in stance will find a longer wheelbase works much better for them, more so than a shorter wheelbase board.