Gear madness support thread

[Sedition]

...best of luck, hopefully you are able to give up any notion of looking cool.

"If you can be not afraid to be laughed at, you could do so many things." -Gonz

[FrenchSkater]

Following the previous conversation, in your opinion, A short skater should skate a thin board (7.75 up to 8.125) with 129/139 trucks to skate better ?

I want to switch like many people to an 8.25 board with 144 trucks but I'm afraid that my skating will regress..

And I have the impression that many pros who are short skate small sizes.. isn't it easy to coordinate the morphology with our board ?

[FatGuy92]

Yo. name checks out here. having a gear crisis yall. basically, im trying to stop wearing big baggy clothes because i think i look goofy cuz im damn short and skinny. for reference, im sizing down from big boy fit to 93 fit but keeping my tee the same and going for that straight/ loose pants look now. i feel like i look worse and disproportionate with the slightly oversize tee now. tried sizing up in waist but that looks way off to me when the crotch bulge happens.

does this weird ‘off’ feeling go away or am i doomed to baggy clothes lol

Fellow short king (with short legs as well), but I’m average bordering on dad bod. Not sure if there super committed to wearing looser clothes but imo ditch the baggy clothes it’ll just make you look shorter. I’ve been wearing Uniqlo stretch selvedge jeans I think they’re slim straight cut and their shirts are actually better fitting for short dudes since they’re a Japanese brand. All of the shirts I have from them aren’t too long at all. Go down one size for Uniqlo U branded stuff.

[Sedition]

Following the previous conversation, in your opinion, A short skater should skate a thin board (7.75 up to 8.125) with 129/139 trucks to skate better ?

I want to switch like many people to an 8.25 board with 144 trucks but I'm afraid that my skating will regress..

And I have the impression that many pros who are short skate small sizes.. isn't it easy to coordinate the morphology with our board ?

This entire thread has a lot to teach. One of the big take-a-ways, however, is that there is no magic bullet. Moreover, if you are afraid to try things, skateboarding probably isn't the best choice for you. And to somewhat contradict that last statement, as been said over and over and over by anyone afflicted by the Madness...if you want your skating to remain consistent, don't fuck around (too much) with your equipment. Once you find what works, stick with it.

[TheCrimsonShroud]

Expand Quote

Following the previous conversation, in your opinion, A short skater should skate a thin board (7.75 up to 8.125) with 129/139 trucks to skate better ?

I want to switch like many people to an 8.25 board with 144 trucks but I'm afraid that my skating will regress..

And I have the impression that many pros who are short skate small sizes.. isn't it easy to coordinate the morphology with our board ?

[close]

This entire thread has a lot to teach. One of the big take-a-ways, however, is that there is no magic bullet. Moreover, if you are afraid to try things, skateboarding probably isn't the best choice for you. And to somewhat contradict that last statement, as been said over and over and over by anyone afflicted by the Madness...if you want your skating to remain consistent, don't fuck around (too much) with your equipment. Once you find what works, stick with it.

Very solid advice. I was talking to a local guy who absolutely rips yesterday. He has zero madness whatsoever. He skates Indy and spit, bones, stock everything. His big lesson was first and foremost, find a concave/size/wheelbase you dig and then just skate. Experiment here and there but when something clicks, keep using it.

[Ok]

Following the previous conversation, in your opinion, A short skater should skate a thin board (7.75 up to 8.125) with 129/139 trucks to skate better ?

I want to switch like many people to an 8.25 board with 144 trucks but I'm afraid that my skating will regress..

And I have the impression that many pros who are short skate small sizes.. isn't it easy to coordinate the morphology with our board ?

yo. you’ve been going at this for a minute on here: you want to skate a wider board/trucks, it doesn’t work as well for you (by your admission), you keep coming back to ask for more of the same justifications, for you to buy and ride the bigger setup (which i think you’ve done? and said it didn’t work, right?)
there are no hard metrics for body size and setup size.
skating ‘better’ is a tricky one, for me for instance, a wider setup can feel ‘better’, but i probably land more tricks on a smaller setup. so which is better? that is for you to determine.
this is the support thread. i have been in your position, if not a more extreme version: i’m probably best at the skating i do now, on a 7.8 ish board, and 5.0 lo’s/145s or a very few 8” trucks (5.2 lo’s/147s/old 8” royals), and 52 or smaller wheels. the skaters i admired the most locally, skated bigger setups: 8.25-8.5, 149s, 54s. looks cool/butch/macho, and makes more sense for the rough stuff. i tried to goldilocks that shit together and sometimes it worked for a moment. but if i get on an embarrassingly small board it’s all gonna workout easy/better (aside from riding over rough ground, there will always be trade-offs).
so i sympathize when i say this: stop fucking about, go skate. you can’t land your shit, because you (and me), are spending time posting about a small difference instead of skating. go skate fucker.
respectfully.

[goodatmeth]

Following the previous conversation, in your opinion, A short skater should skate a thin board (7.75 up to 8.125) with 129/139 trucks to skate better ?

I want to switch like many people to an 8.25 board with 144 trucks but I'm afraid that my skating will regress..

And I have the impression that many pros who are short skate small sizes.. isn't it easy to coordinate the morphology with our board ?

I don't think height and ideal board width have any correlation. But length for sure.
You can skate a short 9" deck just like a short 8". Just try a fat short deck and be happy

[rocklobster]

Expand Quote

Following the previous conversation, in your opinion, A short skater should skate a thin board (7.75 up to 8.125) with 129/139 trucks to skate better ?

I want to switch like many people to an 8.25 board with 144 trucks but I'm afraid that my skating will regress..

And I have the impression that many pros who are short skate small sizes.. isn't it easy to coordinate the morphology with our board ?

[close]

so i sympathize when i say this: stop fucking about, go skate. you can’t land your shit, because you (and me), are spending time posting about a small difference instead of skating. go skate fucker.
respectfully.

[hiljentaa]

so i sympathize when i say this: stop fucking about, go skate. you can’t land your shit, because you (and me), are spending time posting about a small difference instead of skating. go skate fucker.
respectfully.

Thank you ok for saying what we're all thinking. Someone please gnar this man for me. 🙏

[Sedition]

...skating ‘better’ is a tricky one, for me for instance, a wider setup can feel ‘better’, but i probably land more tricks on a smaller setup. so which is better? that is for you to determine.

This, exactly, has become a source of recent wheel madness for me. I am under no illusion that a 52mm Conical is going to make me skate substantively better than a 53mm Classic, but I am trying to figure which simply "feels better." The answer?

"This is no answer. There never was an answer. There never will be an answer. That is the answer." -Harry Dean Stanton

[IUTSM]

Expand Quote

Following the previous conversation, in your opinion, A short skater should skate a thin board (7.75 up to 8.125) with 129/139 trucks to skate better ?

I want to switch like many people to an 8.25 board with 144 trucks but I'm afraid that my skating will regress..

And I have the impression that many pros who are short skate small sizes.. isn't it easy to coordinate the morphology with our board ?

[close]

yo. you’ve been going at this for a minute on here: you want to skate a wider board/trucks, it doesn’t work as well for you (by your admission), you keep coming back to ask for more of the same justifications, for you to buy and ride the bigger setup (which i think you’ve done? and said it didn’t work, right?)
there are no hard metrics for body size and setup size.
skating ‘better’ is a tricky one, for me for instance, a wider setup can feel ‘better’, but i probably land more tricks on a smaller setup. so which is better? that is for you to determine.
this is the support thread. i have been in your position, if not a more extreme version: i’m probably best at the skating i do now, on a 7.8 ish board, and 5.0 lo’s/145s or a very few 8” trucks (5.2 lo’s/147s/old 8” royals), and 52 or smaller wheels. the skaters i admired the most locally, skated bigger setups: 8.25-8.5, 149s, 54s. looks cool/butch/macho, and makes more sense for the rough stuff. i tried to goldilocks that shit together and sometimes it worked for a moment. but if i get on an embarrassingly small board it’s all gonna workout easy/better (aside from riding over rough ground, there will always be trade-offs).
so i sympathize when i say this: stop fucking about, go skate. you can’t land your shit, because you (and me), are spending time posting about a small difference instead of skating. go skate fucker.
respectfully.

Buncha wimps where you live if 8 with 149 and 54s is cool/butch/macho. Gotta get 8.5, 159, 56 for that road!

Just playing with ya. Ive got an 8.5, 159, 56 and its fun as shit for just being loosey goosey, recently set up an 8.25, 44, 54 and its certainly flipping more, but then i skated some wimpy tooth pick 7.5-7.75 w ventures and small wheels for a second the other day and it flipped like craaaaaazy. I have no interest in riding that sorta set up outside a tennis court, but thats my whole point in writing this. We are all older and at least im not very sick on the skateboard, so having a tennis court set up and an every day pushing and skating street setup is reasonable and all that shit.

[Mbrimson88]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Yo. name checks out here. having a gear crisis yall. basically, im trying to stop wearing big baggy clothes because i think i look goofy cuz im damn short and skinny. for reference, im sizing down from big boy fit to 93 fit but keeping my tee the same and going for that straight/ loose pants look now. i feel like i look worse and disproportionate with the slightly oversize tee now. tried sizing up in waist but that looks way off to me when the crotch bulge happens.

does this weird ‘off’ feeling go away or am i doomed to baggy clothes lol

[close]

This thread is mostly about the function of gear, not so much the fashion of it. That said, if skateboarding has anything to teach, it's "be yourself." To that end, wear what you are comfortable with, and don't worry about how it "looks."

[close]

i like the response.

i’m short, i have disproportionately short legs, and a long torso. so i should dress like elijah, to compensate (i don’t). pulling the pants up higher, would give the impression of elongating my legs, and shortening my torso.

i think a straight fit looks best, 501s etc. but…ya gotta be young and make silly choices. the baggy thing that many are doing, although a great response to the skinnies, is now kinda…
i know well the horrible state of being so uncomfortable, about most everything, that the pants make going outside, a chore. best of luck, hopefully you are able to give up any notion of looking cool.

On the topic of clothing (and I don't want to get in too deep here) but I found quite simply, if I feel comfortable in what I am wearing, I am already a step ahead of where I was at the start of the day.  Trying to get a "costume" going for whatever reason may or may not work, but skate brands aside, finding what is most comfortable is key to getting in a good frame of mind and then I am more able to focus on skateboarding.

Thinking about what I am wearing is somewhat superficial I know, but if I keep having to adjust this, or pull up that or whatever, it gets really annoying and then detracts from what I want to do, which is ride a skateboard.

That said, sure I have some "brand name" stuff, the exact brands are not important here, but I also tracked down some other things which make my life a whole lot easier, just comfortable fitting clothes, not tailor fitted or anything, so yes exactly what you can buy off the shelf from any number of places, from department stores, through skate shops and most places in between, but the main thing is I found what works for me and that makes me happy in that regard so then I am not self conscious about clothing / fashion, age or anything else.


Sure my 24/7/365 for life outfit is 874 work pants, usually plain white tshirt, generic flannel shirt as a base, with skate brands thrown in a plenty as I have been in and around the skate industry for 20+ years, but through trial and error of many different styles, including things that would surprise some people, that is what works for me.  Being 48 years old and a very average look, build and whatever, sure I can pick up some things that might not work for some people, but a few little things I have learned along the way make it a lot easier, eg medium white Gildan blank shirts fit better than any other colour and work well as an under shirt without being too tight or restrictive, large tshirts in skate brands over the top of that as needed but usually after I have had them in the dryer to shrink a bit for a better fit, the 874 pants I wear, size up, put on a belt and it makes it a little easier to move in without being too baggy, plus I have room to "eat a bit more" if I need to or tuck things in if I have to on some more formal occasions, bulk cotton rich white sports socks packs from department stores are cheaper and last longer than skate brands, etc.

Find what works for you and then you are already one step ahead every time you leave the house with your skateboard.

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

Strangely the post your fit thread is the most positive and encouraging thread on the boards……we could learn a thing or two from it……..

[Sedition]

Strangely the post your fit thread is the most positive and encouraging thread on the boards……we could learn a thing or two from it……..

Wild. I’ve never looked at it because I figured it would be a cesspool.

[TheCrimsonShroud]

So I’m trying to find a bushing setup that I like. Bones black hardcores are really good for tricky/techy stuff, but I’m thinking of experimenting with a hard/soft combo in my more general purpose setup. I’ve seen recs for softer bottoms/harder tops and am wondering if anyone can vouch for that.

I’m 5’8 and like 185 fwiw. I kinda want a more turny/surfy vibe for my Indy’s, and so far sets are either too soft or too hard.

[IpathCats]

So I’m trying to find a bushing setup that I like. Bones black hardcores are really good for tricky/techy stuff, but I’m thinking of experimenting with a hard/soft combo in my more general purpose setup. I’ve seen recs for softer bottoms/harder tops and am wondering if anyone can vouch for that.

I’m 5’8 and like 185 fwiw. I kinda want a more turny/surfy vibe for my Indy’s, and so far sets are either too soft or too hard.

Try Indy hard black bushings if you haven't already. I use the standard cylinders.

Use the bones top washer with them until the compress a bit.

With the thinner top washer and your weight, you should be able to get a decently turny setup while still having some stability.

Start with the nut nut flush, and tighten as needed

[backside_frontside]

This whole thread of 45 pages can be summarized with the simple phrase: just skate. That’s it.

Is it any surprise to you when you ask dudes who rip about their setup they all say keep it consistent, get used to it, and just skate. That’s the cure for all gear madness. Just skate. This thread is only making it worse. Nuke this thread and just fucking skate

[goodatmeth]

This whole thread of 45 pages can be summarized with the simple phrase: just skate. That’s it.

Is it any surprise to you when you ask dudes who rip about their setup they all say keep it consistent, get used to it, and just skate. That’s the cure for all gear madness. Just skate. This thread is only making it worse. Nuke this thread and just fucking skate

Wouldn't say just get used to whatever you have, since it can actually hold you back. Example: Super heavy feeling setup that takes all your energy just to pop onto a high legde.
But once you've found something that feels good enough on every terrain, that's the moment you need to stick with it, even when it's not 100% perfect.

Trying to find "the perfect setup for everything" that doesn't exist is where it goes downhill

[rocklobster]

Expand Quote

This whole thread of 45 pages can be summarized with the simple phrase: just skate. That’s it.

Is it any surprise to you when you ask dudes who rip about their setup they all say keep it consistent, get used to it, and just skate. That’s the cure for all gear madness. Just skate. This thread is only making it worse. Nuke this thread and just fucking skate

[close]

Wouldn't say just get used to whatever you have, since it can actually hold you back. Example: Super heavy feeling setup that takes all your energy just to pop onto a high legde.
But once you've found something that feels good enough on every terrain, that's the moment you need to stick with it, even when it's not 100% perfect.

Trying to find "the perfect setup for everything" that doesn't exist is where it goes downhill

That's why we have The Quiver thread

[backside_frontside]

Expand Quote

This whole thread of 45 pages can be summarized with the simple phrase: just skate. That’s it.

Is it any surprise to you when you ask dudes who rip about their setup they all say keep it consistent, get used to it, and just skate. That’s the cure for all gear madness. Just skate. This thread is only making it worse. Nuke this thread and just fucking skate

[close]

Wouldn't say just get used to whatever you have, since it can actually hold you back. Example: Super heavy feeling setup that takes all your energy just to pop onto a high legde.
But once you've found something that feels good enough on every terrain, that's the moment you need to stick with it, even when it's not 100% perfect.

Trying to find "the perfect setup for everything" that doesn't exist is where it goes downhill

Yeah I agree, find what works for you and stick with that. Shoulda made that more clear in my post but ya get me.

[LebowskisRug]

Expand Quote

...skating ‘better’ is a tricky one, for me for instance, a wider setup can feel ‘better’, but i probably land more tricks on a smaller setup. so which is better? that is for you to determine.

[close]

This, exactly, has become a source of recent wheel madness for me. I am under no illusion that a 52mm Conical is going to make me skate substantively better than a 53mm Classic, but I am trying to figure which simply "feels better." The answer?

"This is no answer. There never was an answer. There never will be an answer. That is the answer." -Harry Dean Stanton

I've gotta say that while I do have madness about decks and trucks, I've never cared about wheels. This is likely because when I tried Conical Fulls I got train tracked a bunch and that was the end of those and I've just randomly decided I'm going to ride F4's as they feel good enough so that leaves me with only a few options in sizes I ride. That and I've never felt wheels held me back.

One could extrapolate this ethos to other areas of skating. My good friend and life long ripper decided at some point in time he's only going to ride Indy's and 54 Classics and that he can't frontside flip on anything over 8.5 (he absolutely can I've seen him do them on a 10" cruiser). He will basically buy any 8.38 and not care if something feels worse on that setup he's just decided "these are my parameters, it is what it is"

[Sedition]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

...skating ‘better’ is a tricky one, for me for instance, a wider setup can feel ‘better’, but i probably land more tricks on a smaller setup. so which is better? that is for you to determine.

[close]

This, exactly, has become a source of recent wheel madness for me. I am under no illusion that a 52mm Conical is going to make me skate substantively better than a 53mm Classic, but I am trying to figure which simply "feels better." The answer?

"This is no answer. There never was an answer. There never will be an answer. That is the answer." -Harry Dean Stanton

[close]

I've gotta say that while I do have madness about decks and trucks, I've never cared about wheels. This is likely because when I tried Conical Fulls I got train tracked a bunch and that was the end of those and I've just randomly decided I'm going to ride F4's as they feel good enough so that leaves me with only a few options in sizes I ride. That and I've never felt wheels held me back.

One could extrapolate this ethos to other areas of skating. My good friend and life long ripper decided at some point in time he's only going to ride Indy's and 54 Classics and that he can't frontside flip on anything over 8.5 (he absolutely can I've seen him do them on a 10" cruiser). He will basically buy any 8.38 and not care if something feels worse on that setup he's just decided "these are my parameters, it is what it is"

Wheel madness is a new thing for me. I've been a Classic-only guy for a long, long, long time. So, what happened? I rode a friend's board with Conicals. It rode a lot smoother (wider contact patch). I liked that. It also seemed to lock-in a bit more on transition (round coping). I liked that, too. But in other ares I was less of a fan. Everything in life is a trade-off. It's just a matter of figuring out which aspects "weight" the most (+/-). Aside from Classics, there are only two other Spitfire wheels I would consider riding; Radials and Conicals. I now have a set of both, so I should be able to make quick work of this (hopefully). My deck/truck madness was resolved some time ago. So, once this little wheel episode is resolved, I'm confident my madness with go dormant for awhile. That's a good thing. And thankfully, I've never had shoe madness.

[TheCrimsonShroud]

Expand Quote

So I’m trying to find a bushing setup that I like. Bones black hardcores are really good for tricky/techy stuff, but I’m thinking of experimenting with a hard/soft combo in my more general purpose setup. I’ve seen recs for softer bottoms/harder tops and am wondering if anyone can vouch for that.

I’m 5’8 and like 185 fwiw. I kinda want a more turny/surfy vibe for my Indy’s, and so far sets are either too soft or too hard.

[close]

Try Indy hard black bushings if you haven't already. I use the standard cylinders.

Use the bones top washer with them until the compress a bit.

With the thinner top washer and your weight, you should be able to get a decently turny setup while still having some stability.

Start with the nut nut flush, and tighten as needed

Awesome, I’ll give them a go! From my experience is bushings are one of those things you kinda do have to get into the nitty gritty with, especially if you’re a little taller and/or heavier and are going for a specific feel. Thank you

[Mbrimson88]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

So I’m trying to find a bushing setup that I like. Bones black hardcores are really good for tricky/techy stuff, but I’m thinking of experimenting with a hard/soft combo in my more general purpose setup. I’ve seen recs for softer bottoms/harder tops and am wondering if anyone can vouch for that.

I’m 5’8 and like 185 fwiw. I kinda want a more turny/surfy vibe for my Indy’s, and so far sets are either too soft or too hard.

[close]

Try Indy hard black bushings if you haven't already. I use the standard cylinders.

Use the bones top washer with them until the compress a bit.

With the thinner top washer and your weight, you should be able to get a decently turny setup while still having some stability.

Start with the nut nut flush, and tighten as needed

[close]

Awesome, I’ll give them a go! From my experience is bushings are one of those things you kinda do have to get into the nitty gritty with, especially if you’re a little taller and/or heavier and are going for a specific feel. Thank you

Even if you have a few options sitting around, try out different combos of each if you don't mind having a more relaxed day and not pushing too hard, take them somewhere you can experiment with them and try one of this bottom, something else top, mix and match the other way round, etc.

I have a little OCD about coloured bushings, eg I like sets of the same colours, but I know some people have definitely found that an Bones hard bottom and a Bones medium top or vice versa worked for them - can't remember which way they went, but they shared bushings with their kid so it actually worked well, adult on hard bottom, kid on medium bottom or something.

Others I know buy two sets of bushings every time just to get the combo they want, which is a bit much for me, but at least they know what they like and it works for them, so that's all that matters.

Any bushings you have lying around could be put to this test to see what works for you, if you have them, then go buy others as needed.

[camel filters]

Just checking in and saying I did my annual "take apart every setup except for one main board and one cruiser" cleanse and it feels good. Makes me feel a bit more normal if I ignore the entire skateshop worth of gear I have on ice.

[brownjenkin]

Just checking in and saying I did my annual "take apart every setup except for one main board and one cruiser" cleanse and it feels good. Makes me feel a bit more normal if I ignore the entire skateshop worth of gear I have on ice.

This always helps me. I need to put my extra gear out of sight as well or I start getting ideas.

I "only" have about three spare decks in various states of use, three sets of wheels, and four sets of trucks but it's incredible how much mental anguish I can cause myself with just that.

If I start to compile a quiver of non-cruiser decks, I'm fucked.

[manysnakes]

Just checking in and saying I did my annual "take apart every setup except for one main board and one cruiser" cleanse and it feels good. Makes me feel a bit more normal if I ignore the entire skateshop worth of gear I have on ice.

Did the same thing this weekend, though there was only one other complete skateboard. Bagged up everything and put it all away in my box of skate shit. Got my 8.18" deck with some 144s and a Polar P9 with some crusty old thrift store Reynolds I cleaned up and OJ Mini Juices.

[LebowskisRug]

True success is not having to do it next year. One of the years this will be true for me.

[Frank and Fred]

Kinda of having new cruiser set up madness right now.. I want a new cruiser for long pushes around town, some hill bombing and pump track action.  I know I want something about 9" to 10" and I know I want Wheel wells.

But

Do I go short WB for squirrelly responsiveness or long WB for high speed stability?

Its down to the Antihero Raney Big Bord or the new Genius shape...

Typically I wouldn't have crosier set up madness but since I am trying not to skate to hard while I heal up its become a thing...

[Ok]

Kinda of having new cruiser set up madness right now.. I want a new cruiser for long pushes around town, some hill bombing and pump track action.  I know I want something about 9" to 10" and I know I want Wheel wells.

But

Do I go short WB for squirrelly responsiveness or long WB for high speed stability?

Its down to the Antihero Raney Big Bord or the new Genius shape...

Typically I wouldn't have crosier set up madness but since I am trying not to skate to hard while I heal up its become a thing...

the genius shape looked really good. i wanted it, and i’m about over eagled out and such, but the shape looked nice in hand. so did that quasi surfa. quasi obviously looked cooler, but the shape, shortness of the genius was very alluring. and i like shorter. words and wb’s.

all of that aside, for quite awhile i had a wildly shaped board, with a 14.75 wb…didn’t skate it much, but for going fast downhill (relative, i am gaaaaarbaaaaaage at skating, worse at skating ‘fast’), the long wb was so comfy it was pretty shocking actually. like i felt safe, when ordinarily i woulda been foot dragging and all sorts of shameful maneuvers.
i don’t fuck with wheel wells, i get bummed when my board is too big…someone posted a 8.75 label recently with 161s and that made me feel some type of way. some other real asshole always makes ace classic 55s look super good on their posted setups. i dunno.
best of luck. skating for distance is most likely my future, cuz these worm burner nollie flips are not it.