Gear madness support thread

[slappyjoes]

Feeling some madness brewing in me. I'm on a pair of lurpivs right now and I can't seem to hold crooks properly like they won't lock or pinch well but smiths/feebles are fine. It could also be because i got some conical f4s to but I'm tempted to get some indys see if they will help or some different shape wheels

[toque]

Been on AF1 55s primarily for the last few years but have been thinking of switching to indy stage 11s. Love how loose/surfy aces are but I've kind of lost all my tricks and am wondering if indys might provide a little more stability for manuals etc. Is indy 149 standard heavier than AF1 55? Definitely don't want anything hollow, just feels weird. Probably just frying out on my setup cause I haven't been skating well.

[BeachChicken]

Bushings can't change pop feel, which I didn't like on either Ace but like a lot on Indy.

[Ok]

Been on AF1 55s primarily for the last few years but have been thinking of switching to indy stage 11s. Love how loose/surfy aces are but I've kind of lost all my tricks and am wondering if indys might provide a little more stability for manuals etc. Is indy 149 standard heavier than AF1 55? Definitely don't want anything hollow, just feels weird. Probably just frying out on my setup cause I haven't been skating well.

didn’t you used to skate 5.8s? i thought you were a venture guy, before the bobby wave.
anyways, i can’t skate for shit on af1s: they turn great, but tricks wise? no. my ace setup luck is just bad, caveat being that i’ve had some really good days on short wb boards with huge wheels, and ace. or classic 55s.

beach chicken is correct, imo, bushings don’t change the pop. i could never with indy 149s, but the standard cast were the best version, pop with indy cast is good to great, for most folks.

[hiljentaa]

Last year I was all about staying within parameters with my setup. PS Stix 8.125, 8" trucks and Classics.

This year I have been a lot more into playing around with other stuff.

Started with bumping up to 8.25 trucks, then I found myself with two shaped boards...

One was purely for fun/truck destruction. 8.9 egg on 8.5 trucks and had it setup on 54 Classic Fulls but changed em for some 51mm 103a STF V1s.

With the wheel change, I have grabbed this over my popsicle every time for the past month+. Has anyone ever setup a fun/fuck around board and ended up skating way more than your regular setup? It's been fun to change my approach to skating the same terrain.

[tzhangdox]

Anyone skated one of those absurdly long wheelbase palace 8.3 boards? Its like 14.8 or something with tiny kicks.

Been on April 8.5 (14.4, fairly flat and decently long kicks) with cast plate ventures for over a year now. Great for the most part but lil bit wide and long feeling for a few things, mostly flatground.

Have tried it with v8 plates but it makes the wheelbase a bit short and kicks a lil anemic. Just nose recessed is fine, but still, nose feels a lil long.

Getting a bit bored of it and wanted to throw a wrench in it all. Wondering if a 14.8 wheelbase and tiny kicks with v8s recssed both sides would weirdly feel good or if its insane lol

[Ok]

Anyone skated one of those absurdly long wheelbase palace 8.3 boards? Its like 14.8 or something with tiny kicks.

Been on April 8.5 (14.4, fairly flat and decently long kicks) with cast plate ventures for over a year now. Great for the most part but lil bit wide and long feeling for a few things, mostly flatground.

Have tried it with v8 plates but it makes the wheelbase a bit short and kicks a lil anemic. Just nose recessed is fine, but still, nose feels a lil long.

Getting a bit bored of it and wanted to throw a wrench in it all. Wondering if a 14.8 wheelbase and tiny kicks with v8s recssed both sides would weirdly feel good or if its insane lol

i wanted to skate one of those, just because it seemed so dumb that maybe i’d like it. i’ve had a good time on some long wb boards, and i have generally liked tiny kicks.

[tzhangdox]

Expand Quote

Anyone skated one of those absurdly long wheelbase palace 8.3 boards? Its like 14.8 or something with tiny kicks.

Been on April 8.5 (14.4, fairly flat and decently long kicks) with cast plate ventures for over a year now. Great for the most part but lil bit wide and long feeling for a few things, mostly flatground.

Have tried it with v8 plates but it makes the wheelbase a bit short and kicks a lil anemic. Just nose recessed is fine, but still, nose feels a lil long.

Getting a bit bored of it and wanted to throw a wrench in it all. Wondering if a 14.8 wheelbase and tiny kicks with v8s recssed both sides would weirdly feel good or if its insane lol

[close]

i wanted to skate one of those, just because it seemed so dumb that maybe i’d like it. i’ve had a good time on some long wb boards, and i have generally liked tiny kicks.

Yeah, Im thinking it'll either be randomly quite good, or so horrendous that it makes me commit another year to what I've been on.

I've hovered around 14.25-14.5 on venture mostly, sometimes indy, and have dabbled with ace thunder lurpiv over the past couple years too. Generally like having a good amount of nose and tail but thats also because Im on normal venture most of the time.

Not into tiny kicks on ventures, but maybe with the v8 positioning, could work out. Or not

[toque]

Expand Quote

Been on AF1 55s primarily for the last few years but have been thinking of switching to indy stage 11s. Love how loose/surfy aces are but I've kind of lost all my tricks and am wondering if indys might provide a little more stability for manuals etc. Is indy 149 standard heavier than AF1 55? Definitely don't want anything hollow, just feels weird. Probably just frying out on my setup cause I haven't been skating well.

[close]

didn’t you used to skate 5.8s? i thought you were a venture guy, before the bobby wave.
anyways, i can’t skate for shit on af1s: they turn great, but tricks wise? no. my ace setup luck is just bad, caveat being that i’ve had some really good days on short wb boards with huge wheels, and ace. or classic 55s.

beach chicken is correct, imo, bushings don’t change the pop. i could never with indy 149s, but the standard cast were the best version, pop with indy cast is good to great, for most folks.

Damn crazy you remembered I was skating ventures! I was AWAKE for like 8-9 years. Even during the "On My Grind" era when they were kind of seen as price point trucks or something. Started skating Aces 3-4 years ago, lost tricks for sure but also stopped tick tacking almost entirely.

At this point the only thing stopping me from trying some Indys is that they're the least "cool" of the main truck companies. Loved them in my early 20s.

[Ok]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Anyone skated one of those absurdly long wheelbase palace 8.3 boards? Its like 14.8 or something with tiny kicks.

Been on April 8.5 (14.4, fairly flat and decently long kicks) with cast plate ventures for over a year now. Great for the most part but lil bit wide and long feeling for a few things, mostly flatground.

Have tried it with v8 plates but it makes the wheelbase a bit short and kicks a lil anemic. Just nose recessed is fine, but still, nose feels a lil long.

Getting a bit bored of it and wanted to throw a wrench in it all. Wondering if a 14.8 wheelbase and tiny kicks with v8s recssed both sides would weirdly feel good or if its insane lol

[close]

i wanted to skate one of those, just because it seemed so dumb that maybe i’d like it. i’ve had a good time on some long wb boards, and i have generally liked tiny kicks.

[close]

Yeah, Im thinking it'll either be randomly quite good, or so horrendous that it makes me commit another year to what I've been on.

I've hovered around 14.25-14.5 on venture mostly, sometimes indy, and have dabbled with ace thunder lurpiv over the past couple years too. Generally like having a good amount of nose and tail but thats also because Im on normal venture most of the time.

Not into tiny kicks on ventures, but maybe with the v8 positioning, could work out. Or not

part of why i liked tiny kicks, was because that’s how things used to be, a billion years ago. but that was also on low trucks. short tails, high trucks, and wheels of a decent size, get funny, real quick.
i must add that what i like is almost totally about flatground. many folks that i see enjoying the ledges and that, have been using the longer nose/tail, to their advantage. when i tried longer kicks, with mid ish (thunders), and 52s, it sucked. something about the timing was delayed or blah blah. it’s a me issue.

i never get to see palace boards in person, i just need to order them. it’s been a long time, but i remember the ‘wood’ feeling fairly stiff. aye. i think it is maybe the epoxy that the chinese brands use. the boards felt like crail boards kinda. sort of unalive, yet stiff. another reason why i wanted to try that damn 14.8 deck was that i reeeeeally enjoyed the griffin gass shape. i think it’s the g052: 8.5x14.45x32. i am not tall, and my legs are very short. on paper it shouldn’t work, but the short kicks, long wheelbase….i dunno. the tail is the same size as the 7.75 girl boards, so it felt really familiar to me. sucks with big wheels/tall trucks, but thunders and 52 felt nice. so even tho the deck wasn’t ‘lively’ or poppy or whatever, it ended up working out for me for a long time and being difficult to destruct

[tzhangdox]

Expand Quote

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Expand Quote

Anyone skated one of those absurdly long wheelbase palace 8.3 boards? Its like 14.8 or something with tiny kicks.

Been on April 8.5 (14.4, fairly flat and decently long kicks) with cast plate ventures for over a year now. Great for the most part but lil bit wide and long feeling for a few things, mostly flatground.

Have tried it with v8 plates but it makes the wheelbase a bit short and kicks a lil anemic. Just nose recessed is fine, but still, nose feels a lil long.

Getting a bit bored of it and wanted to throw a wrench in it all. Wondering if a 14.8 wheelbase and tiny kicks with v8s recssed both sides would weirdly feel good or if its insane lol

[close]

i wanted to skate one of those, just because it seemed so dumb that maybe i’d like it. i’ve had a good time on some long wb boards, and i have generally liked tiny kicks.

[close]

Yeah, Im thinking it'll either be randomly quite good, or so horrendous that it makes me commit another year to what I've been on.

I've hovered around 14.25-14.5 on venture mostly, sometimes indy, and have dabbled with ace thunder lurpiv over the past couple years too. Generally like having a good amount of nose and tail but thats also because Im on normal venture most of the time.

Not into tiny kicks on ventures, but maybe with the v8 positioning, could work out. Or not

[close]

part of why i liked tiny kicks, was because that’s how things used to be, a billion years ago. but that was also on low trucks. short tails, high trucks, and wheels of a decent size, get funny, real quick.
i must add that what i like is almost totally about flatground. many folks that i see enjoying the ledges and that, have been using the longer nose/tail, to their advantage. when i tried longer kicks, with mid ish (thunders), and 52s, it sucked. something about the timing was delayed or blah blah. it’s a me issue.

i never get to see palace boards in person, i just need to order them. it’s been a long time, but i remember the ‘wood’ feeling fairly stiff. aye. i think it is maybe the epoxy that the chinese brands use. the boards felt like crail boards kinda. sort of unalive, yet stiff. another reason why i wanted to try that damn 14.8 deck was that i reeeeeally enjoyed the griffin gass shape. i think it’s the g052: 8.5x14.45x32. i am not tall, and my legs are very short. on paper it shouldn’t work, but the short kicks, long wheelbase….i dunno. the tail is the same size as the 7.75 girl boards, so it felt really familiar to me. sucks with big wheels/tall trucks, but thunders and 52 felt nice. so even tho the deck wasn’t ‘lively’ or poppy or whatever, it ended up working out for me for a long time and being difficult to destruct

Yeah, makes sense given how boards used to be and if you're into flat. I mostly skate ledges/flatbars, so being able to sit in a grind or slide for a while is pretty important. Size 13 feet also tend to drag. Also not super into steep kicks. So this might be a problem lol.

Smaller kicks might be nice for flat though, and I'm sure the recessed axles on v8s help the kicks feel bigger. It made the nose and tail on my April feel tooo big.

Wonder if a stupid long wheelbase would be nice visually as I could set up with my front foot behind the bolts a good amount but still without having my feet too close together. But not feel too boaty coz of the v8s.

Im 6ft5 so on shorter boards, even tho a lot of things work well, always feel a lil cramped.

In any case just ordered one and gonna find out soon enough whether I lit my money on fire or if it was a genius move.

[Ok]

Expand Quote

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Been on AF1 55s primarily for the last few years but have been thinking of switching to indy stage 11s. Love how loose/surfy aces are but I've kind of lost all my tricks and am wondering if indys might provide a little more stability for manuals etc. Is indy 149 standard heavier than AF1 55? Definitely don't want anything hollow, just feels weird. Probably just frying out on my setup cause I haven't been skating well.

[close]

didn’t you used to skate 5.8s? i thought you were a venture guy, before the bobby wave.
anyways, i can’t skate for shit on af1s: they turn great, but tricks wise? no. my ace setup luck is just bad, caveat being that i’ve had some really good days on short wb boards with huge wheels, and ace. or classic 55s.

beach chicken is correct, imo, bushings don’t change the pop. i could never with indy 149s, but the standard cast were the best version, pop with indy cast is good to great, for most folks.

[close]

Damn crazy you remembered I was skating ventures! I was AWAKE for like 8-9 years. Even during the "On My Grind" era when they were kind of seen as price point trucks or something. Started skating Aces 3-4 years ago, lost tricks for sure but also stopped tick tacking almost entirely.

At this point the only thing stopping me from trying some Indys is that they're the least "cool" of the main truck companies. Loved them in my early 20s.

there wasn’t a lot of folks that skated ventures back then. i also, obviously, have some super ….unhealthy/bizarre fixation with gear that leads me to care about what others are doing.
‘on my grind’ era. amazing. new era’s with the stickers on. city skateboards. josh matthews ‘hella wides’. venture has been thru some odd times. for sure some price point vibes, or at the least, not well polished.
re: tic tacs. the venture bushings are not as robust as they used to be. those old bushings lasted forever, but to me, seemed pretty stiff, and lead to some tic tacs.

i skated alright on the indy’s, they are truly a very good middle ground, but i always felt like something wasn’t quite right, even tho they were less limited in certain key criteria, compared to the others. tragically uncool tho. terrible media. the last indy’s i liked were either stage 10s, or these 159s that i’ve had some inexplicable love affair with. just very macho feeling, 6-hole baseplates.

[Ok]

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Anyone skated one of those absurdly long wheelbase palace 8.3 boards? Its like 14.8 or something with tiny kicks.

Been on April 8.5 (14.4, fairly flat and decently long kicks) with cast plate ventures for over a year now. Great for the most part but lil bit wide and long feeling for a few things, mostly flatground.

Have tried it with v8 plates but it makes the wheelbase a bit short and kicks a lil anemic. Just nose recessed is fine, but still, nose feels a lil long.

Getting a bit bored of it and wanted to throw a wrench in it all. Wondering if a 14.8 wheelbase and tiny kicks with v8s recssed both sides would weirdly feel good or if its insane lol

[close]

i wanted to skate one of those, just because it seemed so dumb that maybe i’d like it. i’ve had a good time on some long wb boards, and i have generally liked tiny kicks.

[close]

Yeah, Im thinking it'll either be randomly quite good, or so horrendous that it makes me commit another year to what I've been on.

I've hovered around 14.25-14.5 on venture mostly, sometimes indy, and have dabbled with ace thunder lurpiv over the past couple years too. Generally like having a good amount of nose and tail but thats also because Im on normal venture most of the time.

Not into tiny kicks on ventures, but maybe with the v8 positioning, could work out. Or not

[close]

part of why i liked tiny kicks, was because that’s how things used to be, a billion years ago. but that was also on low trucks. short tails, high trucks, and wheels of a decent size, get funny, real quick.
i must add that what i like is almost totally about flatground. many folks that i see enjoying the ledges and that, have been using the longer nose/tail, to their advantage. when i tried longer kicks, with mid ish (thunders), and 52s, it sucked. something about the timing was delayed or blah blah. it’s a me issue.

i never get to see palace boards in person, i just need to order them. it’s been a long time, but i remember the ‘wood’ feeling fairly stiff. aye. i think it is maybe the epoxy that the chinese brands use. the boards felt like crail boards kinda. sort of unalive, yet stiff. another reason why i wanted to try that damn 14.8 deck was that i reeeeeally enjoyed the griffin gass shape. i think it’s the g052: 8.5x14.45x32. i am not tall, and my legs are very short. on paper it shouldn’t work, but the short kicks, long wheelbase….i dunno. the tail is the same size as the 7.75 girl boards, so it felt really familiar to me. sucks with big wheels/tall trucks, but thunders and 52 felt nice. so even tho the deck wasn’t ‘lively’ or poppy or whatever, it ended up working out for me for a long time and being difficult to destruct

[close]

Yeah, makes sense given how boards used to be and if you're into flat. I mostly skate ledges/flatbars, so being able to sit in a grind or slide for a while is pretty important. Size 13 feet also tend to drag. Also not super into steep kicks. So this might be a problem lol.

Smaller kicks might be nice for flat though, and I'm sure the recessed axles on v8s help the kicks feel bigger. It made the nose and tail on my April feel tooo big.

Wonder if a stupid long wheelbase would be nice visually as I could set up with my front foot behind the bolts a good amount but still without having my feet too close together. But not feel too boaty coz of the v8s.

Im 6ft5 so on shorter boards, even tho a lot of things work well, always feel a lil cramped.

In any case just ordered one and gonna find out soon enough whether I lit my money on fire or if it was a genius move.

genius move. only answer.

i’m almost a foot shorter, with size 10.5s, so different math. there is something in there where i feel like a longer wb, to an extent, gets a higher kickflip, but im probably tweaking.

[tzhangdox]

It does in the sense that you can drag your foot up more and get more of an ollie before the flick and release. But its more work, and definitely more effort to bone out.

Im not too fussy about board specs for regular/fakie flips, it all works fine for me and I rarely do em over anything substantial.

180 flips though, much harder to get a good fold on a longer wheelbase, normal position venture and long-ish wheelbase feels like work

[Sedition]

... Has anyone ever setup a fun/fuck around board and ended up skating way more than your regular setup?

I normally ride the DLX 8.25/14.38. Awhile back, friend gave me an almost new White Eagle (8.75/14.62). It has almost the same shape as the 8.25, but just bigger. I thought, "Oh this could be a fun cruiser board." Fast forward, I now ride 8.75s (mostly the 8.75/14.5 Black Label) more than my 8.25. 

[Sedition]

At this point the only thing stopping me from trying some Indys is that they're the least "cool" of the main truck companies.

Wow, dude. Just...wow.

[Sedition]

Yes. Skating a purely optimized setup gets really boring after awhile. Looking down and seeing an egg or some alternative shape can inspire you to skate differently and that not every session needs to be about striving for improvement. I have like 3 setups running most of the time and I’ve found it’s the only thing that’s quelled my madness.

Wise words.

[rikki]

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... Has anyone ever setup a fun/fuck around board and ended up skating way more than your regular setup?

[close]

I normally ride the DLX 8.25/14.38. Awhile back, friend gave me an almost new White Eagle (8.75/14.62). It has almost the same shape as the 8.25, but just bigger. I thought, "Oh this could be a fun cruiser board." Fast forward, I now ride 8.75s (mostly the 8.75/14.5 Black Label) more than my 8.25.

I reckon you ride Indy 159s on the 8.75?

[Sedition]

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... Has anyone ever setup a fun/fuck around board and ended up skating way more than your regular setup?

[close]

I normally ride the DLX 8.25/14.38. Awhile back, friend gave me an almost new White Eagle (8.75/14.62). It has almost the same shape as the 8.25, but just bigger. I thought, "Oh this could be a fun cruiser board." Fast forward, I now ride 8.75s (mostly the 8.75/14.5 Black Label) more than my 8.25.

[close]

I reckon you ride Indy 159s on the 8.75?

Yup. Forged. The 8.25 comes out when I’m feeling a bit more tech, but general riding/any transition, man, that extra width on 8.75 just feels so, so, so good.

[Ok]

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At this point the only thing stopping me from trying some Indys is that they're the least "cool" of the main truck companies.

[close]

Wow, dude. Just...wow.

wdym
skating has almost always been about this: often times it is what you are not into. you skate a bunch of dlx stuff. you could skate powell boards, but you do not. why is that?

[rikki]

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... Has anyone ever setup a fun/fuck around board and ended up skating way more than your regular setup?

[close]

I normally ride the DLX 8.25/14.38. Awhile back, friend gave me an almost new White Eagle (8.75/14.62). It has almost the same shape as the 8.25, but just bigger. I thought, "Oh this could be a fun cruiser board." Fast forward, I now ride 8.75s (mostly the 8.75/14.5 Black Label) more than my 8.25.

[close]

I reckon you ride Indy 159s on the 8.75?

[close]

Yup. Forged. The 8.25 comes out when I’m feeling a bit more tech, but general riding/any transition, man, that extra width on 8.75 just feels so, so, so good.

Def something I'm gonna give a shot at some point. Got a pair of 159 standards I don't really use these days, might as well set up a White Eagle or similar at some point. Been sizing up gradually as well, it's more 8.4s and 8.5s for me these days as opposed to 8.25s and 8.125s before. Going fast in bowls and tranny is def more fun on a wider board.

[Sedition]

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At this point the only thing stopping me from trying some Indys is that they're the least "cool" of the main truck companies.

[close]

Wow, dude. Just...wow.

[close]

wdym
skating has almost always been about this: often times it is what you are not into. you skate a bunch of dlx stuff. you could skate powell boards, but you do not. why is that?

Why is that? Simple. They make a deck I really like. It’s certainly not about being “cool.”  Cool-Guys are one of the worst things in skateboarding.

[Too Frank To Fred]

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Been on AF1 55s primarily for the last few years but have been thinking of switching to indy stage 11s. Love how loose/surfy aces are but I've kind of lost all my tricks and am wondering if indys might provide a little more stability for manuals etc. Is indy 149 standard heavier than AF1 55? Definitely don't want anything hollow, just feels weird. Probably just frying out on my setup cause I haven't been skating well.

[close]

Have you tried the AF1’s with ace hard bushings? Highly recommend that before buying new trucks

This. The Ace hards def alter the pop feel. So can risers.

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

I subscribe to a stiffer, barrel bushings, or just plain tightening your truck would make a diffence.  I found with aces they are always turning….so it did affect pop.

If I was to blindly set up a board for a homie…I’d put on Indy’s or Thunders…..to me they are the middle ground. 

[Richard Skidder]

Stuck in truck madness limbo again.
Rotating:
Indy 149
Thunder 149
Venture 5.6
All standard.

My pop sucks on the Indy but the turning feels great.
The Thunder turn is mad finicky on this set for some reason but pop is fine. No trouble with nose and tail slides.
Venture pop is amazing as always. The Venture turn is great at the start of the turn but limited towards the end.

Riding the 8.5 Eagle. Measures 8.4 at the front truck, just under 8.3 at the rear.

Most common trucks on a very common deck so lots of common responses are to be expected here. The problem is I’m so in my own head at this point I can’t find a way to settle.
Any advice appreciated. I just want to put this thing together, stop overthinking, and enjoy skateboarding.

M
5’10”
US size 11
No banana for scale

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

Conical or softer bushings to get the ventures turning a bit more?  Risers on thunders?  I think each truck brand has its benefits, just find which is the most important to you…..

[BeachChicken]

It depends what kind of skating you wanna do but I personally prioritize pop feel first and foremost. You can't reallllly change that. You can alter the turn with bushings and you can try different decks/wheels, but your trucks are kinda ur home base.

I love all of those trucks. I prob skate my best on Thunders, but the bushings are dogshit and I break them a lot and I got tired of baseplate slide. Indy and Venture have somewhat similar pop timing for me so I can go between them easier. Right now I am on Indys because they pop slightly lighter/faster, which works for what I am skating lately and they're fun to ride. On some decks Ventures pop like this, but the deck has to be fairly mellow.

If I were you I'd go Venture/full DLX.

[Sedition]

The problem is I’m so in my own head at this point I can’t find a way to settle.

Yeah, that is the worst when that happens. Not to make matters worse, but have you tried forged Indy? I feel like the little bit lower height makes things feel different. Maybe for the worse, maybe for the better.

That said, there is no magic bullet. Some trucks are simply better at some things than others (e.g. Ace turn great. Thunder pinches great. etc.). Same with decks, and wheels. We all have to live some levels of compromise. Acknowledging that can be some help.

Someone in this thread once said, "… [I have to] remind myself that switching gear doesn't really help at all. When you switch, the gear will feel different and that's about it. The adjustment period just isn't worth the minimal gains that you might get." [don't remember who said it, unfortunately]

All this considered, the times that I have gotten really stuck in my head, I've always resorted to the "Just Feels The Best" test. I take about 5 to 10 of my most basic tricks that I like doing, and just see what gear-option those tricks "just feel the best" on. The trick is to not "think" about, but to "feel" about it.  Do my b/s 50-50s just feel better with 8.25 trucks or 8.5 trucks? Do basic ollies just feel better on Ace or Thunder? etc. For me at least, the when I do this, the answer is usually pretty clear. Then I just stick with that set-up for awhile, and try to not think about all of it, and just focus on doing what feels good. Usually within a session or two, it's enough to get me out of my own head. That approach might be helpful to you, might not. Either way, hope you can find a way out soon!

[Ok]

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At this point the only thing stopping me from trying some Indys is that they're the least "cool" of the main truck companies.

[close]

Wow, dude. Just...wow.

[close]

wdym
skating has almost always been about this: often times it is what you are not into. you skate a bunch of dlx stuff. you could skate powell boards, but you do not. why is that?

[close]

Why is that? Simple. They make a deck I really like. It’s certainly not about being “cool.”  Cool-Guys are one of the worst things in skateboarding.

no. cool guys….lol, are not one of the worst things in skateboarding. there are myriad reasons for gatekeeping. some petty, some hurtful, but self-policing (terrible term), can be helpful imo. and tons of cool art comes from people trying to look cool. i mean yeah, when it dumps over into just toxic terrible behavior, that’s bad. but when the bad kids used to drink and shoot fireworks at one another at the skatepark, there weren’t many 3 year olds with matchbox cars in the flat bottom.
i don’t think it’s weird, at all, to be more stoked on a certain product, than another, for reasons besides ‘performance’, in a decidedly non-performance activity: leisure wooden toy. most humans have some level of personal vanity, acting like they don’t, just looks dishonest to me.
here is a personal example: my feet hurt. i don’t skate much anymore. between working a physical job, family, old age….i just don’t end up getting out there like i could. a shoe that doesn’t hurt my feet as much, nike dunk, often looks dumb as fuck. i currently have a pair of the ‘bart simpsons’, and they look insane on an almost 50 year old. same with the mets high tops. so then i go out to skate, in shoes that hurt more, because i don’t like the way the dunks look, and by extension, make me feel. i skate by myself. this is an entirely (until i whine about it on the internet) internal ‘crisis’.

[toque]

it's not like I really care about looking cool for other people with my truck choice or anything. Indy is just kind of corny and I want to be hyped on my setup