Gear madness support thread

[Ok]

Yo -- am I trippin??

Everybody talks about how Ace trucks are too turny and loose, and that Indys are more stable and neutral.

I feel like I've just straight up had the opposite experience recently. Indys have been feeling just absolutely divey into turns with almost no center point of stability. It's like I gotta be constantly balancing or somethin. Even with harder bushings. I only 170 too.

The Aces on the other hand feel like there is plenty of stability to cruise in a straight line without any sorta wobbly feeling. They have a more round circular turn I guess, but it feels like the resistance and snap back to center is more stable and reliable. Stock bushings yo

I'm just confused because I've had some Indys and Aces for a couple years now, and I just feel like I'm having the opposite experience of what everyone is sayin they're like.

Whussup withit

fuck
i am for sure going to be getting some indy’s.
i’ve talked so much shit with indy’s, forever. they were the de facto choice at times and i was over it.
i was hyped on them back in ….when did ‘we did it!??!???’ come out? around then, with WE boards and small ass wheels. everything slipped on those days, and i would bend the axles, not from being good mind you.
peak madness for me was 2014-18 ish, and i bought 139s/144s/159s/169s, and have given them all away. now i want 159s again, despite me never really wanting to ride a board over 8.25
cooked fried sizzled.


anyways, ive heard some other folks say that ace may have been more ‘stable on center’, but that sounds like some shit that people that turn would say. i really only care about how trucks pop. i mean the whole thing is important, but im still skating slow and trying dusty flip tricks.
i cannot pop shit with ace. can’t do it. the turn is great tho, truly exceptional. maybe one day i’ll drop in.

[Sedition]

Hmmm. Today I may have experienced “shoe madness” for the first time, ever.

Context: Ever since I broke my leg / ankle in 2019 I’ve been wearing hi-tops (sk8-hi).  I had some metal put in my ankle, and hi-tops help protect that spot a bit (fully exposed with low tops). I used to skate in vans old-schools, but still wear them as a casual shoe. I’ve also been riding a bit wider boards recently, too.

Anyway, today. I wasn’t planning on skating. My 8.25 was in the car, and had my old-schools on. I ended up having some free time, so went to a park for a bit. And I was kind of shocked. I was like, “Whoa. Old-schools feel way better on this (smaller) deck than my Sk8-Hi (which feel wider/bigger.) do.” Then the horror hit me. “My god. Is •this• the shoe madness I’ve read about on SLAP? What door to hell has just opened?” Am I now going to be picky about matching shoes to decks? Shoot me now.

[BL0B]

Yo -- am I trippin??

Everybody talks about how Ace trucks are too turny and loose, and that Indys are more stable and neutral.

I feel like I've just straight up had the opposite experience recently. Indys have been feeling just absolutely divey into turns with almost no center point of stability. It's like I gotta be constantly balancing or somethin. Even with harder bushings. I only 170 too.

The Aces on the other hand feel like there is plenty of stability to cruise in a straight line without any sorta wobbly feeling. They have a more round circular turn I guess, but it feels like the resistance and snap back to center is more stable and reliable. Stock bushings yo

I'm just confused because I've had some Indys and Aces for a couple years now, and I just feel like I'm having the opposite experience of what everyone is sayin they're like.

Whussup withit

what stage indy's?


imo ace's are twitchy af. has them feeling like they can go either way at any sec... which i love for transitions. but i've never ridden any sub 9" setup aces so who knows.



the best explanation i have heard, is too think of the hanger on/in a triangle. ace's are at the tippy top, right on the point. indy's sit lower in the triangle, leading to more stability for them.

[Too Frank To Fred]

Expand Quote

Yo -- am I trippin??

Everybody talks about how Ace trucks are too turny and loose, and that Indys are more stable and neutral.

I feel like I've just straight up had the opposite experience recently. Indys have been feeling just absolutely divey into turns with almost no center point of stability. It's like I gotta be constantly balancing or somethin. Even with harder bushings. I only 170 too.

The Aces on the other hand feel like there is plenty of stability to cruise in a straight line without any sorta wobbly feeling. They have a more round circular turn I guess, but it feels like the resistance and snap back to center is more stable and reliable. Stock bushings yo

I'm just confused because I've had some Indys and Aces for a couple years now, and I just feel like I'm having the opposite experience of what everyone is sayin they're like.

Whussup withit

[close]

what stage indy's?


imo ace's are twitchy af. has them feeling like they can go either way at any sec... which i love for transitions. but i've never ridden any sub 9" setup aces so who knows.



the best explanation i have heard, is too think of the hanger on/in a triangle. ace's are at the tippy top, right on the point. indy's sit lower in the triangle, leading to more stability for them.

I agree with OP and that's what make Ace preferable to Indy for me. Controlled on center and nice smooth but very deep turn. Indy don't feel good to me on center unless they are tighter....  Ace just have a way better turning geometry for my taste.

[rikki]

Despite giving 'em a go several times, I just can't get Aces to work for me. Too squirrely, even their hard bushings remain too soft for my taste. Plus my pop always goes to shit with Ace. I've finally given up on them for good.

[moonordie]

Hmmm. Today I may have experienced “shoe madness” for the first time, ever.

Context: Ever since I broke my leg / ankle in 2019 I’ve been wearing hi-tops (sk8-hi).  I had some metal put in my ankle, and hi-tops help protect that spot a bit (fully exposed with low tops). I used to skate in vans old-schools, but still wear them as a casual shoe. I’ve also been riding a bit wider boards recently, too.

Anyway, today. I wasn’t planning on skating. My 8.25 was in the car, and had my old-schools on. I ended up having some free time, so went to a park for a bit. And I was kind of shocked. I was like, “Whoa. Old-schools feel way better on this (smaller) deck than my Sk8-Hi (which feel wider/bigger.) do.” Then the horror hit me. “My god. Is •this• the shoe madness I’ve read about on SLAP? What door to hell has just opened?” Am I now going to be picky about matching shoes to decks? Shoot me now.

Welcome to the club
So far the shoe that works best for me are 808, skated like 5 pairs in a row and ofc I got "bored" of them so I started to browse around just to land on 1010 which I don't like how they look, look down motivation factor is not there, don't like the shale and the flick but my feet don't hurt. Skated AS-1 and I loved them but my feet hurt after. Hopefully the FP insoles will solve that and if not I'll continue skating 1010 only to come back to 808...
Sounds familiar? Probably yes, otherwise you wouldn't be here.

[back smith]

Aces feel squirrelly to me when just standing on the board or going slow but at speed they are fine.

[Barack Hussein]

Expand Quote

Yo -- am I trippin??

Everybody talks about how Ace trucks are too turny and loose, and that Indys are more stable and neutral.

I feel like I've just straight up had the opposite experience recently. Indys have been feeling just absolutely divey into turns with almost no center point of stability. It's like I gotta be constantly balancing or somethin. Even with harder bushings. I only 170 too.

The Aces on the other hand feel like there is plenty of stability to cruise in a straight line without any sorta wobbly feeling. They have a more round circular turn I guess, but it feels like the resistance and snap back to center is more stable and reliable. Stock bushings yo

I'm just confused because I've had some Indys and Aces for a couple years now, and I just feel like I'm having the opposite experience of what everyone is sayin they're like.

Whussup withit

[close]

what stage indy's?


imo ace's are twitchy af. has them feeling like they can go either way at any sec... which i love for transitions. but i've never ridden any sub 9" setup aces so who knows.



the best explanation i have heard, is too think of the hanger on/in a triangle. ace's are at the tippy top, right on the point. indy's sit lower in the triangle, leading to more stability for them.

I'm on some Classic 55s and some Stage 11 Hollow 159s.

I was always an Indy guy, got some Aces in 2020, without even ever trippin on truck geo and stuff. Just had a couple homies that were hyped on em. I skate mostly transition and like to bomb hills and stuff, but I've recently been trying to pop my freeekin board some more - grabbed some Indy's thinking that I could probably do with a bit more stability and that it would feel like returning home.

But I just am genuinely finding the Indys twitchier, wobbly/unstable, more wheelbite, and not really sure what the pros are other than a nice ass grind. I know what the pros should be, but I'm just not really vibing with em at the moment... Triangle theory makes sense and it's what I thought I would be feeling, but somehow the Aces are feeling more like what I tink the Indys are supposed to feel like.


Should I just say fuggit and get some Ventures lol?

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

Or Lurpivs?  Koo…koo…

[Ok]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Yo -- am I trippin??

Everybody talks about how Ace trucks are too turny and loose, and that Indys are more stable and neutral.

I feel like I've just straight up had the opposite experience recently. Indys have been feeling just absolutely divey into turns with almost no center point of stability. It's like I gotta be constantly balancing or somethin. Even with harder bushings. I only 170 too.

The Aces on the other hand feel like there is plenty of stability to cruise in a straight line without any sorta wobbly feeling. They have a more round circular turn I guess, but it feels like the resistance and snap back to center is more stable and reliable. Stock bushings yo

I'm just confused because I've had some Indys and Aces for a couple years now, and I just feel like I'm having the opposite experience of what everyone is sayin they're like.

Whussup withit

[close]

what stage indy's?


imo ace's are twitchy af. has them feeling like they can go either way at any sec... which i love for transitions. but i've never ridden any sub 9" setup aces so who knows.



the best explanation i have heard, is too think of the hanger on/in a triangle. ace's are at the tippy top, right on the point. indy's sit lower in the triangle, leading to more stability for them.

[close]

I'm on some Classic 55s and some Stage 11 Hollow 159s.

I was always an Indy guy, got some Aces in 2020, without even ever trippin on truck geo and stuff. Just had a couple homies that were hyped on em. I skate mostly transition and like to bomb hills and stuff, but I've recently been trying to pop my freeekin board some more - grabbed some Indy's thinking that I could probably do with a bit more stability and that it would feel like returning home.

But I just am genuinely finding the Indys twitchier, wobbly/unstable, more wheelbite, and not really sure what the pros are other than a nice ass grind. I know what the pros should be, but I'm just not really vibing with em at the moment... Triangle theory makes sense and it's what I thought I would be feeling, but somehow the Aces are feeling more like what I tink the Indys are supposed to feel like.


Should I just say fuggit and get some Ventures lol?

ace classic 55s are dope tho. very good truck. those are the only ace trucks that didn’t totally mess with my pop. i was using them weird tho: liked them best on that 8.5 ps stix shape that tapers. looked kinda fucked, like one of those….kinda looked like how the accords/civics that were lowered on offset deep dish rims would look. daytons on a late 80s honda.
i don’t like the forged hollow indys, the regular cast 159s are super sick. i just like them.
ventures, particularly the 6.1s, have great pop.

because i’m all mixed up/messed up, i have the opposite issues that some folks have with ace/indy: i need to use a smaller wb with both of those, or at least that’s what has worked the best for me.

[tzhangdox]

Posted a pic in the setup thread:

Last week I set up a Palace 8.3 with V8s, pretty random combo.

It’s the weird shape thats about 32 long with a 14.81 wheelbase and short, stubby kicks. Would feel ridiculous on most trucks but actually works well with V8s.

Rough math: V8s reduce wheelbase by about 0.6, so this setup rides more like a 32 board with a ~14.2 wheelbase on cast Ventures — an oddly hard combo to find.

Most 8.3-8.5 boards with a 14.2-14.25 wheelbase tend to be shorter than 32, and you usually have to go up to 14.38 to get more length.

Weirdly, this shape/truck combo is hard to replicate with normal Ventures and another board. Pop feels really nice—springy without being too light or too heavy. My issue with V8s on most boards is that they make the pop feel a bit weak, but that’s not a problem here.

It definitely feels smaller and more nimble than my usual setup on cast Ventures. Visually, the bolts being so far apart is a bit jarring. I often have my front foot over two of the four front bolts for certain tricks (noseslides, crooks, 180 nosegrinds), but on this setup, I have to remember to place my foot further back — otherwise theyre basically right over the front wheels.

The kicks still feel stubby when standing on them, but the pop is great because of the v8s, so it’s more of a difference in feel than function. I do have to pop more off the tip instead of keeping my back foot near the bolts like I would on many more normal setups.

Overall, it's a fun setup. Makes flatground easier and has a nice, snappy pop. Biggest downside is the super tapered kicks. Gotta be more precise on grinds/slides so my size 13 feet don’t drag. If the shape was just a bit fuller or widened to 8.5, it’d be even better.

And as a bbs loyalist, dwindle wood is actually pretty good

Will probably try stick to this until I ragequit or get bored of it

[camel filters]

Yo -- am I trippin??

Everybody talks about how Ace trucks are too turny and loose, and that Indys are more stable and neutral.

I feel like I've just straight up had the opposite experience recently. Indys have been feeling just absolutely divey into turns with almost no center point of stability. It's like I gotta be constantly balancing or somethin. Even with harder bushings. I only 170 too.

The Aces on the other hand feel like there is plenty of stability to cruise in a straight line without any sorta wobbly feeling. They have a more round circular turn I guess, but it feels like the resistance and snap back to center is more stable and reliable. Stock bushings yo

I'm just confused because I've had some Indys and Aces for a couple years now, and I just feel like I'm having the opposite experience of what everyone is sayin they're like.

Whussup withit

This is my exact experience. I if you like medium to loose trucks, I feel like Ace snaps back to center way better. I do think if you like tighter trucks, Indy's tighten up a little more while ace remains a bit surfy even if you choke out the bushings.

[rikki]

This is my exact experience. I if you like medium to loose trucks, I feel like Ace snaps back to center way better. I do think if you like tighter trucks, Indy's tighten up a little more while ace remains a bit surfy even if you choke out the bushings.

This is exactly why I don't skate Aces anymore. I just can't get them stable enough for my taste, even with hard bushings. Indys, especially with the bkue medium hard bushings work perfect in combining stability and turn.

[moonordie]

Expand Quote

This is my exact experience. I if you like medium to loose trucks, I feel like Ace snaps back to center way better. I do think if you like tighter trucks, Indy's tighten up a little more while ace remains a bit surfy even if you choke out the bushings.

[close]

This is exactly why I don't skate Aces anymore. I just can't get them stable enough for my taste, even with hard bushings. Indys, especially with the bkue medium hard bushings work perfect in combining stability and turn.

This is valuable information since I got some hollow ones after ages and I'm terrified.

[rikki]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

This is my exact experience. I if you like medium to loose trucks, I feel like Ace snaps back to center way better. I do think if you like tighter trucks, Indy's tighten up a little more while ace remains a bit surfy even if you choke out the bushings.

[close]

This is exactly why I don't skate Aces anymore. I just can't get them stable enough for my taste, even with hard bushings. Indys, especially with the bkue medium hard bushings work perfect in combining stability and turn.

[close]

This is valuable information since I got some hollow ones after ages and I'm terrified.

Hollow Indys? Great trucks. You'll love 'em.

[BeachChicken]

I'm on Indy hollows and blues and they're great. I run the nut flush at 175 and it's just enough wiggle to have some Indy turn still but not too crazy. I actually used to like Ace Classic pop on some Polar 8.5s I used to ride, but AF1 felt weird and then crapped out.

[Ok]

too much slap’n for me. my insistence that indys don’t work for me/are uncool to me, has me, predictably, wanting to rehash that relationship.
i tried the hollows and forged etc, for the most part my best results came from regular cast.

when did stage 10 start/stop? as in, what year?

[Sedition]

Concurring with others: Indys + the 92a blue aftermarket bushings (come in barrel and conical, depending on your taste) are really, really, really good if you want a mix of stability and turn.

[BeachChicken]

Yah the whole "Indy isn't cool" thing sometimes gets to me but how are we defining "cool"? Loads of skaters I really like skate them just fine and lots of people default to them because they work on almost any deck. Having a reliable go-to for most people is "cooler" than gear madness. When I watch Jason Lee footage I see a mix of Indy's and OG Ventures and to me that is the epitome of great, classic style. I can't imagine Kenny Reed footage on anything but Thunders and it's all about how the skater makes shit work for them.

Except for Krux those are just unacceptable.

[propaganda]

I’m losing it. Went in the shop it was only one board on the wall [100 pairs of Nikes and new balances tho]

They keep saying I can order through them and get a board in a week but I don’t see the appeal.

Had to go to a punk store that was lowkey jumping and filled with alt baddies but the board I got feels light as a feather, all the plys same color.

Idk if this is madness or just frustration with my scene. To me it’s a factor. Just wish I could get a board same day from a shop. Maybe I need to just stop complaining and skate. Maybe I need a break

[Ourladyoftheflowers]

Indys with blue bushings is seriously amazing. My only issue is for some reason I get axel on my crook groove really fast on Indys. Switched to thunder and those things seem somehow impossible to axel on the crook groove.

That being I still ride Indy blue conicals on my thunders

[Mbrimson88]

too much slap’n for me. my insistence that indys don’t work for me/are uncool to me, has me, predictably, wanting to rehash that relationship.
i tried the hollows and forged etc, for the most part my best results came from regular cast.

when did stage 10 start/stop? as in, what year?

Stage 9 in 2003 with the computer designed thinner hanger, lower at 53.5 mm tall, in 129 and 139, but still the older thicker 149 hanger and an older thicker 166 hanger.  Two hollow parts on the baseplate to make the truck lighter, but they broke a lot.

All available info tends to have Stage 10 coming in around 2009, with a solid baseplate on the same Stage 9 hangers first - 129, 139 in the same thinner lower 53.5 mm hanger, then new 149s also on the thinner lower hanger maybe in 2010 and then finally new 159s in the taller hanger a bit after that, maybe not too long before Stage 11 came out - Duane Peters truck colourway (Thanks Frank n Fred) and plain ones too, as per a set I have.

Stage 11 came out in 2012, the whole range all upgraded at that point to the taller 55 mm in height in 129, 139, 149, 159 and 169.  In 2017 144 came out.


That is the approximate time line for that stuff.

Also 2010 was when the first forged baseplate came out, maybe even first thinner 149 hanger too.

The low trucks I don't really know, but they were out for Stage 10 and continued a little into Stage 11 but I didn't really follow the timeline of low trucks anywhere near as much.


* Sorry for too much info.

[Ok]

Expand Quote

too much slap’n for me. my insistence that indys don’t work for me/are uncool to me, has me, predictably, wanting to rehash that relationship.
i tried the hollows and forged etc, for the most part my best results came from regular cast.

when did stage 10 start/stop? as in, what year?

[close]

Stage 9 in 2003 with the computer designed thinner hanger, lower at 53.5 mm tall, in 129 and 139, but still the older thicker 149 hanger and an older thicker 166 hanger.  Two hollow parts on the baseplate to make the truck lighter, but they broke a lot.

All available info tends to have Stage 10 coming in around 2009, with a solid baseplate on the same Stage 9 hangers first - 129, 139 in the same thinner lower 53.5 mm hanger, then new 149s also on the thinner lower hanger maybe in 2010 and then finally new 159s in the taller hanger a bit after that, maybe not too long before Stage 11 came out - Duane Peters truck colourway (Thanks Frank n Fred) and plain ones too, as per a set I have.

Stage 11 came out in 2012, the whole range all upgraded at that point to the taller 55 mm in height in 129, 139, 149, 159 and 169.  In 2017 144 came out.


That is the approximate time line for that stuff.

Also 2010 was when the first forged baseplate came out, maybe even first thinner 149 hanger too.

The low trucks I don't really know, but they were out for Stage 10 and continued a little into Stage 11 but I didn't really follow the timeline of low trucks anywhere near as much.


* Sorry for too much info.

i trust your information, much more than mine.
i did not think that was the timeline.
i would have assumed stage 9s ended in the early 2000s, and that stage 10s came in 2005 ish, at the latest.
shocked by all of this tbh.


gear talk, of any type is not cool. i have 5,000 plus comments in gear related nonsense.
indys are not cool, to me.
right now, i want some tho. 149s and 159s. i think i just want to skateboard really, but ive been trapped with work.

[Rick Trapasso]

I get the whole Indys not being cool thing.

But then I see GT, gustav, hjalte, Nike stain, and heitor riding them and I forget all that stuff immediately.

I feel like the characteristics of Indys lend themself to some of the best looking skateboarding.

But in the wrong hands they end up looking clunky and boring.

I think my hands are wrong for them when I try to judge myself objectively across different setups.

[Ok]

Wenning footage makes me want some stage 9s or 10s. Van Wastell, too. Loved those things. Like Ok, I thought 10s came out in the mid 2000’s.

I knew immediately stage 11s were too tall, but you can’t beat plain old cast. Everyone I know who tried the mids/forged hated them as they were chasing that stage 9/10 feel.

this happens to me, the wanting of gear from a specific era.
i actually liked 9/10s, and would skate them fairly frequently, back when. if i’m being honest, i probably skated better on those, than what i was regularly trying to setup (i was trying to learn bs that i couldn’t do, like switch varial heels and what not, and i’d skate small ass boards, venture 5.0s, little wheels. when the indy’s would come out, it’d be on something ‘massive’ like an 8+ deck, and maybe 54s, and the tricks i could do, i’d actually do. i didn’t understand that, that is what i should use, and that i was just never gonna get that 3 mph switch hardflip).
Van Wastell, Wenning, old Julien, Rick Howard (mouse in general), McBride, mike graham and then in recent times Hjalte, Grady Smith, Dick Rizzo, in between the two eras there is a Bobby Worrest setup video with a great flatground switched tre that has had me interested on several occasions.
i’ve never had a consistently good/favored stage 11 based setup, but several brief/torrid/short short short term love affairs with a few. only with the cast, which doesn’t make sense with the height thing.

in the interest of madness i skated my only set of stage 11s last night, but they are 169s, hollow/forged, feel weird, too big obviously.
i was just dicking around in a parking lot and a few other takeaways were that when i skate very infrequently, the comically large skateboards are much easier to kickflip than even my ‘regular’ 8.25 setup, and dragons even in a relatively smooth asphalt lot, feel significantly smoother/faster, than f4 99s.

embarrassing

[Richard Skidder]

I was recently trying to track down some 9/10 149s. Specifically with the fatter hangers. There’s some posting about this in the Indy Thread (but I don’t know how to link from phone). @Mbrimson88 helped me to determine that the EBay listing I was looking at was in fact 159 or 169 so therefore a no go for me.
If someone needs or wants that size let me know and I can DM you the listing if still available. I remember the price being acceptable and not jacked way up.

[Ok]

I was recently trying to track down some 9/10 149s. Specifically with the fatter hangers. There’s some posting about this in the Indy Thread (but I don’t know how to link from phone). @Mbrimson88 helped me to determine that the EBay listing I was looking at was in fact 159 or 169 so therefore a no go for me.
If someone needs or wants that size let me know and I can DM you the listing if still available. I remember the price being acceptable and not jacked way up.

brimmer coming in clutch!
i too would love to try 9/10 149s. i have some what i think are 10s, 139s, and they feel easy.

[Mbrimson88]

I was recently trying to track down some 9/10 149s. Specifically with the fatter hangers. There’s some posting about this in the Indy Thread (but I don’t know how to link from phone). @Mbrimson88 helped me to determine that the EBay listing I was looking at was in fact 159 or 169 so therefore a no go for me.
If someone needs or wants that size let me know and I can DM you the listing if still available. I remember the price being acceptable and not jacked way up.

The crazy thing is if or when anyone does get those older trucks, they just don't perform quite as well as anything from Stage 11 when it comes to how everything just works.  Those older chunky hangers always had a lean to one side too, built into the cast mold, ever so slightly, but it is still there, on every set I have had come through my hands.  Still got a few too many sets as well, but that is beside the point.

I guess there are still people who definitely prefer older stages or older things in general, but when it comes to functionality and having things that you know you can get again and again, if or when whatever you currently have breaks or wears out, I really can't go past the current stage of the Independent standard truck.

That said, I did just set up another set of brand new Indy bushings in some standard 149s, the red 92 duro low head version in the white box, of which I still have a few cartons, so I am very grateful I had the chance to get them when I did.  Sure I can still turn any regular bushings into low heads now, by machining them down, as I just did today too, but just being able to get something out, set it up and go, it is so much easier, without having to take the time to modify almost everything I skate, use, ride, etc.

I don't feel that I have to modify everything I have, but I do like to make it work exactly how I want it to work, which is why I do so many little things to tweak my setups and gear in general.

That is my madness, every single day, every single skate, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

brimmer coming in clutch!
i too would love to try 9/10 149s. i have some what i think are 10s, 139s, and they feel easy.

Didn't even see this until I reopened it to add this ebay listing for the older Stage 9 trucks, bulky hangers which were on 149s and 166s:


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/186023458526


Best view of the chunky hanger profile:






These were the same era Stage 9 trucks with the newer hangers, which only came out in 129 and 139 at the time:


https://www.ebay.com/itm/235936516020

[BeachChicken]

Madness is realizing I'm on the same basic setup I was nearly 3 years ago when I moved to where I am now. Lots of trial and error, but I've been in the same range of gear parameters for like 5 years with no massive changes yet I still come up with really dumb ideas to try haha.

[Sedition]

More of meta-madness question...what situations trigger your madness?

Example: Recently I've mostly been skating only my 8.75. Yesterday I was skating a 4' mini ramp (where the 8.75 usually really shines). I am trying f/s 50-50s to tailslide. Turning to tail started to feel kind of sluggish, slow motion, and awkward. Had a few near nasty bails. I start thinking, "My (usual) 8.25 deck would snap right into that"...and suddenly my 8.75 is now feeling like a gigantic boat. Enter the Madness.